Tweaking Introtech Weapons by BV/Cost

Not all weapons are the same. But any weapon is good if it's easy to mount or used for its purpose. If it doesn't require too much ammo, too many tons, or too many heat sinks.

What if we turned some dials? I'd put Medium Lasers and AC/2s at two ends of the spectrum of quality. What if an AC/2 was--pound for pound--as good as a Medium Laser? What if the opposite? I played with some numbers and thought I'd share the results.

Premises:
I used BV/Cost to quantify weapon quality.
BV was calculated by the Weapon Battle Value Calculator at: [url]http://www.heavymetalpro.com/bv_calc.htm
"Cost" was calculated per weapon by adding Tonnage, 1/2 heat, ammo tonnage for 10 shots, and Crits/3
Larger missile systems usually have more BV/Cost.
I kept range brackets in the shape of: Short Range / 2*Short Range / 3*Short Range
I'm not modifying Cost factors (tonnage, crits, heat, and shots/ton).

Classic Introtech Weapons
Name           Cost           Cost/BV           BV/Cost        
MedLas         4.3333         0.094202173913043  10.62          
PPC            18             0.102272727272727   9.78           
LRM20          19.3333        0.106813812154696   9.36           
LRM15          14.25          0.104779411764706   9.54           
LgLas          13.6667        0.111111382113821   9              
LRM5           4.75           0.105555555555556   9.47           
LRM10          10.5           0.116666666666667   8.57           
SRM6           8.2917         0.140537288135593   7.12           
AC20           26.3333        0.147939887640449   6.76           
AC10           18.3333        0.149051219512195   6.71           
AC5            10.8333        0.154761428571429   6.46           
SRM4           5.7333         0.147007692307692   6.8            
SmLas          1.8333         0.2037              4.91           
SRM2           3.5333         0.168252380952381   5.94           
AC2            7.5556         0.204205405405405   4.9            
MG             0.8833         0.17666                   5.66           
Flamer         4.3333         0.722216666666667   1.38

Medium Laser Quality Weapons (11.11 BV/Cost)
Name           Min Range      Short Range    Medium Range   Long Range     Damage         Shots/Ton      Actual BV      Target BV      Cost           BV/Cost        
AC2            1              8              16             24             4              45             79             80             7.5556         10.4558        
AC5            4              6              12             18             9              20             121            115            10.8333        11.1693        
AC10           0              5              10             15             13             10             192            195            18.3333        10.4727        
AC20           0              4              8              12             24             5              284            280            26.3333        10.7848        
MG             0              1              2              3              4              200            10             9              0.8833         11.3212        
SmLas          0              2              4              6              3              0              19             19             1.8333         10.3638        
MedLas         0              3              6              9              5              0              46             46             4.3333         10.6155        
LgLas          0              5              10             15             9              0              139            145            13.6667        10.1707        
PPC            5              7              14             21             10             0              190            191            18             10.5556        
Flamer         0              2              4              6              7              0              43             46             4.3333         9.9232         
LRM5           6              7              14             21             5x1/msl C5     24             45             50             4.75           9.4737         
LRM10          6              7              14             21             12x1/msl C5    12             116            111            10.5           11.0476        
LRM15          6              7              14             21             18x1/msl C5    8              164            151            14.25          11.5088        
LRM20          6              7              14             21             23x1/msl C5    6              219            205            19.3333        11.3276        
SRM2           0              3              6              9              3x2/msl C5     50             30             38             3.5333         8.4906         
SRM4           0              3              6              9              6x2/msl C5     25             59             61             5.7333         10.2908        
SRM6           0              3              6              9              10x2/msl C5    15             93             88             8.2917         11.216

The AC/2's and MGs get doubled damage and most other ACs get a hefty damage buff.
The Flamer operates like two Small Lasers taped together, which tracks.
Missiles get a damage buff to their missiles per shot.
The damage/ton for different weapons changes. Lighter autocannons run in the 180 damage/ton while the AC/20 goes down to about 120. LRMs are all over the place. SRMs actually converge at 300 damage per ton.

