'Mech of the Week - Ryoken III-XP (Skinwalker)

[Darkwing]

Option C begs the question how much of Stone Lions are Horses a heart. We have some precedence of name changes being superficial at best.
Clan Wolf - Jade Wolf - Clan Wolf
Sea Fox - Diamond Shark - Sea Fox

It would not be a stretch for the Horses to have watch agent's in the Stone Lions, and if any Clan knows what is going on "back at the ranch" they would be the safest bet.

To bring it back to the Skinwalker, it is clearly a test bed for new clan technology. My curiosity will be if this is an attempt by game designers, as the IS reaches technological parity with their Clan counterpoints, to again give them an edge/distinctieness in the tech fields.

[grimlock1]

Option C begs the question how much of Stone Lions are Horses a heart. We have some precedence of name changes being superficial at best.
Clan Wolf - Jade Wolf - Clan Wolf
Sea Fox - Diamond Shark - Sea Fox

It would not be a stretch for the Horses to have watch agent's in the Stone Lions, and if any Clan knows what is going on "back at the ranch" they would be the safest bet.

To bring it back to the Skinwalker, it is clearly a test bed for new clan technology. My curiosity will be if this is an attempt by game designers, as the IS reaches technological parity with their Clan counterpoints, to again give them an edge/distinctieness in the tech fields.

Until the IS basically stops using anything that isn't either Clan-grade something the Clan's don't have, then the IS won't have parity.  Elite units might find be deploying the right mix of Clan gear to match a Clan opponent at or near 1:1, but what about the regular line units, or the garrison forces.  Clan garrison forces tend to not have as much in the way of XL engines, ES, FF or gizmos like targeting computers, but their ER mlas is the same one carried by Omnis in the Keshik.

[Empyrus]

IIRC, Stone Lions pretty much divested themselves from their Horse heritage. Figure Crusader Wolves are more like original Wolves than Stone Lions are Hell's Horses.

[Gaiiten]

So option A:  is that this tech is an outgrowth of the piloting suit for super heavy protos, to which Hells Horses had access before the fled the Kerensky Cluster.

Option B:  it is an independent development to which the Horses had access.

Option C:  It's something that happened in the Kerensky Cluster post WoR and the Horses got a hold of it via shadowy means, ie Bandit Caste.  Which implies that the Horses have a back channel to what's happening in the Kerensky Cluster.   The question then is how do they feel about the state of affairs back home?  Are they worried about the home Clans trying to pull a WoR in the IS?  If they are, and they are keeping quiet about it, we all saw what that did for Comstar's reputation....

IMHO, option A is the most likely.

[Jal Phoenix]

Don't know if I ever shared the story of the Skinwalker. For the XTRO, I was told to go nuts. The idea was to make the most powerful, advanced 'Mech I could. The only restrictions were that I had to use the Interface Cockpit, and to make it 55 tons. This 'Mech came in second. Well, I broke the 55 ton rule with the other one, disqualifying it.

The name Skinwalker of course comes from Native American legend, and was an inspiration that came all at once. Jymset and I were going over stats, and someone had appended the placeholder name of Stormwolf. I hated that. I will NOT be responsible for another wolf-named 'Mech! The name Skinwalker came to me immediately, and I knew that it was right.

Anyway, now that the Rec Guides have given us a new version of the Skinwalker with new configs, I'd resurrect this thread as a vanity project. I am after all proud of making one of the most obscene BattleMechs in the game. ;)

[BATTLEMASTER]

Thanks for the background!  Was the Stormcrow an inspiration at all for your design?

[BrianDavion]

Don't know if I ever shared the story of the Skinwalker. For the XTRO, I was told to go nuts. The idea was to make the most powerful, advanced 'Mech I could. The only restrictions were that I had to use the Interface Cockpit, and to make it 55 tons. This 'Mech came in second. Well, I broke the 55 ton rule with the other one, disqualifying it.

The name Skinwalker of course comes from Native American legend, and was an inspiration that came all at once. Jymset and I were going over stats, and someone had appended the placeholder name of Stormwolf. I hated that. I will NOT be responsible for another wolf-named 'Mech! The name Skinwalker came to me immediately, and I knew that it was right.

Anyway, now that the Rec Guides have given us a new version of the Skinwalker with new configs, I'd resurrect this thread as a vanity project. I am after all proud of making one of the most obscene BattleMechs in the game. ;)

Someone REAAAAAAALLY wanted a wolf clan medium omni named stormwolf it seems :)

[Jal Phoenix]

Thanks for the background!  Was the Stormcrow an inspiration at all for your design?

It was a requirement. The new 'Mech was to be an upgrade to the Ryoken/Stormcrow in the same vein as the Mad Cat IV and Vulture IV. Hence the prototype being called the Ryoken III-XP.

[SteelRaven]

Someone REAAAAAAALLY wanted a wolf clan medium omni named stormwolf it seems :)

It's far from a bad name, we have just as many bird theme Mechs after all.

