I think the consensus is that anime style mechs are physically impossible given how fast and nimble they usually are, but if physics were no object would they be a viable solution to any real world problems?
I think the consensus is that anime style mechs are physically impossible given how fast and nimble they usually are, but if physics were no object would they be a viable solution to any real world problems?
Boston Dynamics got started making weird leggy robots specifically for terrain that’s too rough for wheels and tank tracks, so if there was somehow a need for a bipedal robot it might end up looking somewhat like a mech.
My guess is that legged ground based war machines are usually going to have 4+ legs for stability, though. Airborne drones are probably going to be way more common.
Personally, I hope we achieve a utopian future where war is obsolete, scarcity is history, and we build giant mecha robots and battle with them as a power sport
There’s a problem with legged machines in that they tend to be heavier, require more maintenance, and have a higher ground pressure for the same task/payload as an equivalent wheeled or tracked vehicle.
While there’s some terrain where they’re more effective (mountains), that’s fairly limited. Plus, if the terrain is too extreme then even legged machines can’t get through, so you’re looking for a goldilocks zone for deployment.
Just the other day I found out that One Must Fall 2097 has been released as freeware and there’s a solid community-built source port you can just download and play.
Oohhh yeah. That game consumed a lot of my childhood! I found a browser-based port of it a year or two ago. Hearing the music again really hit some feels!
Oh I played the shit out of the shareware version of one must fall. Great game. Loved the RPG-stats tournament mode
The Armored Core arena but for funsies and not as a side effect of corporate war culture