Technical Readout: 3142 (Concertverse AU)

[Steve]

So I figured I'll start sharing some designs from the Concertverse AU.  Because I have a lot.  So many that in my google docs I actually split them up into four TROs by era - TRO: 3030, TRO: 3060, TRO: 3120, and TRO: 3142 - because the app was choking on the single document due to length.  Even did the same on AO3.  But for the sake of this forum I'll just go with one thread.


Not going to do the ToCs though.

To start with, let's go with a design that would be very familiar to canon.


Mad Cat MD-CPT-1

Mass: 75 tons
Tech Base: Inner Sphere
Chassis Config: Biped
Rules Level: Tournament Legal
Era: Renaissance
Tech Rating/Era Availability: E/X-X-E-D
Production Year: 3027
Dry Cost: 15,597,750 C-Bills
Total Cost: 15,717,750 C-Bills
Battle Value: 1,775

Chassis: Arcadia Arsenal Standard
Power Plant: RussTech FusionWorks 300 Fusion XL Engine
Walking Speed: 43.2 km/h
Maximum Speed: 64.8 km/h
Jump Jets: None
    Jump Capacity: 0 meters
Armor: Arcadia Arsenal Standard Armor
Armament:
    2 Reddington Longbow-15s w/ Artemis IV FCS
    2 Vickers-Armstrong Mk. 8 (ER Large) Lasers
    2 Vickers-Armstrong Mk. 10 (ER Medium) Lasers
Manufacturer: Selassie DefenseWorks
    Primary Factory: Arcadia
Communications System: RussTech MilComm
Targeting and Tracking System: RussTech TarTrack

Overview:
While the PLD series of 'Mechs was favored by Selassie and the AFFM, the company likewise produced MAD-line units on license at a secondary facility in Sannazaro, paying a hefty fee for the privilege.  In the early 3020s the decision was made by the company to retool that line for an original design, a new heavy-weight 'Mech of similar tonnage to the Marauder capable of sustained long-range fire.  The design had more in common with the CPLT-series Catapults due to this mission, with shoulder-mounted LRM racks, but to add to this design (and try to avoid costly lawsuits) Selassie employed arms mounting energy weapons as well. In an early experiment into modular design before the effective deployment of OmniPods, the weapons hardpoints were designed for some degree of modularity, primarily in being able to fit different weapon systems on the shoulders and changing the energy weapons built into the mounted arms.  This was still a labor-intensive process and typically occurred at the factory or in primary bases, not in the field.

Perhaps it was a fit of cheek that inspired the design team, upon seeing the final proposal for the initial base model, to dub the design the "Mad Cat", combining the designator tag of the Marauder to the shortened nickname of the Catapult much as the machine seems to combine the body of a Catapult with the arms of a Marauder. 


Hollis Inc. and Bowie Industries were not so amused.  They commenced litigation in Terran and Arcadian courts employing the Harmon & Gold law firm, notorious for its abuses of litigious practices, seeking injunctions against the production of the Mad Cat and major damages.  The risk that one of their two major 'Mech-producing firms would go bankrupt prompted the Free March government to intervene, turning the matter into a diplomatic nightmare as the AFFM openly designated the new design a "vital necessity" under the Free March Armaments Act, shielding Selassie legally and effectively short-circuiting the proposed injunction against production but threatening a showdown with the Terran government if its courts approved injunctionary relief.  Harmon & Gold replied by suing the March-Princess and the AFFM as well for violating their clients' intellectual rights, dragging the lawsuit on into the 3040s.  Ultimately the suit was settled by the War of Donegalian Succession: Bowie Industries found its facilities under Arcadian control with the fall of the New Commonwealth and the capture of Alarion by the newly-reformed Royal Federation, and was thus induced to drop the suit in favor of its own generous license to produce the design, while as Hollis Industries was in the Oriento-Capellan Empire, the courts summarily dismissed its case on the grounds that it amounted to sabotage of war industries.  With Terran courts likewise proving hostile to Imperial interests over the seizures of Regulus and Sian by Imperial troops, the matter was finally dropped.


Capabilities:
The Mad Cat was made from the ground up to use the latest in recovered Star League technology.  RussTech developed a 300-rated XL engine specifically for this order to provide the 64 kph speed.  Vickers-Armstrong's new extended range lasers were placed into the arms, and Reddington's Longbow-15 launchers provide missile armament directed by Reddington's licensed Artemis IV fire control systems.  Admittedly this denies the design use of effective indirect fire, but
the Mad Cat was intended to be more of a direct fire support machine than an indirect shooter, given the arms each mount a paired set of Vickers-Armstrong's new Mk. 8 and Mk. 10 extended range lasers.  Six extra heat sinks are included to help with the added heat load, which allows for the Mad Cat to fire both missile launchers and its large lasers during movement with only moderate heat buildup.


