Why do we Love the Awesome?

[@aaronbosen6743]

One thing that gets left out a lot when discussing the Awesome is that it's two things assault mechs, even inner sphere assault mechs often aren't: it's relatively cheap and extremely common, without making any ridicolous compromises to achieve that status. Indeed, it's surprisingly quick and nimble for an inner sphere assault, has great heat management, a fairly decent amount of armor, and in many stock configurations completely ammunition independent. Above all else, an awesome is a mech that's built to be used and used again until there isn't enough left for even the most dedicated mech repair teams to salvage or rebuild, and even then parts are very likely going to be going into another Awesome, because they are just that cheap and commonplace.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Good points.

[@jaqattack0238]

Agreed, and this is why I have to disagree with MechFrog on the 9M. The XL engine brings the cost way up, while that and adding an ammo bomb to the Awesome takes away the rugged nature of the mech.

[@magni5648]

@@jaqattack0238 I love the 9Q because it's the epitome of a "less is more" Star League-tech refit. It does exactly what the 8Q does, only significantly better and at an overall pretty minor cost increase. And it's a field refit to boot. The only critique I have about it is that they could've left the armor as is and used that half ton to upgrade the small laser to a pulse version, just to make infantry think twice.

[@jaqattack0238]

@@magni5648 Yeah, I quite like the 9Q as well. I also love the 11H because it's basically an 8Q turned up to 11.

[@jiiaga5017]

@@jaqattack0238 otoh having half your mech shot away to clan extended range weapons before you can even fire a PPC in response, and being too slow to catch anything not made in the inner sphere, are also quick ways to commit suicide. At least this variant is mostly heat sinked and up armored, and the pilot always has the opportunity to eject ammo. You can't eject 3/5 movement. The quantity over quality argument is always made for the inner sphere, but even the inner sphere eventually suffers pilot shortages if enough mechs die without getting off a shot.

[@h0shidont35]

I love how despite 40 years, the Awesome's looks have remained almost entirely intact from TRO:3025. Just goes to show how good the design is for the 'mech. Doesn't hurt that the 'mech is a joy to use in introtech, either!

[@cobalt968]

Agreed! Duane Loose’s decision to make the Awesome basically a metal brick with cannons was very fitting for a simple yet resilient mech that mounts a lot of PPCs. While some of the proportions for the mechs in the original sketches were a bit wonky, as American-designed humanoid mecha were rare back then, they set a lot of good design foundation that later artists would iterate on.

[@h.a.9880]

There are a lot of really good looking designs and designs that look like they are very powerful in Battletech, but the Awesome looks like it can just walk through an insane amount of incoming fire without even breaking its stride. It also looks like it can dish out an insane amount of damage. And the looks do not deceive. This beast is a joy to use in MW5 as well. Launching salvo after salvo of PPC fire against an enemy is just brutally effective.

[@graveyard1979]

@@h0shidont35 It's an artillery bunker on legs that looks like an artillery bunker on legs. Nothing needs to be changed here.

[@h0shidont35]

@graveyard1979 yeah, it's perfect for what it is.

[@tenchraven]

Well, it is a box of hate with legs. Not much of theme to mess up there. :P

[@Bomfunker91]

Sometimes you need subtlety. Other times you need an Awesome.

[@tenchraven]

An Awesome can be subtle. For everything else, you have warships!

[@michaelmoolick9419]

It reminds me of Harry Dreseden's thoughts at one point in the books, which were roughly "I am a wizard a quick to anger, no need for subtle."

[@jocylinfrancis930]

Great timing, new frog videos always make my day

[@MechanicalFrog]

Glad it could be there for ya. Have a great week!

[@jocylinfrancis930]

@ you to!

[@BazztheBazz]

Honestly, even among hyper-optimized uber-builds, the humble 8Q is still a contender. It's just hard to argue with 3 PPCs and a crap-ton of armor.

[@imasspeons]

It's because it's tough to kill, has torso weapons (zombie) and is reasonably cheap in BV.

[@strcmdrbookwyrm]

I can only think of two things to make it better: Engine upgrade (though that's expensive), or a targeting computer.

[@rotwang2000]

9Q is even more fun. An extra PPC but no vulnerable XL engine.

[@Dang_Near_Fed_Up]

@@strcmdrbookwyrm I would suggest looking at adding capacitors to Clan ER PPC's with basically a stock Awesome other than cooling with Clan DHS of course. As a field refit it makes a good mech into a true monster.

[@strcmdrbookwyrm]

@@Dang_Near_Fed_Up Those are both good alternate routes. I didn't consider them because 1) I'm still getting used to mixed-tech and 2) I was trying to preserve the simplicity of the original 8Q while still giving it an upgrade. I will agree that a upgrade to clan DHS would be nice, even just on its own. The saved tonnage would go a long way to upgrading the engine while keeping it standard.

