So I figured I'll start sharing some designs from the Concertverse AU. Because I have a lot. So many that in my google docs I actually split them up into four TROs by era - TRO: 3030, TRO: 3060, TRO: 3120, and TRO: 3142 - because the app was choking on the single document due to length. Even did the same on AO3. But for the sake of this forum I'll just go with one thread.
Not going to do the ToCs though.
To start with, let's go with a design that would be very familiar to canon.
Mad Cat MD-CPT-1Mass: 75 tons
Tech Base: Inner Sphere
Chassis Config: Biped
Rules Level: Tournament Legal
Era: Renaissance
Tech Rating/Era Availability: E/X-X-E-D
Production Year: 3027
Dry Cost: 15,597,750 C-Bills
Total Cost: 15,717,750 C-Bills
Battle Value: 1,775
Chassis: Arcadia Arsenal Standard
Power Plant: RussTech FusionWorks 300 Fusion XL Engine
Walking Speed: 43.2 km/h
Maximum Speed: 64.8 km/h
Jump Jets: None
Jump Capacity: 0 meters
Armor: Arcadia Arsenal Standard Armor
Armament:
2 Reddington Longbow-15s w/ Artemis IV FCS
2 Vickers-Armstrong Mk. 8 (ER Large) Lasers
2 Vickers-Armstrong Mk. 10 (ER Medium) Lasers
Manufacturer: Selassie DefenseWorks
Primary Factory: Arcadia
Communications System: RussTech MilComm
Targeting and Tracking System: RussTech TarTrack
Overview:
While the PLD series of 'Mechs was favored by Selassie and the AFFM, the company likewise produced MAD-line units on license at a secondary facility in Sannazaro, paying a hefty fee for the privilege. In the early 3020s the decision was made by the company to retool that line for an original design, a new heavy-weight 'Mech of similar tonnage to the Marauder capable of sustained long-range fire. The design had more in common with the CPLT-series Catapults due to this mission, with shoulder-mounted LRM racks, but to add to this design (and try to avoid costly lawsuits) Selassie employed arms mounting energy weapons as well. In an early experiment into modular design before the effective deployment of OmniPods, the weapons hardpoints were designed for some degree of modularity, primarily in being able to fit different weapon systems on the shoulders and changing the energy weapons built into the mounted arms. This was still a labor-intensive process and typically occurred at the factory or in primary bases, not in the field.
Perhaps it was a fit of cheek that inspired the design team, upon seeing the final proposal for the initial base model, to dub the design the "
Mad Cat", combining the designator tag of the Marauder to the shortened nickname of the Catapult much as the machine seems to combine the body of a Catapult with the arms of a Marauder.
Hollis Inc. and Bowie Industries were not so amused. They commenced litigation in Terran and Arcadian courts employing the Harmon & Gold law firm, notorious for its abuses of litigious practices, seeking injunctions against the production of the
Mad Cat and major damages. The risk that one of their two major 'Mech-producing firms would go bankrupt prompted the Free March government to intervene, turning the matter into a diplomatic nightmare as the AFFM openly designated the new design a "vital necessity" under the Free March Armaments Act, shielding Selassie legally and effectively short-circuiting the proposed injunction against production but threatening a showdown with the Terran government if its courts approved injunctionary relief. Harmon & Gold replied by suing the March-Princess and the AFFM as well for violating their clients' intellectual rights, dragging the lawsuit on into the 3040s. Ultimately the suit was settled by the War of Donegalian Succession: Bowie Industries found its facilities under Arcadian control with the fall of the New Commonwealth and the capture of Alarion by the newly-reformed Royal Federation, and was thus induced to drop the suit in favor of its own generous license to produce the design, while as Hollis Industries was in the Oriento-Capellan Empire, the courts summarily dismissed its case on the grounds that it amounted to sabotage of war industries. With Terran courts likewise proving hostile to Imperial interests over the seizures of Regulus and Sian by Imperial troops, the matter was finally dropped.
Capabilities:
The
Mad Cat was made from the ground up to use the latest in recovered Star League technology. RussTech developed a 300-rated XL engine specifically for this order to provide the 64 kph speed. Vickers-Armstrong's new extended range lasers were placed into the arms, and Reddington's Longbow-15 launchers provide missile armament directed by Reddington's licensed Artemis IV fire control systems. Admittedly this denies the design use of effective indirect fire, but
the
Mad Cat was intended to be more of a direct fire support machine than an indirect shooter, given the arms each mount a paired set of Vickers-Armstrong's new Mk. 8 and Mk. 10 extended range lasers. Six extra heat sinks are included to help with the added heat load, which allows for the
Mad Cat to fire both missile launchers and its large lasers during movement with only moderate heat buildup.
Battle History:
The initial
Mad Cats were delivered in 3027 for service with the Arcadian Guards. They saw combat through the early campaigns and conflicts of the
Second Age of War, coming to wider notice for the first time in the fighting on Bolan during the Arcadian rescue operation in early 3034 against the victorious
Marian legions. It reached its peak during the War of Donegalian Succession, being employed widely in all its variant forms, and would see service in the Terran War while slowly being replaced by newer 'Mechs with recovered Terran technology.