AC/2 Quality Weapons (4.9 BV/Cost)

Name           Min Range      Short Range    Medium Range   Long Range     Damage         Shots/Ton      Actual BV      Target BV      Cost           BV/Cost        
AC2            4              8              16             24             2              45             37             37             7.5556         4.897          
AC5            4              6              12             18             4              20             54             53             10.8333        4.9846         
AC10           0              5              10             15             7              10             86             90             18.3333        4.6909         
AC20           0              3              6              9              15             5              133            129            26.3333        5.0506         
MG             0              1              2              3              2              200            5              4              0.8833         5.6606         
SmLas          0              1              2              3              3              0              9              9              1.8333         4.9092         
MedLas         0              3              6              9              2              0              19             21             4.3333         4.3846         
LgLas          0              5              10             15             4              0              62             67             13.6667        4.5366         
PPC            3              6              12             18             5              0              88             88             18             4.8889         
Flamer         0              2              4              6              3              0              19             21             4.3333         4.3846         
LRM5           4              7              14             21             2x1/msl C5     24             23             23             4.75           4.8421         
LRM10          4              7              14             21             5x1/msl C5     12             50             51             10.5           4.7619         
LRM15          4              7              14             21             7x1/msl C5     8              70             70             14.25          4.9123         
LRM20          5              7              14             21             10x1/msl C5    6              96             95             19.3333        4.9655         
SRM2           0              2              4              6              3x2/msl C5     50             14             17             3.5333         3.9623         
SRM4           0              2              4              6              5x2/msl C5     25             31             28             5.7333         5.407          
SRM6           0              2              4              6              7x2/msl C5     15             43             41             8.2917         5.1859

Autocannons which aren't the AC/2 take about 20% off of their damage.
The Flamer still gets better because its BV/Cost was still below the AC/2's.
Energy weapon damage is about halved and the Small Laser does more damage than a Medium Laser now.
LRMs do about half damage. Cutting minimum range a bit help get their BV's close to the target.
It's hard to pare down the damage of an SRM 2, so SRM range was cut down and damage was bumped up.

Haha. But what if weapons had the BV/Cost of Armor? I mean, if you want your game to be fast and dynamic, your offense needs to be cheaper than defense. BattleTech would be greatly improved if it was slicker and faster.

Armor Quality Weapons (40.0 BV/Cost)

Name           Min Range      Short Range    Medium Range   Long Range     Damage         Shots/Ton      Actual BV      Target BV      Cost           BV/Ton         
Armor                                                                                                    40             40             1              40             
AC2            4              13             26             39             11             45             338            332            8.333          40.56          
AC5            3              11             22             33             14             20             444            453            11.33          39.17          
AC10           2              8              16             24             2x22           20             726            733            18.33          39.6           
AC20           1              6              12             18             3x30           15             1058           1013           25.33          41.76          
MG             0              1              2              3              15x3           3000           70             73             1.833          38.18          
SmLas          0              3              6              9              8              0              74             73             1.833          40.36          
MedLas         0              5              10             15             11             0              170            173            4.333          39.23          
LgLas          0              9              18             27             16             0              533            547            13.66          39             
PPC            6              12             24             36             18             0              718            720            18             39.88          
Flamer         0              4              8              12             12             0              178            173            4.333          41.07          
LRM5           5              7              14             21             3x7/msl C5   24             212            213            5.333          39.75          
LRM10          5              7              14             21             6x7/msl C5   12             425            427            10.66          39.84          
LRM15          6              7              14             21             10x7/msl C5  8              630            600            15             42             
LRM20          6              7              14             21             12x7/msl C5  6              813            787            19.66          41.33          
SRM2           2              4              8              12             3x9/msl C9   50             172            173            4.333          39.69          
SRM4           2              4              8              12             5x9/msl C9   25             272            253            6.333          42.94          
SRM6           2              4              8              12             7x9/msl C9   16             377            347            8.666          43.5          

And some people say ClanTech is overpowered. Does the three-shot AC/30 with the range of a standard PPC seem to be a bit much? Is it bad if an AC/5 is a headcapper? I think it is, but I'm intrigued.

The Death Flamer appeals to me as well. I assume it would still optionally produce 2 heat. I don't see that being an appealing option though.

But hey, maybe it's balanced. Sure, two SRMs to the cockpit end your career of mechwarrioring, but back of the napkin math says SRM ammo now explodes with 1350 and 945 damage per ton. And lasers are the only weapon without a minimum range. Without to-hit bonuses, these weapons usher in the dawn of the Age of Speed.

Realistically

Now, each point of armor doesn't actually count in a game of BattleTech. Assuming an even distribution of hits, about 1/7th of a 'mech's armor is removed before it begins to take structure damage. That the distribution is uneven adds some spice to the game and makes that lower.