Battle History:
The initial Mad Cats were delivered in 3027 for service with the Arcadian Guards.  They saw combat through the early campaigns and conflicts of the
Second Age of War, coming to wider notice for the first time in the fighting on Bolan during the Arcadian rescue operation in early 3034 against the victorious
Marian legions.  It reached its peak during the War of Donegalian Succession, being employed widely in all its variant forms, and would see service in the Terran War while slowly being replaced by newer 'Mechs with recovered Terran technology.


Deployment:
Over the years since its release the MD-CPT-1 spread to numerous units of the AFFM, and afterward the AFRF.  It would eventually be supplanted by the CVL-1 and CVL-2, as well as its own OmniMech variant, the MD-CPT-4, and the later MD-CPT-O Mad Cat II made by Defiance Industries.


Variants:
Because of the modular bent to the design a number of variants were made.  The MD-CPT-2 replaces the laser armament with Vickers-Armstrong's Mk. 5 PPCs
(extended range) and, for weight savings, also dropped the Artemis IV fire control systems for the missiles, allowing the 'Mech to provide proper indirec
fire support.  It can fire either PPCs or LRMs without heat buildup even while in movement.


The MD-CPT-3 arguably became more popular than the -1.  It was made as a heavy cavalry machine, with a 375 XL engine made possible by employing endo-steel for the internal structure, reducing the large lasers to medium-quality, and dropping heat sinks.  It also adds extra missile ammo protected by CASE and puts the Artemis IV system back on the missile racks.


The MD-CPT-3S was special-ordered for use in the Striker units.  The shoulder-mounted missile racks were replaced by ER PPCs and three jump jets are
added, allowing for some air-drop capability as befitting Striker practice.  The design is loaded down with heat sinks but will still run very hot if the
medium lasers are fully employed.


The MD-CPT-4 is the OmniMech version of the design, with the 375 XL engine to fit the heavy cavalry role given the CVL-1 Chevalier was a line machine.  Limited
production capacity kept the design from entering service until 3042, and only a company's worth reached the frontlines before the Ten Years Peace was signed.
 The production line was destroyed by the 47th Royal BattleMech Division during its invasion and occupation of Arcadia in 3050 and only restarted in 3055, and it has since become the most widely-employed variant of the machine.


Notable 'Mechs & MechWarriors:
Arguably the greatest of the Mad Cat pilots was Dame Danielle Verdes.  A former Marauder pilot with the Arcadian Guards who was given a knighthood for conduct during the Bolan Rescue Operation, Dame Danielle piloted an MD-CPT-3S through the rest of her frontline career as a MechWarrior of the 8th Strikers.  Through the battles for Stewart and Atreus during the Second Skye War she achieved a noteworthy seven combat kills in action as a company commander.  While the 8th did not see combat in the Second Andurien War it was heavily involved on both fronts of the War of Donegalian Succession.  During the 8th Strikers' legendary "cavalry raid" on Coventry in late 3040 Dame Danielle became commander of the 1st Battalion and led it into several engagements, including a fight with the Gray Death Legion that involved her confirmed combat victory over Col. Grayson Carlyle.  After serving on the Capellan front in the liberation of Gallatin and the counter-attack at Concord, Dame Danielle retired from frontline combat duty and went into the Engineering Corps, where she rose through the ranks to Field Marshal and head of the Engineering Corps in 3068.  Struck by the deaths of her daughters during the fighting on New Avalon and Tikonov, she retired after the Concord-Compact War to help raise her orphaned grandchildren.


================================================================================
Equipment           Type                         Rating                   Mass 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Internal Structure: Standard                     114 points                7.50
Engine:             XL Fusion Engine             300                       9.50
    Walking MP: 4
    Running MP: 6
    Jumping MP: 0
Heat Sinks:         Double Heat Sink             18(36)                    8.00
    Heat Sink Locations: 1 LT, 1 RT, 2 LA, 2 RA
Gyro:               Standard                                               3.00
Cockpit:            Standard                                               3.00
    Actuators:      L: SH+UA+LA    R: SH+UA+LA
Armor:              Standard Armor               AV - 224                 14.00

                                                      Internal       Armor     
                                                      Structure      Factor     
                                                Head     3            9         
                                        Center Torso     23           36       
                                 Center Torso (rear)                  9         
                                           L/R Torso     16           24       
                                    L/R Torso (rear)                  8         
                                             L/R Arm     12           24       
                                             L/R Leg     16           29       

