330 replies to this topic

[Hayashi]

UrbanMech. Everybody dies one day, and I'd like to die in style.

Edited by Hayashi, 26 April 2013 - 04:45 AM.

[Felicitatem Parco]

Hayashi, on 26 April 2013 - 04:44 AM, said:

UrbanMech. Everybody dies one day, and I'd like to die in style.

So, you're going to put-off death for as long as possible? I guess you could "arrive" fashionably late...

Zombies would probably leave the Urbies alone, anyways, because they don't look like they have heads/brains to consume.

[dal10]

going just on any mech, packhunter 2. 1 Clan ERPPC for mechs, 8 micro lasers for everything else

[Hayashi]

Prosperity Park, on 26 April 2013 - 07:30 AM, said:

So, you're going to put-off death for as long as possible? I guess you could "arrive" fashionably late... Zombies would probably leave the Urbies alone, anyways, because they don't look like they have heads/brains to consume.

Better than being a post-launch Jager...

whereby there's nothing but head to nom. =P

[Nathan Foxbane]

Prosperity Park, on 25 April 2013 - 06:36 PM, said:

... except pick up a crate.

I always say Mech Hands would be needed in an apocalypse because you don't know when you'll have to build a structure or carry equipment... it could be on a moment's notice. I wouldn't want to rely on other people to drive a truck full of my stuff if there's a bug-out event.

Well my first choice was a customized Chameleon but I went with the Merlin instead because I was in a rush and missread some things about a variant of the Chameleon and applied it to the whole 'Mech. Cargo slings would alleviate some of the bug-out problems with the Merlin but not all of them.

Problem is that there are simply not that many 'Mechs in 3050 that meet the criteria I use for a good post apocalyptic survival. Decent speed, flexible weapons loadout, as ammo independent as possible, readily available parts, preferably jump capable, and hopefully have at least one hand actuator. That translates into hopefully common, energy heavy, standard engined, low tech 'Mechs in any class other than assault. Assaults require too much material to readily maintain in the field for extended periods of time. As personal preference I also try to avoid unseen or reseen (otherwise the Phoenix Hawk would probably be the 'Mech of choice).

The Merlin had pretty much everything except the hand actuators. It would probably end up FrankenMech'd anyways, maybe a left arm from a Dragon or both arms of a Quickdraw. I was at school when I wrote it that post so I did not have lots of time to explore Sarna... And I somehow managed to miss the obvious choice: The Grasshopper.

List of other 'Mechs that most of my criteria and the reasons I discarded them:
The CN9-AL would work except no jumping ability could leave it stranded and it is very slow for its weight class the rest of the Cents are ammo reliant and/or have high tech (the Wolf Trap can be lumped in here since it is really a 9D with some armor and weapons moved around and a new look). One of the chassis that meets most all the criteria is also one I have little love for, and that is the CLNT-2-3U Clint. The ASN-23 Assassin fits the bill for the most part, but it is hardly combat effective and has a extremely cramped cockpit even by Battlemech standards (not exactly something you want to live out of). The JVN-10F Javelin also fits, but is notorious for its lack of armor even for a light 'Mech. The Panther, normally a good choice, gets nixed for the lack of very useful lasers and pathetic speed for its weight. The Wolfhound is out for its lack of jump jets though it would otherwise probably be one of my amoung my choices with the full head ejection system being a very nice perk. The Wyvern has problems with its LRM launcher and is slow. Starslayers are solid, but very rare in 3050. The Thorn requires Endo-Steel, lacks jump jets, is under armored, and while cool on paper the head mounted Medium Laser is noted for making the cockpit rather warm in combat. The Vindicator meets all the criteria except it is slow for its class. All the Trebuchets are ammo reliant. HER-3M Hermes II lacks jump jets but overall meets the rest of the requirments. The Quickdraw has potential, but is too ammo reliant in most variants available. The Black Knight lacks jump jets, but is otherwise respectable in two of its variants despite heat issues. The Firestarter is good but it lacks hands, we are just lucky Battlemech flamers do not work like vehicle flamers or we would have flaming zombies instead of regular ones. The low tech version of the Exterminator, the EXT-4A is not common enough (though it has standard parts) despite being an otherwise excellent choice. Grasshopper is the most viable of all the 'Mechs passed over and certainly would have been chosen over the Merlin had I seen it as it is the other go to 'Mech for mercenaries for a reason.

