MechDB Misadventures, Part 20: SuperStarter

MechDB Misadventures, Part 20: SuperStarter

I've been intrigued by the possibility that Piranha Games will add the Supercharger as an optional item in MechWarrior Online. Currently, it is only available on the legendary Warhawk/Masakari variant, the WHK-K "Kasai", as fixed equipment on its center torso. Also, it works differently to its BattleTech tabletop counterpart, by merely providing a permanent top speed increase without affecting agility or acceleration, instead of being manually activated and causing direct engine damage in the event of a failed 2d6 roll, with an initial target number of 3 that increases by 2 for every successive turn until the device is deactivated, after which it decreases by 1 interval per turn. Finally, the MWO Supercharger does not cause damage to a 'Mech's engine while it is in use. If you want to find out more about how the tabletop equivalent works, click here.

Under tabletop rules, Superchargers always occupy one critical slot (which must be in the same location as a 'Mech's engine), either in the center torso (the only option for any 'Mech with a standard engine) or in the side torso (optional, but only if the 'Mech has a Light or Extralight (XL) engine). In addition, it, unlike Triple Strength Myomer (which MWO hasn't yet featured in its growing list of items), can be combined with Myomer Accelerator Signal Circuitry (which causes damage to a 'Mech's legs on a failed activation roll), and combining MASC with a Supercharger (with each device requiring its own activation roll) yields a much greater speed boost. So what would an Inner Sphere 'Mech with provision for a Supercharger be like?

To show you an example, let me give you this custom loadout for a Firestarter FS9-K:

Above: Here's the basis for our hypothetical Supercharger build - a Firestarter FS9-K - armed with six medium lasers. Its speed and low engine mass (14 tons for its 280-rated Inner Sphere XL engine, not counting that which is added through fitment of extra heat sinks) ensures that it can easily be made even faster with a Supercharger by replacing some of its equipment.

Using a 280-rated Inner Sphere XL engine (whose base mass is 14 tons) means that a Supercharger would weigh 1.5 tons after rounding up to the nearest half-ton, as per tabletop rules, and could theoretically be mounted on either the side or center torso locations. However, since all of its critical slots are already occupied, we'd have to replace the AMS and its ammo to do so, thus freeing up one critical slot for the Supercharger (and another one we may need later). Even so, it would certainly make an already fast light Firestarter 'Mech even faster still. Note that although 'Mech Superchargers always require only one critical slot, its mass can vary, being one-tenth of the engine's base mass rounded up to the nearest half-ton. This is less of a problem on a 'Mech whose engine requires less mass (but not necessarily space) when fitted.

What, then, should we do with the leftover critical slots? Suppose that, in addition to being compatible with a Supercharger, our Firestarter also had provision for eight jump jets instead of six. In that case, we'd remove the Target Acquisition Gear (TAG) and install two more jump jets to fill out both empty critical slots, thus yielding a jump distance equivalent to the Panther. If the Firestarter was instead capable of being fitted with MASC, we'd remove the extra heat sink on the engine and use the MASC (which would weigh two tons under tabletop and MWO rules) to fill the last two unused critical slots, allowing for an even greater speed increase (at the cost of a higher chance of component damage and reduced heat capacity) when both the MASC and the Supercharger are in use.

In short, the Supercharger as an optional item on Inner Sphere 'Mechs (and standard Clan 'Mechs) would be a great addition to the game, with its performance benefits nicely balanced with extra mass on heavier engines. However, for a MechDB implementation, it should be tweaked so that it cannot be fitted unless an engine of some sort has been fitted, and once that has been done, the MechLab will adjust the mass of the Supercharger accordingly depending on base engine mass (and even then, it must also occupy a critical slot in the same location as the engine, as stated above). It would be a shame to limit it to the Warhawk Kasai - there are many other 'Mechs that could benefit from it (at least in theory), and its implementation, if done right, would narrow the gap between MWO and BattleTech in terms of customizability.

Infinite Space Insights: Lone Wolf Frigate

Infinite Space Insights: Lone Wolf Frigate

Happy New Year to my fellow Infinite Space Explorers! My first Infinite Space trilogy-related post of 2026 will be about my first Sea of Stars playthrough attempt of the New Year. Here's how it went.