Deployment:
Over the years since its release the MD-CPT-1 spread to numerous units of the AFFM, and afterward the AFRF. It would eventually be supplanted by the CVL-1 and CVL-2, as well as its own OmniMech variant, the MD-CPT-4, and the later MD-CPT-O
Mad Cat II made by Defiance Industries.
Variants:
Because of the modular bent to the design a number of variants were made. The MD-CPT-2 replaces the laser armament with Vickers-Armstrong's Mk. 5 PPCs
(extended range) and, for weight savings, also dropped the Artemis IV fire control systems for the missiles, allowing the 'Mech to provide proper indirec
fire support. It can fire either PPCs or LRMs without heat buildup even while in movement.
The MD-CPT-3 arguably became more popular than the -1. It was made as a heavy cavalry machine, with a 375 XL engine made possible by employing endo-steel for the internal structure, reducing the large lasers to medium-quality, and dropping heat sinks. It also adds extra missile ammo protected by CASE and puts the Artemis IV system back on the missile racks.
The MD-CPT-3S was special-ordered for use in the Striker units. The shoulder-mounted missile racks were replaced by ER PPCs and three jump jets are
added, allowing for some air-drop capability as befitting Striker practice. The design is loaded down with heat sinks but will still run very hot if the
medium lasers are fully employed.
The MD-CPT-4 is the OmniMech version of the design, with the 375 XL engine to fit the heavy cavalry role given the CVL-1 Chevalier was a line machine. Limited
production capacity kept the design from entering service until 3042, and only a company's worth reached the frontlines before the Ten Years Peace was signed.
The production line was destroyed by the 47th Royal BattleMech Division during its invasion and occupation of Arcadia in 3050 and only restarted in 3055, and it has since become the most widely-employed variant of the machine.
Notable 'Mechs & MechWarriors:
Arguably the greatest of the
Mad Cat pilots was Dame Danielle Verdes. A former
Marauder pilot with the Arcadian Guards who was given a knighthood for conduct during the Bolan Rescue Operation, Dame Danielle piloted an MD-CPT-3S through the rest of her frontline career as a MechWarrior of the 8th Strikers. Through the battles for Stewart and Atreus during the Second Skye War she achieved a noteworthy seven combat kills in action as a company commander. While the 8th did not see combat in the Second Andurien War it was heavily involved on both fronts of the War of Donegalian Succession. During the 8th Strikers' legendary "cavalry raid" on Coventry in late 3040 Dame Danielle became commander of the 1st Battalion and led it into several engagements, including a fight with the Gray Death Legion that involved her confirmed combat victory over Col. Grayson Carlyle. After serving on the Capellan front in the liberation of Gallatin and the counter-attack at Concord, Dame Danielle retired from frontline combat duty and went into the Engineering Corps, where she rose through the ranks to Field Marshal and head of the Engineering Corps in 3068. Struck by the deaths of her daughters during the fighting on New Avalon and Tikonov, she retired after the Concord-Compact War to help raise her orphaned grandchildren.
================================================================================
Equipment Type Rating Mass
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Internal Structure: Standard 114 points 7.50
Engine: XL Fusion Engine 300 9.50
Walking MP: 4
Running MP: 6
Jumping MP: 0
Heat Sinks: Double Heat Sink 18(36) 8.00
Heat Sink Locations: 1 LT, 1 RT, 2 LA, 2 RA
Gyro: Standard 3.00
Cockpit: Standard 3.00
Actuators: L: SH+UA+LA R: SH+UA+LA
Armor: Standard Armor AV - 224 14.00
Internal Armor
Structure Factor
Head 3 9
Center Torso 23 36
Center Torso (rear) 9
L/R Torso 16 24
L/R Torso (rear) 8
L/R Arm 12 24
L/R Leg 16 29
================================================================================
Equipment Location Heat Critical Mass
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ER Large Laser RA 12 2 5.00
ER Medium Laser RA 5 1 1.00
ER Large Laser LA 12 2 5.00
