[gurps] My 2nd mecha attempt. An artillery drone swarm.

[Onno Meyer]

> Hey, after my first attempt at a mecha (although I am always more fond of 
> the americanized more tanklike 'Mech) 

When Mecha go against tanks with halfway fair rules, the Mecha 
should get fried. The exception is a Mecha which replaces the 
tracks of a tank with lots and lots of legs ...

> I've decided to try a few more to 
> see how the new spaceship rules work for making a diversified line of 
> vehicles.  Are they really different enough to seem different or are they 
> just cookie cutter images of each other.

Well, you can get lots of diversity for the larger craft, where
habitats can range from bunkrooms to transporters (i.e. teleport
projectors).
 
> Again I figure if I go through the effort of doing it, I should probably 
> share them with the group.  I'm still working on the Chessmaster or I 
> would put it up here as well.

Keep them coming. I still have questions regarding the viability 
of your designs, but that is more about the Mecha rules, not what 
you do with them :-)

> 10 tons loaded weight 10 meters tall.  

Tall or long?

> (top speed 40 mph)

Doesn't compare all that well with a TL7 MBT ...

> Armor:  Upper Hull dDR 3, Middle Hull dDR 3, Lower Hull dDR3

A WWI tank is tougher than that, HT234.

> Weapons:        Point Defense Laser (upper hull turreted) 30KJ very rapid 
> fire laser, range C, ROF 20, damage 1dD-2(2)burn, RCL 1
>                 Light Anti-vehiclular Laser (middle hull turreted) 300KJ 
> rapid fire laser, range C/S, ROF 5, damage 1dD+2(2)burn, RCL 1

What kind of vehicle do you plan to engage? Other Spaceships? It
won't do all that much good against TL9 powered armor.

>                 Spinal Mount EM Coilgun Cannon (fixed spinal) 10cm, sAcc 
> -7, Range S, ROF 1, RCL 3, damage 3dDx5(1 or 2)
> 
> Upper Hull:     1) Armor (metallic laminate)
>                 2) Spinal Weapon Battery ! (10cm EM cannon)
>                 3) Enhanced Com/Sensor Array
>                 4-5) Robotics Legs !
>                 6) Major Weapon Battery (turret mounted 30KJ very rapid 
> fire laser)
>                 core) control room C6 computer com/sensor 2 no crew 
> station

This isn't the standard format. Standards do not exist for their 
own sake, they help to find information quickly. For example, a 
standard writeup would include the level of the enhanced sensor
array.

And shouldn't it be a tactical array?

> Middle Hull     1) Armor (metallic laminate)
>                 2) Cargo or Chemical power plant (version 1 carries 80 
> shots of 10cm ammunition here, 1a fills cargo section with a MHD turbine)
>                 3-5) Fission Reactor
>                 6) Major Weapon Battery (turreted 300KJ rapid fire laser)
>                 core) Spinal Weapon Battery !

The mix of fission and MHD power plants looks odd. What the rules
really need are power storage systems.

> Lower Hull      1) Armor (metallic laminate)
>                 2-3) Robotics Legs
>                 4) Spinal Weapon Battery !
>                 5) Soft Landing System
>                 6) External Clamp

You could swap the clamp and soft landing system for a chemical
rocket and fuel tank. That allows soft landings and enhanced 
jumps.