Above, from top: My first Sea of Stars playthrough of 2026 - a practice run for my next maximum difficulty attempt (as evidenced with the NPC strength and nebular area having been set to their minimum values - the highest settings for both are necessary for high score runs) - began like any other: after wiping out a Tan Ru fleet around that faction's home system and salvaging some of the high-end equipment stored there, I went on to deliver a Crystal Fish to the Tchorak, thus forging an alliance with them, before zapping two Garthan fleets with the advanced weaponry and technology I'd acquired.

In the early stages of this playthrough, I was lucky enough to trade for, purchase, or salvage enough high-end weaponry and starship technology to improve the overall combat effectiveness of my ship. However, a pivotal moment came when I decided to overwrite an entire cluster's worth of star systems using a Limited Vacuum Collapser I had acquired. On this particular playthrough, there were only four recruitable allies (one each of a Zorg and Muktian fighter, as well as one each of a Garthan and Terran capital ship - I'd convinced the former two to tag along, but chose to annihilate the respective systems in which the latter two were found after realizing I didn't need any help from either of those units), and two of them were in systems that were within the blast radius (as was the Garthan home system, which I'd successfully visited before I activated the LVC).

Above, from top: Shortly after finding the Brood Towers (which lured three Ravian fleets to Glory, the Terran home system - I would later annihilate every single one of them to complete the quest), I decided to overwrite six star systems on the far end of the map using a Limited Vacuum Collapser - and escaped to the Urluquai home system, where I tore apart the hostile fleet stationed there (and bought some highly coveted equipment after the battle for good measure). Two of the recruitable allies (out of four instead of the usual five) were found in the blast radius, and were rendered permanently unattainable due to the LVC detonating before I hired them (although I deliberately chose not to add them to my fleet due to the fact that, given the chosen game settings, I could take on the might of the Ravians with just my starting capital ship and nothing else).

Without the possibility of deploying additional capital ships in combat, the Terran capital ship I had started out with had effectively become a lone wolf, since its destruction would result in an immediate defeat - fighters are not counted as capital ships for gameplay purposes. However, I'd traded in that ship for a larger Terran frigate, which had an additional large turret and offered an extra equipment slot to boot. Even though it was slower and less maneuverable than the Terran corvette I was previously using, and also had less cargo space (8 items instead of 12), I decided that the extra firepower and defense was worth it when facing the Ravian fleets.

Above, from top: I swapped my trusty Terran corvette for a larger, more heavily armed and armored (though slower and less maneuverable) Terran frigate, fitted it with dual Multi-Missile Launchers (which I purchased from the Muktians home system, where I established an alliance with them by visiting it with a Muktian fighter in tow), and used it to eliminate all remaining Ravian forces. I later visited the Zorg home system with a Zorg fighter as part of my fleet to form yet another alliance, and used that system as a trading post, before mopping up other hostile forces using my frigate to complete the playthrough.

By the end of the game, I only had one capital ship (a Terran frigate armed with two Multi-Missile Launchers and a Tachyon Ray Gun, as well as a Sardion Optimizer, Plasma Coil Cloaker and Meson Lattice Shield for improved accuracy, stealth, and protection) and two fighters (a Zorg fighter and a Muktian fighter, both of which were armed with a Proton Blaster and carried one each of a Mnemonic Sequencer and Electron Matrix Shield - the most advanced equipment other than weapons and thrusters that can be fitted to regular fighters), but even with so few vessels in total, the sheer amount of firepower, technology, and defensive equipment was enough for me to take on any hostile fleet without any fear of defeat, especially since there was no chance of encountering a Yellow Kawangi dreadnought on this playthrough.

Above, from top: This game ended with only three ships in my fleet - a Terran frigate, a Muktian fighter, and a Zorg fighter - but I didn't deploy the latter two in combat at all (not that I needed to do so, given that my Terran capital ship had been sufficiently upgraded to win any battle with the right strategy and tactics), so the Terran frigate was effectively a lone wolf. However, the lack of capital ship support (or rather, the possibility of it) severely reduced my final score to a sub-20k value. Even on the highest possible difficulty, I would've struggled to attain the coveted promotion to Glory system president with this force composition unless I was really good (and/or lucky).

In short, my first Sea of Stars playthrough of 2026 was... weird, to say the least, given that I deliberately missed out on both chances to add any capital ships to my fleet (although the LVC detonation also wiped the Garthans' home system off the map), but by the end of the game, it didn't matter very much due to my sole capital ship being heavily upgraded to face whatever new threats it encountered. However, this was a very rare set of circumstances, so here's hoping that the other playthroughs in 2026 will generally be more normal, with all six fleet slots (two fighters and four capital ships) being filled most of the time, and staying that way by the end of the game.

