OBT Forum

Oh I totally agree that Logistics were a big thing, they had to plan so far ahead and take into account losses of equipment and personnel.  They Clans had the same approach to Logistics as the Germans did in Operation Barbarossa IE 'The fuck is logistics?' and it only got worse as they pushed further into the Inner Sphere as their logistics tail just got longer and longer.  Much like Barbarossa.

This naturally wasn't helped by most Clan Mech's having horrifically small ammo bins, LB's with a ton of ammo, the LRM's often only having a ton a peice and so on.  Or they'd have like 5 tons of ammo, like that bonkers Warhawk with 5 tons of ammo for its pair of SRMs.  All safely stored in one massive bomb.

But looking at some of the configs, they make little sense or could use some tidying up, or re-working.  The Hellbringer was screaming out for endo-steel, the Gargoyle didn't need 16 heatsinks as standard and so on.  The light mechs' for the most part don't make sense, most of the Mediums until you get to the Nova are shatnerpants. etc etc, and this I would assume is what the Quicksilver Programe is trying to fix, the Clans basically going "Well fuck..we've got it ALL wrong." and trying to fix issues.


Question, I keep seeing names of Mech's I'm not familiar with getting mentioned, what are they?

And just a reminder folks there is less than eight hours remaining in this contest so if you are planning on getting in fluff (Vintion2) or another revised configuration (Abele) the deadline is approaching.

BTW, you need to finish reading the latest draft and tell me what you want changed.  No pressure.   

Where might we find these 19 new Mechs?

Cheers Vition I'll have a look later <3

Well from a controversial beginning to our greatest amount of design participation yet in an upgrade contest. For the first time in this series we had five (5) designers join in with thirty (30) different entries going up against five (5) canon versions of the venerable Fenris whose pod space leaves a lot to be desired. There is definitely a part of me which would have liked to have seen what could have been done without those two fixed heat sinks but when we are trying to modify the configurations only them is the rules. I thought we had a great discussion though in spite of the constrictions and awesome participation. Thanks again to everyone who joined in. Not a lot of time this weekend folks between my better half’s birthday and the Super Bowl so let a real quick review commence.

First off to the fluff point Vintion2 unfortunately didn’t get the inspiration in the time required which is too bad as I loved his data mining from the Wolf Clan Sourcebook. Abele’s fluff about two Ice Hellion Mechwarriors with different mobile takes on their Wolf Hunters was a nice touch and drakensis also took the Ice Hellion approach to his fluff submission. Red Pins was slightly better with a matter of fact approach that contained a good summation of the Quicksilver reconfiguration but I thought marauder648 probably had the best fluff in his submission however as he covered the fixed Heat Sink problem and the ultimate decision to back the Fenris over the Grendel. Point to marauder648!

Primary Configuration – While the ER PPC of the canon variant gives it excellent firepower the rest of leaves me wanting but luckily three designers took a shot at redoing it. Vintion2 focused on upping the Streak SRM to a 4 by eliminating the Active Probe while drakensis drops the Streak SRM altogether for an ER Medium, ER Small, and two Machine Guns. I liked Red Pins version the best which drops the Streak SRM for two ER Mediums, an ER Small and retains the Active Probe. A scout which can operate independently with a pretty nice punch from its main gun even though it can run hot (running Alpha Strike puts you 5 overheat). It is a true hunter killer especially for light Mechs which it can keep pace with and strike from a distance. Point to Red Pins!

Alternate Configuration A – Surprisingly this canon configuration does not draw the most ire from me and I sort of agree with Red Pins that a case could be made for such a long-range harasser even with its pop gun firepower thanks to the LB 2-X AC. However, with thirty-five options and only ten spots I think we can do better. Here I wanted to concentrate on the best possible replacement for the LB 2-X AC in my opinion the Large Pulse Laser. That gave me three possible options included drakensis A which had two ER Mediums and an Anti-Missile System as well as Red Pins with two ER Mediums and as SRM-2. The best in my opinion was marauder648 which had two ER Mediums, a Flamer, and an Active Probe that gave the Fenris excellent ability to patrol indefinitely for the enemy its primary mission. It is more accurate and cooler running then the new primary. Point to maruader648!

Alternate Configuration B – For canon B with its odd mix of SRMs and a ER Large supported by a Small Pulse I had some choice. Twin ER Large configurations are tempting as well as some single ER Large configurations but I wanted to focus on the SRMs. Only a couple of choices here like marauader648 F which had two SRM-6s, two ER Mediums, and an ER Small. A large store of inferno rounds is certainly a tempting choice but I love drakensis E with three SRM-6s and two ER Mediums. It has enough ammo and can perform the same role while barraging enemies with fifty possible points of damage. Nasty against conventional ground forces and a potent cool running configuration. Point to drakensis!

