BATTLETECH: Dropships

[@bo_shepardttv3639]

Hey peeps. Make sure you are still subscribed to this great channel. I just looked and realized I got magically unsubscribed to this channel very annoying but I resubscribed.

[@RidinDirtyRollinBurnouts]

This happened to me too, I only realized it when seeing this comment. KZbin is evil I suppose

[@samuelbaldwin2184]

Happened to me too. Thanks

[@leejeromejardinejohnson8431]

Same wth

[@wellhello1575]

resubscribed. would not have even checked without your notice.

[@mattcarper9853]

Capellans......

[@krissteel4074]

You do realise you've just opened the never ending madness of detailing individual types of dropships and aerospace fighters :)

[@AZJamieone]

Battletech is infinite content baybee

[@pyroteknic420]

Warships and jump ships also!

[@panoramatint]

Oh the huge manatee

[@stevenclark2188]

The Argo is an interesting classification too. In the process of trying to invent a viable 'Hero ship' for a mercenary unit HBS exposed the fact that the setting was accidentally missing command-and-support ships in between warships and landed dropships.

[@anexistanthuman2435]

A fortress that can be dropped from orbit, and completely invincible to all but a focused assault. I’ve always wanted to scratch build a model of one for my com guards.

[@BigRed40TECH]

That'd be fantastic. One of my favourite drop-ships

[@toddkes5890]

Blow up a balloon to the right size and putting paper-mache on the outside would give you a hemisphere. Depending on if you want a spheroid or egg-shaped Dropship you might cover the top of the balloon as well. From there, remove the balloon carefully (so you don't wreck the shape), and add items/paint/details to make the vessel.

[@TheGreenKnight500]

I've got some good 3D print files for drop ships. A lot of them provide both mech scale and map scale files. I printed some out and they're really nice

[@theJellyjoker]

I 3D printed a map scale spheroid dropship

[@observationsfromthebunker9639]

If you can find some old plastic Easter eggs you'll be off to a good start.

[@maxanderson2180]

For every game, campaign or book we've read, a drop ship has been our home amongst the stars more often than not

[@Tzilandi]

"Our DropShips peal out thunder, shrieking down through cloven skies; As a planet's grim defenders gather in a host to die; Then open hatch! Forward men! Enemy in sight! They're closing now, the battle's joined. All 'Mechs prepare to fight!"

[@pmcollectorboy2929]

A wild Darius appears. It uses "obsolete field data". It's super effective.

[@mysticdragonwolf89]

For MechWarrior 5 Mercs, there’s a mod that changes the Leopard dropship to a Union dropship. It has landing and interstellar model replacements and can shoot missiles at enemies that get too close. It also changes the interior so you no longer have to do that jog from hanger to command center. It’s still a WIP - but even in its current stage, it works. It’s the sole reason why I uninstalled the “Skip interstellar jump” mod. Now I can watch my Union dropship in its glory.

[@jamesmortimer4016]

The fortress is more of what 21century terran navies would call an assault ship. A single vessel carrying everything needed to perform and support a quick landing

[@thieupham493]

Unfortunately a single fighter carrier renders it moot and worthless. Fighters can easily get behind a dropship and take out the engines. After that, it's a simple choice between negotiations or salvage. The same can be said for a jump ship. They took a contract to delivery a hostile force, they cannot claim innocence and the laws for salvage should be very clear for any jump ship without an LF battery.

[@jamesmortimer4016]

@thieupham493 Well yes, a sufficient amount of aerospace fighters can take down any dropship... or a sufficiently fanatical pilot. But the defensive weaponry that all military dropships carry usually permits them a dave landing unless the number of fighters is truely ridiculous. If it is, they'll have to bring along their own or a couple air/voidsuperiority dropships that carry more weapons instead of mechs. So yes, a world with that level of defenses couldn't be taken by a single fortress. But they'll send more than just one fortress and once one of thode touches down, you can say goodbye to any airbases on the ground. Even if your aerospace contingent was carrier based, losses suffered durring initial interception coupled with the loss of landing and rearming opportunities on the ground will heavily reduce the number of sorties they can fly. Dropships are very tough beasts. The fortress is still as tough, it just get a gun that dwarfs a longtom as well

[@knowonescyclops5677]

Battletech is so much more than battlemechs. Thank you for going into detail on something that is over looked but just as important than the mechs. Keep it up your videos are awesome.

[@thuggeegaming659]

No one overlooks them, the game is about battlemechs. They are supposed to be more important. The rules are stacked in favor for the battlemechs for this reason. The rulebooks even admit this.

