Mech design decisions that make no sense

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

I don't think that they can.

It's why advanced SRMs were developed for Battle Armor.

[CrossfirePilot]

The original Atlas, it was fluffed as its LRM 20 being a rapid fire LRM 5.  Why not build it that way? with 4 LRM5s instead of the LRM20?

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

Because it was just a fluff description of a different type of LRM 20.

[Daryk]

More heat too...

[Starfury]

Plus you have to make more to hit rolls, and there are already enough multi-LRM boats out there. The mech design I want to know about is the Jenner. Why did it take until the Dark Ages to produce an obvious upgrade in the form of the Havoc for the Combine's primary light mech?

[Daryk]

Because the JR7-F was just that good?

[The_Caveman]

Whoa, a recent Kurita design that isn't horribly weebed out? No samurai armor? No ridiculous melee weapon? I'm in.

[Scotty]

Whoa, a recent Kurita design that isn't horribly weebed out? No samurai armor? No ridiculous melee weapon? I'm in.

That's the joke.  It's a Marik design.

[Sartris]

Because the JR7-F was just that good?

i'm guessing it was more "LAW kept having their factories blown to shit every year after 3052"

[Luciora]

It looks like a robo-armadillo.

Whoa, a recent Kurita design that isn't horribly weebed out? No samurai armor? No ridiculous melee weapon? I'm in.

[The_Caveman]

That's the joke.  It's a Marik design.

Oh, that just makes it even worse.

House Kurita is the theme park version of Japan in space, fine. That's part of the fun. But post-3058 House Kurita is the theme park version of House Kurita. That an obvious upgrade to one of their classic units gets passed off to a different faction so they can have stuff like this is just insult on top of injury.

[Caedis Animus]

Oh, that just makes it even worse.

House Kurita is the theme park version of Japan in space, fine. That's part of the fun. But post-3058 House Kurita is the theme park version of House Kurita. That an obvious upgrade to one of their classic units gets passed off to a different faction so they can have stuff like this is just insult on top of injury.

I mean, there is the Tenshi, a pretty solid assault omni. That's not super ******.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

The Avalanche wasn't excessively totemic, either.  But it also wasn't very interesting.

[deathfrombeyond]

House Kurita is the theme park version of Japan in space, fine. That's part of the fun. But post-3058 House Kurita is the theme park version of House Kurita. That an obvious upgrade to one of their classic units gets passed off to a different faction so they can have stuff like this is just insult on top of injury.

There are always the "awesome" Combo 'Mechs.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

What? Do they come with fries and a drink or something?

[Sartris]

There are always the "awesome" Combo 'Mechs.

i hate you

[Weirdo]

++mod notice++

"******" bad. Find another unrelated word. Capisce?

[Caedis Animus]

Is Japanophilic a better word for House Kurita mech design/philosophy?

[The_Caveman]

Is Japanophilic a better word for House Kurita mech design/philosophy?

How about "Cringeworthy"? "Self-parodic"? "One-note"?

Post-XinSheng Capellan stuff is a little goofy but at least it wasn't a sudden swan-dive into robot cosplay.

[deathfrombeyond]

What? Do they come with fries and a drink or something?

The unstoppable combo of massed Streak SRMs on a 2/3 chassis.

[dgorsman]

New BA designs that transform into hand held weapons and neural interface cockpits on super-heavy Mechs?

[glitterboy2098]

You mean aside from the streak craze of the fifties?

in theory the Streak-2 missiles on so many refits and new builds of the 50's would be to allow the mechs to operate longer behind enemy lines on clan worlds and in anti-clan hit and run campaigns on the frontlines. since they don't expend the ammo all that rapidly, letting a unit go longer between reloadings.

in practice most of those designs were terrible (and not all because of the missiles either) and didn't offer enough actual advantage in combat to warrant the change in SRM type, and the reduction in firepower combined with the advantage the clans had in tech usually meant the mechs didn't last long enough to actually make use of the streaks.

[Caedis Animus]

How about "Cringeworthy"? "Self-parodic"? "One-note"?

Post-XinSheng Capellan stuff is a little goofy but at least it wasn't a sudden swan-dive into robot cosplay.

As fine as I am with the 'theme' mechs such as the Shiro and Hatamoto-Chi, I have to imagine the whole "Samurai Regalia" thing is just a parade thing.

I have half a mind to get a Hatamoto-Suna miniature and file off the 'Helmet', back flags, and 'Crotchguard' and paint it in desert camo or an experimental paint job just to have a non-Samurai model, because I agree, the line is pretty overdone at this point, just like Jade Falcon birds.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

The Falcons at least have the excuse of being lead by someone who's actually insane.

[Colt Ward]

All the MWDA 'new' designs went totem- the Falcons went birdy, Bears got human skulls to continue the Clan Punisher joke, the Wolves got a wolf's head (Wulfen, Warwolf, Carnivore tank, etc), Dracs went more Samurai (hello swords!), Davions went full Knighthood with sheilds on the Black Knights (but stripped Pauldrons on the Temp III) and Centurion OD, MoC got female BA, and other 'visual' cues about the origins of the minis.

CGL art decreased or softened the symbolism but it still had to be present.

[Luciora]

That certainly helped my personal dislike of the mwda designs.  Much of the totem-ism added alot of extraneous bits and kibble or just threw off the aesthetics for me.  Also the overall tonka truck look and impossibly small and shaped cockpits, why hi there, Jupiter.

All the MWDA 'new' designs went totem- the Falcons went birdy, Bears got human skulls to continue the Clan Punisher joke, the Wolves got a wolf's head (Wulfen, Warwolf, Carnivore tank, etc), Dracs went more Samurai (hello swords!), Davions went full Knighthood with sheilds on the Black Knights (but stripped Pauldrons on the Temp III) and Centurion OD, MoC got female BA, and other 'visual' cues about the origins of the minis.

CGL art decreased or softened the symbolism but it still had to be present.

[grimlock1]

That certainly helped my personal dislike of the mwda designs.  Much of the totem-ism added alot of extraneous bits and kibble or just threw off the aesthetics for me.  Also the overall tonka truck look and impossibly small and shaped cockpits, why hi there, Jupiter.

And also gave us some designs that were from way out in left field, also known as "artistic restraint," such as the Hellstar.  It looks like exactly the uninspired death-brick that it is.

[Colt Ward]

One I missed was the second trend among the FedSuns was the little foxhead/face mechs & BA.

Yeah, we do get a lot of MW4 looking functional look between the factions too.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

I'm just glad the Lyrans only built the Eisenfaust and didn't make a trend of building mechs with big hands.

[Kit deSummersville]

While Catalyst writers have tried to be completionist on everything, they haven't followed up with some of the older designs.  The Exterminator got left out, and it probably shouldn't have.

I wonder if anyone has read the entry on it in TRO 3050 Upgrade....