Are humongous mechs practical?

[Bigeyez]

Actually they aren't completely impractical. In certain situations a pair of legs on a vehicle would be much better then tracks or wheels. (Jungle environments, rocky terrain, etc) The trick is building something that can move quickly while being sturdy.

Then again we're talking smaller sizes here too. There really is no reason for a mech to be as huge as we see them in games. Hell for the size and tonnage that MechWarrior mechs have, for instance, they should have multiple times the firepower on them then they we see them with in games. We have equipment (ie tanks, artilery, etc) today a fraction the size and tonnage of those mechs and they have considerably more firepower on them.

A more realistic mech would be the Star Wars variety, the AT-ST. (Thats the small 2 legged one not the huge 4 legged walker, and even thats too big to be practical in real life) Something along those lines, ie. quick, agile, not a huge target, could actually work in the real world if the technology gets there.

Then again it's advantages over treads and wheels are strickly based on the environment it's in and building something that can only be used in a couple theatres of war isn't exactly the best idea.

 

[crimson5pheonix]

Actually they aren't completely impractical. In certain situations a pair of legs on a vehicle would be much better then tracks or wheels. (Jungle environments, rocky terrain, etc) The trick is building something that can move quickly while being sturdy.

Then again we're talking smaller sizes here too. There really is no reason for a mech to be as huge as we see them in games. Hell for the size and tonnage that MechWarrior mechs have, for instance, they should have multiple times the firepower on them then they we see them with in games. We have equipment (ie tanks, artilery, etc) today a fraction the size and tonnage of those mechs and they have considerably more firepower on them.

A more realistic mech would be the Star Wars variety, the AT-ST. (Thats the small 2 legged one not the huge 4 legged walker, and even thats too big to be practical in real life) Something along those lines, ie. quick, agile, not a huge target, could actually work in the real world if the technology gets there.

Then again it's advantages over treads and wheels are strickly based on the environment it's in and building something that can only be used in a couple theatres of war isn't exactly the best idea.

But in those places where it would be useful, something like a spider bot?

 

[Ph33nix]

if you can build mechs you can build bolos
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolo_(tank)

this is an AI controlled tank with 2 plasma cannons that can shoot a heavy cruiser out of orbit, it will kick your ass battle mech

 

[Bigeyez]

But in those places where it would be useful, something like a spider bot?

Not sure what your asking me here...would something like a spiderbot be useful? Well the advantage legs have over treads and wheels is on uneven terrain. For example, in the middle of a jungle where you have rocks, logs, debris, junk, etc all over the ground. A vehicle would move faster over that type of terrain if it had legs instead of wheels or treads. If more legs somehow make it better I really don't know, but yeah thats pretty much the only reason legs would be better then standard things.

 

[kingpocky]

Also, wouldn't mechs have a greater problem on swampy or muddy terrain than a comparably sized tank? The amount of pressure on the treads would be a lot larger, so it'd be hard to keep them from sinking as deep as possible.

 

[Valiance]

Actually, Battletech did mechs better then Anime did, considering they're intended to be industrial machines that have been adapted for war.

I agree wholeheartedly, but I feel that a 100 ton mech would be less useful than a 100 ton tank of similar size and armaments.

The thing is that a 100 ton tank doesn't have nearly the mobility that a 100 ton mech does. The amount of maneuverability that is available simply because of being bi-(or quadri-)pedal in infinately better for a piece of artillery then a track. It's easier to pick up and move when you have actual legs to do so.

Ok, how about aircraft?

 

[Naheal]

I agree wholeheartedly, but I feel that a 100 ton mech would be less useful than a 100 ton tank of similar size and armaments.

The thing is that a 100 ton tank doesn't have nearly the mobility that a 100 ton mech does. The amount of maneuverability that is available simply because of being bi-(or quadri-)pedal in infinately better for a piece of artillery then a track. It's easier to pick up and move when you have actual legs to do so.

Ok, how about aircraft?

So, we have to have a place to keep aircraft around to pick up a tank when we could just move a mech on it's own?

 

[Ph33nix]

BOLOS WILL WIN they are "GLobal Siege weapons" aka they can take the planet by themselfs

 

[ethaninja]

Who cares, they are bloody awesome =D But I guess the main feature about them is intimidation. Just like a big bloke, he may look intimidating to some, but a small dude could take him out easily.

 

[jboking]

Anime style thirty-story mechs of jet boosting laswer-sword wielding deathness? Yup, impractical.

These babies? Slightly more feasible. World War 2 would have been so much cooler if they actually existed...

I for one, could see mechs like this(if given some serious jumping power to clear gaps) phasing out the typical Tank. However, mobile suit gundam mechs are just too impractical to be made. If you take out one leg the thing falls over, so not only does it sustain the destroyed limb, but also any damage it got on the way down. It's just not a good idea and until the nation of Japan learns this, the western world will continue to dominate them in war.

 

[axia777]

Also of note. What time period are we talking about here? 100 years in the future? 200? Because modern BattleTech takes place in the 32nd century. That is 1,100 years in the future(if my math is correct). I am sorry to say, but us speculating on what kind of tech humans will have 1,100 years from now is almost pointless. Could people predict the idea of the Space Shuttle even 100 years ago? Maybe in a rough and very crude manner, but the actual tech needed to make the Space Shuttle work was way beyond anything that they could have conceived of.

