Battletech Mech Designer The Drawing Board
If I were doing something like the original MWSE content again, when I was making absolute craptons of 'Mech designs for the post-war Terran Alliance without regard for reason or logic, I'd happily be using this program. At the time 'The Drawing Board' was what I used.It is kinda silly, the Inner Sphere has waaaaaay too many damn 'Mech designs. And the entire point of Omnis should mean even less Clan designs. Honestly the plethora of 'Mech designs contributed to me not really writing much BTech anymore, and when I do it's usually Multiverse crossover stuff like nUF. If I were doing something like the original MWSE content again, when I was making absolute craptons of 'Mech designs for the post-war Terran Alliance without regard for reason or logic, I'd happily be using this program. At the time 'The Drawing Board' was what I used.It is kinda silly, the Inner Sphere has waaaaaay too many damn 'Mech designs. And the entire point of Omnis should mean even less Clan designs.
Honestly the plethora of 'Mech designs contributed to me not really writing much BTech anymore, and when I do it's usually Multiverse crossover stuff like nUF. As for the whole 'lance took a world', I can see it in the ass end of the Periphery, on a planet that only has one or two settlements. Give them a Leopard or another DropShip capable of moving them and said lance could go anywhere it needed planetside to deal with attackers while spending their time holding down the only spaceport/settlement.
Honestly that's always what I figured was the basis for 'small unit holds an entire world': the mobility of having a DropShip allows for global deployment, so they can go where needed to deal with attackers. It'd be as if the US had access to orbital-capable transports that would let it combat deploy armored units planetwide within hours.
Well, at the time it wasn't far from the FRR border and you also had the pirates of the Oberon Confederation nearby. Plus I imagine in some cases such units were in place simply to provide a major AFFC presence within X number of jumps from any various systems.As I said, I figure the 'lance or company can take or hold a world thing' only applies to planets with limited numbers of settlements, and if the unit has DropShips for mobility. Another example was the battalion-sized Kell Hounds in the first Warrior novel being the garrison of a minor Lyran border world, there was literally only one or two settlements, so they could defend it, while the countryside was so open the DCMS hid an entire unit that was intending to wipe the Hounds out. Or it doesn't, because nothing in it actually changes the strength of the TDF.
You are arguing that because the Taurians commit a certain level of force to prop up their neighbor they must have more forces than previous, and ignoring that absolutely nothing beyond your assertion backs that up. Osteergard was there under orders until Coromindr, with official backing, given a level of force intended to quickly crush Kamea's rebellion.
The TDF devoting one-nineth of their available forces to straighten out their neighbors isn't implausible, particularly when the same book you cited notes that they'd be using one battalion to free up about six.So, bullshit. This is all you projecting. The TDF of 3025 has 26 mech battalions in 9 regiments of their own and an additional 7 battalions in three regiments of mercenaries under contract.1/9th of their own. Amounts to roughly a regiment of troops. Maybe that is what those regiments in the periphery sourcebook listed as camped out on uninhabited worlds are actually doing?2nd Battalion Hyades Light Infantry2nd Battalion Taurian Lancers3rd Battalion Taurian LancersAre all listed as being based on worlds later known to have been dead for over a century in 3025.Also what are you talking about 'one battalion to free up six'?
So, heh, I managed to (I think) recreate one of the 'Mechs I made for the old post-series stuff for the original MWSE series about, oh, 18 years ago.As in the original version of this design may be older than some of the posters in this thread! (Ugh, I'm so old. )I say 'I think' because all I can remember about this design was the two LB-20X autocannons, and I don't recall the side weapons.
I originally made it with a program called BattleMech Designer back in the day, but I don't have the original file or the HTML readout anywhere, presumably lost in either 2005 or 2013 when I had big HDD crashes.To better reflect the, uh, unique timeline I had, the engine is Inner Sphere tech and so is the CASE, the weapons and internals are Clantech. I'm pretty sure the original was all Clan-tech. Also, made in Skunkworks obviously.Behold, the Vishnu!
My copy doesn't work, but it was installed on an entirely different computer so.I would like to get a functioning copy if just to see if I can recover a few of my old designs I did find.Also, I wish I'd written out more about the unique technologies I was having the TAAF employ. I don't recall the mechanics I had in mind that I mentioned in the fluff I was doing. 'ELRMs', 'Extended Range Cannon'. I'm pretty sure 'ER Gauss Rifle' was meant to be a modified version of captured Lyran Heavy Gauss Rifles, at least. (In the actual TDB designs I used existing components that I was mentally giving the same crits/tonnage as the proposed new tech).Later in the 2004 attempted reboot I'd had in mind the eventual employment of 'Heavy LRMs/SRMs', based on merging the existing missile tech with LOSAT. IIRC it would have meant the longest ranges required the use of TAG and no indirect fire was possible with Heavy LRMS, but the exchange was more damage per missile and more range.I'd probably have to see if I could find old ICQ or AIM chats on the tech ideas, frankly.
While I can't comment on the rest, since this is in the context of the 2018 game, I'd say it means that for the price of assigning one battalion to help Espinosa defeat Kamea and consolidate his regime as an ally of the Taurian Concordat, it freed up the six battalions that the Taurians would've had to field along the Aurigan border to deal with any spillover or pirate attacks or even Davion threats coming in from that direction. Having the Aurigans as allies frees up those units for assignment elsewhere. I'd have to remember what gear I was specifically using. I think, in the case of the ERCs, it was ERCs 2, 5, and 10, matching the tonnage of UACs 5, 10, and 20. As in a (clan) UAC20's crits and tonnage was the same as an ERC-10. And I remember that the ER Gauss Rifle was based directly off of the Lyran Heavy GR, sincce I mentioned it in the fluff I did.I'll have to see if I have any old chat logs or something to verify.(To further explain, the original MechWarrior: Scorched Earth was thirteen stories. It ended circa early 3061, I think it was, and there was going to be a sequel storyline called MechWarrior: Armageddon, starting in 3065.
Through 2001 I was doing two sourcebooks, TRO: 3065 and Field Manual: Terran Alliance, that I'd use as a kind of series bible for myself and co-writers like HBMC. We even had a short-lived Story Debate that sadly fizzled.
The Drawing Board Mech
But then the great WhizKids buyout happened and things developed and I went for the first proposed reboot instead, then that fizzled, and things just went 'bleh'. By 2005 I'd given up on MWSE entirely and was working on the TGG Multiverse).
Battlemech Designer 10
Or it doesn't, because nothing in it actually changes the strength of the TDF. You are arguing that because the Taurians commit a certain level of force to prop up their neighbor they must have more forces than previous, and ignoring that absolutely nothing beyond your assertion backs that up.
Battletech Dropship Builder
Osteergard was there under orders until Coromindr, with official backing, given a level of force intended to quickly crush Kamea's rebellion. The TDF devoting one-nineth of their available forces to straighten out their neighbors isn't implausible, particularly when the same book you cited notes that they'd be using one battalion to free up about six.So, bullshit. This is all you projecting. Justice 4 Ghost Bear!!!After the tidal wave of feedback over the changes to many of the Star and Lance packs in the, Catalyst has announced that they're adding an Ad-Hoc Clan Star as a new add-on, restoring the mighty Kodiak to the Kickstarter, as well as a few others (including the glorious Hellion, and the Fire Falcon).As someone who was not at all happy with them cutting 1/3rd of the 'Mechs on offer, this is a massive bit of good-will building for people who could not understand why the Kodiak, of all 'Mechs, was cut from the KS.I'm very happy right now.BYE.