[@Blade40688]

The progression from 8Q to 9Q is just beautiful in it's simplicity, and a mercy on the ole C-bill container

[@drewgilbertson]

I like to imagine a King of the Hill scenario with an Awesome already on top of the hill and daring all comers to take thier chance.

[@MechanicalFrog]

"You really going to die for this hill?" Someone is...

[@alexhurlbut]

@@MechanicalFrog "Who dies next?" -Conan the Barbarian

[@willbbwluvr]

Sounds like it's Red Rory of the glen

[@andrewszigeti2174]

Who else wants some!

[@Vulpine407]

A Schrek on legs. Expensive, but worth every damn C-bill.

[@ishidan01]

You are now picturing an Awesome waddling into a lake and venting heat from lower dorsal sinks.

[@riptors9777]

Because its a Brick of a mech, a blunt instrument to be applied directly to the enemies forehead. Nothing fancy, nothing complicated. Just make sure you give it a bodyguard for those pesky light and fast mediums that will run up to it

[@brothersgt.grauwolff6716]

that's why I often pair it with either Hunchback 4G, Blackjack BJ1 or both

[@arsenalxa4421]

Honestly, the first time I'd heard of the Awesome was from the animated series. And it was, in fact, Awesome.

[@TerribleHeresy]

Why do we love it? It's an absolute unit that fires man-made lightning from the nipples. That's pretty metal.

[@Impendingdestroyer]

The 10km is a big favorite of mine. Though I'll never not laugh looking back on the time mine squared off against a LBX20 Equipped Kodiak. Thinking the Compact Engine/Gyro made it the safest choice against such a nasty crit seeker, all went to plan until my pilot got knocked out by 4 single points of damage finding their way to my cockpit. The Pilot Buckled before the Awesome did.

[@mikewaterfield3599]

Ask Randolph P. Checkers, then again he might love his because it was not bargained away in his divorce settlement.

[@ZacharyChristy-Aronson-wg5ki]

I thought they only handed out Warhammers in the Free State.

[@mikecampos1193]

That's up to his first son from that Ghost Bear bondman or shotgun wedding he had.

[@mikecampos1193]

I'm glad his ex elemental wife wasn't that angry with him imagine if he married a smoked Jaguar Clanner he would be done.

[@mikewaterfield3599]

@@ZacharyChristy-Aronson-wg5ki You forget, he was married to a clanner. Although I think it's more like he was claimed as a bondsman.

[@mikewaterfield3599]

@ Yeah……… then again I can’t imagine smoked jags being fond of mercs in the first place. Im still impressed the guy has one with matching serial numbers. I thought it was standard issue for an IS mech to have parts replaced while still in production.

[@Geeko170]

I love the Awesome. It is a best representation of the word. The truest classical definition of Awesome. I just used the 9Q in my latest game where it out right destroyed a Marauder. I had the same 9Q wreaked a Ghost Bear Goshawk that tried to run up in its face. All 4 PPCs hit it point blank forcing it back. Live and Die by the 3-2-3!

[@imasspeons]

The 9Q is the most natural evolution of the 8Q, IMO. Forget the ER weapons and slap DHS and more PPC on that sucker.

[@WolfHreda]

AWS-8Q: 3-2-3 AWS-9Q: *4-4-3*

[@RyeFields]

Well I think we know why we love the Awesome... Because it's awesome in all of its forms

[@Vespuchian]

As the lucky owner of an Awesome thanks to the _Game of Armored Combat_ box, I'm pleased to say the Awesome lives up to its name. Anything it can't shoot it can punch, anything that sneaks up on it is only 3MP away from getting shot, and anything too far away to shoot won't be for long. Good Old Awesome, strolling its way nonchalantly to victory (or at least being the last 'Mech standing on its team)!

[@MechanicalFrog]

It's a great starter assault mech. Not too painful with the heat management.

[@derekburge5294]

For those who have read the word a billion times in BT novels, but never looked it up, *actinic* refers to radiant energy that produces a photochemical effect, often associated with electrical or solar light. The authors are saying that the actinic light from PPC bolts is harsh, bright white like a lightning bolt.

[@R17inator]

Awesome: Wearing the Evangelion shoulder fins before Evangelion (TRO 3025 - released 1986, original run of NGE - started 1995)

[@marsar1775]

because its Awesome! my Awesome story involves a personal refit. similar to the C, i rebuilt it with clan structure and ferro, along with swapping out all its heat sinks for dhs. i then replaced the torso ppcs with er versions, and put 2 snubnose ppcs in the arm for a double barrel shotgun look. the remaining tonnage was filled with a coolant pod and as much dhs as i had tonnage and crit space for. she ran a bit toasty still, but 1v1 and even 1v2 there were few scenarios where alpha striking every turn would cause me problems before they died. and then i could spend all the time i wanted to cool down

[@mirrorsandstuff]

Impressive restraint on the MF version. I was expecting two rifles.

