BattleTech - The Board Game of Armored Combat
BattleTech Player Boards => Fan Designs and Rules => ProtoMechs => Topic started by: Giovanni Blasini on 12 November 2011, 23:37:09
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Little something I was pondering, now that Ultraheavy ProtoMechs are out: can you rebuild a Wasp or Stinger as a ProtoMech? Well, with a canon Stinger IIC, I figured, "Well, why not the Wasp?" No fluff text at the moment, or BV.
ProtoMech Technical Readout
INVALID DESIGN
Type/Model:
Tech: Clan / 3083
Config: ProtoMech
Rules: Level 2, Standard design
Mass: 12 tons (12,000 kg)
Chassis: Advanced Composite
Power Plant: 110 Size Fusion
Walking Speed: 64.8 km/h
Maximum Speed: 97.2 km/h
Jump Jets: 6 ProtoMech Jump Jets
Jump Capacity: 180 meters
Armor Type: Integral Advanced Alloy
Armament:
1 ER Medium Laser
1 SRM 2
Manufacturer: Unknown
Location: Unknown
Communications System: Unknown
Targeting & Tracking System: Unknown
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Type/Model:
Mass: 12 tons (12,000 kg)
Equipment: Mass, kg
Int. Struct.: 28 pts Advanced Composite 1,200
Engine: 110 Size Fusion 3,500
Walking MP: 6
Running MP: 9
Jumping MP: 6
Heat Sinks: 5 Compact ProtoMech 1,250
Cockpit, Life Support, Sensors & Pilot: 750
Armor Factor: 54 pts Integral Advanced Alloy 2,700
Internal Armor
Structure Value
Head: 3 7
Torso: 12 21
Left/Right Arms: 3/3 6/6
Legs: 7 14
Weapons and Equipment Location Heat Ammo Mass, kg
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1 ER Medium Laser Right Arm 5 1,000
1 SRM 2 Torso 0 10 700
JumpJets: 6 - 150 kg 900
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TOTALS: 5 12,000
Mass remaining, kg: 0 left
Edit: Fixed the artifacts from using HML as a template.
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Very nice indeed. Something like this would be a ProtoMech I'd consider using.
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Very nice indeed. Something like this would be a ProtoMech I'd consider using.
Thanks - I'm pretty happy with how it came out myself. I'm considering increasing it to 13 tons, though: at that mass, it would use the same 120-rating engine as the original Wasp, and gains another 400 kg for more armor or a secondary weapon, like a machine gun, and can carry more SRM ammo.
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The use of a 120 engine would be a nice flavor hook. As for what to do with the extra mass, that's something of a connundrum: adding weaponry would break the simple laser+SRM theme of the Wasp, but an MG would greatly expand its capabilities.
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This is what proto's should be used for
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Simply amazing.
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A little thread necro but this is really cool, I want to use it :P
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Not only have you rebuilt the Wasp, you've made it better in every way that matters. Like one of the previous posters said, this is what Protos should be all about.
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was I reading that armor value right? ... 21 for main torso? Gads, those proto's look they can easily take out an IS light mech ... and are light years more powerful than Extra Light mechs (10 and 15 ton ... )
I can make a decent 15 ton mech with 1 large laser (all IS) ... even an ER LL and DHS. But the Heavy Proto's just seem downright aggressive.
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was I reading that armor value right? ... 21 for main torso? Gads, those proto's look they can easily take out an IS light mech ... and are light years more powerful than Extra Light mechs (10 and 15 ton ... )
I can make a decent 15 ton mech with 1 large laser (all IS) ... even an ER LL and DHS. But the Heavy Proto's just seem downright aggressive.
The way the construction rules work light 'Mechs are shafted, if you want speed go hover, other wise a tacked vee can do the job. Heck I managed to put a Locust into a 20-ton ICE hover.
If you want Light and 'Mech it NEEDS JJ's, no reason to take it other wise
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Indeed - the ideal light 'mech is something like the Venom; anything else is far better suited as a VTOL, hovercraft, or protomech.
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In my opinion, modern technology renders light mechs totally obsolete--their mobility advantage is slashed by pulses, TC, LBX, Artemis V, AES, etc., and small mediums can now do just about everything they can, with more survivability (iirc the homeworld Clans were totally replacing their Fire Moths with Phantoms).
Superheavy Protos, on the other hand, can fill the same role, and be a FORCE OF NATURE at the same time.
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Not necessarily - if you include TacOps rules, light 'mechs get a -1 to physical attacks over mediums, so a light 'mech with a large vibroblade is a weird edge-case.