Now that I am not in a rush I submit my revised version of choices in a top five form of how well it meets the criteria:
1) CLN-7V Chameleon modified by dropping one of the right torso small lasers in exchange for CASE for the MG ammo and exchanging the heat sinks for doubles.
2) GHR-5N Grasshopper modified by swapping the additional medium laser for a flamer.
3) EXT-4A Exterminator modified by replacing half a ton of MG ammo (not a Mechlab friendly mod, but is should be) with CASE in left torso, moving the LRM and MG ammo to the left torso, and mounting double heat sinks.
4) MLN-1A Merlin (due to lack of hand actuators)
5) STY-2C Starslayer (due to rarity)

[joedawg39s]

Zombie survival hunchback mk. 2.
I changed over to a HBK-4J. Now I can hollow out that gigantic missile rack an make a sweet apartment in the hunch. I could even upgrade to endo-steel if I wanted to get solid gold furniture.

Although I would prefer the arm mounted flamers.

Edited by joedawg39s, 26 April 2013 - 06:19 PM.

[AlexEss]

Soo.... This is just for fighting off zombies right... No need to worry about other survivors in mechs going to town on you.

If so i'd run with a HBK-4SP with one of the missile racks converted to a camper unit. a pair of medium lasers and a pair of small lasers.

Small enough to not get stuck in urban areas but well armed enough that no zombie horde ever get to me.

Would i need to worry about zombies in zombie mechs...?

[Paula Fry]

[Nathan Foxbane]

Russ Bullock, on 09 January 2012 - 12:29 PM, said:

As a family man I left thinking that this Mech may need to become my home. Therefore is there a Mech with a much larger cockpit which would have a Semi-truck style sleeper? Perhaps even the ability to remove non war time equipment to make room for more people/supplies. Huge Battlemaster style cockpit you could convert to living quarters. Suggestions?

So Russ posted this a while back and it got me curious. So I went looking on Sarna and apparently you can put Infantry Bay/Compartments on 'Mechs. But is it really worth the discomfort from the rough ride on the passengers and the massive loss in tonnage/crits? I mean I suppose if you had to pass over some terrain that only a jump capable 'Mech could cross it would be useful, but that is what VTOLs are for right? Maybe?

[Felicitatem Parco]

Nathan Foxbane, on 28 April 2013 - 02:21 PM, said:

So Russ posted this a while back and it got me curious. So I went looking on Sarna and apparently you can put Infantry Bay/Compartments on 'Mechs. But is it really worth the discomfort from the rough ride on the passengers and the massive loss in tonnage/crits? I mean I suppose if you had to pass over some terrain that only a jump capable 'Mech could cross it would be useful, but that is what VTOLs are for right? Maybe?

Wow.. that is a fine idea! Here's the Sarna on it:


"Infantry Bay/Compartment

Infantry Bays are typically found on large vehicles and vessels such as DropShip. They provide basic sleeping arraignments, a communal waste facility, and in some cases stowage compartments for food and equipment. Life support is either drawn in from the outside environment through air filters and conditioners or the ship-wide life support system.

Infantry Compartments differ in that they are meant to transport infantry over short distances and are typically found on smaller vehicles. Beyond space needed to carry soldiers and their gear to where they are going, compartments lack any of the amenities found in the larger bays.

Rules

All Infantry Bays and Compartments takes up either one space slot on vehicles or one slot per ton on 'Mechs. Each Bay/Compartment has a capacity of 28 troopers except for Mechanized Infantry (which carries 5 troopers) and Battle Armor(which carries 1). Foot Infantry Bays/Compartments weigh 5/3 tons; Jump Infantry Bays/Compartments weigh 6/4 tons; Motorized Infantry Bays/Compartments weigh 7/6 tons; Mechanized Infantry Bays/Compartments weigh 8/5 tons; Battle Armor Bays/Compartments weigh 2/1 tons. All Infantry Bays/Compartments can be combined into a single, unified infantry bay slot, regardless of tonnage or number of troopers, when used on combat or support vehicles."


