101 replies to this topic

[Capnflintlock]

Just as the title suggests, I was wondering if it would be plausible for mechs to have Ballistic shields. Of course It has nothing to do with battle tech lore(that I'm aware of), I just though it would be a cool idea to talk about.
The shields could be added tin various sizes to the arms, legs, torso, or even the back of a mech.

Positives:
+Being it a shield, it would be mostly external, thus few slots would be needed to equip it
+Would Increase maximum armor a mech could achieve
+Fairly cheap to produce and purchase as its not part of a mech
+Would offer that oh so needed back protection, without sacrificing frontal armor
+Would absorb most of splash damage if used correctly
+Could be dumped at any time, sort of like ammo, to regain the movement to where it was attached


Negatives:
-Would inhibit the mechs Torso twist range/speed, to prevent damage to mech(if attached to torso)
-Would inhibit mechs Arm aim speed, to prevent damage to mech(if attached to arm)
-Would inhibit mechs maximum movement speed, to prevent damage to mech(if attached to legs)
-tonnage would be excessive, and relatively inefficient as its externally mounted
-Being externally mounted, the mechs center of gravity would be off, and more susceptible to rocking caused by munition rounds.

[DireWolf307]

I like to keep my Gundam in my Gundam and my BT in my BT.

Alternately, this is not Armored Core.

[JP Josh]

i voted yes because hey i think at least one mech design out there used some sort of shield or some merch used shields
custom
however im not very well versed in lore. so if any one who is please tell me if im rite.

i would like to at least attempt to stick to the original weapon load outs on mechs.

[Sleeping Bear]

Let's be honest, battletech/mechwarrior does have a shield, it's called armor. Shield never have been in, or ever should be in this game period, end of story.

[DireWolf307]

JP Josh, on 29 May 2012 - 10:50 PM, said:

i voted yes because hey i think at least one mech design out there used some sort of shield or some merch used shields
custom
however im not very well versed in lore. so if any one who is please tell me if im rite.

i would like to at least attempt to stick to the original weapon load outs on mechs.

There are 'mechs with shield-shaped design features, and some were removable, but they were never represented by an equippable item of some sort, usually just rolled in to the design as a few extra tons of armor on one arm.

There's no need to add "extra" equippable armor plates, that's what adding tonnage of armor does.

[SGT_Stubby]

I think the guys at PGI are trying to keep this as canon as possible. No shields. The best "ballistic shield" you could get would be an AMS or LAMS.

[John Clavell]

Ballistic shields show up in Battletech post FedCom civil war I believe, specifically on Solaris. Personally, I'm not keen on the idea.

[William Petersen]

I don't think he means a shield like Star Trek; he means a shield like knights of the round table.

There are a few Mechs who employ such shields, though I don't know where to find them offhand; I just know I've seen the pictures for them. I also don't know the rules associated with them.

/shrugs

[Evinthal]

John Clavell, on 29 May 2012 - 11:03 PM, said:

Ballistic shields show up in Battletech post FedCom civil war I believe, specifically on Solaris. Personally, I'm not keen on the idea.

Correct, they do.

Sleeping Bear, on 29 May 2012 - 10:55 PM, said:

Let's be honest, battletech/mechwarrior does have a shield, it's called armor. Shield never have been in, or ever should be in this game period, end of story.

I love bursting bubbles, so here it goes. They are in battletech see Tactical Operations pages 19-20, 89-90, 288, 291 and 382.

William Petersen, on 29 May 2012 - 11:06 PM, said:

I don't think he means a shield like Star Trek; he means a shield like knights of the round table.

There are a few Mechs who employ such shields, though I don't know where to find them offhand; I just know I've seen the pictures for them. I also don't know the rules associated with them.

/shrugs

And if he does mean shields like in star trek, I would like to point out Project Blue Shield, though it really only works on PPCs.

Edited by Evinthal, 29 May 2012 - 11:17 PM.

[Smoke Banshee]

http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Valiant here's the only mech canonicaly that uses a shield.
Shields come in three sizes, small which blocks a little damage, medium which blocks more but you move slower, and large which blocks the most but makes you move slow and jump jets no longer work with it equipped.

[Karl Streiger]

A light mech is maybe the only mech that could benefit of a shield. In general its better to use the weight for more speed or for heavy units for more weapons

[sicarii]

It looks like a Battlemaster/Hatchetman hybrid.

[verybad]

Nothing personal, it's a barfalicious idea however. No shields. These are walking tanks, they don't move like martial artists, they're the size of buildings, they can't twist fast enough to block things that are moving faster that the human eye can comprehend.

(No shields)

[Thorn Blackwell]

It's a simple question of weight restrictions. Armor weighs a lot, and a shield is just armor. There is no way to add it to a supporting structure. If you're thinking the mech can just hold it, then you aren't thinking about the internal structures that have specific weight limits. Picking up a bit of this and that is one thing, but a significant amount of armor to make a difference is too much to support. It would throw off the balance of the mech, and make it heavier thus slowing it down. It's just not an option according to the design rules in the game.

[Sylow]

But, hey, we need mechs with shields. They should have very weak weapons for that. Then please also add those with little armour and big guns and those with almost no armour but can repair the other mechs in combat...

(Warning! This posting may contain some sarcasm! )

[wanderer]

Capnflintlock, on 29 May 2012 - 10:39 PM, said:

Just as the title suggests, I was wondering if it would be plausible for mechs to have Ballistic shields. Of course It has nothing to do with battle tech lore(that I'm aware of), I just though it would be a cool idea to talk about.
The shields could be added tin various sizes to the arms, legs, torso, or even the back of a mech.

What you're talking about is actually modular armor, which does exist as an experimental-level item in Battletech. In addition, actual physical shields exist- that is, something on the arm used to cover part of the 'Mech from incoming fire (and absorb some of said damage), with effectiveness (and in turn, restricting fire) varying by how active the pilot is with it and how large the shield is to begin with. Not -common- on production-model 'Mechs, but they've been used, especially on unique Solaris-style machinery.

[Ashla Mason]

John Clavell, on 29 May 2012 - 11:03 PM, said:

Ballistic shields show up in Battletech post FedCom civil war I believe, specifically on Solaris. Personally, I'm not keen on the idea.

Ah Solaris. The planet where no one gives two ***** about how effective it is as long as its zany and Fun!

God I love solaris mechs.

[neodym]

I say yes but only on some mechs,Black knight in MW4 had SHIELD,it had low HP,you couldnt put armor on it,it didnt have any DMG
bleedtrough and it stopped first hit of any weapon,even heavy gauss.... it big enough,I would go charging with shield side in front and I could
survive one alpha more becose if it

[TheRulesLawyer]

As long as you aren't talking about energy shields they already are in the BTU.

[wanderer]

neodym, on 30 May 2012 - 10:27 AM, said:

I say yes but only on some mechs,Black knight in MW4 had SHIELD,it had low HP,you couldnt put armor on it,it didnt have any DMG
bleedtrough and it stopped first hit of any weapon,even heavy gauss.... it big enough,I would go charging with shield side in front and I could
survive one alpha more becose if it

Don't trust anything in MW4 as being even remotely resembling canon, other than names.

Seriously. Microsoft was That Bad.

Ashla Mason, on 30 May 2012 - 10:23 AM, said:

Ah Solaris. The planet where no one gives two ***** about how effective it is as long as its zany and Fun!

God I love solaris mechs.

They gave us vibroblades. Sweet, horrifyingly effective vibroblades.

There's nothing quite like hacking someone's head off with one swing from your light Battlemech, and I have Solaris VII techs to thank for it.