Mech of the Week - Supernova.

[Sjhernan3060]

Update: it was produced on Brim in the homeworlds which was claimed by the spirits, cloud cobras etc. By the end of the WoR, the cobras had sole control. Assuming the brim factory was not wrecked it should still be in production.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

According to Sarna, the homeworld factories that produced the Supernova were located on Barcella and Brim and as of 3085 were in the possession of the Coyotes and Cloud Cobras, respectively.

[Caedis Animus]

No, the Hellstar player laughs when the blue shield burns out before the Quasimodo ever gets into range to use it's own weapons.  ;)

I've seen it happen.

Then the Quasimodo was doing it wrong.

Also, context is incredibly important.

[Colt Ward]

You would not turn on Blueshield at long range, your TSM & movement mods are what get you across into a range you can work on the Hellstar.

[TheBrokenLance]

Sorry for the thread necro, but I couldn't help but remark on how similar the chassis of the Supernova looks to the old FWLM Hector.  More than that, the armament is similar - big laser cannons in the arms as the major offensive punch.  An accident of history?  Or might there have been some old Hector blueprints in one of the SLDF archives the Clans inherited? 

[Ryumyo]

TheBrokenLance, the SLDF, as part of preparing for the Exodus, took complete copies of the schematics of all known, in use or proposed BattleMech designs including historical machines from the Age of War. For example the Kuritan Dragon specs were used to develop the Great Wyrm second - line machine. TRO 3060 has the details if you want to know more...

So, yeah. It is entirely possible. Interesting to see the similarities between the two Mechs in a side - by - side comparison too.

About the Supernova, I do like the arms ( and their stacked weapon barrel design ) of the original artwork and wish that it had been made into pewter but can see why the '3058 edition is the one in canon ( cannon? ) and metal. The barrel arraignment of the '58 oozes reaching out and touching someone with a long finger of light ( or several ) while the Invading Clans artwork just says " Brutality in a Box " functionality. At the least , that's my take on it...

[glitterboy2098]

do you have a copy of of that original art? because it isn't on Sarna and i wasn't aware there was anything before the TRO3058 art.

[Liam's Ghost]

do you have a copy of of that original art? because it isn't on Sarna and i wasn't aware there was anything before the TRO3058 art.

Invading clans sourcebook. The arms are significantly different, and overall the design is more angular rather than rounded.

[Arkansas Warrior]

The MAD-9M and -9M2 also have a similar look.  Also the MAD-4X prototype.

[TheBrokenLance]

TheBrokenLance, the SLDF, as part of preparing for the Exodus, took complete copies of the schematics of all known, in use or proposed BattleMech designs including historical machines from the Age of War. For example the Kuritan Dragon specs were used to develop the Great Wyrm second - line machine. TRO 3060 has the details if you want to know more...

So, yeah. It is entirely possible. Interesting to see the similarities between the two Mechs in a side - by - side comparison too.

Thanks for the update.  I'm grateful to both the in-universe and out-of-universe designers; the sleek torso reminiscent of a fighter jet fuselage is a sexy look, and it's cool to see on both historical and current designs.  However, from an in-universe perspective resurrecting the Hector was an interesting move from whatever Nova Cat 'mech designers produced the Supernova.  Unlike the Dragon, which was brand new at the fall of the Star League and good enough to be a mainstay of the DCMS for centuries, the Hector was comparatively ancient, disliked even in its own time, had exposed actuators, and went extinct by the end of the Age of War.   Still, it's hard to argue with the results; the Supernova is a beautiful machine, aesthetically, logistically, and in terms of battlefield performance.

[Ryumyo]

You are welcome TheBrokenLance.

[Sjhernan3060]

I don't know, they may not have bothered making further variants just because the Supernova was a cheap and powerful design, which would allow them to funnel resources to other projects.

I would think post WOR this design and similar tough as nails but cheap to build units like it would be dusted off in the homeworlds...

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

The post you quoted was not about the Homeworlds, which was something that was discussed later in in the thread.

[Sjhernan3060]

Thanks for the update.  the Supernova is a beautiful machine, aesthetically, logistically, and in terms of battlefield performance.

And with that you endorsement I will have to order one for my blood guard keshik!

[Vonshroom]

Absolutely beautiful mech, both the design and the models (The MW3 Version hooked me). I love the simplicity of all one weapon type, range bracket, and zombie flashbulb design.

The fact that the cost is on par with IS intro - tech assault mechs is also quite alluring. Always wanted to do a campaign with a backstory about a clan second line star commander.

Honestly, this thing beats the pants off most clan assault omnis.

