'Mech of the Week: Cyclops

[Orin J.]

We do have a design board.

but that requires actually checking the math! i don't know about you but i never bother to hammer the details of a redesign out until i think i'm going to use it, it gives it more of a "and before you give the plans to production, the board wants-" sense of realism to it.


but as long was we're talking about reworking it....can the SRM-4 be removed and put to better use? i mean on the one hand, it does let the Cyclops poke at the holes that Autocannon is going to make, but....it's already got so much fire in that range bracket, maybe you can boost the LRM rack or something with the tonnage instead? or even just more armor? d'you think this damages its combat profile too much?

[Arkansas Warrior]

I like pulling the SRM to up the LRM to 15.  MMLs would be an interesting conversion later.  I should fire up skunkworks and look at that...

[garhkal]

Or dropping the LRM and SRM entirely and going with 2 er large lasers and a little more armor.

[Weirdo]

It doesn't matter if the math is good or not. Fan designs and refits belong in the fan design forum. [copper]

[Arkansas Warrior]

Link to my design thread

[Fear Factory]

The Cyclops is a Hunchback pilot's dream.  It has the same armor (160 points), only now it has some extra guns, a command computer, and physical attacks that cause a heck of a lot more damage.  I've had a lot of success with them.

[Greatclub]

I had an opportunity to use the  11-C2. Thing is first class for a double master, surpassed only by the sunder B. I can't even complain (much) about the armour, since a company master being in a position to be shot means you're using it wrong.

My one complaint is the streak SRM launcher. I think I'd prefer the ability to use specialty ammo, like fragmentation or (Especially) smoke.

[Hellraiser]

Holy 8 year Threadcromancy Batman!!!

[Hellraiser]

Number Nine
   Our number nine finisher is an oddity among Cylopses but could be one of the best machines to fill its original role. Lacking the Zeus Autocannon, the CP-10-Q provides durable, if less than potent, fire support. By dropping the cannon, this version adds a second set of ten LRM tubes with two more tons of ammunition along with two heat sinks to make most heat worries vanish. Perhaps most impressively, this variant piles on the armor, sporting just shy of fifteen tons of thick armor, almost a fifty percent increase over the primary model.
   What does this one lack? Pop, for one. At ninety tons, few heavy 'Mechs will be scared by twenty missiles or the short range firepower that rivals a light 'Mech's, with just twothree lasers and four SRM tubes. The 10-Q may be able to coordinate the battle and keep its pilot safe, but as a threat on the modern battlefield, it lands with a thud.

Someone mentioned the Laser & you corrected that, but, there are a few other things wrong.

1.  Its 3 more tons of LRM ammo, so 24 shots per Rack.
2.  Its 7 more tons of Armor to be only 1/2 ton short of Max.

[Hellraiser]

A belief I've held for - ten years now? About that long - is that the ORIGINAL production Cyclops, the one that came out of the Terran factories, came with a Gauss Rifle; after the factory was destroyed and the 1SW, the GR was ripped out and replaced with the AC/20 we all know and... don't mind.

Of course, this is backed up by exactly nothing in the canon, and in fact is outright contradicted, but I like the notion anyway.

One of the 'Mechs the players had in the Kentares IV campaign I ran was a Cyclops equipped in just such a way; it actually turned out to be quite valuable. It died, of course, but not before headcapping an Archer from across the battlefield.

Just field the 11A as a "custom" ride while using a "canon" record sheet.
Someone out there in 2765 much have thought of the idea prior to the 3045 canon intro date of the 11A.

Its a Class-A refit for the gauss, but the ammo swap for the LRM I think makes its C over all, either way its not Factory grade & you can do it in a repair bay or less.

[Giovanni Blasini]

Can't believe I didn't comment on this History Channel writeup the first time through. Still sad we didn't get a writeup of the CP-10-HQ.

[Hellraiser]

Can't believe I didn't comment on this History Channel writeup the first time through. Still sad we didn't get a writeup of the CP-10-HQ.

Read the #6 entry, the last paragraph includes mentions of 3 models that didn't make the top 10 & it is one of them.

[Giovanni Blasini]

Yes, but it's summed up as "dedicated vehicle better" without talking about how to use one if you do have one.

[DragonKhan55]

Wonder if we'll ever get a new write-up for the Clan refit of the Cyclops from Recognition Guide: ilClan, vol. 21.

[Middcore]

The stock CP-10-Z makes near-total sense for the role it's fluffed for. It's not so slow most units will be held up by the CO. It can contribute to a long-range firing line and shoot back if caught in the open, but most of its weapons are for last-ditch defense, and the AC/20 can simply end a lot of potential speedy headhunters. It doesn't have a lot of armor because it's expected to have bodyguards and it's not expected to get in sustained engagements. Really for its ostensible design purpose the only thing I can fault is the overabundance of autocannon ammo, 3 tons is borderline but 4 is nuts, if it's in a fight that long things have gone hideously awry. Two more tons of armor instead of two tons of ammo would have almost bumped it up roughly into "acceptable for a 3025 assault" territory without encouraging reckless behavior by "hands-on" officers, I think, and even additional heat sinks arguably would have made more sense than 20 autocannon shots although I guess there's some value to being able to say "So that's an 11 to-hit? Yeah sure what the hey."

Of course, there is limited value to having a dedicated command 'Mech that can be expressed in record sheets and dice rolls, and there was virtually none at all for the majority of the game's existence that took place before the invention of official rules for quirks.

[Weirdo]

You could always say that in addition to being a command ride the Cyclops is also a logistical one. It's capable of carrying ammo for your Victors and Hunchbacks through terrain unsuitable for J-27s, whether that's due to environmental conditions, or excessive enemies. :thumbsup:

[VensersRevenge]

I feel like carrying excess ammunition and carrying a commander should be mutually exclusive, unless we're talking top tier awful social generals.

