Before we start, a reminder to everyone - I will only judge the first entry you make. Additional entries are welcome(and, in cases like the 2x BFG Urbie, kind of amusing), but they won't be part of the contest. (Also, sorry about the delay - I'm a bit under the weather this week)
Andras: Locust LCT-HPP - 20t, 8/12/0, 53 armour, 20 HS, HPPC (50%)
The biggest friendly gun(yes, that's what BFG stands for, why do you ask?) in the whole contest by mech weight, and it's in a chassis that can run circles around most things. For a long-range mech that usually means kiting, which can be awkward if you're trying to run away and still fire with a front-torso-mounted weapon. I might want to see an arm-mounted weapon here instead, for the improved firing arc. Still, this would aggaravate a lot of opponents nicely.
Sharpnel: Kyudo KY2-D-03G - 45t, 6/9/6, 152 armour, 11 HS, XLRM-15(3t) (33%)
Speaking of aggravating opponents, we have this gem. With this combination of range and mobility, you almost don't need to worry about enemy fire, which makes it closer to being artillery than a traditional mech in some ways.
Maingunery: Moblas - 15t, 3/5/0, 55 armour, 10 HS, LL (33%)
I know 3025 tech is limited in many ways, but a mech this small and slow is a bit of a deathtrap. I feel like this is a proto-protomech or something - the idea is nifty, but in 3025 it's just not very practical.
Nightsong: Harrier HRR-1X - 30t, 7/11/7, 101 armour, 20 HS, HPPC w/Cap (37%)
Similar to the Locust above - the extra 10 tons gets you a bunch of armour and a PPC capacitor, but it costs twice as much. I feel like this wants to be a rich nation's version, while the Locust is what the Periphery would use instead, but that makes the small cockpit a bit tough to justify. I did like the fluff on this one.
Daryk: STS-1 - 75t, 4/6/0, 168 armour, 17 HS, Long Tom Cannon(5t) (33%)
More thump than a Thumper, this one can theoretically hit harder with its BFG than any other mech here(though it'll take a very silly opponent to let you do better than the Hollander). I do like the LTC, but even in 3025 that's a bit light on armament for a 75 ton mech, and 25 shots is more than you really want for a gun this size(though if it could use advanced arty rounds, I'd be a lot more keen on that). This might have been better as a slightly smaller mech, because I don't think the last 5-10 tons get you very much value.
casperionx: BFG BFG-A - 50t, 5/8/0, 161 armour, 20 HS, IHGR(3t), ERML (46%)
A medium biped with a HGR is going to be eating a lot of dirt. I like the design otherwise, but this needs a piloting god at the helm to be functional - otherwise, it should be a quad like the Thunderlion below. As a one-off Solaris mech or something I could dig it, but this is not fit for mass production. (Advice for future submissions: If you know that you have an issue like this with your mech, consider fluff to patch the gaps. I'm much kinder on flaws if you can explain why they're there in a plausible way)
Speedbump: Panther PNT-10M - 35t, 4/6/4, 104 armour, 10 HS, LGR(2t), ERML (40%)
I tend to be a bit of a LGR skeptic - it's really heavy for its damage output, and the added range isn't enough to make up for it in most cases. Still, in a light mech fight 8 damage is a useful number, and if it's facing heavies or assaults, it has enough mobility to kite them and can usually manage to stay out of range, and it has the ammo for a long drawn-out fight like that. I'm not totally keen on it, but I can see it.
DarthMetool: Blazer BLZ-3 - 25t, 6/9/0, 89 armour, 20 HS, Blazer, C3 Slave, AES (36%)
Blazers have a place, but by the time you're mounting AES and a C3, that time has passed. A HPPC is a better weapon in almost every way, and I'm not sure why anyone would build this when they're in the 3070s.
Maingunnery: Hollander IIC - 50t, 5/8/0, 153 armour, 20 HS, HAG-40(6t) (44%)
From looking up canon Hollanders, the Hollander II should be 45 tons, not 50. A minor sin, but worth noting. Otherwise, a pretty practical Mech - it'll leave a bigger hole in its target than any other BFG, and the chassis is practical for most purposes, with enough ammo for a long fight. Good all-around mech.
