a mech? Options

[Straight Razor]

i was playing around designing a riger today, and i thought about how he could build a mech.
I cybered out a horse for a ride once, but this is a bit more complicated. anyone ever tackled building a mech in sr3 before?

[JesterX]

As opposite to coolness, Mechs are not really usefull and it's kind of a silly idea.

Why building a biped unstable mech when you can drive a really stable tank/hovercraft?

The mechs are only cool in anime. They are not really practical weapon platforms. They tend to be really fragile because of their limbs. They have too much vulnerable points.

[Fortune]

I do seem to vaguely recall people might have been trying to do this once or twice. :S

[PBTHHHHT]

I would try and find all the threads discussing about mecha or powered suits and such. But, I really don't feel like bothering. (plus, when searching for mecha, it gets confused with mechanics, ugh.)

[Adarael]

It can be done with regards to power-assisted armor, but I've never tried for anything over troll-sized.
Why?

Well, like it's been said... Powered armor, pretty useful. True mech? Pretty not.

[Roadspike]

I sketched out a Dreadnought a while back (R3R rules), a large anthro-form drone with a rigger inside it, a high-strength arm and an autocannon (or maybe it was a mini-gun, I can't remember). Sort of the same thing, but on a slightly smaller scale. It probably would have ended up just about the height of a tall troll, but much broader.

[blakkie]

[Teulisch]

from a corperate perspective, a mech would get killer ratings in desert wars, if it worked. and someone would have a mech-vs-mech arena combat trid show. demographics would be a cross between battlebots and monster trucks.

humanoid mechs may have problems, but if you go with multiple (6 or 8) legs, you can get a lot more stability.

[RunnerPaul]

For anyone too lazy to search the old threads, one good starting point would be the hard-shelled JIM-suit exoskeletons described in the various sourcebooks that have rules for SCUBA diving.

[Fix-it]

[hyzmarca]

Actually, smaller mecha could be usefull for law enforcement. The superior mobility allows it to go places that patrol cars can't and unless you come up against criminals using anti-vehicular weapons the armor should hold.

Also, compare the excessive property destruction caused by Patlabor's Special Vehicle Units to the excessive property damage caused by Dominion's Tank Police.
From a purely economical point of view, the mecha are better than tanks since they'll produce fewer unwinnable lawsuits.

[Arethusa]

Their use in law enforcement is marginal. Situations where law enforcement need genuine heavy armor or even the light, mobile, urban armor are incredibly rare.

Military applications, however, are immense. They won't replace tanks, certainly, because that platform is much more efficient at supporting an armored gun platform— on open terrain, at least. However, over uneven terrain or in urban combat environments, there is substantial impetus to modify the traditional design of the tank to something more agile. Moreover, smaller, bipedal armor offers substantial advantages in urban warfare in supporting squads, carrying heavy antiarmor or suppression weapons. For examples of the potential of both, see GitS, which remains basically the only intelligently thought out cyberpunk out there.

[lorthazar]

I don't see how this isn't feasible.Iin fact i can't believe they haven't detailed construction exoskeletons, powered space suits, and rescue suits. Many of the designing problems gyrobalancing a bipedal robot are pointless if the rigger has to be inside. What better to balance a unit then the human ear? Weapon system wise a mecha suit would be barely capable against vehicles, but wreak havoc on infantry. With electric motors the speed will be bearable and load low enough players won't go nuts.

BTW the best thing about mecha armor is that it can do one thing tanks can't. Pick up weapons and use them.

[Adarael]

[Cray74]

[Critias]

Or, alternately, you could just suck it up and play another game.

[The_Gun_Nut]

And, truthfully, some folks are wanting to market the powered armor stuff to fire departments. Allow the firemen to walk into a burning building without worrying about that pesky oxygen or heat thing.

[nezumi]

Powered armor is, unquestionably, the way of the future. It allows troops to carry more weight and more gear, plus pack in more safety and comm equipment, so on and so forth. If one power suit costs as much as one normal troop (hence, a troop in a power suit costs as much as two normal troops), it will still likely be economical for most shock troops.

Mechs, however, not so much. The basic problem is just having legs is less efficient power-wise, less stable, more difficult to repair and maintain, more likely to cause catastrophic damage in a crash, pricier and more vulnerable to attack than your standard tank. There ARE certain very specific uses for a mech that tanks and helicopters won't be able to fill as well, such as long range, semi-permanent firing platform meant to get to difficult positions. In general though, four or six legs will be much better than two, and you certainly won't have something quite like mechwarrior (again, a tank, helicopter or jet for the same price could devestate a mech.)

[Fix-it]

[ShadowDragon8685]

The problems with helicoptors, though, can be easily fixed with T-birds and hover-drones. (Both vector-thrust and rotor-powered hover-drones.)

[Aku]

Actually, i think 6, legs would be the bare minimum, unless your 4 legged model is atleast tripple jointed for variable angles to push off with, i think is the bare minimum. a doulbe joint (hip and knee setup) just isn't enough for dealing with LARGE piles of rubble.

[hyzmarca]

They are also useful in rescue opperations where it would be dificult or impossible to bring in more standard equipment. Mechs with lifting arms could be used to move debris from a collapsed building, for example.

[SMDVogrin]

[JesterX]

In 2060's, we have got VTOL vehicules... So debris pile are not really an issue...

[PBTHHHHT]

A mecha to look at are the ones from the Heavy Gear game. They top off around 10-15 feet. They have legs, and also secondary movement systems that allow them to move faster on roads and such.
That game also has tanks, multi-legged units, and other stuff. The advantage in the game for gears is the ability to bring heavier firewpower and ability to cross rough terrain. Even climbing up sheer surfaces, they have ones specialized for mountain combat. Anyway, they're not invinicible, there's even anti-gear rifles (something like the big .50 rifle).
Anyway, while that's nifty and fun, it's mainly power armour that I see being more feasible. aye, if you can package a soldier to carry more equipment, armour, and move faster than a normal soldier could. The advantage would be increased abilities in a small package.
The problem with a battlemech... how can you not see that thing and have everyone fire your rpg's at it. How many can it take before going down, and it costs how much to build one?!