[Middcore]

You could always say that in addition to being a command ride the Cyclops is also a logistical one. It's capable of carrying ammo for your Victors and Hunchbacks through terrain unsuitable for J-27s, whether that's due to environmental conditions, or excessive enemies. :thumbsup:

And the 'Mech jocks are going to hop out and transfer rounds by hand, I suppose?  :D

[Jellico]

Wonder if we'll ever get a new write-up for the Clan refit of the Cyclops from Recognition Guide: ilClan, vol. 21.

It is a mix of the CP-10-Z and CP-11-G. It combines 160 points of armor with an Endo chassis but manages to be slower. All the missiles are now Streak. ER Lasers in the arms. There is a Gauss Rifle sitting with two tons of ammo on a massive CASEII protected torso bomb that has a nasty habit of killing pilots as soon as the torso is breached.
That said it offers capability similar to an Atlas AS7-K for a lot fewer C-Bills and much lower running costs.

[Kerfuffin(925)]

I thought it’s armor distribution was unique I guess you could say. It has weirdly weak limbs, but the toros have a fair amount of armor when you account for the doubling.

[Scotty]

It's identical to the original Cyclops in points and layout, the only difference is that it's Hardened instead.

[Kerfuffin(925)]

Well that’s an improvement then. Still kinda funky, although the arms don’t carry much so they won’t be missed too much.

[Jellico]

The armor of both a riff on the original Cyclops and an experiment. Because of its size the Cyclops is able to allocate its armor in a very different way to a medium Mech. In this case the arms are basically ablative while the torso gets reasonably solid armor. As a technique this disappeared with weight saving technology and the realisation that armor is cheap for its effect.

Hardened Armor allows you to over armor locations and replicate the effect. In this case the 320 points of armor over armor the torso compared to a traditional assault. Will this prove more effective than blanket coverage? Future play will tell.

[Weirdo]

And the 'Mech jocks are going to hop out and transfer rounds by hand, I suppose?  :D

I said it would carry the ammo, not load it. Loading is what field crews are for, though if we're honest, the mechjocks *can* do it themselves in a pinch. The only real difference is that superiors sometimes actually listen when Mechwarriors complain about doing grunt work.

[Luciora]

I have a fondness for the Cyclops, because it was the only surviving mech of my entire original collection from the Oakland Hills fire.  For some odd reason I had brought it with me to on a trip I took that day for family.   Also memorable for a game where I made a custom version carrying an arrow launcher for on board shenanigans.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

I just got the Inner Sphere Support Lance yesterday and noticed that the new Cyclops is large and powerful looking.

I feel that this is false advertising.  ;)

In seriousness, I've only used the Cyclops once, in a scenario where our team was trying to reach an evac point before being overwhelmed.  The Cyclops was a stock 3025 config that just didn't have the speed to evade enemy mechs or the armor to survive them.

[wildkadabra]

The CP-10-Z is a mech that I love to use in later eras a lot more than some of its more modern variants. The option to use different types of ammo makes it into a fantastic swiss army knife. As a Commamd mech I relegate it to a support role with smoke srms to provide its own cover and park it in heavy woods for a delicious commulative +4 defensive bonus. The LRM can then provide more smoke for advancing allies or whatever type of ammo you fancy. Four tons of AC20 ammo sudddnly becomes very attractive to bring precision ammo, allowing you to comfortably deal with any would be head hunters. With this kit my Clops can comfortably hang back giving my units init bonus while providing strong support.

In the Succession Wars I can just imagine Liao assigning Cyclops to those it didnt like but couldnt outright publicly get rid of, a situation going somewhat like this:

"Congratulations you have been promoted, abandon your Vindicator you are being assigned an assault mech now."

"Sweet! What am I getting?! An Atlas? A Battlemaster?"

"You are getting a Cyclops."

"Ohhh...."

[BrianDavion]

The CP-10-Z is a mech that I love to use in later eras a lot more than some of its more modern variants. The option to use different types of ammo makes it into a fantastic swiss army knife. As a Commamd mech I relegate it to a support role with smoke srms to provide its own cover and park it in heavy woods for a delicious commulative +4 defensive bonus. The LRM can then provide more smoke for advancing allies or whatever type of ammo you fancy. Four tons of AC20 ammo sudddnly becomes very attractive to bring precision ammo, allowing you to comfortably deal with any would be head hunters. With this kit my Clops can comfortably hang back giving my units init bonus while providing strong support.

In the Succession Wars I can just imagine Liao assigning Cyclops to those it didnt like but couldnt outright publicly get rid of, a situation going somewhat like this:

"Congratulations you have been promoted, abandon your Vindicator you are being assigned an assault mech now."

"Sweet! What am I getting?! An Atlas? A Battlemaster?"

"You are getting a Cyclops."

"Ohhh...."

nah the Liaos had a charger varient for that :D

[Atarlost]

It doesn't have a lot of armor because it's expected to have bodyguards and it's not expected to get in sustained engagements.

If you're depending on having bodyguards so you don't need armor you also don't need weapons.  Indeed, you need weapons even less.  Your bodyguards can shoot nearby targets for you but they can't control bomb and artillery drift so they're the ones taking hits for you.  A good dedicated command mech should be carrying as much armor as possible at least on the torso and legs before it even thinks about weapons. 

[BrianDavion]

best refit for the cyclops 10Z, drop the AC 20 for an AC 5, adjust armor to about 17 tons or so.

makes the mech tougher, and while it loses it's "damn big gun" the AC 5 gives it more long range firepower to defend at a distance, instead of trying, and failing, to be a faster Atlas