Battletech Lore - What are Industrial Mechs?

[@franksmedley8619]

Hello Grim. IMs, (Industrial Mechs) are an often overlooked resource in the game. Most players don't delve into such details, even to support their Mercenary Companies. The vast majority of players just lop off some figure 'off the top' of their proceeds earned to cover their needs and leave it at that. This, is lazy thinking. IMs are important. They can do things vehicles can't, in places that vehicles either can't reach, or would require vast expenditures of the Unit's treasury to access. IMs can access these locations easily, and relatively speaking, cheaply. Properly designed IMs can make the establishment of an underground base, built into the planetary bedrock of an Ice World fairly easy, and far cheaper than using an all vehicle approach to the problem. Vehicles in such a case would be far better at hauling the 'spoil' off to be processed for useful materials and industrially important metals. The resulting powdered rock to be 'compressed' and 'vitrified' (melted) in molds to construct your base with. Properly done, such molds would have conduit channels and access-ways within them to allow the laying of electrical, water, air, etc conduits and wiring as needed, or desired. Building your buildings several layers thick, with 'air gaps' for insulation purposes would vastly reduce heat loss from the innermost, heated chambers of such buildings. And the outer layers could be set up with liquid piping to collect and remove excess heat that makes it to the surface layers. Done right, you have 'shirt sleeve' environments inside, with sub-zero exteriors. ICEs, (Internal Combustion Engines) are NOT what most players envision. They can be made to burn almost anything as 'fuel'. No Oil, no Coal, no 'other' fuels? No problem. Melt ice, run an electrical current through it and you get Oxygen and Hydrogen. Burn THEM as your 'fuel'. For the above example, you have crap loads of ice to use, why not use it? You already start out with several dozens of Fusion Cores. Why not use a small one to 'kick start' your extraction process? Heck, keep it running to maintain a steady supply of 'fuel' for your ICEs. And use IC Engines in your Industrial Mechs, vehicles, and power generation plants. Ah, I hear the mental gears grinding... where do you get the H3 for the Fusion Engines? Why the Kuiper Belt, of course! Jump Ships mostly jump to the 'poles' of a Star at distances out to around the orbit of Neptune. Which means they are FAR away from the Kuiper Belt in any case, and even Warships would have nearly no chance to detect what little heat might leak from mining several dozen such icy bodies for H3 Fusion Core fuel. Given a Charon sized Kuiper Object. One could bore to it's core and then practically strip mine one's way out to just under the surface over enough time. Processing the H3, and allowing the standard ice to just re-melt as you go. Heck, the overall mass of the Object wouldn't even change enough to be detectable at the ranges that Jumpships leap into star systems. By the time you have fully exploited a given Kuiper Object, the system population would rival that of any half dozen primary Inner Sphere core worlds. So, back-stabbed by a House? No worries. Find a good star system, with a few usable ice worlds, an asteroid belt or two for minerals extraction, and a Kuiper Belt, and you're set to eventually create your own Civilization. So... IMs are IMPORTANT. Possibly More Important that your combat Mechs. Since they can enable one to start and keep going, a fully functional, solar system wide, civilization... eventually. Meanwhile, the Mercenary 'Company' that started all this acts as the gradually diminishing support needed to get the tools, people, supplies, and parts needed to make oneself independent in the end. All made possible by the Company's profits, and acquisitions being spread out so as to not cause any suspicious 'bumps' in various spread sheets. If done with 'cash', and 'off the books', it's even harder for suspicious someones to get a whiff of just what you are up to, even if their twisted minds could conceive of the idea. Whups... ended up with a bit a 'rant' there. Frank-ly spoken.

