18 replies to this topic

[KaiserTodretter]

Needless to say... I was bored. This is just an idea of making a variant of a Nova that is somewhat more rounded out in terms of combat ability. While the original Nova relied entirely on turning and arm motion to target an enemy, this variant I have found has +/- 15 degrees in the torso twist as well as around 40 more degrees with the arms. The profile is just as small as the original Nova other than the PPC mounts on the shoulders.

Again, this is just some conceptual fan art and NOTHING about it is battletech canon.

The hand actuators have been stripped and the arms made smaller

Nova Mk II concept equipment
original engine
65 tons (15 more than the standard nova)
8x clan ER Medium lasers (4 less)
2x clan ER PPCs
+5 double heat sinks (19 total)

[LieutenantMatt2]

I really like it. I just have a question (which applies to the original Nova as well) and that is does the cockpit come loose and is armed with jetpacks in the event the pilot is shot up and must escape? I'm curious if these kinds of mechs have some kind of survival mechanism to keep the pilot alive should the worst happen. If not, is it due to beliefs of certain factions?

[MasterofBlasters]

The location of the arms is a curious choice.

[KaiserTodretter]

LieutenantMatt2, on 01 September 2012 - 05:22 PM, said:

I really like it. I just have a question (which applies to the original Nova as well) and that is does the cockpit come loose and is armed with jetpacks in the event the pilot is shot up and must escape? I'm curious if these kinds of mechs have some kind of survival mechanism to keep the pilot alive should the worst happen. If not, is it due to beliefs of certain factions?

Technically the model is set up with the cockpit section separate from the body.... so... maybe?

[BurningArmor]

Two points:
1. There already was a Nova Mk II in the TROs. If I remember correctly, it was 100 tons and sported eight ER Large Lasers. Yes, it shut itself down easily on an alpha strike. My point is that yours is actually a Mk III or higher.

2. This Nova appears to have the same issue as the original Nova; ie no torso twist. Back in the days of Mechwarrior 2, the Nova depended on 'directional jump jets' for bringing the guns around on an intended target as well as the arm mounted weapons. This is only bad because the 'directional jump jets' are not available today. MekTek was experimenting with 'directional jump jets' for the Mechwarrior 4 games, but I left that game before that was released.

Side note: I have to agree that the arm placement is interesting.

[KaiserTodretter]

BurningArmor, on 01 September 2012 - 06:12 PM, said:

Side note: I have to agree that the arm placement is interesting.

Arms were placed inwards to allow for them to benefit from the (albeit limited) torso twist range I have allowed for in this model. As for naming it the Nova mkII I was keeping it within a few tons for that classification to be legitimate. Going from 50 to 100 tons is a bit of a stretch if you ask me to call something a mkII if that is the case.

[CaveMan]

BurningArmor, on 01 September 2012 - 06:12 PM, said:

Two points:
1. There already was a Nova Mk II in the TROs. If I remember correctly, it was 100 tons and sported eight ER Large Lasers. Yes, it shut itself down easily on an alpha strike. My point is that yours is actually a Mk III or higher.

You're thinking of the Supernova, which is 90 tons with 6 ERLL.

Also, the Supernova came first, then the Nova was developed as a smaller, omni-capable version. So MkII would be the correct nomenclature. Actually, the Nova has been out of production for more than 100 years as of 3050, so building a new Nova isn't the worst idea in the world.

On that note: Kaiser, please make this thing an Omni! I want to shoot whoever it was that decided to make non-omni "Mk II" versions of Clan OmniMechs. The Clans would consider that an insulting step backward!

[Loyalist]

The arms hung between the legs makes for variables to consider when shooting this parget.
Perhaps a variety of mech layouts will add an interesting challenge to shooting targets in MWO. Picking out the arms (or should i say ears) on a Catapult is a good tactic to "shut them up", Jenner legs are always interesting targets as well, fast but frail.

[CaveMan]

Oh, one other thing: I don't think your tonnage adds up.

3t cockpit
6.5t internal structure
13.5t 325XL engine (you said same engine, I assume you meant same speed, because you can't put a 250 engine in a 65-ton 'Mech)
4t gyro
9t heat sinks
12t 2 ERPPCs
8t 8 ERML
5t jump jets

=61 tons?

Even if you used Endo-Steel there isn't really much room for armor.

[KaiserTodretter]

CaveMan, on 01 September 2012 - 06:50 PM, said:

Oh, one other thing: I don't think your tonnage adds up.

3t cockpit
6.5t internal structure
13.5t 325XL engine (you said same engine, I assume you meant same speed, because you can't put a 250 engine in a 65-ton 'Mech)
4t gyro
9t heat sinks
12t 2 ERPPCs
8t 8 ERML
5t jump jets

=61 tons?

Even if you used Endo-Steel there isn't really much room for armor.

Going off of the 50 tons of the original Nova I just fudged out
-4 medium lasers = 46t,
+2 cER PPCs = 58t,
+5 DHS = 63t
+2 tons various internals.
Forgot that the engine rating had to change for this to happen.

