Even without customization, you're going to have boats that utterly decimate everything else, they may be not be as good as the optimized ones, but they'll still be better than everything else.
Either accept boating as part of the game, or limit the stock/variants to such a small number that it doesn't feel like battletech anymore.
There is of course one other option I've brought up a few times but never seemed to catch on. A more complex version of Battle Value. In the TT, your first Medium laser would cost the same as your tenth. What if the total tonnage/heat output of weaponry for each 'range' grouping made it more expensive on a curve, rather than the straight line of the past. Not just weapon based, as you'd still have the 3-4 ERPPC or 3-4 Gauss problem.
Using numbers from sarna:
LRM20: 181 BV
PPC: 176 BV
Gauss Rifle: 320 BV
Say you put an LRM20 onto an empty 'Mech, 181 more BV. Now say you add another LRM20, 362 BV. But if you went and added any other long range weapon, say a PPC or another LRM20, it would put you around 600~ BV rather than 540~. Then a fourth LRM20 would take you to 850~ BV rather than 720~ But if you went and added SRMs, Medium Lasers, High Caliber ACs, these would all cost normal as they're not in the same range bracket/weapon type.
To put it simply, beyond a certain point start curving the BV of equipment if they stack too heavily in one direction, and while some might call this arbitrary, I would call it logical. Battle Value isn't C-Bills, it's meant to balance the game - and in almost all situations specialization beats all purpose. So make BV reflect that, 'Mechs aren't inherently weak or vulnerable at short range even if they're all long range weaponry, especially if you take into account lance mates and focus fire etc. So let Battle Value make those boats cost what they should cost, not less than they should cost as they do now. Even in TT some 'Mechs are obviously better than others per BV and it's precisely because of the vacuum BV weights.
Edited by Haeso, 09 December 2011 - 09:22 PM.