13.07.3061
Major Stark,
We have had a unique chance to study clan mech designs up close since the exiles of Clan Wolf settled in the ARDC, and some disturbing new information has come to light about their capabilities. As we already knew, not all Clan omnimech designs make use of the advanced construction materials now used throughout the sphere. We now have an idea why this is. In the years leading up to the invasion, the vicious infighting between the clans had seriously taxed their resources, and to prepare for the massive invasion, they had to rebuild their armies with downgraded designs in order to field such a number.
Granted, much of our information comes from boastful, slightly inebriated techs (much easier to get information out of then the mechwarriors), but we have heard cryptic remarks like "if we had used our Mk 1s, we'd be on Terra now instead of those stravag Wobbies." It appears that these "Mk 1s" are the original designs for the front-line clan OmniMechs that we know so well. We can only assume that they were designed initially with advanced materials, and if your techs do a quick design study, they will see what scary machines these originals would be. But, we also think that these Mk 1s show no outward signs of the inward differences, despite the bulky materials involved. This may explain the hollow areas we have noticed in our studies of salvaged mecs.
The part that I am least sure of, but feel it is my duty to report...well, it's only a suspicion...but these techs we talked to, they have a gleam in their eye when they talk about the Mk 1s now, and I don't think it is nostalgia. I shudder to think what the clans could do with their expanded resource base and a few more years of relative peace.
Yours,
Karl Dubrownic
ROM Ark Royal
Another tactic would be just to replace the 3050 versions (call them Mk2s) with the Mk1s, and back-date that to the beginning. I don't like that because, while it would work in house rules, it doesn'tfit in the timeline. And though I haven't much hope of an official clan rebirth, at least I can make it a reasonable option, especially in light of the number of people who know about these designs and play clan. Think about it, it would give munchkins a better option that creating their own pulse boat...
I first became aware of the designs in Sept 2002, on the MechWar3D forums. The site was made by Deathshadow, and had a similar fluff explanation to mine and also provided the source--a Clan preview in Space Gamer magazine--and some speculation on why they were changed.. Some of the rules hadn't been perfected at that point, but most of the designs still match up and you can easily get them to work in The Drawing Board or HMP. No tons or crits were listed for the weapons at the time, so I assume Deathshadow did the work in writing up the designs in standard form. I recorded some of the designs at the time, and wrote a bit on my reviews page about them. Months later I found the site had disappeared, and after a frantic search found them on a German Site, WoB. This site has the same 9 designs, written up exactly the same, but it doesn't explain where they found them. Amazingly, further search hasn't revealed more sites, though I know they are well-known in the BT community. I did find Deathshadow again, though it's not running as smoothly.
TechReadOut for a technical overview of the designs that I've been talking about all this time.
The Project
I don't see a major problem in making these designs official in some way. Yes, they'd be very good, but I don't think they'd create a dramatic change. It is the heavy mechs that get the most attention, and now they can really live up to their reputation for going toe-to-toe with IS assaults. There hasn't been much good news for us first-generation Clanners, while new tech and new mechs appear for the IS all the time. This wouldn't even be new technology, it would just be a chance to keep those classic omnis on the field. If the IS gets upgrades to old designs in Record Sheets: Updates, why not really upgrade Clan machines, instead of just giving them Heavy Lasers or ATMs. The bottom line is that if everybody can see the difficiencies in the Clan Omnis, and the solution is so obvious (I came up with these designs before I saw them, as did a lot of people). I can implement them in my house rules and megamek battles, but I'd really like to see them recognized. And we could get a nice shiny TRO with new pics, too!