(Answered) Launching from a Cargo-Stuffed Bay

[Hellraiser]

Hello,

I was reading the new Errata about having Cargo in "Bays" if the Bay isn't full to capacity.

https://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php?topic=27319.msg2015987#msg2015987

***If bay is occupied but has mass capacity remaining, this mass can be used for Cargo,Standard. Bay cannot be used for maintenance/customization(Campaign Operations, p. 193 and 211) or dropping troops(Strategic Operations, p. 20) while carrying standard cargo.

My question is.

You have denied the ability to use the Bay for Maintenance or "Dropping Troops" if it has Cargo in there as well.

But can you still deploy from it as Non-Cargo?

Basically, if I cram 2 ASF into a Shuttle Bay, can I launch from it immediately, then "Move the 2nd one as Cargo" to the launch cradle & launch again?

My impression is that the goal was to NOT allow them to be functional as a "Bay" based having ANY cargo in there at all.

But I'm seeing custom designs about getting around the 50-Ton ASF Cradle "Tax" & launching a 2nd Fighter from Cargo than normal faster.


PS.  While I like the "limit" of not using the bay as a "balance" for this new rule, it doesn't really fit with the concept that you don't cram boxes up against your mech in the cradle itself & a normal "Cargo" bay is not actually just barely big enough to fit the mass it is allotted since cargo has different density.
Cotton Balls v/s Gold Ingots for example.  And DS are massively "open/airy" given the Mass v/s Volume calculations, but I get it, its a game.
Any excess "mass" from carrying a Wasp v/s Atlas would really be in the Cargo Bay itself & not in the cradle.
Which actually might explain the "open" area of a DS.  All Cargo Bays are large enough to carry their "Mass" in Cottonballs, while the rest of the ship is cramped.

[Hellraiser]

Been a while, Giving this a bump :)

[Xotl]

Thanks for the catch.  We're editing the bay errata to close the loophole.  Here's the edit (also now in the errata thread):

***If bay is occupied but has weight capacity remaining, this weight can be used for Cargo, Standard. If so, the bay cannot be used for maintenance/customization (pp. 193
and 211, CO) or dropping troops (p. 20, SO); nor can it be used to transport additional units in excess of the normal limits for that bay type.

[Hellraiser]

Thanks Xotl.

So the idea of 2 Stukas in a Shuttle Bay is right out.

Can you clarify that "Dropping troops" is basically only dropping a mech from orbit?

OR.

Are you saying that an ASF/Shuttle can Launch from the Bay like normal?


I'm trying to clarify the following....


1-  If I have a Marauder + 25 Tons of Cargo,  then.
   A-  I can NOT do Mainteance/Customization   (T)
   B-  I can NOT do Orbital Drops   (T)
   C-  But, Can I still walk out of the Cradle & out the door into Combat?  (T/F)
   D.  OR,  Am I forced to move that 25T of cargo first & THEN walk out at Normal Speed?   (T/F)
   E.  OR,  Can I walk out, BUT, its at the speed of Cargo movement?   (T/F)

2-  Ditto the same scenario but instead it's a Slayer & 20T of Cargo.   And I'm in black space.
   A-  I can NOT do Mainteance/Customization   (T)
   B-  I can NOT do Orbital Drops   (Assuming F since you don't "drop" fighters/shuttles, but it does make one wonder which leads to the below.
   C-  But, Can I still launch out of the Cradle & out the door into Combat?  (T/F)
   D.  OR,  Am I forced to move that 25T of cargo first & THEN launch out at Normal Speed?   (T/F)
   E.  OR,  Can I be pushed/off loaded, BUT, its at the speed of Cargo movement?   (T/F)