[@MechanicalFrog]

You can have a little bit of plasma, as a treat.

[@Marxon1134]

​@@MechanicalFrog still waiting to see what happens when you go full plasma. What mech would be your chosen sun spawner?

[@Ironclockwork]

The Awesome is one of those classic Inner Sphere 'Mechs that encompasses all of what I love of Assault-class stompers: Big, blocky, and all business. Its sustainable long-endurance energy setup is a great approach as well.

[@primachpepe8597]

to touch on why i love it, especially in this setting, is pretty much down to logistics and engagement planning. Heavy, can take a an absolute pounding and still stand. Has a battle fist to rockemsockem anyone dumb enough to charge into close range + emotional support laser for infantry scaring duties. but most of all? no ammo requirements. that is such a huge bonus that noone really discusses. your big damage sponge and heavy hitter not requiring any ammo, basically whatever fusion fuel, coolant and scrap metal for armour plating requirements?? the fat bastard is damn near perfect for operational needs. Guerrilla war with minimal resupply? Urban defence or assault? Mainline assault mech or mid/backline firepower. Pirate outfit, perfect mech. Small periphery state, perfect mech. main house or even star league, a near perfect mech. Couple that with it being possibly one of the cheapest mechs out there for those around its tonnage? boy howdy i will always pick one up if i see it. Sure she can be replaced, but she works damn fine as is does it have its downsides? sure. but nothing exists in a vacuum except solaris 7

[@bthsr7113]

For as much as people whine about min maxed designs further down the timeline, the OG Awesome was pretty min maxed by 3025 standards.

[@Ferox2121]

I just found your Battletech videos recently - and they are awesome (pun ecplicitly intended). Keep up the great work. I like the Awesome. Its a good, straightforward assault mech that does its job, especially in the good old 3025 days.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Thanks a lot! Welcome to the fray.

[@MariyaMiran]

FINALLY. My man covers the _undisputed_ best Mech in the franchise. (Disputes must be filed via one-on-one unarmed combat with my Bondsman secretary.)

[@davram104]

Did we watch the same thing? Cause I know the Charger is your favourite mech and I saw no Charger in this😛

[@CraigSteinhoff]

Nice I needed a good Mech Frog video :) Thanks for another great video

[@MechanicalFrog]

Enjoy!

[@malusignatius]

Because it's Awesome, duh. :P More seriously, it's one of the best starter Assault 'mechs in the game. Simple, forgiving and powerful, the Awesome might not have much in the way of whistles and bells, but it doesn't need them. Just point it towards the enemy and start blasting. PS. Love the Lego Movie reference.

[@steveo9284]

To state the obvious: Because it is Awesome!~

[@Amraphenson]

In our current Invasion era game, our admin expert came along with an Awesome...running TSM. It's currently on 3 clan ERPPCs, 2 MPLs and SPLs for heat modulation, and has socked more than a few idiots in the jaw with all 80 tons of that TSM goodness. Great mech for a bunch of mercs stealing every Clan PPC they can get their grubby hands on. edit: My favorite story is when we were hitting up a Smoke Jag caravan, a truck crashes into her ankles and outcomes a star of elementals...including our target, Paul Moon. Infantry support bathes the Awesome in missiles, stunning the elementals that have swarmed it, and in a fit of genius she just PICKS UP PAUL MOON IN HER BATTLEFIST AND RUNS OFF WITH HIM.

[@strcmdrbookwyrm]

OK, that thing is terrifying, even without the clan ER PPCs. Heck, even a 8Q with just TSM is a scary thought.

[@Amraphenson]

@@strcmdrbookwyrm The player wanted a mech that would really have to think about heat management...what better way to manage heat than with ppcs and TSM?

[@strcmdrbookwyrm]

@@Amraphenson I can't think of anything.

[@cobalt968]

@@Amraphenson hippity hoppity you are now my property

[@spectrelead]

Our local variant of the Awesome. 3025 original, drop to 16DHS, add 10 mediums, and the rest to armor. Get under the PPCs and you instead get a wall of Martell melting you

[@WolfHreda]

That's disgusting. _Scribbles on work order_

[@spectrelead]

@ It's evil and tests very well in the battlefield. It's as good a self-defending fire-support as the Swayback with 2 LRM-10s and 4 MLs

[@primachpepe8597]

dear lord have mercy. i may need to run this

[@spectrelead]

@@primachpepe8597 I'm pretty sure you'll enjoy it.

