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Which mecha is the ugliest?


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That Karate Federation fist ship is awesome!

and ZOIDS were my main offenders.

They look like animals, why have a tail on a basic quadruped mech? Unless some sort of weapon is mounted on it, and in those cases, it still has a severely limited arc of fire. I think the ZOIDS that were arthropods of some sort made more sense, like a crab, spider, or scorpion. The vertebrate ZOIDS just looks too goofy for my taste.

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I have a feeling the only reason most people here slam it is because a few people complained "omg, that thing would never fly, the angle of the (insert random tech jargon here) is all wrong!". Seriously, is was never made to be a real world design in any way.

people tend to slam the jet from stealth because it looks like someone ran over a platypus then dunked it in matte black paint. :D

That Karate Federation fist ship is awesome!

and ZOIDS were my main offenders.

They look like animals, why have a tail on a basic quadruped mech? Unless some sort of weapon is mounted on it, and in those cases, it still has a severely limited arc of fire. I think the ZOIDS that were arthropods of some sort made more sense, like a crab, spider, or scorpion. The vertebrate ZOIDS just looks too goofy for my taste.

I actually like some zoids, they were stupid but they look cool. except for the one's that looked like apes and snails. why would you make a mech that looks like a SNAIL?!?

and thanks to this thread I'm now seriously considering getting a command wolf and a Geno Breaker

Edited by anime52k8
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That Karate Federation fist ship is awesome!

and ZOIDS were my main offenders.

They look like animals, why have a tail on a basic quadruped mech? Unless some sort of weapon is mounted on it, and in those cases, it still has a severely limited arc of fire. I think the ZOIDS that were arthropods of some sort made more sense, like a crab, spider, or scorpion. The vertebrate ZOIDS just looks too goofy for my taste.

While I do think animal mecha are pretty silly (except for dogs, of course, which are automatically awesome), tails in nature serve the purpose of balance and stabilization on quadrupeds during running. Presumably, it would be something similar in a mech.

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While I do think animal mecha are pretty silly (except for dogs, of course, which are automatically awesome), tails in nature serve the purpose of balance and stabilization on quadrupeds during running. Presumably, it would be something similar in a mech.

yup and insects are actually inherently unstable in motion which makes their method of locomotion a poor choice for a weapon mount, imo.

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yup and insects are actually inherently unstable in motion which makes their method of locomotion a poor choice for a weapon mount, imo.

Plus there's a scale problem. Exoskeletons like ants and many other insects have work more and more poorly as scale increases, making giant bugs like in old scifi, horror, and Paul Verhoeven movies unlikely if not impossible.

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Plus there's a scale problem. Exoskeletons like ants and many other insects have work more and more poorly as scale increases, making giant bugs like in old scifi, horror, and Paul Verhoeven movies unlikely if not impossible.

yup, it's one thing to have a very small object essentially falling down every time it takes a step but for a large multi ton machine to do it, it just puts a lot of unnecessary strain on the frame and mechanisms... which has a lot to do with why our large scale insect like robots tend to move very slowly, at least the ones that try to be stable. The ones that have abandoned the idea of stability can replicate the quickness though... but again, not ideal for a weapons platform.

Well, unless you could have a computer basically predict how the frame was going to fall and then auto correct the aim on the weapon even before the frame moved thereby creating a stable mount... err... or you could just have a more stable mount to begin with. :p

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Well, unless you could have a computer basically predict how the frame was going to fall and then auto correct the aim on the weapon even before the frame moved thereby creating a stable mount... err... or you could just have a more stable mount to begin with. :p

"Structural complexity, functonal simplicity: the best life for all." ^_^

(At least, I think that's how the quote went... :unsure: It's been many years since I've read it.)

Edited by Gubaba
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Now, in my book I rank Stealth only the second worst movie of all time, typical Justice League America vs. The Third World crap story.

... but the jets I liked, and seeing the SU-37 Terminators on screen bumped it from #1 worse to #2 worse.

Eh, Stealth was about a goofy AI plane and an arrogant jackass in the Navy :lol: ..it's a neat ride, but I could have sworn they lifted a few ideas from Macross Plus of all things. The dogfights are good, but the gratuitous use of gasoline fireballs that spoils things.

