User:Doneve/IndustrialMech Construction Steps

This! Is a step by step introduction, to design various IndustrialMech models and variants.

Step 1: Design the Chassis

Choose Technology Base

CTL-3R2 CattleMaster

[David] - is designing an IndustrialMech that he has dubbed the CTL-3R2 CattleMaster. Because he plans to use this 'Mech as a rancher/hunter, to help control massive herds of exotic beasts on Lyran and Free Worlds League planets, he chooses an Inner Sphere Technology Base.

Buster

[Edward] - is designing a mid-size HaulerMech that he has named the Buster. Because he wishes to use certain advanced technologies not available to the Clans, he has chosen an Inner Sphere Tech Base.

ATAE-70 Uni

[Geoff] - rey is designing a quadruped CargoMech that he has chosen to name the ATAE-70 Uni. As this will be a Lyran-made cargo-hauler design, he has chosen an Inner Sphere Technology Base.

Choose Weight (Tonnage)

CTL-3R2 CattleMaster

[David] - decides his humanoid CattleMaster will be a light IndustrialMech, weighing in at 25 tons.

Buster

[Edward's] - Buster is intended to handle small to medium cargo loads, assisting in the loading and unloading of DropShips. He decides on a medium weight of 50 tons.

Uni

[Geoffrey's] - Uni is intended for heavy lifting and hauling over rough terrain. He decides his quad WorkMech will occupy the heavy weight class at 70 tons.

Allocate Tonnage for Internal Structure

CattleMaster

[David's] - CattleMaster weighs 25 tons. With no internal structure type available beyond IndustrialMech Standard, he notes the weight of said structure will be 5 tons (20 percent of 25 tons = 25 x 0.20 = 5 tons). This leaves 20 tons left over so far (25 – 5 = 20). No slots for internal structure need be allocated to the Critical Hits Table. After consulting the BattleMech Internal Structure Table, David blacks out all extraneous circles from the Internal Structure Diagram on his CattleMaster's Record Sheet, leaving only 8 open circles in the center torso, 6 circles each in the left and right torsos, 6 circles in each leg and 4 in each arm. (As all heads receive 3 internal structure points automatically, David leaves the head's internal structure alone.)

Buster

[Edward's] - Buster weighs 50 tons, providing an internal structure weight of 10 tons, which he determined by consulting the BattleMech Internal Structure Table and multiplying the weight of standard BattleMech structure by 2 (2 x Standard BattleMech Internal Structure at 50 tons = 2 x 5 tons = 10 tons). This weight provides 16 internal structure points in the center torso, 12 points each in the left and right torsos, 12 points in each leg and 8 points in each arm. Ed blacks out all excess internal structure circles in those locations on his Buster's Record Sheet. The Buster has 40 tons of unassigned weight so far (50 – 10 = 40 tons).

Uni

[Geoffrey's] - Uni weighs in at 70 tons, so its internal structure will weigh 14 tons (20 percent of 70 = 70 x 0.2 = 14; 2 x Standard BattleMech Internal Structure at 70 tons = 2 x 7 tons = 14 tons). Because the Uni is a quad, he notes that it will receive 22 internal structure points in the center torso, 15 each in the left and right torsos, and 15 in each of the IndustrialMech's four legs. On the record sheet's Internal Structure Diagram, Geoff blacks out all the excess circles in those locations. The Uni has 56 unspent tons remaining (70 tons – 14 tons = 56 tons).

Step 2: Install Engines and Control Systems

Install Engines

CattleMaster

[David] - Because his CattleMaster needs to keep up with some fairly large critters, David chooses a decent walking speed of 4 MP, which gives the WorkMech a top speed of 6 MP (4 Walking MP x 1.5 = 6 Running MP). This means that the CattleMaster's Engine Rating will be 100 (25 tons x 4 Walking MP = 100). David has chosen an internal combustion engine (ICE) to keep costs low. Looking at the Master Engine Table, a standard 100-rated ICE weighs in at 6 tons. David reasons that the engine's integral range of 600 kilometers is more than sufficient for the CattleMaster's purposes, and so does not add more fuel. He subtracts 6 tons from his 20 tons of unspent weight for a remainder of 14 tons. Because all IndustrialMech engines are treated as standard engines in terms of size, the CattleMaster uses the default engine slots on the record sheet's Critical Hits Table.

