XNA BattleTech, srsly? Options

[ThatPaolo]

Hello, fellow Dumpshockers.

I am in the process of writing a game based on the classic BattleTech 2nd ed rules. It's going to an XNA game, running on Windows, Zune and (possibly) Xbox.

For my first attempt, I'll try to implement a single player game, where the opposing mech will be controlled by the machine itself. Considering I've very rarely played BT and I am not an expert by a long shot, I am asking for advice here:

1. In the most mechanical way, how would you approach combat?
2. How would your mech's characteristics and stats (tonnage, weapons, heatsinks, etc) influence your choices of movement and attack?

In short, how could we model a BT player in a reasonably simple way?

Thanks (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)