What role do mechs serve?

In a semi-realistic Hard sci-fi setting how could you best fit in mechs? what kind of mech would be most realistic.

Is there any situation where walking vehicles makes sense?

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>hard sci-fi
>mechs
pick one

On high-gravity worlds where for whatever reason you REALLY REALLY need some guys on the ground somewhere.

Consider that on EDN in Lost Planet, where your OP pic comes from, Vital Suits are used rather than tracked vehicles because they can trudge through deep snow that a treaded vehicle would sink in, jump or climb up sheer cliff faces, and are mobile enough/strong enough without guns to fight off Akrids without getting swarmed and destroyed since melee ability is something you actually need on EDN where the local fauna can rip a tank apart in seconds, and ones with limbs can manipulate objects without exposing the user to the extreme elements and hungry space bugs.

Lost Planet also has VSs that are more like traditional tanks (Pic related), smaller VSs that are basically an exo suit, and some that are more like an artillery piece that can walk and jump over obstacles, in addition to "normal" vehicles like jeeps and tanks that can be used in areas where it's not covered in literally hundred foot deep snow and helicopters that carry said mechs around.

Powered armor definitely qualifies as mech despite being miniature in scale. It's also very much hard sci-fi given that DARPA is actually researching stuff like that.

You've made this thread before.

They're just extremely mobile weapons platforms.

Think about what role tanks serve in combat. With mechs, you get that, but all over the fucking place. Mechs could immediately respond to new positioning data for better shots at key targets, and also move out of the fucking way when fire starts coming their way

Terrain can justify spiderleg/quadraped mechs over treads/wheels but not the balancing required for biped mechs.

Mechanized pods with manipulators or even hands for flexible tool use can do work in space but again, no reason for legs in space

Small mechs make sense in hard sc-fi, large ones don't. I think OP's pic is of a somewhat human sized set of power armor?

>trudge through deep snow that a treaded vehicle would sink in

It's far, far easier to go over snow than through it.
That's why man invented skis and snowshoes, and why arctic vehicles have treads or giant balloon tires.

I love giant robots as much as the next guy but trying to justify them always ends up taking a faceplant.

...

If you need to justify mechs, the setting you are playing in is shit.

youtube.com/watch?v=koesW3xMKtY

The fact that mechs have feet is huge disadvantage in combat though. Especially if their bipedal. Tanks can keep fighting even if their tracks are blown off, but bipedal mech would be easily crippled out of fight with well placed AT missile. Not to mention that field repair would be much harder.

...

Logstics.

>Hey fuckstick, get in the in the MPAW1775(mechanized pilot operated walker) and move those quad cons over by Bravo company's gear. We're on your time.
>Aye corporal.

In-universe foolishness. Acknowledge that mechs /don't/ make sense, but the enemies or evil scientist or crazy pilots or whoever use them because they think they're cool or intimidating or whatever.

In HAWKEN they were used to travel where other mechanized ground forces couldn't go without risking exposure to the Hawken virus. The fact that they only ever had two points of contact with the ground meant they were less likely to pick up and transfer infectious material.

That said, the setting also had a material which allowed them to mostly ignore the square-cube law if you baked it into a steel alloy, which is the only reason the mechs worked as combat units at all.

>It's far, far easier to go over snow than through it.
Not when your mech has strong enough legs even a basic broken down old one can jump roughly 25 meters straight up over rough terrain. Besides, VSs are shown to raise their legs enough that they only plow through snow up to it's waistline, which is something like 7-10 feet on an average.

Maybe T-ENG powers hydraulic legs more efficiently than a driveshaft for a treaded vehicle I dunno nigga, that's why it's Sci-Fi.

>"Only" 10 feet of snow

Stop talking, you're making it worse.

I'm using mine as deep sea construction vehicles that pirates and other rogue groups occasionally use as weapons platforms on the ground and in space.

Pic related. Mine are humanoid, though.

nigga the entire fucking planet is nothing but snow, rocks, and ice, and temperatures can get to -100C due to T-ENG fuckery shitting on thermodynamics.

So yes, "Only" 10 feet of snow.

>Is there any situation where walking vehicles makes sense?

Yes
In anyplace that has dense counture and lots of obstacles, like forest, canyon, mountain ranges, and urban areas, which is like almost 80% of modern combat anyway, if that was your focust.