================================================================================
Equipment                                 Location    Heat    Critical    Mass 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ER Large Laser                               RA        12        2         5.00
ER Medium Laser                              RA        5         1         1.00
ER Large Laser                               LA        12        2         5.00
ER Medium Laser                              LA        5         1         1.00
LRM-15                                       RT        5         3         7.00
    Artemis IV FCS                           RT        -         1         1.00
LRM-15                                       LT        5         3         7.00
    Artemis IV FCS                           LT        -         1         1.00
@LRM-15 (Artemis) (8)                        RT        -         1         1.00
@LRM-15 (Artemis) (8)                        LT        -         1         1.00
                                            Free Critical Slots: 9

BattleForce Statistics
MV      S (+0)  M (+2)  L (+4)  E (+6)   Wt.   Ov   Armor:      7    Points: 18
4          3       4       3       0      3     1   Structure:  3
Special Abilities: SRCH, ES, SEAL, SOA, IF 2


Mad Cat (ATL) MD-CPT-2

Mass: 75 tons
Tech Base: Inner Sphere
Chassis Config: Biped
Rules Level: Tournament Legal
Era: Renaissance
Tech Rating/Era Availability: E/X-X-E-D
Production Year: 3027
Dry Cost: 15,597,750 C-Bills
Total Cost: 15,717,750 C-Bills
Battle Value: 1,775

Chassis: Arcadia Arsenal Standard
Power Plant: RussTech FusionWorks 300 Fusion XL Engine
Walking Speed: 43.2 km/h
Maximum Speed: 64.8 km/h
Jump Jets: None
    Jump Capacity: 0 meters
Armor: Arcadia Arsenal Standard Armor
Armament:
    2  Vickers-Armstrong Mk. 5 ER PPCs
    2  Reddington Longbow-15s
Manufacturer: Selassie DefenseWorks
    Primary Factory: Arcadia
Communications System: RussTech MilComm
Targeting and Tracking System: RussTech TarTrack

================================================================================
Equipment           Type                         Rating                   Mass 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Internal Structure: Standard                     114 points                7.50
Engine:             XL Fusion Engine             300                       9.50
    Walking MP: 4
    Running MP: 6
    Jumping MP: 0
Heat Sinks:         Double Heat Sink             16(32)                    6.00
    Heat Sink Locations: 1 LT, 1 RT, 1 LA, 1 RA
Gyro:               Standard                                               3.00
Cockpit:            Standard                                               3.00
    Actuators:      L: SH+UA+LA    R: SH+UA+LA
Armor:              Standard Armor               AV - 224                 14.00

                                                      Internal       Armor     
                                                      Structure      Factor     
                                                Head     3            9         
                                        Center Torso     23           34       
                                 Center Torso (rear)                  11       
                                           L/R Torso     16           24       
                                    L/R Torso (rear)                  8         
                                             L/R Arm     12           24       
                                             L/R Leg     16           29       

================================================================================
Equipment                                 Location    Heat    Critical    Mass 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ER PPC                                       RA        15        3         7.00
ER PPC                                       LA        15        3         7.00
LRM-15                                       RT        5         3         7.00
LRM-15                                       LT        5         3         7.00
@LRM-15 (16)                                 RT        -         2         2.00
@LRM-15 (16)                                 LT        -         2         2.00
                                            Free Critical Slots: 15

BattleForce Statistics
MV      S (+0)  M (+2)  L (+4)  E (+6)   Wt.   Ov   Armor:      7    Points: 17
4          3       4       4       0      3     0   Structure:  3
Special Abilities: SRCH, ES, SEAL, SOA, LRM 1/2/2, IF 2


Mad Cat (ATL) MD-CPT-3

Mass: 75 tons
Tech Base: Inner Sphere
Chassis Config: Biped
Rules Level: Tournament Legal
Era: Renaissance
Tech Rating/Era Availability: E/X-X-E-D
Production Year: 3027
Dry Cost: 15,597,750 C-Bills
Total Cost: 15,717,750 C-Bills
Battle Value: 1,775

Chassis: Arcadia Arsenal Standard
Power Plant: RussTech FusionWorks 375 Fusion XL Engine
Walking Speed: 54.0 km/h
Maximum Speed: 86.4 km/h
Jump Jets: None
    Jump Capacity: 0 meters
Armor: Arcadia Arsenal Standard Armor w/ CASE
Armament:
    2 Reddington Longbow-15s w/ Artemis IV FCS
    4 Vickers-Armstrong Mk. 10 (ER Medium) Lasers
Manufacturer: Selassie DefenseWorks
    Primary Factory: Arcadia
Communications System: RussTech MilComm
Targeting and Tracking System: RussTech TarTrack

