OBT Forum

they like me they truly do 

Thanks this like a soccer game a whole bunch of  nothing than bang excitement galore

That moment when you see a point next to your name

https://g.redditmedia.com/LJWmezUlufujxyYkrA8-pd4FY7xgCewcSql-8QZnJEQ.gif?fm=mp4&mp4-fragmented=false&s=c932b31f659a8761123dcce9606bb544

Or possibly a rather poor AA gun impression.

Here is the next one,

With the original canon designs again setting the pace here that means that Alternate Configuration A will be a Gauss based one. There were six contenders here including a very strange canon thing which provides just eight shots for its main weapon and coupling that with a Large Pulse and an SRM-6 with thirty salvos? Ok. This leads to a dramatically oversinked configuration which cries out for replacement. Ice A was perhaps the most conservative entry which keeps the Large Pulse but yanks out the SRM for three ER Smalls and two extra tons of ammo for the Gauss. Abele and drakensis had the same idea replacing the Large Pulse with an ER Large which allowed them to keep the SRM. Only difference in design were the amount of Gauss ammo and ER Mediums that filled out their deisgns. A little more radical was  marauder648 A who dropped all the secondary weaponry for another ton of Gauss ammo and two ER Large Lasers plus a Flamer. Not a bad sniper but the best to me was Bradshaw A who again bought the lightning by replacing the Large Pulse with an ER PPC. Now I love this combo as you know but it is particularly well suited on the Thor. Not only name wise but using up those base 14 Double Heat Sinks most efficiently. Dropping the SRM for two ER Mediums and an ER Small also frees up enough space for another ton of Gauss ammunition. While a Jumping Alpha Strike will result in a definite spike (33 heat) even that action unless repeated wouldn't cripple operations. Point two Bradshaw!!

Configuration B from canon reminds me of the old Crusader with batteries of LRMs and SRMs. Thing that I don't like about it is NARC pods which especially for LRMs don't make much sense. Surely we could do better however there was a split in approaches between 15s and 20s. After reviewing everything I decided to split these two approaches into their own category. Here we will look at folks who stuck with the big LRM batteries. As a result only marauder648 C and Ice Hellion B qualified. Both linked their massive long range racks to Artemis IV FCS which is a definite positive. Now marauder648 drops the SRM packs for two more tons of LRM ammo, an ER Large Laser and an ER Small. Not bad at but I wanted to maintain the spirit of the original which sort of screws Abele B which does a real good job of that but uses LRM-15s. That means Ice Hellion C which uses two Streak SRM-4s with only one ton of ammo, an ER Medium Laser, and a ER Small Laser will get the win narrowly against some very good competition. It isn't perfect with only a dozen rounds of ammo but it is my winner. Point Ice Hellion!

Well done Gentlemons!

Sorry guys circumstances are sort of dictating that.

The fearsome Ultra AC/20 is the main weapon for canon Alternate C which is probably one of its better ones even if double fire could run it dry in just five turns. I also considered the LB 20-X Autocannon configurations from drakensis C and Abele Prime, of which I liked Abele's better. However these variants lacked the truly awesome rapid fire capability of the Ultra AC. That left just three competitors to see if they could knock out canon C. Both marauder648 B and Ice Hellion C dropped the Streak SRM in favor of energy weapons which helps with any ammo concerns but outpaces Heat Sinks. While Ice's version makes a solid bracket fire case i just thought you lost too much damage potential from such a split, second place bud. The decision by marauder648  to go Large Pulse mitigates those hear concerns but does little to enhance the AC ammo and damage potential. I thought Bradshaw D did the best job by dropping the ER Large and reducing the Streak SRM pack slightly to add ammo and 3 ER Mediums. While this did impact the range of the configuration it adds to the firepower creating IMO the best possible variant. Point three Bradshaw!!!

The long range sniping capabilities of canon configuration D are pretty good  as they link twin ER Large Lasers and two ER Mediums to a Target Computer. Four contenders including Bradshaw E, marauder648 D, Ice Hellion D and drakensis D all tried to out that canon variant. I liked drak D the best as a sniper recon model but there were other energy boats to evaluate here. There were also the two Large Pulse Laser entries which included Ice Hellion F & E, Bradshaw G, and marauder648 I. Of those I liked marauder648 I the best but like drakensis D it lacked punch. Ideally two ER PPCs had the punch I was looking for and a good reach (only 2 hexes less than the ER Large). Abele G, drakensis F, and Bradshaw B all stepped up with dual ER PPC proposals. Even though Bradshaw B does not utilize all the space offered by his three ton Targeting Computer only linking an ER Small with these main guns he presents the best configuration. A Streak SRM 6 adds to the highly accurate weaponry featured here while three additional Double Heat Sinks help cool most of this firepower. Weapon fire generates 36 heat which is only two over the total cooled (34). You have to monitor your heat but man this thing hits hard, nice job and point four Bradshaw!!!!