So... this being the case, I might have to modify my old Plans and go with something along the lines of Joedawg's idea:

joedawg39s, on 26 April 2013 - 06:19 PM, said:

Zombie survival hunchback mk. 2.
I changed over to a HBK-4J. Now I can hollow out that gigantic missile rack an make a sweet apartment in the hunch. I could even upgrade to endo-steel if I wanted to get solid gold furniture.

So, I think I would take a Hunchback-4P Swayback with
-Std 245 engine,
-EndoSteel,
-an ERPPC and a standard 5-ton Infantry Bay in the Hunch,
-1 ML in the Head
-1 Flamer in each Arm
-304 pts of standard armor
-15 DHS

That right there would give me Long Range punch, Hand Actuators, a huge Living Quarters, a pair of Flamers to burn anything around or on my Mech, and the ML & Std engine allow ME to be a zombie.

I'm not really concerned about having the PPC in the same area as my HunchPad because I won't be firing the PPC from my living room, anyways, so no worrying about emissions or anything like that... unless I get a fish tank...


Remember Folks, you're not gonna be fighting too many Zombies in the apocalypse... you'll be fighting mostly survivors unless you go into some atmosphere-controlled, previously-Urban metropolis zone for supplies and get inundated by a swarm of zombies...

Edited by Prosperity Park, 28 April 2013 - 04:44 PM.

[Nathan Foxbane]

Hmmm let me see what I can do with the Grasshopper. I will have to switch over 5H to make this work.

Strip out the LRM 5 and its ammo. Not going to put anything back in because that means not only can I expand the cockpit if I so desire, but that ammo feed just became a passage way into the right torso!
Upgrade the left torso medium laser to a large and change the left arm medium laser to a flamer. Drop six heat sinks and change to rest to doubles. Add an infantry bay to the right torso.

GHR-5HZ Grasshopper
Engine: 280 Standard
Speed: 64.8 kph
Frame: Standard
Armor: 13 tons of standard
Jump Jets: 4
Heat Sinks: 16 DHS
Weapons:
- 2 Large Lasers (CT and LT )
- 2 Medium Lasers (RA and RT)
- 1 Flamer (LA)
Equipment:
- 1 Infantry Bay (RT)

It goes just about anywhere, has plenty of firepower, has two hands, easy to find replacement parts, (even the engine as the VOX 280 is one of the more popular models of engine) and maximum endurance. I even managed to perfectly balance the weight so no space wasted with counter balances in the 'Mech. Can easily change the heat sinks back and swap the LT large laser so it will run cool with single heat sinks when doubles start getting hard to find. I do not have to leave the 'Mech except maybe to scrounge and with a 5 ton infantry bay I am sure I can find room for a Nighthawk PA(L) suit (have to steal one from ComStar) or even Elemental armor if I could get my hands on them some of the heavier infantry armor full body suits like ballistic plate or even something more exotic.

Edited by Nathan Foxbane, 29 April 2013 - 08:36 PM.

[JTAlweezy]

I take a daishi

[Jae Hyun Nakamura]

I would take a Karnov KU transport VTOL stuffed with a mix of Kage and Raiden Battlearmor. I will always be with friends and raidi g missions in towns will make a lot of fun jumpjetting. And how do enter a liqour store in a mech? Any idea? Lasers and claws for the fun fact that my cockpit window and the rest of the BA will be fully dipped in blood. And the Karnov has enough space to load food and stuff and survivors and BA.

...just to say...food in a mech can get a little hot...it's getting wet in your mech and you have the fungus all around your activators

[Nathan Foxbane]

Jae Hyun Nakamura, on 29 April 2013 - 11:12 PM, said:

I would take a Karnov KU transport VTOL stuffed with a mix of Kage and Raiden Battlearmor.

