32 replies to this topic

[Brenden]

I mean, if they can make 'Mechs that turn into airplanes and then make 'Mechs that turn into Tanks, isn't it possible that you could make a Quad-Mech designed to carry troops in it's underbelly?


These two already look like they cold hold something in their large bodies, so is it possible you could find a way to put a Troop Carrier in there?

[FupDup]

Realistically speaking yes, but I don't think that the BT universe has game rules for it.

[Brenden]

FupDup, on 05 December 2016 - 06:29 PM, said:

Realistically speaking yes, but I don't think that the BT universe has game rules for it.

Looks like I'ma have to make my own mech then, a troop carrier.
Lets make it small first. A Medic-Mech.. A Mechic, A Medich, whatever. It can hold five people. It'll need to be fast, so it has to run at a fast enough speed to get away, but it'll also need to be armored to prevent damage. Maybe a turret could be fitted to the top to allow it some defensive measures? I'm thinking lasers.

[Barantor]

I think one of the clan mechs was able to haul around elementals?

APCs in the Battletech universe can go 129 kph though, so riding on a slow mech would be kinda silly.

http://www.sarna.net...Heavy_Hover_APC

[Fox With A Shotgun]

A Nova was designed as a troop carrier, IIRC. All those external handholds are supposed to be for Elementals to hold on to. But it isn't an APC in the normal sense of the word. Just a way for troops to move around more quickly (without any additional protection)

Edited by Fox With A Shotgun, 05 December 2016 - 06:38 PM.

[FupDup]

Brenden, on 05 December 2016 - 06:34 PM, said:

Looks like I'ma have to make my own mech then, a troop carrier.
Lets make it small first. A Medic-Mech.. A Mechic, A Medich, whatever. It can hold five people. It'll need to be fast, so it has to run at a fast enough speed to get away, but it'll also need to be armored to prevent damage. Maybe a turret could be fitted to the top to allow it some defensive measures? I'm thinking lasers.

If it's moving fast, won't that jiggle around the troops inside it more than a normal vehicle would?

[RestosIII]

Barantor, on 05 December 2016 - 06:38 PM, said:

I think one of the clan mechs was able to haul around elementals?

APCs in the Battletech universe can go 129 kph though, so riding on a slow mech would be kinda silly.

http://www.sarna.net...Heavy_Hover_APC

A lot of Clan mechs have hand holds for Elementals. A lot.

[Brenden]

FupDup, on 05 December 2016 - 06:38 PM, said:

If it's moving fast, won't that jiggle around the troops inside it more than a normal vehicle would?

They'd be a special compartment near the center of the mech, where it has something inside that dampens the effects of the rumbling and jiggling.

Barantor, on 05 December 2016 - 06:38 PM, said:

I think one of the clan mechs was able to haul around elementals?

APCs in the Battletech universe can go 129 kph though, so riding on a slow mech would be kinda silly.

http://www.sarna.net...Heavy_Hover_APC

That's the thing, APCs can only go where the land is moderately flat wheres mechs can use their arms and legs to elevate themselves and potentially reach places that a Hover or Wheels APC simply couldn't. I'm not saying that they'd replace them, but work in concert with them.

Fox With A Shotgun, on 05 December 2016 - 06:38 PM, said:

A Nova was designed as a troop carrier, IIRC. All those external handholds are supposed to be for Elementals to hold on to. But it isn't an APC in the normal sense of the word. Just a way for troops to move around more quickly (without any additional protection)

I mean a full on Troop Carrier, not a Battle Armor carrier.

[Barantor]

Brenden, on 05 December 2016 - 06:42 PM, said:

That's the thing, APCs can only go where the land is moderately flat wheres mechs can use their arms and legs to elevate themselves and potentially reach places that a Hover or Wheels APC simply couldn't. I'm not saying that they'd replace them, but work in concert with them.

There are planes, apcs, dropships and helicopters that all carry troops though, so it's not like they can't get where they need to go. Tying up a mech for regular infantry is kinda a waste. Elementals can rip up a mech though which is why they get special treatment.

A large amount of planes are also VTOLs too, so they can get where they need to go. Jump pack troops are a thing in Battletech as well.
http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Infantry

[Brenden]

Barantor, on 05 December 2016 - 06:49 PM, said:

There are planes, apcs, dropships and helicopters that all carry troops though, so it's not like they can't get where they need to go. Tying up a mech for regular infantry is kinda a waste. Elementals can rip up a mech though which is why they get special treatment.

A large amount of planes are also VTOLs too, so they can get where they need to go. Jump pack troops are a thing in Battletech as well.
http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Infantry

I know I know! I just really thing it'd be a cool idea, yknow? Like. Have a mech with a flat top, with machine gun posts all around it's corners. Make it almost like a mobile HQ for infantry. Radio equipment, source of power, the works. Would it be useless, sure. Could it be out performed by other stuff? Certainly. But it would be cool.

[Wecx]

Barantor, on 05 December 2016 - 06:38 PM, said:

I think one of the clan mechs was able to haul around elementals?