================================================================================
Equipment           Type                         Rating                   Mass 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Internal Structure: Endo-Steel                   114 points                4.00
    Internal Locations: 1 HD, 2 LT, 2 RT, 3 LA, 2 RA, 2 LL, 2 RL
Engine:             XL Fusion Engine             375                      19.50
    Walking MP: 5
    Running MP: 8
    Jumping MP: 0
Heat Sinks:         Double Heat Sink             15(30)                    5.00
Gyro:               Standard                                               4.00
Cockpit:            Standard                                               3.00
    Actuators:      L: SH+UA+LA    R: SH+UA+LA
Armor:              Standard Armor               AV - 231                 14.50
    CASE Locations: 1 LT, 1 RT                                             1.00

                                                      Internal       Armor     
                                                      Structure      Factor     
                                                Head     3            9         
                                        Center Torso     23           35       
                                 Center Torso (rear)                  11       
                                           L/R Torso     16           24       
                                    L/R Torso (rear)                  8         
                                             L/R Arm     12           24       
                                             L/R Leg     16           32       

================================================================================
Equipment                                 Location    Heat    Critical    Mass 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2 ER Medium Lasers                           RA        10        2         2.00
2 ER Medium Lasers                           LA        10        2         2.00
LRM-15                                       RT        5         3         7.00
    Artemis IV FCS                           RT        -         1         1.00
LRM-15                                       LT        5         3         7.00
    Artemis IV FCS                           LT        -         1         1.00
@LRM-15 (Artemis) (16)                       RT        -         2         2.00
@LRM-15 (Artemis) (16)                       LT        -         2         2.00
                                            Free Critical Slots: 11

BattleForce Statistics
MV      S (+0)  M (+2)  L (+4)  E (+6)   Wt.   Ov   Armor:      8    Points: 18
5          4       5       3       0      3     0   Structure:  3
Special Abilities: CASE, SRCH, ES, SEAL, SOA, IF 2

[Steve]

For our next entry, an example of a relatively new production company beginning its foray into 'Mech design in a post-Succession Wars, post-Collapse of the Great Houses environment.  Or "Baby's first 'Mech design" if you want to be sardonic.




Foollee FLE-1

Mass: 30 tons
Tech Base: Inner Sphere
Chassis Config: Biped
Rules Level: Experimental Tech
Era: Renaissance
Tech Rating/Era Availability: D/X-C-C-C
Production Year: 2950
Dry Cost: 1,574,365 C-Bills
Total Cost: 1,574,365 C-Bills
Battle Value: 495

Chassis: Arcadia Arsenal Standard
Power Plant: Gienah Automotive 150 I.C.E.
Walking Speed: 54.0 km/h
Maximum Speed: 86.4 km/h
Jump Jets: None
   Jump Capacity: 0 meters
Armor: Arcadia Arsenal Standard Armor
Armament:
   1  Defiance B3M Medium Laser
   1  Defiance B3S Small Laser
Manufacturer: Selassie DefenseWorks
   Primary Factory: Arcadia
Communications System: Arcadia Arsenal MilComm-2950
Targeting and Tracking System: Arcadia Arsenal TTS-2950

Overview:
The Foollee - the title of a military recruit of the Oromo people of Arcadia's
Mull continent - was the very first domestic BattleMech design for Arcadia,
coming into service six years before the formation of the Arcadian Free
March.  Selassie DefenseWorks, founded after the Liberation to produce licensed
spare parts for the Arcadian Army, invested over a billion C-Bills worth of
Arcadian pound sterling into their new BattleMech factory in Finfinne on
Arcadia's Mull continent, as well as buying out a defunct IndustrialMech
factory on Nestor for the necessary toolings to produce myomer bundles.  The
result is a 'Mech with a mixed reputation; it proved to be easy on both pilots
and technicians, making it an excellent trainer, but it consumes fuel
prodigiously and mistakes made in the design cause the joint actuators to
become exposed during operation, reducing the design's military use. 
Nevertheless the production line continued until well into the Second Age of
War, culminating in something to the effect of six thousand units being
produced between 2950 and 3050, when Terran forces destroyed the production
lines during their efforts to conquer Arcadia.


