23 replies to this topic

[Anjian]

ArmageddonKnight, on 17 November 2013 - 07:20 AM, said:

Unfortunatly BT (MWO) JJ's dont use fuel, they use the air around them, meaning in space, they would not function.
When in a vacume the JJ's would use a fuel sorce but according to BT lore such a fuel sorce is extremly limited.

Mechs weight more than many spacecraft. They can be fitted with enough fuel, aka propellant that are only meant for directional changes, given the forward drive they take from a catapult launch. They only need to hold enough propellant just for the duration of the battle. Your concern is volume for holding fuel but if jumpjets require air to jump, that means they also use ducts and all, and ducts require volume. You are replacing ducts with propellant tanks, the stored propellants can be used for cooling components and the reactor, and the expanded gases can be used to jet the direction of the mechs.

This system is actually easier to use if the weapons are embedded on the torso or the arm, where the coolants can have easier access to, compared to carrying weapons externally on the hand.

[Anjian]

Shar Wolf, on 18 November 2013 - 06:34 PM, said:

That was honestly the first thing I ever read that made Gundam look interesting.

Gundam is only interesting from the Universal Century timeline (Mobile Suit Gundam, Gundam Z, Gundam ZZ, various movies and OVAs around the universe, which involves Zeon and Char Aznable). Everything else is beyond that is garbage, completely destroyed the meaning of what the original creators are trying to give.

Edited by Anjian, 18 November 2013 - 11:50 PM.

[Vanguard319]

Anjian, on 15 November 2013 - 08:18 PM, said:

That will be true. However, after the initial boost that gets the mech to "battle speed", the remaining fuel will only be used for changes in velocity and direction, mainly for control, since the speed itself will be preserved. In fact, there is no need to use rocket boosters for the mech during launch, it should be shoot off using a magnetic catapult, railgun style. There should be enough reaction mass for the duration of the battle. Auxillary support mechs and spacecraft should pick up mechs that are spent out of fuel, reload projectile weapons, add more fuel, if necessary, and recover damaged and destroyed mechs, not to mention ejected pilots.

As I understand it, a mobile suit's major advantage in space is the fact that it can change orientation by shifting mass, whereas a ship would have to expend additional fuel just to turn. It can also push off surfaces, just like an astronaut on a spacewalk.

As for robots like big dog, the idea is to give troops a "pack mule" that can carry extra equipment that would otherwise be too cumbersome for a soldier to be combat effective. (heavy weapons, food/medical supplies, ammunition, power packs for battlefield computers, etc.) while still being able to traverse rough terrain, something that a conventional vehicle would have difficulty doing.

[StompingOnTanks]

Are real life mechs coming? I wouldn't be so sure just yet, but I wouldn't dismiss the idea entirely either.

For now, mechs don't seem practical. The technology to make a 15-30 foot tall 60 tons robot effective at anything besides looking cool just doesn't exist yet. Lighter materials, more powerful computers, more advanced armor, and an extremely powerful, lightweight energy source (such as minituarized fusion tech) still must be acquired before we can even think of building mechs for warfare - and even then there are problems like ground pressure, having a tall profile, mechanical complexity, balance issues and more.

However, I've been thinking about this very hard lately and doing a lot of research, and it seems that a lot of technology that is currently being developed could, and I mean COULD, make mechs viable at least in recon, infantry support, and light anti-tank roles in urban, jungle, forest and mountain environments.

Will we have 40 foot tall 100-ton monster mechs that rule entire battlefields? Very unlikely, but I expect we'll have SOME kind of mechs performing SOME kind of combat role within the next 300 years.

Airplanes and tanks were considered useless to the military 100 years ago, now look at where they've gotten and how powerful they are. When you look at it that way, mechs don't seem quite as far-fetched...