Sabelkatten: Thunderlion LI-9G - 45t, 6/9/0 quad, 112 armour, 20 HS, HGR(3t), ERML (47%)
Unlike the BFG above, the choice of a quad chassis to handle the PSRs caused by a HGR will make this a lot more practical. It's fast enough to get into optimal HGR range against most opponents, and the ERML pairs decently with the range brackets on the HGR. A bit light on armour, but its mobility should keep it alive for a while.
Empyrus: BLHK - 25t, 6/12/0 supercharger, 89 armour, 20 HS, Blazer, AES, LAMS (36%)
Like the above Blazer mech, this feels out of place to me. I know people like Blazers and that they're interesting, but I don't think these designs really make much sense. Make this a 3039-era mech - you can get your DHS and your endo steel to make it functional, without it being totally obsolete.
fallen: Raptor RTX1-Q - 25t, 7/11/0, 56 armour, 20 HS, LB-5X(2t), 3x ERSL (40%)
The LB-5X isn't a bad weapon, but the choice of ERSLs as support weapons seems a bit odd. It covers you against point-blank enemies, I guess, but a 7/11 with a 21-hex range on its main gun probably shouldn't be getting that close in the first place. If we're playing with alternate rules that got rid of the min range on the AC I'd like this a lot more, but right now it's very much a testbed.
Caedis Animus: Speed Ronin RX-20 - 20t, 8/16/0 MASC, 64 armour, 20 HS, Large Vibrobalde, ERML (35%)
If you're going to do the melee weapon thing, do it all-in, and this is all-in. The large vibroblade isn't the best weapon around, but 14 damage in a single hit location for a 20-ton mech is more than it could do in a single block any other way I can think of, and it's not a bad damage output for its size and speed at all. This feels like it's from an anime, but that's not always bad.
Liam's Ghost: Sturmkannon ST-41K - 35t, 6/9/0, 88 stealth armour, 20 HS, Gauss(2t), ECM (49%)
Okay, this is nice and mean. I was a bit confused at first before I saw the stealth armour, but with that on this makes a ton of sense. It hits hard, stays well back, and can survive very well against enemy snipers. Cool name, too. I like this.
Wildonion: Fujin FJN-1R - 45t, 6/12/6 supercharger, 127 armour, 20 HS, Thunderbolt-15(4t, armoured) (37%)
I admit, I have not the slightest clue of how the weapon armouring rules work. But setting that aside for a minute, this has the same combination of long range and mobility as a lot of other submissions(because it fits this contest really well, of course). Comparing it to a Gauss, you save two tons for the same amount of ammo(or one ton after the CASE) and gain IDF, but you pay for it by having worse range brackets. Not a terible trade-off, especially if your goal is to stretch out into different weapon systems a bit. Overall, I expect this to be a pretty effective unit.
RevenVrake: The Zapper ZAP-01 - 15t, 12/24/0 supercharger, 55 armour, 20 HS, ERLL (33%)
I'll admit, the name gave me a chuckle. This is an evil little thing, even with the fractional accounting(actually, that might make it more evil...), and I expect it'd be really effective too. I said above that the Moblas isn't very practical in 3025, but when you upgrade to advanced tech, it gets *very* practical. This is what Protomechs want to be when they grow up.
Results
Again, there were a lot of good entries this time. It's always fun to see what people come up with.
Third Place: Sabelkatten's Thunderlion LI-9G. The HGR is normally an assault mech's close-in weapon because of the PSR, which means it's slow and can't close the range itself. This is a great way to mix that up - going quad lets you put it in a light, fast chassis, where you can get the short-range attacks on your own terms instead of waiting for your opponents to come close. It's an interesting twist.
Second Place: Liam's Ghost's Sturmkannon ST-41K. It's definitely doing the expected thing, but it's doing it very well - this is coherent, well-engineered, and very practical, and it's also got a really huge gun. What's not to love?
First Place: RevenVrake's The Zapper ZAP-01. Much like the winner last time, this is the one that makes me really happy when I think about using it. It's probably not "the best" in an abstract sense - for the money and BV, you can do better - but it's just *fun*.
I'll be posting contest #3 in a moment, so get your thinking caps on.