If we were to cut BV/Cost to around that level (1/7th of 40), it's in the ballpark of an AC/2. So the game is already tipped in favor of offense (as it should be). Without kicking out swingy weapons.

Battlemech Generations, Pt II

So last time I went on about similar 'mech designs being separated by quirks. Specifically, I kicked around a system wherein 'mechs which have been in production for 500 years will be generally better than a 'mech that was produced 500 years ago and not since.

Fucking Hammerhands.

The system is that new 'mechs can be based on existing designs or completely original, they can simply add to that template or radically revise it. 'mechs based on existing designs have known intractable flaws, but are of generally higher quality. 'mechs which are completely original have more negative quirks, but produce a new intractable flaw.

I'm using the idea of a Quirk Maximum here. In the rules quirks are either positive or negative. Each quirk has a point value associated with it. If you're keeping a 'balanced' 'mech, the value of that 'mech's positive quirks will be equal to the value of its negative quirks.

If you're a fan of My Hero Academia, I can only apologize for the rampant use of the word "quirk" you're about to read.

Instead of that, I'm treating the values of all negative quirks as, y'know, negative numbers. Add all your quirk values together and you'll get a total. To get them to a base balance recommended in Strategic Operations, the sum will be 0. We will use a Quirk Maximum to represent the maximum value of all quirks--usually negative--that a new design can have. The sum of the values of all of that 'mech's quirks must be that number or lower.

I checked the rules, but couldn't find it so for the sake of simplicity, this system will limit quirks to a maximum of 6 total quirks, positive or negative.

Design Types for New 'Mechs

Variant - A variant is a modified version of an existing 'mech. Like a -K2 Catapult or the -R60L Urbanmech. It inherits the quirks (including the intractible quirk) and quirk maximum of its parent designs and usually makes minor changes. 

"Minor changes" covers a lot when you at things like, well, the -K2 Cataputl. But let's not get into that. You're changing your design and don't mind if it's got all the flaws of the current production model.

Overhaul - Originally termed a 'next gen' design, it's a refinement of the original concept after serious revision and testing. This can be the line model BJ-1 Blackjack when compared to the original BJ-1X Blackjack or the omnimech Blackjack which carries 5 tons over it's parent BJ-1.

Overhauls will maintain the Intractable Flaw of their parent unit, but will increase their quirk maximum by +1 (to a maximum of +3).

Conventional - A conventional design is a new design not specifically based on any existing model, but using conventional design practices. It uses standard components; actuators, engines, sensors, etc. that many battlmechs share and which makes the Non-Standard Parts quirk a quirk. Most new designs are this.

Conventional designs will choose an Intractable Flaw quirk, begin with a separate, -1 point New Design negative quirk, and have a quirk maximum of -2.

Radical - A radical design may be mostly build from conventional parts, but posesses at its core a vasty different and untested system. This might be fluff, or it might be a custom or experimental equipment (or perk!). 

The Coyotl and the original Raven could be considered Radical designs. They could also be considered an Overhaul or a Conventional design, respectively. 

Radical designs will choose an Intractable Flaw quirk, begin with a separate, -2 point New Design negative quirk, and have a quirk maximum of -3.

Prototype - Every 'mech goes through a prototype phase. If it didn't it, IS the prototype. Prototyping requires a lot of testing and changes so you don't really need to make a prototype, but we're all doing this for fun so do what you want. Prototypes have the Prototype quirk and a -2 quirk maximum and are required to have the design's intractable flaw.

What is a Variant?

Radical Jump Jets

Jump jets are crazy. I get that they throw 100 tons of battlemech 30 meters by plugging 2 tons of pressure chamber and controls into a fusion engine. 2 tons is a lot. Fusion engines are stronk. 

I also resent the slightly uneven specs of them. I don't expect a thrust:weight formula. But I feel like there's room for a 1.5 ton jump jet.

Anyway, here's the pitch:

Radical Jump Jets

An integrated system which uses turbines in addition to superheated air to thrust battlemechs efficiently across a battlefield.

BattleMech Generations

Fucking Hammerhands.

So during Battletech's Jihad, the Word of Blake was everywhere with fancy, experimental tech. They bombed shit and disrupted supply lines and fucked with interstellar communications and shit was fucky. I still don't think we have a clear, consolidated sourcebook for the whole fiasco. The Jihad-era sourcebooks are all filled with in-character snippets of intelligence reports, news articles, and rumors. You didn't really know what was happening. Not even when it was all over.

