30 replies to this topic

[Der Geisterbaer]

Exard3k, on 02 March 2018 - 11:30 AM, said:

I want my Dragon to breathe fire too

That's an easy one: Put a darn flamer on it

[Escef]

Blame now-defunct FASA. PGI is just porting it. Could PGI make a variant with jets? Sure. Would it be a selling point for the pack? LOLNO.

I'm ambivalent. I'm not even interested in the Flea. Wasn't when they announced it back in Beta. I'm wagering the reason we're getting it is because PGI could put it together quickly, given that most of the design work was done years ago. Lets PGI focus on things like Solaris and MW5 a bit more.

Anyway, the lack of jets is nothing to get your hindquarters in a knot over. Besides, it isn't like it's the first, last, and only time a game company didn't back up fluff with crunch.



(Note the lack of the "Flying" ability.)

[Jay Leon Hart]

The GaussFather, on 01 March 2018 - 08:47 PM, said:

Kind of difficult to get excited to pay the same for a clan 90-ton Asp pack as a for a 15-ton IS Flea.

You're in luck! The only single 'mech pack Light that costs as much as the Blood Asp is the Urbanmech, the rest are $5 cheaper!

[Brain Cancer]

It's kinda funny. The one jumping Flea would actually have benefitted from no jets and more armor, while the others are hopless.

[Alex Morgaine]

Actually if you upped the tonnage to 20 and adjusted the engine you get an extra 2 or 3 tons past "stock". Hp inflation to 3 or 4e would handle the rest.
Lemmi mechlab real fast

[Alex Morgaine]

After playing around, a 20 ton Mech with an xl180, endo, 8 jump jets (lets fly ), optimized armor, dhs, and assuming 3 energy HP in the right arm could support 2ml and one ersl, 3erm if you pulled a jj or armor down. I think a flying locust would be novel without being broken, one swat and its out. Reducing engine for a larger payload to maintain jj would be a sacrifice but technicall manageable (ppc popping XD )

[Alex Morgaine]

Ok maybe a heavily squishy snppc

[AzureRathalos]

Nema Nabojiv, on 01 March 2018 - 03:14 PM, said:

because we dont need 8 mg jumping locust

You wouldn't have to worry about it. The Flea variant that has JJs only has a single Medium Laser as its weapon.

[DaManBearPig]

Nema Nabojiv, on 01 March 2018 - 03:14 PM, said:

because we dont need 8 mg jumping locust

*sheds a single tear*
Beautiful.

[Koniving]

Nema Nabojiv, on 01 March 2018 - 03:14 PM, said:

because we dont need 8 mg jumping locust

If we did get the Flea 14... it'd be a single energy hardpoint (maybe some extra).

But man, pity they didn't do a jumping hero or made up variant.

Existing Flea 14s in fluff do get changed into Flea 15s, with or without removal of the jumpjets.

[Koniving]

Metus regem, on 01 March 2018 - 03:29 PM, said:

Not sure you'd actually want the FLE-14 anyways.... she's a 15t version with 1t of armour with 4 JJ's... It also only had 1E hard point in the RA...

Hell even in lore that FLE-14 got one production run before being discontinued... so it'd be hyper rare to actually encounter one in lore....


http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Flea

FLE-14

• Entering production in 2519 the FLE-14 Flea was an attempt to create an ultra-light BattleMech. Weighing a mere fifteen tons, it could arguably be regarded as a different 'Mech design. It was capable of a maximum ground speed of nearly 150km/h, with an average cruising speed near 90km/h. This variant also had a 120 meter jump capability. Its weapons and armor however were very light: Only one ton of armor protected the unit, and the single Medium Laser mounted in the right arm was barely enough to make it a viable battlefield unit. Intended to replace the Wasp or Stinger scout 'Mechs, the FLE-14 was definitely quicker but the low armor protection and limited jump range made it vulnerable. In fact, a Small Laser could inflict heavy damage on the unit. As a result, it saw only one production run and was phased out once its shortcomings were revealed.

Single production run of 5,000 units in the 2500s (covered in the hypothetical thread), of which 200+ still exist in 3029. The "Trooper 14" is one of four rework ideas for the Trooper 10, getting the nickname Flea for its ability to jump 8 hexes (240 meters forward OR 54 meters up) despite having only four jumpjets (which should only allow 120 meters forward OR 30 meters up). Mechwarrior Alvira MacNeil is known for her Flea 14 named "Hound Doggie" and her special technique "the Jump Glide" which pump an additional 120 meters horizontal OR 24 meters vertical out of each jump (for a grand total 360 meters forward OR 78 meters vertical). She died after the 2nd Succession War and before the third, however, during a bet in which she made it over 2,300 meters up a mountain in her Flea 14 by jump climbing this impossibly tall Mt. Selinas...and slipped tumbling down like a boulder.

The name "Flea" has stuck with the Trooper chassis ever since, despite future variants ditching jumpjets in favor of more weapons equipped on both the front and rear of the mech.

No official sub-variants exist unlike Flea 15 which has at least 3 official sub variants. Though many unofficial refits trade the medium laser and a jumpjet or just three jumpjets for a pair of machine guns and half a ton of ammo, or convert them entirely into Flea 15s.

More get made because of the Wolf's Dragoons not long after. (Not covered in the hypothetical thread) However, though the Wolf's Dragoons churns them out, actual militaries lack interest in the Flea 14. The private market, however... Flea 14s end up appearing most commonly in the hands of periphery pirates.

The Flea 14's primary uses were:
Scouting and as a walking APC (it is littered with exterior gripping points and some standing room behind the torso on an unusually long rear pelvis for standard and jump infantry as well as battle armor.)

(Check out page 4 of the hypothetical thread and do a search for "Flea 14" for the details as well as 3 diagram images.)

Edited by Koniving, 04 March 2018 - 09:13 PM.