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Mech Scales


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#1 Athenus Baal

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Posted 06 January 2021 - 05:28 AM

Once again showing my relative freshness to the game but does anyone else find the size difference between a 20 ton mech and 100 ton mech to be absurdly large?

Take the commando verses the atlas. How big should the commando be by comparison?

If you shrunk an atlas to half it's height how heavy would it be? 50 tons you say? Nope.

When you halve height you also halve width and depth. so 100 tons gets x1/2 three times, one each for height, width and depth.

The result, a half height Atlas would weight 12.5 tons. Yup, 12.5 tons

So a commando which is approximately 1/3 the height of an Atlas would roughly weigh 4 tons. As for a Flea, don't go there.

A 20 ton mech should be chest height on an Atlas if humanoid in shape and the same bulk in build, around 60% of the Atlas height in fact.

If mechs were altered to their 'true' scales it would really alter the game. So I am guessing the sizes we see are down to game balance, though if you ever think those pesky lights are way too small, you are right.

#2 Gevolgen

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Posted 15 August 2021 - 11:01 AM

You are making the assumption that size and weight scale 1:1, which is not the case in mechanical contrivances. I'll use an example that is illustrative only. My 4' X 8" utility trailer (32 Sq ft of cargo space), when fully loaded can weigh exactly one U.S. Ton (2200 pounds). A trailer that is 5' X 20' (100 SQ ft of cargo space) when fully loaded can weigh up to 5 U.S. Tons (10,000 pounds), or more with a third axle. Since 100 is not five times larger than 32, you can see that the weight of an object does not typically scale 1:1 with its size. Keep in mind that this is a very simplistic example.

In the case of mechs there is a minumum weight that is derived from the engine and structural components that are required to make the dang things work. And also keep in mind that ballistic weapons take up more physical space than energy weapons do. In the case of missles it's a LOT more space per point of potential damage. Also keep in mind that the game is derived from Japanese cartoons, so the game design came after the initial (1st and 2nd Edition tabletop) Mech designs and scales were already set.

Edited by Gevolgen, 15 August 2021 - 11:08 AM.






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