ER Medium Laser LA 5 1 1.00
LRM-15 RT 5 3 7.00
Artemis IV FCS RT - 1 1.00
LRM-15 LT 5 3 7.00
Artemis IV FCS LT - 1 1.00
@LRM-15 (Artemis) (8) RT - 1 1.00
@LRM-15 (Artemis) (8) LT - 1 1.00
Free Critical Slots: 9
BattleForce Statistics
MV S (+0) M (+2) L (+4) E (+6) Wt. Ov Armor: 7 Points: 18
4 3 4 3 0 3 1 Structure: 3
Special Abilities: SRCH, ES, SEAL, SOA, IF 2
Mad Cat (ATL) MD-CPT-2
Mass: 75 tons
Tech Base: Inner Sphere
Chassis Config: Biped
Rules Level: Tournament Legal
Era: Renaissance
Tech Rating/Era Availability: E/X-X-E-D
Production Year: 3027
Dry Cost: 15,597,750 C-Bills
Total Cost: 15,717,750 C-Bills
Battle Value: 1,775
Chassis: Arcadia Arsenal Standard
Power Plant: RussTech FusionWorks 300 Fusion XL Engine
Walking Speed: 43.2 km/h
Maximum Speed: 64.8 km/h
Jump Jets: None
Jump Capacity: 0 meters
Armor: Arcadia Arsenal Standard Armor
Armament:
2 Vickers-Armstrong Mk. 5 ER PPCs
2 Reddington Longbow-15s
Manufacturer: Selassie DefenseWorks
Primary Factory: Arcadia
Communications System: RussTech MilComm
Targeting and Tracking System: RussTech TarTrack
================================================================================
Equipment Type Rating Mass
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Internal Structure: Standard 114 points 7.50
Engine: XL Fusion Engine 300 9.50
Walking MP: 4
Running MP: 6
Jumping MP: 0
Heat Sinks: Double Heat Sink 16(32) 6.00
Heat Sink Locations: 1 LT, 1 RT, 1 LA, 1 RA
Gyro: Standard 3.00
Cockpit: Standard 3.00
Actuators: L: SH+UA+LA R: SH+UA+LA
Armor: Standard Armor AV - 224 14.00
Internal Armor
Structure Factor
Head 3 9
Center Torso 23 34
Center Torso (rear) 11
L/R Torso 16 24
L/R Torso (rear) 8
L/R Arm 12 24
L/R Leg 16 29
================================================================================
Equipment Location Heat Critical Mass
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ER PPC RA 15 3 7.00
ER PPC LA 15 3 7.00
LRM-15 RT 5 3 7.00
LRM-15 LT 5 3 7.00
@LRM-15 (16) RT - 2 2.00
@LRM-15 (16) LT - 2 2.00
Free Critical Slots: 15
BattleForce Statistics
MV S (+0) M (+2) L (+4) E (+6) Wt. Ov Armor: 7 Points: 17
4 3 4 4 0 3 0 Structure: 3
Special Abilities: SRCH, ES, SEAL, SOA, LRM 1/2/2, IF 2
Mad Cat (ATL) MD-CPT-3
Mass: 75 tons
Tech Base: Inner Sphere
Chassis Config: Biped
Rules Level: Tournament Legal
Era: Renaissance
Tech Rating/Era Availability: E/X-X-E-D
Production Year: 3027
Dry Cost: 15,597,750 C-Bills
Total Cost: 15,717,750 C-Bills
Battle Value: 1,775
Chassis: Arcadia Arsenal Standard
Power Plant: RussTech FusionWorks 375 Fusion XL Engine
Walking Speed: 54.0 km/h
Maximum Speed: 86.4 km/h
Jump Jets: None
Jump Capacity: 0 meters
Armor: Arcadia Arsenal Standard Armor w/ CASE
Armament:
2 Reddington Longbow-15s w/ Artemis IV FCS
4 Vickers-Armstrong Mk. 10 (ER Medium) Lasers
Manufacturer: Selassie DefenseWorks
Primary Factory: Arcadia
Communications System: RussTech MilComm
Targeting and Tracking System: RussTech TarTrack
================================================================================
Equipment Type Rating Mass
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Internal Structure: Endo-Steel 114 points 4.00
Internal Locations: 1 HD, 2 LT, 2 RT, 3 LA, 2 RA, 2 LL, 2 RL
Engine: XL Fusion Engine 375 19.50
Walking MP: 5
Running MP: 8
Jumping MP: 0
Heat Sinks: Double Heat Sink 15(30) 5.00
Gyro: Standard 4.00
Cockpit: Standard 3.00
Actuators: L: SH+UA+LA R: SH+UA+LA
Armor: Standard Armor AV - 231 14.50
CASE Locations: 1 LT, 1 RT 1.00
Internal Armor
Structure Factor
Head 3 9
Center Torso 23 35
Center Torso (rear) 11
L/R Torso 16 24
L/R Torso (rear) 8
L/R Arm 12 24
L/R Leg 16 32
================================================================================
Equipment Location Heat Critical Mass
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2 ER Medium Lasers RA 10 2 2.00
2 ER Medium Lasers LA 10 2 2.00
LRM-15 RT 5 3 7.00
Artemis IV FCS RT - 1 1.00
LRM-15 LT 5 3 7.00
Artemis IV FCS LT - 1 1.00
@LRM-15 (Artemis) (16) RT - 2 2.00
@LRM-15 (Artemis) (16) LT - 2 2.00
Free Critical Slots: 11
BattleForce Statistics
MV S (+0) M (+2) L (+4) E (+6) Wt. Ov Armor: 8 Points: 18
5 4 5 3 0 3 0 Structure: 3
Special Abilities: CASE, SRCH, ES, SEAL, SOA, IF 2