Askhati
11/29/11 09:46 AM
196.215.113.87
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Looking for a brief summary of the rules for designing IndustrialMechs - can anyone point me to a link or download?
Evolve or DIE!
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Karagin
11/29/11 02:10 PM
210.5.193.45
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You can find them in the Core rule books. Not sure if they have a free download for the construction rules.
Karagin
Given time and plenty of paper, a philosopher can prove anything.
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Cray
11/29/11 07:14 PM
173.168.112.109
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Quote:
You can find them in the Core rule books. Not sure if they have a free download for the construction rules.
There are no construction rule free (legal) downloads. You can download .pdf copies of the core books, including Tech Manual (construction rules for many vehicle types), from various online RPG retailers.
I can provide a summary here, though. Construction is based on BattleMech rules, with the following exceptions:
You only can use "IndustrialMech (IM) Internal Structures," not endosteel or other fancy structures. IM structures are 20% of the IM's mass. A 100-ton 'Mech thus has a 20-ton structure. IMs can be quad mechs, but not omnis.
IndustrialMech movement and engine rating are found the same way as BattleMechs, with the following engine options: standard fusion, internal combustion, fuel cell, and fission. XL, light, and compact fusion are not available. Internal combustion engines are twice as heavy as a standard fusion engine (SFE) of the same rating; fuel cell engines are 20% heavier than a SFE of the same rating, round up to the nearest half ton; and fission engines are 75% heavier than a SFE of the same rating, round up to the nearest tonnage. ICEs come with 600km of fuel by default, and fuel cells have 450km by default.
IndustrialMechs need gyros like BattleMechs. They may only use standard gyroscopes.
IndustrialMechs may have jump jets, but only if they're fission or fusion powered.
IndustrialMech basic cockpits are 3 tons. They are simpler than BattleMech cockpits, suffering a +1 to all attack rolls and lacking ejection seats. Those shortcomings may be fixed with "Advanced Fire Control" (a 0-ton, cost-increasing item) and an ejection seat (0.5 tons, 1 crit). Without Advanced Fire Control, IMs cannot use a lot of fancy electronics (Artemis, C3, etc.)
IndustrialMechs, by default, are creatures of the air and ground. They die in vacuums and underwater. (I think they can wade in depth 1 water, but don't quote me.) Some people like IMs in vacuum, so they can get Environmental Sealing. It is 10% of the IM's mass, rounded up to the nearest full ton. It requires 8 crits at 1 crit per location (each arm, each leg, each torso, and the head, which makes it impossible to mount an ejection seat and environmental sealing together.)
IMs may not use standard Triple Strength Myomers; there is an "industrial TSM." It is 0 tons and 12 crits.
IMs build up heat EXACTLY like BattleMechs EXCEPT - and this is the only exception - that they do not build up heat from walking or running. This means missile weapons and ballistic weapons build up heat on IMs, just like BattleMechs. On the flip side, IMs do use a heat scale - they don't have to be heat-neutral. If you give an industrialmech a PPC and 3 heat sinks, it's quite legal, just dumb. You could even put a PPC on an ICE IndustrialMech with 0 heat sinks, but it would never cool off. (Speaking of that, ICEs and, as I recall, fuel cells do add some new "fuel explosion" risks to the heat scale.)
IndustrialMechs may built with only single strength heat sinks. Internal combustion engines come with 0 free heat sinks; fuel cells have 1 free heat sink; fission engines have 5 free heat sinks; and fusion engines have 10 free heat sinks. As with BattleMechs, you can "hide" some heat sinks in the engine, at 1 per 25 rating points regardless of engine type. If you built an IM with a 240-rated fuel cell engine (1 free heat sink) and added 10 extra single heat sinks (11 total), you would put 9 in the engine and would have to find critical slots for the other 2.
IndustrialMechs may use one of 3 types of armor: Heavy Industrial, Industrial, and Commercial. IndustrialMechs have the same armor limits as BattleMechs, in terms of points. The three armor types:
"Heavy Industrial" is a fancy way of saying, "standard 16 points/ton BattleMech armor."