>In a semi-realistic Hard sci-fi setting how could you best fit in mechs? what kind of mech would be most realistic.

Depens on the setting definition of 'realism' actually, that word is kinda relative. if you talk about our world's modern physics of 'realism' then they will be a crossbreed unit between infantry and tanks, and not ought to replace both. They will be a multirole unit that was as armored as light tanks that serve as MBTs armored support, infantry's heavy mobile weapons platform and scout, and can double as field construction/demolition unit.

As for the size, it will not be a 18m MSes, 5-8 meters 'Labor' will be enought.

This is going to be another great thread of people getting triggered, one side shouting "Yeah uh!", one side shouting "Nuh uh!" and both sides pretending to know shit about engineering or military tactics.

If you think mech as clanky tanks with legs then sure.

If its an compact mech that act like an oversized infantry, then it will just crawl out and sit themselves on strategic position since it can't feel pain, then blast whoever come to him, as long as the sensors still serve the pilot well.

Fuck, something about the Desert Storm aesthetic is just too good.

You're missing the point, and rocks and ice hidden in the snow only make it that much more retarded to try and trudge through it.

You think that a mecha show would have designers do that

Just slap legs on to look cool?

>Is there any situation where walking vehicles makes sense?

No. Pressure is greater than treads or wheels, more easily crippled, and the silhouettes are (typically) taller. Just do it because it's cool.

>In a semi-realistic Hard sci-fi setting how could you best fit in mechs? what kind of mech would be most realistic.

Man-sized powered-armor/exoskeleton.

Anyone who doesn't understand the limitations of modern vehicles needs to drive onto unpaved grass or dirt for a half mile and see how it feels. Pedal locomotion is slow and mechanically complex, but it can dominate any terrain. Any place you need to engage someone that's outside of developed civilization, you want Mecha deployed from orbit or aircraft to get around.

Also they are fucking cool.

Bipeds just sell more toys.

Well, you're in Veeky Forums, where everyones panders to wikis and memes as a viable source of modern enginering to satisfy their autism. Hell they don't even realize that the world 'realism' is heavily convoluted with many factors either.

The high consentration of /k/ and /pol/ aren't helping to....

> semi-realistic
> mechs
Pick one

Mechs are an aberration from an engineering PoV (in a war context, at least). Tanks serve the same purpose but without all the incredible weaknesses of a Mech - and there is no technological advancement that would make Mechs better without benefiting even more to tanks.

The "increased mobility" often argued is actually very thin :
- on roads : tanks tracks are more durable (and cheaper) than running on leg
- on soft terrain : legs provide much worse ground pressure (also a problem on bridges)
- on moderately difficult terrain : tracks where created exactly for this
- legs and hands only come ahead on extremely hard terrain, like wanting to climb a very big pile of rubbles
Basically, if your terrain is bad enough that Mechs get a mobility advantage over tanks, you should probably use helicopters as your firepower source.

The only realistic reason to see Mechs would actually be among police force, due to the "intimidating" factor (one of the reason some police force are still using horses). Or exoskeletons, to allow some soldier the use of heavier weaponry - but I'm not sure if you count that as "Mech".

Typically robots exist for rule of cool. I have the vague handwavery in my own setting that thanks to international law, you couldn't have combat vehicles in space, so instead people strapped guns to construction frames instead for 'security' purposes and things escalated from there. But robots exist to be cool.

The mech would take the place of a light support/heavy infantry. it could be a boon in urban settings.
I would design it to be a bipedal system for standard movement with access to a 20mm weapons platform that would be semi automatic, meant for accuracy and range. this system would be convertible in field to a 4 legged stationary system (probably have the legs split for stability) and would adjust the weapons platform to fully automatic for suppressing fire.
>tl;dr a small mech designed for being a heavy sniping unit that can change into a turret.

>one of the reason some police force are still using horses
They also provide a better vantage point and can just push through people way better than you'd be able to do on your own.

I was always fond of Muv-Luv's use of them. A mech is never going to be as good in an armor role as a tank, or in an air support role as a plane. But their adaptability means they're great for Wild Weasel operations, getting past enemy lines to take out their air defenses and leave them open to bombing and artillery fire.