[@77Arcturus]

Awesome hardcore read. Reminds me of the writing in the BATTLETECH manual with all is scientific and lore writing. Thanks for the stimulating words and happy gaming :)

[@franksmedley8619]

@@77Arcturus The above is not all that can be done by an enterprising and forwards thinking Merc group. Far from it in fact. For instance... those same ICE engines? They can power and heat vast green houses. Melting the surrounding ice for filtering it for use in hydroponics beds of staggering size over time. Mining the surrounding rock will net you plenty of the minerals needed for the plants as well. Just add bacterial cultures to the powdered rock and you eventually get 'soil', for more 'normal' crops (reference: Robert Heinlein; Farmer in the Sky). Composting the excess and left overs gives plenty of fertilizer, especially if you hook in the filtered Human Waste from your waste treatment plant(s) into the cycle as well (human solid waste can also be used, mostly dried, for Mushroom Caves). And you are NOT limited to what is available in that particular solar system either. One can easily move enough people and equipment into a nearby star system to plant a 'fallen' colony that still has the ability to do asteroid mining, as well as mining valuable materials on the planet of the 'failed' colony. Your Drop Ships and Jump Ship making regular runs to and from the system, properly 'disguised' as semi-honest pirates and 'Free Traders', making ends meet by moving such cargoes into the more inhabited worlds on the fringe of the Inner Sphere... when in fact, they are supplying the resources for your 'hidden' colony. And this is but a slim sliver of the vast vista of things one could ramp up to over time, starting with only the resources of a Merc Company and their dependents, a few Drop Ships, and a Jump Ship. The larger the Merc unit, the more people you have to do things with, of course... and then there is the ability to recruit the down pressed, out of luck, and other wise hard working but under paid, and reviled 'under classes' of some Periphery worlds I could easily name. Just a few more thoughts, spoken Frank-ly Oh, I heard the thought... 'So what does all that have to do with IMs?'... Well, making all that happen is FAR easier with Industrial Mechs. As a 'general yardstick', think of it as IMs providing the 'work' of several dozen miners, or other human piloted vehicles needed to do the particular job. Overall, IMs are a very good idea, and actually more useful than a Battle Mech itself. And, in a pinch, they CAN be fielded with 'field expedient' style 'strap on' weapons (Mechwarrior Dark Age style). Frankly, I wouldn't want to invade an underground colony with vast galleries and caverns and all those passageways, where IM's with various weapons could ambush my Mechs. Losing my valuable Combat Mech to the assaults of several ambushing IMs is not 'cost effective', since the IMs cost FAR less than my Combat Mech. On the other side, losing dozens and dozens of IMs to protect your colony is well worth the expenditure, since most of the salvaged parts of the Combat Mechs that attacked can be used to replace many of the expended IMs, and IMs themselves are so much cheaper than a Combat Mech to start with. More could be said about this, but this posting is rather long already.

[@77Arcturus]

@@franksmedley8619 Thanks for taking the time and energy of creative thought for some more interesting reading. Has a real world cause and effect logic to it. This could be tacked on to a future BATTLETECH game adding a rich CIVILIZATION game style component to it fleshing out the world and showing many gamers the importance of such things triggering some serious thinking especially in the young. This reminds me of the three part docuseries about Bill Gates i just saw on NetFlix called INSIDE BILL'S BRAIN where he discusses many of his projects to bring clean water to many impoverished areas of the world along with dealing with polio which is non-existent in the U.S but still a major problem elsewhere. Thanks again Frank Smedley for the most interesting thought provoking read. Happy gaming and keep on keeping on with the most forward thinking! :)

[@franksmedley8619]

