21 replies to this topic

[Gyrok]

Just as it says, should PGI implement LAMS on clan mechs?

My thoughts run to this may already be coming since the clans currently have no ECM mechs announced. Unless they offer some kind of ECM pod for the clans...thoughts?

[Clint Steel]

Land Air Mechs? We can have a hard time shooting up a hill, let alone something flying

[CMetz]

People will cry about the ridiculous amount of heat that it creates. There would also need to be a cycle time, since it is basically a small pulse laser, but puts out the heat of a clan ER Medium laser. Also, the LAMS is (I believe) part of optional advanced rules. I'd have to look at the rulebooks, though.

[Impyrium]

Er... is it bad I thought a LAM was one of those fancy doohicky Robotech 'Mechs?

[CyborgDragon]

I think it should be an optional piece of equipment just like the IS AMS. The heat would be an issue, but adding a toggle (like many of us have been asking for on AMS for ages now ) would allow us to switch it off if we start running too hot.

[Rogue Jedi]

do you mean the Laser Anti Missile System or Land Air Mechs?

as I understand it the Laser AMS is still a few years off tech wise (when Phenon Wolf's Wolfhound was presented to him fitted with Clan tech he was told that a Laser AMS would be fitted if they ever figured out how to make it work, that was in 3051, as are we now although Sarna says LAMS was in production in 3048)
Land Air Mechs were, as far as I know, never used by the clans.

If you mean Laser AMS, I say in a year or 2 not right now

[Koniving]

I'm thinking he means Laser Anti-Missile System. Thomas already put LAMS into the game. Already made and ready to go. Just needs the go-ahead.

Lightweight Attack Munitions is all else I can think of. Local Area Mines.

I'd love to dispense some landmines around where ECM Ravens like to snipe from.

[Gyrok]

Laser AMS...which clans have had for 3 years in this timeline.

[Praslek2]

Not to be rude, but I absolutely hate land air mechs with a visceral passion that heats my body from head to toe with burning rage.

[Strum Wealh]

Koniving, on 26 May 2014 - 11:51 PM, said:

I'm thinking he means Laser Anti-Missile System. Thomas already put LAMS into the game. Already made and ready to go. Just needs the go-ahead.

Source (with links/quotes/timestamps)?

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Rogue Jedi, on 26 May 2014 - 11:30 PM, said:

do you mean the Laser Anti Missile System or Land Air Mechs?

as I understand it the Laser AMS is still a few years off tech wise (when Phenon Wolf's Wolfhound was presented to him fitted with Clan tech he was told that a Laser AMS would be fitted if they ever figured out how to make it work, that was in 3051, as are we now although Sarna says LAMS was in production in 3048)
Land Air Mechs were, as far as I know, never used by the clans.

If you mean Laser AMS, I say in a year or 2 not right now

In addition to an activation/deactivation toggle, (L)AMS also needs "smarter" behavioral programming (e.g. not trying to shoot down missiles when one is behind cover that would block the missiles anyway, such as inside the tunnels on Crimson Strait or Frozen City).

[Koniving]

Strum Wealh, on 27 May 2014 - 03:58 PM, said:

Source (with links/quotes/timestamps)?

Quote

Precentor Lyon Francolynner and ‘friends’ are on my case again. They want a drastically more effective missile protection systems and a more robust warning system. I told them that the AMS is the most effective system to date as far as protection goes. Hell, if he can give me 9-10 years and a budget of a billion C-Bills I have some ideas that might work. Let’s see how big his wallet is.

Link. Sad to see Thomas go. The great thing was how he gave us really good, lore-friendly hints.
Also look at the AMS on the Adder screenshots. One of them has a laser emitter on the end of a large cylinder sticking up. O.o;

Preluding Laser AMS... Valve style!

[Strum Wealh]

Koniving, on 27 May 2014 - 04:46 PM, said:

Link. Sad to see Thomas go. The great thing was how he gave us really good, lore-friendly hints.
Also look at the AMS on the Adder screenshots. One of them has a laser emitter on the end of a large cylinder sticking up. O.o;

Preluding Laser AMS... Valve style!

Thomas' thread says nothing about LAMS; it only indicates that " We will start with a Dual Machine-gun and Twin small laser prototypes. In certain cases the turrets will also house {an} advanced AMS", "All trace weapons are available to be put on the turret at this time. That includes all lasers, machine guns, {and} flamers", and " The turret can have {its} own AMS system".

Also, the referenced "Precentor Lyon Francolynner" is a canon BT character, the CO of ComStar's 104th Division as of 3049.
By contrast, IS LAMS is starts R&D in the FedCom in 3054 and doesn't begin production until 3059; ComStar had nothing to do with it.

As for the thing on the Puma's Left Torso... the Catapults also have a similar structure, complete with slit & "laser emitter", at the top of the Left Torso.

Presumed "LAMS" on Puma (Left Torso, forward of the shoulder joint):




Presumed "LAMS" on Catapult (Left Torso, the smaller of the two structures):




Since we know that the Catapults obviously don't have LAMS & that all of the non-Hero Catapults carry their AMS in the Right Torso (on the dual-AMS Jester, the structure in question sits behind & to the outside-side of the LT-mounted AMS), odds are that the structure in question on both 'Mechs is likely just a texture representation of some generic built-in sensor or communication system.

Also, when/where was it stated that Thomas left!?
Just because he hasn't been on the forum in a while doesn't mean he's gone...