[@michaellewis1545]

After playing Mechwarrior 5 Clans, the ER PPC is my favorite weapon.

[@samedwards3186]

My original favorite mech!! Gotta love a hunk of metal with triple lightning cannons

[@chriscoffee2268]

we WILL yell at you in the Comments section!!!! YOU DID AN AWESOME JOB (get it)! YOU INCLUDED OBSCURE LORE AND ENTERTAINMENT FIT FOR ALL. YOU WILL ACCEPT OUR POSATIVE COMMENTS AND SMILE! KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK. yelling at you in comments segment complete.

[@williamjanak2013]

There is something special about something that is simple and sturdy.

[@be-noble3393]

I’ve always loved the AWS-9Q. Because, the look on a Mechwarrior’s face when they finally see what they have been tracking. Priceless

[@Darren_Xero]

Glory to the Scorpion Empire for making an ultimate Awesome C! Much better than Hellstar!

[@milankostic2571]

SEYLA!!!

[@egaroadkill8701]

The Awesome warms my heart. I saved C-Bills during my many mercenary campaigns of the 80's to buy an 8Q. It became my fist named mech when I finally bought, "Whole Lotta Love". She served me very well surviving many years until retirement. Favorite battle: Andurien civil war near the end. We were with an ahoc 6th Defenders company made up of line units, mercenaries and national guard vehicles covering a river when along came the battered 4th Defenders and 1st Guards. The enemy players knew we were weak and had the terrain but they had the advantage in numbers. Still they hesitated to engage. Impatiently, I strolled the Awesome into the river, targeted an Orion and somehow clean hit the cockpit with a beautiful max range crit. Rather than running off, the hot head player in charge couldn't handle my offense and ordered his command to charge ME! Over the next few hours of play they managed to kick our rear ends. The game ended in a running battle, yes Awesome's cheese it... slowly. With myself and two other survivors making it to a Comstar safe zone a couple of map boards away to be interred. I remember having only the small laser, no arms an engine hit and just enough heat sinks left over to keep me barely neutral at a run. If they had hit any more leg my character would have been toast. My dice were really hot that game. Many purple chickens sacrificed themselves to the Charenkov blue beams of Whole Lotta Love.

[@Marxon1134]

Been a long day, was looking forward to sitting down and watching this.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Hope it's enjoyable.

[@graveyard1979]

Back in the 3025 when it was pretty much the only min-maxed optimalized mech. With all the PPCs. My Clan Invasion rebuild featured 3/5/3 MP, 1xLLas, 2xGauss, Double Heat Sinks and Endosteel structure. Emotional Support crit hit buffer in the head was retained.

[@Ruggedtoaster]

The Extended range LRM is such a niche weapon, it solves a problem that either doesn’t exist or should be taken up by dedicated strategic assets like mobile artillery or air support. It really shows on the awesome or the Orion. Now if they gave us a MLRS style extended range LRM carrier, that might have a role in say a layered defense operation.

[@trueakuma777]

The version of the Awesome that I love most is actually what I believe to be a non-canon version that was used in the Virtual World Battletech Pods, which swapped out the standard PPCs for ER versions, changed out the Small Laser in favor of a Pulse version, and added an Ultra AC/5 to the left arm and an LRM 5 to the center torso. Also had an Anti-Missile system because why not? I doubt you could make this build work in the tabletop version (I think I tried at one point and failed), but thanks to the wizardry of Virtual World they made it work. Still ran hotter than I would have liked but all that firepower was just so much fun to use! Thanks for the great video and stay safe out there!

[@LeuvahkTrigger]

Because the final comms transmission of its first opponent being "Aww, sh-*bzzt*" was hard to explain to your superiors.

[@vali6717]

The Awesome is one of those rare mechs with a descriptive name that tells you exactly what it is. I might be a habitual tinkerer with assault mechs but the 8Q is almost tamperproof in its design.

[@Bluehairedgirl89]

Thank you for the time and effort you put into this video, it’s really appreciated and I loved the video. I’m not a big fan of assault mechs overall but by far the Awesome is my favorite assault. It’s relatively cheap, dependable, and simple with a very easy to understand role on the battlefield and weapon set up. I even love that giant blocky design.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@omegavulture8379]

Because it’s Awesome! 🤘🔥🎸🔥🎶

[@MechanicalFrog]

Fact Check: True.

[@peterfromaustria724]

25:00 it makes me happy to hear of something of the Scorpion empire …. Thank you Frog! ❤❤❤

[@TheStrayHALOMAN]

In BTA 6062 I had one with TSM and 4 plasma rifles and a medium VSPulse laser... It was alot of fun and it's shots almost always forced a pilot ejection from their overheats... Yay salvage.

