Talk:Timber Wolf (Mad Cat)

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Picture vs Stats

Hey guys. Has anyone noticed that the Mad Cat has LRM-15s on its shoulders in the pic but LRM-20s in the stats? :) I guess Clan LRMs are 33% more effective than IS ones? Bdevoe 10:26, 19 September 2007 (CDT)

I've noticed that for years. I also noticed that the arm weapons on the Mad Cat Prime are supposed to be PPCs, but are ER Large Lasers in the TRO. I actually made an alt config of the Cat with the PPCs and LRM-15s. It tends to be a bit short on short-range weapons, however. ClanWolverine101 15:33, 28 April 2010 (UTC)

The Timber Wolf Prime art actually reflects what's referred to as the "Mark 1" omnis. At least nine of the 3050 Clan Omnimechs were previewed in a magazine prior to the full reveal of the Clans. All of them except the Warhawk had XL engines, ferro-fibrous armor, and endo steel chassis. The story I got from an old roommate, the guy who introduced me to the table top game WAYYYY back in college, was that the Mark 1 omnis were deemed too powerful and nerfed to the versions we know and love today. He still had the magazine that they appeared in to boot. If you hunt around Google long enough you can find them. The Timber Wolf mounts two ER Large Lasers, four ER Medium Lasers, two LRM-15s w/ Artemis IV FCS, and four machine guns. --Pa Weasley 04:22, 30 April 2010 (UTC)

Is there any sourcing on that magazine? Was it BattleTechnology or something like that? I remember seeing a website with that information, but I'd love to look at a real semi-canon source on it. Maybe the apocryphal "Mark Ones" deserve their own page? Citizen Erased 05:15, 30 April 2010 (UTC)

There is no Mark 1 Mad Cat. In offical canon, the plain old original Mad Cat is considered the "Mark I" but its never been referred to as that. The TRO FASA came up with Mark II in TRO 3067, it was the Clan Diamond Shark's idea of marketing a second line battlemech. When WizKids took over FASA properties, they created the Mad Cat III & Mad Cat II (not Mk II). I can understand to newbies, or folks who haven't been around for while they'd would think there be a Mark I, if there a Mark II. However in this case there isn't. -- Wrangler 10:54, 30 April 2010 (UTC)

I'd love to be able to tell you exactly what magazine, but I flipped through it about thirteen years ago and haven't seen it since. I can't imaging any of the designs are cannon, but it's still a nice bit of BT history/trivia to post as apocrypha. Perhaps someone on the main BT boards has the reference. Someone over there has to still have a copy. --Pa Weasley 11:20, 30 April 2010 (UTC)

The german site www.twobt.de offers these so called MK.1's as HMP-files, but they also state that no FASA-official has ever confirmed them. In their opinion, its just an urban myth...! RagTag 12:04, 30 April 2010 (UTC)

Wonky Kitty

I was looking in the back of the Jade Phoenix Trilogy at the 'mechs. Why does the TRO pic of the Timby back there have no arms?

If it is the side profile picture you are refering to, the picture appeared in the back of the original TRO 3050, it has a caption that reads the arms were omitted for clarity. -Garya

Yes, it has no arms on the side, but none on the front view either.

Proposal : Merge "Related Battlemechs" with "Related Omnimechs"

Do we really need two different sections for this? Just a thought... ClanWolverine101 15:34, 28 April 2010 (UTC)

Agreed. It seems unnecessarily extraneous. Citizen Erased 03:03, 29 April 2010 (UTC)

Done. ClanWolverine101 14:07, 29 April 2010 (UTC)

While we're at it, can we remove Gargoyle, Linebacker, and Naga? Their "relatedness" to the Mad Cat is tangential at best. --Scaletail 23:04, 29 April 2010 (UTC)

Linebacker must be kept. It was specifically based on the Timber Wolf. The others? You could make an argument. ClanWolverine101 00:54, 30 April 2010 (UTC)

No, it wasn't. It was intended to "supplement and eventually replace it" (TRO:3055 & TRO:3055U). --Scaletail 01:32, 30 April 2010 (UTC)

Which arguably means that parameters of the Timber Wolf's design - speed, weight, and general configuration preferences - influenced the Linebacker's development, much like how the evolution of the Marauder influenced the R&D behind the Dragon Fire. Citizen Erased 02:39, 30 April 2010 (UTC)

First, if you want to merge, I suggest "Related 'Mechs" (which is all-encompassing).

Second, the Timber Wolf is certainly related to the Gargoyle and the Naga. Consider, if all three are descended from the Woodsman, then this relationship is analogous to children of a single parent. All three designs should be considered as kin, each optimized for specific battlefield roles.

Lastly, full agree with Citizen Erased, a 'Mech designed to replace or mimic should also be included. Bearing the same mix of weaponry as the Timber Wolf prime, the Rakshasa tries to fill the same battlefield role. Further, the designers looked at the 'Mech and said, "let's make our look similar". Even though the chassises come from distinctly different origins, these designs are converging towards the same ideas. The same argument applies for the Linebacker, except that in this case, the designers had been sitting on the technical schematics for the inspiration for over 100 years. The biggest distinction is size and speed - even the weapons configurations of the Linebacker are intended to mimic those of the Timber Wolf (L,T: prime,A/A,prime/B,B/C,C).--S.gage 02:56, 30 April 2010 (UTC)

Woodsman

Tangential question: the Woodsman is described as a "first generation OmniMech", but is it? Is the Woodsman a first generation OmniMech of Clan Coyote, or is it an early second generation Omni (like Clan Jade Falcon's Summoner)? I've looked in TRO: 3050U, TRO:3055, and TRO: 3055U, but all I got is that it is an OmniMech that was old by 2945. Neither is excluded: first generation Omnis must have begun production after 2854 (~90 before), second generation Omnis began appearing ~2870 (~75 before).--S.gage 03:35, 30 April 2010 (UTC)

There's still no published information on the Woodsman. Who knows? Maybe it'll show up in TRO:3085. Or the next Historical. Or Era Report:3052. TPTB have really been leaving us out to dry on that one. Citizen Erased 05:13, 30 April 2010 (UTC)

Agreed. Speculating and writing up stuff where there litterly little or no information out would be foolish. The writers have been in places, retroconning alot stuff to suit the fiction. This includes the Clan things, hell there been cases where they'd forgotten about things that happened. With DA era coming up, they'll be bound forget to a vehicle, 'mech or armor that showed up during the the Jihad. -- Wrangler 10:58, 30 April 2010 (UTC)