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Line 12: A common comment on autocannons as published is that relative to their actual performance, autocannon are over represented in canon designs. AC/10's lack the one hit kill possibility of a [[gauss rifle]], and AC/20's lack the reach. Indeed, the gulf in performance between the 10's and 20's is so wide that it is something of a stretch to see them as part of a continuous spectrum. A common comment on autocannons as published is that relative to their actual performance, autocannon are over represented in canon designs. AC/10's lack the one hit kill possibility of a [[gauss rifle]], and AC/20's lack the reach. Indeed, the gulf in performance between the 10's and 20's is so wide that it is something of a stretch to see them as part of a continuous spectrum. − The fluff description of autocannons describe them as being put into general classes where the size of a single shell is irrelevant. That is to say an AC/20 may represent 10 shells doing 2 points of damage each all to the same location or it may represent two shells doing 10 damage, or any other combination of values adding up to 20.<ref>''Tech Manual'', p. 207</ref> Personally, this has never been much of a satisfying description as with only a minor exception here and there the rules behave as though a single shot from an AC is exactly that, a single shot. Realistically, insofar as that term applies to a sci-fi game about giant robots slugging it out on 31st century battlefields, autocannon would be possible in a pretty much continuous spectrum of damage values. + The fluff description of autocannons describe them as being put into general classes where the size of a single shell is irrelevant. That is to say an AC/20 may represent 10 shells doing 2 points of damage each all to the same location or it may represent two shells doing 10 damage, or any other combination of values adding up to 20. Personally, this has never been much of a satisfying description as with only a minor exception here and there the rules behave as though a single shot from an AC is exactly that, a single shot. Realistically, insofar as that term applies to a sci-fi game about giant robots slugging it out on 31st century battlefields, autocannon would be possible in a pretty much continuous spectrum of damages. − Nonetheless, likely for practicality reasons the number of weapon types in the early incarnations of BattleTech were kept limited. Initially there were no "types" of autocannon. The AC was an [[AC/5]] and that was the only type of AC available<ref>''BattleDroids Manual'', p. 20</ref>. With the publication of [[CityTech]] the [[AC/2]], [[AC/10]] and [[AC/20]] types were introduced<ref>''CityTech 1st Edition'', p. 34</ref>. Even a brief look at the stats for these weapons reveals a strong set of trends. As damage goes up, mass and size go up, heat goes up, range drops, shots per ton drops, ect. With this in mind, I've set about trying to fill in the gaps between autocannon sizes to give a little more variety of choices within the existing technology paradigm. With the trends in the stats for AC's it would seem that as the projectile gets heavier its damage goes up and its range goes down, generally consistent with a single shell being fired with a similar amount of propellant. This essay will assume this to be the case, even though this is directly contradicted by fluff. + Nonetheless, likely for practicality reasons the number of weapon types in the early incarnations of BattleTech were kept limited. Initially there were no "types" of autocannon. The AC was an [[AC/5]] and that was the only type of AC available. With the publication of [[CityTech]] the [[AC/2]], [[AC/10]] and [[AC/20]] types were introduced. Even a brief look at the stats for these weapons reveals a strong set of trends. As damage goes up, mass and size go up, heat goes up, range drops, shots per ton drops, ect. With this in mind, I've set about trying to fill in the gaps between autocannon sizes to give a little more variety of choices within the existing technology paradigm. With the trends in the stats for AC's it would seem that as the projectile gets heavier its damage goes up and its range goes down, generally consistent with a single shell being fired with a similar amount of propellant. This essay will assume this to be the case, even though this is directly contradicted by fluff. ==Basis== ==Basis==
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A common comment on autocannons as published is that relative to their actual performance, autocannon are over represented in canon designs. AC/10's lack the one hit kill possibility of a [[gauss rifle]], and AC/20's lack the reach. Indeed, the gulf in performance between the 10's and 20's is so wide that it is something of a stretch to see them as part of a continuous spectrum. | A common comment on autocannons as published is that relative to their actual performance, autocannon are over represented in canon designs. AC/10's lack the one hit kill possibility of a [[gauss rifle]], and AC/20's lack the reach. Indeed, the gulf in performance between the 10's and 20's is so wide that it is something of a stretch to see them as part of a continuous spectrum. | ||
| − | The fluff description of autocannons describe them as being put into general classes where the size of a single shell is irrelevant. That is to say an AC/20 may represent 10 shells doing 2 points of damage each all to the same location or it may represent two shells doing 10 damage, or any other combination of values adding up to 20. | + | The fluff description of autocannons describe them as being put into general classes where the size of a single shell is irrelevant. That is to say an AC/20 may represent 10 shells doing 2 points of damage each all to the same location or it may represent two shells doing 10 damage, or any other combination of values adding up to 20. Personally, this has never been much of a satisfying description as with only a minor exception here and there the rules behave as though a single shot from an AC is exactly that, a single shot. Realistically, insofar as that term applies to a sci-fi game about giant robots slugging it out on 31st century battlefields, autocannon would be possible in a pretty much continuous spectrum of damages. |
| − | Nonetheless, likely for practicality reasons the number of weapon types in the early incarnations of BattleTech were kept limited. Initially there were no "types" of autocannon. The AC was an [[AC/5]] and that was the only type of AC available | + | Nonetheless, likely for practicality reasons the number of weapon types in the early incarnations of BattleTech were kept limited. Initially there were no "types" of autocannon. The AC was an [[AC/5]] and that was the only type of AC available. With the publication of [[CityTech]] the [[AC/2]], [[AC/10]] and [[AC/20]] types were introduced. Even a brief look at the stats for these weapons reveals a strong set of trends. As damage goes up, mass and size go up, heat goes up, range drops, shots per ton drops, ect. With this in mind, I've set about trying to fill in the gaps between autocannon sizes to give a little more variety of choices within the existing technology paradigm. With the trends in the stats for AC's it would seem that as the projectile gets heavier its damage goes up and its range goes down, generally consistent with a single shell being fired with a similar amount of propellant. This essay will assume this to be the case, even though this is directly contradicted by fluff. |
==Basis== | ==Basis== | ||