>Mechanised Infantry
The mobility of soldiers with the beefiness of armour a couple of inches thick.
>Humanoid shaped tanks
I think the intimidation factor is probably the biggest factor. Seeing a giant person crushing things underfoot and with giant guns attached to its forearms would probably unlock some sort of primal prey-like fear in someone.
>Non humanoid mechs
Thinking in particular about the Gekkos from MGS4, which are basically heavy weapons platforms which are able to get to places traditional tanks could not like climbing over buildings, being able to peek into rooms several stories up, etc.

I want a mech so I have a heavy weapons platform\really comfy places to drink with buds.

I should get the new Armoured Core...

Short anwser: yes.

long anwser: I'm making a WH40k Fanfiction where the main characters are part of an armoured regiment with mechs. The idea is to create a very mobile direct fire support unit for use in large scale Factories. Specifically for tech priest aligned worlds where collateral damage could slow down production.

Basically the theory is mount a some heavy weapons on legs (re: shock absorbers) and get some jump jets on them. In practice you've got some pretty dramatic vertical battlets with awesome dodging action. Basically 2002's Phantom Crash with squad tactics. Man that game was fun.

High-tech cranes. Impoverished nations would attempt to technical-them up into something combat worthy, but you really shouldn't be seeing them outside of logistics and engineering units.

They only really make sense in a situation where there's no chance to get a tracked or wheeled vehicle to the objective, and air transport is unrealistic due to either weather conditions or extreme losses from lack of air superiority or enemy aa, and only to give some fire support for ground troops like any other tank or mgs.
That said, bipedal vehicles would be more difficult to produce, maintain and field repair, so quadrapedal would make more sense.
Outside of combat, the research purposes are much the same, serving only to go where other vehicles cant, and protect from harsh or unservivable conditions.

So, planet exploration?

Essentially, that or hazmat/radiation clean up

The only way they make sense is if their the primary tool armies are built around, like tanks are today.

I feel like centipede+ mechs (IE consider a 3 x 10 array of clawed legs) ought to be better than tanks or bipeds. Superior terrain versatility, and an unmatched capacity to position a hull mounted main gun into a firing position downrange.

Infinity uses mechs (known as TAGs). The basic idea is they can shoot/climb/duck/dip/dive/dodge like a human, while providing the pilot with heavy armor and weaponry.

They're also designed for multi-environment usage. They can manuver in zero-g or underwater (for the most part) as well as they can on land. They're also compact enough that they can fit through some doorways and climb up stable buildings.

Essentially, rooftop chase, helicopter insertion, urban combat style mechs similar to the Tachikomas from GitS.

Really big power armour, that's literally the only way it can make sense. And even then you're sort of stretching the definition of the word mech.

Industrial applications more than military.

>what is a forklift

The big problem mechs have from a realism standpoint is that in real life if we need a vehicle capable of vaguely human like stuff like picking things up we just stick an arm on a regular vehicle (space shuttle, garbage truck, forklift etc.).

It seemed to me like so far we were having a pleasent and relatively civil conversation about the types of fiction we enjoyed and then you had to butt in and be a fucking asshole.

Go fuck yourself, people like you are what is ruining this board not fucking /pol/ or sjws or whatever fucking assholes like you who prefer drama over civil discussion, no matter what your agenda.

Fuck you.

Mostly as a deterrent. They're big, they're flashy, they're in NO FUCKING WAY ECONOMICALLY VIABLE HOLY FUCK, and a bunch of tanks can do pretty much the same job for a fraction of the resources, but there's just something about a giant robot standing on the horizon to put the fear of God into some grease spots and it's better for the environment than just nuking them.

Just stand there and look pretty, maybe fire off a shot or two to get the message across and PRAY we don't have to use the thing in extended conflict for more than an hour or so or we'll have to make some more cuts to the welfare and healthcare budget.

In my setting, they're called Armored Frames. Frames are kind of the middle child between vehicles and cyborgs, utilizing technology from the two schools of design in unorthodox ways. The standard sized Frames stand from anywhere between 8 to 15ft tall and serve purposes like construction, support vehicles, and heavy artillery. Anything bigger isn't really viable due to humanity's current shortage of resources.

