Onno Meyer wrote:
I'm thinking about technology settings to justify a walking tank
with 3E/Vehicles/ME rules. With Mecha, I mean upright vehicles
with two legs, two arms, and a single operator, none of that
ground-hugging spider stuff.
One way is to arbitrarily stack the deck against normal vehicles,
but I don't want to do that. Any power plant or weapon system for
a Mecha should be useable in wheeled, tracked or flying tanks as
well, and there should still be a niche for Mecha.
* One factor might be terrain assumptions. Mecha for the Space
Marines, regular tanks for the Planetary Defense Force. Or
Mecha for urban ops, tanks in the open country.
* Superscience TL11+ could allow reactionless vectored thrust
AFVs with legs rather than skids. But how to explain the arms
instead of a turret.
* A setting requiring missiles rather than beams or guns and
big salvos to penetrate point defense could encourage multi-
tube launchers.
* No "selective dark age" where TL7 targeting tech was lost, but
TL10+ power plants remain available :-)
More thoughts?
I don't think that mecha offer a totally superior replacement option
for all tanks, but mechs do have some advantages going for them
- Species compatibility skill bonus and higher maneuverability,
better combat engineering abilities, ease of changing the main
armament by simply picking up a new mecha rifle and also mechs lend
themselves better for multienvironmental operations than tanks
- Transformable mech with thrusters can flexibly perform the duties
of both an aerospace fighter and a ground combat AFV, which can
help with both achieving aerial superiority and simultaneously
delivering the armor onto the battlefield more quickly.
Mechs are more expensive than tanks and can never have quite as
good armor as a tank of equivalent tonnage, but these downsides
do not matter so much when one really wants the best and most
tactically flexible combat vehicles for the more skilled soldiers.
Tank is more about defense and mech is more about offense,
maneuverability and tactical flexibility. A highly skilled operator
can get considerably more out of a mech than from a tank.
I think it makes more sense to have expendable/cheaper tanks for basic
planetary defense force grunts (not very skilled, basic cannon fodder),
and mecha for more mobile and skilled high quality troops (elite mercs
or space marines).. This may actually lead to mecha versus tanks battles
where tank casualties just keep on piling up despite their higher damage
resistance scores. Tanks - although more numerous - are tactically
limited (best suited to open fields, while most futuristic key conflicts
may take place in or around urban areas) and the tanks are generally
operated by cheaper quality troops with less training/experience.
-Pauli
--
"Our ship is made out of darkness, she mocks the laws of nature.
With cables, ropes, tackle and sails, she moves on the waves
of the void. On her decks a red crew, dark as if painted with
blood. From among the hooded cloaks of crimson, eyes of
silver gleam darkly.. Oldest of all is Hiram of Malta, the Red
Commander. He knows the secrets of Schwarzchild Radii, of Neutron
Stars and Cepheids. His hidden paths we follow, like ghosts from
space we strike deep, only to disappear again soon, sometimes even
the fear itself is afraid of us.."
-CMX, Punainen Komentaja
(Translated from the Finnish song 'Red Commander' by CMX)
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