Edited by KaiserTodretter, 01 September 2012 - 07:20 PM.

[KaiserTodretter]

[Bishop Steiner]

interesting.

I would like to see a variant with the PPCs dropped for UAC-5s, and maybe go down to 6 mediums... the other version has a better alpha strike, but still has to pick and choose to manage heat (8 er mediums kicking out 40 heat) whereas with the other load out, you get the versatility, but can pretty well alpha strike to your hearts content.

[CaveMan]

KaiserTodretter, on 01 September 2012 - 07:19 PM, said:

Going off of the 50 tons of the original Nova I just fudged out
-4 medium lasers = 46t,
+2 cER PPCs = 58t,
+5 DHS = 63t
+2 tons various internals.
Forgot that the engine rating had to change for this to happen.

Ahh. The weight of the jump jets also doubled when you raised the tonnage, so that's part of the problem. The tonnage would actually work if you went to a 260XL, but then you'd have to drop down to 4/6/4 which is kind of slow for a Clan 'Mech of this weight class, and it starts to compare unfavorably with the Hellbringer.

Suggestion: keep the 325XL and use an Endo-Steel internal structure to free up 3 tons. That gives you 7 to play with for armor. Then remove two of the medium lasers and two double heat sinks. That gives you the ability to fire 6 lasers (30 heat) or both ER PPCs (30 heat) and fire the jump jets (5 heat) and only overheat by 1. It's not like you really had the heat capacity to alpha strike beforehand.

And that gives you 11 tons for armor, which is a 10% boost over the original Nova without losing any mobility. Assuming you keep the 3 double heat-sinks that fit in the engine as fixed equipment, then you have 22 tons of pod space, which represents more than a one-third improvement in firepower.

Edit: I actually mis-remembered the weight of the 325XL engine. It's 12 tons, not 13.5. So making the changes I suggested, you can actually go to 11.5 tons of armor and 18 double heat sinks, with 2 ER PPCs, 6 ER MLs, and 5/8/5 movement.

Edited by CaveMan, 02 September 2012 - 10:48 AM.

[CaveMan]

Just to see what it would look like I decided to build this in Solaris Skunkwerks, incorporating the changes I suggested above. The basic loadout came out with 3,117 BV which is by far the most I've ever seen on a 65-ton 'Mech. Dear God.

I also threw in two alternate versions: one loosely based on Bishop's idea, only with one LB-10X instead of 2 ultra AC/5s to give it a weapon to rack up critical hits with, and a large pulse laser, heavy medium laser, and two medium pulse lasers; and another one out of my own imagination, with an ATM-9 on the left shoulder, Streak SRM-6 on the right shoulder, 2 ER medium lasers in the left arm, and an ER PPC in the right arm, with 3 extra heat sinks.

Nova Mk II

Spoiler

Mass: 65 tons
Tech Base: Clan
Chassis Config: Biped Omnimech
Rules Level: Tournament Legal
Era: Clan Invasion
Tech Rating/Era Availability: E/X-X-E
Production Year: 3070
Cost: 16,549,156 C-Bills
Battle Value: 907

Chassis: Unknown Endo-Steel
Power Plant: Unknown 325 Fusion XL Engine
Walking Speed: 54.0 km/h
Maximum Speed: 86.4 km/h
Jump Jets: Unknown
Jump Capacity: 150 meters
Armor: Unknown Standard Armor
Armament:
23.0 tons of pod space.
Manufacturer: Unknown
Primary Factory: Unknown
Communications System: Unknown
Targeting and Tracking System: Unknown

================================================================================
Equipment Type Rating Mass
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Internal Structure: Endo-Steel 104 points 3.50
Internal Locations: 1 HD, 2 LT, 2 RT, 1 LA, 1 RA
Engine: XL Fusion Engine 325 12.00
Walking MP: 5
Running MP: 8
Jumping MP: 5 Standard
Jump Jet Locations: 1 CT, 2 LL, 2 RL 5.00
Heat Sinks: Double Heat Sink 13(26) 3.00
Gyro: Standard 4.00
Cockpit: Standard 3.00
Actuators: L: SH+UA R: SH+UA
Armor: Standard Armor AV - 184 11.50

Internal Armor
Structure Factor
Head 3 9
Center Torso 21 28
Center Torso (rear) 7
L/R Torso 15 21
L/R Torso (rear) 7
L/R Arm 10 18
L/R Leg 15 24



================================================================================
Loadout Name: Prime Cost: 18,851,937
Tech Rating/Era Availability: F/X-X-E BV2: 3,117

Equipment Type Rating Mass
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jumping MP: 5 (Standard)
Jump Jet Locations: 1 CT, 2 LL, 2 RL 0.00
Heat Sinks: Double Heat Sink 18(36) 5.00
Heat Sink Locations: 2 LT, 1 RT, 1 LA, 1 RA
Actuators: L: SH+UA+LA R: SH+UA+LA

Equipment Location Heat Critical Mass
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ER PPC RT 15 2 6.00
ER PPC LT 15 2 6.00
3 ER Medium Lasers RA 15 3 3.00
3 ER Medium Lasers LA 15 3 3.00
Free Critical Slots: 13

