Well one thing to note is Robotech is not Macross, which is a good thing for B-tech as by the time you get to Frontier Macross is starting to seriously out class B-tech...
One thing to note is with Vertechs if the info presented
here is accurate, then the Valkyrie is in for some difficulty's. Though from what I can tell the site is largely a fan site with some dubious canon info... Some info at lest seems lifted from it's macross counter parts...
Delta V is ~11.4km/s, or 14.4km/s for the super. (7.8km/s will just get you to space from the ground FYI, ~10km/s if one accounts for some drag.) -so this is likely lower end value.
The following info is actually derived from Macross...
Acceleration for the Valk is 3.86Gs when empty (51.3 metric tons of thrust / 13.3t empty), super has 240 metric tons of thrust on a 19.1 ton empty frame, it dose mention it has at lest 11 tons of fuel however. .
In an Atmosphear the Valkyrie is stated to have the following top speeds
At Sea Level Mach 1.4 (~1,715kph)
At 10,000m Mach 2.71 (~2,920kph)
At 30,000m Mach 3.87 (~4,200kph)
Max unboosted altitude is 35,000 meters
Ground Speed 160kph (rough equivalent to 10/15 movement)
In Comparison a SB-27 Saber
Delta V 120km/s on internal, 180km/s with droptanks (half these values if afterburner consistently used)
Acceleration 5.5Gs or 8.5Gs with the "afterburner"
Speed
Sea Level to ~18km 3,960kph (Mach 3.72)
Max Atmospheric speed 16,200kph -Mach 16.7 at 90km altitude
Note using the High altitude rules then the max speeds are as fallows
Ground - 0-17km safe velocity 2 (2,160kph) Mach 2.04: though this is also the area where low altitude speeds are used.*
Row 1 - 18-35km safe velocity 3 (3,240kph) Mach 3.05 (at 20km)
Row 2 - 36-53km safe velocity 6 (6,480kph) Mach ~5.6
Row 3 - 54-71km safe velocity 9 (9,720kph) Mach ~8.75
Row 4 - 72-89km safe velocity 12 (12,960kph) Mach ~12.75
Interface -90-107km safe velocity 15 (16,200kph) Mach ~15.75
* that rules set is top speed is 2x safe thrust, though using aircraft on the ground maps limits top speed to 2,160kph
Though the Novels have a slightly different take on over all top speed, with a number of cases where ASFs are being listed as flying at hypersonic velocity's at 500m above the ground (6,100kph+).
Ground speed wise the Valk is not much different from many light mechs in terms of speed, though it's notably better armed. With by rough caliber association an AC-5, perhaps a UAC-5 if one wants.
Ground wise the Ground units of Robotech are per the uRRG (linked above) interestingly slower than their macross counter parts but with the same dimensions and armaments, though the RRG lists energy outputs for the energy weapons. For example the Tomahawk has a pair of 30 Megajoule particle cannons listed in the uRRG.
In comparison if one uses the old Fallguy energy weapon numbers a clan hvy large laser is roughly 63ish megajoules.
The Fallguy numbers where derived from the fact that 2 liters of petrochemicals was enough to fire a specific RPG support laser once using a ICE recharge, and assuming a ~8% efficiency rate (from the recharger to the laser and from the laser to the actual beam), as such he peged a damage point for energy weapons as ~6.25 Megajoules.
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Incidentally, how'd you settle on 55 megajoules for a large laser? ISTR you once advocating much higher energy releases for BT energy weapons.
Yeah, I used to peg lasers a lot higher, but then I expanded my list of data points to include the RPGs. It was there that my equations fell flat on their face and I had to start from scratch. (yeah, I’ll admit my mistakes) The limiter is the 'Power Points' which I have all but proof that they are equal to a kilowatt-hour. For example, a 10kg Fossil Fuel generator makes 15 Power Points per hour. This is a little lighter than current technology can make a 15-kilowatt generator. But the real evidence lies in the fuel consumption or 2 liters per hour. Even pumping these magic generators up to 15 kilowatts from 2 liters of gasoline gets you 77.57% conversion efficiency from the potential energy of gasoline.