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it's a neat ride, but I could have sworn they lifted a few ideas from Macross Plus of all things.

Believe me, you're not the first person to notice...

http://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?showtopic=9070

http://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?showtopic=14939

http://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?showtopic=15028

http://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?showtopic=15085

http://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?showtopic=15259

There are more, but I think I've made my point. :p

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Plus there's a scale problem. Exoskeletons like ants and many other insects have work more and more poorly as scale increases, making giant bugs like in old scifi, horror, and Paul Verhoeven movies unlikely if not impossible.

I didn't say realistic or effective, I just said that a giant scorpion mecha bristling with weapons is cooler than a monkey mecha, imo.

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I didn't say realistic or effective, I just said that a giant scorpion mecha bristling with weapons is cooler than a monkey mecha, imo.

the discussion originated from your comments regarding weapons on tails and then your comparison to scorpions and other arthropods.

However... after Wild Wild West giant mechanized insects somehow lost their charm and menacing qualities. :p

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yup, it's one thing to have a very small object essentially falling down every time it takes a step but for a large multi ton machine to do it, it just puts a lot of unnecessary strain on the frame and mechanisms... which has a lot to do with why our large scale insect like robots tend to move very slowly, at least the ones that try to be stable. The ones that have abandoned the idea of stability can replicate the quickness though... but again, not ideal for a weapons platform.

Well, unless you could have a computer basically predict how the frame was going to fall and then auto correct the aim on the weapon even before the frame moved thereby creating a stable mount... err... or you could just have a more stable mount to begin with. :p

That's actually why six legged robots have gotten a lot of design attention, because with six legs you can always have three on the ground for a stable tripod. Four or two legs have to be controlled falls just because it's not feasible to make a walking mechanism that works otherwise. Even if you're not relying on constant stability, six legs have some advantages.

Insects are poorly suited for very large forms, but it's because of the particular way that their skeleton, muscles, and just as importantly oxygen distribution works. None of these are requirements for an insectile-looking robot, they're just how arthropod biology works.

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That's actually why six legged robots have gotten a lot of design attention, because with six legs you can always have three on the ground for a stable tripod. Four or two legs have to be controlled falls just because it's not feasible to make a walking mechanism that works otherwise. Even if you're not relying on constant stability, six legs have some advantages.

Insects are poorly suited for very large forms, but it's because of the particular way that their skeleton, muscles, and just as importantly oxygen distribution works. None of these are requirements for an insectile-looking robot, they're just how arthropod biology works.

arthropod forms are good for unstable environments and in between movements they are stable, very stable... it's just during movement that they're not stable. During movement their weight actually isn't supported by alternating three legs, they're essentially falling forward and from side to side.

Though, the stable human versions of arthropods do maintain stability by ensuring locomotion via alternating tripods but so far those forms are considerably slower and move with far more deliberation than the robots that actually move like real arthropods which move somewhat chaotically but very rapidly.

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the discussion originated from your comments regarding weapons on tails and then your comparison to scorpions and other arthropods.

However... after Wild Wild West giant mechanized insects somehow lost their charm and menacing qualities. :p

You got me there, I got lost somewhere between giant scorpions and a gundam dog's laser tounge :lol:

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A little bit out of the anime mainstream (and by little bit I mean completely,) but wasn't there a transforming building mecha in the movie Big with Tom Hanks?

Taksraven

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A little bit out of the anime mainstream (and by little bit I mean completely,) but wasn't there a transforming building mecha in the movie Big with Tom Hanks?

Taksraven

Yes, and it sucked mightily. As he pointed out, who wants a robot that turns into a skyscraper? Then, if I recall correctly, he went on to invent the Dinobots (or the Insecticons...memory's a little hazy here...)

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While I do think animal mecha are pretty silly (except for dogs, of course, which are automatically awesome), tails in nature serve the purpose of balance and stabilization on quadrupeds during running. Presumably, it would be something similar in a mech.

the gun sniper's tail also is the main weapon. don't know how the phys on how the tail thats flexible turn into a rigid barrel for the sniper rifle.

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