User:Doneve/Support Vehicle Construction Steps

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

Step 1: Design the Chassis

Choose Motive Type

Simca

[Simon] - wants to design a fast and small ambulance for city use. He decides on a wheeled design, which he names the Simca. In preparation for the design process, he gets a copy of a Ground Vehicle Record Sheet ready.

RTC-215M Swiftran

[Todd] - is designing an airborne Support Vehicle ideal for medivac missions close to a battle zone, and chooses a VTOL motive type for his design. He names his unit the RTC-215M Swiftran, and prepares a VTOL Record Sheet to aid in his design.

Hesiod

[Aaron] - has a more industrial concept in mind for his Support Vehicle. Though he considers a tracked design, he sees his unit, the Hesiod, as more of an all-purpose utility vehicle, and decides on a wheeled design like Simon's. Aaron notes from the Support Vehicle Record Sheet Table that he will use a Ground Vehicle Record Sheet for his design.

Jetta Coruna 4X

[Brian] - thinks his Support Vehicle will be something for the typical Inner Sphere jet-setter: a fixed-wing luxury aircraft that he has already named the Jetta Coruna 4X. He prepares a Conventional Fighter Record Sheet for the work of designing it.

Dixon

[Christine] - has chosen to create a paramilitary Airship, used to patrol the skies over busy cityscapes, looking for trouble and coordinating with ground-based units. Naming this craft the Dixon, she prepares an Airship Vehicle Record Sheet to plan out her design.

Choose Technology Base

Simca, Swiftran, Hesiod, Jetta Coruna and Dixon

For various reasons, all five of our designers opt to use an Inner Sphere Technology Base for their Support Vehicles. Aaron, however, has decided to construct his Hesiod as a Support OmniVehicle, hoping to maximize its flexibility.

Simca

[Simon] - plans to make his Simca small and fast. Because it is a wheeled Support Vehicle, the Simca has a maximum weight limit of 160 tons in the Large size, but Simon wants something in the Small category, placing the vehicle under 5 tons. Simon decides he can make his Simca work at just 2.5 tons (2,500 kilograms). At this weight, he calculates that his Support Vehicle will have 5 item slots for equipment space (5 base slots + [2.5 tons ÷ 10] = 5.25 slots, rounded down to 5 slots). Simon also notes from the Master Support Vehicle Weights Table that the Simca will have a Base Chassis Value of 0.12 and a Base Engine Value of 0.0025.

Swiftran

[Todd] - As a VTOL, Todd's Swiftran cannot exceed a 60-ton maximum weight (at the Large size) for its motive type. Deciding that bigger doesn't equal better, he chooses a Medium-size design and places his VTOL at 25 tons in total weight. At this weight, the Swiftran will have 7 item slots to work with (5 base slots + [25 tons ÷ 10] = 7.5 slots, rounded down to 7). Todd also jots down his Swiftran’s Base Chassis Value of 0.25 and Base Engine Value of 0.0025.

Hesiod

[Aaron] - decides his Hesiod will be a Medium-size wheeled vehicle that weighs in at 7 tons. At this weight, the Hesiod will have up to 5 item slots for equipment (5 base slots + [7 tons ÷ 10] = 5.7 slots, rounded down to 5 slots). It also has a Base Chassis Value of 0.15 and Base Engine Value of 0.0075.

Jetta Coruna

[Brian] - While Brian's Coruna cannot exceed the 200-ton maximum weight of a Large Fixed-Wing Support Vehicle, he has something much smaller in mind. Choosing the Medium size class and a weight of 35 tons, he finds that his aircraft will have 8 item slots to work with (5 base slots + [35 tons ÷ 10] = 8.5 slots, rounded down to 8). The Coruna's Base Chassis Value is 0.10, while its Base Engine Value is 0.010.

Dixon

[Christine] - decides that her Dixon should be as large as she can make it, to maximize its capabilities as a floating police headquarters. She chooses the Medium size class—the largest available to Airship Support Vehicles—and a weight of 300 tons. This weight gives the Dixon a space capacity of 35 item slots (5 base slots + [300 tons ÷ 10] = 35 slots). Christine also notes her Dixon's Base Chassis Value is 0.25 and its Base Engine Value is 0.008.

Allocate Weight for Internal Structure

Simca

[Simon] - According to the Master Support Vehicle Chassis Table, Simon's Simca—a Small wheeled vehicle weighing 2,500 kilograms—has a Minimum Tech Rating of A and a Base Chassis Value of 0.12. Because the vehicle is already pretty short on weight, Simon chooses a Structural Tech Rating of D, for a Rating Multiplier of 1.0. Simon decides that he requires no additional modifi cations for the Simca's chassis, and thus computes a chassis weight of 300 kilograms (0.12 Base Chassis Value x 1.0 Structural Tech Rating D x 2,500 kg = 300 kg). The Simca has 2,200 kilograms of unspent weight remaining (2,500 kg – 300 kg = 2,200 kg). Simon sees no need for a turret and decides at this point that the Simca will not have one. Given its weight of 2,500 kilograms (2.5 tons), he computes that the Simca will have only 1 point of internal structure per location (2.5 tons ÷ 10 = 0.25 points per location, rounded up to 1). Using the Ground Vehicle Record Sheet, Simon blacks out all of the Turret circles (including those in the gray-shaded internal structure and the unshaded armor area), and all but 1 internal structure point in the gray-shaded areas of the vehicle’s Front, Left, Right and Rear sides.