In the midst of this, Catalyst Game Labs needed to sell a TRO. TROs move units. I used some just this past weekend to hook some folks into the game. They have bite-sized lore, compelling stats, and pictures that are cool to look at. I have my issues with TROs, but they're great. 

So in the chaos of the Jihad, folks were short in logistical supplies and made whatever military gear they could to thwart the WoB. Fair enough.

Here's what I do not fucking get. Someone made the Hammerhands. They didn't create it. The Hammerhands was created over 500 years before the Jihad. It was one of the Federated Suns' first 'mechs. It was eclipsed by the Warhammer, and people kept making Warhammers for FIVE CENTURIES.

Look guys, I don't love the Warhammer. I think it's subpar and undersinked. It's not terrible, but it's no Thug. But they should make more Warhammers. If they don't have the PPCs for a Warhammer, they should make a Warhammer with autocannons. They made the -8M, which carries a gauss rifle. They've stretched the definition of 'mechs defined by their weirdness--the 4/6 Charger, the PPC Catapult, the LRM Hunchback--so it makes little sense that they wouldn't just make a ballistic Warhammer.

Why would you make a factory--a rare and critical piece of infrastructure in BattleTech--that produces a Hammerhands? An ancient relic that's not designed for a modern world, which hasn't been produced in half-a-millennia, and which no pilot is familiar with? Why would you not create a tested, modern chassis, with generations of refinement in its production process, albeit with downgraded weapons? That's a key feature of the Succession Wars.

Someone said that it was because factories were easier to produce in the pre-Jihad eras. While the technology to make factories was rare in the Succession Wars, it was more common during the Clan Invasion Era (I refuse to acknowledge the FCCW as an era of its own). So you could make old factories that made fucking bullshit for your mechwarriors to die in.

That's not even my main point today. My main point is: 

Why Is The Hammerhands A Viable Modern Weapon?

Integrated Missile Panel

Integrated Missile Panel is an additional targeting and tracking suite attached directly to missile systems. "That's a lot like Artemis IV systems," you might say.

"Artemis what? I reply."

I was trying to make a streamlined electronic warfare system for Battletech. That failed pretty fuckin' hard.

Integrated Missile Panel

Integrated Missile Panels (IMPs) can be attached to Long Range Missiles, Short Range Missiles, and Multi-Missile Launchers.

Firing Modes

IMPs allow the attached missile rack to choose from three modes when firing:

Consistent - The missile attack receives a +2 cluster hit bonus.

Spread - The missile attack receives a -1 to-hit bonus.

Focused - The cluster size of the missile rack increases by 1. 

Signal Detection/Emission System electronic warfare system

SDES is a suite of advanced sensors and laser/radio emission systems which detect enemy electronic warfare signals and create similar signals to fool, mislead, and otherwise defeat enemy EW systems.

ECM Effect Strength and EW Strength
The SDES is a new type of electronic countermeasure. It has a variable ECM effect strength. An SDES only affects enemy units and systems if that system's EW strength (listed below) is less than or to equal to the SDES' ECM effect strength.
EW Strength 1          EW Strength 3            EW Strength 5
C3S                    Artemis V                TAG
                       Bloodhound Active Probe  Spotting
EW Strength 2          Watchdog CEWS            Nova CEWS
Artemis IV             iNARC Homing Pod                       
BAP                                             EW Strength 6
C3i                    EW Strength 4            Sensors (+1 to hit)
C3M                    Streak Systems           
Clan Active Probe/LAP                          
NARC Homing Pod                                 

Boosted: +2

Affected unit within radius of allied ECM in ECCM Mode: +1

There are two types of SDES: Mk I and Mk II. Mk I has a base ECM effect strength of 2 and the Mk II has a base ECM effect strength of 4. Other differences are noted below.

Mercury System V: Panmechs

I initially posted all of these together with a to-do of adding example 'mechs made with those rules. I knew that including example 'mechs was important, but I didn't really play my hand that way. Each custom 'mech requires some discussion and review. Enough to make each rules system into its own post.

Mercury System IV: Multimechs

I initially posted all of these together with a to-do of adding example 'mechs made with those rules. I knew that including example 'mechs was important, but I didn't really play my hand that way. Each custom 'mech requires some discussion and review. Enough to make each rules system into its own post.