[Zeruel]

do you have a copy of of that original art? because it isn't on Sarna and i wasn't aware there was anything before the TRO3058 art.

they look more like Timber Wolf or Marauder arms...well the gun pod, the upper arms, rather than being tubular, are thick and boxy

[Istal_Devalis]

I'm actually a bit surprised it's not up on Sarna. But it's not the best quality art either. Here ya go. This is how it looks in Invading Clans.

[Luciora]

Those look like modifed Linebacker arms.  I prefer the revised look of the arms.

I'm actually a bit surprised it's not up on Sarna. But it's not the best quality art either. Here ya go. This is how it looks in Invading Clans.

[Zeruel]

I prefer the revised look of the arms.

I would agree here, the original design looks like that third laser in each arm was almost added as an afterthought, just slapping it on on the bottom
I feel the newer arm design is much more unique

[Jellico]

Remember for a while there lots of Clan Mechs shared parts of the 3050 Omnis.

[Istal_Devalis]

I actually like boxy arms over the radial look, but I do think I'd prefer it if they were more like the Timber Wolf's arms.

This could be a good basis for how the Supernova 3 or 4's weapon layout looks, though.

[SteelRaven]

The one thing I do like about The Invading Clans artwork is that the artist, Gary Opasinski I believe, got the weapons a little closer to to the weapon pods of the 3050 omnis (well, except for the walking-surfboard Ebon Jag)

[Zeruel]

Remember for a while there lots of Clan Mechs shared parts of the 3050 Omnis.

I can think of quite a few 3050 Omnis that shared parts, but I don't recall any standard BattleMechs sharing parts with any of the Omnis...

[SteelRaven]

They would be using the same weapon pars, just not weapon pods or limbs as omnis.

Really, I'm just looking for consistency BT never had from TRO to TRO. Something the new art is doing well thanks to a more clear art direction and better technology (3D models insuring that the Large Lasers are at least in the ball park in terms of scale)   

[Colt Ward]

Bit of necro after I learned something today . . .



RecGuide 13 gave us a delightful revisit to the original Supernova which the Spirit Cats started building on Angell II though much of the initial product runs have gone to the Sea Foxes to repay the cost of upgrading the factory.  Older original Supernovas could also be upgraded to the 5, they would just get a new skeleton and need more armor to match this version. 

Still sporting the 6 Clan ER Large Lasers, the changes to this design are all inside.  Like I mentioned before, the old standard structure is exchanged for Endo to save some weight along with the removal of two DHS.  While the mech can no longer run and constantly fire 4 cERLLs w/o heat build up, it now has the opportunity to go four turns in a row firing all six cERLL . . . which is a LOT of damage output at range for that period of burst damage.  How does it do it?  The freed up mass of the two heatsinks and conversion to EndoSteel allowed the Cats to increase the armor by two & a half tons while placing four Coolant Pods in the torso to get that burst of extra damage.  While I might have preferred RHS, which would be a straight trade, unfortunately that equipment is not included in BMM.

The only real question I have about the design is that with a DHS in each foot, if the Supernova 5 is standing in water and triggers a coolant pod do those DHS flush 4 heat or 5 heat; 2 base, +1 for water, + 50% for Coolant Pod =4.5, round up or down?  Or was it a DHS would dissipate 4 in water?

Anyone use this yet?

[Scotty]

Coolant Pods aren't a % of anything, you get 1 additional dissipation per heat sink.  20 Single Heat Sink becomes 40 dissipation, 10 Double Heat Sink becomes 30 dissipation, etc.

[Colt Ward]

The rule citation on Sarna that I had available said 100% of SHS and 50% of DHS, I am not sure why they would put it that way rather than what TacOps says.

Point still comes down to, checking TW pg 159 by my, it says an additional -2 per DHS underwater though the max is -6 . . . if the pod makes it effectively a -3 and water doubles the effect to get that -6 heat . . . coolant pods and RHS are the only way I could see it getting the -6 heat dissipation per DHS in water.

[Scotty]

Coolant Pods are wholly unaffected by water, and do not care what location the heat sinks are in, and also do not count to the external heat dissipation cap.

The way you get to 6 extra dissipation is by either being a quad or being fully submerged.  It is an irrelevant detail here.

[Jal Phoenix]

Never cared much for the 'Mech, but I am a fan of how an image link on the first post has changed since it was made in 2016, and now shows a cheese plate from Disney Food Blog.

[SteelRaven]

Never cared much for the 'Mech, but I am a fan of how an image link on the first post has changed since it was made in 2016, and now shows a cheese plate from Disney Food Blog.