A queastion or two about omni's

[Frabby]

OmniMechs were always advertised as the greatest thing since sliced bread solely because of their modular, freely-customizable loadout. In canon descriptions, that's portrayed as a massive advantage because of the easy customization (which doesn't happen much in any canonical material) and ease of repair and maintenance (which occurs off-board and has little if any boardgame effect).

Out-of-character, I think the concept was a logical extension of what had proven to be a major selling point for BattleTech: People just love the construction rules. The ability to build their own 'Mechs or customize canonical designs contributed greatly to the game's success.
As has been pointed out, there were problems with the concept however that apparently were underestimated. Record sheets and BV calculations have been mentioned; their modularity made OmniMechs inherently unsuitable for RATs and for tournament play (for people with a record sheet fetish anyways - I've seen people argue about the order of critical slots in a given section as if it mattered). It probably also dawned on FASA that they couldn't really sell new TROs if there was a series of customizable chassis that could be, well, customized. No need for more 'Mechs. Of course, we're still seeing more Omni chassis for some reason.

Thus, standard configurations were born.

And these were then retro-explained with easier logistics and ease of repair/maintenance. It makes a mockery of the concept, but I'd chalk it up as FASAnomics.

Another IC explanation I came up with is that the Clans forgot how to fight effectively over time. When Omnis were introduced, they probably were a superior weapon because Clan warriors still had some common sense. Two centuries later, when the Clan Invasion occurred, the Clans had degenerated into, well, Clans as we know ("honor before reason" and a penchant for fighting left-handed just to show off). They wouldn't use the potential of OmniMechs anymore on the battlefield, but despite not actually using Omni capability still regarded them as superior and fielded them as a matter of prestige (much like they have, but refuse to use, artillery and WarShips).

As for why the Inner Sphere would want to copy the concept and then also fail to use its potential, I don't know. Perhaps they wanted home-grown platforms to mount salvaged Clan pods on. Or perhaps they just created proof-of-concept designs. These same guys built "upgrades" with OS missile launchers, after all. There may be some IC reason that doesn't translate into game rules.

[StCptMara]

Frabby, I think you nailed it on the head. I have seen in most cases player who are allowed to customize an omni,
mod it into one configuration, and use that exclusively. However, in my group, for our Dragoon's campaign, one
of the characters has never gone into battle using the same configuration twice. First thing he does is get climate
data, then determines the mission his unit is going on, and configures the 'mech for the mission. In fact, it is pretty
much, in the game, he pulls his 'mech into the 'mech bay, and as he is touching the ground, the techs are unbolting
the armour panels already...That is how Omnis are SUPPOSED to be used...but, no-one ever seems to use them that
way.

[nckestrel]

Or you can just accept that the board game has different objectives than being a 100% simulation of fluff.
Things are done in the game to make them more fun and/or more manageable.
Most games don't even have anything but the battle itself.  Making decisions about the out of battle customization is unneccesary.

And nothing in the game requires either customization or stock config.  That's completely up to the players/game host.

[DarkMessiah]

The Templar Tancred isn't Sandoval's ride. But it is still piloted by someone in a unique position.

Actually, it is. In Endgame he uses it on New Avalon after his Nightstar is destroyed. The variant actually be named after Arden Sortek, as he is the one who configured it, but Sandoval is the one shown piloting it.

[rlbell]

Omnimechs have standard pod configs for ease of logistics, but there are lots of non-standard configs.  The ratio of standard to non-standard configs changes over the course of a campaign.  In the beginning, their are no non-standard configs, but during a maintenance cycle when a pod fails a check, it is pulled and sent back to the depot*.  If there is a spare pod, the config stays standard.  Later in the campaign, as the spares get drawn down, the formation loses the ability to keep all of its pod configurations standard.  The apparently suboptimal configs (looking at you Summoner prime) are the result of the compromises needed to keep an entire Galaxy in spares.


* Given how clans can have class F techs at the front, have lots of class E equipment, and subsequent repair attempts have to be made by a better team of techs, a lot of clan pods that fail a check are simply junked.  This is an in-universe explanation for the use of AC's-- class C equipment gets more maintenance attempts than class D equipment.