MechDB Misadventures, Part 12: Zombierauder II

MechDB Misadventures, Part 12: Zombierauder II

Having discussed the potential of some Annihilator variants to be configured as zombie 'Mechs (ones that not only lack explosive components, but also can only be destroyed if their center torso, head, or legs are shot off, and may even be able to fight back without either side torso being intact), I will do the same thing for the Marauder II. To give you an example, here's a build based on the MAD-4A that exploits this characteristic, with extra heat sinks to cool it down more quickly and easily:

An example of a zombie build for the Marauder II MAD-4A carrying 4 each of standard Large and Medium Lasers. It may seem undergunned, but it has full jump capability and immense heat capacity - an asset in battles which are decided by how often you can attack without overheating.

Taking the idea further, you could place all (or most) of the weapons (and hardpoints) in the torsos and head, with two Large Lasers and a Medium Laser in each side torso, and by adding a ninth energy hardpoint (two in the center torso to complement the one that was moved to the head), you could mount three more medium lasers (necessitating the relocation of the center torso-mounted Class 1 jump jet to one of the legs). While I'm at it, I'd downgrade the engine to a standard 300-rated fusion item, trading speed for some useful spare mass. Some of this would go into a fourth jump jet in the opposite leg (made possible by giving the variant provision for four Jump Jets instead of the usual three), for 2 jump jets per leg (an arrangement similar to the Dark Age era MAD-6S). Finally, there will be room for 22(!) Double Heat Sinks (10 in the engine, 2 in the engine's expansion slots, 2 more in each side torso, and 3 in each arm) in total, plus Inner Sphere CASE (weighing 0.5 tons and occupying 1 critical slot each) to pad out any unused mass or tonnage - I'd only need to remove 6 points of standard armor (leaving 19 tons covering the standard internal structure) to reach the tonnage limit. The resulting 'Mech can not only absorb its heat load very easily, but also jump great distances despite its low ground speed.

As a further variant, if each arm also had three energy hardpoints each (bringing the 'Mech's total to 15), I'd swap out a Double Heat Sink in each arm (along with the CASE in both side torsos) to fit six Small Lasers there. While it will run hotter, it will be more potent at closer ranges. Upgrading to extended-range lasers is possible, but this change on its own will also increase the heat load even further. My advice would be to keep the three arm-mounted Double Heat Sinks, replace the regular Large Lasers with extended-range ones (for long-range poptarting), and retain the double CASE (or swap it out, along with a half-ton of armor, for an AMS with one ton of ammo if you're paranoid about missile fire), and leave everything else as-is. You'll have a true zombie assault 'Mech that can absorb immense amounts of damage and jump like a lighter 'Mech, while still being able to pump out near-constant alpha strikes (61 damage each) for surprisingly long periods of time until you get close to the heat limit (although using the Jump Jets will heat it up even more quickly, so don't do it too often!), all without any ammunition dependency or internal explosion issues to worry the crew.

There are other hypothetical non-canon zombie builds in the 100-ton assault 'Mech class, but the one I'm proposing, with an average-sized engine, 22 Double Heat Sinks to cover 4 and 5 Large and Medium Lasers, respectively (concentrated around the torsos and head) and extra jump range (for a 100-tonner) may well be the most zombie-like of them all. If this one really existed, prepare to annoy your foes to no end!

MechDB Misadventures, Part 11: Zombielator

MechDB Misadventures, Part 11: Zombielator

I've already discussed what the ultimate zombie 'Mech in BattleTech (in the truest sense) could (and would've been), but now I have another candidate from the Inner Sphere: an Annihilator ANH-SC(LGD) "Stone Crusher) armed with six(!) each of Large and Medium Lasers, arranged as follows:

Above: An Annihilator Stone Crusher armed with six Large Lasers (plus six Medium Lasers) is a tempting proposition for a 100-ton Inner Sphere zombie 'Mech, but there is room for improvement.

If I were to double down on a zombie build with this one, however, I'd add a third energy hardpoint to each side torso just to have the arm-mounted weaponry (3 Large Lasers per arm) swap places with some of the side torso-mounted equipment (2 Medium Lasers and 1 Double Heat Sink), thus making its primary weapons less vulnerable to being blown off. The resulting configuration - with three energy hardpoints in each arm and side torso, plus one such hardpoint in the head and two more in the center torso - would have provision for up to 15(!) weapons in total, and I'll call it the SandBlaster (for its ability to sandblast other 'Mechs with just one alpha strike). However, as crazy as it is, I've come up with an alternate loadout that would push my proposed 'Mech variant even closer to its limit, using the configuration below as a basis:

Above: If this loadout had an additional energy hardpoint in each side torso, I'd fill them both with extra large lasers, increasing the heat load but also boosting its firepower massively.