@@77Arcturus Thank You for your kind words. The above little 'rants' of mine are but a fraction of the kind of things I got up to during a couple of decades of playing with my old Gaming Group at the Emperor's Headquarters (now defunct) in Chicago, from 1984 through about 2008. The above examples of what one can do with a Merc Company, and it's assets, is a tiny fraction of what I did after my Merc Company, the Star Lions, was betrayed by House Liao. The Company left the Inner Sphere and returned several decades later as the Ghost Lions Legion. Liao forces back stabbed my Company and held the Unit's dependents as hostages. The Company withdrew from battle and declared they were no longer bound by Contract due to Liao treachery. The Company moved to a Mech Production world and attacked, stripping two Light Mech Factories to the ground. This led to Liao forces reacting to the attack, but the Lions had moved on to 'attack' the force holding their dependents hostage. Although the majority of the dependents were freed, may died when Liao started killing them to make the Mercs stop fighting them. This merely enraged the Lions and they laid waste to every Liao unit the found... hunting them down and showing them the same kind of 'mercy' their own dependents had relieved. Taking a copy of the Helm Memory Core along with them, and both the stockpiled supplies for the Mech Factories, and the Factories themselves, the Unit left the Inner Sphere and started their own society, hidden from any attempt to find them. Several decades later, the Ghost Lions Legion entered the Inner Sphere and found plenty of 'work' for their forces, aiding various House units, and other Mercenary units to fight the Clans. The only 'hard' rule for the Ghost Lions Legion was that under NO circumstances would the Unit EVER take a contract from House Liao, or it's associated allies, or units. In situations where the Legion occupied the same planet as a Liao unit, that unit would be attacked by 'bandits' and Legion Mechs would always arrive late to 'relieve' the defenders. If you get the idea that the descendants of the Star Lions had a 'bone to pick' with House Liao and it's allies, you'd be correct. Although, having said that, a 'bone to pick' would be a mild statement of their feelings upon the subject.

[@Colonel_Overkill]

My unit TO&E has a level II industrial detachment that lands behind any assault units (role not class... well sometimes) that begin construction on a FOB, dig entrenchments, reload ammo bins, etc. That ground level support is critical as it not only frees up the dropship for another unit to land but not needing the ship dirtside for repair and reload means its not there to be shot at if a firefight happens at said base.

[@qwertyman4]

Say what you will about Dark Age, but I loved it when people started strapping rocket tubes and scrap metal armor onto random industrimechs

[@GrimDarkNarrator]

Gotta work with what you have.

[@juanfernandez1696]

Mecha technicals

[@mr6johnclark]

@@juanfernandez1696 LOL.

[@franksmedley8619]

@@juanfernandez1696 Laugh not at 'Technicals', especially IMs. I once armed a pair of Logger Mechs with enough single shot rocket tubes, that when I ambushed an Enemy Phoenix Hawk in the Forests, it was a 'one shot kill'. Dragged off the remains and had a Phoenix Hawk prize Mech after the battle.

[@juanfernandez1696]

@@franksmedley8619 I actually find them quite awesome. I'm also surprised their not more common one would think that bandits and poor mercs would be mostly made up of these.

[@gregdomenico1891]

I've always loved the Logger Mechs, because who doesn't love a giant Chainsaw? And if you play Roguetech, you will run into heavily modified Cattle Masters in the early game; they can be quite scary in melee.

[@doomguy9049]

yeah they're awesome.

[@GrimDarkNarrator]

Even as a Battlemech pilot, id be terrified to see a giant metal minotaur walking towards me :D

[@doomguy9049]

GrimDark Narrator I wonder how the cows feel about it 🐄🐂

[@UCSPanther20]

IRL there are some specialized machines that can "walk" rather than roll on wheels or tracks. These are usually used for terrain where you would not dare take a conventional machine, such as steep sidehills. The Menzi Muck excavator is a prime example of such a machine.

[@GrimDarkNarrator]

Thanks for sharing.

[@Legoperson75]

That thing looks like something you can call an industrial mech lmao

[@eltoxicdog7587]

Gotta love the the Cattlemaster.

[@VulpisFoxfire]

Heh...I remember someone posted a homebrew Cattlemaster design back in the day that was a rebuilt Battlemaster.

[@AGS363]

Bonus Fact: You can encounter an Industrial Mechs even in the 21century! Some Harvesters in the lumber-industry are build as walkers.

[@georgesulea]

I think that the track conversion idea for the Diamodes could really add some mobility to some conventional battlemechs, no?

[@franksmedley8619]

Actually, no. A leg made for walking is more efficient than such a relatively complex design. But, the Diomede gains usefulness by being able to kneel down to use it's tracks for stability while doing heavy lifting work. Also, replacing the tracks would be a nightmare for most Techs. It CAN be done, but not quickly. And those tracks would be easy targets in battle. Now I could see using a Diomede as a Mech retrieval unit though. One able to cover almost any kind of ground to reach the downed unit, and once kneeling, able to lift almost any Mech to recover it for repair or salvage.