Capabilities:
The Foollee was built as a training 'Mech in more than one way; it would
provide valuable experience to Selassie DefenseWorks' design teams and factory
personnel, and it would enable expanded training of new MechWarriors at a time
when every combat-capable fusion-powered 'Mech was needed in field service.  It
has a top speed of 86kph, five tons of standard armor plate so that it can take
a few hits, and a pair of Defiance lasers for armament, one on each arm.  The
150-rated internal combustion engine, specially ordered from Gienah Automotive,
includes four built-in heat sinks to provide the 'Mech the ability to dump the
heat generated by laser fire.  While the design has its flaws, it handles easy
for neophyte MechWarriors and MechTechs likewise find it easy to maintain due
to the care Selassie put into making the design's maintenance requirements easy
to meet.


Battle History:
While first and foremost a training machine, the Foollee has occasionally been
pressed into combat service as militia training.  An attempted pirate attack on
Arcadia in 2952 saw a lance of Foollees piloted by trainees participate in the
defense of Finfinne.  While terribly outmatched by the pirates, half of the
lance managed to survive the fight and bring down a pirate Wasp before a
company of the Arcadian Rangers arrived by DropShip to throw the raiders out. 
A number of Foollees were lost in the invasions of Arcadia in 3050 and 3099,
destroyed in general attacks on Arcadian military training facilities, and
there are cases of surviving machines being employed by militia and trainees
during those campaigns.


Deployment:
The surviving number of Foollees is believed to be about four hundred today. 
Most have been decommissioned and employed for war memorials or repurposed into WorkMechs of some sort.  A few mercenary companies have copies of the machine to use for backup training, but rarely use the machines unless they have a
cheap and easy supply of petroleum.  The AFRF has about fifty of the machines
still in service, all employed as training machines for militia MechWarriors
and MechTechs.


Variants:
While not official, some Foollees were modified to replace the lasers with
flamers and a ton of fuel for the weapons.  This makes the machine vulnerable
though as the interior of the torso was not designed with the space for the
fuel tank, so the tank itself is often exposed on the torso in some fashion.


Notable 'Mechs & MechWarriors:
Perhaps the most dramatic use of the Foollee was in 3050 by Corporal Michael
Poulastides of the 1st Arcadian March Militia Brigade.  Having lost his
originally assigned 'Mech to the Terran invasion, Poulastides was assigned a
Foollee temporarily and used on perimeter patrol in the MacDougal Forest Range,
near the 1st AMM's main field HQ after they were driven into the extreme
reaches of northern Islay by Terran forces.  On 18 October 3050, Poulastides
discovered a company of Terran 'Mechs and battle armor approaching his
position, the main thrust of a raid on the HQ itself.  While he was hopelessly
outmatched, he had one advantage in that the Foollee, due to parts shortages,
had been rigged up with vehicular flamer weapons instead of the standard
lasers.  Using the flamers he set fire to his position, fanning the flames
until the entire forest was ablaze.  The Terrans attempted to press through
anyway, but the flames overcame their infantry and left their 'Mechs
dangerously overheated, allowing him to slip away.  The blaze consumed an
entire section of the forest until weather conditions and controlled burns
brought it under control, but it forced the Terrans to abort the attack without
the element of surprise.  Poulastides was awarded an Arcadian Service Cross for
his actions and transferred to the 2nd Royal BattleMech Regiment for frontline
service.


================================================================================
Equipment          Type                        Rating                  Mass 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Internal Structure: Standard                     51 points               3.00
Engine:            I.C.E. Engine               150                     11.00
   Walking MP: 5
   Running MP: 8
   Jumping MP: 0
Heat Sinks:        Single Heat Sink            4                        4.00
Gyro:              Standard                                              2.00
Cockpit:           Standard                                              3.00
Power Amplifiers:                                                         0.50
   Actuators:     L: SH+UA+LA+H   R: SH+UA+LA+H
Armor:             Standard Armor              AV -  80                 5.00

                                                     Internal      Armor    
                                                     Structure     Factor   
                                               Head    3           9       
                                       Center Torso    10          12      
                                Center Torso (rear)                 3       
                                          L/R Torso    7           10      
                                   L/R Torso (rear)                 2       
                                            L/R Arm    5           7       
                                            L/R Leg    7           9       

================================================================================
Equipment                                Location   Heat   Critical   Mass 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Medium Laser                                RA       3        1        1.00
Small Laser                                 LA       1        1        0.50
                                           Free Critical Slots: 45

BattleForce Statistics
MV     S (+0)  M (+2)  L (+4)  E (+6)   Wt.   Ov   Armor:     3   Points: 5
5         1      1      0      0     1    0   Structure:  3
Special Abilities: ENE, SRCH, EE, ES, SEAL, SOA