[@bthsr7113]

The mechs are the star, but I do appreciate that the setting tries to make them only the star player and not the whole dang team. It tries to keep tanks, fighters, and infantry relevant, which is more than a lot of mech centric settings do. Heck, the only other one I can think of is early UC Gundam. Back when there was just Mobile Suit Gundam, and there no need for second name.

[@thuggeegaming659]

@@bthsr7113 I can't speak about early UC Gundam, but all the alt universe Gundams had Gundams as the only machine that mattered. Gundam Seed and Seed Destiny were pretty much the worst offender of this. It seemed like every other war machine (especially the space ships) only use was to get blown up by the way OP hero Gundams with mega plot armor.

[@bthsr7113]

@@thuggeegaming659 That tracks with what I've heard of seed and seed destiny, though there was apparently one tank that traded kills with a mobile suit in one of the less well known Cosmic Era titles. And he did it to protect civvies, so points there. For a little while the Mobile Workers in IBO were relevant, and they were pretty sleek machines. Glass cannons, but fairly nimble and packing capable hardpoint mounted weapons. They were definitely outclassed though, so outside of effective hit and run tactics, they'd get hammered in direct engagements.

[@thuggeegaming659]

@@bthsr7113 Well defeating a mobile suit isn't anything special unless it's a hero MS. If it's piloted by a main character, it gets super magical plot armor, otherwise its armor is tinfoil.

[@R17inator]

Spherical/lander-like dropships always looked cooler and more original to me than the plane/shuttle-like dropships. I wish future MechWarrior and BattleTech games gave you a Union instead of a Leopard, if not at the start, then as a later upgrade.

[@Chris_Sizemore]

The spheroid drop ships are the most common form of lander. The aerodynamic style dropships are military focused and usually intended for engaging in direct combat. The Leopard is unusual in its design. The intention there is the Leopard is suppose to be able to infiltrate and evade enemy aerospace and ground interceptors to deliver a lance of mech to dangerous drop points. A Leopard from a design standpoint is a high risk - high reward focused craft. Other more traditional landers focus on being safe and stable, depending on thick armor and other craft to screen them from danger.

[@Original-Yellow]

Dropship upgrades would solve the narrative issue of growing your company

[@cobalt968]

I wonder if any dropship pilots in-universe would also prefer to pilot Unions/Overlords as opposed to the Leopard? Leopards have sometimes been described as a flying brick.

[@blackmage665]

@@cobalt968 That description only matters because from what others have said, unlike the union or overlord, the leopard goes into direct combat zones.

[@juangalton999]

Heck, Mech Assault used a union instead of a Leopard like MW5. I do think logistically they both have their merits.

[@Sir.suspicious]

My first time seeing a dropship was in mechcommander, I was a little kid and was perplexed by it's spherical shape that was so different from any other spaceships I had seen before, and it's size was massive

[@mr6johnclark]

if only battletech made a flight sim controlling shuttles, dropships, warships and jumpships.

[@thuggeegaming659]

There was a pen and paper game called Battlespace, and later Aerotech 2. But from what I read, neither were very popular. They had to make the rules such that all the space ships were kinda crap. If they were too good, people would quickly realize that there was no point to using battlemechs in the first place, which is the whole selling point of Battletech, and what separates it from other sci fi things which have much larger and more powerful ships.

[@depth386]

Kerbal Space Program is what you need

[@erikbjelke4411]

It's one of the things that makes BattleTech so interesting, when you dig into the mechanics of how space travel actually works. Without the compact KF drives of WarShips, a JumpShip devotes 95% of its mass to its drive. They're accurately described as jump engines with a cockpit bolted on. DropShips are really where interstellar travel takes place, until the reintroduction of WarShips (and WarShips were rather quickly phased back out around the Jihad, sadly). You spend most of your time on the DropShip, waiting for the JumpShip to recharge. If you don't have your own JumpShip, you might pick up "connecting flights," piggybacking one JumpShip for a few jumps because it's usual route is the way you want to go, then leaving it and transferring to another JumpShip because now it's going the way you want to go. When you finally reach your destination, you detach from the JumpShip and burn about a week from the zenith or nadir jump points above or below the system's star to the inhabited world you're going to. When you're done, it's about a week's flight back to connect to a JumpShip and leave. This also shows why WarShips went extinct and JumpShips quickly became off-limits as targets. Destroy the enemy's JumpShips when you arrive in-system, they're stuck and can't leave. You have them cornered. Adding to all this, BattleTech does not have magic artificial gravity. If there isn't a rotating section on the JumpShip (which there probably isn't, WarShips tend to have them, though), the only gravity you'll get while traveling is when the DropShip accelerates at 1g towards its destination, and only while it's accelerating. It all adds up to make space travel difficult, dangerous, time consuming, and relatively unpleasant. Someone on the BT forums crunched the numbers, and showed that a JumpShip actually outperforms a Star Trek ship traveling at about Warp 5. But that Star Trek ship, especially if going by Next Gen designs, is a spaceborne hotel with plush carpet, luxury lounges, and all kinds of entertainment. A BattleTech DropShip is much more like the Nostromo, without even the cold comfort of being in cryosleep for most of the trip (pun intended).