Buster

[Edward] - deems speed of lesser importance to his Buster's mission, and so settles on a Walking MP of 3, yielding an Engine Rating of 150 (50 tons x 3 Walking MP = 150). Briefly, Ed considers installing a Fission Engine for 10 tons, a Fuel Cell engine at 7 tons, or even a fusion engine at a mere 5.5 tons, but he ultimately opts to keep costs low and chooses an Internal Combustion engine. The Master Engine Table shows that a 150-rated ICE weighs 11 tons, leaving the Buster with 29 tons remaining (40 tons – 11 tons = 29 tons). The Running MP for the Buster is 5 (3 Walking MP x 1.5 = 4.5 Running MP, rounded up to 5 MP). Edward likewise decides against adding to the fuel supply at this time, feeling that a range of 600 kilometers is more than enough for his IndustrialMech design.

Uni

[Geoffry] - Prioritizing cargo capacity over speed, Geoffrey also gives his Uni a modest overland speed of 3 Walking MP. This requires an Engine Rating of 210 (70 tons x 3 Walking MP = 210). As the Master Engine Table shows that this would take up an incredible 18 tons if he selected an ICE for the job, Geoff instead chooses a lighter Fuel Cell engine at a cost of 11 tons (leaving 45 tons; 56 tons – 11 tons = 45 tons). The use of a Fuel Cell engine—as with all engine types available to IndustrialMechs—requires no variation in the critical slots placed on the 'Mech's Critical Hits Table. Like David and Edward, Geoff decides that the default fuel supply for this engine—450 kilometers, in this case—is good enough for the Uni's needs.

Add Gyroscope

CattleMaster

[David] - Mounting a 100-rated engine, David's CattleMaster requires a 1-ton gyro (Engine Rating 100 ÷ 100 = 1 ton). Once the gyro is installed, the CattleMaster will have 13 tons remaining (14 tons – 1 ton = 13 tons).

Buster

[Edward] - With its 150 -rated engine, Edward's Buster requires a 2-ton gyro (Engine Rating 150 ÷ 100 = 1.5, rounded up to 2 tons). After this, the Buster will have 27 remaining unallocated tons of weight (29 tons – 2 tons = 27 tons).

Uni

[Geoffry] - The Uni's 210 -rated engine requires the IndustrialMech to carry a 3-ton gyro (Engine Rating 210 ÷ 100 = 2.1, rounded up to 3 tons). The Uni now has 42 unspent tons remaining (45 tons – 3 tons = 42 tons).

Determine Jump Capability

None of the three IndustrialMechs being developed by David, Edward or Geoff employ fission or fusion engine types, so they may not mount jump jets.Had Edward gone with a fission or fusion engine, he could have incorporated jump jets into his Buster as though he were mounting them on a standard BattleMech. In such a case, with a IndustrialMech weight of 50 tons, Ed could have installed up to 3 jump jets (the maximum allowed with a Walking MP of 3), each jet weighing 0.5 ton and occupying 1 critical slot. The questionable decision to mount jump jets on an IndustrialMech intended to haul cargo, however, is academic at this point.

Add Cockpit

CattleMaster

[David] - Like all IndustrialMechs, David's CattleMaster must install a standard IndustrialMech cockpit, which weighs 3 tons (leaving 10 unused tons; 13 tons – 3 tons = 10 tons). While the WorkMech is intended for ranching, David also decides it must be capable of hunting critters if necessary, so he selects the Advanced Fire Control upgrade. This upgrade does not cost tonnage or occupy critical space, but will ultimately raise the C-bill value of the IndustrialMech and enhance its abilities in the unlikely event of combat. David decides not to install an ejection mechanism at this time; he considers the 0.5-ton and 1-critical slot costs unnecessary.

Buster

[Edward] - decides not to invest in Advanced Fire Control or ejection systems on his Buster. Its unmodified IndustrialMech cockpit, at 3 tons, will leave him 24 unspent tons of weight (27 tons – 3 tons = 24 tons).

Uni

[Geoffrey] - likewise sees little use for Advanced Fire Control or ejection systems on his Uni. After installing the 3-ton cockpit, he will have 39 tons left to spend (42 tons – 3 tons = 39 tons).

Special Physical Enhancements (Environmental Sealing, Industrial TSM)

CattleMaster

[David] - Though he means for it to handle some tough beasties, David believes his CattleMaster will be fine without musculature enhancements. Instead, he decides to save space for other components.