[Colt Ward]

It's far from a bad name, we have just as many bird theme Mechs after all.

Do not forget bears or cavalry/knights.

[Jellico]

Thanks to the Kell Hounds and Wolf's Dragoons canines win this by a long way.

[Colt Ward]

Dragoons had . . . Marauder II, Gallowglas, Hoplite, Imp, Annihilator, Firefly, Falcon . . . what wolf?

Kell Hounds . . . Wolfhound was a combined project, they just were the testors . . . Arctic FOX is not a wolf . . . Verfolger?  Hunter of some sort IIRC

[GuyIncognito]

Foxes are canines however.

[Colt Ward]

No, they are Vulpes- arctic fox (vulpes lagopus), red fox (vulpes vulpes), etc- while dogs (canis lupus familiarus) and gray wolf (canis lupus) are a separate branch of Canidae.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

They're all part of subfamily Caninae, and therefore canines.

[SteelRaven]

That's all well and good but beside the point and now very off topic.

[grimlock1]

Anyway, now that the Rec Guides have given us a new version of the Skinwalker with new configs, I'd resurrect this thread as a vanity project. I am after all proud of making one of the most obscene BattleMechs in the game. ;)

While I haven't run the numbers on any of the versions, I kinda wish the TSM stayed in.  I have a soft spot for non-melee flashbulbs that say, "Oh, you think I'm going to be sluggish after that alpha strike?  HAHAHA. No."  And then zip off to find a place to cool down.

[jymset]

Someone REAAAAAAALLY wanted a wolf clan medium omni named stormwolf it seems :)

Thing is, the designers and name-givers of the now-canon Stormwolf had nothing to do with the Ryoken III at all - and no knowledge of its wip name. It's just a very obvious choice, is all. ;)

While I haven't run the numbers on any of the versions, I kinda wish the TSM stayed in.  I have a soft spot for non-melee flashbulbs that say, "Oh, you think I'm going to be sluggish after that alpha strike?  HAHAHA. No."  And then zip off to find a place to cool down.

But that's the beauty of it all - the -XP is still canon and ist just as viable as the "mass production version". :thumbsup:

[Empyrus]

But that's the beauty of it all - the -XP is still canon and ist just as viable as the "mass production version". :thumbsup:

It is, however, extinct on MUL for ilClan era, if canon availability matters for players. I suppose there could be some XPs left but presumably there never were many of those. (I figure XPs won't be converted into production-grade units, potentially too many problems in the prototype for that to be economical, especially if they are usable as they are.)

[Wrangler]

Why is it extinct???? Lordy.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

Because it was an experimental proof-of-concept design.  There was no reason to keep it in production once the standard version was developed.

[Empyrus]

Indeed. There is non-XP Skinwalker now. Though this article doesn't cover it.

[Colt Ward]

It is, however, extinct on MUL for ilClan era, if canon availability matters for players. I suppose there could be some XPs left but presumably there never were many of those. (I figure XPs won't be converted into production-grade units, potentially too many problems in the prototype for that to be economical, especially if they are usable as they are.)

I figure the last XP pilots died during the ilClan Trial . . . it is the type of fight you do not care about expending that type of asset.

[grimlock1]

I figure the last XP pilots died during the ilClan Trial . . . it is the type of fight you do not care about expending that type of asset.

Yeah, I'm not leaving anyone on bench for that fight. 

[Greatclub]

Wouldn't surprise me if some ristar had the pull to get his production modified to an XP, depending on how many fittings were left in.

Yeah, I know that's supposed to let the omnismoke out. They're visually similar enough it might be the exception that proves the rule.

[Empyrus]

Wouldn't surprise me if some ristar had the pull to get his production modified to an XP, depending on how many fittings were left in.

Yeah, I know that's supposed to let the omnismoke out. They're visually similar enough it might be the exception that proves the rule.

Updated refit rules allow modifying OmniMechs at factory as class F refit without losing OmniSmoke. But this is individual modifications, eg adding TSM to production Skinwalker, but it doesn't produce Skinwalker-XP but rather a custom refit.

[grimlock1]

I was looking at the B config and when I run the numbers, I come in a half ton over weight. 

[Wrangler]

A Skinwalker appears in  short story in Shrapnel magazine volume 10, WOLF PELTS AND RAVEN FEATHERS by LANCE SCARINCI

[Jal Phoenix]

Taran Sender's Skinwalker is one of the rejected configs I sent in. I slipped it in as his personal configuration. I don't know if they published a record sheet for it, though. I might go put the stat block in the design forum later, for the curious.

[grimlock1]

Taran Sender's Skinwalker is one of the rejected configs I sent in. I slipped it in as his personal configuration. I don't know if they published a record sheet for it, though. I might go put the stat block in the design forum later, for the curious.

I'm curious :-)