Mercury System III: Versamechs

April, 3044
“Thank you. I’m glad to be here at the…Hobbyist Battlemech Society. Please forgive me for my lack of visual aids, but as many of you know I’ve been traveling quite a bit to demonstrate these new systems. I believe that these systems will, if they receive sufficient interest and investment, can create a new generation of battlemechs, a generation in which each unit can perform the roles of multiple mechs, perhaps every other ‘mech.

“Because this hotel–this venue–doesn’t have the facilities to demonstrate the prototypes we’ve created, I only came here with a visual demonstration. Uh, unfortunately, I believe that my data was corrupted on the way over.

“So let me do this with just my words. A lance of Vindicators today will be a lance of Vindicators tomorrow. With these new systems, these Everymechs could act as a lance of Catapults, a lance of Spiders, or even a lance of Atlases.

“These three systems all share similar basic engineering principles…”

The Mercury System, Pt II

A few weeks back I talked about making a new, worse, more-restrictive, version of omnimechs. Points:

-I wanted them to have construction-level costs

-I wanted pod restrictions

-I threw in at the last minute that I wanted pod weight penalties

The hardpoint system borrowed from the Battletech video games seemed like a good answer. How else do you restrict omnimech loadouts?

Terms

First, lets define some terms. 

'Mechs using the Mercury System are not omnimechs, but we will use 'omnimechs' to describe them for simplicity. "Mercury-type omnimechs" would probably be the most accurate phrase, but we won't worry about that right now.

Traditional omnimechs have "pod space," the tonnage and unused crits into which new equipment can be installed. Those pieces of equipment are called "pods." Pods used on traditional omnimechs are nearly identical to those same pieces of equipment which aren't pods ("pod-mounted"). In the Mercury System, pods will differ from non-pod equipment in some way.

In the Mercury System, we'll be using the concept of hardpoints, which are tonnages and crits that are subdivisions of pod space. They will still mount pods, but they will have restrictions on the pods they can mount. 

Hive Missiles (HiM)

In studying missiles to get the missile equations down, I had to look at the Cluster Hits Table several times. Like, 8. It sucked.

I hate the Cluster Hits Table. In the words of Madeleine Wool, "That's inelegant."

It's also weird how SRMs land with each missile hitting a different location and LRMs land in groups of 5. Even if they're using Dead Fire Missiles. Every missile in the Inner Sphere--even the Clans' Advanced Tactical Missiles--land in groups of five.

Thunderbolts don't count!

So the Hive Missile, which doesn't use the Cluster Hits Table and lands in groups of six.

Name Size Dmg/Msl ClSize  MinR  SR  MR  LR  Tons Crits Heat  Shots/Ton

HiM    6   1/msl   C6      3     6  12  18   3.0  1     2      22

HiM   12   1/msl   C6      3     6  12  18   5.5  2     4      11

HiM   18   1/msl   C6      3     6  12  18   8.5  4     6       7

HiM   24   1/msl   C6      3     6  12  18  11.0  5     8       5

HiM   30   1/msl   C6      3     6  12  18  14.0  6     9       4

HiM   36   1/msl   C6      3     6  12  18  16.5  1    11       3   

When rolling to see how many missiles hit, you just roll some D6's.

HiM 6 - Roll 1D6. A number of missiles hit equal to

The result.

HiM 12 - Roll a large 1D6 and a small 1D6. A number of missiles hit equal to 

[The large die result / 3 (round up) - 1 ] * 6 + the small die result.

HiM 18 - Roll a large 1D6 and a small 1D6. A number of missiles hit equal to 

[The large die result / 2 (round up) -1 ] * 6 + the small die result.

HiM 24 - Roll a large 1D6 and a small 1D6. A number of missiles hit equal to 

[The large die result (reroll 5's and 6's) -1 ] * 6 + the small die result.

HiM 30 - Roll a large 1D6 and a small 1D6. A number of missiles hit equal to 

[The large die result (reroll 6's) -1 ] * 6 + the small die result.

HiM 36 - Roll a large 1D6 and a small 1D6. A number of missiles hit equal to 

[The large die result -1 ] * 6 + the small die result.

Alternatively, you can roll 1D6 and multiply by the rack size/6. It's disappointing when your HiM 36 only does 6 damage, but them's the breaks.

AMS and AMS-like systems which reduce cluster rolls will divide their maluses to each die. Round down for the large die and round up for the small die. (Rounding negative numbers is done according to nearness to zero, not magnitude...-1.4 rounds up to -2)

The Mercury System

It's been a crazy week. Not so crazy I can't  type a few stupid words. That's on me.

