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[Unholy_Pariah]

BUILD ROBUTT!

All dynamic bonuses granted by teammates will be greatly appreciated.

Spoiler: a few key details (click to show/hide)

Structural supports are gonna be used to make a nice strong sort of wireframe chassis so i can stick stuff inside the limbs such as rocket boosters and such.

Mechanical joints are to be welded directly onto the frame for best durability and have special armor guards to protect them, mostly. Largest most heavy duty joints go in the legs.

PD moint gets welded into the top of the torso and functions as a neck.

The head is (currently) nothing more than a few structural supports making a head shape with the sensor array inside and armored in such a way as to not obstruct the sensors field of vision.

Reactor gets repaired, then armored, then welded into the chest.

Computer core goes in behind the reactor in a similar armored enclosure.

Hands are to be either the two heaviest duty grasping claws i found or one grasping tool and the biggest rotary saw i found.

Feet will just be the big heavy duty landing feet i stole from a ships landing gear, possibly reshaped slightly.

Ideally this would be controlled from the VR machines via a quantum entanglement device tied into the control computer, if that isnt available construct a rudimentary cockpit in the stomach using a chair and some hand and foot controls, or the cocjpit of one of those loader robots if there was a broken one in ther command center.

Control interface projects telemetry onto the users suit faceplate to save space on a viewscreen, the robots head also mimicks the position of the pilots.

You're a little premature there, he says, waggling his cigar suggestively.

Lets start with the basics.

How big is this thing gonna be? Height wise, weight wise, etc.

How are the limbs moving? Servos? Hydraulics?

How many legs you want? How many joints on the legs, configurations.

Lets get the basic stuff going first. I gotta know how to break it.

Also, you're going in that robot. Consider it the tax for letting you have a giant robot which you control with Aux. It's more fun that way.

Well people seem to be pretty against arms and bipeds so lets go with something similar to a six legged variety of taviks picture at roughly the same size as an M1 Abrams main battle tank. Except change the whole noticeably multipart body thing for a big angular single part chassis shaped kind of like a long, wide beetle and designed to deflect gauss rounds like the avatar plate.

I think id prefer armored servomotors for the actual leg joints and have the final segment contain a powerful internally mounted hydraulic piston to give it the raw strength for rapid movement. (Feel free to rage at me here guys, i havent slept much and im prone to derping.)

Also just to get ahead of things:
Giant spinal mounted artillery weapon goes on top, anti infantry weapons go underneath or in the shin armor and of corse theres gotta be the mandatory flamethrower or bigass laser in the mouth.

get feedback, build things.

[Sean Mirrsen]

((Also, I'm guessing that since multi-legged robots are alright, nobody will mind if I prototype a few Artee's for the coming fight.

I'm thinking three prototypes, one balanced attack/support (Artee, pictured), one primary support (Artoo), and one primary combat (Arthree). ^_^))

[GreatWyrmGold]

((I'm thinking those would be more useful in large packs. See if you can get the prototypes made ahead of time and finished models ready for the actual fight.
Grate could help.))

[Sean Mirrsen]

((Yeah, so the first sod sees a hundred of them coming, yells "STAAAAMPEEEDEE", and gets diced by two hundred laser pulses. Not counting the head-mounted hand-lasers and the Red Hand-derived EL turret in the tail tip. And then there're the Hammerhead gyrojet grenades... and the kinetic amp battering ram...

But really, the problem would be that these will need brains. They're like a gunner bot in that regard, controlled by a brain in the chest cavity, aided by two regular CPUs for fire control (and zombie functions). Anton will need the Doktor's help to make the custom brains necessary for these. That's why I'm not holding much hope for mass-producing them until after the invasion is over. Would definitely be neat to manage it though. ^_^))

[GreatWyrmGold]

((Well, I'm imagining that they'd be facing good-sized armies of sods probably supported by amp specialists, urban executors, or the like, so I don't think three are going to do much.))

[Sean Mirrsen]

((Well, I'm imagining that they'd be facing good-sized armies of sods probably supported by amp specialists, urban executors, or the like, so I don't think three are going to do much.))

(( http://www.collectedcurios.com/sequentialart.php?s=701

Basically I'm hoping to get a good real test of their capabilities. They're not really meant as frontline units - they need a lot more armor and bulk for that. They are meant to be the combat medics and technicians, helping regular soldiers. "RT" means "Robotic Teammate".

Though I suppose the Arthree should be a good design for frontline combat. Or at least a much better direct-fire support, what with the spinal mount.))

[GreatWyrmGold]

((Oh.
Still, only a few and the battle would quickly up them chew.))

[Sean Mirrsen]

((Also, forgot action.))
"Alright, people. Bishop, come with me. We're going to brainstorm the upgrades to these ships once the Sword's VR pods are working again. Won't do to just throw ideas around without some way to test them.

