48 replies to this topic

[Haystacks]

I'll start with the fact I'm a newbi. When you guys go on about replacing this engine with that it goes over my head. So I ask, Can a commando fit LRMS? and if so what size, how many, how much ammo, and what would i need to give up?

Also could you guys tell me what books/ sites/ programs I should look at to learn this. ive got some ideas, but no way of knowing whats legal let alone viable.
Thanks in advance.

[Arafinar]

http://mwomercs.com/...-pretty-please/

[LunarWind]

I'm not familiar with the Commando, but in general if a mech mounts ANY kind of missiles, it can mount any other kind of missiles.

I'm fairly certain the commando mounts SRMs (Short-range Missiles). This means that it can indeed mount LRMs.
How many? Depends on what you muck with in the mechlab. Dropping your engine, armor, and all other weapons might fit 2 LRM 20s on the thing, but it'll be little more than a paper-thin missile battery.

Could you retain combat and scout functionality while adding an LRM5 or even 10 for support? Yes.
Will you have enough ammo to really contribute to the fight while 'at-range'? Probably not.
All in all, if you're looking for an agile 'mech with fire-support capabilities, you may want to go medium.

[Anubis132]

Arafinar, that was a completely unhelpful post.

Regarding the OP's question, yes, the Commando can mount LRM's. This is because LRM's take a missile-type hardpoint, and the primary variant of the Commando, the COM-2D, carries SRM's (info on Commando is here), which are also missile-type weapons. That means you can switch out the SRM's for LRMs. I expect you'd be able to cram a LRM-10 on the Commando without any sacrifice other than the SRM's.

Edited by Anubis132, 13 July 2012 - 03:46 PM.

[Arafinar]

Anubis132, on 13 July 2012 - 03:42 PM, said:

Arafinar, that was a completely unhelpful post.

Regarding the OP's question, yes, the Commando can mount LRM's. This is because LRM's take a missile-type hardpoint, and the primary variant of the Commando, the COM-2D, carries SRM's (info on Commando is here), which are also missile-type weapons. That means you can switch out the SRM's for LRMs. I expect you'd be able to cram a LRM-10 on the Commando without any sacrifice other than the SRM's.

Everything he mentioned is contain in the referenced post,which in him being new he shouldve looked at first. sarna has everything
about mechs on it. So which part wasnt helpful?

[Haystacks]

Thanks guys, i took a look at the "start here" a while ago. but cant see anything that gives me rules on mech building.
Is there a book i should take a look at? as this is close to the tt game?
@ Arafinar
I dont have ANY working knowledge on crunch. What people are saying there mean very little.

Edited by Haystacks, 13 July 2012 - 03:52 PM.

[LunarWind]

Arafinar, the guy asked you a complex 'yes' or 'no' question and you silently pointed him at a library.
It was helpful, but in the most oblique and uncaring way possible.

Don't worry though, we've got your back.
Now, once he's read our responses he can choose whether or not to dive into the massive repository of MW:O learnings that you linked.

[Faenwulf]

A short info on how the Mechlab and Mechs work in most MechWarrior Games and BT Unvierse Stuff:

Every 'Mech has a max. tonnage that he can wield. Every weapon, piece of equipment, ammunition, engine, heat sinks (needed to cool the 'Mech when firing) etc. costs tonnage. So, if you remove parts of it you free tonnage to get other things into the 'Mech. For example: A Medium laser weighs one ton. Remove it, you have one ton free. Now you could mount another ton of ammunition for example. Or two small lasers who weigh 0.5 tons each.
The XS engine you are talking about saves tonnage (not sure how much atm) but it is bigger and gives the chance that you will get "critical hits" to your side torsos instead of just center ( a 'Mech is made up of several Areas: Head, 2x Side Torso, Center Torso, 2x Legs, 2x Arms and Back armor).

Then there are 3 Types of wepons: Ballistic ( Machine Guns, AutoCannons, Gauss etc.), Missilies (SRM and LRM) and Energy type (Lasers, PPC, Flamers etc.) If there is an Energy wepon on a 'Mech this means that there is a Energy Hardpoint on it and you could mount other Energy wepons on the 'Mech if you have the free tonnage. So, if a 'Mech has only Energy and Missile Hardpoints (like the Founders Jenner for example) there is no way you could add a Ballistic type weapon.
If you need to look up weapons on 'Mechs and their variants try www.sarna.net the BattleTech wiki. Just type in the name of the 'Mech and be happy!

Hope that helped to clear up a few things.

[Haystacks]

Ok, that makes sense. So if im correct:
remove the srms for 5 tons, which equals 2x lrm 5s and an extra ton of ammo. (lrm 10 is 5tons)
another question is how much ammo comes with the srms?

(Edit)
Also, how much weight does a XL engine/Ferro Fiberus armour/ Endo Steel chassis save?
Ive looked at the sarna pages and I cant find it.

Edited by Haystacks, 13 July 2012 - 04:19 PM.

[Gryfyn1]

Haystacks, on 13 July 2012 - 03:58 PM, said:

Ok, that makes sense. So if im correct:
remove the srms for 5 tons, which equals 2x lrm 5s and an extra ton of ammo. (lrm 10 is 5tons)
another question is how much ammo comes with the srms?

http://www.sarna.net...Equipment_Lists

You check the details on each weapom there

Edited by Gryfyn1, 13 July 2012 - 04:13 PM.