While normal vehicles are still in use, Armored Frames are used for their versatility in the extremely varied alien environments of the planet humanity is currently exploring. Many Frames are modular by design, enabling ease of conversion or adaptability if the right equipment is present.

Additionally, some Frames can be outfitted with special interfaces, enabling one to control a Frame like they would their own body instead of a standard cockpit. These new interfaces are based on cybernetics technology and greatly benefit from a much higher degree of dexterity than a vehicle can provide, becoming especially useful in construction or handling external weapons systems like a big ass rifle.

Advanced forms of the technology are currently in the works to enable those with cybernetic body parts to link into and control a Frame as their own body. This has lead to a small sect of people eager to overcome their disabilities by merging with small scale Frames in order to explore the alien world instead of rotting away on humanity's mothership. Frames are used for this instead of cyborgs as cyborgs are too small to properly carry adequate life support technologies for its pilot.

Regardless of size, purpose, or systems, Armored Frames are really popular among the Ranger population, a group of people dedicated to exploring the alien world and discovering all kind of weird xenoforms. Within Ranger society, possessing an Armored Frame is somewhat of a status symbol. Rangers adorn them much like their power suits with custom ensignias, paint jobs, and trophies of previously hunted xenoforms.

Rangers also utilize Frames and cyborgs in particular as unmanned drones for the planet's expansive cave systems. A popular model is the Brushknife, a scrawny and inexpensive Frame standing about 8 feet capable of traversing almost any terrain that isn't aquatic. It's outfitted with multiple tracking and scanning systems and possesses a data probe and deployable quad copter for terrain data collection.

Also mechs are cool and I wanted them in my setting so there's that. Why the hell did I even type this all out?

Context is very appreciated in Veeky Forums.

You seem to use the word "cyborg" as some kind of piloted vehicle.

What's up with that?

Not that user, but after enough cybernetics, you pretty much end up as a blob of meat piloting what may or may not be a you shaped robot.

Do whatever macguffin you want
>They are still worse than a tank but: they are much cheaper: they have syntetic muscle that use chemical energy that its cheaper than refining petroleum, because reasons.
>They are not mecanical mech, they are some animal gmo with some armor and a neural bridge. They are cheap to produce, and they can eat other mech or organic resources. As the first example feeding them is cheaper than refining fuel for tanks.
>Mech range from 3m to 5m. They are better use in planets with mega flora or very irregular terrain or megacities. Or they are very versatile.
>Their humanoids form means that the pilot can react much quicker to threats, thanks to an special interface that simulates an artifical cerebelum that take ordes from the pilot cortex and also simulate the human coordination and danger reflexes.

That's not what he's implying, though. He describes cyborgs as not carrying adequate life support systems and as being used as "unmanned drones."

If it was a cyborg, you wouldn't be able to to describe is piloted OR unmanned. because as you said, man and machine would be indistinguishable.

A setting I'm writing. Currently has a campaign running in the setting but it's a solo campaign. Still enjoyable

A cyborg in this setting is simply a human sized mechanical body resembling a human. Whether or not an AI or human consciousness controls this body isn't really important to the engineers. Also, after a certain point, a cyborg with enough shit strapped to it can't really be called a cyborg anymore; it'd just be a small Frame. It's kind of a case-by-case scenario I've been trying to clarify a bit better but I get distracted with other things so I keep forgetting

That's what the people I mentioned earlier are kind of striving towards. You can't really cram that level of mass life support onto a cyborg's smaller body, so they're utilizing Frames and their larger builds to accommodate for life support

They essentially want to be Dragoons from StarCraft, with more or less ion cannons and religious zealotry

...

>A cyborg in this setting is simply a human sized mechanical body resembling a human. Whether or not an AI or human consciousness controls this body isn't really important

Why not come up with another name for this (like "cybershell" from Transhuman Space, which describes basically the same thing) instead of using a real word with a well-established meaning?

What would you call an *actual* cyborg in your setting? Even if they aren't made in the setting, they probably still exist as a fictional/theoretical concept that people can discuss.

