Alternate heat sink rules designs

[ANS Kamas P81]

This is an attempt to explore some alternate heat sink rules.  Please see this topic for more.

Thunderbolt TDR-5S
Base Tech Level: Special HS Rules

Weight: 65 tons
BV: 1,335
Cost: 5,413,760 C-bills
Source: TRO 3039 - Age of War
Role: Brawler

Movement: 4/6
Engine: 260
Heat Sinks: 15
Gyro: Standard Gyro

Internal: 104
Armor: 208/211
                     Internal  Armor   
----------------------------------------
Head                        3      9   
Center Torso               21     30   
Center Torso (rear)               11   
Right Torso                15     24   
Right Torso (rear)                 6   
Left Torso                 15     24   
Left Torso (rear)                  6   
Right Arm                  10     20   
Left Arm                   10     20   
Right Leg                  15     29   
Left Leg                   15     29   

Weapons       Loc  Heat 
-------------------------
Machine Gun    LA    0   
Machine Gun    LA    0   
Large Laser    RA    8   
Medium Laser   LT    3   
Medium Laser   LT    3   
Medium Laser   LT    3   
LRM 15         RT    5   
SRM 2          RT    2   

Ammo              Loc  Shots 
------------------------------
Machine Gun Ammo   LA    200 
SRM 2 Ammo         RT     50 
LRM 15 Ammo        CT      8 
LRM 15 Ammo        CT      8 

Heat Sinks       Loc
----------------------
2 Heat Sinks       RA
2 Heat Sinks       LA
4 Heat Sinks       RT
2 Heat Sinks       LT
2 Heat Sinks       RL
2 Heat Sinks       LL
Heat Sink          H

It's a brawler, so it's gonna get in close.  HS placement was across the board to help pad things out, especially the ammo - the LA has a 1/9 chance of striking the ammunition, while the RT has the same.  As well, a couple extra HS pad out the lasers, giving the LT a little more structure to absorb crits from going inwards.  It doesn't do much that's special, since it's SHS only, but filling it all the HS definitively improves survival without changing numbers at all.  Perhaps BV will need to be adjusted slightly, because of that survival change, but that would apply to all designs.

Introducing XL HS instead of the much larger DHS changes things for 3050 drastically.

Thunderbolt TDR-7M
Base Tech Level: Special HS Rules

Weight: 65 tons
BV: 1,495
Cost: 6,093,560 C-bills
Source: Clan Invasion
Role: Brawler

Movement: 4/6
Engine: 260
Double Heat Sinks: 15 [30]
Gyro: Standard Gyro

Internal: 104
Armor: 206/211 (Ferro-Fibrous)
                     Internal  Armor   
----------------------------------------
Head                        3      9   
Center Torso               21     30   
Center Torso (rear)               11   
Right Torso                15     24   
Right Torso (rear)                 6   
Left Torso                 15     24   
Left Torso (rear)                  6   
Right Arm                  10     20   
Left Arm                   10     20   
Right Leg                  15     28   
Left Leg                   15     28   

Weapons         Loc  Heat 
---------------------------
Machine Gun      LA    0   
Machine Gun      LA    0   
ER Large Laser   RA   12   
Medium Laser     LT    3   
Medium Laser     LT    3   
Medium Laser     LT    3   
Streak SRM 2     LT    2   
LRM 15           RT    5   

Ammo               Loc  Shots 
-------------------------------
LRM 15 Ammo         LT      8 
LRM 15 Ammo         LT      8 
Machine Gun Ammo    LT    200 
Streak SRM 2 Ammo   RT     50 

Equipment  Loc 
----------------
CASE        LT 
CASE        RT

Heat Sinks       Loc
----------------------
5 Heat Sinks       LA
6 Heat Sinks       RT
3 Heat Sinks       LT
Heat Sink          CT

Pulling the 5 DHS from the TDR-7M is easy enough.  It's got a total of 16 critical slots left over, which is enough for 15 of its SHS, or 14 plus two XLFE.  You'd have to pull the FF armor to get extra crit slots, which cuts you down 1.5 tons for the same protection with standard plate.  But, if you switch to all-XLFE, you can just barely cram in 30 of them for some pretty solid heat dissipation - there's 16 crits before you remove the 14 for FF, and it just nicely fits the original profile as well as ends up with 208 points of armor and being fully critpacked.

I should fill out some blank RS to really show how this works.

[Daryk]

Are you using the 2 crit or 1 crit version of "XL" HS?  My original thought was to simply refit 3025 'mechs with the 2-crit version and see how they shook out.

[ANS Kamas P81]

The two-crit one-ton version could work, but I like the one-ton half-crit idea a bit more - they're easier to slot in places, and are simply lighter rather than both bulkier and more effective.  That said, you'd end up with the same overall effect I suppose. 

[Daryk]

Two-crits one-ton is a clan DHS.  The version I was mentioning was the two-crit half-ton kind (that sinks one heat).

[ANS Kamas P81]

But with crits being so...well, critical, doublespace ones at half a ton REALLY hurt.  You're getting a good weight savings, but if you're having to apply ALL HS, that's...at most, 6 in each side torso, 1 in each leg and CT, and 4 in each arm.  Sinking one heat each, that's 23 heat dissipation...but literally zero room for weapons.

I suppose splitting the difference and making each improved heat sink weigh 3/4 of a ton could be a thing; you get some savings but not a whole lot and your superhot energy weapons aren't going to be popular...

[Daryk]

I was also working from 3025 as a baseline, so it wasn't that bad.