Author Topic: Savannah Master Fluff Question (Read 3086 times)

Iceweb · « **on:** 20 September 2018, 21:19:18 »

For some reason the fluff for the Savannah Master popped into my head recently.
I remember that they were looking for a combat vehicle that could deal will a Locust.
There was some mention of another vehicle that was the front runner till the little hovercraft forced it's way into the testing.
Was there ever a name for that other vehicle? Or if luck is smiling on me stats?
It seems like given the something is better than nothing nature of the succession wars someone would have bought that thing and used it.

Tai Dai Cultist · « **Reply #1 on:** 20 September 2018, 21:26:41 »

per the lore in TRO:3026:

The Savannah Master was an answer for a LCAF bid for a light tank that could "defeat a Locust 75% of the time". It was one of many submissions, most of which were said to cost around 800,000 C-Bills as opposed to the 90,000 for the Lil Hover That Could. It was so ridiculous on paper that the quartermaster almost didn't even give it serious consideration.

JadeHellbringer · « **Reply #2 on:** 21 September 2018, 10:26:57 »

"Huh? What's a 'Gabriel'? You stupid backwoods hicks, fine, bring your cardboard prototype."

Hellraiser · « **Reply #3 on:** 21 September 2018, 10:51:08 »

Quote from: Iceweb on 20 September 2018, 21:19:18

I remember that they were looking for a combat vehicle that could deal will a Locust.
There was some mention of another vehicle that was the front runner till the little hovercraft forced it's way into the testing.
Was there ever a name for that other vehicle? Or if luck is smiling on me stats?

As TDC mentioned there were several other submissions.

I believe it might have also mentioned something along the lines of most of them being tracked or wheeled & in the 30t range.

So think Galleon, Hunter, Striker, Badger type vehicles.

But as mentioned, none of them were ever fluffed out & probably were prototypes.

snewsom2997 · « **Reply #4 on:** 21 September 2018, 11:12:35 »

I also remember that the manufacturer could only build it after they found a Star League cache of Small Fusion Engines. So pretty much someone found a bunch of small Fusion engines in the 3rd SW, and the RFP for the LCAF was an easy thing to meet. Savannah Master doesn't work with an ICE engine.

glitterboy2098 · « **Reply #5 on:** 21 September 2018, 11:20:05 »

It could easily move using an ICE (tonnage actually ends up the same due to small engine weirdness) but you could never mount a worthwhile weapon in the succession wars.

ANS Kamas P81 · « **Reply #6 on:** 21 September 2018, 11:48:03 »

Yeah, the power amp and three tons for HS send it right out the window. Stupid sexy fusion engines.

At least there's no IIC version with an HML and a giggling jackwagon of a pilot.

Tai Dai Cultist · « **Reply #7 on:** 21 September 2018, 12:19:33 »

A fun thought experiment would be to use the 800,000 C-Bill figure as a guide towards backwards-engineering some hypothetical examples of what the Savannah Master competed against.

I'd figure something in the 35 ton range, probably at least one wheeled chassis. Something similar to a Pegasus for a hover submission.

glitterboy2098 · « **Reply #8 on:** 21 September 2018, 12:23:07 »

Quote from: ANS Kamas P81 on 21 September 2018, 11:48:03

Yeah, the power amp and three tons for HS send it right out the window. Stupid sexy fusion engines.

At least there's no IIC version with an HML and a giggling jackwagon of a pilot.

Shamash? Or would that be more of a Gabriel IIC?

AlphaMirage · « **Reply #9 on:** 21 September 2018, 12:58:55 »

Quote from: ANS Kamas P81 on 21 September 2018, 11:48:03

Yeah, the power amp and three tons for HS send it right out the window. Stupid sexy fusion engines.

At least there's no IIC version with an HML and a giggling jackwagon of a pilot.

I've fielded that in a Wolf Empire unit.

It killed a baseline Awesome solo

Iceweb · « **Reply #10 on:** 22 September 2018, 14:04:50 »

Quote from: Hellraiser on 21 September 2018, 10:51:08

As TDC mentioned there were several other submissions.

I believe it might have also mentioned something along the lines of most of them being tracked or wheeled & in the 30t range.

So think Galleon, Hunter, Striker, Badger type vehicles.

But as mentioned, none of them were ever fluffed out & probably were prototypes.

I dug out my copy of 3026 and it says "Most established vehicle manufactures were submitting proposals costing about 800,000 C-bills."

Later it says under deployment
"Three weeks of grueling testing left just two machines under consideration: Lewis's machine and a 30-ton tracked vehicle from Defiance Industries."

This tells us some stuff but I am not sure what Defiance has produced especially in that range and motive type. It also doesn't limit the cost to the 800K price tag but we can assume it would be close to that.

The next sentence talks about how the final test was to be done with lasers on low power.
This doesn't necessarily mean that the vehicle had to have a laser but I would bet it did.

I do have to think that a company like Defiance wouldn't just eat the costs of prototyping a 30 ton tracked vehicle that was fairly competitive against a common scout Battlemech.
You would think their PR and advertising firms would have been able to find contracts given the tech regression of the time period and the want for any military equipment.

