Author Topic: Vehicle Flamer  (Read 1911 times)

beachhead1985

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Vehicle Flamer
« on: 13 February 2020, 20:49:47 »
Hello. This came up in the Literally-unseen thread I created.

When were Vehicle Flamers first introduced into the game?

We are trying to rationalize differing descriptions of Flamers by various writers over the years.


Thanks for your time.
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Adrian Gideon

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Re: Vehicle Flamer
« Reply #1 on: 14 February 2020, 09:10:37 »
Last century.
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beachhead1985

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Re: Vehicle Flamer
« Reply #2 on: 14 February 2020, 17:12:03 »
No, I meant more like; In what book?

Kind of like how the very earliest products had only the one type of autocannon?
Epitaph on an Army of Mercenaries

These, in the day when heaven was falling,      Their shoulders held the sky suspended;
The hour when earth's foundations fled,         They stood, and earth's foundations stay;
Followed their mercenary calling,               What God abandoned, these defended,
And took their wages, and are dead.             And saved the sum of things for pay.
     
A.E. Housman

Adrian Gideon

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Re: Vehicle Flamer
« Reply #3 on: 14 February 2020, 18:04:37 »
BattleTech Compendium, I believe.
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beachhead1985

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Re: Vehicle Flamer
« Reply #4 on: 17 February 2020, 22:43:42 »
BattleTech Compendium, I believe.

That is very interesting, because that comes well after TRO 3026 in 1987ish, which had the Behemoth and J.Edgar Flamer variants.

Were flamers originally handled differently under the rules than they are now? As in a ballistic weapon without ammo that produced heat in mechs, but not for vehicles?

This would explain many fluff descriptions of flamers in the early works.
Epitaph on an Army of Mercenaries

These, in the day when heaven was falling,      Their shoulders held the sky suspended;
The hour when earth's foundations fled,         They stood, and earth's foundations stay;
Followed their mercenary calling,               What God abandoned, these defended,
And took their wages, and are dead.             And saved the sum of things for pay.
     
A.E. Housman

Adrian Gideon

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Re: Vehicle Flamer
« Reply #5 on: 18 February 2020, 07:18:06 »
Yup.
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beachhead1985

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Re: Vehicle Flamer
« Reply #6 on: 18 February 2020, 07:25:14 »
So, my theory above is correct?
Epitaph on an Army of Mercenaries

These, in the day when heaven was falling,      Their shoulders held the sky suspended;
The hour when earth's foundations fled,         They stood, and earth's foundations stay;
Followed their mercenary calling,               What God abandoned, these defended,
And took their wages, and are dead.             And saved the sum of things for pay.
     
A.E. Housman

Adrian Gideon

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Re: Vehicle Flamer
« Reply #7 on: 18 February 2020, 07:38:16 »
Well…you can call it a theory, but you’re just discovering how it all played out. Flamers were just flamers. Soon after, construction rules were changed so that ammo was required if you didn’t have a fusion engine since it was repeated fluffed that way.

Despite popular opinion, BattleTech rules did change over their lifespan, and the biggest changes happened in the first five years.
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beachhead1985

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Re: Vehicle Flamer
« Reply #8 on: 18 February 2020, 21:24:17 »
I never knew that one, before! I only stumbled on the Autocannon-thing by accident.

Thanks a ton!
Epitaph on an Army of Mercenaries

These, in the day when heaven was falling,      Their shoulders held the sky suspended;
The hour when earth's foundations fled,         They stood, and earth's foundations stay;
Followed their mercenary calling,               What God abandoned, these defended,
And took their wages, and are dead.             And saved the sum of things for pay.
     
A.E. Housman

cray

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Re: Vehicle Flamer
« Reply #9 on: 03 March 2020, 18:20:42 »
Well…you can call it a theory, but you’re just discovering how it all played out. Flamers were just flamers. Soon after, construction rules were changed so that ammo was required if you didn’t have a fusion engine since it was repeated fluffed that way.

Even 'Mechs (like the Firestarter) were fluffed as carrying fuel for flamers, though no ammo was listed.

After flipping through CityTech, The Rules of Warfare, and the Compendium, I agree: I think it was the 1990 Compendium that introduced ammo-using vehicle flamers.
Mike Miller, Materials Engineer

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Disclaimer: Anything stated in this post is unofficial and non-canon unless directly quoted from a published book. Random internet musings of a BattleTech writer are not canon.