Infinite Space Suggestions: A MechDB-Inspired Ship Editor

Infinite Space Suggestions: A MechDB-Inspired Ship Editor

When I'm not Automationeering, exploring the Infinite Space trilogy, or experimenting with different car, event, and track combinations in Hotshot Racing, I spend a lot of time creating custom BattleMech loadouts in MechDB's MechLab for MechWarrior Online. A more detailed explanation of how it works can be found here. Now for the basics: You start by clicking on the Select 'Mech button at the top, which allows you to select a 'Mech chassis from one of the four weight classes (Light, Medium, Heavy, and Assault, with Inner Sphere and Clan 'Mechs being grouped separately for each class), after which you'll be taken to the 'Mech customization screen.

Above: A screenshot of the MechDB MechLab showing stats, quirks, current loadout, selectable equipment, warnings (if any), and structure/armor/heat sink/guidance types.

The Warehouse (top right) shows the amount of mass and critical slots for all items (which are grouped into four tabs: Weapons, Ammunition, Equipment, and Engines/OmniPods) that are compatible with the currently selected 'Mech variant. For example, an Inner Sphere Double Heat Sink occupies 3 critical slots, whereas the Clan equivalent requires only two. In addition, when customizing a standard BattleMech, the fourth icon from the left will take you to the engine selection tab which shows a list of compatible engines, whereas when customizing an OmniMech, you will instead be shown a list of available OmniPods for that chassis.

To install a weapon on a 'Mech, click on the Weapons tab in the Warehouse box (first from the left), and from there, drag and drop it from there to any component that has enough free space for it and at least one unused hardpoint for any weapons of that type (e.g., energy weapons can only be installed on components that have at least one energy hardpoint). Ammunition for ballistic and missile weapons can be placed in any component with at least one free critical slot. You can only fire an ammunition-dependent weapon if you provide compatible ammunition for it; to aid this, you can click on the Mounted Weapons checkbox in the Ammunition tab (second from left) in the Warehouse box, so that it only shows ammo types for your 'Mech's ammunition-dependent weapons (as long as this option is toggled on).

Engines must be placed in the center torso, with standard engines (the heaviest of all) requiring 6 critical slots there, whereas Inner Sphere Light and Clan XL engines take up an additional 2 critical slots each in both side torsos, and Inner Sphere XL engines occupy 3 critical slots in both side torsos. As such, a Standard engine can continue to operate even if both side torsos are destroyed. Inner Sphere XL engines, on the other hand, will immediately shut down if either side torso is destroyed. Finally, Clan XL and Inner Sphere Light engines will operate at reduced speed if one side torso is blown off, but will still shut down if both side torsos are destroyed.

All components on Inner Sphere 'Mechs (except for the center torso or head) can be fitted with CASE (Cellular Ammunition Storage Equipment) which prevents ammunition and/or weapon explosions from affecting any adjacent components - this item is automatically fitted to every component of all Clan 'Mechs. In addition, some 'Mechs have provision for Jump Jets (which lift your 'Mech into the air for a limited time - the type of available Jump Jet being dependent on the 'Mech's weight) and/or MASC (Myomer Accelerator Signal Circuitry - a device which boosts your 'Mech's maximum running speed when activated, but causes damage to its legs if overused). Note that for any given 'Mech variant, you cannot install more Jump Jets than the maximum number it can carry, nor can you equip more than one MASC on a 'Mech that is compatible with it.

'Mechs can also be equipped with Beagle Active Probes (which improve detection capabilities at closer ranges), Targeting Computers (which improve your weapons' accuracy, velocity, and range), and on some variants, ECM suites (which shield the 'Mech from detection in Disrupt mode, and can negate the effect of enemy ECM in Counter mode). It should be noted that Inner Sphere Targeting Computers have a range from Mk1 to Mk8 (the higher the number, the more mass and critical slots required), whereas Clan TCs only max out at Mk7, reflecting the fact that in BattleTech, the latter require one ton and one critical slot for every five tons of direct-fire weapons they control, instead of four, as is the case for Inner Sphere TCs. Regardless of tech base, however, you can only install one Targeting Computer or ASP (Advanced Sensor Package - a universal item weighing 1.5 tons and requiring one critical slot) on any given 'Mech variant at a time. Moreover, Inner Sphere Guardian ECM suites occupy 2 critical slots and weigh 1.5 tons each, whereas Clan ECM requires 1 critical slot and weighs only 1 ton. Finally, Inner Sphere Beagle Active Probes have had the same space and weight requirements (1 critical slot and 1 ton) as their Clan counterparts for some time (prior to which they required 2 critical slots and weighed 1.5 tons, as in the tabletop), whereas the Clan-exclusive Light Active Probe requires 0.5 tons (half the mass of a regular Active Probe), but has a shorter range.

