OBT Forum

After a cursory look Bradshaw I notice you've got 100 tons listed under mass. My modification of the frame comments meant you could draw on 100 ton and 90 ton frames were possible and modify them to 95.

This is a 95 ton challenge my friend, fyi!

Misunderstood your relaxation of the rule you initially had. Its all fixed

One week to go here folks, any other ideas??

Thanks for the reminder. I have fluff to write and the time to do it

No worries bud, I hope you get some time to write it up. 

Alrighty folks pencils down. I will start going over this today.

Well most of my design challenges are fairly bound by rules but this one went off the tracks very slowly. The Slowboat approach to aerospace fighter construction is not orthodox in Clan space or the InnerSphere and raises some very interesting design possibilities. I think you’ve seen from my love of Small Craft Bombers that I love thinking differently but is this too different for the Clans?

4. unnamed Slowboat (masterarminas)
Well you went and did it again here MA this 95-ton slow fighter (4/6) is one hell of a design ushering in an entirely new concept. The Slowboat Fighter is an out of the box idea which may have profound new applications on the battlefield. From a cheap way of challenging large craft like Dropships and Warships to devastating strafing runs against unsuspecting foes these space slugs may just have a niche. The base design and its variants have insane levels of firepower for aerospace fighters. However, there are obvious concerns such as being outmaneuvered easily by modern fighters (5/8 minimums) and would the Clans ever even consider the production or use of such craft worthy of them? There are a bunch of cultural prejudices here which may not be possible to overcome which is a shame. Perhaps it is more of an InnerSphere idea anyway? Any way you officially finished fourth place in this one buddy cause there was never any fluff or name given for such an exceptional concept. Clearly more research has to be done though and luckily the Quicksilver Institute founded by the ilKhan on Strana Mechty will be one such place for testing. Slowboat fighters and Ultralight Vehicles will certainly be undergoing further research here and in this case in Coyote space as well. Fine job!

3. Massaga (Bradshaw)
Doubling down on the terrifying potential of Slowboat fighters this 95-ton refit of the Riever goes only 3/5 where its biggest problem comes to light. The 95 Fusion Engine isn’t something in regular production with the Clans for some preexisting product. Please check my statement on that but I am pretty certain no vehicle being manufactured by them is currently in production. Probably not hard to do granted but it is a little bit of a design hang up. Despite the rest of the designs impressive capabilities I have to come back to low thrust concerns as well. What if you lose even the slightest bit of thrust, I mean literally you have only 1/2 real thrust carrying this thing and that is it. Any type of engine problem or critical hit could potentially be the end of you real easy. All that said the potential capabilities of such Slowboats are tremendously impressive although I might have gone with six extreme range ER Large Lasers as my main weapon to make up for the lack of speed. Your art also got me thinking along with the rest of the entire concept about Small Craft Bombers. OmniFighters might be better suited in that role as I will try to explain that later on in another thread. Great job!

2. Aornos (Bradshaw)
Based on the Stuka this slimmed down version uses a 285 Fusion Engine to go 5/8 which is the low-end baseline standard movement for aerospace fighter. Eight tons of fuel (640 points) provides superior range and with eighteen (17.5) tons of Ferro-Fibrous armor (336 factor) it is well protected. Three ER Large Lasers in the Nose provide excellent range along with two LRM-15 with Artemis IV FCS (48 shots total). This allows for excellent concentrated fire which is supplemented by a Streak SRM-4 (25 shots each) in each Wing. I liked the ER Large Laser in the Aft too as it can discourage any would be interceptor at range. However, firing just the nose weapons puts you right on in regards to heat management without accounting for movement. While there were a few small errors (McKibben not McKibbon and Freeborn not Freebirth) the fluff was good. I thought your alternate variant was a bit much as it changes the armor and the overall feel too much from the base model. Still not bad at all but I liked one design better.

1. Danube (Abele)
Based on the Thunderbird which has been scaled down five tons with some cosmetic changes and uses a 285 Fusion Engine to go 5/8. Six tons of fuel (480 points) is pretty good and eighteen (18) tons of Ferro-Fibrous armor (355 factor) is a superior amount protection. Also, this design comes equipped with an ECM Suite to disrupt enemy electronics which is a nice touch. A Gauss Rifle (24 rounds) and two Medium Pulse Lasers in the Nose as well as an ER PPC and ER Medium Laser on each Wing give a solid punch plus you have two ER Medium Lasers firing Aft to deal with any would be pursuers. Firing everything forward facing produces 49 Weapon Heat and thanks to 25 (50) Double Heat Sinks this fighter can deal with that. While your cost is still way off and this fighter lacks concentrated nose fire I liked this design the best probably cause of the name. I’ll admit the Danube doesn’t sound very Alexander the Great like but as a huge fan of Star Trek DS9 I love it. Congrats on the win buddy!!

Yeah your cost in MegaMek always comes out in the billions not millions which is an immediate tell. I was looking for more details on Alexander's battle against the Getea. Congrats on the win bud!