Buster

[Edward] - decides that his Buster will be even more impressive with Industrial TSM, and so he installs the equipment on his IndustrialMech. Industrial TSM occupies 12 slots in the Buster's Critical Hits Table. Edward decides to place 1 Industrial TSM slot in each of the Buster's legs, 2 slots in each arm and 3 slots each in the left and right torsos. Because Industrial TSM is considered to have no weight (it is treated as a direct replacement of the IndustrialMech's existing musculature), Ed still has 24 unspent tons to work with.

Uni

[Geoffrey] - resists the urge to install Industrial TSM on his Uni. However, he does wish to deploy this WorkMech in hostile environments, such as airless moons, and so he elects to install Environmental Sealing instead. On the IndustrialMech Enviro-Sealing and Industrial TSM Table, he sees that Environmental Sealing weighs 10 percent of the Uni's weight, or 7 tons (10 percent of 70 tons = 0.10 x 70 tons = 7 tons). Geoff also sees that he must allocate one critical space per body location to this equipment, and notes them on the Critical Hits Table. Geoff's Uni now has 32 unspent tons of weight remain-ing (39 tons – 7 tons = 32 tons).

Step 3: Add Heat Sinks

Heat Sinks

CattleMaster

[David] - As David's CattleMaster uses an ICE, the IndustrialMech receives no free heat sinks to start with. Because he plans to mount some weapons, however, David decides to place 1 heat sink on the design, which will slowly vent any waste heat generated by its weapons. This costs 1 ton, leaving David with 9 tons remaining (10 tons – 1 ton = 9 tons). In computing how many sinks will be integrated with the engine, he fi nds that the 100-rated ICE easily handles the single sink he installed (Engine Rating 100 ÷ 25 = 4 "Critical-free" sinks), and so he will not need to allocate it on the Critical Hits Table. On the Heat Data Block of the record sheet, David notes the CattleMaster has 1 heat sink by blacking out all but 1 heat sink circle, checking off the box marked "Single" and writing a value of 1 in the line marked Heat Sinks and within the parentheses on the same line.

Buster

[Edward] - Since his Buster is simply expected to haul cargo, Edward decides not to invest any tonnage in heat sinks. If he had, his IndustrialMech's engine would have allowed him to integrate up to 6 heat sinks without allocating them to critical slots (150 ÷ 25 = 6).On the Heat Data Block of the record sheet for his Buster, Ed notes that it has no heat sinks by blacking out all heat sink circles, checking off neither the "Single" nor the "Double" boxes and writing a value of 0 in the line marked Heat Sinks and within the parentheses on the same line. Ed still has 24 unspent tons to work with.

Uni

[Geoffrey] - chose a Fuel Cell engine for his Uni, and so receives 1 heat sink free. Like Ed, he considers that a common CargoMech should not require extra sinks, and so he too opts to spend no tonnage on adding more to his design. The Uni's 210-rated engine is large enough to easily integrate its own free sink (210 ÷ 25 = 8.4, rounded down to 8), and so he need not allocate any to the IndustrialMech's Critical Hits Table. Because the heat sink came with the engine, Geoff still has 32 unspent tons. Like David, on the Heat Data Block of his IndustrialMech's record sheet, Geoff rey notes the Uni's single heat sink by blacking out all but 1 heat sink circle, checking off the box marked "Single" and writing a value of 1 in the line marked Heat Sinks and within the parentheses on the same line.

Step 4: Add Armor

IndustrialMech Armor

CattleMaster

[David] - Deciding the rough life of the rugged frontiers and occasional combat with enraged beasts will likely cause some concern for future CattleMaster pilots, David decides the IndustrialMech will carry standard industrial armor. But with only 9 tons left to equip the machine, he quickly decides to devote only 5 tons to this protection. At 5 tons, standard industrial armor provides 53 points of protection (5 tons x [16 Base Points per Ton x 0.67 Industrial Armor Multiplier] = 53.6, rounded down to 53 points). Prioritizing armor to the head, David applies 9 points of armor there, then adds 6 points to each leg, 4 points to each arm, and divides the remaining 24 points of armor evenly across the torso. All three front torso locations receive 6 points each, while all three rear torso facings receive 2 points each. Verifying that all armor points are accounted for, David adds his armor values together: 9 [Head] + (6 + 2 [Center Torso, Front + Rear]) + (6 + 2 [Left Torso, Front + Rear]) + (6 + 2 [Right Torso, Front + Rear]) + (6 + 6 [Legs, Left + Right]) + (4 + 4 [Arms, Left + Right]) = 53. In the appropriate locations of the Armor Diagram for his CattleMaster's Record Sheet, Dave blacks out all extra circles, leaving only the assigned amount for each location. Because the armor chosen was Industrial and not Commercial armor, he does not need to note the BAR anywhere; in combat, the CattleMaster will weather armor damage as any other combat unit.With 5 tons spent on armor now, the CattleMaster has only 4 tons remaining for weapons and other equipment (9 tons – 5 tons = 4 tons).