BattleForce Statistics
MV S (+0) M (+2) L (+4) E (+6) Wt. Ov Armor: 6 Points: 31
5j 5 5 2 0 3 1 Structure: 4
Special Abilities: OMNI, ENE, SRCH, ES, SEAL, SOA


================================================================================
Loadout Name: A Cost: 18,305,375
Tech Rating/Era Availability: F/X-X-E BV2: 2,225

Equipment Type Rating Mass
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jumping MP: 5 (Standard)
Jump Jet Locations: 1 CT, 2 LL, 2 RL 0.00
CASE Locations: LT 0.00
Actuators: L: SH+UA+LA R: SH+UA+LA

Equipment Location Heat Critical Mass
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Heavy Medium Laser RT 7 2 1.00
LB 10-X AC LT 2 5 10.00
Large Pulse Laser RA 10 2 6.00
2 Medium Pulse Lasers LA 8 2 4.00
@LB 10-X (Cluster) (10) LT - 1 1.00
@LB 10-X (Slug) (10) LT - 1 1.00
Free Critical Slots: 20

BattleForce Statistics
MV S (+0) M (+2) L (+4) E (+6) Wt. Ov Armor: 6 Points: 22
5j 4 4 2 0 3 0 Structure: 4
Special Abilities: OMNI, CASE, SRCH, ES, SEAL, SOA, FLK 1/1/1


================================================================================
Loadout Name: B Cost: 18,470,272
Tech Rating/Era Availability: F/X-X-E BV2: 2,695

Equipment Type Rating Mass
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jumping MP: 5 (Standard)
Jump Jet Locations: 1 CT, 2 LL, 2 RL 0.00
Heat Sinks: Double Heat Sink 16(32) 3.00
Heat Sink Locations: 1 RT, 2 RA
CASE Locations: LT, RT 0.00
Actuators: L: SH+UA+LA+H R: SH+UA

Equipment Location Heat Critical Mass
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Streak SRM-6 RT 4 2 3.00
ATM-9 LT 6 4 5.00
ER PPC RA 15 2 6.00
2 ER Medium Lasers LA 10 2 2.00
@Streak SRM-6 (15) RT - 1 1.00
@ATM-9 (7) LT - 1 1.00
@ATM-9 (ER) (7) LT - 1 1.00
@ATM-9 (HE) (7) LT - 1 1.00
Free Critical Slots: 13

BattleForce Statistics
MV S (+0) M (+2) L (+4) E (+6) Wt. Ov Armor: 6 Points: 27
5j 6 5 2 0 3 0 Structure: 4
Special Abilities: OMNI, CASE, SRCH, ES, SEAL, SOA

[Joe3142]

Looks pretty awesome!

[Niarbeht]

KaiserTodretter, on 01 September 2012 - 05:13 PM, said:

Needless to say... I was bored. This is just an idea of making a variant of a Nova that is somewhat more rounded out in terms of combat ability. While the original Nova relied entirely on turning and arm motion to target an enemy, this variant I have found has +/- 15 degrees in the torso twist as well as around 40 more degrees with the arms. The profile is just as small as the original Nova other than the PPC mounts on the shoulders.

Again, this is just some conceptual fan art and NOTHING about it is battletech canon.

The hand actuators have been stripped and the arms made smaller

Nova Mk II concept equipment
original engine
65 tons (15 more than the standard nova)
8x clan ER Medium lasers (4 less)
2x clan ER PPCs
+5 double heat sinks (19 total)

Reminds me a bit of the Remora from Cyberstorm.

[KaiserTodretter]

Working on modelling the variants just for fun.

Alt A Config (right)
2x cER Medium Lasers (left arm)
1x cER Large Laser (right arm)
1x cUAC/5 + 3t ammo (right shoulder)
1x ATM6 +2t ammo (left shoulder)
2x cMachine Guns + 1t ammo (center torso)
Now this is leaving with 5 tons I need to pull out. The question is where to balance it between heatsinks, engine, jumpjets and armor?

Alt B Config (left)
2x ATM12 +4t ammo (one each shoulder)
4x cER Medium Lasers (two per arm)
1x AMS +1t ammo

Engine dropped to 280XL to free up 4 tons and a half ton of armor is also stripped off.
4 additional double heatsinks are added to deal with the ATM heat.


(I think these numbers all add up here but someone can double check for me)
Going to figure out a couple other variants.... must say a HAG 20 is looking very tempting right now....

Edited by KaiserTodretter, 03 September 2012 - 12:50 AM.

[Stormwolf]

Nice model.
Looks very familiar.

[KaiserTodretter]

Stormwolf, on 04 September 2012 - 04:17 AM, said:

Nice model.
Looks very familiar.

Not very familiar with some of these designs.... but yeah there is a resemblance there I must say even though I did not base anything off of that model.

I think I will start a new mech soon and I am curious which design of the 3050 period people might want to see that likely isn't going to be seen in the game.