There was one more additional canon configuration which I will let set the pace here again. Canon M presumably named for Nikolai Malthus gets us back to the LB 10-X entries we saw for the Primary Configuration. This really isn't surprising as the chief bad guy for the Somerset Strikers only swapped out the LRM battery of the base Summoner for a Streak SRM-6. Six entries utilized the LB 10-X AC as their central weapon including Bradshaw H, Ice Hellion G, canon Prime & E, as well as marauder648 E & Prime. While I liked Ice Hellion G who paired the LB-X with a Large Pulse and a LRM-10 as an anti-aircraft platform it was marauder648 Prime whose simple switch of ammo from Nikolai Malthus base M was the best overall. Point to marauder648!

Staying on the Autocannon bandwagon I'll attempt to talk about the rest of those entries here. The smaller bore entries (drakensis E and Abele F) I placed into the Harasser group which became my eleventh configuration. I really wanted to find room for Abele F whose longest range entry could challenge opponents beyond any other. Heat concerns and lower damage potential eventually derailed that plan. Moving onto bigger calibers there were two Ultra AC/10 challengers in Abele C and drakensis Prime. Ultimately I preferred the range of drakensis Prime, the presence of the ER PPC on the Thor, and the LRM-10 change from our new Configuration E. It deals with heat well and has good offensive potential. Point to drakensis!

Ok folks this post will finish the review,

While Streak SRMs are by their very name short range weaponry I consider the Clan versions more mid-range thanks to their improved reach over standard SRMs. While I also considered drakensis H whose Nova like approach with eight Medium Pulses it was the Streak SRM versions which carried the day here. Both Abele I and marauder648 F used the exact same approach in their design pairing four Streak SRM-6s with an ER Large. While their supporting two and a half tons were utilized differently both versions were pretty solid. However drakensis G with five Streak SRM-4s supported by five Small Pulse Lasers linked to a Targeting Computer and defended by three Anti-Missile Systems was my clear winner. A scary police 'Mech for the Jade Falcon Occupation Zone, point two to drakensis!! 


With Configuration H we head back to the LRM-15 options put forward earlier in the contest. The most LRMs seen in the entire contest came from drakensis B and his three LRM-15s all tied to Artemis IV FCS with forty eight reloads. Two ER Mediums and two ER Smalls provided excellent support for a very good configuration. Abele B is really good too but suffers from being too close to our new B by Ice which leaves Bradshaw C. With two LRM-15s linked to Artemis IV FCS and thirty two salvos available it is solid but pairing that with two ER Large Lasers is what I really liked best. Yes the heat can be an issue even with an extra Double Heat Sink but the firepower available is formidable and it fills the ER Large gap left by the upgrade of D. Well done, point five Bradshaw!!!!!


Finally for Configuration I there are three concepts I have yet to comment on and would like to do so here. Artillery really never stood a chance here even though I preferred Ice Hellion H to marauder648 G, just not a great fit for this design guys IMO. Several Generalists including marauder648 H, Bradshaw F, Abele D, H and E also received consideration. Of those I liked Abele E best with its LRM-20, Streak SRM-4, ER Large, three Medium Pulses, two Machine Guns, and an Active Probe. However the final them would consist of those entries featuring massed SRMs with some long range support. Two competitors, drakensis F and Ice Hellion I, featured similar mass SRM batteries and twin big energy guns. Ultimately it was Ice's eight SRM-4s together with an ER PPC and an ER Large Laser is a bracket fire master piece that thanks to two extra Double Heat Sinks which can hammer away at long range with its energy weapons then close for devastating close range missile barrages. Point two for Ice Hellion!!

So with an impressive five points and numerous annoying memes the big winner of this contest is Bradshaw. Ice Hellion, drakensis, and marauder648 all finished up the contest with two points, very nice guys! Despite having three of the top concepts and finishing second twice Abele didn't get any points. Alot of good competition here for the eleven available points really squeezed you out bud. I am sorry bud but very appreciative of your participation despite a limited amount of free time. You guys all obliterated existing canon designs upgrading the Summoner for further use by the Clans. Great job and I look forward to seeing you all next week for the Hellcat review. Till then hope everyone is well!