13 replies to this topic

[Hit the Deck]

Have you ridden a horse? Now imagine if it was 12 m tall! Not to mention when it falls down, the feeling must be somewhat equal to jumping from a 3 stories building.

I really hope that someday we could see 'Mechs being used but this alone kind of prevents them being viable.... What say you?

[Juodas Varnas]

Yeah, well, there are gyros to stabilize it and the chairs are soft and comfy. At least for the Inner sphere, Clanners don't seem to like comfortable chairs.

There were mechs that were "less comfortable" to use than most. Like the Scorpion, which was a notoriously rocky ride (even though it was a quad and logically it would be much smoother than bipedal mechs, but logic and battletech don't always go hand-in-hand). Though, i do remember reading that the later variants of the Scorpion did fix the bumpy ride, after redesigning the leg-suspension.

Edited by Juodas Varnas, 21 July 2015 - 04:14 AM.

[Rushin Roulette]

Juodas Varnas, on 21 July 2015 - 04:11 AM, said:

There were mechs that were "less comfortable" to use than most. Like the Scorpion, which was a notoriously rocky ride (even though it was a quad and logically it would be much smoother than bipedal mechs, but logic and battletech don't always go hand-in-hand).

Actually quads are inherrently less stable in terms of ride comfort. The Cockpit gyros and dampeners need to compensate for double the amount of feet hitting the ground and double the directions of sway compared to the relatively simple forwards and backwards movement of a bipedal chassie. That is also the reason why the quadropedal (and tripedal) chassies all had "rocky rides".

[StompingOnTanks]

From what I'm aware the gryos built into the mech, the dampeners in the feet and the design of the cockpit are all made to maximize pilot comfort.

The cockpit bouncing animation in-game is probably just for dramatic effect, it would be impossible to pilot a mech like that in any semi-realistic mech setting (which Battletech is one).

[Hit the Deck]

Although it would not be as comfortable as driving your BMW, there's a chance that we might get used to it. But one question still remains, how can a pilot inside a head of 12m tall 'Mech survive if it falls? I'm sure he/she could survive (people have survived falling from high places) but just one fall could prove to be fatal.

I think if 'Mechs were to exist, the pilot can't just sit there in a "traditional" cockpit often depicted in fictions. He/she must be completely surrounded by a cushioning/gel like material not unlike being inside an Elemental, and just drive the 'Mech with his/her mind.

[Hex Pallett]

Hit the Deck, on 21 July 2015 - 01:46 AM, said:

Have you ridden a horse?

That is not a valid comparison. At all. Technically you don't "ride" a horse, you half-stand on the saddle irons and hold the saddle between your legs. If you're planting your bum firmly on the saddle, you're doing it wrong.

As to pilot seats in mechs, if we're talking about BattleTech mechs I'd imagine bucket seats and seatbelts would provide much better support than a saddle, and the most you get is being tumbled around a bit.

Edited by Helmstif, 21 July 2015 - 06:37 AM.

[Hit the Deck]

Okay, but what will happen to you when the 'Mech falls down to the ground?

[Rakshasa]

Hit the Deck, on 21 July 2015 - 07:23 AM, said:

Okay, but what will happen to you when the 'Mech falls down to the ground?

You'd probably be paste The movie Pacific Rim actually addresses this - the pilots stand upright and are connected to a hydraulic operator-arm that allows them to survive impacts to their machines (Spoilers, but check out 1:29 below):-



...as well as being clad head to foot in armoured Drivesuits that help protect them even further. BattleMechs don't take quite the impacts of the Jaegers in the film, but a person sat down in a cockpit chair with seatbelts for safety? Realistically they'd probably be bruised and broken in short order just moving around, and if the 'mech fell it'd be like being in a high speed car crash with much more tonnage behind it. BattleTech has never sweated the small details though, and the setting very much runs off the Rule of Cool - BattleMechs are practical and pilots survive controlling them because giant robots = awesome

Edited by Rakshasa, 21 July 2015 - 09:02 AM.

[Hit the Deck]

Yeah, actually I was thinking about Pacific Rim because Gipsy Danger is almost 80m tall! You surely don't want to be inside the head of that thing!

[Hex Pallett]

Hit the Deck, on 21 July 2015 - 07:23 AM, said:

Okay, but what will happen to you when the 'Mech falls down to the ground?

Rakshasa, on 21 July 2015 - 08:11 AM, said:

You'd be paste

Um...there's this thing called 5-point harness seat belt. Commonly used in race cars and military airplanes. Very useful invention.

[Rakshasa]

Helmstif, on 21 July 2015 - 08:47 AM, said:

Um...there's this thing called 5-point harness seat belt. Commonly used in race cars and military airplanes. Very useful invention.

Rakshasa, on 21 July 2015 - 08:11 AM, said:

You'd probably be paste

Edited. Emphasis mine. Better?

[Hit the Deck]

Helmstif, on 21 July 2015 - 08:47 AM, said:

Um...there's this thing called 5-point harness seat belt. Commonly used in race cars and military airplanes. Very useful invention.

The point is that being inside a head of a 12m 'Mech while it's falling down must be like driving off a 12m cliff. You could survive when it hits the ground but it wouldn't be fun!

[SnagaDance]

If you want to mention a horse and its (different) gaits, you should also realise that it was a premier instrument of war for thousands of years, before and after the invention of the stirrup. All the while the human on top of it was able to use melee and missile weapons quite fine.

[Lily from animove]

Hit the Deck, on 21 July 2015 - 01:46 AM, said:

Have you ridden a horse? Now imagine if it was 12 m tall!