[@robertgriffin662]

Awesome video! Looking at TRO-3057 (the 2nd TRO I ever owned back in the '90s) while watching. Dropships are 2nd only to mechs as my favorites!

[@vulpinemachine]

Great video. But I was not expecting the sudden British pronunciation of hegemony at 8:29.

[@AWholeLegionary]

Manitee: Pretty sure it's an egg. Union: Yep, it had laid this egg.

[@B4umkuchen]

I remember seeing one of these things for the first time. For a moment thought that thing looks like a harmless mushroom, then their Gaus Cannons hit me...

[@lelouche25]

Even though its just a damn ball, the union class is still one of my all tie. Favorite battltech ships.

[@robbybarbera]

Outstanding! I have always enjoyed the space aspects of BattleTech. Looking forward to any that you cover in-depth.

[@BigRed40TECH]

Much appreciated!

[@EricDaMAJ]

It saddens me the only animated graphics for dropships and jumpships is the HBS game. It's a good game but I want more! Also, the plural for "colossus" is "colossi."

[@BigRed40TECH]

In Microsoft word it came up as Colossuses, same with Google just now. I'm sure that you're not wrong, I'm just going with what the spell-checker told me to.

[@theapostatejack8648]

There are Dropships in the cutscenes for Mechcommander and (briefly) Mechwarrior 3. They also appear in Mechwarrior 2 and 4 missions.

[@BoisegangGaming]

@@BigRed40TECH Yeah its probably a per-dialect thing. Technically, it would be Colossi due to its roots as a Greco-Roman word, but "colossuses" still works in English, even if it does have one too many "s"es.

[@thaipankatima658]

I was really hoping we'd see the fortress class dropship in Battletech. When Commodore Samuel Ostergard arrived, I was really looking forward to fight his whole company and his castle. But alas, twas not meant to be. Still, these large dropships are pretty iconic with their spherical shape. When you see them dropping from the sky, you know immediately that the war has come to the surface. I hope to see them make a return in the next mechwarrior.

[@georgesulea]

Very cool and thorough. Nicely Done!

[@BigRed40TECH]

I put a lot of time into it, so I was hoping people would enjoy it :)

[@Alpha_Digamma]

Can't wait for the model specific videos. Keep up the good work. 🙂👍

[@terrinils3165]

Good job Big Red, as always. I know you said you were nervous, but this is top quality content. It reminds me of why I love this setting so much. I'm happy aerospace carriers got a mention. I've been in love with the FWL's Gorgon Carrier for a long time now. Believe it or not, I bought Hunting Season just to see if the Gorgon was going to be featured. Sadly, I didn't see it. Maybe I'll have to reread.

[@BigRed40TECH]

Just a bit of content I'm unused to, I thought the video was good of course, I'm just nervous when dipping my toe in uncertain waters. :)

[@stephenknizek2651]

Vengeance class carrier holds six full aerospace fighter squadrons…beautiful.

[@jordanheath53]

Dude!! This is amazing. This is what I've been looking for for a while.

[@MrPodaky]

Wow your presentation just upped up to a 100. That's fantastic man! You somehow made your super informative vids into a spectacular show and display.

[@BigRed40TECH]

Thank you! :D

[@AndrewChumKaser]

Of course the tourians would make the fortress. Only people like them could come up with something as hair brained and terrifyingly effective as "Hey you know those Dropships we're using to put mechs on the ground? Let's stick guns on em'."

[@BigRed40TECH]

The Taurians didn't make the design, the Fortress is across the IS. They just use it in the video game.

[@AndrewChumKaser]

@@BigRed40TECH Ah, well then.

[@bthsr7113]

And unarmed dropships are a rarity. Even civilian ones often have some weapons for self defense.

[@fernandozavaletabustos205]

Thanks a lot for anothe interesting lore video!