[@alexandarvoncarsteinzarovi3723]

Industrial mech have been known to be salvaged from other semi-functional battle mechs, some like assault or heavy mech, or their skeleton to be exact, construction mechs for example share certain similarities to humanoid assault mechs,

[@exoterric]

More layers to the onion. The Marine in me immediately ponders 5 different ways to deploy these as combat assets.

[@franksmedley8619]

The Marine in me agrees. :)

[@mr6johnclark]

I kinda like this idea... I hope they retcon a bunch of farmers with pitchforms (agro/industrial mechs) fighting off pirates by strapping on weapon packs on their mechs. When you have to plow the field at 4am and fight off a pirate invasion before lunch!

[@noanswer1864]

While they weren't specifically fighting off pirates, the books actually have several instances of armed agro-mechs.

[@mr6johnclark]

@@noanswer1864 it will be interesting to see a mech sized scythe slicing through a locust.

[@blackholewarriors1928]

I love this series

[@scotthughes7208]

Love ya work mate!

[@GrimDarkNarrator]

Much appreciated

[@morrisedwards2887]

Industry mechanics are way cool.

[@Legoperson75]

Imagine cattle master verses battle master. That would be a interesting fight that would last all of one second. lmao

[@GrimDarkNarrator]

moo!

[@robertbyerlay5040]

Stampede the herd of cattle at the battlemaster mech. Size of mammoths cattle .

[@Dariushellstrome]

Sweet

[@Morachnyion]

Hrmmm waiting for a vehicles overview one day.

[@GrimDarkNarrator]

Already did that :D

[@JeanLucCaptain]

something you put a KATUYSHA ON!

[@JeanLucCaptain]

KOMRADES THE EVIL STEINERS INVADE MATUSHKA RUSKIA, TAKE YOUR LABOR MECHS AND MAKE THEM INTO TANKS!

[@franksmedley8619]

I basically did that with a pair of Logger Mechs. Ambushed a Phoenix Hawk in deep forest... basically a 'one shot, one kill' on the Hawk.

[@orionhan2431]

Weird. I thought the whole point of ICE mechs is that they they cant have lasers because lasers require a fusion engine. All military vehicles that can use lasers have a fusion engine. When read the lore years ago, that was the rule. I have nothing against industrial mechs but i would say they are inferior to a 50 ton tank or a 20 ton battlemech. Other than the Security mechs which are more equivalent to a Urban mech.

[@GrimDarkNarrator]

Well, most of them are meant for jobs outside a warzone. Its not surprising than most war machines would be superior :)

[@franksmedley8619]

Just because you have a ICE Industrial Mech, don't mean you can't have lasers, or a laser. The ICE engine CAN be hooked up to a dynamo to generate power, feed that into a capacitor bank, and bingo, Laser power. Now, will it shoot as often as a 'military weapon'? No. But at least you do have a laser or two!

[@tyreecebaker6600]

👍

[@tomfennesy9105]

Any chance of getting the warrior saga read, I know you did gray death legion.

[@GrimDarkNarrator]

Probably not, unless someone sponsors it.

[@melikwalker296]

I guess Nissan Motors is still around in this universe

[@GrimDarkNarrator]

Always has been!

[@TheGemmaster22]

Are there industrial versions of battle armor??

[@GrimDarkNarrator]

Don't think I read about any.

[@Hierax415]

So the company that does MWO and MechWarrior 5 is putting out a free 8 part novel, mw5mercs.com/novellas not sure what the copyright situation is but maybe Anthony would like to do a reading? Big fan and if you dont want to do a reading maybe just read it for your own enjoyment. Thanks for all the videos!

[@GrimDarkNarrator]

Thanks for the recommend. I bookmarked it and will try to check it out.

[@WiseOwl_1408]

U r mum