Ever driven a forklift? I have, did for years, multiple kinds. They're great, right up until what you're attempting to pick up is angled more than the tilt of the forks can compensate for, or one slat is Slightly lower than the other so you can't possibly get under it. They have limitations.
Now, I'm not saying mechs are the answer but there were time when more dexterity would have been great, especially the times where it was me or some other poor fuck who had to try and compensate the payload by hand while some other dick had to try and get under it without crushing us with the backplate or the tires, or severing something with the forks.

Mechs are just shittier tanks

Basically for extreme future sports or an expensive toy for overpaid private military groups.
Generally, anything much bigger than a simple exo-suit like an advanced version of modern stuff would be better off in a more specialized form like a tank or plane or boat or sub.
Even considering the growing role of drone technology and fewer humans on the ground, more specialised forms make more sense than humanoid mechs even for more technical and support roles.

>What would you call an *actual* cyborg in your setting?

While it's true I said either an A.I. or human can be in control of the body, the technology to stuff someone's brain into a cyborg and make it work isn't really there. A person can have a lot of replacement or modified body parts but not really rip out their brain and spinal cord like Raiden and shove it into a brand new body.

I guess calling a variant of cyborgs an unmanned drone in that example was just a bad part on my end. It'd just be a proper beep boop robot or android. Androids are based mostly on the cybernetics technologies developed in setting though, as it's just taking a bunch of artificial human body parts and stapling them together. I think I just mixed up the term, then got mixed up when you asked about it

Thank you user. I've notes to review to see if I mixed anything else up

This.
Do it like Five Star Stories but with less bullshit.

Dude, tank IS mech, how they can be better than themselves?

But he describes cyborgs as being too small for the life support of its pilot. Implying that there IS in fact a pilot for the cyborg.

minovsky particle
adding a single, believable, and simple background elements that makes mechs a natural inculsion

If you want to be realistic then look at real life. What big mecha we use?
None, except this I guess.

Above jeeps but below an MBT, deployable only in mountainous or heavily urban dense environs.

I was mixing up cyborgs and androids. Androids are too small for pilots but their technologies are still helpful to Frame tech, as well as cyborg tech. Androids are used for unmanned drones, not cyborgs

I've had a long day so the fatigue is probably getting to me

if you have power armor in your setting, then having a slightly bigger rideable armor would make sense, for when you need more firepower than mech infantry, but more subtlety than a tank

>Thank you user. I've notes to review to see if I mixed anything else up

No worries. I was just confused when the word popped up. Glad I could apparently be of some help.

That was my point. He's already explained it.

Many industrial and agricultural machines out there could be considered mecha, even if they don't have legs. It's also the most realistic sort of mech, which means the biggest challenge is finding compelling reasons for using legs vs. treads. The terrain would have to be quite challenging.

Military applications aren't out of the question, but their intended purpose would be building infrastructure on short notice, like fortifications or bridges. They wouldn't be meant as a front line unit, but they might see action in a dire situation, and bored soldiers might find "creative" uses for them.

The most plausible scenario I can think of for a setting that really needs a lot of walking mechs is a new planet or other location in the process of being terraformed. Having a multipurpose, mass produced machine that has intuitive controls can put a lot of people to work on large scale projects.

This question is asked a lot in writing groups. I gave some thought about that some time ago and while my argument WILL have flaws in it, it may lead you to a more solid argument to use it in your setting. Implying that by mech you mean a relatively big bipedal robot and not quadrupedal or other variant... A mech could find use in points where other systems are lacking, mainly if it had very long range and operated more independently, you could move them over rough terrain and set in a forest, valley, mountain, etc, meaning it wouldn't need to be incredible fast, just be very good in moving on rough terrain, the high profile problem is somewhat solved by better camouflage, it could be even useful for visually spotting radar/heat-camo'd things, and if the mech is very good at sniping, it wouldn't need that much armor anyway, decreasing size and weight. In summary a snipe and move tactic would be ideal.

Comparing to Main Battle Tanks, MBT are kinda shit in asymmetrical war (which are making them phased out) and generally need support from other units, like infantry and air support, mines hinders their mobility/use, they can only move in certain terrains, making ambush and mine placement easier, they lack (very) long range capability, relaying on air support for that.

All that said, tanks are still very good IMO, and for asymmetrical war it's much easier and cheaper to just send a drone and snipe-bomb your target or use proxies than built a oversized rocket/projectile launcher, but hey, scaring your enemy is useful as fuck.

