OBT Forum

Very nice Ice Hellion, welcome to the party!

I have already begun reviewing our little contest here but there is still time for new entries with two days and seven and half hours left.

If you've already entered please make sure you check over your designs for any mistakes or omissions (Bradshaw F I am talking to you) that might cause an entry to be disqualified.

Gonna be tough getting down to the ten best configurations already and maybe more to come!!

I saw no amount of machine gun ammo bud

Okay folks the competition here has come to an end.

I have to say this one is super tough to judge already. So many different and intriguing concepts to pick from and a certain single concept has at least two or three winners. Difficult to pick just ten.

Since it is a premier Heavy OmniMech though I am probably going to bounce those concepts which could be useful for those I can see most likely used.

Hopefully I'll be done by tomorrow!

I'm sorry for all the work that my 21 designs are going to put you through. I simply went mad at some point.

Sanity is sooooooo 1950's my friend.

Well if there is any hope for a Smoke Jaguar comeback in this setting I think you guys may have gave it some steroids during this contest. I was never the biggest fan of this design since its introduction mainly cause of the malfed up weapon configurations and after the Hellbringer II upgrade I was certainly thinking the Ebon Jaguars days might be numbered. However, after an incredible fifty-nine (59) entries by our five resident designers not only do the five existing canon configurations have a tough time ahead but so may the Hellbringer II! While the amount of submissions was overwhelming it did provide a wide variety of options from which to choose making the end product so much the better. Unfortunately, I can only pick ten winners because of past precedent in these upgrade contests and future designs with greater pod space will likely test this limit. While clearly there are more I would like to endorse these are the ones I chose to be the new most common Cauldron Born configurations stomping around the Clarion Call universe.

We get started with Primary Configuration which may be the very best of them all. Canon leads off with an oddly paired but heat efficient Gauss Rifle, LRM-10, ER Medium, LB 5-X AC, and SRM-2 combo. Abele does a nice job with his initial foray which like all the others retains the Gauss Rifle but drops all else. Unfortunately, his Large Pulse Laser, two Streak SRM-4, and three Small Pulses is just simply beat by our top three. Ice Hellion who was late to the party cloned marauder648’s entry which was good but his was better. In fact it is the first of three winners which are so good I’d love to include all of them but will we have the space? Using my favorite Gauss/ER PCC combo to balance heat while providing powerful long-range damage all three are quite simply awesome. With an LRM-15 linked to an Artemis IV FCS, two ER Mediums, plus an ER Small marauder648 presents an tremendous variant but only good enough for third place here. Bradshaw was first with his Gauss/ER PPC combo supplemented by two ER Mediums all linked to a four-ton Targeting Computer plus a Streak SRM-6! Just a super accurate pretty heat friendly (6 overheat on a running Alpha Strike) entry which was very narrowly upstaged but it is so good you probably will see this one again. The very best though at least in my opinion is drakenis prime with his three-quarters of a Hellstar entry. Two ER PPCs and a Gauss with twenty-four rounds of ammunition can pummel Assault Mechs to death with continuous fire thanks to three additional Double Heat Sink. In other words, you can walk and fire for two dozen turns without fear of overheating which makes this Cauldron Born my new favorite. Point to drakensis!

Even though I do not want to move on from my Gauss/ER PPC combos canon A with its Ultra AC/20 base gives us another theme worthy of the Smoke Jaguars. Canon overheats although as drakensis and Ice Hellion both point out you can bracket fire the Ultra AC/20 or twin ER Larges depending on range. However, I liked Bradshaw A the best which drops an ER Large and mounts twin Streak SRM-6s which makes an excellent complement for the Ultra AC/20. The addition of twin Small Pulse Lasers a lesson learned from Tukayyid for in close support is also a nice little bonus. While this variant has an extra Double Heat Sink it still generates forty heat on a running Double Fire Alpha Strike (12 Overheat). If you don’t fire the ER Large (yeah still bracket fire a little) you can still produce 70 points of damage without overheating. In my opinion this is the best option for Configuration A. Point to Bradshaw!

If you think heat was a problem with A then say hello to canon Configuration B which while an impressive energy boat fails horribly to account for any sort of waste heat. Thankfully all our challengers went in a similar direction with entries that used two Large Pulse Lasers as a basis. The one I liked the best was Abele B which adds four additional Double Heat Sinks to help deal with the weapon heat from two Large Pulses and four Medium Pulses. He keeps the Active Probe and swaps out the canon TAG for an ECM Suite which makes this a pretty solid urban scout. Especially since it also features four Jump Jets that gives the Ebon Jaguar extra mobility and the Clan really needs this model now more than ever. Pacification of the Occupation Zone is likely a fulltime job with a lot of overtime for the Jaguars and this Mobile Heavy Scout variant would help out tremendously. While an Alpha Strike Jump produces forty (40) heat and this configuration has 17 (34) Double Heat Sinks your only over by six (6), not bad. Point to Abele!

Configuration C from canon gives you long range harassment fire and fire support all in one which is interesting. With two LRM-15s and two Ultra AC/2s supported by two SRM-6s you will not overheat certainly as you strike from range. Problem is there is not a great deal of firepower here or added accuracy which would intrigue me. What most of my contestants did was to drop the Ultra ACs for bigger or more LRMs with Artemis IV FCS to improve the number of missile hits. Not only do I agree with this approach but it is appropriate to have a fire support option on this Heavy OmniMech. Again there are many options to choose from but I went with the one that could deliver the most accurately which was drakensis C. With four LRM-15s all linked to Artemis IV FCS and two Streak SRM-4s for backup you can do a staggering amount of damage (76) while going over by movement heat alone (1 or 2 depending on speed) if performing an Alpha Strike. While it featuring only enough ammo for a dozen rounds of long range fire is concerning I judged it to be the best for barrages. Point two to drakensis!!

