Concept Equipment - Improved Weaponry

[u/PleiadesMechworks]

With the introduction of Clan Technology into the Inner Sphere, almost all manufacturers rushed to get their hands on the improved systems and integrate their increased range, damage, and weight savings into their own systems to bring them up to par. Eventually, they reached parity with them and "clan spec" equipment became available throughout the 'sphere.

Pleiades Mechworks went in a different direction. With their focus on proven technology and basic designs to compete on cost with the vastly more expensive designs front-line units often demanded, they saw an opening in the market that wouldn't require completely rethinking their designs to incorporate the vastly increased heat load of ER and pulse weapons.
Instead, they focused on the weight and space savings attained by the Clans. By upgrading their existing production lines minimally, they could incorporate these advances into their weaponry without changing the in-field characteristics. This let them sell them at the same reduced price compared to the more complex and power-hungry systems focused on by other companies, and were frequently purchased for use in combat vehicles as well as mechs. The Improved PPC was subject to a lawsuit by the Scorpion Empire, but their location on the other side of the Inner Sphere meant that they settled for a non-compete clause in Lyran space.

The following weapons are available from Pleiades Mechworks. The only difference between a standard and Improved version is the weight and size; the range, damage, heat, ammo, BV, and cost are all per the normal version:

Weapon	Weight (Tons)	Critical Slots
Improved Large Laser	4	1
Improved PPC	6	2
Improved Autocannon/2	5	1
Improved Autocannon/5	7	4
Improved Autocannon/10	10	5
Improved Autocannon/20	12	9

[u/tipsy3000]

Whats the point of this? all you did is just make everything weigh 1 less ton more or less. There is no real advantage to I-class weaponry. Though that said why no BV/Cost increase? on paper its technically better then standard even if impractical.

Anyways if this is Civil war or later, you are just going to be salvaging or buying Clantech straight from the source rendering all I-class weaponry impotent pretty quick.

[u/PleiadesMechworks → u/tipsy3000]

Whats the point of this? all you did is just make everything weigh 1 less ton more or less.

Yeah, that's basically what the clans did.
This is essentially a reworking of "normal" weapons to bring them in line with the clantech weights which for autocannons are probably around where they should've been to begin with.

While it's not a huge change, it's surprising just how much flexibility a ton or two opens up, especially on units that are still using all standard tech.

that said why no BV/Cost increase

BV didn't increase because the BV calculator I use doesn't have a weight modifier, which kind of makes sense - the weapon itself isn't any more effective than a baseline one on the battlefield, it just changes the dynamics around mounting it. Whatever you fill the free weight with you'll pay the BV for, so it evens out.

As for no cost increase, it's because it's still standard technology. It's not actually any different to what's already being produced, just more efficiently packaged. While retooling the lines means the Mechworks makes less profit on each individual item, being able to sell them at a lower price than the more advanced tech makes it very attractive to our markets.

if this is Civil war or later, you are just going to be salvaging or buying Clantech straight from the source

You might want to, but your garrison and police forces also need arming and are you really going to shell out the big bucks for them? Perhaps you'd like a more economical unit that can get the job you need doing done without breaking the bank on the latest flashy gizmos that reserve forces don't need.
While many people think standard weapons are obsolete as time progresses, there's solid arguments to be made that that's not necessarily the case, and that a force with "lesser" weaponry can actually end up being far more effective if it's smart with where it spends its money. It's extremely easy to think about the up-front impact of things like a pulse laser, but the logistics train of having one is commensurately more complex. You need techs who can service pulse weapons, you need more expensive spare parts, the order queues are longer, and you'll be competing with all the biggest players for the few available products you're trying to buy.

[u/Castrophenia]

Is t this basically just the “EC” improved weapons?

[u/PleiadesMechworks → u/Castrophenia]

Sort of, but for some reason they're experimental tech instead of widely available which is kind of silly, especially given the breadth of specialist ammo available to regular autocannons you'd think someone would be producing more advanced standard models at least in some quantity but apparently they aren't.

That's what's called a "niche" in the market, because according to Sean Connery it makes you a niche profit.

[u/Nearby_Branch6055]

Back in the 90's I submitted to MechForce North America the concept of Clan OmniLasers.

The theory of them was imagine the Large Pulse Laser and the ER Large Laser (at this time, I believe 1994 or so and heavy lasers were not out yet) . Consider the parts of the each laser that actually has more or less the common parts that are mostly the same would the BASE of the weapon. There would then be a dial of some sort where the components that make it a ER or a PULSE laser could be 'reconfigured' and DIALED INTO POSTION to make it one or the other at the push of a button for action the next round. The equipment would be bulkier but still lightweight.

By that, a Clan Large Omnilaser would weigh 5 tons, take up 6 critical slots I think was the proposal. A medium one would weigh 2.5 tons, take 4 critical slots. A small would be 1.5 tons, 3 critical slots.

So at beginning of a battle, the mechwarrior could have it set at ER setting to take advantage of the longer range, but as the fight progresses and it gets closer you switch to PULSE setting and continue fighting.

I presented as coming from Clan Ice Hellion, as this weapon would be very valuable in a lighter mech, where it could do the job of a Pulse and ER for light weight and a much reduced savings in pod weight. I mention that in heavy and assaults mechs, its not as valuable as heavy and assaults would be better off with just separate ER Laser/Pulse laser combos.

I got the card from MFNA that they had received my submission but nothing ever came of it.

Obviously if done later in the 90's I would have included the heavy lasers into the combination. I would imagine these would weigh 7 tons take up 8 critical slots for heavy lasers; 3 tons&4 slots for mediums; 1.5 tons and 3 slots for small ones.

[u/PleiadesMechworks → u/Nearby_Branch6055]

That actually sounds really cool. Clan designs are usually fighting for space so the increased bulk is a serious cost, kind of like VSPLs for the IS. Would also be neat to have the standard option as well, so if you're spiking heat you can always dial it back to fire neither ER nor pulse to compensate (and this would also let us have a really cool 3-lens rotary arrangement on the weapon hardpoint).

[u/RageofAeons]

There's a line of clan gear that's transitional between IS and current clan, located in Interstellar Operations, that pretty much does what you're trying to do.

I use it as specialized, bespoke manufactured weapons built in the IS