[@davidtherwhanger6795]

The thing I never did like about Battletech Dropships (military ones at least) is that they seem to be for one mission only. Only carrying enough ordnance and fuel for one fight of any kind. The Fighter Carriers being the worst example of these. Take the Vengeance class mentioned here. It carries 40 Aerospace Fighters. On average those fighters would have 5 tons of fuel in their tanks. That's 200 tons of fuel to refuel them for one more strike/ mission beyond what they would have had when loaded (if they didn't fly to the carrier, or refueled on the carrier then the carrier topped off it's own tanks). The Vengeance class only carries 500 tons of fuel. And only has 250 tons of cargo space. Those fighters are going to need more ammunition for most fighters. Say on average 2 tons each. That's 80 tons of ammunition. In a nutshell you would be able to only barely squeeze 3 sorties out of this vessel's carried fighters before the consumables where too depleted. And that is under the best of conditions. Fighting your way in or out would also count against this, so you could be screwed if enemy reinforcements show up. I think assault ships and fighter carriers should carry more fuel and ammunition. At least enough for 100 shots per weapon on board, 100 tons of fuel for each small craft, and 100 tons of ammunition space (cargo) for each armed small craft and fighter. This allows for much longer duration loiter/ patrol missions and extended combat operations.

[@BoisegangGaming]

I think it comes down to how writers often have no sense of scale. This isn't to say it's bad, just that it's a general problem across almost all of Sci-Fi. It could perhaps be described as most Warfare in battletech being short, low-intensity conflicts, so maybe that's why they're almost one-and-done, but, yeah, they should probably pack some extra stuff lol

[@davidtherwhanger6795]

@@BoisegangGaming I always attributed it to most of them at FASA had never actually been in any military. i.e. no real experience with logistics.

[@BoisegangGaming]

@@davidtherwhanger6795 Honestly, the vast majority of most writers, creators, etc. have never served in the military, and those that did might not have even paid much attention to how the logistical situation played out beyond their own.

[@davidtherwhanger6795]

@@BoisegangGaming I'll give you the first one. But the second one, maybe if they where not in the Navy or Air Force. I was a sailor. Everyone had to help load on supplies at some point.

[@jellico1238]

Most older DropShips were designed and built at a time when they didn't have to feed themselves. There were ample logistical assets. Even today there is no law saying that you cannot pair a Vengeance with a Mule.

[@RyeFields]

If only there were more naval players

[@colbyboucher6391]

Yeah. I actually think BattleTech is at it's best when you're running a company, and mechs are actually rare / valuable assets, so you get majority combined arms forces. It helps to explain why Mechs are almost universally generalists, why they sometimes carry anti-infantry and anti-air weapons, it's a better representation of why they're the best. Because they can do it all. (It also helps explain lights and light hunters). Naval stuff is the redheaded stepchild of BT unfortunately. I guess because people can just field artillery and be done with it, since ideas like attacking supply lines never really come into the picture.

[@dashsocur]

I'd love to explore the naval side of the game but I've been lucky just to get 4-5 mech games in over the last 3 years (much less combined arms or aerospace). The downside of being a semi-niche hobby is that it's hard to find sizeable groups of players. :/

[@spartanalex9006]

MegaMek has a good simulation of AeroTech but as a word of warning, space works better than atmosphere.

[@Drakenfoul]

Nice to see the suport vechiles get some love as well, loved the vid!👍👌

[@BigRed40TECH]

Thank you! 👍

[@jamesvoicepro3345]

Was I the only one to notice the amazing phraseology that was ‘jump missiles’. Well played good sir, well played.

[@greysonjones5429]

Thanks for the amazing video as usual Red. Because of you and BPL, I really want to make a campaign where me and whomever I play with build up our entire assault force from mechs to dropships and then duke it out on the tabletop with whatever we have. My King Crabs and their lesser kin would be endless XD.

[@TroySeward]

Nice job really liked this video. I enjoy your Battletech videos.

[@BigRed40TECH]

Glad to hear it!

[@tomcarroll1297]

Love this. Really interested in this topic. Sorry to see no mention of the Lion.

[@BigRed40TECH]

Just doing a basic overview with this one.

[@derekburge5294]

I still wince whenever I see the Iberia go down in HBS BT. The ginger had to die, no question, but damn that was a lot of wasted metal.

[@BigRed40TECH]

Irreplacable Dropship you say? XD

[@BoisegangGaming]

Star League virus go brrrrrrrr

[@mancer0]

Actually really like the dropship aspect of battletech. I wish more of the games would have some kind of dropship gameplay. Like, you had to pick your drop point strategically and secure it. Load out and upgrade dropships. Kind of like what Hair Brain Schemes did but A little more in depth. Obviously most of the time you would spend in a dropship would be in transit that would have to be skipped or sped up.

[@tripwire31]

Hell yeah, great video and I love the outro card!!!!

[@kevinmulkey9774]

Getting there is half the fun!

[@ryankruchowski1951]

Our DropShips peal out thunder, shrieking down through cloven skies: As the planet's grim defenders gather in a host to die" Then open hatch! Forward men! Enemy in sight! They're closing now, the battle's joined. All 'Mechs prepare to Fight.