[Koniving]

Strum Wealh, on 27 May 2014 - 05:56 PM, said:

Also, when/where was it stated that Thomas left!?
Just because he hasn't been on the forum in a while doesn't mean he's gone...

Don't know the details.

Also consider this... PGI has been mentioning serveral times they may reset the time line to 3050.
Doesn't appear for "9 years."
"Give me 9-10 years and a budget of a billion C-Bills I have some ideas that might work. Let’s see how big his wallet is."
A "drastically more effective missile protection system."
"Doesn't start production until 3059."
Think about it...

Really think about it.

While Comstar is not directly responsible, do remember that Thomas has always been role playing as a comstar researcher. Comstar is also known for always having the most advanced tech there is.

[Strum Wealh]

Koniving, on 27 May 2014 - 06:08 PM, said:

Don't know the details.

Also consider this... PGI has been mentioning serveral times they may reset the time line to 3050.
Doesn't appear for "9 years."
"Give me 9-10 years and a budget of a billion C-Bills I have some ideas that might work. Let’s see how big his wallet is."
A "drastically more effective missile protection system."
"Doesn't start production until 3059."
Think about it...

Really think about it.

While Comstar is not directly responsible, do remember that Thomas has always been role playing as a comstar researcher. Comstar is also known for always having the most advanced tech there is.

Yes, I noticed that as well.

However, none of that addresses the point that every single one of the Catapults have the same structure (which is obviously neither a LAMS nor a standard AMS) on their Left Torso locations as well.

Nor does it address the point that this structure is shown on the Left Torso of the Puma Prime (on both the Standard and Special Geometry versions), despite the facts that 1.) none of the Puma configurations natively mounts either type of AMS and 2.) the Puma Prime's Targeting Computer is located in the Right Torso (so it obviously isn't representative of that).

Edited by Strum Wealh, 27 May 2014 - 06:19 PM.

[Tesunie]

LAMs were just about completely despised by the Clans. That would be more of an IS option. However, Clan Novacat took the last remaining LAM factory, and then destroyed it as far as people know. That means, no more LAMs being made and only what remained (very few left) was all that there would be. (Though Clan Jade Falcon did experiment with remaking LAMs, but they found it was not working well with the clan test pilots, as they had a MW and an aero pilot working together, in a combat system of one vs one glory goes to the victor. Needless to say, the MW kept turning off the LAM part on the other pilot, even when it was better to have stayed flying for a bit longer. They wanted all the glory.

Thus, Clans having LAMs would be highly unlikely, though they have the technical understanding and knowledge to create such a mech. (LAMs didn't get recreated till the Jihad, far off into the future. Word of Blake made more of them, but the factory that created them was presumed to have been bombed to death, so it was lost once again.)

Oh. We are talking about LAMS (Laser Anti-missile system). My bad. Ignore my post...

Edited by Tesunie, 27 May 2014 - 06:23 PM.

[Strum Wealh]

Tesunie, on 27 May 2014 - 06:20 PM, said:

LAMs were just about completely despised by the Clans. That would be more of an IS option. However, Clan Novacat took the last remaining LAM factory, and then destroyed it as far as people know. That means, no more LAMs being made and only what remained (very few left) was all that there would be. (Though Clan Jade Falcon did experiment with remaking LAMs, but they found it was not working well with the clan test pilots, as they had a MW and an aero pilot working together, in a combat system of one vs one glory goes to the victor. Needless to say, the MW kept turning off the LAM part on the other pilot, even when it was better to have stayed flying for a bit longer. They wanted all the glory.

Thus, Clans having LAMs would be highly unlikely, though they have the technical understanding and knowledge to create such a mech. (LAMs didn't get recreated till the Jihad, far off into the future. Word of Blake made more of them, but the factory that created them was presumed to have been bombed to death, so it was lost once again.)

Note that the thread is about the Laser Anti-Missile System (LAMS, with a capital "S"), not the Land-Air 'Mechs (LAMs, with the lower-case "s").

[Koniving]

Strum Wealh, on 27 May 2014 - 06:18 PM, said:

Nor does it address the point that this structure is shown on the Left Torso of the Puma Prime (on both the Standard and Special Geometry versions), despite the facts that 1.) none of the Puma configurations natively mounts either type of AMS and 2.) the Puma Prime's Targeting Computer is located in the Right Torso (so it obviously isn't representative of that).

"Resource recycling."
The Laser AMS on Puma has only been speculation.

[Tesunie]

Strum Wealh, on 27 May 2014 - 06:25 PM, said:

Note that the thread is about the Laser Anti-Missile System (LAMS, with a capital "S"), not the Land-Air 'Mechs (LAMs, with the lower-case "s").

Noted... and changed "before" I refreshed and saw your post... (Yes, I am an idiot sometimes... )

[Yanlowen Cage]

Land air mechs were attempted once by the clans. Required two pilots and was niether capable as a battlemech or an aerospace fighter. Clans dropped the project. Believe it was jade falcon. Novel written about. Only reference that I know of.

[Strum Wealh]

Yanlowen Cage, on 14 June 2014 - 02:47 AM, said:

Land air mechs were attempted once by the clans. Required two pilots and was niether capable as a battlemech or an aerospace fighter. Clans dropped the project. Believe it was jade falcon. Novel written about. Only reference that I know of.

Strum Wealh, on 27 May 2014 - 06:25 PM, said:

Note that the thread is about the Laser Anti-Missile System (LAMS, with a capital "S"), not the Land-Air 'Mechs (LAMs, with the lower-case "s").

Edited by Strum Wealh, 14 June 2014 - 05:49 AM.