You also have to keep in mind, not a whole lot of customization went on in the universe. Houses bought by the bulk with spares and to keep things consistent with the factory specs, it's very much like Car/Military manufacturers..

I don't think you're also taking into consideration R&D cost to cover lines, third party weapon system charges and since I imagine in the universe changes weren't so willy nilly, cost of modification.. In the real world, theres quite a bit you have to pay for that you don't consider and usually take for granted when designing something that's fictional.

I agree with the remainder of your argument, Landros, but on this point you're dead wrong.  Look at TRO 3025 and read the fluff text... normally there was at least one alternate configuration per 'Mech the houses used, in particular Houses Davion and Kurita.  Some of the 'Mech fluff describes there are so many variants, such as with the Archer, that they could fill a TRO on their own.

With the 1st through 3rd Succession Wars being as devastating as they were to technology and knowledge, also, field commanders would be required to use whatever spares they had, if any at all, to replace systems on the field to get the Operational Readiness of their machines up and running, to send them back into combat so they wouldn't lose.  So, where a Locust loses an SRM-2, if all that's available to fill that spot is a Medium Laser, that's what maintenance crews put on the 'Mechs.  Now, obviously, there's a problem with power harnesses, mountings, and being able to link new weapons and their characteristics into the battle computer on the 'Mech, but it could be done and, from everything I've read more often than not was.

So, though finding the ultimate configuration of a particular kind of 'Mech was not a priority, the variants -temporary or proposed permanent- are astoundingly many.  For my money, I don't build ultimate configurations and I don't build based on what will do the most killing, I build based on what's likely to be more survivable on the battlefield.

Oh, so would I.  I would love to see component availability/logistic limitations, but again this is not a MMORPG where that would be an honest consideration.

Once the game is actually up and running I can see the Devs investing time in eventually patching in some variants for us, but I'd rather be able to play the and have to tolerate only primary configs, than have to wait additional months for it's release while the modelers struggle to create yet another variant for us.

If the modelers are following the modular concept that the Clans used, creating models for Clan variants should be much easier than IS variants. As much as I love my custom load-out on my MW4 Shadowcat, I'd be just as happy in a Koshi or other original 3050 Clan Mech, because at least I would be playing MWLL instead of WoW

I'd love as an IS pilot to be able to buy a 3025 version of the mech, or the much pricier 3050 version.

Take grand-pappy's old Atlas out for a spin against them clan devils! (9,626,000 C-Bills)

or that brand spanking new Atlas from Independence Weaponry with the fancy, schmancy Gauss thingy. (22,576,000 C-bills)

would certainly let the IS start things off with a bit of a weight advantage, though their teeth would be mighty small compared to even a Kitfox.

Heh, actually this is the MAJOR justification behind our "spectacular" explosions. Basically, every mech in our game is fitted with an auto self-destruct. I THINK the only way to retrieve the mech for salvage would be to kill the pilot out of it somehow (if this is possible, not sure ATM what we're doing as far as that).

Essentially, if the pilot ejects, or the mech is critically disabled, the self destruct activates. This is a mech only feature, as only mechs are really so valuable that falling into enemy hands is both tactically and morally devastating.

Or, it'll turn it into a speciality for various members of units with really great players capable of doing something like that.

I still think that downed mechs should become new objective points.  If infantry can hold a downed mech for X time then their team gets a salvage bonus in the form of cold hard cash.  Would make for very dynamic games and give infantry even more of a reason to be on the battlefield.

Optionally you could just have the cash go straight to the infantry, prompting them to go and buy a mech themselves with their brand new paycheck.