[@steveharrison76]

*fires off a 21 PPC salute* Bravo sir!

[@BigRed40TECH]

Thank you!

[@wolfjarlgrbane5771]

One dropship is why so many are complaining as the game MW5 has a leopard a Lance Dropper. Yet you have slots basically for a company minus a Command Lance wich can be seprate.

[@toddkes5890]

I like one Dropship design a person had - Warlord Mk 2. It carries: - 40 Battlemechs - 120 Heavy vehicles (51-100 tons) - 120 light vehicles (

[@DIEGhostfish]

And all the damn storage space, and the ability to refitnin flight

[@abarraclough5341]

I recognise the music at the start is from somewhere I recognise but it’s doing my head in thinking where from

[@swiftmatic]

Great stuff, Red!

[@BigRed40TECH]

I really enjoyed making this one. It was so long ago! lol

[@pete7872]

Dropships are awesome! Theyre so big and droppy and shippy!

[@StarUnionPrime]

First time I saw a Union on TT was as a football paint black with a squareish base on bottom.

[@Dokdiamant]

Okay, this was over the Dropships in an Overlook, with it's history behind them and I must say, verrrrry interesting! :D One thing I have to add however is the Customization Options for some of the Models, or especially one when it comes to different Roles. The Union and Leopard are often used, not only as Military Vessels, but also as Civilian ones. Some are refitted to do this Task. They often are ex Military vessels, buyed "second Hand" and are often used in the Periphery States by Traders. They are refit to store more goods, a special kind of goods and for more Service Crew and Vehicles. Sometimes they behold their Mechbays for delivering or security guard purpose... but depending on the wealth of the merchant or company that own them, the mechs are in a more or less bad shape, also "second, third, forth... hand" or repaired "battlefield finds". Often such an "Civilian" Union is escorted by one military one, like a leopard, if they have to fly through "Problematic Space Zones" with Pirate Activity. And sometimes some Military class Dropships becomes some kind of quick outside refit, to Camouflage their true Identity and class... Like the one from the Gray Death Trilogy, a Union that was Camouflaged by taking out some guns and replace the ports with Armor, so it would look like the one of a merchant, that came to Trellwan once a year but instead it was... Let's not spoiler it if someone not have read this important part of Battletech History. ^^ ;-) Oh and some Union Class also have small Hangars for 2 - 4 Air / Space fighters or Scout Fighters. One was possession of the Mercenary outfit, the Gray Death Legion in the second Novel of the Gray Death Trilogy. I think that is all I have to say for now to this Theme. Have a Nice Day. :-)

[@alvinadorno6105]

Even the clicks game had dropships. It was so big.

[@yecnay25]

~Our DropShips peal out thunder, shrieking down through cloven skies; As a planet's grim defenders gather in a host to die; Then open hatch! Forward men! Enemy in sight! They're closing now, the battle's joined. All 'Mechs prepare to fight!~

[@Timberjac]

A very nice video. Thanks.

[@BigRed40TECH]

Glad you liked it!

[@Arron-S]

Premiers 1am local time here. I'll catch it in the morning! I hope it goes well. I'm sure the content will be top notch 😀

[@curiouscreations99]

What you telling me you don't stay up till 3am to get the notification that it'll be airing in 4 hour and then stay up waiting for that?

[@BigRed40TECH]

Who wouldn't?!

[@Arron-S]

@@BigRed40TECH us clanners lol

[@lordsherifftakari4127]

my Battletech forces start with the means to get them where I need or want them. Dropships. unrivaled Workhorses of the BT Universe. the Jumpship is only part of the logistical Puzzle comprising but the first step in the order of battle. but the Dropship is there for everything else that follows. one game I love to play involves players having to design their forces and logistics to support a Regimental Combat Team. 1x Regiment of Mechs 1x Regiment of Aerospace Fighters 3-5 Regiments of Vehicles. at least 4 Regiments of Infantry or P.A. suited soldiers/Elementals. all material equipment, fuel, transport, repair, Administrative, Medical and more the player can or may think they need. all of this packed into known or Verified Dropship Designs to get them planetside following a disastrous Misjump. this Campaign can be quite fun and entertaining, even for those not actively participating as they read each turn's Battle Reports from the Active players.

[@bthsr7113]

And there is one Dropship that can carry an entire regimental combat team.

[@ovarb12]

Very sweet

[@g-man4439]

Another great video! Appreciate the bit on multi-role dropships, i think video game developers realize the need of flexible transports in the campaigns. How do you increase the presence of these in-game, while also not overshadowing the mechs?