The top left section can be toggled between Stats (self-explanatory) and Tonnage (which shows a breakdown of how much mass your components require, as well as the type and quantity of some of them). The bottom left section shows a list of Quirks (perks that provide benefits to the 'Mech) - each quirk positively affects sensors, weapons, equipment, performance, or survivability. At the bottom-right corner of the screen, you can select the structure, armor, heat sink, and missile guidance type upgrades that will be fitted to your 'Mech. These are as follows:

• Endo Steel Structure: Reduces the amount of mass in the 'Mech's internal structure, but occupies more critical slots (14 for Inner Sphere, 7 for Clan) compared to standard armor.
• Ferro-Fibrous Armor: Reduces the amount of mass required the 'Mech's armor to achieve the same amount of protection, but occupies more critical slots (14 for Inner Sphere, 7 for Clan) compared to standard armor.
• Light Ferro-Fibrous Armor: Exclusive to the Inner Sphere tech base, it also reduces the mass of the 'Mech's armor and is bulkier than standard armor, though not to the same extent as Inner Sphere Ferro-Fibrous Armor in these aspects, requiring only 7 critical slots.
• Stealth Armor: Also exclusive to the Inner Sphere, it occupies 2 critical slots in every component other than the center torso and head, and is only selectable if a Guardian ECM system is installed. It does not save weight compared to standard armor, though, and activating it during a game will increase heat levels.
• Double Heat Sinks: Dissipates more heat and increases heat threshold by a greater amount than standard heat sinks, but occupies more space (3 and 2 critical slots, respectively, for Inner Sphere and Clan Double Heat Sinks). Standard and Double Heat Sinks cannot be combined on the same 'Mech.
• Artemis IV Missile Guidance: Improves accuracy of any and all LRM and standard SRM launchers fitted to the 'Mech, but adds 1 ton of mass and 1 critical slot to all such launchers. It does not affect NARC, Streak SRM (Inner Sphere and Clan), Inner Sphere MRM, Inner Sphere Thunderbolt, and Clan ATM (Advanced Tactical Missile) launchers, though.

Here's an example of a customized 'Mech loadout created in MechDB:

Above: An example of a custom loadout created in MechDB, showing a Firestarter FS9-K (a 35-ton Inner Sphere light 'Mech) configured for high DPS, while still retaining enough speed and agility for brawling and skirmishing.

If you have registered to MechDB, you can save and export your loadouts for future use in MechWarrior Online, and from there, test them in the Proving Ground to judge their effectiveness.

OmniMech customization differs from standard BattleMech customization in the following aspects:

• You can mix and match head, arm, leg, and side torso OmniPods from different variants. However, if all OmniPods are from the same variant as the center torso, you will gain an additional Set of 8 Quirks that improve the 'Mech's abilities further.
• All variants must share the same structure, armor, and heat sink type, as well as engine type and rating (except in non-OmniMech variants of an OmniMech chassis, and the Executioner Sovereign, a Legendary 'Mech variant whose 285-rated engine makes it slower than other Executioner variants, which each have a 380-rated engine).
• Fixed equipment (including armor and structure slots, if the OmniMech has ferro-fibrous armor and/or endo-steel structure, respectively) cannot be removed from an OmniPod.
• When selecting OmniPods, you will be shown a list of compatible head, side torso, arm, and leg OmniPods for the OmniMech, along with the number and types of hardpoints for each one.

Here's an example of a customized OmniMech loadout:

Above: An example of a customized Clan OmniMech loadout, based on the Dire Wolf DWF-Prime (a 100-ton Clan Assault 'Mech) and geared towards long-range sniping.

Alongside creating customized loadouts for 'Mechs in general, one of the more popular uses of MechDB is to create zombie 'Mech loadouts on 'Mech variants that can support them. Such layouts (named for their ability to absorb immense amounts of damage) have (near) maximum armor for their mass, an all-energy loadout (with at least one energy weapon in its center torso or head) lacking in ammunition-dependent weapons, and a standard engine (which will never shut down even if both side torsos are blown off). They are especially useful in prolonged engagements where you expect to receive a lot of punishment, and can even continue to attack as long as the head, center torso, and at least one leg all remain intact. Here's an example:

Above and below: Two loadout ideas for the Stalker STK-7D that turn it into a zombie 'Mech, taking the idea to ridiculous extremes by placing all of its weaponry in its head and torso sections, leaving the arms empty and allowing them to be used as shields.

After all this, you may be asking why I'm mentioning a game I do not yet own in a post that's supposedly related to the Infinite Space trilogy. As it turns out, nobody has created a webpage that allows you to create a custom loadout for any ship (whether it's a fighter or a capital ship) in the game, right down to its affiliation, class, engine, thruster, weapons, and equipment. In addition to this, when customizing a ship, all eight major stats (armor, shield strength, weapon range, firepower in terms of damage per shot, maximum speed during combat, maneuverability, and interstellar travel speed both outside and within nebulae) would also be shown, as they are whenever you're customizing a ship in a standard game. In addition, the overall cost of the loadout (base price of the chosen hull + combined price of all weapons and equipment installed) would also have to be displayed.

Above and below: A MechDB-style ship editor for Sea of Stars could look like a combination of the customization shown in these screenshots, with all key stats for items and ships being shown at once.

Taking the idea further, you could add the ability to not only load and save custom layouts, but also create, load, and save whole fleets of ships (with capacity of up to six ships of any kind for each) - as well as tools to either install the default loadout for a particular ship, or to remove all items from the currently selected one, just as in MechDB. The resulting ship loadout editor would therefore be incredibly useful for planning ship builds, especially when predicting the effectiveness of one you expect to be using in actual gameplay.

In short, a MechDB-style ship/fleet loadout creator/editor tool for Sea Of Stars would be a boon to the player base - and also to fans of the series. It could even be helpful for designing ship loadouts you want to use in a hypothetical board game sequel to Eat Electric Death! - an adaptation of the preceding game (Weird Worlds: Return to Infinite Space) that utilizes a similar hex-based board and movement system to BattleTech, and even comes with its own preset scenarios to jump into. That, by the way, will be the subject of my next post in this series.