WarHippy, on 07 April 2015 - 01:07 PM, said:
This is why I have a hard time taking the fluff seriously because those are all incorrect definitions of those things if we use that description of the system. I would like to think the writers at least had some clue of what they were talking about(Although that part from The Sword and the Dagger really shows that at least that author didn't), and we ended up with this convoluted mess because of too many writers trying to reinvent the wheel every time they got their hands on the IP.
A round is a single unit of ammunition consisting of a projectile, propellant, primer, and casing to form a single cartridge/round. A shell is something else as well. A shell is a payload-carrying projectile normally explosive/incendiary. When the Enforcer is described as having only 10 rounds, and that it is reloaded with 10 round clips that is a pretty clear description that contradicts what you are describing without some serious mental gymnastics.
In the specific case of the
Enforcer, it's also explicitly supported by BT lore:
"'You're up against an
Enforcer. That scrappy little SOB was born in the Federated Commonwealth. I know it well. He'll try to get in close and hit you with the autocannon or large laser. You can't survive more than three hits from either one.'
That much I know, Dawn thought irritably.
Now tell me something I can use.
'It has two weaknesses, Dawn,' Hawkes said as if reading her mind. 'The ammo-feed system for the autocannon is subject to jamming and
it can only carry ten bursts. He'll be trying to husband those salvos. The 'Mech is also vulnerable from the rear. The armor is very thin there. Gunner out.'" -
Star Lord, ch. 19
The statements made in
Star Lord are in-line with those made in TRO 3025:
"The only real problem with the mating of autocannon and 'Mech was, predictably, the feed system. Many an
Enforcer prototype has its weapon jam. In some cases, the jamming round exploded, blowing off the 'Mech's entire arm and injuring the MechWarrior.
As good as the autocannon is, the
Enforcer's one major flaw is that it can carry only ten rounds for it. Attempts to boost the number of rounds carried have proved either unreliable or have slowed the 'Mech down.
To meet this problem,
Enforcers use big, ten-round clips that are easily slipped into and out of the 'Mech's back. If possible, a truck and crane system are parked close to
Enforcers during battle to allow quick reloading of the 'Mech's autocannon. If the battle is too mobile and the Enforcer has no opportunities to reload, its pilot has no option but to mother his ten shots."
In
Star Lord, we have an explicit, canonical statement indicating that the
Enforcer's one ton of ammunition represents ten bursts - which puts it in-line with numerous other examples & descriptions of BT autocannon behavior, as well as with the description given in the TRO.
I will agree that they (the collective BT writers) should have been more consistently-correct in their use of terminology (e.g. using "rounds" to refer to single shells/cartridges, using "magazines" or "cassettes" to refer to what the unit of ammunition fired per-salvo (which consists of multiple shells), and so on), in order to make things more clear, but the evidence we have does solidly support the point of he
Enforcer's AC/10 being a burst-fire weapon in canonical BattleTech.
111
Too bad no info on specific loadout, though it sounds like a standard 4G....