[@MOrab46019]

Great video

[@BigRed40TECH]

Thanks! It was a lot of work, so I'm really happy people seem to be enjoying it. :)

[@Gozza71]

There would be no Battletech without drop ships. Highly undervalued part of the game. Both in tabletop and more so in videogames.

[@JosephMitchell-zw3db]

Nice work thanks

[@stormcrow28]

Another great video about the eggs and wings of Battletech, the Dropship, @BigRed40K. What's your favorite Dropship?

[@johndoe1.196]

🎶The wheels on the dropship go round and round, round and round🎶... It's a giant grab bag of salvation...or destruction.😳

[@GnarledStaff]

Thanks for this, I've been wondering about dropships for awhile. Been thinking about using them as an excuse for tonnage based games. But I'm interested in more than simply limiting units by tonnage. Maybe space and cbill limitations...

[@randomnetsurfer]

16:10 "blood vessels" I see what you did there! :D

[@moldock40k]

I'm ready for warships!

[@BigRed40TECH]

I am not lol

[@RyeFields]

I'm sure Tex would happily talk about space gunboats more

[@haroldbenton979]

The sheer costs in C bills would make fielding a warship more than a single warship cost prohibitive for any mercenary company.

[@BigRed40TECH]

@@haroldbenton979 There was a mercenary unit that was a dedicated warship unit. It ceased to exist though during the Blakist era.

[@moldock40k]

I'm just here for the lore lol

[@michaelpfister1283]

Excellent video! One thing missing from the "new" ships: Pocket Warships. These are really just beefed-up Assault Dropships designed for anti-warship operations. Maybe you could find a place to talk about them? The up-gunned Achilles is really awesome.

[@Dracobyte]

The heroes without cape in the Battletech universe!

[@keihardejan]

You should look in too the Battlesuits of the T'AU Empire in 40K, i would love a lore video on that by you! Anyway awsome video on these ships i loved every second.

[@BigRed40TECH]

I have an entire Tau army. But I don't cover 40k (ironically) at this point.

[@keihardejan]

@@BigRed40TECH mabey one day Shas vre. Do it for The Greater Good 😉

[@williamjanak2013]

Will there me more Dropships with rotating sections like in HBS Battletech in the future? For to me that is the only thing 'new' that could really happen to them until new tech is discovered. Or people finally figure out how Solaris 's Force Fields work. So many more videos I need to watch from you.

[@jeffersonian000]

The Dropship and Jumpship construction rules overlap, with the largest Dropships being larger than the smallest Jumpships, which means you can fit a Jump Drive into a Dropship, and still have enough room with a naval small laser and enough artillery to support the company of Mechs you can transport. The ultimate one-stop-shop.

[@GliderBane]

The only amusement the enlisted drop ship crew get is manually dumping the lav over inappropriate targets.

[@danielmartinezmartinez441]

suggestions for next vids: Caesar, Scorpion (mech), Rakshasa, wolftrap

[@BigRed40TECH]

I won't be covering Quads anytime soon. I think the Caesar and the Wolf Trap will be covered sooner than later.

[@kythebengzon8023]

Ah yes one of the most iconic parts of battlemech just as much as it is disappointing because if you ever try do a ship battle with these guys they'll get creamed by everything else in the Sci fi lineup.

[@shellbackbeau7021]

I don't want to be in the battletech universe, but if I found myself in it, I would work my onto the dropship life. I'm sure they need Boatswain's Mates too

[@shellbackbeau7021]

Or go work as a mech engineer if I can get into the correct engineering uni.

[@Chris_Sizemore]

Warships get mentioned several times in this video. I'm going to give a brief explanation. Warships are a general term that refer to very large ships that are focused on space combat, with a lesser support role of planetary bombardment. Warships mount very large versions of mech based weapons referred to as Naval Weapons. The Naval version of weapons typically weigh over 100 times as much as a mech version of the same weapon. They typically do slightly more damage than a mech weapon, but have tremendously more range than a mech weapon. They also produce enormous amounts of heat. Naval weapons can't be used against small craft. The smallest targets they can acquire are drop ships. Most warships carry a mix of naval and mech weapons. Warships are broken into two categories: System ships and Jump Capable. The Inner Sphere no long has the production capability or technical expertise necessary to produce jump capable Warships. Warships produced after the 2nd Succession War would be system ships, and according to the philosophies and trends of war the Great Houses moved away from using Warships to focusing on ground combat. The destruction caused by orbital bombardment was too much for the fragile remains of the Inner Sphere to handle. The vast majority of Warships were destroyed in the 1st and 2nd Succession Wars and for the most part, not replaced as most of the manufacturing capability for spacecraft was focused on cheaper and faster to produce models. The Clans have the technical expertise to produce jump capable ships, but lack the manufacturing facilities needed to produce these behemoths. The Clans are dependent on the Warships that the SLDF used in the exodus. The Clans may have some ability to produce new Warships, and the worlds they have captured should include many facilities that could be upgraded to produce Jump Ships and Warships. There is a lack of information on this because space combat isn't the focus of the setting. Mech combat is the focus, drop ships are just the delivery system.