[@deadgodbirk6991]

9:00 book excerpt formatting issue. Still a great video all around. Let the (continuing) nonsense flow!

[@jonbezeau3124]

Imagine the comedy of an Awesome omni-mech. "What loadout today, commander? PPCs again? Inspired choice"

[@vmonk722]

Commander sighs. "What will we be riding from orbit, tech?" "The Union with the reflective armor's got the least unrepaired damage..." "You know what that means, don't you?" "Oh. To the large pulser stores lads, it's disco night again!"

[@damienbez7621]

The Awesome is my favourite 'mech. It just does not muck about at all. Very reliable. It just... there's something about it that inspires awe. Someone needs to make a word for that.

[@FuelDropforthewin]

One of the OG zombie mechs. Tough as nails, packs a punch, and has no glaring weaknesses that can be exploited. There are few missions where an Awesome is a poor addition to a lance. And most of those are recon.

[@WarhawkTalon]

My story is from the side of facing the damn thing! Due to some shenanigains in melee agaisnt a Battlemaster, my Atlas and Orion both had a torso ammo bin blow up, leaving my Griffin and Wolverine to face a Catapult and an Awesome, the latter of which had found a great sniper's nest in a high up heavy woods. The two long-range mechs were decently spread out with clear sightlines, so they would be able to support each other without suffering their minimum range issues. My Wolverine abandoned the attempted double-team it and my Griffin had against the Catapult, and hopped across the river to engage the Awesome in CQB. What followed was a many turns of my Wolverine doing it's best to harass the larger mech with it's laser and SRM, keeping the bigger mech turning to put the trooper away from it's back and in front of it's guns. Eventually, luck resulted in enough SRMs hitting the head to knock the Mechwarrior out. Pretty good salvage to caputre a nearly completely intact Awesome, but didn't make up for the total loss of the Atas earlier.

[@AccessAccess]

When I played original battletech 3025 was the only era and the Awesome was the fire support mech that everyone wanted. Sure there were other "good" fire support mechs like the archer, trebuchet, catapult, etc. But many of these relied on ammo, were lightly armored, or had some other flaw that could be exploited by an enemy. The awesome wasn't a mech without weaknesses, but it's ability to keep firing turn after turn, and being able to take those shots that had a high likelihood of missing while other mechs had to worry about heat or ammo consumption made these mechs the most valued in fire support. When we did campaigns, our recon mechs that had already served their purpose would be paired up with multiple awesomes in the main battle, in order to deter the enemy from rushing them with their own fast attack mechs.

[@blktom]

AWS 8BQ. Though I don't know how 'official' the Barbecue is, it is one of the more terrifying versions I have faced in Roguetech.

[@SulliMike23]

This mech sure lives up to its name.

[@imglidinhere]

About freakin' time man... of all the mechs, this should have been done a hot minute ago! :D Better late than never!

[@inky9132]

Still my favorite mech to this day. Nothing beats the good old AWS-8Q. This mech is like a power hammer, simple and efficient.

[@jasonmorello1374]

Similar to the Black knight, the AWS and and Black Knight were named nipples of death by some I played MW4 with. One oddity that did not surface for the variants you mentioned is Reflective armor. IDK if table top didn't pair it up, but MW4 like beam ship mechs with Reflective armor, and often one with a ppc. Tho occasionally reflective armor is handy, in MW have special type armor just meant who ate your lunch, as most missions had mixes, especially those Solaris fights. Part of what taught me to make a shotgun Uziel(twin LBX). I seem to remember AWS in MW also having srm6 a lot, but I may be confusing that. MW4 did some great things, and ssome dumb things. I know controls in MW games have often been awful, but I never got to use solid LBX ammo. But, AWS was often my first high grade heavy or assualt mech, as I think they might have changed that to an 85.

[@georgesulea]

Thanks Mr. Frog. I needed this today...

[@gammafighter]

I love the Awesome because it's like the designers went "What if we put as many PPCs and as much armor as possible on a skyscraper?" I also like that after encumbering the behemoth with 3 PPCs, the designers said "It's missing something..." and added a small laser to the head. "There, now it's perfect *chef's kiss*"

[@milankostic2571]

Awesome-C is definitely in production. Factory is on Braunschweig, the capital of Scorpion Empire

[@roshee5573]

Simply awesome man made lightning delivery system 😊

[@tacsquirrel]

Variances? There aren’t any…. Thanks for coming everyone. You had me there.

[@rotwang2000]

The Awesome is a one-trick pony, but it's probably the best value one-trick pony money can buy. It can hit hard despite lacking crit seeking capabilities and a minimum range issue.

