So long story short I wanted to reply to this thread because several of the proposed mechs in the mech packs are not even remotely possible within the current timeline. I'm only talking about the proposed packs that could come out around 3050-3052, not the 3053+ packs, fyi.
So the older mechs that would be "really neat" to see in game like the Mackie aren't even possible. The mech factories were bombed out in humanity's ignorance and bloodthirst a good 20+ years ago. Luckily for us some of those designs were recovered during the Helm Memory Core and similar discoveries. So I'm going to go through the list real quick, answer with a brief yes or no according to Sarna:
Mongoose: Yes, recovered tech
Thorn: Yes, ComGuard GG
Sentinel: Yes
Wyvern: No because each house had only a handful (at least 1) and we are not ComGuard so we don't get them until after Tukayyid.
Crab: Yes
Black Knight: Yes, Drac Combine has them
Excalibur: Yes, low but acceptable numbers existed
Champion: No, we are not ComGuard
Cyclops: Yes, rediscovered tech
Pillager: No, no factories and no 3rd variant until reopening at a later date
Emperor: No
Thug: Yes
Crockett: Yes, only from Rosebud
Javelin: Yes, be glad Fed Suns likes to buy in bulk
Assassin: Maybe? Numbers were low by 3025, let alone 3050 (this being in-game is almost like someone going to Iraq with a Springfield M1903 rifle and a Nambu, wearing WW1 tropic gear)
Dervish: Yes, better choice over Assassin
Lancelot: No, a dozen original units and a few hundred 02 variants isn't enough
Merlin: Yes, better alternative to the Lancelot
Charger: Yes
Mackie: No
Quote
When the
Mackie was first built, it epitomized the Terran Hegemony's technological advantage over the great houses. Still, the
Mackie had such symbolic importance to the Terran Hegemony that it remained in production until the start of the
Amaris Civil War, although it has not been built since then
Clint: Yes, less than a few hundred originals but new variants being produced by 3050 (PGI could fudge it and give us some "field modified survivors of the original" to fill out the other 2 variants. We should assume that no untouched originals exist)
Hermes II: Definite yes
Vulcan: Yes
Disclaimer: Below are Wolf's Dragoons variants, I wouldn't suggest adding them unless PGI plans on adding the faction or alternatively making the mechs available in limited numbers somehow.
Firefly: Yes
Falcon: Yes
Hoplite: No, numbers quickly lost, irreplaceable after 3020
Flashman: Yes, also not a Wolf's Dragoons Mech according to Sarna. Regular pilots fighting for the Lyrans had access to them.
Gallowglas: No, not Dragoons and not available 'til 3055
Annihilator: Yes
That's my assessment according to the wiki, which is rarely wrong. Note that I ignored all Clan units. This is because the Clans don't have to worry about timeline constraints; they took care of what Mechs they did have and only lost a small percentage of them in small ground wars and (later on) Trials.
Edited by Pezzer, 13 March 2015 - 09:44 PM.