[@Chris_Sizemore]

I neglected to mention. Jump Capable Warships have jump drives that allow them to move between systems. Some jump capable Warships have docking points to allow them to move with a small fleet of escorts like commercial jump ships. System Ships lack a KF jump drive, and are either stuck in their system of manufacture, or can connect with a jump ship to travel to other systems like a drop ship. Some of the larger Warships would need a large class jumpship to travel. Commercial jumpships come in 3 different sizes based on how many connection rings they have and the size of the bubble their KF drive creates.

[@dmaxcustom]

DropShip Command: DropShip Command, here. My weapons systems are down. I’m getting the hell out of here! Holly Harris: Negative! I need more time! DropShip Command: You’re out of time! I’m not getting paid enough to die! Secure for orbital burn. Holly Harris: There’s still room in hell for your sorry carcass. DropShip Command: Look at the bright side, kid. You get to keep all the money.

[@bogatyr2473]

During the 3rd and 4th Succession wars ships like the Vengeance controlled space in the absence of true warships.

[@Andrewlik]

Video request: the most niche sarna article you can find.

[@sheilaolfieway1885]

I would like to see the working interior of a dropship like the overlord or union class I'd just like to see the inside while it's landed working refitting mechs and vehicles and such.

[@joshuasturnfield7549]

Mechwarrior 4 Vengeance Dropship Hunt Mission A Lance of Stock Shadowcat, and stock Bushwackers took three of these out. Go for the APU's and then Alpha Strike above the engine assemblies.

[@DIEGhostfish]

I believe those dropships are a unique steiner model made for the game, they look like Unions but only carry the same as a leopard. I forget the german/scandi name for them.

[@admiraltorvosaurus8513]

I see the comments already cover this but PLEASE do videos on the space faring warships of battletech, this is very interesting learning how the Mechs get to the ground to fight.

[@BigRed40TECH]

Warships won't be covered soon. They might get covered later.

[@admiraltorvosaurus8513]

@@BigRed40TECH I am patient, I can't wait for a dedicated video. Have a great time man!

[@GnarledStaff]

Im really curious to see some stats on aerospacs fighters and how they compare to mechs. I assume LRMs being limited to roughly a kilimster would also limit aerospace missiles... at least in atmosphere. But I'm really curious what they have to do to balance their existence.

[@CMDRFandragon]

Arano Restoration, this is Samuel Oostergaard of the Concord Navy, you killed my kid, im mad at you, prepare to die!-That opening clip of this video

[@treize6832]

Odd question that I haven't seen an answer to- can smaller dropships, like a Leopard, dock (in space) with larger one, like the Excalibur or Overlord?

[@andrewboyer7544]

It's kinda crazy. You mentioned the impressive Leopard from MW5 but didn't bother to mention its ability to fully refit and repair up to 12 mechs and store dozens of mechs in cold storage. It can even house its crew and act as a mobile base for extended deployments. It's most incredible ability is that its far larger inside and than outside acting as a tesseract. It truly is a wonder to behold. In all seriousness I always find the weights in BT strange. The fortress is only twice as heavy as a Saturn V rocket. An Atlas is 100 tons... but far more massive than a modern heavy tank which is 3/4 of that. I guess space magic metals are truly super light.

[@ShawnMCowles]

Super light mechs at least alleviate the ground pressure issue. Realistically heavy mechs would probably end up buried up to their knees in any sort of soft ground.

[@andrewboyer7544]

@@ShawnMCowles yeah that's an issue in a lot of fiction. The component weight is also often a sticking point. Computers and targeting lasers that weight a ton or more?

[@billtrent6520]

Also don't know if it was just me but I finlay got around to waching lightyear was I the only one who thought the Colonyship they hD look like a drop bod from battletech?

[@CRAZYUNCLE117]

I hear the dropships thunder.

[@alyssinwilliams4570]

take a behemoth and turn it into a Q-Ship, mounting capital-scale weapons and fighters :D battletech is my fave scifi setting

[@Jackelmandingo]

Those days where your RIEVER F-100 is getting ran down by a 1400 ton Avenger.

[@Raider0075]

Still waiting for an Aerotech PC game...................

[@kazekamiha]

Sorta wish HBS BT game let you fight one.

