Aren't Battletech and Mechwarrior the same thing?
Western mechs seem to be mainly just giant war-machines
Eastern mechs seem to be mostly human-shaped.
[QUOTE=NorthernGate;26600057][img_thumb]http://www.army-technology.com/projects/olifant/images/olifant_tank1.jpg[/img_thumb]
I don't really understand how a bipedal mech is more effective than a tank.[/QUOTE]
Tanks suck at climbing broken shit, and as such 'tank traps' always cause them to get stuck, they are also not very easy to see out of, and it takes quite a long time to turn the head thing. Plus, they aren't as intimidating as a massive bipedal humanoid looking thing.
western mechs are better
[QUOTE=RayDark;26601404]Tanks suck at climbing broken shit, and as such 'tank traps' always cause them to get stuck, they are also not very easy to see out of, and it takes quite a long time to turn the head thing. Plus, they aren't as intimidating as a massive bipedal humanoid looking thing.[/QUOTE]
Mechs suck at pretty much anything. Tank traps topple them, they are slower, they can't carry as much weight (therefore would be lighter armoured and armed) and are an easy target. They also cost more and are more complex to produce.
The intimidation lasts only until some militia hiding in a hole fires a RPG at it's weakspots (which are plentyful) and the thing is done for.
I prefer western. Why have a human shaped robot hold a giant gun when you can build the gun into the system. Of course I prefer when mechs aren't depicted as super advanced, invincible machines. I like to see them assisted by helicopters and tanks and not just blowing through them as though they were nothing.
[editline]10th December 2010[/editline]
[QUOTE=acds;26601710]Mechs suck at pretty much anything. Tank traps topple them, they are slower, they can't carry as much weight (therefore would be lighter armoured and armed) and are an easy target. They also cost more and are more complex to produce.
The intimidation lasts only until some militia hiding in a hole fires a RPG at it's weakspots (which are plentyful) and the thing is done for.[/QUOTE]
Spider mechs > bipedal mechs. They're more stable, can carry heavier loads, can keep going of they lose a leg or two. Of course they'd need tanks to provide heavy fire support.
[QUOTE=NorthernGate;26600057][img_thumb]http://www.army-technology.com/projects/olifant/images/olifant_tank1.jpg[/img_thumb]
I don't really understand how a bipedal mech is more effective than a tank.[/QUOTE]
Actually, in the Battletech universe, tanks, helicopters and warplanes are often the backbone of the armed forces.
For those saying they only look cool, have none of you seen Robotech?
Also, do not dismiss mechs so easily, just look at the tank. It took the Germans to show its fullest potential and now its the machine we know now, however infantry will always be the core of any fighting force.
Western Mechs are definitely more utilitarian and seem to be constructed within closer realms or reality.
Starsiege was I think the most Under appreciated Mech game Ever, and its designs are very utilitarian and even re purposed from other vehicles in the case of the Martian rebels.
[IMG]http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a39/spartix273/Starsiege/basilisk01.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a39/spartix273/Starsiege/gorgon1.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a39/spartix273/Starsiege/Apoc-Imp.jpg[/IMG]
Eastern Designs are usually dominated by the outlandish Evangellion and Gundam (both of which I still enjoy). But They also hold a large place in my Heart.
Armored Cores are the pinnacle (I believe) of Eastern design, and in all honesty give me a raging mecha-boner. They are freed from the bright colors of their anime counterparts and represent and represent an evolution in design.
[IMG]http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t232/zerokenj/003.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff253/faznaz/wp15_1280.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t312/qeloqoo/armored.jpg[/IMG]
western mechs and dragons are superior
King of Mechs, THOR! (In my opinion.)
[img]http://www.otrip.ru/uploads/2010/06/Summoner_MechWarrior.jpg[/img]
I like western mechs best because they're usually depicted as being realistic(ish) war machines, not ridiculous power armor as someone else already stated in this thread.
I'll take either kind of mech, because giant robots in general are awesome. If I had to pick one side or the other, though, I'd go Eastern. Whereas a Western mech would perforate the target with machine gun fire, an Eastern mech is just as likely to take out a giant battle axe and tear the target to pieces. Both of those are awesome, but I'll side with the battle axe.
By the way, what about super robots? Getter Robo, Mazinger, Mazinkaiser, and most of the stuff made by Go Nagai. Hell, Mazinger was the first robot to actually have a human pilot, so that's what pretty much got the giant robot genre moving in the first place
[IMG]http://fc01.deviantart.com/fs9/i/2006/038/3/7/Go_Nagai_bots_by_Chen___REX_20_by_Robot_Japan.jpg[/IMG]
Madcat MkII 4 lyf ~
[IMG]http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d57/stoosh666/war%20room%20review%2009/MegasXLR.jpg[/IMG]
i win
Oi! Thats cheating!