Alternate Configuration C – For C we come to the worst canon configuration based on LRMs which isn’t a horrible idea but it is wildly inefficient with three small 5 racks each equipped with an Artemis IV FCS. This is perhaps the most nerfed variant of any Clan Mech what a waste!! Thankfully our designers were up to the challenge here with four possible LRM options. Vintion2 has an LRM-20 in his E configuration supported by a ER Medium and a Flamer which is interesting. Red Pins C features two LRM-15s supported by an ER Small for an impressive long-range barrage but it only has eight salvos. A little better was marauder648 C with twin LRM-10s linked to Artemis IV FCS with an ER Small in support but a liked drakensis C best with its LRM-15 linked to an Artemis IV FCS with two dozen rounds of ammunition supported by two ER Mediums. It can remain in the field for a while delivering fire support with good backup from its secondary energy weapons. Two points for drakensis!!

Alternate Configuration D – Canon D comes the closest to keeping its spot in my opinion which was shared by marauder648. Four Medium Pulses gives it accurate mid-range firepower while the Anti-Missile System gives it a little more survivability. Abele Abed takes the core of that configuration exchanging two Pulses for ER Mediums and adds mobility from six Jump Jets. Not bad but drakensis just drops the Anti-Missile System for three ER Smalls which makes this solid variation better offensively. Heat is right on for a running Alpha Strike which can do 43 points of damage at close range, very nasty. Three points for drakensis!!!

Alternate Configuration E – For an ‘E’xtended Range version we go to the dual ER Large entries of which there were three. The first was from marauder648 (A) with an ECM and an ER Small which was quite similar to drakensis B who changed the ER Small to a Flamer for his submission. I liked Vintion2 D the best however which added a Double Heat Sink so you can run and use both ER Larges until the cows come home without overheating and throw in a Flamer for anyone who gets to close. An excellent long-range striker which can also fill that harasser role much more effectively than an LB 2-X AC could. Point to Vintion2!

Alternate Configuration F – Here I was looking for a high-end scout which featured all the electronic bells and whistles. In theory this would work better than the base two configurations and I figure there were four to choose from. Vintion2 B described as a Headhunter/Raider has plenty of armament with 4 ER Mediums, 2 ER Smalls, and 3 Flamers all tied into a Targeting Computer along with an ECM and Active Probe. Also Vintion2 C gave us a Scout/Spotter which has a NARC Missile Beacon and TAG, interesting. Marauder648 G is a ‘Heavy Scout’ with 3 ER Mediums, Streak SRM 4, Flamer, TAG, and Active Probe with ECM. Despite not having an Active Probe I liked Red Pins E battlearmor transport the best here however as it complements the base models with an Active Probe and most importantly adds eight jump jets for maximum mobility. Two points for Red Pins!!

Alternate Configuration G – For our knife fighter I again had a couple of choices that included Vintion2 B but I preferred marauder648 E which could 57 points of damage thanks to nine ER Smalls, a Small Pulse and a Medium Pulse all tied into a Targeting Computer. On a running Alpha Strike it only goes over by two heat so it is a nasty tight quarters combatant. Two points for maruader648!!

Alternate Configuration H – Here I was interested in some mobile offensive and we had a few Jump Jet configurations to chose from including two from Abele. Even though it is high on the heat scale (32 heat generated from a Jumping Alpha Strike) I loved Red Pins C the best which I think Abele based his original Castillo version on. While drakensis F gives us his cooler take equipped with a TAG on this mid-range mobile asset I liked Red Pins version which you have monitor your heat but is accurate with its Targeting Computer linked to five ER Mediums. Three points to Red Pins!!!

Alternate Configuration I – Finally there was what was left which I actively consider Vintion2 C with its NARC, Vintion2 A with its short and long-range missiles, Abele’s configurations, as well as other single ER Large Laser carriers. The best of the rest in my judgement was marauder648 B with its Streak SRM 6, ER Large, ER Medium, and ER Small. Nearly right on in regards to heat and providing some descent firepower (34 points of damage possible) at varying ranges. Three points to marauder648!!!

We have a three-way tie in the configuration end of the contest between marauder648, Red Pins, and drakensis. Very nice job guys! With that bonus fluff point marauder648 emerges on top this time with a total of four. Vintion2 also scored a point and Abele with a valiant last moment attempt just missed the cut this time around. No canon configurations (a first) survived which is a real condemnation on the original design which say what you will about it being too fast but on top of that canon for what ever reason did not do its best.

Makes you wonder what the hell Ice Hellion originally mounted on this thing in the first place that was worse. I guess Wolf got real lucky they went up against inferior InnerSphere tech that in many cases was not up to snuff in its own right. Now I think the Fenris has gotten better and embraced its true strengths as an energy boat as well. Not perfect true but I think you guys got the most out of it and that is what I was trying to do. Great job! I look forward to seeing you all real soon for our next contest.

I knew neither of mine stood a chance as neither was based on a canon model. Plus, with less than 10 tons of pod space to work with there's not much that can be done. The Ice Ferret already has max speed and near max armor it is proof of the old maxim "Speed, Armor or Firepower, pick two"

You three were able to. I contributed nothing to this effort.