Everyone else. If you want to go off on some kind of misguided building effort, now is the only time you'll get. I want everyone back here by the time we've got a plan of action for the ships. And parts from the salvage yard are not to be used until they have been properly decontaminated. If Auron wants to build a robot, he'll have to make do with stuff he finds elsewhere."

Return to the Sword, wait for VR to come online. If it happens, load Tinker and all of our six ships chosen for refurbishing. Apply the following modifications to them and test their performance:

Tug: Additional plating on the front, four laser or Gauss (or a mix) cannons facing forward, cluster of smaller turrets towards the back as point defense.

Courier: Single laser cannon, small laser or gauss turrets to clear landing zones, a pair of sub-nuclear missiles. Check how this affects speed.

Hauler and modified shuttle (if it can be recreated): Standard shuttle weapons.

Transport: See if it can fly and maneuver in atmosphere, with and without cargo. Also, how large is it, exactly? If it can fly in atmosphere, see if it can work as a massed missile carrier.

Blackship-too: find the largest cannon, laser, plasma, HEP - the biggest and most powerful weapon the craft's frame and internal systems can feasibly support. Then add engine pods and maneuver thrusters until it can fly as well with the cannon as it could before modification. Forget durability - it needs to fly as fast as possible, and destroy anything we need to deploy it against. It'll be the last-resort weapon against nasty surprises, so those are more important than its own survival.

Await Bishop's (and Steve's, and Simus's, and anyone else's really) additions and inputs.

[NAV]

Help Auron build the robot. Try to sneak some arms into the design.

[Sean Mirrsen]

((You could have a six-legged robot that's kind of a quadgorilla - the two middle legs could have extra joints, end with "fists" instead of feet, and be capable of rising up, leaving the robot with four legs and two arms.))

[piecewise]

By the way, the parts Auron is using now come from a different place so it doesn't effect your 6 ship limit.  Though it might effect your "Where the fuck are all our workers? Oh, they're helping build a walking tank. Cool." limit.

((I'm going to note here, Unholy, that despite PW saying that you're still taking salvage in violation of orders. That was PW talking out of character, not giving you either explicit or implicit permission in character.

Also, limbs don't scale up as well as you people seem to think they do (square/cube law, if you double a critter's height while keeping it the same shape, you end up with four times the muscle power moving eight times the mass, so instead of having the same relative agility as the original, the double-sized creature actually has only half. The same goes for most machinery, except worse since mechanical 'muscle' is terribly inefficient). Mechs actually have inferior ability to traverse unstable or uneven terrain, due to the massively increased ground pressure and a terrible balance due to the increased height of the center of mass (the latter affecting bipedal mechs more, but the former still applying to anything with legs (tanks can cross ground a human (or any quadruped) alone would sink into), especially at that size). They're slow, and mostly regulated to hard, somewhat regular ground for mobility, lest they either get stuck or fall over. They're also much bigger targets, and insanely difficult to armor not only due to the peculiar geometry having a higher surface area to volume ratio. The increased height also makes them even easier prey for gunships and CAS. Also, legs are a much more unstable firing platform (though once again, the major impact of that is to bipedal, but you're still not getting the stability of treads with any amount of legs), meaning they cannot carry even tank-sized weapons. As well, you guys are undervaluing tanks - especially you, Sean. Tank armor is a hell of a lot stronger than you think - a modern tank, today, can shrug off impact from most anything smaller than tank cannons (that includes explosives - infantry grenades are useless against tank armor, even RPGs are completely unable to penetrate the armor in several examples. You need quite large and expensive systems to have an infantry (team)-portable weapon that can disable a tank, and even those aren't guaranteed). And having multiple people doing different jobs in a vehicle actually increases responsiveness, since one person doesn't have to try to keep tabs on everything - it's rather difficult to aim and fire a weapon while moving (which tanks can do with some accuracy - still better to fire from rest, but they can fire on the move and still hit) while reading a map while participating in radio contact with the rest of your squad.))

((Now I'm done with the massive wall of text, PW, is there anything you need from me before we can say, okay, spot's chosen, let's wrap this up, have a HQ built, and get to the good stuff?))

Just where you want the building and any specifics of how you want it set up.

((I'll note that like legs, arms don't scale up that well either, Radio. Especially not if you want them long enough to grab things without toppling the whole thing, or at least severely unbalancing it. And high-grade materials won't save him from the issues with armor and weight.))

((What kind of size are we talking here? I think we aren't talking bout the same thing really. And high-grades material can indeed make you a decent working mech in this setting. Proof: the Battlesuit. The mechatank was just as an example for general look, not size. Those things are way too big to ever work like they're portrayed.))

((Like I said up a ways, I don't consider the battlesuit to be a mech (my definition of mech: a robot that is controlled from a cockpit-like enclosure and has a humanoid or otherwise legged form). I consider it powered armor (the user's limbs extend at least somewhat into the suit's limbs).

