Hellbringer
Sergeant Major
Reged: 02/09/02
Posts: 214
Loc: Midwest
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Why are RACs level 2?
#28286 - 04/24/02 09:10 PM (192.195.234.26)
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They were not around during the first Star League and they are not clan-tech, so why are RACs level 2 and not level 3?
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"But it SHOULD be a spectacle! It should be grand and exciting to us all! I'd hate to think that we've become so jaded that we find even our greatest tiumph, resurrecting the Star League, simply one more obligation."
-General Victor Steiner-Davion (First Prince and Archon in exile) 3064
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Acolyte
Captain
Reged: 05/07/01
Posts: 964
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Re: Why are RACs level 2?
#28296 - 04/24/02 10:18 PM (142.179.27.248)
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Arbitrary FASA decision. To do with game balance rather than universe fluff.
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Light a fire for a man, and you keep him warm for one night,
Light a man on fire and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.
Acolyte
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Karagin
General
Reged: 04/21/01
Posts: 6323
Loc: Ft. Hood TX (Killeen)
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Re: Why are RACs level 2?
#28299 - 04/24/02 10:28 PM (63.173.170.165)
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First, the Houses have places like NAIS who are always looking for new military weapons and ideas. Things like the RACs come about when military weapons maker has a bright idea.
Also not all of the weapons in use have to come from the old SL...you would expect that the Houses have decent scientist and weapon makers of their own and given the last 300 plus years they can come up with some thing new.
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Karagin
Given time and plenty of paper, a philosopher can prove anything.
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Cray
General
Reged: 07/27/01
Posts: 4131
Loc: North America
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Re: Why are RACs level 2?
#28312 - 04/25/02 04:00 AM (204.245.128.3)
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They were introduced in a Field Manual as standard, widely produced FedSuns weapons suitable for tournament play. Therefore, they are L2, like many FM items including heavy lasers, ATMs, stealth armor, the HGR and light engines, etc.
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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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Cheapbuzz
Sergeant
Reged: 04/26/02
Posts: 330
Loc: Currently at Holloman AFB NM
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Re: Why are RACs level 2?
#29109 - 05/06/02 06:22 AM (131.36.116.42)
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Then why only the RAC2s and 5s. How come the 10s and 20s are not?
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Cray
General
Reged: 07/27/01
Posts: 4131
Loc: North America
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Re: Why are RACs level 2?
#29110 - 05/06/02 06:32 AM (204.245.128.3)
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RAC/10s and RAC/20s were introduced as Clan tech by MFUK and quickly identified as "uber munchkin" weaponry, particularly when mounted on vehicles.
As I gather, when FASA decided to make an L2 implementation of RACs for whatever reason, it found RAC/2s and RAC/5s fairly balanced. (Personally, I'd still take LRMs over a RAC/2.) A RAC/5 compares fairly closely to an LRM 20, though each has different optimum ranges. Like LRMs, both RAC/2s and RAC/5s deliver their damage in penny packets across the target, and deliver reasonable amounts of damage.
On the other hand, a RAC/10 is a quite manageable weapon to field (reasonable heat and tonnage), but delivers nearly record amounts of damage in fairly strong 10pt chunks. It's like 6 PPCs with a fraction of the heat and tonnage.
A RAC/20 isn't easy to mount on a mech, but its damage is obscene in terms of density (20pts/hit, head capper) and total (up to 120pts from less than 20 tons of weaponry).
In summary: the RAC/2 and RAC/5 looked balanced and competitive with existing Inner Sphere weapons. The RAC/10 and RAC/20 were just wrong.
Disclaimer: the above is my interpretation only. I was not consulted on the inclusion of RACs into BT, nor did I receive a memo from FASA explaining their decision.
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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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Cheapbuzz
Sergeant
Reged: 04/26/02
Posts: 330
Loc: Currently at Holloman AFB NM
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Re: Why are RACs level 2?
#29111 - 05/06/02 06:38 AM (131.36.116.42)
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Sounds like your on target.
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Nightmare
Sergeant
Reged: 11/16/01
Posts: 344
Loc: Finland
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Re: Why are RACs level 2?
#29114 - 05/06/02 09:03 AM (194.251.240.107)
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IIRC, the ranges were reduced too.
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Advice for Evil Overlords:
My legions of terror will be trained in basic marksmanship. Any who cannot learn to hit a man-sized target at 10 meters will be used for target practice.
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NathanKell
Major
Reged: 04/30/01
Posts: 1310
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Re: Why are RACs level 2?
#29147 - 05/06/02 06:34 PM (24.44.238.62)
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Yeah, the MFUK things (as represented in TDB) *retained* their Clan ranges IIRC.
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-NathanKell, BT Space Wars
Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of blind-folded fear.
Thomas Jefferson
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Tron
Sergeant
Reged: 05/01/01
Posts: 169
Loc: Brooklyn, NY
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Re: Why are RACs level 2?
#29201 - 05/07/02 11:07 AM (146.245.9.190)
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Well It could simply be that the Federated Suns weapon developers are taking their sweet time to build the larger bore variants. After all it took like 8 years before the Lyrans and Cappies came out with Class 20 LBXs. The Feddies and Free Worlders also took an inordinate amount of time to develop the UAC 10.
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"The avalanche has already started. It is too late for the pebbles to vote."-Kosh
We are a race that has the ability of going beyond the boundries placed on us. The question we should ask ourselves then is whether or not we should go beyond those boundries?
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Cray
General
Reged: 07/27/01
Posts: 4131
Loc: North America
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Re: Why are RACs level 2?
#29203 - 05/07/02 11:54 AM (204.245.128.3)
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>Well It could simply be that the Federated Suns weapon developers are taking their sweet time to build the larger bore variants
I kinda hope that isn't so. I don't want to see L2 RAC/10s and RAC/20s in the game.
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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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LordChaos
Lieutenant
Reged: 10/29/01
Posts: 481
Loc: MN
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Re: Why are RACs level 2?
#32940 - 07/16/02 08:42 PM (216.161.101.235)
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"you would expect that the Houses have decent scientist and weapon makers of their own and given the last 300 plus years they can come up with some thing new. "
Given that 300+ year old mechs (not designs, the actual physical machines) were still viable combat units, that's expecting a lot
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Real mechwariors pilot IS mechs.
Edited by LordChaos (07/16/02 08:43 PM)
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PeterSmith
Sergeant Major
Reged: 04/20/01
Posts: 235
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Re: Why are RACs level 2?
#32950 - 07/16/02 09:43 PM (4.17.223.29)
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"you would expect that the Houses have decent scientist and weapon makers of their own and given the last 300 plus years they can come up with some thing new"
You mean aside from the times they were either blowing each other back to the stone age, or trying to figure out how to rebuild what they had already built?
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Peter Smith
Power corrupts. Absolute power is kinda neat.
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