Are humongous mechs practical?

[CheeseSandwichCake]

From what I can tell the general consensus is that unless they're small, fast, have more than 2 legs, and can beat out tanks, they lose.

There's also the matter of what happens when they get hit by airstrikes. Repeatedly. Cause they aren't exactly the fastest of vehicles.

Shit, ninja'd.

Basically this. Not only that but they're >9000x as impractical in space combat.

Some fantard I was trolling for lulz was saying they'd be super manouverable into space because they'd just have to turn... they'd just have to turn their 1 tonne frame and shift their direction with thrusters in one elegant movement, even though they're in a frictionless environment where the slightest movement can put you completely off balance and send you spiralling off course, ESPECIALLY if you're heavy. No, GTFO.

 

[TheGreatCoolEnergy]

I think they would be better than a tank in a few situations(like moving through a swamp) but out in the open? Not unless they were armored like a tank.

 

[CheeseSandwichCake]

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

YOU ARE AWESOME.

 

[ButanicXpandA]

they would be great for destroying enemy cities, just hit the 'spastic' button and watch the destruction.

 

[Zedzero]

I seriously doubt they actually have practical applications. But science fiction isn't supposed to make sense, so I don't complain.

Actually Japanese military have developed a functional 13 foot Gundam suit. I have yet to hear whether it was a success or just a pile of crap.

 

[The Salty Vulcan]

No, for the following reasons.

*Construction= Can you imagine the billions of dollars used to make a working prototype then mass produce?!?!

*Energy= How the hell are you gonna be able to safely power something that size? You could go the Evangelion route and have a power cord put in, but thats just as impractical as a giant mecha.

*Control= Pilots? Remote control? A.I? I doubt any of these would actually move as gracefully as they're shown to move.

*Damage Control= Ok. You've somehow built your mecha. He's gone into battle and has beat up Goldar to a pulp. By the way, DID YOU NOTICE HOW MACH OF THE CITY AND LANDSCAPE YOU'VE DESTROYED?! YOU MONSTER!!

In all, No. They are beyond impractical but dammit they look cool!

I guess the closest thing we could hope for are these

 

[ShotgunShaman]

Very practical. Great conversation piece.

 

[Gmano]

If you have a very, very good anti ballistic defense system.... yes?

Lower fuel cost than a plane, but a very good LOS...

However, i think I would prefer artillery.

 

[PedroSteckecilo]

I figure no, the Bipedal method of locomotion does not, as far as I can tell, present any specific advantages in terms of military tactics. Small Scale Power Armor? Yes, but that's not really a "mech". Ideally what you'd want would be a tank with all terrain legs as well as wheels, that way it gets the whole "all terrain" thing and the straight up land speed, it's also more stable than a biped.

 

[CounterAttack]

I believe the most practical mech-construct would have to be W40k's Knight-class Titan, from the novel Mechanicum. A Knight is a one-man construct that's bigger than a Dreadnought but smaller than a Titan, and they share most of the Titans' mechanics such as their human-machine interface and weapon targeting systems.
Quite possibly the most efficient mech design I've read about.

 

[Redfefnir]

Having something that isn't on treads or wheels is very nice. Look at "BigDog", video here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1czBcnX1Ww

Now, the question of one the size of a building is questionable. But the actual question of having something with legs the size/larger then a human is a simple one.

Yes.

 

[Akai Shizuku]

http://www.etapetki.com.pl/galleries/manga-anime/gundam_aegis.jpg

Features:

-Huge freaking laser cannon
-Lightsaber-like blade for close combat
-Shield that can block tank shells, lasers and other crap
-Really fast
-Can fly
-Can fly in space
-IT CAN FUCKING FLY IN SPACE, HOLY SHIT
-Much more shiny than any tank
-Will get you a girlfriend

 

[axia777]

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

I don't think so. We simply don't have the tch to make them either practical or even really possible.

 

[Akai Shizuku]

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

I don't think so. We simply don't have the tch to make them either practical or even really possible.

But can we get the tech?

"Yes, we can."

 

[Firia]

there have been 5 pages about the mechs themselves, so far. But has anyone spoken about the surroundings of a mech? Say, the surfaces these bipedal tanks need to rest on? If a mech is "bounding over buildings," its surface contact with the ground is quite large. It's also likely resting on street surfaces, which are hollow. City roads have sewer systems pikes and other tunnels within them. So its own weight makes them impractical for urban deployment.

rural? That same weight will cause them to sink into the ground (bipedal, so two points are absorbing several tons). Rock-- really sturdy rock is your best bet, but even then it's subject to turning into gravel, or breaking away.

Smaller scaled mecha- half the size of a tank? Maybe full size? Maybe. Still largely impractical.

 

[VicunaBlue]

Probably not, but are you going to argue with an army of them?

 

[Firia]

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...

Spoiler: hidden picture snip

Those babies are nice. Where did you find them?

 

[Akai Shizuku]

there have been 5 pages about the mechs themselves, so far. But has anyone spoken about the surroundings of a mech? Say, the surfaces these bipedal tanks need to rest on? If a mech is "bounding over buildings," its surface contact with the ground is quite large. It's also likely resting on street surfaces, which are hollow. City roads have sewer systems pikes and other tunnels within them. So its own weight makes them impractical for urban deployment.

rural? That same weight will cause them to sink into the ground (bipedal, so two points are absorbing several tons). Rock-- really sturdy rock is your best bet, but even then it's subject to turning into gravel, or breaking away.

Smaller scaled mecha- half the size of a tank? Maybe full size? Maybe. Still largely impractical.

Japanese mechs can fly.

 

[Misterian]

Mechs seem pretty awesome,

though I can see the drawbacks, I'm sure any military forces working on them will find some way to iron out the kinks, who know? they might be able to fly as well as walk.

 

[Valiance]

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?

No, no, I mean spend the resources to make a gunship or something instead of a mech.