Mechs in traveller idea

[salochin999]

Thing is we have various forms of "mecha" now
- mechanical diggers
- planes
- ships
- tanks
so it's just the shape that is at issue.

(For me) there would need to be a realistic (or at least vaguely plausible) reasons for the large humanoid shaped construction.

From a physics point of view what might those be (guessing here)
- thin atmosphere (bad for aircraft)?
- low gravity (reduced ground pressure?)

A large slow target would also require an era where armor > current weapons so maybe a situation where weapons tech had stalled for some reason while armor tech continued to advance.

Another idea would be taking the Vilani legends and imagining Vland having Mecha fights as traditional ritual / religious ceremony / historical re-enactment / team sport etc as you can imagine giant mecha battles would be in a lot of Vland movies and books.

Maybe an Imperium wide sport (Mecha arena fights) so the usual objection - grav tanks would be better - doesn't apply?

 

[Carlobrand]

...(For me) there would need to be a realistic (or at least vaguely plausible) reasons for the large humanoid shaped construction.

From a physics point of view what might those be (guessing here)
- thin atmosphere (bad for aircraft)?
- low gravity (reduced ground pressure?)

A large slow target would also require an era where armor > current weapons so maybe a situation where weapons tech had stalled for some reason while armor tech continued to advance. ...

The fundamental problem with the Battlemech idea as a tool of war is that it's a big standing target.

Prey stands high to look for predators. Predators stay low to be unseen (well, except for the tree-climbing ambush predators, but even they work to stay hidden). Humans have been the exception because we are unique in the animal kingdom for being prey who use ranged weapons to prey on others and to resist predators. When fighting our fellow humans en masse, our ranged weapons for most of history either required us to stand to achieve full power and accuracy or were sucky enough in range and rate of fire that we needed to be ready for melee. They were defeated by shields or by the use of horse to close rapidly - and at any rate their curving trajectory made lying no better than standing. The minute our ranged tech got good, we started digging trenches and foxholes and crawling through the battlefield, and the "standing high" job was consigned to distant men on hilltops with binoculars, to balloons and then to aircraft. Battles characterized by men charging into ranged fire became battles characterized by painfully heavy casualties.

Any form of the battlemech idea in war fails on the point that Battlemechs behave like prey: they stand up. Standing tall in a battlefield characterized by lasers, energy weapons and tactical nuclear missiles is a suicidal mistake. The only way to make it otherwise is to find some way to flatly neutralize those lasers, nukes and energy weapons and turn the battle back into some kind of melee - and, whatever debate we might have on that front, that is no longer a Traveller battlefield.

(Star Wars hints at shield generators, but it's pretty clear from the movies that the tech in that fantasy universe works and fails according to the whim of the writer.)

About the only way I see this working is if your opponent is so weak that he has little or no ability to counter your mech. However, walking thorough the countryside terrorizing the primitives isn't exactly the standard image of battlemechs. Daikaiju yes, not so much mechs.

 

[salochin999]

The fundamental problem with the Battlemech idea as a tool of war is that it's a big standing target.

Prey stands high to look for predators. Predators stay low to be unseen (well, except for the tree-climbing ambush predators, but even they work to stay hidden). Humans have been the exception because we are unique in the animal kingdom for being prey who use ranged weapons to prey on others and to resist predators. When fighting our fellow humans en masse, our ranged weapons for most of history either required us to stand to achieve full power and accuracy or were sucky enough in range and rate of fire that we needed to be ready for melee. They were defeated by shields or by the use of horse to close rapidly - and at any rate their curving trajectory made lying no better than standing. The minute our ranged tech got good, we started digging trenches and foxholes and crawling through the battlefield, and the "standing high" job was consigned to distant men on hilltops with binoculars, to balloons and then to aircraft. Battles characterized by men charging into ranged fire became battles characterized by painfully heavy casualties.

Any form of the battlemech idea in war fails on the point that Battlemechs behave like prey: they stand up. Standing tall in a battlefield characterized by lasers, energy weapons and tactical nuclear missiles is a suicidal mistake. The only way to make it otherwise is to find some way to flatly neutralize those lasers, nukes and energy weapons and turn the battle back into some kind of melee - and, whatever debate we might have on that front, that is no longer a Traveller battlefield.

(Star Wars hints at shield generators, but it's pretty clear from the movies that the tech in that fantasy universe works and fails according to the whim of the writer.)

About the only way I see this working is if your opponent is so weak that he has little or no ability to counter your mech. However, walking thorough the countryside terrorizing the primitives isn't exactly the standard image of battlemechs. Daikaiju yes, not so much mechs.

I agree personally. I was thinking if someone badly wanted them then what kind of conditions would need to be satisfied.

The idea of some kind of Mecha version of WWF originating from Vilani legends is fun though.

 

[aramis]

I use some walkers from MT. The Dynchia (in 101 Vehicles) is pretty similar to a Zentraedi Battle Pod (Robotech/Macross) or an Eldar one (40K)... 10m tall isn't bad for a heavily armored non-humaniform biped walker...

 

[Jame]

I use some walkers from MT. The Dynchia (in 101 Vehicles) is pretty similar to a Zentraedi Battle Pod (Robotech/Macross) or an Eldar one (40K)... 10m tall isn't bad for a heavily armored non-humaniform biped walker...

I figure most mechs would, in Traveller, be 5 - 8 meters tall. Protomechs, in effect. Large battledress, and I'd say lower-tech too (TL11 or 12).

 

[aramis]

I figure most mechs would, in Traveller, be 5 - 8 meters tall. Protomechs, in effect. Large battledress, and I'd say lower-tech too (TL11 or 12).

The Dynchia looks to be about 8m.

I prefer the 3-5m range of Heavy Gear.

 

[scottscane]

I'm doing a Battletech game now. Why don't you replace the legs with contragravity 'nodules'. Define their advantages and disadvantages, establish R&D timeline and run with it. Cross between a Air raft, cargo loader and grav tank with the best and worst aspects of all.