Maybe we will get hints to what this vehicle was in a future TRO or some other product.
I don't know why not knowing is sticking in my craw so much. I just want a complete BattleTech Universe.

glitterboy2098 · « **Reply #11 on:** 22 September 2018, 16:39:32 »

Defiance built the Hunter Light Support Tank, which was 35 tons.. perhaps Defiant was offering some design based on a lightened Hunter chassis?

pull that LRM20 and the vehicle flamer and you have a lot of room even with the chassis tonnage reduction.

Luciora · « **Reply #12 on:** 22 September 2018, 16:49:57 »

I wonder what the original name would have been too.

Elmoth · « **Reply #13 on:** 22 September 2018, 16:50:54 »

Easily a version of the Hunter as said above. The fusion engine is quite something there. You can have a version of the Myrmidon 40 years before the actual Myrmidon was built using that stratagem. PPC and some LRM5 or SRM6 and there you go with a tracked version for a vindicator at a much lower price

glitterboy2098 · « **Reply #14 on:** 22 September 2018, 16:56:50 »

Quote from: Elmoth on 22 September 2018, 16:50:54

Easily a version of the Hunter as said above. The fusion engine is quite something there. You can have a version of the Myrmidon 40 years before the actual Myrmidon was built using that stratagem. PPC and some LRM5 or SRM6 and there you go with a tracked version for a vindicator at a much lower price

30 ton hunter frame, upgraded to a 6/9 movement rate. 1 more ton of armor, and a turret with a large laser, and an SRM2, with one ton of ammo. ends up 802,100 cbills according to megamek.

ANS Kamas P81 · « **Reply #15 on:** 22 September 2018, 17:42:00 »

Quote from: glitterboy2098 on 22 September 2018, 16:56:50

30 ton hunter frame, upgraded to a 6/9 movement rate. 1 more ton of armor, and a turret with a large laser, and an SRM2, with one ton of ammo. ends up 802,100 cbills according to megamek.

Sack the two tons for the SRM rack and ammo, use all ten heat sinks, and put a PPC on it. Where do you get pricewise?

Frabby · « **Reply #16 on:** 23 September 2018, 00:30:22 »

To think what Quikscell could do with a 800,000 price tag... >:D

ANS Kamas P81 · « **Reply #17 on:** 23 September 2018, 00:39:14 »

Quote from: Frabby on 23 September 2018, 00:30:22

To think what Quikscell could do with a 800,000 price tag... >:D

Provide something that only cost 200,000 and pocket the leftovers?

glitterboy2098 · « **Reply #18 on:** 23 September 2018, 01:05:19 »

well considering you can get 2.4 Scorpion Light Tanks for 800K?

Hellraiser · « **Reply #19 on:** 23 September 2018, 02:18:11 »

Quote from: glitterboy2098 on 22 September 2018, 16:56:50

30 ton hunter frame, upgraded to a 6/9 movement rate.

/cough Badger /cough.

Okay, a non-Omni, but that fits the bill pretty much exactly.

Actually I think the Galleon does too.

Bosefius · « **Reply #20 on:** 23 September 2018, 02:30:57 »

With the posting of custom designs this has been moved to Fan Designs.

KaiserDunk · « **Reply #21 on:** 23 September 2018, 06:08:27 »

Running some numbers in HMV using the concept of the Hunter Light Support Tank as a starting point using the data from the Savannah Master fluff, and with medium lasers its coming out to closer to just north of a million C-Bills. Using a single large laser drives the cost down to closer to 925K, but an interesting conventional Light Tank design nonetheless. Still nothing in the speed class of the Savannah Master, though. The attack version of the Hunter comes out more of a half-sized Manticore Heavy Tank. If anyone wants, I can complete the design.

Sabelkatten · « **Reply #22 on:** 23 September 2018, 16:40:17 »

Assuming you lack fusion engines you can still actually almost build a Savannah Master.

13 ton hover with a 60-rated ICE gives you 11/17 movement and 6 tons payload, enough for 1.5 tons armor, a ML, heat sinks, and power amplifier. :)

Arguably it would be a lot better with a SRM6 and two tons of armor, but the it wouldn't be the same... ^-^

Garrand · « **Reply #23 on:** 24 September 2018, 13:45:19 »

Quote from: Iceweb on 22 September 2018, 14:04:50

I do have to think that a company like Defiance wouldn't just eat the costs of prototyping a 30 ton tracked vehicle that was fairly competitive against a common scout Battlemech.
You would think their PR and advertising firms would have been able to find contracts given the tech regression of the time period and the want for any military equipment.

I doubt that Defiance had to eat anything. The LCAF probably issued them a development contract to pay for the development of the vehicle, as well as all the competitors. So Defiance didn't have to eat the cost of developing their entry, in the same way that Lockheed didn't have to look for external buyers when their F-23 prototype didn't make the cut. Now if Defiance wanted to take that R&D & roll it into a new product for general sale, that might be possible too. But not to be used by the LCAF. Maybe militias picked up a few. I'm sure there are a lot of vehicles in the setting unstatted because there is no need when you can use a Scorpion for a general militia tank, no matter if the physical aesthetics are different.

Damon.