[@paralykeet-]

Mr. Frog dancing around the word "Regulan" when talking about my favorite military mech force It's alright friend, from some perspective it is a dirty word; with the blood of an entire faction on it's hands. Fantastic video about a very cool stompybot.

[@mrfawkes9110]

If you're talking about the Gibson fiasco Regulus did nothing wrong.

[@Pariah502]

Pretty Baby has an official Record Sheet in the new Force Manual: Davion!

[@thecommuterzombie]

That AWS-11MF looks spicy! I'm happy that in the 11H there's a solid ilclan variant. I need to check availability for that AWS-C as well.

[@ambientlight3876]

I built a budget version of the design that had a standard 320 fusion engine (4/6), endosteel construction, 16 double heatsinks, 3 standard ppcs, 4 medium lasers and 15.5 tons of armor. Its a budget and surprisingly potent machine.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Sounds like it would leave a mark.

[@JuNkBoYcaNNoN]

My take on an 'Awesome IIc,' was similar to the one cited, except it could fire all four cERPPC's & stay heat neutral, if it was standing in water. Conveniently, there was a small pond at the top of a cliff (w/an easily navigable slop on its backside) close enuff to the D-Z, to reach by the 2nd movement phase. 😈

[@chrisrice7844]

Frog, I will yell at whom ever I wish, because ENGAGMENT!

[@MechanicalFrog]

Quite right.

[@ObiwanNekody]

I desperately need some PPC'S today. Thank you.

[@patriotjedi530]

What on Earth would you do with PPCs today vs yesterday or a week ago lol?

[@ObiwanNekody]

​@@patriotjedi5301) you clearly didn't take a look at comments I have been making for quite some time. It's ok, I don't expect you to do any thinking before commenting. 2) you are clearly looking for a fight like an ass. 3) my 17+ y/o cat died yesterday.

[@ObiwanNekody]

​@@patriotjedi530 you know that you can click on a person's name and see what other comments they have made to the channel? My history on this and other related channels is flooded with PPCs. Not that you likely care about history. To answer your question my cat, who showed up as an adult stray 17 years ago, passed away.

[@ObiwanNekody]

​@@patriotjedi530someone has a bad day and your response is to laugh at them? My elderly cat passed away yesterday morning. I also have a long and established history of wanting more PPCs and making comments as to such.

[@patriotjedi530]

@ObiwanNekody the 'lol' wasn't AT you specifically, but more to laughing at myself saying "vs yesterday or a week ago", you shouldn't take everything so personally. As to your cat, I'm very sorry for your loss. Losing a family member is very hard and I hope you find the healing you need from that. I also had no idea that you frequently say you need more PPCs as this is the first time I've seen your comment(s). Now I'm wondering if you're referring to the weapon of war or the colloquially named drink?

[@captainkirk4271]

It's a cute big chonkey when waddling along. It hits like a Shrek PPC Carrier but survives like an Atlas. Ammunition explosions? Nyet! BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM

[@Brigand231]

I agree, an Awesome IIC would have been awesome to see.

[@kierdalemodels]

MiniFrog!😂🤣 That was excellent.👏👏👏 I have an Awesome-shaped hole in my BT collection, I must admit😣 It’s in AGOAC, right? Better start saving.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Some good classic mechs in that box.

[@Dracobyte]

Why do we love the Awesome? Because it is simple, yet effective.

[@alexanderwalter4504]

Because it is already in the name! And 3PPC hell yeah who could resist that:D

[@MechanicalFrog]

No one can.

[@A88mph]

The nice thing about over-sinked mechs is that an engine hit or two will not cut into the mech's operations.

[@FixBot_GER]

An excellent video about an excellent Mech. 😃

[@MechanicalFrog]

Thank ya!

[@RyanWater-jk1sb]

I knew this video was going to be Awesome for some reason. Thanks for the amazing video.

[@weaselwolf]

I'm a fan of the 9Q. Another rare post 3050 mech with standard PPCs... Four of them. Maybe drop the small laser, ecm and a couple points of armor for a compact gyro and an extra heat sink in the CT

[@slice1208]

Why do we love the Awesome? Because it's AWESOME!!!!

[@wartmcbeighn]

Another good video about the big and brutal Awesome...its a simple mech that will wreck opponents with hardly a glance. I have used it many times, the base 3 PPC one usually with the odd foray into the 4 PPC or triple ER PPC version and each time, points effective and nasty.

[@KillerOrca]

Every time I see one of them, I can't help but think of Captain Awesome from Wander over Yonder

[@CanuckWolfman]

At 3050, I think you could have some fun if you took an -8Q, replaced the heat sinks with 16 doubles, and all the weapons with two torso-mounted ER PPCs, an arm-mounted Gauss Rifle, four tons of ammo, and either another half ton of armor or CASE panels at your preference.