[@stormcrow28]

It's always the poor Kentarians. They can never catch a break. First deployment of Dropships of war, largest remembered mass murder of civilians, stuck in Davion space.

[@Arron-S]

Manatee Looks like a rice cooker

[@BigRed40TECH]

The troops inside, as the Davions blew them up, felt the same way.

[@the_astrokhan]

I am admittedly a newbie but for the Vengeance class, shouldn't it weigh more than what it does by an order of magnitude? 11K tons seems a little light for a 230m long, 100m wide and 20m tall hunk of metal. Same applies to the Unity and the Leopard. The in universe scales seem rather bad.

[@BigRed40TECH]

Most in-game universe numbers from most franchises are awful in any direction.

[@the_astrokhan]

@@BigRed40TECH Seeing the 40k in your name, I'm automatically making the connection to the 40k universe and it's absolute lack of understanding of scales...

[@rorythomas9469]

A Vengeance is roughly similar in size to a modern US America-class Aircraft Carrier which weighs in at 45,000 tons, to give a perspective

[@bthsr7113]

Our Dropships peel out thunder,

[@bthsr7113]

Shrieking down through cloven skies,

[@bthsr7113]

Does no one want to do the lyric chain?

[@michaelmorford3932]

I'm assuming you're going to have a video about aerospace assets in the future, but I'm curious why there haven't been Aerospace Assets with a C3 system that shares data with assets on the ground. You'd think this would be a thing in games. Is there such a thing in tabletop?

[@BigRed40TECH]

Probably not, funnily enough. I don't really find aero-space assets all that interesting in BT honestly.

[@michaelmorford3932]

@@BigRed40TECH that's saddening. Maybe eventually when you run out of material lol

[@arrowtooth]

Wonder if they ever had the idea of shoving a factory or assembly line in these dropships?

[@BigRed40TECH]

This has been done, but its done on bigger ships, like arcships, or warships.

[@arrowtooth]

That is awesome to know Ty 😊

[@michaelmorford3932]

One thing that is rarely mentioned in Battletech/Mechwarrior is the logistical fleets that must be traversing from planet to orbit and then from planet to destination. How are these not more of a target? Why go after the mechs of an enemy fleet when you can go for the soft underbelly of their logistical fleet to cripple their capabilities?

[@BigRed40TECH]

It's mentioned pretty consistently in newer lore to be fair.

[@michaelmorford3932]

@@BigRed40TECH ahhh, I need to start reading the books. I have recently re-fell in love with the entire setting.

[@Leoluvesadmira]

I prefer the leopard or the Clan Board Sword class dropship even if they can only carry a lance or star of battlemechs

[@NevynAtAll42]

Don't have a lot that hasn't already been said Red; just FYI, the plural of Colossus is, I am almost totally certain, Colossi. Tiny thing, but I spent so many years in speech therapy learning how to speak English properly, many things irk me. I can live with it, but I will also let people know the right way. Up to each if they learn, or ignore; I've done both before, depending on random shite in my life, so it's all good.

[@BigRed40TECH]

In Microsoft word it came up as Colossuses, same with Google just now. I'm sure that you're not wrong, I'm just going with what the spell-checker told me to.

[@craigstege6376]

I mean that's an etymology argument that reminds me of octopuses and octopi. English luminaries of the past enshrined some weird shit historically. Octopi got enshrined by Romantics of the past, however the word octopus is Greek in origin and the greeks didn't pruralize with -i. As a result both spellings are recognized, though octopuses is actually technically correct. Colossus muddies the waters even more. English took the word from Latin. The catch? The Romans took the word from Greek. Its a borrowed borrowed word. Colossuses is technically more correct than colossi if you're interested in satisfying the true etymology of the word, but colossi is valid as it adheres to the strange history of English.

[@eduardor-o4884]

What are your thoughts on frankenmechs? Like the corsair for example.

[@BigRed40TECH]

That's a pretty broad question. Thoughts in what way?

[@eduardor-o4884]

@@BigRed40TECH like in the history or usage of the mechs. Based on what I've read Frankenmechs were built out of desperation in a war so they picked up whatever scraps of mechs they could find and built a mech of different parts. Since you know your stuff I was interested on your thoughts on them.

[@BigRed40TECH]

@@eduardor-o4884 Their usage is extremely rare because they're incredibly unreliable and perform poorly for the most part. I don't have a lot of thoughts about them not because I dislike them or anything, but because they're really just a footnote. They exist, they tend to appear when a situation is very bad, and they're not particularly functional tbh.

[@eduardor-o4884]

@@BigRed40TECH ok. Thanks for the input, I was just curious cause I thought it was interesting to see something like a Frankenstein mech that was built entirely of different parts. Thanks again!👍