So I say that 1,100 years in the future they will have weapon systems that make even BattleTech Mechs look like big piles of slow as weak sauce crap. They will have power suits and robots that would most likely blow our minds straight out of our domes.

 

[UAProxy]

This is to suggest that tanks can't be pants-wettingly scary on the battlefield. Clearly you have not seen the Baneblade.

 

[Poke_Freak]

Also of note. What time period are we talking about here? 100 years in the future? 200? Because modern BattleTech takes place in the 32nd century. That is 1,100 years in the future(if my math is correct). I am sorry to say, but us speculating on what kind of tech humans will have 1,100 years from now is almost pointless. Could people predict the idea of the Space Shuttle even 100 years ago? Maybe in a rough and very crude manner, but the actual tech needed to make the Space Shuttle work was way beyond anything that they could have conceived of.

So I say that 1,100 years in the future they will have weapon systems that make even BattleTech Mechs look like big piles of slow as weak sauce crap. They will have power suits and robots that would most likely blow our minds straight out of our domes.

It seems we're swinging between "Now" and "Some undisclosed point in the future where we have all those cool things we can only see on Star Trek right now".

 

[axia777]

The Ultimate Mech: Macross/Super Dimension Fortress Three

Also of note. What time period are we talking about here? 100 years in the future? 200? Because modern BattleTech takes place in the 32nd century. That is 1,100 years in the future(if my math is correct). I am sorry to say, but us speculating on what kind of tech humans will have 1,100 years from now is almost pointless. Could people predict the idea of the Space Shuttle even 100 years ago? Maybe in a rough and very crude manner, but the actual tech needed to make the Space Shuttle work was way beyond anything that they could have conceived of.

So I say that 1,100 years in the future they will have weapon systems that make even BattleTech Mechs look like big piles of slow as weak sauce crap. They will have power suits and robots that would most likely blow our minds straight out of our domes.

It seems we're swinging between "Now" and "Some undisclosed point in the future where we have all those cool things we can only see on Star Trek right now".

Star Trek was about 300 years in the future. I think humans could have fully developed Mechs as in any of the Gundam, BattleTech, or Robotech story lines. If humans could travel at faster than light speeds then having Mech's that are useful in battle would little trouble at all.

 

[NeutralDrow]

Of course not. That's why Gundam had to invent a whole new area of physics to explain it.

Doesn't stop them from being really damn cool.

 

[kingpocky]

Also of note. What time period are we talking about here? 100 years in the future? 200? Because modern BattleTech takes place in the 32nd century. That is 1,100 years in the future(if my math is correct). I am sorry to say, but us speculating on what kind of tech humans will have 1,100 years from now is almost pointless. Could people predict the idea of the Space Shuttle even 100 years ago? Maybe in a rough and very crude manner, but the actual tech needed to make the Space Shuttle work was way beyond anything that they could have conceived of.

So I say that 1,100 years in the future they will have weapon systems that make even BattleTech Mechs look like big piles of slow as weak sauce crap. They will have power suits and robots that would most likely blow our minds straight out of our domes.

Mostly correct, except there's a problem with the last part. If you're talking about something that distant in the future, there's no way to accurately predict what will be practical. Arguing over whether the machines of war a millennia from now will be shaped like robots or tanks is pointless. It's like if two people from the 16th century were speculating about when flight would be invented, and arguing about whether the flying ships of the future would be more like a galleon or a longship.

 

[axia777]

Also of note. What time period are we talking about here? 100 years in the future? 200? Because modern BattleTech takes place in the 32nd century. That is 1,100 years in the future(if my math is correct). I am sorry to say, but us speculating on what kind of tech humans will have 1,100 years from now is almost pointless. Could people predict the idea of the Space Shuttle even 100 years ago? Maybe in a rough and very crude manner, but the actual tech needed to make the Space Shuttle work was way beyond anything that they could have conceived of.

So I say that 1,100 years in the future they will have weapon systems that make even BattleTech Mechs look like big piles of slow as weak sauce crap. They will have power suits and robots that would most likely blow our minds straight out of our domes.

Mostly correct, except there's a problem with the last part. If you're talking about something that distant in the future, there's no way to accurately predict what will be practical. Arguing over whether the machines of war a millennia from now will be shaped like robots or tanks is pointless. It's like if two people from the 16th century were speculating about when flight would be invented, and arguing about whether the flying ships of the future would be more like a galleon or a longship.

That is my entire point. I say we can't even acutely predict what war machines will look like in even as short a time span as 2-300 hundred years from now. I don think that Mechs will be possible though in even 2-300 hundred years from now. And in 1,100 years? Well, that is just beyond us entirely. Who knows if we will even have war then.

 

[Typecast]

No they are not practical. At least not at our silly level of technology.

EDIT: Let me clarify; when a single person, with an 80year old designed RPG can take out a 42 million dollar tank, causing the military to put SANDBAGS on their tanks, what hope do you think a mech has? It's a bigger target, with plenty of vulnerable spots and it's walking motion would make sandbags impractical defenses

 

[kingpocky]

Then the only question that can really be argued over is if mechs will be practical anytime in the foreseeable future.