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In my opinion, modern technology renders light mechs totally obsolete--their mobility advantage is slashed by pulses, TC, LBX, Artemis V, AES, etc., and small mediums can now do just about everything they can, with more survivability (iirc the homeworld Clans were totally replacing their Fire Moths with Phantoms).
Superheavy Protos, on the other hand, can fill the same role, and be a FORCE OF NATURE at the same time.
Indeed. The canon Svartbeta for instance -- 2 LRM-15s on a ProtoMech? On a full Point, that's more firepower than an LRM Kraken! Also faster, to boot. (Dunno if it's cheaper, tho.)
Not necessarily - if you include TacOps rules, light 'mechs get a -1 to physical attacks over mediums, so a light 'mech with a large vibroblade is a weird edge-case.
That would be a very odd build indeed. O_o
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It's 35 tons and 8/12/10 with a partial wing, AES, and a large vibroblade - it is indeed a *very* weird build.
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In my opinion, modern technology renders light mechs totally obsolete--their mobility advantage is slashed by pulses, TC, LBX, Artemis V, AES, etc., and small mediums can now do just about everything they can, with more survivability (iirc the homeworld Clans were totally replacing their Fire Moths with Phantoms).
Superheavy Protos, on the other hand, can fill the same role, and be a FORCE OF NATURE at the same time.
Arguably, a mobility advantage can be just to be able to reach a certain point - and I doubt a speed much above 10/15 is really practical for a proto of any weight.
OTOH a mixed-tech light mech can easily top more than 20 MP, packing multiple TC-guided ERMLs and quite decent armor.
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Arguably, a mobility advantage can be just to be able to reach a certain point - and I doubt a speed much above 10/15 is really practical for a proto of any weight.
OTOH a mixed-tech light mech can easily top more than 20 MP, packing multiple TC-guided ERMLs and quite decent armor.
True, but in those situations an equal tonnage of hovercraft or VTOLs can most likely pack even *more* TC-guided ERMLs, with the added advantages of redundancy and area coverage.
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True, but in those situations an equal tonnage of hovercraft or VTOLs can most likely pack even *more* TC-guided ERMLs, with the added advantages of redundancy and area coverage.
Of course a bunch of 5-ton VTOLs beat pretty much everything else on the battlefield on a per-ton basis... Including protos. LB-X cannons can be a real pain, thought!
On a per-unit basis, however, the light mech still has a bit going for it. But in general I agree that the proto pretty much make slower light mechs obsolete!
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I wonder if this will be the new future of recon--let the mechs just focus on damage, and let the nimble, hard-to-hit things do the scouting. I might give that some tests in my games.
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A lot of it depends on the force mixture. If you're in an era where you have lots of units, you can afford to specialize in scouting vtols or hovercraft. If you're talking an era where you ahve fewer units, a proto or light mech is much more flexible.
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You're forgetting strategic lift, 3 hovercraft is better then a single Locust, espically when the hovers are each 1/5 the price tag of the 'Mech
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I wonder if this will be the new future of recon--let the mechs just focus on damage, and let the nimble, hard-to-hit things do the scouting. I might give that some tests in my games.
If you're talking about slow sweeps to find hidden enemies than I honestly can't think of a better unit than a proto, then only thing that comes close are fast stealth-armored BA!
But as noted it's hard to get protos to get really fast, so if speed is important it's still mechs or vehicles that rule.
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I'd really really like to see some of the other iconic light mechs rendered as Protos.
I haven't purchased WoR yet, so I can't do it myself, but please consider this a friendly request.
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Basic (there's an oxymoronic term for Proto-mechs) Protomechs can be made using the Tech Manual. I think you only WoR when you want the 10-15 ton range ... wait, that'd be what your asking for. DUH
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I'd really really like to see some of the other iconic light mechs rendered as Protos.
I haven't purchased WoR yet, so I can't do it myself, but please consider this a friendly request.
The other ones are potentially painfully difficult, for a couple reasons (it's part of what made me do the Wasp first).
First, ProtoMechs are best when humanoid, due to their controls, otherwise requiring drugs. Second, most of the other really light 'Mechs that'd be good candidates already have IICs: the Stinger and Commando spring to mind. Not sure what other good candidates there'd be.
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How about Valkyrie?
It's not very fast as a Mech, only armed with an LRM-10 and a Medium Laser originally a Star League design that never went through.
I could see the Clans thinking - this should have been our (Proto)Mech ;)