[@MechanicalFrog]

That would work.

[@strcmdrbookwyrm]

I like this, it feels like a more reasonable version of the 11R, and it's probably cheaper too.

[@Dang_Near_Fed_Up]

If doing a mixed tech rebuild of the Awesome I would suggest looking at adding capacitors to Clan ER PPC's with basically a stock Awesome other than cooling with Clan DHS of course. As a field refit it makes a good mech into a true monster. My Awesome is call sign Zeus, for obvious reasons.

[@Arnuld15Governator]

My favorite IS mech of all time. How can you not love it?

[@leroyottersberg7151]

Awesome is an 80 ton doorknocker that can definitely ruin an opponent's insurance rates easy. Definitely my kind of urban combat bruiser.

[@william_brobrine8975]

This video is just AWESOME

[@BrokenSeraphim]

Absolutely love the Awesome. The AWS-8Q and upgraded 9Q are hands down the best variants depending what era I'm playing (I tend to cap out at the Fedcom Civil War, anything after that I kinda zone out.) That being said I did come up with a custom variant I called the AWS-8/9QX. I had a Hermes 320 std Engine and 4 JJs giving it a movement profile of 4/6/4 14 tonnes of Ferro Fibrous Armour 6x Light PPCs - 2x RA, 2x RT, 2x LT 1x LAMS and 15x double heat sinks to keep it mostly cool, failing a missile attack.

[@caarn6940]

>Snub Nose PPC's on the MF Awesome Give it to me, I need a hundred of these!

[@drachenschanze1]

BRO YOU DID IT!! Thanks man!

[@MechanicalFrog]

You bet!

[@franksmedley8619]

Greetings Mech Frog. Ah, the Awesome. One of my favorite Mechs from the earliest edition (3025) of the game (I bought the first edition boxed set almost the day it was released). Even though the Awesome did not have all the weapons of other Mechs, it tended to become the focus of enemy fire nearly every time. Three PPCs is NOT something to ignore on a battlefield. The 9M variant, post 3050, with three ER PPCs was nearly perfect when released. I ended up only making a few changes to the Mech's design. First, I dispensed with the SRM and its ammo, the Medium Pulse Laser and the Small Pulse Laser. In their stead, I added an AMS in the head, with a ton of ammo in the Right Leg. Why? Because I placed a pair of ER Medium Lasers in the Center Torso slots. The side Torsos were totally filled with a single ER PPC in each torso, along with the XL engine slots, and a pair of Inner Sphere DSHS. The Left Arm houses three IS-DSHS, and the Right Arm has two. The last three slots taken up by the third ER PPC. This gives the Mech a total of 21 IS-DSHS, for a total dissipation factor of 42. 3 pts shy of completely sinking the weapons heat from firing all three ER PPCs. But, managing heat with an Awesome is a 'time honored' tactic, and I wanted the pair of ER Mediums and the AMS for short ranged work, and missile protection. In addition, there just isn't the SPACE for additional IS-DSHS! The only 'work around' the problem is to incorporate Clan Tech DSHS, and that would increase the cost of the Mech prohibitively. Although, by the 3090s and into the 3100s, mixed IS-Clan Mechs would be a 'thing' and cost be damned. The AWS (Awesome) 9m (GL) was another favorite of mine until mixed IS-Clan technologies became more available. I cannot stress how useful the AMS was as an upgrade to the design. It fended off more than enough missiles to make the cost of upgrading well worth the time, effort, and money spent. Just facing off against a Timber Wolf and watching the stunned expression on the Clan Player's face as my AMS downed most of his every salvo of missile fire was well worth the effort. Ah, the 'old days'. Making Clan Players see that Inner Sphere did NOT mean 'paper Mechs', and that Inner Sphere Mechs could stand toe to toe with them and win. Put an 'Elite' Pilot into the 'upgraded 9M', or even a 'Legendary' one, and things balanced even more. Yes, I lost a few battles, but with careful maneuvering and a good pilot, I often won using the 9M (GL) variant Mech. The only other Awesome variant I played, using my own variations, was a version of the Awesome that sported FOUR Large Lasers instead of the three PPCs. I eventually upgraded that variant as well, once 3050, 3055, and 3057 tech became available. Four ER Large Lasers worked quite well, and seemed to make the Mech less of a target due to NOT having PPCs, for some odd reason. The four ER Lrg Laser variant did very well on the tabletops for my Mercenary group, the Star Lions Corps, so I don't know why other players refused to copy my design. It was more efficient and didn't alter the Mech's load out all THAT much, nor did it alter the basic frame, chassis, or much else, other than the inclusion of IS-DSHS tech. Even later, the Ghost Lions Legions field an Awesome variant that sports Clan Endo-Steel, Clan Ferro-Fiberous armor, and Clan DSHS. Suddenly, four Clan Tech ER PPCs become more 'viable' on the Mech's frame. There is nothing more 'awesome' than an Awesome, unless it might be a Gauss-zilla.

