Personally, I don't really like it (not just the fact I can't really get past how much it looks like something that really shouldn't be. (I would know, my elder brother is into it and tried to force me in), but the fact that it's really pointless to have it shaped like that. Seriously, what's the advantage over a tread base? Also, arguing that it's a more stable platform than a felinoid is kinda moot, that's what gun stabilizer systems are for.)
However, since you actually did it through legitimate means, you shouldn't have too much trouble getting Simus to OK a prototype. So long as it's not too expensive.
Well, a tread base is good for a vehicle. If all you need is a firing platform, then there's no contest - just copy the XCOM Alloy SHIV and you're good. But for a support unit it's not really enough. Even a gunnerbot - however single-purpose a gunnerbot is in that regard - has legs to get around the various places its master goes to. To follow where infantry goes, to run after the owner wherever possible, it needs a kind of cross-country capability that wheels or treads alone just can't give.
And a felinoid won't be able to have weapon bays, at least not ones it can open or close while not standing still. With the longer "forearm" portion of the foreleg in the felinoid setup, the "shoulder" joint moves very far back on each stroke, as that's the only way to maximize stroke length - a cat lifts its paw off the ground by lifting up its elbow and moving the shoulder back. The motion range of the foreleg goes so far back that any weapons would have to be permanently mounted outside of the body on the vulnerable arms, which would also make using the unit as a "pack mule" more difficult. Or you'd have to make the body more elongated, which would increase its already large side profile. For an equinoid, the "cannon" - the bottommost long portion of the leg - does a lot of the lateral stroke, with the uppermost "shoulder" moving comparatively little because the "forearm" can do the moving for it. It's also why you can ride a horse comfortably, without having it elbow-kicking you on the underside of your knee with every step.
So yeah, quite a bit of thought going into that one.
And thanks for letting Anton try. ^_^ We'll see how that goes. Initial production will probably be anything but cheap...
edit: six-legged units work in the open field, but in a corridor or an indoor environment with stairs, etc, a hexapod might find it harder to navigate than even a quadruped. Unless it's built more like a caterpillar, I guess. Versatility, again. Pros and cons. Plus, hexapods can't run as fast - too many legs, not enough stroke length, doesn't work at scales larger than insects.
And yeah, aesthetics. Thou shalt not discard aesthetics if they don't interfere with the primary purpose.
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Topic: Einsteinian Roulette: OOC and NEW PLAYER INFO (Read 2540641 times)