BattleTech - The Board Game of Armored Combat
BattleTech Player Boards => Fan Designs and Rules => Non-Combat Vehicles => Topic started by: Mimo on 03 May 2013, 16:04:49
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I am trying to construct some wet navy ships, but the math is very difficult and i often make mistakes.
Is there a programme like SAW for constructing it?
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No, sorry.
Best for me is to take the Support Construction Worksheet and several other scrap pieces and try different ideas.
TT
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I use a blank sheet of paper, a pencil, a calculator, and the rule book.
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If you've got Excel on your computer, or a similar spreadsheet program, then it's not too hard to set up a crude bit of design software. It's very limited, and it won't turn out anything pretty like SSW or quickmech does, but it's good enough, and for me, it beats using paper and pencils, as when I'm designing, I constantly adjust things like speed and overall tonnage to try and get the best fit for the role I want.
I tend to run a spreadsheet with a checklist of things that go into such a vehicle (Structure, engine, armour, control systems, weapons, ammunition, power amplifiers) off to one side so I don't forget anything, and then use the algorithms in the program to sum them all into a single figure. Because you can set certain values to auto-calculate, such as the internal structure weight, then if you decide to adjust the overall tonnage of your design, it adjusts most of the relevant factors for you.
I still haven't figured out a way to work out engine weights, so you have to put these in manually. The engine rating, however, is easily auto-calculated. (There was an old thread on the CBT forums over at Sarna.net that had a reasonable approximation, but that used sixth-degree indices, and I have no inclination to crunch numbers if I can just use the books).
Of course, naval vessels tend to be a bit confusing and lead to fairly large spreadsheets, what with all the individual components you can add, especially for 100+ ton vessels, but I then just take everything and copy-paste it into notepad for when I feel like typing it up properly.
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I have spreadsheets set up to make almost any unit in Excel. I've used them to make my designs and I have posted them here to get them double checked (mostly by DarthMeTool and Truetanker). Engines and structure can be placed in a mathematical formula, they don't have to be handwritten in. Just place the check list for each modification off to the side and fill in either a 1 for no modification or the cost of the modification and then multiply engine and structure cost by all the cells. Mine aren't that clean, but I should make them a little more user friendly (possibly using IF...THEN statements).
And I also have a few illegal designs especially when I found out that even support hydrofoils can't go over 100 tons even though the world's largest is 465 tons (and don't get me started on fixed wing or hovercraft which have since the An-225 has a maximum take-off weight of 640 tons and the Zubr LCAC has a maximum tonnage of 555 tons). Though Technical Readout 1945 made me really happy (I don't agree with all the rulings but it was enough to finally make Gear Krieg walkers using that and the Inner Sphere Protomech vignette in front of the Protomech construction section).
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I have spreadsheets set up to make almost any unit in Excel. I've used them to make my designs and I have posted them here to get them double checked (mostly by DarthMeTool and Truetanker). Engines and structure can be placed in a mathematical formula, they don't have to be handwritten in. Just place the check list for each modification off to the side and fill in either a 1 for no modification or the cost of the modification and then multiply engine and structure cost by all the cells. Mine aren't that clean, but I should make them a little more user friendly (possibly using IF...THEN statements).
And I also have a few illegal designs especially when I found out that even support hydrofoils can't go over 100 tons even though the world's largest is 465 tons (and don't get me started on fixed wing or hovercraft which have since the An-225 has a maximum take-off weight of 640 tons and the Zubr LCAC has a maximum tonnage of 555 tons). Though Technical Readout 1945 made me really happy (I don't agree with all the rulings but it was enough to finally make Gear Krieg walkers using that and the Inner Sphere Protomech vignette in front of the Protomech construction section).
1) Can we see those protos?
2) Got a copy of that sheet we can all use?
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You know, a Spreadsheet would be nice . . . heck, I do not even know the weights for some of the systems. Or rules like how many CM launchers of what size you can put into a design's hex . . . since we hear they are VLS it does make me wonder.
Basically looking for a destroyer design with some Long Toms, a pair of A4 launchers for AA work, and a helipad with a basic speed of 5/8 or so (3 hexes) . . . a Cruiser with Long Toms, Cruise Missiles for long range bombardment and some standard AA weapons like LBX AC, helipad- with a variant mounting a SubCap ML rather than CMs & say 4/6 (5 hexes) . . . a Battlecruiser with Long Toms, SubCap Missiles and a SubCap laser with the obligatory helipad (7 hexes) 4/6 . . . and a light carrier, something mimicking the old light carriers but also capable of supporting VTOLs and embarking a few more infantry & BA (4 or 5 hexes) 4/6.
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Here is some thread necromancy. Sorry, I just saw this since I haven't been on the boards for awhile. Everything here is very fast and loose with the BT rules and I went more for historical simulation than sticking with the BT rules. The vehicles are pretty close but I do use the Clan MG for a light machine gun. The Gears are based on the game fiction about Protomechs in the Tech Manual and I've included both Gear Krieg and Dust Tactics machines. The aircraft are pretty close, but I added fuel pods, but I included standard BT board movement, AT movement, and the 9 hex movement from the TRO 1945 and I resurrected the old original AT bombs. And the ships are a hot mess with quite a few rules violations including the naval guns on the bottom of the spreadsheet (and Torpedoes with damage profile and range of White Shark Missiles, but in 30 m hexes.