[@strcmdrbookwyrm]

I like that 4 Large Laser design, though I'm wondering where the last ton went. I've considered (but never tested) something similar: 3 Large Lasers, 3 Medium Lasers, and 3 more heat sinks. Or three Jump Jets instead of the Heat Sinks, if you want to be crazy. Another way you could go is 3 ER Larges + 6 Heat Sinks, you should be able to fire all three and only build up movement heat. Honestly, you can reasonably fit an An awesome with any Large Laser Type and it would still be scary. (Yes, even Heavy Large Lasers)

[@franksmedley8619]

Addendum: ER LRMs are only useful, in my opinion, as 'upgrades' to LRM Carriers, of which, I field as many as I can afford as often as I can. Missile 'rain' is a thing, and can ablate Enemy forces into paper thinness before actual engagement ranges close to full potential damage range brackets. Four of such LRM Carriers can often remove enough armoring to make almost any hit by large weapons, like PPCs, ACs, and Gauss Rifles, devastating. Light Mechs, sort of 'vaporize' when showered with large numbers of LRM missiles. And that is not even factoring in specialty munitions. Oh, one aside here. If you are going to field LRM Carriers, and more than a pair, you should seriously consider having all of them swap out a single ton of standard ammo for either Inferno missiles, Arrow IV FASCAM missiles, or Thunder LRMs. A great way to 'ablate' enemy forces before they can close upon your Mech forces. And everyone loves Inferno Missiles, obviously... no? You're a foe and don't appreciate your Mech on fire? Tough Luck. Here, have some more!

[@franksmedley8619]

@@strcmdrbookwyrm : I have used the 3 Large Laser variant before. My AWS-8Q variant sports 3 Lrg Lasers and a pair of Medium Lasers in the CT. As for the missing ton, I think it went into heat sinking, or armoring. I forget and do not have my data sheets at hand.

[@strcmdrbookwyrm]

@@franksmedley8619 Thinking about it, I'm going to guess it was a heat sink, since a full salvo is 32 heat instead of just 30. Let me know if you ever find that data sheet!

[@franksmedley8619]

@@strcmdrbookwyrm You could replicate the design, given the info you have, using MekHeadquarters MegaMekTeck (part of the executables for MegaMek

[@hobbstactv2571]

My brother's favorite mech. We start with a -9M and strip the weapons. Max the armor, trade the Right Arm/Torso PPC for salvaged Clan ER's, shoehorn a Clan LB-20X into the left torso, and two Heavy Medium Lasers in the left arm. Fill the rest of the tonnage with Double Heatsinks and enjoy.

[@alexanderhenley7307]

It's just a very solid 80-ton mech, that and there's an Awesome for nearly everything.

[@bobsmith1313]

Awesome video 👍

[@SpaceMarine4040]

I honestly like is as (most variants) are incredibly effective method of laying down damage on slow moving mechs or structures. I like it because it has good rear armor allowing you to protect your Marik forces from other Mariks. I do think that the original (for budget reasons) 9Q (for more damage) and 9M (for speed) are the best of the awesome variants. Some of the others spend like the 11H spend money on clan heat sinks and endo rather than the clan erppc instead of heavy ppc which would save far more weight and give more range.

[@RecklessFables]

Hellstar: Because Hell's Horses wanted an Awesome. They didn't even make it an Omni.

[@saulschimek7680]

Ahh....The Awesome. A venerable brick no matter what era. Even Clanners can respect it's Pedigree

[@strcmdrbookwyrm]

An excellent video, worthy of Awe! I enjoy the Awesome because it's simple to understand and use, but that doesn't make it any less of a threat. If an Awesome waddles in, you show it the respect it deserves or get slaged. I was surprised there was no mention of the AWS-8V, but I guess after going over the 8R and 8T, it's a bit superfluous. I was also of the opinion that the 9M had gotten a little lost in the sauce... until you introduced me to the 11R. Seriously, what were they thinking with that one? I'm also glad to hear mini-frog is doing well. I wanted to pitch a Awesome with a targeting computer, because I'm quite surprised there isn't one. The easiest way for me to describe what I came up with is that it's a upgrade to the 9M, though it takes some finagling. You have to drop the Streaks, swap the Medium Pulse for an ER Medium, swap to clan Double Heat Sinks, but doing so gives you enough tonnage to install a (IS) 6ton Targeting Computer. You also have enough space that you can install Light Ferro, for if you want the Medium Pulse laser back.

[@WillMoon]

I lol'ed at the Lego Movie footage.