[Faenwulf]

Normally a weapon comes with 1 ton of ammo.
How many shots that is depends on the weapon. In the case of the Missile Launchers it also depends on how many are fired each attack (that what the number behind the SRM/LRM stands for).

For exact details on each weapon you should check them out on Sarna. I'm no lexikon on BT Lore and Mechanics, too.

There should also be programs or something similar for making 'Mechs, but I don't know any since I am waiting for that until the game is out and I know what I can do and can't.

Edited by Faenwulf, 13 July 2012 - 04:16 PM.

[Mu]

Also beware that the tabletop numbers might not apply to MWO perfectly. I believe they are trying as hard as they can to stick to canon values for critical space, tonnage etc but some things could be in flux. So it's hard to give a straight answer about how much ammo per ton you'd get, since for all we know they might be using totally different numbers for gameplay reasons.

Hardpoints are guesswork as well since they are unique to MWO, although we can make very accurate educated guesses based on the loadouts that variants have. As others have said, you can assume there'll be at least one missile hardpoint on your Commando.

[Capnflintlock]

I for one welcome you to the commando brotherhood. *Hands a roll of toilet paper*. You're going to need it when you crap yourself on your first atlas encounter.

Edited by Capnflintlock, 13 July 2012 - 04:26 PM.

[Haystacks]

Gryfyn1, on 13 July 2012 - 04:12 PM, said:

http://www.sarna.net...Equipment_Lists

You check the details on each weapom there

That page is a god send. I was searching each page indavidually. Thanks.
@Mu
I understand things are in the air but this is the closest thing we have to rules. It was the free 1 ton that didnt know, which helps alot.

@Capnflintlock
Pleasure to be here. And thats why im trying to fit these LRMs. just so i dont have to be anywhere near them.

But seriously thanks for the info. Friendlyst fourm about.
And thanks Grimzod for the program link

Edited by Haystacks, 13 July 2012 - 04:45 PM.

[ScrapIron Prime]

Stock commando has the following build sheet:

Internal structure (std). 2.5 tons
Engine (150 std).......... 5.5 tons
Cockpit and sensors.... 3.0 tons
Gyroscope ................... 2.0 tons
Jump jets (none) ..........0
Heat sinks (10 std) ....... 0
Armor (std) ................... 4.0 tons
Medium laser ... 1.0 tons
SRM 4 .............. 2.0 tons
- ammo (25) ..... 1.0 tons
SRM 6 ............... 3.0 tons
- ammo (15) ...... 1.0 tons

Total of 25 tons.

Replacing each missile launcher with an LRM 5 and a ton of ammo each (24 shots each) leaves you 1 ton left over.

If you throw money at the issue, you can in theory do the following...

Endosteel structure weighs half as much as normal internal structure (round up to half ton) so would save you 1 ton.
AND
XL engine weighs half as much (again rounding up) and would save you 2.5 tons
OR
Dropping the mech's speed to 65 kph would reduce the engine rating to a 100 which weighs 3.5 tons AND requires only a 1ton gyro, resulting in a savings of 3 tons.
OR
Drop the engine as above but make it a 100xl engine, for a weight savings of 4.5 tons

So... Endosteel and The first XL engine option, plus your leftover 1 ton allows to add a third LRM 5 with ammo and have 1.5 tons remaining, which you could spend on a second medium laser and a half ton more armor OR a lot more armor OR a beagle probe for scouting OR a 200 rated XL engine which would crank your speed from 96 kph to about 128 kph.

No simple answers, but lots of options.

[Xandre Blackheart]

If you're looking for a light LRM mech (similar to the Valkyrie) the command is a good chassis to start with.

Since you're not going to need as much speed in a support role, the fist logical step is to reduce the movement to 5/8 from 6/9. But dropping the engine from a 150 to a 125 only gets you 1.5 tons. Dropping it to a 125 XL however nets you 3.5 tons however. This, plus removing both SRMs and the medium laser nets you 3+4+1 ton (8) combined with the engine weight savings is 11.5 tons.

this lets you mount a LRM 5 (left torso) + 1 ton of ammo (3 tons), a LRM 10 (right arm) +2 tons of ammo (7 tons) leaving you with 1 ton left over for armor (because as a support mech you will need it) and a small laser for a defensive weapon (because you will also need it).

This gives you a small profile support mech with enhanced armor, fair speed, and the capability to launch 24 salvos of 15 missiles each. With the small profile and fair speed it makes an excellent addition to a scout lance that can hang back and provide cover for escaping scouts.

[Latriam]

I would try going here http://remlab.source...mlab30/mech.lab

or google mektek.net
its a great program to use as well.

[Xandre Blackheart]

Nooo, do it old school with a pen and paper and a red LED calculator!

It's traditional.


Of course then you'll need some handy info -

http://www.scribd.co...5103-TechManual
http://bg.battletech...th_Counters.pdf
http://www.sarna.net...Equipment_Lists

Edited by Xandre Blackheart, 13 July 2012 - 06:19 PM.

[Glythe]

If you want to play with building mechs try this:

http://www.solarisskunkwerks.com/

And here is a listing of all mechs known hard points in game:

http://www.mechspecs...?11-The-Mechlab

[E_Crow]

Sarna.net

it should answer all your questions