Let me talk about the Mercury System.

Actually, let me whinge about omni-mechs. I love 'em. I think they're a great idea. They're stupid and bad, too.

Free carry capacity for battle armor, the ability to swap out micro lasers for a gauss rifle at no real cost, and ease of repair more than offset the logistical and monetary costs of making them. Can't have a big gun in an arm and still punch with it.

And because each one is mostly a tonnage, movement profile, and armor level they don't have as much 'character' as conventional Battlemechs. Even if the Catapult is just an Archer with jump jets and smaller missile racks, it still feels like its own 'mech with its own identity. Omnis are chameleons with none of their own personality.

If you read this blog regularly, and that's just one person, you probably know I like fewer, distinct options instead of a flood of similar or slightly-different options. "Soup" I call it. Omnimechs are like soup, but they also promise a battlefield of fewer, distinct units.

Wherefore: The Mercury System

New Missiles

I've run out of gas on creating missile systems. I've just looked too far into the abyss. They're all the same. So I'm just going to remake the ones I posted a few weeks ago.

Null-Signal Missiles -  How many ways can you say "dead-fire" or "unguided"? Lots, I suppose. Shit-ass rockets are a type. These feel more like reloadable rocket launchers than last week's iRLs.

Type   Tubes Dmg/ Cl MinR    SR   MR    LR THMod ClMod Tons Crits Ht Shot/               Msl                                                      Ton

NSM     12    2    2    -    3     5     8   +1   -2    0.5    5    8    15
NSM     17    2    2    -    3     5     8   +1   -2    1.0    5   10    18
NSM     22    2    2    -    3     5     8   +1   -2    1.0   12   14     8

Proximate Range Missiles - Is a one-ton system that deals 12 damage out to 6 hexes too strong? Probably. We also see the gears grind a bit as we get lots of tubes and small cluster malus. It's hard to account for stuff like that since the cluster mod uses an average value and doesn't really calculate the swing between many small missiles and a few larger ones.

Heavy Medium Lasers deal 10 damage per ton. The NSM 30 isn't quite that good. It actually generates more heat and requires more tonnage on account of ammunition. I feel it's too much though.

Type   Tubes Dmg/ Cl MinR    SR   MR    LR THMod ClMod Tons Crits Ht Shot/               Msl                                                      Ton

PRM     12    1    6    -    2     4     6   -1   -1    1.0    2    4    44
PRM     18    1    6    -    2     4     6   -1   -1    2.0    4    6    29
PRM     24    1    6    -    2     4     6   -1   -1    2.5    5    8   22
PRM     30    1    6    -    2     4     6   -1   -1    3.5    6    9  17

Boosted SRM - That to-hit penalty is probably too steep. It's another way to absolutely slam crits into an enemy. It's a lot tubes per ton, that's for sure.

Type   Tubes Dmg/ Cl MinR    SR   MR    LR THMod ClMod Tons Crits Ht Shot/               Msl                                                      Ton

BSRM     3    1    1    -    1     4     9   +2   +2    0.5    1    1    85
BSRM     6    1    1    -    1     4     9   +2   +2    1.0    1    2    42
BSRM     9    1    1    -    1     4     9   +2   +2    1.5    2    3    28
BSRM    12    1    1    -    1     4     9   +2   +2    2.0    2    4    21

Light LRM - LRMs can't do less damage per missile, but they can have more spread. I've also made it a Clan system and halved the weight. I'm sure making a system into a clan system is more involved than that, but this is just spitballs.

Type   Tubes Dmg/ Cl MinR    SR   MR    LR THMod ClMod Tons Crits Ht Shot/               Msl                                                      Ton

LLRM     5    1    1    -    5    10    15    0   +1    1.0    1    2    11
LLRM    10    1    1    -    5    10    15    0   +1    2.0    2    4     5
LLRM    15    1    1    -    5    10    15    0   +1    3.5    3    5     3
LLRM    20    1    1    -    5    10    15    0   +1    4.5    5    7     2

Nightquest - Not every system is good. The ones I post tend to be normal to too-good, so here's an objectively bad system: the nightquest. Sure, 5 damage per missile bypasses a lot of the cluster roll shenanigans, but is doing 10 damage at 37 hexes worth 42 tons? Of course not. Fuck this thing.