With the additional side torso-mounted energy hardpoints, I'd stick a trio of Large Lasers in each side torso, then place a Medium Laser in the head (to complement the two already in the center torso), and finally fill all six arm-mounted hardpoints with Small Lasers, thus yielding a theoretical alpha strike damage output of 91.5, and making the 'Mech even deadlier at close range. It still retains the 19.2 tons of standard armor and 20 Double Heat sinks found in the original version. In short, either loadout for the SandBlaster would be an effective, if slow and heat-intensive, way to fight a prolonged, drawn-out battle, without having to worry about any ammunition dependency concerns (and a post-3067 Small Cockpit conversion could even free up a critical slot for an additional head-mounted energy hardpoint). However, if you want to go all in on offense, you could swap out two Double Heat Sinks and a ton of armor to upgrade the arm-mounted Small Lasers to the same Medium Lasers fitted in the head and center torso, providing a whopping 99 alpha strike damage - at the expense of shutting down (or even melting down) unless you stagger your shots.

As for the Stone Crusher that was the original subject of this post, I've come up with two more loadouts for it:

Above and below: Two more offense-oriented layouts for the Annihilator Stone Crusher - a PPC boat that runs even hotter, but carries almost as much armor and hits even harder still, as well as a Succession Wars-era laser boat that carries as many heat sinks as possible, at the expense of being even slower and having less armor (though not as little as the ballistic-oriented variants). If you want to use the latter in MWO, it's be better to upgrade to a 300-rated standard engine and remove 14 heat sinks - in that case, removing an additional heat sink and fitting an extra ton of armor may be considered.

In short, the Annihilator Stone Crusher, with its low speed and tall profile, is not for the faint of heart (and nor is my proposed SandBlaster variant, for that matter), but anyone with good heat management skills should get a lot out of the various zombie builds based on this 'Mech chassis. And yet, it may not even be the only 100-ton Inner Sphere assault 'Mech for which I could propose a non-canon custom variant.

Confession of an Automationeer, Part 184: Descendant of the Gods

Confession of an Automationeer, Part 184: Descendant of the Gods

My latest fully detailed build is a collaborative entry - the LVC LS860. This is the modern-day successor to the LVC LS60 of the '90s, and like its forebear, it utilizes a high-revving normally-aspirated V12 for propulsion. However, with the Ellisbury update introducing a nerf to sports tires (which this car has), I have decided to install an advanced AWD system for maximum drivability, grip, and sportiness - it takes just 2.2 seconds for it to reach 60 mph from a standstill. This isn't too surprising given that its engine develops 860 horsepower, although to be fair, the LS860 weighs 400kg more. Much of this is due to having a high-quality hand-made interior (complete with luxury HUD-based infotainment), with exact specifications dependent on customers' requests. Finally, its active wing provides significantly more downforce - more than enough to harness its immense thrust.

Above: The LVC LS860 (left) may be a more aggressive design compared to the LS60 (right) of 25 years earlier, but it's still a true head-turner.

Unlike the LS60, I did end up entering it in a forum competition - one about high-end supercars set in the present day. As part of the collaboration, I delegated the exterior design (and part of the interior) to a fellow Automationeer, while I handled the engineering aspect. Eventually, I received the finished file and polished it off by adding some interior details that were originally missing from the build.

Above: Organic curves, accentuated by dual round taillights and sweeping air intakes and vents, are among the features that stylistically link the LS860 to the LS60 of 25 years earlier. Even the rear wing resembles a smooth ducktail when retracted.

There is room for further development of this build - a one-off commission based on it (designed by another Automationeer, but different from the one with whom I developed the original), along with a lightweight, track-focused version with a more spartan interior, a lighter exhaust and wheels, and retuned suspension and gearbox are in the pipeline. I could make a pure RWD version of it if I want to, if only to see how far I can push the limits of the platform with just one pair of driven wheels.

In short, the LS860 may be a far more complex and aggressively styled machine than the LS60 that inspired it, but it is still a thing of beauty by the standards of our time - or any other, for that matter - and a far more capable and comfortable machine to boot.