[editline]10th December 2010[/editline]
[QUOTE=wildferret82;26603431]I'll take either kind of mech, because giant robots in general are awesome. If I had to pick one side or the other, though, I'd go Eastern. Whereas a Western mech would perforate the target with machine gun fire, an Eastern mech is just as likely to take out a giant battle axe and tear the target to pieces. Both of those are awesome, but I'll side with the battle axe.
By the way, what about super robots? Getter Robo, Mazinger, Mazinkaiser, and most of the stuff made by Go Nagai. Hell, Mazinger was the first robot to actually have a human pilot, so that's what pretty much got the giant robot genre moving in the first place[/QUOTE]
Actually, there are several Battletech Models that use hatchets. I'd have to look it up again but there are some designs that have a melee ability specifically designed to tear other mechs in half.
[QUOTE=RayDark;26601404]Tanks suck at climbing broken shit, and as such 'tank traps' always cause them to get stuck, they are also not very easy to see out of, and it takes quite a long time to turn the head thing. Plus, they aren't as intimidating as a massive bipedal humanoid looking thing.[/QUOTE]Smaller surface area on the feet = likely to sink into softer ground. A mech of the same weight as a tank is going to have a bitch of a time getting anywhere other than very solid ground due to the greater pressure exerted by the feet.
A mech also has a number of glaring weaknesses, any one of which will cripple it, most notably leg joints. To armour them to the same extent as a tank is going to require a lot more weight.
It's also a lot taller than a tank i.e. a bigger target.
It's also not going to be as fast for the same amount of power needed to make a tank go a certain speed.
There's also the problem of a mech being knocked over, especially if it were to be armed with a gun as powerful as a tank's.
Nor is a mech going to be able to keep it's balance particularly well on the aforementioned broken shit or tank traps. I'm not talking about those pipe-dream Gundams, but any kind of walker we'll be able to make in the now and future.
Not easy to see out of? Need I remind you that, unless you want the pilot to get shot, a mech's cockpit is going to have to be well armoured, and thus reduced in vision? In any case, there's always cameras/thermal vision/opening the hatch for a quick peek. That mech is also going to turn slower than a tank's turret.
Intimidation? Tanks are quite intimidating when you have one rolling down towards you. A mech is going to be more of a laughingstock when it has a Javelin missile hit it.
For the same weight, a tank is better armoured, faster, better armed and smaller. Humanoid-sized robots may have their place in the future, as might exosuits, but for the effort it would require to make a militarily viable mech, you might as well just make a tank hover.
Even though they're walking tanks rather than actual mechs, I fucking love chromehounds.
West forever, I fucking loved Chromehounds.
Shame they shutdown the multiplayer server and the singleplayer sucked ass.
[img]http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/image/article/682/682884/chromehounds-20060123055115287_640w.jpg[/img]
I love both western and eastern mechs there so bad ass.
My favorite EASTERN
[img]http://imgur.com/YsRXU[/img]
Evangelions;D
[img]http://imgur.com/EpRdP.jpg[/img]
THIS HAND GLOWS WITH A BURNING DESIRE..
[QUOTE=freighter014;26598442]
[img_thumb]http://www.nekoguchi.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/white_gundam_exia/white-gundam-exia-01.jpg[/img_thumb][/QUOTE]
What is this one?
According to the URL it's Gundam Exia.
I actually grew up playing MechWarrior and watching Gundam side by side.
I like both, but transforming pisses me off.
And, will always like Western Mechs more than Eastern. Simply because they look functional and warlike in a way no eastern style has managed yet.
[QUOTE=psychocyclone85;26599108]I found some pictures of High-Quality Gundam models, and they look fantastic:
[img_thumb]http://naowkssub.web.fc2.com/ti/ti01.jpg[/img_thumb]
[img_thumb]http://naowkssub.web.fc2.com/gt/gat01.jpg[/img_thumb]
[img_thumb]http://naowkssub.web.fc2.com/hgkemp/hgk01.jpg[/img_thumb]
[img_thumb]http://naowkssub.web.fc2.com/gofu/gofu01.jpg[/img_thumb]
[img_thumb]http://naowkssub.web.fc2.com/h82/h8201.jpg[/img_thumb]
Whoever this guy is, he's really good at making models look sexy. I've got more, and even a link to the site if anyone is interested. (A lot of the text on the site is Japanese(Or similar), but if you know some of the Mobile suits by name, it shouldn't be much of a problem.)