Buster

[Edward] - sees no great need to spend lavishly on the Buster's armor. He thus chooses to invest only 2 tons into such protection, but decides to maximize the number of potential armor points by employing Commercial grade armor. This decision will allow him to spare 22 tons (24 tons – 2 tons = 22 tons) for other equipment, even though the Buster will be susceptible to penetrating critical hits by anything more powerful than a medium laser. The 2 tons of Commercial armor provide the Buster with 48 points of protection (2 tons x [16 Base Points per Ton x 1.5 Commercial Armor Multiplier] = 48 points). In distributing this armor, Ed assigns 5 points to the head, 5 to each leg, 5 to each arm and 5 to the front facings of all three torso locations. He also assigns 4 points to the rear center torso and 2 points each to the left and right side torsos. Verifying that all points are accounted for, Ed adds all the armor values together: 5 [Head] + (5 + 4 [Center Torso, Front + Rear]) + (5 + 2 [Left Torso, Front + Rear]) + (5 + 2 [Right Torso, Front + Rear]) + (5 + 5 [Legs, Left + Right]) + (5 + 5 [Arms, Left + Right]) = 48. In the appropriate locations of the Armor Diagram for his Buster's Record Sheet, he blacks out all extra armor circles, leaving only the assigned amount for each location. Because the Buster is using Commercial armor, Ed notes on the Armor Diagram that his IndustrialMech has a BAR of 5, which indicates that even if it carries more than enough armor points in a given location, any hit that infl icts 6 points of damage or more at a time may cause a critical hit.

Uni

[Geoffrey] - Far more generous to his design than Edward, Geoff decides that he will devote a much greater quantity of armor to his Uni, though he too favors Commercial armor, as the CargoMech is not expected to appear on a live battlefi eld. With 32 tons left to spend, Geoff devotes 9 tons to Commercial armor, leaving 23 tons (32 – 9 = 23) to other equipment. At 9 tons of Commercial-grade armor, the Uni receives 216 points of protection (9 tons x [16 Base Points per Ton x 1.5 Commercial Armor Multiplier] = 216 points)—which is near the listed maximum of 233 points for a 70-ton quad (according to the BattleMech Internal Structure Table). Geoff distributes these armor points by placing 9 on the head, 31 on the front center torso, 20 each on the front left and front right torsos, and 27 each on all four legs. On the rear center torso, Geoffrey places 10 points of armor, with the rear side torsos receiving 9 apiece. Double-checking, he adds all the armor values together: 9 [Head] + (31 + 10 [Center Torso, Front + Rear]) + (20 + 9 [Left Torso, Front + Rear]) + (20 + 9 [Right Torso, Front + Rear]) + (27 + 27 + 27 + 27 [Legs, Front Left + Front Right + Rear Left + Rear Right]) = 216. In the appropriate locations of the Armor Diagram for his Uni's Record Sheet, Geoff blacks out all extra circles, leaving only the assigned amount for each location. Because the Uni is using Commercial armor, Geoff notes on the Armor Diagram that the IndustrialMech has a BAR of 5, which indicates that even if it carries more than enough armor points in a given location, any hit that infl icts 6 points of damage or more at a time may cause a critical hit.

Step 5: Add Weapons, Ammunition and other Equipment

Weapons, Ammunition and Equipment

CattleMaster

[David] - With only 4 tons left to spare, David realizes that any weapons he puts on his "Hunter" CattleMaster will have to be small. Focusing on the lightest possible weaponry, he starts with 3 machine guns at 0.5 tons and 1 critical slot apiece, placing 2 of these in the left arm and 1 in the right. Deciding a half-ton of ammunition for all three—a total of 100 shots—will be sufficient, he places this half-ton ammo bin (and its single critical slot) in the center torso location. Dave then adds 2 small lasers to the design to give his "Hunter" some ammunition-free backup weaponry, placing both of these 0.5-ton, 1-critical slot weapons in the left arm as well.Because the CattleMaster uses an ICE rather than a fission or fusion power source, the use of these small lasers requires the installation of power amplifiers. David computes that his IndustrialMech will need 0.5 tons of power amplifiers to supply the needs of its lasers (2 small lasers x 0.5 tons per laser = 1 ton of lasers; 10 percent of 1 ton = 0.1 tons, which rounds up to 0.5 tons of power amplifi er weight). These amplifi ers need not be assigned to the Critical Hits Table. To round out the IndustrialMech, Dave invests his last half-ton in a highpower mounted searchlight and assigns this item's single critical slot to the right arm.

