Mech Designer Help
Help for Btech3.0c

 A BattleTech Mech Designer for Windows

This version of the program has a completely redesigned user interface.  The new interface is similar to many other packages on the market with MDI (multiple document interface) interfaces but yet still has differences.

Main Menu

File Menu

Mech Menu

Config Menu

Help Menu

Version 2.0 and 2.1 files

HELP MAKE THIS PROGRAM BETTER!

BattleTech, BattleMech, 'Mech, and the Tactical Handbook are all registered trademarks of FASA Corporation.


Advanced Ratios

BattleMech Cost

The more you include, the higher technology you use, the larger the mech the more C-bills the mech will cost.

Damage per Tons

Total damage divided by tonnage.

Damage Integral

A higher integral means that the mech is more effective.  This number represents the result of a complex series of calculations involving the Mechs weapons specifically designed to evaluate the effectiveness of the weapons mix..

Damage Integral per Tons

The Daishi Primary Configuration* has a damage integral per tons of 20.15.  This is unusual for a pre-fabricated mech.  Pre-Fabricated mechs can have a rating as low as 3.00.  The Daishi Primary is not really a good mech due to it's ability to generate huge heat spikes.  It's 20.15 value is deceptively large because you can't generate that much damage every turn due to heat problems.

Experimental Mech Rating

An experimental number to indicate the effectiveness of the mech.

Combat Value

The combat value of the mech.


Installing Equipment

Currently installed weapons are located in the top windows, while available weaponry is in the lower window.  By selecting a weapon and clicking the "Add" button, new weapons will be installed.  A popup box will appear, prompting you for a location.  Each location has a certain amount of Critical spaces, so if filled up, these locations will not be available.

Adding weapon:

Double-click on the weapon in the bottom list or click once on the weapon and click the Add button.

Changing weapons location:

Double click on an installed weapon.

Deleting installed weapon:

Click the weapon once and hit the "Delete" button.

Removing all installed weaponry:

Click on the "Clear all Equipment" button.

Adding weapon ammo:

Select the installed weapon, and hit the "Add Ammo" button.  Choose a location and the number of tons of armor you wish to add.

Print Preview:

Press this to see what the current print out or your mech would look like.

Criteria:

This is a new button to 3.0a+.  It allows you to only list equipment that meets your selection requirements.

Saving installed weaponry:

You must hit the "OK" button to keep any changes you have made.

Cancelling equipment changes:

Click on the Cancel button.


Please Register!

Please see the sharew.prn file and the register.txt file for information on how to register this product.  Shareware products will not get better unless that product is registered.  E-mail me for information on multi-registration discounts.  internet address:  anderson@mik.uky.edu

Mail your completed registration request to:

                 Mr. Todd A. Anderson

                 347 South Upper St. Apt. 6

                 Lexington, KY 40508-2561

                 U.S.A.


Arm Actuators

Arm actuator check boxes are now located in their own dialog box which is accessible via the "Arm Actuators" button the main editing screen.

The arm actuator dialog box is split which left arm actuators on the left and right arm actuators on the right.  A "checked" check box indicates that actuator is present, otherwise the actuator is not present.

Hint:  If you only use upper arm actuators then you can flip both arm and fire into your rear arm without penalty.  However, this will make punching much more difficult.  If you don't punch much, then only having upper arm actuators will aide you in the aforementioned way as well as saving you 4 crit locations in the arms.


File Formats

Major internal changes were made between version 2.0 and 2.1.  This change requires that your 2.0 be converted to 2.1 format.  A DOS program called BTMECONV.EXE is provided to do this.  The 2.1 mech editor will not load 2.0 files.  To convert your files:

1) make copies of them just in case

2) convert a file or multiple files

    A)  multiple files by the following:

          BTMECONV *.MEC

          BTMECONV FILE1.MEC FILE2.MEC

    B)   single files as follows:

          BTMECONV FILE.MEC


Technology Base

There is a drop-down list box in the top right hand corner of the main editing screen that uniquely determines the technology base and mech type of the mech you are creating.  You have 4 choices:

Inner Sphere Mech

Clan Mech

Inner Sphere LAM

Clan LAM

Inner Sphere 4-legged Mech

Clan 4-legged Mech

A LAM is a variant of a normal mech called a "Land Air Mech" which is capable of transforming from a normal mech into an Airmech or Aerospace fighter modes.  LAM comes with 30 fuel points.  Please refer to the BattleTech Compendium for detailed rules of LAMs.  LAM can weigh a maximum of 55 tons and 10% of a LAM's weight is reserved to "conversion equipment."

A 4-legged mech is another variant of a normal mech which has 4 legs instead of 2.  There are 12 fewer critical location slots since the arms become a second pair of legs.  4-legged mechs are more stable their 2-legged counterparts and can perform a special diagonal move at the cost of 2 MP instead of 3 for a normal mech.


File Menu

The File Menu consists of 2 parts:  Open and Exit.

Clicking on Exit will exit you from the program.  You will be prompted to save changes to any mechs that are open at this time.

Clicking on Open signifies that you wish to retrieve or save mechs to a different mech folder.  Multiple mechs are stored in the same file in order to allow the user to organize them as he sees fit.


Help Menu

The help menu consits of 2 menu items: contents and about.

Clicking on contents will take you to the main help screen of this help file.

Clicking on about brings up a dialog with version, author, copyright and trademark information.