I also apologize for this large image dump, I just love mechs so much, and I wanted to share.[/QUOTE]
I'm interested. Link me?
Also, I don't see "functionality" as a component of how COOL a mech is. I could pick apart at all the little physical impossibilities in every mech, eastern or western, but what would be the fun in that? Give me a mech with a fucking morning star and giant bird wings. Let's try to be more open-minded here.
[img]http://hypebeast.com/image/2007/11/mastermind-japan-bandai-gundam-5.jpg[/img]
I mean look at this shit. It's eyecandy
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msSNd2SJ3Cc[/media]
Also, check the video out if you want to see insane stop motion Gundam!
[img]http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20060507190558/cnc/images/f/f3/MammothMarkII.jpg[/img]
well Technically it's a walker but still
This is a C&C 2 Mammoth Walker not the C&C 4 Mastadon
[editline]11th December 2010[/editline]
[img]http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20090704194348/cnc/images/thumb/e/ea/AvatarWarmech_CC3_Art1.jpg/663px-AvatarWarmech_CC3_Art1.jpg[/img]
Avatar
[img]http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20080212232731/cnc/images/thumb/9/98/Redeemer_Hi-Rez.jpg/830px-Redeemer_Hi-Rez.jpg[/img]
Redeemer
[QUOTE=freighter014;26617888]I'm interested. Link me?
Also, I don't see "functionality" as a component of how COOL a mech is. I could pick apart at all the little physical impossibilities in every mech, eastern or western, but what would be the fun in that? Give me a mech with a fucking morning star and giant bird wings. Let's try to be more open-minded here.
[img_thumb]http://hypebeast.com/image/2007/11/mastermind-japan-bandai-gundam-5.jpg[/img_thumb]
I mean look at this shit. It's eyecandy
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msSNd2SJ3Cc[/media]
Also, check the video out if you want to see insane stop motion Gundam![/QUOTE]
I guess my pictures aren't working, what a bummer. Here you go: [url]http://naowkssub.web.fc2.com/gallery.html[/url]
Metal Gear is completely Western and you know it.
This shit is pretty sweet.
[img]http://www.spore.com/static/avatar/500/291/316/Corporate_Assault_mech_by_flyingdebris.jpg[/img]
Japanese/"Eastern" guys can really design some "realistic" mecha, it's just that shit like mobile suits and other ridiculous stuff get the spotlight all the time. But to assign "realistic" and "fantasy" design aesthetics to the terms "West" and "East" is just inflexible and inaccurate.
Here's the Scopedog from Armored Trooper VOTOMS. It's only 4 meters tall and has less armor than an armored car. 12.7mm machine guns can penetrate its thin armor.
[IMG]http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y12/FISTltsniper/votoms_city.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y12/FISTltsniper/votoms2.jpg[/IMG]
And here's some mecha from Patlabor:
[IMG]http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y12/FISTltsniper/hannibal-1.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y12/FISTltsniper/silent_field-1.jpg[/IMG]
Speaking of tanks and mechs, I like mecha depicted not as tank replacements, but as another component of a combined arms team. The Heavy Gear wargame and Patlabor does this nicely. If you try to go head to head against tanks in the 1st Heavy Gear game you'll get your ass kicked. In the movie Patlabor 2 you see a single ATGM carrier make short work of a mecha platoon.
[QUOTE=Swilly;26598745][img_thumb]http://www.wallpaperpimper.com/wallpaper/Art_&_3D/Fantasy/Battletech-Brutal-Punch-1-1024x768.jpg[/img_thumb]
You have to admit that's pretty bad ass.
Atlas knocking out a Timber Wolf.[/QUOTE]
That ain't a Timber Wolf though. Pretty sure it's a Masakari.
But I gotta say both, they've both got very unique style and way of depicting things. Although if I absolutely had to choose between them, I'd go with Western.
I think western ones tend to be more interesting.
I'm surprised at how many eastern ones are so dedicated to mimicking the human form. I mean, why build exactly five fingers on each hand? And why not make their joints more flexible than human joints? I'd think it would be advantageous to be able to bend the elbows close to 360 degrees. Or better yet, why not just make the elbows ball-and-socket joints like the shoulders and thighs are?
These things are generally built for war, but a human is built to do more than kill things, so it seems like building a machine that looks so human is not a very smart decision
