How would you stat...The Arsenal Bird?

[Vehrec]

Arsenal Bird, for those who don't know, is a boss-fight from the Ace Combat series, a Superweapon that looks like a dumb flying wing that can't muster a thrust factor of more than 3 with those huge electric props, until you realize that that wing is actually 37 hexes wide, and over 4 deep.  And it's got 80 slots for drone fighters, and is itself an AI controlled drone.  The more advanced model, Justice, mounted point defense pulse lasers and a giant ship-destroying laser(Capital weapon, or sub-capital?), while the older Liberty 'only' had a large batter of air-to-air missiles, bombardment missiles, and a microwave-powered force-field.  Both were capable of limited self-repair, as after damaging their engines, they would restart after some time.

So, swapping a blue-shield system for the forcefield, how would you model these behemoth aircraft in Battletech?  Their size alone means that a Mobile Structure is appropriate, but they're aircraft and are as big as mid-size Warships.  Would you force a piloting roll for every tiny hit on such a behemoth?  How far do the rules need to bend to fit in a giant who would barely fit on a normal sized mapsheet?

[Hptm. Streiger]

why not simply use a hovering dropship?
otherwise - the clound nine had a squadron of 6 ASFs, so those might translate into 18 conventional fighters... but this still means no armor and no armament

[Vehrec]

Hovering dropship is kinda the wrong movement profile for a giant flying wing, even if it can bank and swoop around inside a hex all day on the atmosphere charts.  I'm not sure if a lot of hovering dropships slide-slip at about 300 km/hr anyways.

Also 80>18, so Cloud Nine is a no-go, even if a hydrogen lifting cell was in any way comparable to a flying wing.  The lack of armor and armament also means that it would explode when sneezed at rather than being taken apart surgically.

[AlphaMirage]

There are rules for mobile structures although I don't remember if they can be airborne

[worktroll]

Given the Star League's reputation for mega-engineering, and it's liberal application of the Clarkson principle ("MOOOORRRREE POWERRRRR!"), I could see something like this. It's halfway between a dropships (aerodynamic, fusion powered, massive) and a mobile structure (bigger!), and magic WarShip armour provides the structural strength.

I'd probably not make it take control rols whenever it's hit; either apply thresholds, or a piloting role whenever armour on a hex is completely removed.

[Maingunnery]

Definitely an Air Mobile Structure. TO p165

[Vehrec]

Given the Star League's reputation for mega-engineering, and it's liberal application of the Clarkson principle ("MOOOORRRREE POWERRRRR!"), I could see something like this. It's halfway between a dropships (aerodynamic, fusion powered, massive) and a mobile structure (bigger!), and magic WarShip armour provides the structural strength.

I'd probably not make it take control rols whenever it's hit; either apply thresholds, or a piloting role whenever armour on a hex is completely removed.

I'd agree with you that it's defiantly something that fits the setting, but it's in an awkward position, partly by virtue of being very wide and very thin.  The damn props set it back again, you can't have a dropship with props, but it's sheer size (1100 meter wingspan) actually excludes it from the Mobile structure category.  And air mobile structures are huge zepplins with attitude, not flying wings, though that is a matter of fluff, but it does have a few problems other than that.  Oh, and the wings aren't quite straight, but also aren't at a sixty degree angle.  So you know, awkward shape for a hex-based game.

Definitely an Air Mobile Structure. TO p165

Well, not quite.  Those are explicitly fluffed as big gas bags propelled by fans, they don't rely primarily on aerodynamic forces to generate lift, and they're limited to a maximum of about 20 hexes as a Hardened Hanger type.  Which can't be armed or armored.

[Maingunnery]

Well, not quite.  Those are explicitly fluffed as big gas bags propelled by fans, they don't rely primarily on aerodynamic forces to generate lift, and they're limited to a maximum of about 20 hexes as a Hardened Hanger type.  Which can't be armed or armored.

Zeppelins have a rigid structure so they can be shaped.

Where does it say that they can't be armed? (one doesn't have to build it with hangers)

[dgorsman]

Does it have to be military?  I could see it as a contractor RFP submission to the SLDF, with a response of "Not even close to what we were thinking...".  A few decades later, someone at DoME stumbles across the idea and with a little tinkering... an unarmed, unmanned drone carrier for autonomous aerial surveys on a massive scale on newly found worlds.  Plus a testbed for various non-military (wink wink nudge nudge) large scale airborne drone technologies.

Not buildable within rules, but like the Dagda mobile atolls it's scale and function means it's more narratively defined.

[Daryk]

The Illegal quirk can cover a multitude of sins...

[Vehrec]

I suppose it does...btw, Stonehenge: 8xH-N-Gauss or 8x Mass Drivers?  Neither has airburst shells, but I think they're closer to mass-drivers in scale-but they pivot and swing about so quickly, they could just be normal N-Gauss.

[Daryk]

Definitely the Naval Gauss, I think...

[glitterboy2098]

given their scale and ability to fire well past orbit, i'd say heavy mass drivers. the turreted mounts being an advantage of a ground based facility. (i mean guns themselves are basically the size of a BT warship)