Config Menu

The config menu has 2 menu items: Settings and Save Settings on Exit.

If Save Settings on Exit has a checkmark beside it then the setting changes you have made will be save to a file and used as the default for all future executions of the program.  If this isn't checked, then settings changes will be in effect only during this execution of the program.

Settings allows you to change from default program colors to default system colors.  It also allows you to use Automatic placement of heat sinks or Manual placement of heat sinks.

New to version 3.0c, the ability to choose among 12 sizes for you mech edit and equipment box windows.  This should take care of the problem of window sizes.


Mech Menu

New

Open

Save

Close

Delete

Print

Print Preview

Multi-Print

MDI Interface


MDI Interface

This version of the mech editor has an MDI interface meaning that you can be editing multiple mechs simultaneously.  That is, you can have many mech edit sessions open (the limit depends on the amount of memory you have like all other applications.  On my system, I can open 58).  You can still have only one Equipment list up at one time.  This equipment list will be for the active MDI mech edit session.

You will usually want to maximize the Main Mech edit window before you begin working on your mechs.  If you want to minimize this window you can do so at any time.  You can also minimize any of the MDI mech edit session children at any point.


Multi-Print

This will bring up a multi-selection list box of the mechs in the currently open mech folder.  Hold the CTRL key down and click with the left mouse button on those mechs that you wish to print then press the OK button.  Press Cancel to do nothing.


New Mech Edit Session

Click on the New menu item to open up a new mech edit session in the

client area of the main window.  The default new mech is a 10 ton regular Clan Mech.


Open a Mech

Click this and a list of the available mechs in the current mech folder will appear.  Double-click on one of the names or select the name and hit the OK button and a mech edit session will appear and will contain the stats on the mech you selected.


Save a Mech

Click on this and the active MDI child mech edit session will attempt to save itself.  If you have opened a different mech folder from the folder this mech originally occured in then you will be given the opportunity to save the mech in either folder.  You can use this functionality to move mechs between files, copying them at will.  You can not save a mech that weighs more than designed tonnage.  Each mech takes approximately 500 bytes to store.


Close a Mech Edit Session

Click on this to close the active MDI child mech edit session.


Delete a Mech

Click on this and a list of mechs from the current mech folder will be displayed.  Click on the name and then click OK and that mech will be removed from the file.


Print Functions

Print will start a hard-copy printout of the mech in the active mech edit session.

Print Preview will open a scrollable preview window which is what a hard-copy print out will look like.


Mech Edit Session

This is where most of the work of general mech design will be done.  What follows is a description of each changeable field.

Left Half of the Mech Edit Session

Tonnage:  use the up or down arrows to set the design tonnage for your mech.  This tonnage has a minimum of 10 and a maximum of 100 for regular and Quad mechs and a maximum of 55 for LAMs.

Walking: use the up or down arrows to set the walking speed for your mech.  Running speed is automatically calculated.  Walking speed is limited by mech tonnage and the available engine sizes.  Walking speed times tonnage can not exceed 400.

Jumping: this will be modified by addition of jump equipment.  This simply reflects what the current jump capabilities of the mech are.

Heat sinks: use the up or down arrows to set the number of heat sinks you wish the mech to have.  The amount of heat dissipated is listed to the right and is affected by whether the mech has single or double heat sinks.  This can be set with the check-box immediately beneath the number of heat sinks.

Armor: use the up or down arrows to set the amount of armor for each body location of the mech.  Use the Max Armor button to put the maximum amount of armor that the mech can hold onto the mech in the appropriate locations.  Where applicably, a 75%/25% split among front and rear locations are made.

Arm Actuator button:

Critical locations used, Critical locations remaining, tonnage used, and tonnage left are informational messages reflecting the stats the name implies.

Right Half of the Mech Edit Session

Technology Base:

Endo steel check-box: click this on if you wish your mech to use Endo Steel.  It divides your internal structure tonnage in half but uses critical spaces.

XL Engine check-box: click this on if you wish your mech to use an XL-Engine.  This cuts engine weight in half but uses critical spaces.

Triple Strength Myomer: click this on if you wish your mech to use Triple Strength myomer.  When the Mech is running hot, it allows the mech to move faster and it does more damage on physical attacks.  This uses critical locations as well.

MASC:  click this on if you wish your Mech to use MASC.  It will increase your running speed to 2 times your walking speed.  This has a weight which is to the left and uses critical locations.

Equipment Button:

Advanced Ratios Button:

Mech Name: fill in this field with the name you wish to give to the mech.

Armor Type:  4 armor types are available to Inner Sphere and 2 to Clan.

Normal, Ferro-fibrous, Glazed, and Blazer.  Consult FASA documentation as to the abilities of these armor types.  Clan can only use Normal and Ferro-fibrous armor.

Critical Locations:  this section displays how many critical locations are used and how many total are available in each body location.

Technology level:  new to version 3.0a+, this allows your to set which technology level your mech is allowed to use.  Inner Sphere can be Level 1-3 and clan can use Level 2-3.  You can always go to a higher level but may not be able to go to a lower level if you have equipment installed that is at a higher level than the new level you selected.  The equipment list will be modified to reflect only those weapons at the technology level currently in use.  Also, the mech edit session screen will change to reflect what is avaiable and what is not available at the technology level you have chosen.  Level 1 is 2750 technology.  Level 2 is 2750-3055 technology.  Level 3 is Tactical Handbook technology.