((There's a trope for that.))

Actually, I thin the battle suit is what many people call a "Hardsuit"

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

A large one, but still one.

BUILD ROBUTT!

All dynamic bonuses granted by teammates will be greatly appreciated.

Spoiler: a few key details (click to show/hide)

Structural supports are gonna be used to make a nice strong sort of wireframe chassis so i can stick stuff inside the limbs such as rocket boosters and such.

Mechanical joints are to be welded directly onto the frame for best durability and have special armor guards to protect them, mostly. Largest most heavy duty joints go in the legs.

PD moint gets welded into the top of the torso and functions as a neck.

The head is (currently) nothing more than a few structural supports making a head shape with the sensor array inside and armored in such a way as to not obstruct the sensors field of vision.

Reactor gets repaired, then armored, then welded into the chest.

Computer core goes in behind the reactor in a similar armored enclosure.

Hands are to be either the two heaviest duty grasping claws i found or one grasping tool and the biggest rotary saw i found.

Feet will just be the big heavy duty landing feet i stole from a ships landing gear, possibly reshaped slightly.

Ideally this would be controlled from the VR machines via a quantum entanglement device tied into the control computer, if that isnt available construct a rudimentary cockpit in the stomach using a chair and some hand and foot controls, or the cocjpit of one of those loader robots if there was a broken one in ther command center.

Control interface projects telemetry onto the users suit faceplate to save space on a viewscreen, the robots head also mimicks the position of the pilots.

You're a little premature there, he says, waggling his cigar suggestively.

Lets start with the basics.

How big is this thing gonna be? Height wise, weight wise, etc.

How are the limbs moving? Servos? Hydraulics?

How many legs you want? How many joints on the legs, configurations.

Lets get the basic stuff going first. I gotta know how to break it.

Also, you're going in that robot. Consider it the tax for letting you have a giant robot which you control with Aux. It's more fun that way.

Well people seem to be pretty against arms and bipeds so lets go with something similar to a six legged variety of taviks picture at roughly the same size as an M1 Abrams main battle tank. Except change the whole noticeably multipart body thing for a big angular single part chassis shaped kind of like a long, wide beetle and designed to deflect gauss rounds like the avatar plate.

I think id prefer armored servomotors for the actual leg joints and have the final segment contain a powerful internally mounted hydraulic piston to give it the raw strength for rapid movement. (Feel free to rage at me here guys, i havent slept much and im prone to derping.)

Also just to get ahead of things:
Giant spinal mounted artillery weapon goes on top, anti infantry weapons go underneath or in the shin armor and of corse theres gotta be the mandatory flamethrower or bigass laser in the mouth.

get feedback, build things.

So basically a six legged beetle tank of sorts eh? I can dig it.

Now, how is it controlled? With six legs all skittering around I assume you want what amounts to a throttle and have a computer system that handles how the legs move and makes decisions about how to get around on terrain? Thats perfectly doable but we'll have to let some procedural algorithms run for a couple days in the completed tank to let the Computer figure out how to get stuff done. Which might have some rather odd effects, depending on the motions.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

((Also, forgot action.))
"Alright, people. Bishop, come with me. We're going to brainstorm the upgrades to these ships once the Sword's VR pods are working again. Won't do to just throw ideas around without some way to test them.

Everyone else. If you want to go off on some kind of misguided building effort, now is the only time you'll get. I want everyone back here by the time we've got a plan of action for the ships. And parts from the salvage yard are not to be used until they have been properly decontaminated. If Auron wants to build a robot, he'll have to make do with stuff he finds elsewhere."

Return to the Sword, wait for VR to come online. If it happens, load Tinker and all of our six ships chosen for refurbishing. Apply the following modifications to them and test their performance:

Tug: Additional plating on the front, four laser or Gauss (or a mix) cannons facing forward, cluster of smaller turrets towards the back as point defense.

Courier: Single laser cannon, small laser or gauss turrets to clear landing zones, a pair of sub-nuclear missiles. Check how this affects speed.

Hauler and modified shuttle (if it can be recreated): Standard shuttle weapons.

Transport: See if it can fly and maneuver in atmosphere, with and without cargo. Also, how large is it, exactly? If it can fly in atmosphere, see if it can work as a massed missile carrier.

Blackship-too: find the largest cannon, laser, plasma, HEP - the biggest and most powerful weapon the craft's frame and internal systems can feasibly support. Then add engine pods and maneuver thrusters until it can fly as well with the cannon as it could before modification. Forget durability - it needs to fly as fast as possible, and destroy anything we need to deploy it against. It'll be the last-resort weapon against nasty surprises, so those are more important than its own survival.