That's amazing in it's own right, but it's more or less confirmed by the solar generator that generates 45 Power. Assuming the same 95% efficiency ratio of Jump Sails and Earth-normal sunlight providing 1,353 watts per square meter, a 6.68 meter diameter collector will generate 45 kilowatts per hour. To get higher power per power point would require bigger and bigger collectors. (my original energy levels would have required solar collector areas half the size of a hex)
The last nail in the coffin is the 100 Power Point fusion generator. Using an efficiency of 8.84% for a power-optimized 40kg reactor and a fuel consumption equal in cost to a fossil fuel generator (2 C-bills per hour for either 2 liters of petrochemical fuel or 2/15ths of a liter of hydrogen) the power generation is 100 kilowatts per hour. Thus we have a power point equal to 3.6 megajoules. We also have a hole in the rules that says that fusion generators have negligible fuel usage when in fact they do have a noticeable usage equal in cost to a conventional Fossil fuel generator. (albeit with 6-7 times the output for that same cost) If you try and push efficiency up to reduce fuel consumption to the point that it is negligible, you run into the problem of fusion being too power efficient for other parts of the game. (like charging Jumpships )
How much energy does a Heavy Support Laser (Medium Laser) take to fire? 20 according to MW 3rd edition. That makes the power input 72 megajoules per shot. Thus our beam output can't be higher than that, can it? In fact, it has to be well below that to allow for inefficiencies in the system. After running a number of scenarios and comparing every laser in the game against the numbers, I reached a workable ratio of 6.25-to-1 for megajoules of beam energy to damage points.
Further backing this up was the heat generated by the weapon assuming the efficiencies that the known power inputs and beam outputs create. It created a nearly perfect curve of 5,250,000 joules of thermal energy per heat point. (5,000 BTUs) Given 10 full seconds for a pure radiator (no convection so it works in vacuum too) Heat Sink, that allows for Heat sinks to have a surface area small enough to pack dozens on a 10 meter tall BattleMech with a magical 0.99 Emissiveness for Heat Sinks. This makes the Heat sinks of a unit glow about like a cook-top when running at peak output, temperatures reaching as high as 700°K.
Meanwhile, the rest of the heat of weapons fire comes from the 21.101 Kilojoules of waste heat (20 BTUs) generated by the fusion reactor per megajoule of power generated. This meshed in perfectly with the system and is well within the limits of thermal waste generation for current-day (non-energy positive) fusion reactors. I doubt making the reactors more efficient will change this much. It's not a matter of efficiency, but a matter of the limits of thermal isolation in a closed-cycle fusion reaction.
This left me with the following stats for laser weapons that I believe are about as accurate as I can get.
Code:
Weapon Power Rqd. Beam Energy Efficiency
Small Laser (I.S. Level 1): 36 mj 19 mj 52.1%
Medium Laser (I.S. Level 1): 72 mj 31 mj 43.4%
Large Laser (I.S. Level 1): 144 mj 50 mj 34.7%.
ER Small Laser (I.S. Level 2): 54 mj 19 mj 34.7%
ER Medium Laser (I.S. Level 2): 72 mj 31 mj 43.4%
ER Large Laser (I.S. Level 2): 162 mj 50 mj 30.9%.
Small Pulse Laser (I.S. Level 2): 76 mj 19 mj 24.8%
Medium Pulse Laser (I.S. Level 2): 86 mj 38 mj 43.4%
Large Pulse Laser (I.S. Level 2): 162 mj 56 mj 34.7%.
ER Micro Laser (Clan Level 2): 36 mj 13 mj 34.7%
ER Small Laser (Clan Level 2): 54 mj 31 mj 57.9%
ER Medium Laser (Clan Level 2): 72 mj 44 mj 60.8%
ER Large Laser (Clan Level 2): 162 mj 63 mj 38.6%.
Micro Pulse Laser (Clan Level 2): 43 mj 19 mj 43.4%
Small Pulse Laser (Clan Level 2): 76 mj 19 mj 24.8%
Medium Pulse Laser (Clan Level 2): 86 mj 44 mj 50.6%
Large Pulse Laser (Clan Level 2): 62 mj 63 mj 38.6%.
Heavy Small Laser (Clan Level 2): 54 mj 38 mj 69.4%
Heavy Medium Laser (Clan Level 2): 108 mj 63 mj 57.9%
Heavy Large Laser (Clan Level 2): 216 mj 100 mj 46.3%
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Nice side effect of this is that by bringing down the energy level of BT lasers, we bring everything down... including the 'magical-ness' of BT armor.