Type   Tubes Dmg/ Cl MinR    SR   MR    LR THMod ClMod Tons Crits Ht Shot/               Msl                                                      Ton

NQt      1    5    5    8   10    20    37   -1    0   37.0    1    3     5
NQt      2    5    5    8   10    20    37   -1    0   42.0    2    4     2
NQt      3    5    5    8   10    20    37   -1    0   63.0    3    5     1
NQt      4    5    5    8   10    20    37   -1    0   84.5    5    7     1

Missile Equations: Finale, Pt II

Me: "This blog has text in it. Must be ready to ship."

This is just a list of some test missile systems with feedback. All of the ones listed here are variations on a theme: LRMs with one extra damage per missile. SRMs that only deal one damage. Reloadable Rocket Launchers. 

Next week I'll be doing more esoteric missiles, hopefully with input from the comments and possibly Reddit's r/Battletech sub.

Short LRMs - These are LRM systems with the range of SRMs. These seem fair. Sure, an S-LRM5 does more damage than an SRM 2, but it's just a shit medium laser. Compared to stacked medium lasers, they definitely lose out.

Type   Tubes Dmg/ Cl MinR    SR   MR    LR THMod ClMod Tons Crits Ht Shot/               Msl                                                      Ton

S-LRM5   5    1    5    -    3     6     9    0    0    1.0    1    2    63
S-LRM10 10    1    5    -    3     6     9    0    0    2.5    2    4    31
S-LRM15 15    1    5    -    3     6     9    0    0    4.0    3    5    21
S-LRM20 20    1    5    -    3     6     9    0    0    5.5    5    7   15

Long SRMs - SRMs with the range of an LRM. A cluster version of an LRM 20 comes in pretty close to the original article.Terrible ammo efficiency though. I'm sure if you could peel off armor at a decent enough range, these would be nice. Might also be good for trying to score crits on vees at a distance. Maybe a poor man's HAG?

Type   Tubes Dmg/ Cl MinR    SR   MR    LR THMod ClMod Tons Crits Ht Shot/               Msl                                                      Ton

LSRM2    2    2    2    6    7    14    21    0    0    1.5    1    2    19
LSRM3    3    2    2    6    7    14    21    0    0    2.5    1    2    12
LSRM4    4    2    2    6    7    14    21    0    0    3.5    1    3    9
LSRM5    5    2    2    6    7    14    21    0    0    4.5    2    4    7
LSRM6    6    2    2    6    7    14    21    0    0    5.5    2    4    6
LSRM7    7    2    2    6    7    14    21    0    0    6.5    3    5    5
LSRM8    8    2    2    6    7    14    21    0    0    7.5    4    6    4
LSRM9    9    2    2    6    7    14    21    0    0    8.0    4    6    4
LSRM10  10    2    2    6    7    14    21    0    0    9.0    5    7    3

LBMs - If we can fire off missiles at any range with a -1 to-hit and clusters of one damage, do we create missiles better than LBX autocannons? Versatility and ammo efficiency aside? Yes we do. The LBM is "invalid" because it just doesn't have any crits. That's usually a hard stop.

But y'know, versatility is one of the big draws of LBX autocannons, so maybe it is fair.

Type   Tubes Dmg/ Cl MinR    SR   MR    LR THMod ClMod Tons Crits Ht Shot/               Msl                                                      Ton

LBM2     5    1    1    4    9    18    27   -1    0    4.5    0    1    28
LBM5    10    1    1    3    8    14    21   -1    0    4.5    1    2    12
LBM10   15    1    1    -    6    12    18   -1    0    6.5    2    4     5
LBM20   20    1    1    -    4     8    12   -1    0    7.5    5    7    3

Heavy SRMs - What is SRMs did 3 damage per missile instead of 2? They're heavier. Comparable to streak missiles, really. The loss of ammo efficiency isn't bad. It's probably an asset.

Type   Tubes Dmg/ Cl MinR    SR   MR    LR THMod ClMod Tons Crits Ht Shot/               Msl                                                      Ton

HSRM2    2    3    3    -    3     6     9    0    0    1.5    1    2    41
HSRM4    4    3    3    -    3     6     9    0    0    3.0    2    4    20
HSRM6    6    3    3    -    3     6     9    0    0    5.0    4    6    13

Light SRMs - These are probably a bit too good if your primary use for SRMs is critseeking. The LtSRM 2 doesn't generate enough critical spaces to exist, so it's not here.

