16 replies to this topic

[Kell Draygo]

Being someone who enjoyed the games but never delved deeply into BattleTech Lore, can someone explain to me what is considered LosTech and what isn't?

My assumption is that LosTech is your better than average piece of weaponry or equipment and that it is really hard to replace.

So standard PPCs, Large Lasers, Medium Lasers, SRM6, LRM15, etc. are not LosTech as they can be produced at factories and whatnot.

However, enhanced gear like ER PPCS, ER Lasers, Pulse Lasers, Streaks, XL Engines, Double Heatsinks, etc. are all considered LosTech so they are a lot more expensive to equip or find.

Would this be a safe assumption? Those with more knowledge, please educate. Thank you.

[Arctic Fox]

You are correct. LosTech refers to advanced technologies developed during the Star League era which the Successor States lost the knowledge and ability to manufacture over the course of the First and Second Succession Wars. At the point of time MWO is at, in 3049, quite a bit of LosTech (The Extralight Engine, Endo-Steel, Ferro-Fibrous, Double Heat Sink, Gauss Rifle, UAC/5, LB-10X Autocannon and so forth) has been rediscovered due to the Helm Memory Core, New Avalon Institute of Science, ComStar assistance to the Draconis Combine and various other reasons, and these technologies are just beginning to be introduced into production variants of various 'Mechs.

Edited by Arctic Fox, 06 September 2012 - 05:28 AM.

[Sparks Murphey]

You've pretty much got it. LosTech was invented by the ancient Star League, and the Inner Sphere lost the ability to produce these advanced technologies during the Succession Wars. Strictly speaking, though, some of the advanced tech seen in later periods (ER small and medium lasers, or ultra ACs in sizes other than 5, for example) aren't LosTech, since the Star League never discovered them in the first place. For MWO time periods, though, they are synonymous.

[aglarang]

That is a pretty accurate description. Basically, it refers to any advanced technology that was around before the Succession Wars (major wars between the 5 major ruling houses that occurred when the ruler of the Star League (the 'Golden Age' of technology and all that was wonderful and good in the universe) was assassinated. These wars were fought over succession to the Star League throne and the first 2 (there were 4 official succession wars and many other smaller wars) wiped out a lot of manufacturing, research, and technology capacites. This, advanced tech and the ability to manufacture them, like ER Lasers and ER PPCs were lost. Thus Lostech. Your list is pretty accurate. Keep in mind that some advanced tech was developed later, or by the clans, so not all advanced tech is lostech.. just that which was available in the Star League and is not during this time period (3049).

[Exilyth]

Sarna.net has an article on Lostech.

If I remember correctly, the novels name three-field crop rotation as one of the lost technologies.

Edited by Exilyth, 06 September 2012 - 05:26 AM.

[Kell Draygo]

Thanks for all the input.

[Haydin]

LosTech is advanced Star League tech that got lost during the sucession wars. Basically, the star league was giant human government that encompassed all of the inner sphere factions. Then it fell apart, and the major houses - Liao, Davion, Steiner, Kurita, and Marik started in-fighting so much that a lot of emerging tech was lost. Factions found memory cores that let them put some of this stuff back intro production, or had small collections of stuff that survived the fall of the star league, but yes it was typically very, very rare to see this stuff pre-clan invasion. Most of it was JUST starting to go back into production when the clans hit.

LosTech includes:

• CASE
  
• Double Heat Sinks
  
• Ferro-Fibrous armor
  
• Endo-Steel Internal Structure
  
• Artemis-IV LRM guidance technology
  
• NARC missle homing beacon technology
  
• Target Acquisition Gear aka TAG
  
• Beagle Active Probe
  
• Gaurdian ECM Suite (electronic countermeasures tech that interrupts stuff like sensors, advanced targeting hardware like Artemis-IV and NARC, etc)
  
• MASC (a system that lets mechs sprint at substantially faster speeds than normal)
  
• XL engines
  
• Gauss Rifles
  
• Ultra Autocannon technology (UAC-5 was the only calibur that existed at the fall of the star league - during the clan invasion the inner sphere developed equivilents of every calibur of standard autocannon)
  
• LBX Autocannon technology (same as UAC technology, but the LBX-10 was the only star league LBX weapon)
  
• Streak Missle technology (Streak-2's were the only star league versions)
  
• Pulse Laser technology
  
• ER laser/ERPPC technology (ER large lasers were the only star league ER laser)
  
• Anti-Missile System

Edited by Chris K, 06 September 2012 - 06:08 AM.
Please remember the NDA when posting in general forums

[IIIuminaughty]

Wait hold on...I never knew what ER actually stood for and never asked till now...clear that up for me. Its been buggin me

[Arctic Fox]

StrataDragoon, on 06 September 2012 - 05:39 AM, said:

Wait hold on...I never knew what ER actually stood for and never asked till now...clear that up for me. Its been buggin me

Extended Range.

[Grumm Esverian]

StrataDragoon, on 06 September 2012 - 05:39 AM, said:

Wait hold on...I never knew what ER actually stood for and never asked till now...clear that up for me. Its been buggin me

ER= Extended Range

[IIIuminaughty]

oh..i knew that

[Egomane]

Haydin, on 06 September 2012 - 05:28 AM, said:

A list of things

You might want to edit your post as you are talking about topics that are under the NDA you signed to play the game!

[Sardauker Legion]

Land-Air mechs (LAMs)?

[Stormwolf]

Anavel Gato2, on 06 September 2012 - 05:56 AM, said:

Land-Air mechs (LAMs)?

Lostech, they have made a new appearance in a few recent books though.

[Haydin]

Egomane, on 06 September 2012 - 05:49 AM, said:

You might want to edit your post as you are talking about topics that are under the NDA you signed to play the game!

whoops, forgot what forum this was on. Thanks!

[Dervim]

Stormwolf, on 06 September 2012 - 06:06 AM, said:

Lostech, they have made a new appearance in a few recent books though.

Which made it pretty clear-some lostech is better off remaining lost, forever.

[KalebFenoir]

One of the novels from the end of the Battletech: Mechwarrior series had a world where it was nothing but torrential downpours, but someone had found that under half a mile of mud and debris, was a Star League Defense Force base that they couldn't figure out how it got there. The only thing they could maybe figure was at some time in the distant past, the world's weather had been tamed through terraforming and some eldritch SLDF tech....and that after they left they just turned it off, causing the world to fall back into its natural, monsoon and mud state.