Heat sinks and critical slots...

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ColonelCrow
08/14/16 05:40 PM
98.23.95.61

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Pardon another newbie question that's probably answered somewhere right in my face. I combed through Total Warfare and tried several forum searches before I decided to post.

The short version is this: why aren't all the heat sinks on a mech assigned critical slots?

Example: The TBT-7M Trebuchet described at pp. 60-61 of the Technical Readout 3050 Upgrade (Catalyst 35122) has 10 double heat sinks. The record sheet for that same mech, at least as I find it in the Record Sheets 3050 Upgrades Unabridged--Inner Sphere PDF, only mentions the heat sinks in the Heat Data portion of the sheet, to the right of the heat level effects where a notation reads "Heat Sinks: 10 [20] Double" above a row of ten unshaded circles.

Nowhere on the critical hit table of that record sheet do I find mention of any heat sinks vulnerable to critical hits.

Explication: My understanding (probably faulty) had been that every important piece of equipment mounted on/in a mech was represented somewhere on the Critical Hit Table. I may have gained this (mis?)apprehension from my 25+ year old memories of playing BattleTech a few times one summer.

So: Are not all heat sinks vulnerable to critical hits? Do, therefore, only engine hits (in this example anyway) effect heat management, at least in terms of externally applied weapons damage? Are there further crucial questions here I'm not asking?

Again, sorry for what's probably a clear and basic question.

Cheers,

Christopher
Shadrak
08/14/16 05:46 PM
98.101.165.111

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A fusion engine, as part of its internal mechanisms and housings, provides a certain amount of heatsinks incorporated into its critical infrastructure based on the size of the engine. The number of heat sinks an engine can mount internally before additional heatsinks must be mounted in the frame is equal to:

Engine Rating/25...

So you must be looking at an upgraded Trebuchet...the 3050 Trebuchet moves 5/8 so its engine rating is 250 (5*50 tons)



A 250 Fusion engine can mount 10 heatsinks internally (250/25)...

If the Trebuchet mounted 11 or more heatsinks every heatsink above 10 would need to be mounted in the Mech's overall chassis.
ColonelCrow
08/14/16 05:58 PM
98.23.95.61

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Thank you so much Shadrak, that's exactly the information I was looking for! Where would I have found it if I'd, in fact, found it on my own? The TechManual maybe?

Cheers,

Christopher
CrayModerator
08/16/16 05:45 PM
72.189.109.30

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Quote:
ColonelCrow writes:

Thank you so much Shadrak, that's exactly the information I was looking for! Where would I have found it if I'd, in fact, found it on my own? The TechManual maybe?




It's a standard construction for 'Mechs so, yep, Tech Manual (and many prior books with rules on 'Mech construction, if you have older ones or want to get them from eBay or something.)

Tech Manual p. 53, Step 3, "Add Additional Heat Sinks," mentions tonnage-free heat sinks, and then mentions they may or may not require crits. In the sub-section "Space", it explains how to assign crits and how many heat sinks are part of the engine.
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.
Reiter
08/19/16 04:44 PM
45.48.53.140

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Rule of thumb:

Tonnage x Walking Movement Point = Engine Rating /25.

250 rating is the sweet spot, which is 10 free heat sinks at no space or weight. All mechs come with 10 heat sinks standard

80 ton mech going 3/5 is 240 engine rating (missing by just a little bit) has to slot 1 heat sink

45 ton mech going 5/8 is 225 needs to slot 1 sink, but going 6/9 it doesn't.

Also, for every 25 over 250 rating you get another free heat sink so a 100 ton mech going 3/5 is 300 and gets 12 free slots but pays 2 tons in weight if you add more over the 10 free that come with any fusion engine (aka you can add 2 extra sinks, that costs from your available pool of weight for weapons/equipment after all other calculations but not in critical pool space).
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