APCs in the Battletech universe can go 129 kph though, so riding on a slow mech would be kinda silly.

http://www.sarna.net...Heavy_Hover_APC

Firemoth was designed to haul elementals.

http://www.sarna.net...re_Moth_(Dasher)

[Jingseng]

What would you do with those troops? I mean really, a full platoon in TT was maybe equivalent to a really slow and totally unarmored 20 ton mech. Infantry got wiped out really easily. So:

Why do you want to take tonnage away from engine, armor, ammo, weapons, heatsinks to make a big empty space to hold easily defeated infantry?

bear in mind that just an area would needed to be shielded from radiation and heat... or your mech would only be able to move at a slow crawl to avoid killing its cargo.

And whenever you arrived, your mech and your infantry would be defenseless sitting targets. I can't imagine wanting to ride around in a mech that will draw fire (by its very size and purpose) from other mechs. And then trying to exit alive, so I can fight other mechs without any kind of meaningful armor or defense. Or weapon.

[Brenden]

Jingseng, on 05 December 2016 - 07:05 PM, said:

What would you do with those troops? I mean really, a full platoon in TT was maybe equivalent to a really slow and totally unarmored 20 ton mech. Infantry got wiped out really easily. So:

Why do you want to take tonnage away from engine, armor, ammo, weapons, heatsinks to make a big empty space to hold easily defeated infantry?

bear in mind that just an area would needed to be shielded from radiation and heat... or your mech would only be able to move at a slow crawl to avoid killing its cargo.

And whenever you arrived, your mech and your infantry would be defenseless sitting targets. I can't imagine wanting to ride around in a mech that will draw fire (by its very size and purpose) from other mechs. And then trying to exit alive, so I can fight other mechs without any kind of meaningful armor or defense. Or weapon.

And these are all faults I plan on fixing! I just need time to Homebrew up an infantry carrier!
Maybe I'll make it 60-65 tons, using non-standard parts. Hmm..

[Requiemking]

You do realise that the original intent of the Firemoth was to be a speedy transport for a small group of Elementals, right?

[Jingseng]

Brenden, on 05 December 2016 - 07:06 PM, said:

And these are all faults I plan on fixing! I just need time to Homebrew up an infantry carrier!
Maybe I'll make it 60-65 tons, using non-standard parts. Hmm..

Again, you needed a platoon (27-21 infantry) to be at all effective. How many could you actually fit in a mech? Even 4 additional men would require severe compromises to an actual mech (just on the space needed)... at which point, use an apc and have an actual mech escort it =p You are literally building a worse apc - bigger, slower, less maneuverable, less capacity, less armor, less weapons, and more visible.

[Brenden]

Jingseng, on 05 December 2016 - 07:10 PM, said:

Again, you needed a platoon (27-21 infantry) to be at all effective. How many could you actually fit in a mech? Even 4 additional men would require severe compromises to an actual mech (just on the space needed)... at which point, use an apc and have an actual mech escort it =p You are literally building a worse apc - bigger, slower, less maneuverable, less capacity, less armor, less weapons, and more visible.

Hey if the AT-ATs from Star Wars could do it then Battletech can too!

[Khobai]

Quote

Realistically speaking yes, but I don't think that the BT universe has game rules for it.

clan mechs can carry upto 5 elementals on external hardpoints

but for normal troops they already have apcs which are cheaper, faster, and better protected than if troops where on external troop pods attached to mechs. theres no logical reason to do it.

Quote

Hey if the AT-ATs from Star Wars could do it then Battletech can too!

AT-ATs are quite a bit bigger than anything in battletech though. It could stomp on assault mechs in battletech.

Edited by Khobai, 05 December 2016 - 07:28 PM.

[FupDup]

Khobai, on 05 December 2016 - 07:23 PM, said:

clan mechs can carry upto 5 elementals on external hardpoints

The OP is referring to normal infantry, not Elementals.

Several people in this thread seem to have missed that part.

[Jingseng]

Brenden, on 05 December 2016 - 07:11 PM, said:

Hey if the AT-ATs from Star Wars could do it then Battletech can too!

They never showed any infantry dismounting from those, despite the infantry action. AT-ST and AT-MT didn't carry troops either.

Posit:

Assume the gauss rifle did the same damage and had the same range as the machine gun.
Assume nothing else about the gauss rifle changes (not appearance, not tonnage, not slots, not volatility, not heat, not ammo, not firing mechanic, not cool down).

Question: would there ever be a reason to take the gauss rifle over the machine gun?

[Wecx]

Jingseng, on 05 December 2016 - 07:05 PM, said:

What would you do with those troops? I mean really, a full platoon in TT was maybe equivalent to a really slow and totally unarmored 20 ton mech. Infantry got wiped out really easily. So:

Why do you want to take tonnage away from engine, armor, ammo, weapons, heatsinks to make a big empty space to hold easily defeated infantry?

bear in mind that just an area would needed to be shielded from radiation and heat... or your mech would only be able to move at a slow crawl to avoid killing its cargo.

And whenever you arrived, your mech and your infantry would be defenseless sitting targets. I can't imagine wanting to ride around in a mech that will draw fire (by its very size and purpose) from other mechs. And then trying to exit alive, so I can fight other mechs without any kind of meaningful armor or defense. Or weapon.

You didn't play the TT did you.

FupDup, on 05 December 2016 - 07:24 PM, said:

The OP is referring to normal infantry, not Elementals.

Several people in this thread seem to have missed that part.

IS had mechanized INF and didn't need a ride though unlike elementals.

Edited by Wecx, 05 December 2016 - 07:32 PM.