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 242: Reflecting on 2025 and Looking Ahead for 2026

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 242: Reflecting on 2025 and Looking Ahead in 2026

Happy New Year to my fellow Automationeers! 2025 turned out to be quite a challenging year for me - after several years of playing on the previous Ellisbury build, the Al-Rilma build went from an open alpha to an open beta, and eventually I was sufficiently convinced of its improvements to finally migrate to it. As time went on, it became the new stable release, and has since received three further patches. However, the changes introduced in this build were so comprehensive, that I decided to rework some of my Ellisbury-era builds to account for this - and others could follow, either out of necessity (due to the deprecation of their original body sets), or just for the fun of it. 

In addition, I created some new fully detailed builds completely from scratch using some of the new body sets introduced in the Al-Rilma era (such as the '86 Rosso and the '09 Jackal - other body sets, such as the '87 Bossa Nova, '88 Copy Cat, '93 Loser, '99 Slantnose, and '07 Temptress, among others could be next in line). Moreover, I discovered, and applied, a few new design techniques, such as creating custom panel seams (along with covering up the default seams), and placing and coloring custom light fixture covers - I'll explore these (and other car exterior design procedures) further in the future. In short, I'd delivered on some of my Automationeer's New Year's resolutions last year (including winning a Discourse challenge hosted on any UE4-based game build solely on merit for the first time ever) - and this year will be no different.

The first of my 2026 New Year's Automationeer resolutions is to conclude the challenge I am currently hosting, which you can find here. As of now, I have received a decent amount of entries (including several high-quality ones) and am writing down draft verdicts for all the valid ones as we speak -  a handy pre-emptive measure considering that the deadline is now just a few days away. Anything that isn't compatible with the rules by the deadline, however, will be ignored - although thankfully I haven't been left with too many unresolved rule violations. Also, I began work on, and later finished, a car that I felt could fill a gap between the KMA KX12 and its entry-level sibling, the KX4.

Thus, the 1992 KMA KX8A (whose "A" suffix refers to its aluminum chassis and bodywork, replacing the alloy-clad steel space frame of its predecessor) - which sat neatly between the two - was born. With its all-alloy 3-liter 32-valve flat-crank V8 delivering 325 naturally aspirated horsepower to the rear wheels via a 6-speed manual gearbox and helical limited-slip differential, it can reach 60 mph from a standstill in less than 4.5 seconds, on to a top speed of over 180 mph thanks to close gearing, a 1.2-ton curb weight (aided by its small footprint), and race-bred aerodynamics. Combined with track-focused yet supple suspension tuning, low-profile high-performance tires wrapped around 18-inch forged alloy wheels, and powerful ABS-assisted 4-wheel vented disc brakes, it was one of the most formidable performance cars of its time, offering most of its big brother's abilities at a lower, more accessible price point. However, it still came with a high-quality premium interior and CD/cassette stereo, so it wasn't totally bereft of creature comforts.

Above, from top: As the smaller sibling of the KMA KX12, and the larger senior counterpart to the KX4, the 1992 KX8 fulfills its mission of being the mid-range offering in the KX series of mid-engined performance cars more than adequately.

Theoretically, the other KX-series cars, being built on the now-deprecated predecessor to the Bossa Nova body sets, could also be remade on variants of the '86 Rosso on which the KX8A was based. That car used the 2.4m wheelbase variant in notchback configuration, so as a follow-on, the KX4 and KX12 could also utilize the Rosso (most likely with the 2.3m and 2.55m wheelbase variants, respectively, to better align with prior lore) - a body set which, since its introduction, may actually be more in keeping with their overall shape in the Ellisbury era.

In short, I am satisfied with having fulfilled my previous set of Automation New Year's resolutions from last year, and have also defined a new set for this year - the fact that I am about to accomplish one of them in a few days' time is icing on the cake.

Update (31 January 2026, 2:00am, UTC+7): I have revised the KX8A with an updated front end, some different interior materials, and a simpler rear lip spoiler fixture in place of the wing, as follows:

Above, from top: The redesigned KX8A as of now, with retractable headlights up front and a lip spoiler in the back where the wing used to be. Its interior has also been mildly updated accordingly.

It's a cleaner, more streamlined look than before, and one I found to be more period-accurate considering the low bonnet line.