For industrial armor, you pick the tons you want, multiply by 16, and before you get happy and write that down you multiply the points by 0.67, rounded down to the nearest whole number. So if you gave your IndustrialMech 3.5 tons of armor, you'd end up with 3.5 x 16 x 0.67 = 37 points. This means a 100-ton bipedal IM may mount way over 19 tons of armor to get the maximum 307 points of protection.
Commercial armor, on the other hand, gives 24 points per ton. Before you go, "Yay! Yippee skippy! Commercial armor is da bomb!", be aware that commercial armor grants any attack of 5 points or more a critical hit roll. So if you build a 100-ton biped IndustrialMech with 300 points of commercial armor (for only 12.5 tons!) with 32 and 45 points on its torso locations, then, no, it will not laugh off a burst from a RAC/5. Each shot that hits has a critical hit opportunity. An Ontos's horde-o-medium lasers is also a critical hit chance.
(Also, this isn't a construction rule, but IndustrialMechs are more prone to critical hits than BattleMechs. Each successful critical hit roll gets a +1 or +2 bonus [I ferget], meaning it's a lot easier to get "limb amputated" or triple crits than a BattleMech.)
Add Equipment: this is pretty much like BattleMechs. Sorry, I ain't going to repeat all the spiffy IndustrialMech chainsaw and drill and kitchensink attachments. Note ICE and fuel cell engines require power amplifiers like vehicles: 10% of the weight of energy weapons, rounded up to the nearest half-ton. If you put a PPC on an ICE-powered IndustrialMech, it'll need a 1-ton power amplifier.
If you have any questions, feel free to let me know.
Mike Miller, Materials Engineer
Disclaimer: Anything stated in this post is unofficial and non-canon unless directly quoted from a published book. Random internet musings of a BattleTech writer are not canon.
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Askhati
11/30/11 05:52 AM
196.215.113.87
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Appreciated. Been curious about the IM's ever since they started appearing in MWDA, want to see what variants one can cook up with them.
Commercial Armour seems like something that would work well on something like a PoliceMech or RiotMech - you don't really expect rioters to carry anything that can deal 5+ points of damage with a single shot. Missile launchers would also be particularly penalized against this armour, as they never deal more than 1-2 points per shot.
Hmm... A TargetMech, used to provide missile boats with moving target practice?
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Cray
11/30/11 08:10 AM
147.160.136.10
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Quote:
Commercial Armour seems like something that would work well on something like a PoliceMech or RiotMech - you don't really expect rioters to carry anything that can deal 5+ points of damage with a single shot. Missile launchers would also be particularly penalized against this armour, as they never deal more than 1-2 points per shot.
LRMs and ATMs apply damage in 5-point clusters, so they'd generate crit rolls against commercial armor.
A number of recent publications give examples of IndustrialMechs, including Technical Readout: Vehicle Annex and Technical Readout: Prototypes.
Mike Miller, Materials Engineer
Disclaimer: Anything stated in this post is unofficial and non-canon unless directly quoted from a published book. Random internet musings of a BattleTech writer are not canon.
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Askhati
11/30/11 10:27 AM
196.215.113.87
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Right, forgot about the clusters. Do LB-X pellets also group?
Evolve or DIE!
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Cray
11/30/11 06:33 PM
173.168.112.109
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Quote:
Right, forgot about the clusters. Do LB-X pellets also group?
Yep, dozens of the little submunitions cluster into 1-point groups. 
SRMs stay in 2-point groups.
Mike Miller, Materials Engineer
Disclaimer: Anything stated in this post is unofficial and non-canon unless directly quoted from a published book. Random internet musings of a BattleTech writer are not canon.
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His_Most_Royal_Highass_Donkey
11/30/11 07:03 PM
99.202.201.193
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Quote:
Quote:
Right, forgot about the clusters. Do LB-X pellets also group?
Yep, dozens of the little submunitions cluster into 1-point groups.
SRMs stay in 2-point groups.
And here I thought that I was the smarrr... Aaa... Intelligent donkey on the board.
Why argue if the glass is half full or half empty, when you know someone is going to knock it over and spill it anyways.
I was a Major *pain* before
But I got a promotion.