The armed Karnov Ur is a field mod or a variant offered in 3055. It uses an I.C.E. engine so have fun raiding for petrol and you have to land eventually anyways.The 6 ton Cargo bay is just that, a cargo bay, no amenities (like, oh say a bathroom), no special storage, no sleeping spaces, just one empty space with lots of tie down and attachment points and minimal seating like you would find in the cargo bay of a C-130. It is 3050 Raiden and Kage battle armor will not be developed for several more years. The Raidens each weigh a ton and Kage weigh .75 tons so optimum load would be 3 Raidens and 4 Kage at which point you no longer have any weight left for cargo. You could fit 15 Nighthawks or Tornados (mass .4 tons each) which are available (to ComStar ) for that same weight. (Your Karnov is also ultimately from ComStar btw)

Jae Hyun Nakamura, on 29 April 2013 - 11:12 PM, said:

...just to say...food in a mech can get a little hot...it's getting wet in your mech and you have the fungus all around your activators

Not really a big problem if you wrap it in a couple heat sinks. It would have its own refrigeration for food storage and an independent life support system for the whole thing so it should be able to handle that heat load. Both the 'Mechs Prosperity and I built are actually fairly cool running. Canned food and rations are precooked so no spoilage there and canning is not that hard of a process. Not like you would have frozen meat hanging from meat hooks in a walk in fridge or anything, that is crazy.

[Felicitatem Parco]

Nathan Foxbane, on 30 April 2013 - 11:31 AM, said:

Both the 'Mechs Prosperity and I built are actually fairly cool running. Canned food and rations are precooked so no spoilage there and canning is not that hard of a process. Not like you would have frozen meat hanging from meat hooks in a walk in fridge or anything, that is crazy.

I would totally dedicate 1 of my 15 DHS specifically to operating a chiller system in my Hunch's Infantry Bay Suite.

Spoiler

So, I think I would take a Hunchback-4P Swayback with
-Std 245 engine,
-EndoSteel,
-an ERPPC and a standard 5-ton Infantry Bay in the Hunch,
-1 ML in the Head
-1 Flamer in each Arm
-304 pts of standard armor
-15 DHS

The Infantry Bay comes equipped with all the accommodations for a 28-man Unit, and I would "personalize it" to suit the needs of just me + family + storage

I would most certainly have frozen meat hanging off hooks

Edited by Prosperity Park, 30 April 2013 - 11:47 AM.

[Rayah]

Either a Spider or a Hunchback 4P

[Sennin]

http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Hellstar Endless firepower...enough said.

[joedawg39s]

Nathan Foxbane, on 28 April 2013 - 02:21 PM, said:

So Russ posted this a while back and it got me curious. So I went looking on Sarna and apparently you can put Infantry Bay/Compartments on 'Mechs. But is it really worth the discomfort from the rough ride on the passengers and the massive loss in tonnage/crits? I mean I suppose if you had to pass over some terrain that only a jump capable 'Mech could cross it would be useful, but that is what VTOLs are for right? Maybe?

EXACTLY WHAT I WANTED!

So on my huncback I have 6.5 tons so thats the bIggest bay with 1.5 tons of supplies

THEN

if I upgade to endo I have 9 tons and 9 slots in the RT. So that leaves me room for 3 tons of living space wIth 2 tons of supples and 4 tons for a battle armor compartment for oudodoor activites. (2 for the bay and 2 for the armor)

[Sephlock]

There are certain mechs that are specifically outfitted for long campaigns without leaving your mech, right? They should have water purifiers and stuff..

Barring that, a mech with jump jets, good sensors, and lots of energy weapons would be ideal...

[joedawg39s]

Sephlock, on 07 May 2013 - 05:52 PM, said:

There are certain mechs that are specifically outfitted for long campaigns without leaving your mech, right? They should have water purifiers and stuff..

Barring that, a mech with jump jets, good sensors, and lots of energy weapons would be ideal...

Inner sphere mechs for the most part are, clan mechs are built for short engagements so unless you want to pee out your window I would go IS.