Type   Tubes Dmg/ Cl MinR    SR   MR    LR THMod ClMod Tons Crits Ht Shot/               Msl                                                      Ton

LtSRM4   4    1    1    -    3     6     9    0    0    1.0    1    2    35
LtSRM6   6    1    1    -    3     6     9    0    0    1.5    1    2    23

iMRMs - MRMs without the +1 modifier. Are they usable? They're a little heavier, but not prohibitively so. The MRM 30 and 40 creep up there.

Type   Tubes Dmg/ Cl MinR    SR   MR    LR THMod ClMod Tons Crits Ht Shot/               Msl                                                      Ton

iMRM10  10    1    5    -    3     8    15    0    0    3.5    2    4    16
iMRM20  20    1    5    -    3     8    15    0    0    7.5    5    7    8
iMRM30  30    1    5    -    3     8    15    0    0   11.5    6    9    5
iMRM40  40    1    5    -    3     8    15    0    0   15.5    7   12    4

iRLs - Rocket launchers that can reload. Still pretty light, but obviously not as much as regular RLs. They compete more with MRMs, These get a little unexciting after a while. I take that as a good sign.

Type   Tubes Dmg/ Cl MinR    SR   MR    LR THMod ClMod Tons Crits Ht Shot/               Msl                                                      Ton

iRL10   10    1    5    -    5    11    18   +1   -2    3.0    2    4    22
iRL15   15    1    5    -    5    11    18   +1   -2    5.0    3    5    14
iRL20   20    1    5    -    5    11    18   +1   -2    6.5    5    7    11

Thunderbolt x2's - If an existing Thunderbolt system can be brought down by an AMS, why not allow them to make two shots? That redundancy costs a lot though. I'd take a cluster roll for what is essentially a UAC/15 that strikes at 18 hexes for fewer tons than an AC/20. If you were curious about that "Fuck Autocannons" post from earlier this week, shit like this is why (also crunching AC numbers).

Type   Tubes Dmg/ Cl MinR    SR   MR    LR THMod ClMod Tons Crits Ht Shot/               Msl                                                      Ton

TBx2 5   2    5    5    3    6    12    18    0    0    4.5    2    4    12
TBx2 10  2   10   10    3    6    12    18    0    0    9.0    5    7     8
TBx2 15  2   15   15    3    6    12    18    0    0   13.5    6    9     7
TBx2 20  2   20   20    3    6    12    18    0    0   18.5    7    12    6

Surgical Missiles - The only original weapon system on this list. It has a -2 to hit and a +2 cluster roll bonus. Missiles are in groups of four because...why not? Mostly because of the terrible damage/ton efficiency, that's why not. There's no reason to take an SM16 over two SM8's, but at least it's consistent with canon missile systems.

It's got awful damage per ton though. Sure, it's consistent, but you're comparing a weapon system that clusters closer to an upper end of 12 damage to an LRM 20.

Type   Tubes Dmg/ Cl MinR    SR   MR    LR THMod ClMod Tons Crits Ht Shot/               Msl                                                      Ton

SM4     4    1    4    2    5    10    15   -2   +2    3.0    1    2    28
SM8     8    1    4    2    5    10    15   -2   +2    6.0    1    3    14
SM12   12    1    4    2    5    10    15   -2   +2    9.5    2    4     9
SM16   16    1    4    2    5    10    15   -2   +2   12.5    4    6     7

Next week I'll repost a selection of the old custom missiles I generated last time with new stats and missile systems suggested by other people.

I also promised some expanded missile systems, LRM 11's and whatnot. I'll post those Monday.

Missile Equations: Finale, Pt I

Man, after a lot of work, I finally have my 'good enough' missile equations. Let's get to it.

Is It Good?

So I ran these equations for SRMs, LRMs, and MRMs. I had to do the rest as templates because the numbers were cray. I also had to base factors on two things: damage per shot and to-hit over 38 hexes.

Damage per shot lumped damage per missile and missiles per shot (tubes) into one big factor that ignored cluster size. Surely, SRMs would change significantly if they landed in clusters of 5. These equations mostly don't care about that. Somehow, I made equations that allow for Thunderbolt launchers to be added as a template.

To-hit over 38 hexes, TH38, looks at the maximum range of Extended LRMs and using that as a cap, incorporates cluster bonuses/maluses, to-hit bonuses/maluses, minimum ranges, and range brackets into one factor that can be worked with. All I cared about was that the TH38 for SRMs was less than that for MRMs, which was less than that for LRMs. It was, so I ran with it.