Christopher Dayson, on 27 May 2012 - 05:01 AM, said:
It's /ALREADY/ a logistical nightmare.
For example: Your force is defending a planet. That planet may not even have the capability to make ammunition or replacement weapons for your mech's. Therefor you've got to import them from another planet that is /weeks/ away, minimum, as they're not going to use a command circuit for ammo distribution.
All the more reason to have your military using a standardized set of equipment, at least missile and ballistic weapons. That way when you're "importing" ammo from another planet you know for certain that it will work with the guns your military is using.
Christopher Dayson, on 27 May 2012 - 05:01 AM, said:
This lack of real supply chain, lack of instant communication with the people who make the decisions, and lack of ability to even commandeer supplies on many battlefields means that no matter how you try to standardize it just won't work.
Actually they do have a supply chain, its just very long and slow. Having a long slow supply chain doesn't make it impossible to standardize, but it does make it very important to. Also there is no reason why the entire Inner Sphere shouldn't be using the exact same calibers of weapons and types of shells. The Star League should've standardized their weapons (if they didn't then the Camerons were idiots) and since the Houses tended to copy or get Star League hand-me-downs the IS should've had a standardized set of weapons calibers. It should've been much like NATO nations and how they all use 5.56mm, 7.62mm, etc.
Christopher Dayson, on 27 May 2012 - 05:01 AM, said:
Take into account also that not every Successor State can even produce every mech. Let alone the type of weapon that is in use for that mech. Standardization simply cannot exist because of the technological aspects of interstellar travel and the vagaries of mech construction.
'Mech standardization isn't important as long as the weapons are standardized, which would be "relatively" simple. It doesn't matter if you're shipping ammo to a unit equipped with Hunchbacks or Atlas's if the AC/20's use the exact same shell. Nor would it be difficult to, when you order a new weapon developed specify a caliber and cartridge size. When you order a new 'Mech designed order the designers to use standard weapons.
It actually makes more sense to have standardized weapons when ordering new 'Mech designs because then the engineering team knows what kind of recoil, heat, climb, etc., to expect and can design the 'Mech to take those things into account.
It makes more sense to have weapons standardized so that your factories can produce the same types of shell's, your transports can load a large amount of a few different types of shells, your ground crews only have a couple different types to keep track of, and your pilots/gunners only have a few different weapon characteristics to remember.
Christopher Dayson, on 27 May 2012 - 05:01 AM, said:
Given the wide range of weights available for mech's alone standardization simply isn't an option, and this isn't even counting things like conventional forces like infantry, tanks, aerospace fighters, vtol's, etc.
How does this effect the standardization of weapons? You specify weights, dimensions, calibers and cartridge sizes when you order a new design. Weights and dimensions are already standardized across the IS (if you suspend disbelief that Tonnage and Critical Space are actually mass and volume which doesn't realistically make sense), and the only thing that keeps calibers and cartridge sizes from being standardized the way it should be is a few lines of annoying fluff.
Christopher Dayson, on 27 May 2012 - 05:01 AM, said:
The PPC in a Panther isn't the same PPC in an Awesome. They might share stats, but they have different connection sequences, mounting options, etc. Then add in Dropship weapons, varying autocannon ammunitions etc.
Except I can take a salvaged PPC from a Panther and put it in my Awesome to replace the one that got destroyed in the last fight. Nothing says that a Panther's PPC
must have different connectors, mounts, feed lines etc. In fact it doesn't make sense for them to be different weapons, nothing what so ever.
Christopher Dayson, on 27 May 2012 - 05:01 AM, said:
Standardization simply does not exist in the BattleTech universe, not on the scale that it exists in modern day militaries. The closest to do /that/ are the Clans with their omnimechs.
You're right standardization doesn't exist in the IS the way it does in the real world. It doesn't make any sense, but then one musn't expect authors to make logistically sound decisions when writing fiction. Could the same level of standardization exist, yes easily, does it, no.
Clan tech is probably the most perfectly standardized tech in the universe since the only way for it to work is to have all control linkages and connection points be identical across every Clan weapon, regardless of type(laser, ballistic, missile) and model(2/4/5/6/10/15/20).
Ok the rest of you can go back to the discussion of what 'Mech is the fastest way to mounting a Gauss Rifle.
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