Canon’s last possibility to save face is Configuration D which is not that shabby. Two Ultra AC/10s paired with an ER Large Laser and two ER Mediums for close in support do a solid job without going over heat all that much. Incredibly there were only two direct challengers marauder648 A and drakensis D which kept the twin Ultra AC/10s that serves as a good configuration base. Dropping the ER Mediums for a SRM-4 as marauder648 did or dropping the ER Large for another two ER Mediums while adding two more tons of Ultra AC ammo as drakensis did really failed to move me. As a result, configuration D holds on here at least for now and retains one for canon!

I looked at the Warhammer IIC variants for Configuration E of which there were at least four if you just look at twin ER PPC carriers. While the winner of this classification was marauder648 E these variants all suffered from heat problems while Bradshaw Prime was just as accurate and more heat friendly. While Bradshaw Prime lacks a Streak SRM 6 which means only 56 possible damage the overheat on a running Alpha Strike is only 6. While marauder648 E can do 68 possible damage a running Alpha Strike is gonna be 14 over. Of course, the Gauss does bring limited ammunition concerns with it but I feel the overall performance is just better here. Sorry marauder648 but point two for Bradshaw!!

Since we just journeyed back to the beginning for the last configuration lets do that again for F by revisiting variations of Configuration A. Instead of an Ultra AC/20 some folk based entries around an LB 20-X AC which is quite useful. I think that the best of these was marauder648 D which paired the massive main gun with a Large Pulse Laser, four ER Medium Lasers, two Flamers, and two Machine Guns. Along with an Active Probe this variant would make an excellent tank killer helping immeasurably against InnerSphere forces something the Jaguars would certainly use. While 42 heat from weapons fire does tax the integral 13 (26) Double Heat Sinks far too much making Alpha Strikes impossible careful select fire would be quite effective especially against conventional forces. Point to marauder648!

Configuration G became my home for all the rest of the concepts as the rest of the contest shook out fine. This was a long list which included long range harassers, mid-range energy boats, short range missile carriers, long range barrage models, numerous classic imitators, some intriguing generalists and even an artillery variant. Ultimately, I thought drakensis G was the most innovative of this massive group as it really stood out with its NARC launcher, six SRM-6s, and two ER Larges. As both weapon groups produce 24 heat a piece which together with movement maxes out the design’s integral heat sinks it is strictly a bracket firer. It is also mobile mounting four Jump Jets which may muddy your heat calculations but adds to the capabilities of the Cauldron Born. While I generally consider the NARC a dishonorable weapon it does help this design which could very conceivably use it in single combat as well as a general melee should any dezgra force attempt that. Point three to drakensis!!!

For Configuration H I wanted to come back to our long-range missile carriers for a variation on our new C. There were several twin LRM-20 boats including Bradshaw C which was perhaps too similar to drakensis C with its Streak SRMs. I really liked marauder648 C which was very solid with two ER Large Lasers but it had a low ammunition loadout which matched drak C with only a dozen reloads. I wanted to improve on that here and Ice Hellion C was close with two Large Pulse supporting two LRM-15s but I wanted to go with LRM-20s here. Abele P which was inspired by the Catapult has an improved ammo supply with eighteen (18) rounds of fire and it is mobile thanks to four Jump Jets. While it lacks larger energy weapons which could supplement its long-range fire further four Medium Pulse Lasers do make for a nice close-range addition. Point two to Abele!

There were four entries that featured two LB 10-X Autocannons as their basis and that will serve as the final core of the new Configuration I. Bradshaw D was a little too much all over the place with its back up weaponry and drakensis E went with an ER PPC which is an interesting choice. I might have gone with a Large Pulse to create a terrifying anti-air variant but the ER PPC does heat up an otherwise ice-cold configuration and add firepower. However, I liked Abele’s entries better which were so nice he essentially submitted them twice. Abele D and Abele V were nearly identical except for the placement of two ER Mediums. I like the inspiration of the ancient Hammerhands as well as the variation on Configuration D which was unchanged. It is perfect on the heat scale and does the most damage at mid-range of any of these designs. Congrats bud, point three to Abele!!!

With a two-way tie going into our fluff phase we could produce a clear winner or create a bigger tie. While I will say I liked Abele’s fluff better than drakensis this time (I do not buy the fact the Jags would inform the Falcons of yet another loss) the ultimate win here goes to marauder648. His was the best story in line with established Quicksilver fluff. So, we have a tie this time between drakensis and Abele with three design points each and a tie for second place with Bradshaw and marauder648 complying two points each. Canon did retain one configuration for a single point and I am sorry to say Ice Hellion came up empty this time around. If it is any consolation bud there was just so many good configurations out there, better luck next time. Thanks again everyone, see you soon for our next contest!

Aye well done all!

I am sorry to say Ice Hellion came up empty this time around. If it is any consolation bud there was just so many good configurations out there, better luck next time.

I told you I lost my magic touch. I only got mentioned 2. 

Congratulations to the winners.