Interestingly, BT armor does much better against kinetic impact than it does against lasers, which explains why lasers and PPCs became better developed over the years. That was BT armor's weakness. (relatively speaking) Kinetic damage needs almost exactly twice the energy to inflict the same amount of damage on BT armor. Given that the most sci-fi part of BT armor is the interlaced diamond monofilament weave which is supposed to be what prevents penetration and spalling, this makes sense.
We could probably design armor today that could stop an 18 megajoule Small Laser, but doing it with a budget of 187.5 kilograms and still have mass to make the same section stop a 37.5 megajoule kinetic penetrator cold (like a 100 kg object moving Mach 2.54) would be impossible today. (note that the M829E3 APFSDS-T kinetic penetrator used on the M1A2 is only a 12 megajoule weapon, making it an AC-1 under this model)
also
Cray (the guy who wrote a fair bit of techmanual) would peg the same damage point at around 30ish megajoules IIRC, which is where I would generally put it, and this is derived from the repeated novel references of "rivers" of molten armor falling off the mech.
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Flashpoint Ch 11
Ruby-tinged beams of light stabbed out from its arm-mounted lasers, splashing damage across the Devastator's broad chest and sending rivers of molten armor to the ground. Warning alarms signaled damage to the internal skeleton, to actuators and the assault machine's myomer muscles, to one of his medium lasers, and to the physical shielding of his fusion engine. David stumbled from the loss of three tons of protective Durallex plating, staying on his feet by sheer force of will.
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Flashpoint Ch 14
Smith had exhausted his limited gauss ammunition earlier, but he lent Amanda a pair of large lasers that cut deep along the Gunslinger's left side. Molten armor runnelled to the ground, splashing fiery slag onto the once-pristine trails.
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Flashpoint Ch 29
Evan's lasers worried armor into molten streams and puddles all over the other machine, costing it at least a solid ton of protection.
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Imminent Crisis Ch 28
They all found their mark, the energy beams sloughing off armor in molten rivulets while the short-range missiles blasted through the holes that appeared underneath the trails of liquid metal.
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Lethal Heritage Ch 8
The first beam melted the armor from the Locust's torso, making it drip steaming to the asteroid's surface while exposing the 'Mech's skeleton and internal structures.
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Test of Vengence Ch 3
Five ruby beams shot from each of his 'Mech's arms into the flank of the behemoth, gouging scorched red and black trenches and sending more than four tons of melted armor bubbling to the pavement below.
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Malicious Intent Ch 6
As the Gladiator took a step forward, Vlad hit his triggers. The PPCs' azure lightning stabbed into the right side of the Gladiator's chest and played along its right arm. Molten ferro-ceramic armor bubbled up and dripped off the 'Mech, gushing down its side. The Warhawk's twin large pulse lasers shot volleys of green energy darts at the distant target. They lanced through the armor froth on the Gladiator's right arm, stripping away the last of the armor. Their energy unspent, they began frying both the ferrotitanium bones and myomer fibers that made the arm useful.
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Malicious Intent Ch 28
The dot in the center of his cross hairs glowed red, and Doc hit the triggers for his half-dozen pulse lasers. The laser fire hit the Goshawk solidly, liquefying armor on the 'Mech's right flank and over its heart. The lasers also burned two-thirds of the armor from the 'Mech's left arm and bubbled armor on its left thigh. One laser's energy darts played over the Goshawk's small head, sending molten armor flooding down over the 'Mech's shoulders and chest.
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Double Blind Ch 1
This time it worked, and Marcus managed to find solid purchase within the loose rubble long enough to trigger the particle projection cannons that were the arms of his own 'Mech. Two azure beams stabbed out at the Jager-Mech, one grazing the left leg and the other boring deep into an already-damaged right arm. Armor melted and poured to the ground in streams of molten steel. Then the Jag's right arm suddenly dropped, a blackened, ruined shell swinging loosely from its shoulder-mount hinge. Deprived of a major weapon and rocking under the loss of two tons of armor, the enemy 'Mech staggered his machine back around the building.
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Patriots and Tyrants Ch 13
Its large and small lasers speared scarlet light directly into the Crockett’s turret-bodied chest, melting off armor in molten streams.
None of these seem like the result of 1 to 5 megajoules which one would have from the very old and no longer canon battle technology magazine numbers, which has some people wanting to use because realism (though they sprout that tech manual fits with their arguments)...
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