>Also mechs are cool and I wanted them in my setting so there's that.
This is the best reason to have mechs in your setting. Kinda the only reason as well.

Also your setting sounds pretty well thought out, kudos.

>I should get the new Armoured Core...
the one in those WEBM's, V is actually several years old and has dead MP(and it's semi-sequel After V is barely alive either)

Thank you. It's the default setting for a system I made. Originally it was for a fan game for the Metroid universe, but I wanted to do something more with it, so I split it off and began writing a donut steel setting.

It draws a lot from Ghost in the Shell, Xenoblade Chronicles X, Lost Planet 1/2, Mechwarrior, and Monster Hunter along with a bunch of other sources. Big focus on exploration, interactions with xenoforms (including combat of course) and resource management in the form of recruiting mercenaries and known NPCs to complete sidequests for you or join you on a deployment.

Humanity uses various Frames to explore a hostile alien planet with a toxic atmosphere in attempts to settle it. Their mothership's engines are completely shot after an emergency warp drive, so the nearby planet is the subject to new human colonization in attempts to eventually fix the engines and colonize the new solar system before the remnants of humanity rots away in a giant space coffin.

It's mostly done but I've been in a depressive slouch for the better part of four months due to unemployment and I can't stay focused long enough to work on it. Was hoping to offer it to Veeky Forums when I was done but it'll be a while

honestly I say don't bother beyond the vaguest suggestions and reasons, any attempts at a serious explanation will either require phlebtonium and/or heavy handwaving, and will end up getting henpecked to death by people overly obsessed with "realism"(although many of these people have a definition of realism that has little to do with reality in the first place)

TLDR: just apply the MST3K maxim and don't worry about it

What about Think Tanks from Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex? Like the one from season 1 ep2.

It can travel on roads quickly without damaging them. It can turn on a dime. And it has legs that can walk and jump over small obstacles. And the smaller mini tanks (tachikomas) can climb walls, and jump over rooftops.

So what if you were fighting in caves or something? Terrain too difficult for tanks, and too confined for helicopters. Mechs could fulfill the mobile armor/heavy support role in a world where subterranean combat is the norm.

That's what bunker busters are for

But what if the caves are really, really big. Like humans are mining all their unobtainium a couple miles beneath the earth's surface, and all the aliens/rebels/bad guys are way down in the mines fucking up vital mining efforts. So we use mechs to bring some heavy support to the lower mine levels?

Super niche, but if the resource is valuable enough, there might be a need.

industrial fabrication. such as using mechs in starship production in place of other construction equipment.

The only way mechs make sense at all (sadly) is as mobile weapons platform crewed by a single person. Think the Stryder from Titanfall.

-The humanoid shape makes it easier for the pilot to identify with than the rolling box that is a tank (didn't HARKEN use that as justification too?)
-having only a single pilot controlling things cuts down on the command&coordination lag within a traditional crewed vehicle (if there's actual tankers here, I'd love to hear from them how long their tank needed to react to new circumstances on-the-fly, from the moment the new circumstances occured tto the point when everyone had their new orders. Also, is there any autonomy for iE the driver to act without order?)

Thermobarics, my man. Thermobarics.

mechs work because you cannot win a war solely from the air or sea, you have to have people on the ground to secure objectives.

write a mech like a tank of the future, it breaks fortification and holds positions.

>A mech could find use in points where other systems are lacking, mainly if it had very long range and operated more independently, you could move them over rough terrain and set in a forest, valley, mountain, etc, meaning it wouldn't need to be incredible fast, just be very good in moving on rough terrain, the high profile problem is somewhat solved by better camouflage
This would kinda limit it to engaging in areas where the enemy can not sortie some birds to gun down the giant cheeky robot that took a shot at the fob not too quickly leaving the area. Why not just shoot a missile at it, have a gunship piss at it, or huff some mountain artillery to shoot it instead of the giant robot.

>it could be even useful for visually spotting radar/heat-camo'd things
why send a giant robot to look at something when you could have a unmanned drone, satellite, or dudes with optical equipment and radios look at something?

Honestly, if a need for giant bipedal robots existed we would have them already, but the combination of bombs, boats, aircrafts, treads, wheel, and feet get the job done.

Sports.

