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Karagin writes:

You can not speak for them, but it's your opinion based on your group and in my area and others I know I find more still use HMP with the updates and find it far easier to use.

Something tells me that you will continue to bash Rich since he has not dropped everything and worked solely on HMP6 and something tells me also that you are not going to see or even listen to the fact that the program is far from dead.

Well, it's been 6 months. Any updates from Rick? Dying to know..!

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I've been toying around with making 'Mech construction using common spreadsheet software. I've got one working pretty well using rules from the Clan Invasion Era.

Most things are set in stone, and you can't mess them up:

You select if you are making a Clan or Inner Sphere 'Mech. I even have a setting for using the original 1/4 ton "fractional accounting" or the later version that rounds 'Mech hardware to half-tons.

You set your listed tonnage.

You decide whether or not you are using endo steel or ferro-fibrous.

'Mech tonnage decides the exact internal structure points for each section, and each section having a maximum armor factor of twice its structure points.

A simple function multiplies 'Mech tonnage by the desired walking speed, and it references a table to tell you which engine you have, and how much it weighs. Same for the Gyro.

Running Speed is a function of walking speed; Jump Capacity is simply counting the Jump Jets.

You put something in there to prevent "mixed tech", like heat sinks of different types. It also automatically makes Double Heat sinks take up 3 crits on an IS 'Mech or just 2 on a Clan 'Mech.

The weights for everything have really simple formulas associated with them. Before you start adding weapons, you see how much tonnage you have left. With each weapon or heat sink or jump jet you add, you see your remaining tonnage going down. When you have used up your tonnage and allocated mandatory equipment (endo steel,ferro-fibrous, and heat sinks that didn't fit in the engine), you press print and you have a record sheet. And, you can save your favorite designs and select them from a list.

The major problem I'm finding with a construction software project is that people want it to be IMPOSSIBLE to make a mistake using the program. If you make a program that is less than perfect, people are going to try and field flawed 'Mechs because "the program let me do it". I played A LOT of MechWarrior 2, and I spent A LOT of time designing custom 'Mechs in the lab. It was a pretty fair system, and I fielded anything the lab would let me. But for table top? If we could just promise to let people look at our designs and double check that they are fair before we play, we could have great software RIGHT NOW, and anyone can make their own design software that is easily updateable.

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Non-Canon weapons should not be shown in a canon list unless something is check off to show them

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Non-Canon weapons should not be shown in a canon list unless something is check off to show them, and legit programs will either put an * next to them or tell you at the top of the stats that said mech is using custom or non-canon weapons or equipment.

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No HMP6? ;-)

I was thinking the same thing

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It's not about "convincing." Rick acquired the licensing and it was an unfortunate mistake for the owners at the time. (FASA, I think) It looked promising, but there's no way they could've known it would be abandoned. The only way to move forward is another "official" design program. And I'm not sure they'll go that way ever again.