I am now a General *pain*
Yay for promotions!!!
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Askhati
12/15/11 10:54 AM
196.215.113.87
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What are the rules around having tracks mounted in the legs of a 'Mech? Just spotted the option in SSW, but have no idea what it translates to in game terms (apart from using crits and tonnage).
Evolve or DIE!
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Cray
12/16/11 09:51 AM
24.213.253.34
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Quote:
What are the rules around having tracks mounted in the legs of a 'Mech? Just spotted the option in SSW, but have no idea what it translates to in game terms (apart from using crits and tonnage).
The foot tracks are useless in combat except when you have severe gyro or leg actuator damage. They're more suited for tight quarters maneuvering (e.g., mines) where the 'Mech doesn't want to swing its legs to avoid kicking something.
TechManual pg249:
Introduced: 2440 (Draconis Combine)
Tracks are an oddball piece of equipment only found on specialized
IndustrialMechs such as MiningMechs and TunnelMechs. Essentially
a set of powered, foot-mounted tread-skates, this equipment was
developed to enable such units to move better in the tight confi nes
of narrow tunnels, where a typical IndustrialMech’s legs often cannot
manage the full range of motion necessary for safe walking. Though
their utility is limited, in some select instances—such as extreme actuator
or gyro damage—tracks can get an otherwise crippled ‘Mech back
to safety in good time. Still, these systems are maintenance-intensive,
and limited in speed by their small size. Too fragile for combat, they
are almost never seen on BattleMechs. Even among their intended
users, tracks are often shunned, with owners often stripping them (or
their mechanisms) out in favor of other equipment.
Tech Base: Inner Sphere and Clan
Unit Restrictions: Only BattleMechs and IndustrialMechs may mount tracks.
Construction Rules: ‘Mech-based tracks weigh 10 percent as much as the unit on which they are mounted (rounded up to the nearest
half-ton). Tracks take up 1 critical slot in each of the ‘Mech’s legs, so a humanoid ‘Mech equipped with tracks requires 2 slots in total, while
a quadruped requires 4.
pg143 Total Warfare
TRACKS
During the Movement Phase, the controlling player of a
’Mech equipped with tracks must declare what movement
mode the ´Mech will use throughout the turn—foot or
tracked. These modes cannot be combined.
Tracks provide Track MP equal to the ’Mech’s Walking MP,
but do not provide a corresponding Running MP. Actuator
critical hits do not reduce tracked movement, but a critical hit
on a track—or the loss of a leg containing a track—reduces
the Track MP by half for a humanoid chassis (or by a quarter
for quad chassis designs). While moving in tracked mode, leg
actuator and gyro critical hits do not require a Piloting Skill Roll,
though Piloting Skill Rolls for suff ering 20 points of damage or
sustaining kick, charge or push attacks are still required and
should be modifi ed appropriately for component damage.
While using tracked movement, ’Mechs receive all the MP
bonuses (including the +1 MP for paved surface movement)
and terrain restrictions (including those for heavy woods and
Depth 1+ water, not changing more than one level in a hex
and so on) that apply to tracked vehicles. Tracked movement
generates heat as normal for a walking ’Mech (as with walking,
ICE-equipped ’Mechs generate no heat), but TSM movement
modifi ers do not apply for a ’Mech using tracked movement.
If a ’Mech is using tracked movement in the turn when its
gyro is destroyed, it does not automatically fall. In addition, it
can continue to use tracked movement provided it starts a
Movement Phase on its feet.
’Mechs mounting tracks are more vulnerable to anti-’Mech
infantry. Any leg attacks receive a –2 to-hit modifi er
Edited by Cray (12/16/11 09:54 AM)
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Askhati
12/21/11 05:09 AM
196.215.113.87
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Appreciated. I just tried to build the MWDA MiningMech in SSW, and it does not seem to be legal... (using tracks, rock cutter and mining drill - as per wiki entry).
Evolve or DIE!
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Prince_of_Darkness
12/25/11 07:37 PM
75.170.98.160
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Yeah, it isn't 
CBT has already doled up the Miningmech MOD in their recent Dark Age Turning Points: Vega PDF.
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