Buster

[Edward] - In equipping his Buster HaulerMech, Edward makes his first order of business the installation of lift hoists to aid in picking up external cargo. In the Weapons and Equipment Tables, he finds that lift hoists weigh 3 tons and occupy 3 critical slots apiece. Ed chooses to place one hoist each in the Buster's arm. For added freight capacity, Ed then chooses to devote 11 tons to internal cargo bays—each ton of which will occupy a single slot on the IndustrialMech's Critical Hits Table, which he distributes at 5 slots each per side torso, plus 1 slot in the center torso. Ed has so far used up 17 tons, leaving only 5 tons remaining. This is perfect as he also decides to add track units to the Buster's design, to aid in maneuvers in tight confines (such as the inner holds of a fully stocked DropShip). Track units, according to the Weapons and Equipment Tables, weigh 10 percent of the IndustrialMech's total mass, which comes to 5 tons for the 50-ton Buster (10 percent x 50 tons = 0.1 x 50 tons = 5 tons), and require 1 slot per leg to install. (Ed was undoubtedly anticipating this decision when he allocated only 1 slot's worth of the Buster’s Industrial TSM to its legs, rather than the 2 he could have used.)

Uni

[Geoffrey] - has 23 remaining tons for his Uni CargoMech. Because the IndustrialMech's primary function is to load and carry cargo, he too invests 6 tons into 2 lift hoists, which he places—1 each—in the left and right side torsos. Geoff further decides to mount them with a rearward facing, so when he places the 3-slot hoists on his Critical Hits Table (and on the IndustrialMech's Equipment Inventory), he notes this facing with an "(R)" after the item name. Geoff then chooses to invest all of the remaining 17 tons available to internal cargo bays, with each ton of cargo occupying 1 critical slot on the record sheet. Noting that the left and right side torsos are already down by 4 slots (thanks to the 3-slot lift hoists and the 1-slot requirement for the environmental sealing he chose earlier), he fills the remaining 8 slots per side torso with cargo bays, allocating 16 of the 17 cargo slots in one swoop. The remaining slot he places in the center torso, using up the last open slot left there.

Step 6: Complete the Record Sheet

Record Sheets

CattleMaster

[David] - verifies that all of the valid data blocks are completed, including noting the CattleMaster's full name, "CTL-3R2 'Hunter' CattleMaster", in the WorkMech's Type; checking off that its tech base is Inner Sphere; and noting its Walking MP as 4, its Running MP as 6 and its Jumping MP as 0. He also lists the weapons properly under Inventory, noting the quantity per location, heat per weapon, and statistics as shown on the appropriate Weapons and Equipment Tables (for example, the CattleMaster's left arm-mounted small lasers would list a "2" under QTY, "LA" under Location, "Small Laser" under Type, "3" under Damage, "1" under Heat, "0-1" under Short Range, "2" under Medium Range and "3" under Long Range). After then making sure that no extraneous circles for internal structure, armor and heat sinks are present, that the heat sink values are correct, and that all critical slots are assigned for all the IndustrialMech's equipment, Dave is ready to compute the Battle Value and Cost for his CattleMaster and take it out hunting.

Buster and Uni

[Edward] and [Geoffrey] - complete their own record sheets, making sure also that their use of Commercial armor is indicated by a note regarding the IndustrialMechs' BAR of 5. To save space under Inventory, they also opt to list their multi-slot cargo bins by location with the location's slot count under "QTY" and the word "Cargo" under Type. (During any game play with these units, a player would indicate the exact contents and locations of any special cargo by location and slots it on the record sheet.) Edward also marks in his IndustrialMech's Notes Block the effects of Industrial TSM from its description in Total Warfare, while Geoff writes down his Uni's ability to operate in vacuum and underwater (courtesy of its combined Fuel Cell engine and Environmental Sealing features).