Swiftran

[Todd's] - Swiftran—a Medium-sized VTOL Support Vehicle—has a Minimum Tech Rating of C and a 0.25 Base Chassis Value. Like Simon, Todd decides to use more advanced technology and gives the vehicle a Structural Tech Rating of E (Rating Multiplier 0.85). Because the Swiftran is to be a battlefield medivac unit, he chooses the Armored Chassis Modification, and so computes a chassis weight of 8 tons (0.25 Base Chassis Value x 0.85 Structural Tech Rating E x 1.5 Armored Chassis Modifier x 25 tons = 7.969, rounded up to the nearest half-ton at 8). Todd's Swiftran may not carry a turret as it is a VTOL Support Vehicle. With the Swiftran's 25-ton weight, he finds that it will have 3 points of Internal Structure per location (25 tons ÷ 10 = 2.5 points per location, rounded up to 3). Using the VTOL Record Sheet, Todd blacks out all but 3 internal structure points in the gray-shaded areas of the vehicle's Rotor location, as well as its Front, Left, Right and Rear sides.

Hesiod

[Aaron] - Because it is a Medium 7-ton wheeled Support Vehicle, Aaron's Hesiod has a Minimum Tech Rating of A and a Base Chassis Value of 0.15. Aaron wants to give the unit off-road capability, along with the flexibility of OmniVehicle design, and so adds the chassis modifications for Off-Road (Chassis Multiplier 1.5) and Omni (Chassis Multiplier 1). As the higher of these two modifications—the Omni capability—has a Minimum Tech Rating of E, Aaron's Hesiod upgrades its Minimum Tech Rating to E, and so he selects that as his Structural Tech Rating (Rating Multiplier 0.85). Aaron computes that his Hesiod will have a chassis weight of 1.5 tons (0.15 Base Chassis Value x 0.85 Structural Tech Rating E x 1.5 Off-Road Multiplier x 1.0 Omni Multiplier x 7 tons = 1.34 tons, rounded up to 1.5). The Hesiod has 5.5 unspent tons remaining (7 tons – 1.5 tons = 5.5 tons). Like Simon, Aaron also decides to place no turret on his wheeled Support Vehicle, deciding that any of its configurations will find better uses for the half-ton (minimum) he'd need to assign to turret weight. With the Hesiod's 7-ton weight, he fi nds that it will have only 1 point of internal structure per location (7 tons ÷ 10 = 0.7 points per location, rounded up to 1). Using the Ground Vehicle Record Sheet, Aaron blacks out all but 1 internal structure point in the gray-shaded areas of the vehicle’s Front, Left, Right and Rear sides, and blacks out all Turret location circles.

Jetta Coruna

[Brian's] - Jetta Coruna—a 35-ton, Medium-sized, Fixed-Wing Support Vehicle—receives a Minimum Tech Rating of B from the Master Chassis Table, with a Base Chassis Value of 0.10. For a chassis modification, Brian decides on Environmental Sealing (Chassis Modifi er 2), just in case the aircraft is to be taken any place where the atmosphere is hostile. Enviro-sealing raises the Minimum Tech Rating for the Coruna's chassis to C, but Brian decides to take it one step further and chooses a Structural Tech Rating of D instead. These factors combine to give the Jetta Coruna a chassis weight of 7 tons (0.10 Base Chassis Value x 1.0 Structural Tech Rating D x 2.0 Enviro-Sealing Multiplier x 35 tons = 7 tons). The Coruna has 28 unspent tons remaining (35 tons – 7 tons = 28 tons). Because Brian's Coruna is a Fixed-Wing Support Vehicle, it does not have internal structures to black out at this time. Instead, Brian must fi rst determine the vehicle's Thrust ratings in the next step before determining how many Structural Integrity circles he will need to black out.

Dixon

[Christine's] - Dixon is a Medium 300-ton Airship, and so it has a Minimum Tech Rating of B and a Base Chassis Value of 0.25. Though she expects the craft might see combat in its role as a police vehicle, she cannot choose an armored chassis modification because the Dixon is an Airship. She decides that no other chassis modifications are necessary as well, but does choose a Structural Tech Rating of D (Rating Multiplier 1) for the design. Christine finds the Dixon's chassis weight to be 75 tons (0.25 Base Chassis Value x 1.0 Structural Tech Rating D x 300 tons = 75 tons). The Dixon has 225 tons of unspent weight remaining (300 tons – 75 tons = 225 tons). Like Brian's Coruna, Christine's Dixon does not have internal structures to black out at this time. Instead, she must determine the craft's Thrust ratings in the next step before determining how many Structural Integrity circles she will need to black out.