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PostPosted: 12-Mar-2018 18:33    Post subject: FrankenMechs Reply to topic Reply with quote

All, I'm going to work on the ability to design FrankenMechs next. I don't think any other software has this capability right now (SSW, MML, etc), so I think there's a need. After all, there are at least two canon FrankenMechs out there! I also don't think it's going to be all too difficult. Having said that, the rules are in Strategic Operations, and likely no one has looked at them all that closely. So, I want to quickly see if I've got this right. Here's the plan on how you'll design FrankenMechs:
  1. If using Experimental rule, there will be a checkbox next to Tonnage for 'FrankenMech'.
  2. If the above box is checked, a new row for FrankenMech Donor Locations will appear. Here you'll specify the tonnage for each location (e.g., the Left Arm came from a 35 ton 'Mech, the Right Arm from a 50 ton). Center Torso tonnage will always be equal to unit Tonnage (since that's what drives it), and leg tonnage must be greater than or equal to the Tonnage.
  3. Internal Structure weight is based on tonnage of the 'Mech it came from. Total internal structure weight is all these added up.
  4. Armor is max allowed for a location of the applicable weight.
  5. Cockpit weight is based on the donor head tonnage
  6. Tonnage and Crits for Jump Jets will be determined at the time of placement, and are based on the tonnage of the donor location they're being placed.
Everything else essentially follows the normal rules for construction. At least as far as I could tell. So, anyone see anything that I'm not considering?
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Vagabond
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PostPosted: 13-Mar-2018 22:30    Post subject: FrankenMechs Reply to topic Reply with quote

F: I would do this instead. It requires a bit of UI coding. When you select Frakenmech, three new drop downs appear next to the current jump mp drop down: Light, Medium, and Heavy. You set the total jump MP using the primary drop down and then set the type of jump jets via the 2ndary drop downs. This sets the weight, crits, and heat.

Your way sets options but doesn't allow the flexibility as described in SO.
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PostPosted: 14-Mar-2018 09:05    Post subject: Re: FrankenMechs Reply to topic Reply with quote

Vagabond wrote:
F: I would do this instead. It requires a bit of UI coding. When you select Frakenmech, three new drop downs appear next to the current jump mp drop down: Light, Medium, and Heavy. You set the total jump MP using the primary drop down and then set the type of jump jets via the 2ndary drop downs. This sets the weight, crits, and heat.

Your way sets options but doesn't allow the flexibility as described in SO.


I agree. I was thinking of how to do this, and my way was definitely "easy", but didn't stick true to what SO allowed. I'll look into your idea more. While definitely more coding, it might make things easier in the long run!
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PostPosted: 09-Mar-2019 17:12    Post subject: FrankenMechs Reply to topic Reply with quote

So, I truly started coding this a couple weeks ago and have probably half of it done. At some point I'll load it to the sandbox site and ask folks to mess around with it for feedback and test for bugs. But here's how it works so far.
  1. If the Rules Level is Experimental, an option for FrankenMech appears next to the Tonnage drop down. The FrankenMech checkbox is not available if you're designing an OmniMech as FrankenMech construction is not allowed with Omnis.
  2. When the FrankenMech checkbox is selected, new Donor drop downs are available on the Armor & Structure screen. The donor tons for the CT is always equal to the tonnage of the unit. The donor tons for legs will only show options >= the tonnage of the unit. Everything else is fair game. So have fun putting a 200 ton leg on a 75 ton unit; and a 10 ton arm on a 100 ton unit. I put these here because it just made sense as it made it easier to tie them with the specific locations, and the impact was readily visible.
  3. When a donor tonnage is changed, everything associated with it changes. So you'll see the max armor for that location changes based on the donor tons. So yes, you can put a 200 ton leg on a 20 ton 'Mech and have 84 points of armor!
Next up is the internal structure. The description of this from SO is pretty vague, so I looked closely at the three canon FrankenMech designs already published. And based on that, here's how it'll work.
  • The designer will be able to select a "normal" structure type, or specify a "Hybrid" structure.
  • If using the "normal" structure types, they will be required to distribute the appropriate critical slots as usual, and each location will be considered to have that structure type; the Warhammer WHM-X7 "The Lich" 'Mech has this configuration.
  • If a hybrid structure is used, the designer will be required to select a structure for each location, and will be required to distribute a certain number of critical slots per location (if applicable), depending on the structure type. This is very similar to the way Patchwork armor works. Both the Schwerer Gustav, and Temax Cat Ninjabolt TMC-NB FrankenMechs utilize this approach.
Let me know if any feedback so far. I'll keep everyone updated when structure is done. After that, it's jump jets, and I'll lay my plan out for that as well.
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