Await Bishop's (and Steve's, and Simus's, and anyone else's really) additions and inputs.

Tug: Gonna lose some speed and be even more front heavy, but it will fly. Though, if those cannons are hardmounted then it's gonna be rather hard to hit stuff with them. The ship is gonna be pretty slow and not terribly maneuverable.

Courier: Not gonna handle a laser cannon very well. Might be better off with lots of gimble mounted cutting lasers and a computer system to work them. Missiles are doable, though sub-nuclear is a rather large range when  you think about it.

Hauler and shuttle: Normal shuttles don't have weapons.

Transport: It's a big son-of-a-bitch. It can fly in atmosphere, but not very well. It's designed to get the hell off of a planet and then drift or chug along till it reaches jump speed. You could use it for macross missile spam, for sure, though it would probably only do it once.

Blackship: So basically you want to gut the thing and turn it into what amounts to a flying cannon mount? That works but depending on the weapon used the recoil might cause it to gain the ability to fly backwards.

[GreatWyrmGold]

((I'll note that like legs, arms don't scale up that well either, Radio. Especially not if you want them long enough to grab things without toppling the whole thing, or at least severely unbalancing it. And high-grade materials won't save him from the issues with armor and weight.))

((What kind of size are we talking here? I think we aren't talking bout the same thing really. And high-grades material can indeed make you a decent working mech in this setting. Proof: the Battlesuit. The mechatank was just as an example for general look, not size. Those things are way too big to ever work like they're portrayed.))

((Like I said up a ways, I don't consider the battlesuit to be a mech (my definition of mech: a robot that is controlled from a cockpit-like enclosure and has a humanoid or otherwise legged form). I consider it powered armor (the user's limbs extend at least somewhat into the suit's limbs).

((There's a trope for that.))

Actually, I thin the battle suit is what many people call a "Hardsuit"

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

A large one, but still one.

((Judging by the image, I'd say the battlesuits still qualify.))

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

((I've seen this before, and it's still hilarious.))

Blackship: So basically you want to gut the thing and turn it into what amounts to a flying cannon mount? That works but depending on the weapon used the recoil might cause it to gain the ability to fly backwards.

((That sounds useful!))

[Sean Mirrsen]

Tug: Gonna lose some speed and be even more front heavy, but it will fly. Though, if those cannons are hardmounted then it's gonna be rather hard to hit stuff with them. The ship is gonna be pretty slow and not terribly maneuverable.

"Cute. Options, options, hm."
Let the guns have some gimbal range, so they can converge on different distances and hit targets some ten degrees off course. See if verniers can be added for maneuverability - in all likelihood the Tug will primarily see use during ship assault, so it'll need to take out defense systems and avoid being shot down as it approaches.

Courier: Not gonna handle a laser cannon very well. Might be better off with lots of gimble mounted cutting lasers and a computer system to work them. Missiles are doable, though sub-nuclear is a rather large range when  you think about it.

"Yeah, going to have to go with all turrets. And the missiles are really too large."
Switch to multiple cutting laser turrets, then. Consider options for missile warheads. Nuclear leaves too much of a mess. See if the Token of Appreciation (kinetic amp sandwich) can provide enough feedback force to propel penetrating flechettes or otherwise cause significant secondary damage, since its primary damage has already been established.

Hauler and shuttle: Normal shuttles don't have weapons.

"Hmm."
Give them both a pair of cutting laser turrets for general attack and defense capability.

Transport: It's a big son-of-a-bitch. It can fly in atmosphere, but not very well. It's designed to get the hell off of a planet and then drift or chug along till it reaches jump speed. You could use it for macross missile spam, for sure, though it would probably only do it once.

"Haha, yeah, no. Fun idea, but a mite too out there."
Leave the transport alone. It's too big, too slow, and too soft a target to deploy it into combat.

Blackship: So basically you want to gut the thing and turn it into what amounts to a flying cannon mount? That works but depending on the weapon used the recoil might cause it to gain the ability to fly backwards.

"Okay, now we're getting somewhere."
Yes, strip the ship down, but try to cause as little permanent damage as possible. Ideally, it should return to its usual shape and function after the crisis is over. See how much damage advantage a plasma cannon or gauss cannon offer over a pure energy weapon such as a laser or HEP. On one hand, staying power is not a concern - on the other, having few shots to work with can be a problem considering you can miss the target even with a fusion instigator.

[Unholy_Pariah]

((Yeah, throttle and computer will be fine.
Oh and put the sneaked in arms folded up next to the head like a spiders forelimbs.))

implant ant movement patterns into procedural algorithm for adaptation and to prevent awesome gazelle mode.

[GreatWyrmGold]

implant ant movement patterns into procedural algorithm for adaptation and to prevent awkward gazelle mode.

((FTFY. Seriously, when you accidentally start running backwards, you lose the ability to be called awesome.))