No wait, seirously, hear me out:

>The year is 20-something fuck if I care, you didn't come to hear me talk about the damn year
>You came to hear about the suits, right? Well, lemme see.
>It started like it always does, with people being dumb as fuck. Robotics had easily advanced enough by then, it was only a matter of time before some knuckleheads deciding to do something stupid.
>So, the decided the best idea was to wrap themselves in a tin can and duke it out in underground arenas.
>The problem got so big, and everybody loves it. The feds did the only thing they could to handle it...they sanctioned it.
>That ended up setting off the whole works. Standardized rules, teams, contracts, merchandise...all of it.
>Shit, it became the biggest new sport...literally. The suits underground fighters wore were sometimes barely more than just a suit, but the professionals got themselve some pretty sweet tech.
>And that's how the National Mech League got started.

So guys, completely unrelated, but does anybody know awesome Mech art books? I've seen some that are just stylized as hell, and others that go all the way down to blueprint-like detail. I want to buy several to study, and improve my art, hopefully, more than likely just read them over and over.

This infinity tags are beef up power armour they only to honestly say that looks like a monster tank on legs is the Joutm

sounds like IGPX

>Picks an objectively shitty mech design
>"Man this design is so shitty. Aren't mechs just so shitty?"

I agree mechs don't make practical sense, but you could at least post something other than cherrypicked.jpg

>I want a mech so I have a heavy weapons platform\really comfy places to drink with buds.
HAWKEN's aesthetic was easily the best thing about it once the new guys ripped all the good stuff out of the mechanics.

This thread almost makes me want to pick it back up, but last I checked it got infected with P2W bullshit.

a good way to excuse mechs in is to use the same excuse that ring of red used: small , mountains or fucking dense jungle a la vietnam, places so cramped that only someting that imitates human locomotion can move relatively well

>inb4 why not bomb/napalm the place
you want conquer a country not a crater

Yes. Once you have some form of locomotion for the legs that outpaces tracks, there will be mechs. Mobility will trump armor in most combat situations. Therefore you merely need to have something that can handle a faster pace then the tracks on a tank.

Also you need to not have any sort of contragrav for tanks. Once they have that, they are queens again.

>which are making them phased out

You're talking out your ass. The MBT certainly wasn't intended to fight asymmetrical conflicts, but the combination of a 120mm direct-fire gun and several machine guns is too useful to replace. The fact that infantry, which tend to be kinda squishy can hide behind them is also rather useful as well, as is the infantrymans ability to suppress enemies with AT weapons so the tank can drop a shell on them. It's a symbiotic relationship, really.

It's also telling that no one besides some people who think they know what the future looks like actually want to replace the MBT.

>Also, is there any autonomy for iE the driver to act without order?

The commander is supposed to make all the important calls, a tank isn't a democracy, after all. However, drivers can act independently in an emergency or what have you.

>Is there any situation where walking vehicles makes sense?

Neural bridge controls require a humanoid body shape or otherwise the pilot can't "relate" to his vehicle and gets mind-fucked upon linking. Since neural bridge controls offer superior finesse and reaction time, not to mention a highly augmented engagement efficiency, humanoid war machines start to show up as elite shock troops.

Neural bridge control gives too much edge over conventional weapon systems, and since it needs mechs to be a thing, so mechs it should be.

>Tanks can keep fighting even if their tracks are blown off, but bipedal mech would be easily crippled out of fight with well placed AT missile.
This wouldn't be any less true of a mech, assuming it had a turret somewhere.

>Not to mention that field repair would be much harder.
Okay, there's that.

Really, under modern tech, despite that mechs could get into all sorts of places that tanks couldn't, good a reason as any not to do it.

I suppose if you had some sorta sci-fi nanite construction/repair device, it might make more sense, but at that point, you're probably just going to send the nanites into battle to gray goo the enemy anyways.

After the successful test and usage of the EM drive, Humanity had to accept the fact that their progress and knowledge was based on incomplete data.

200 years later, they were again smacked in the face by reality when a hive of enormous insect-like beings passed through our Solar System. Having to accept the truth that Humanity was small in many ways, Mecha were developed to interact with the numerous large races that make up the galaxy as well as to defend themselves from the less agreeable races that roam the space lanes.