another quick update to my website..

[glitterboy2098]

found here
i'd been having trouble figuring out how to handle the Cestus from the old invid war comics, mainly because the comic background (a global war era 'battlesuit') just didn't fit the depiction of the mecha in the comics, not the global war we saw in the show. technology wise it was clearly a piloted mecha, not a suit of movement reading powered armor, and there wasn't enough room in the cockpit to handwave an AMPsuit like control rig like i have for the ASC suits. and a flying mini-mecha just came off as way too advanced for the global war prior to the SDF-1 arriving at earth. oddly, this is one unit that might have fit better into the original macross's post-arrival anti-UN war.

so for robotech, i decided to make it a full mecha, just a small one designed for duty on a more human scale. instead of full on flight, i gave it jumping and gliding ability, letting it keep up with destroids if needed, or get around urban areas more easily. for power, i decided a fuel cell like the ASC powered armors would later use, but limited the fuel endurance heavily to reflect an earlier generation of the technology. bettery power providing for life support and communications is a concessio nto the limited fuel endurance.. when in the field but not needing to move around, a pilot could switch to batteries to run the AC and radio without draining valuable fuel. the laser weapon is just a rip from the Tomahawk's gun cluster.. while it wouldn't be able to destroy battlepods quickly on its own, a squad can make short work of most zent ground mecha, and an individual cestus would fair ok against zent infantry. in the comics i think it was supposed to be some sort of projectile cannon, but like many units in the comics, there is no ammunition bins apparent, making projectile weapons unlikely. since comics used the same art style for both projectile shots and energy blasts, i figure making it a laser is a nice way to avoid a headache. the mention of being able to mount a light MG instead is a concession to the fact lasers would make lousy riot gear.. and i fluffed the post-war UEDF as using them in that role.

the bit about them finding their way into the states of earth is to allow GM's to use them into the late reconstruction and ASC periods.. it makes sense that the UEG would sell older, less useful mecha like this to its member states for self-defense purposes (think national guard type stuff), and that in the process a fair amount would "fall off the back of a truck" into the hands of non-UEG states and organizations. the invid occupation period use is a nod to the comics it came from.

[taalismn]

Makes sense, and a good save from one of the 'Robotech dark ages' media sources(as the comic books range from ' I can TOTALLY see that happening!' to 'this is dismally stupid!').

[glitterboy2098]

the comics by Eternity and antarctic press have proven to be a great source of new vehicles, ships, and mecha. none of the comics would really fit into the current version of robotech themselves, but with some reimagining much of the hardware can. though i've chosen to ignore the "legged fighters" from "prototypes".. they aren't compatible with the version of project valkyrie from the wildstorm comics, and frankly wouldn't make any sense to me in any other use.

[glitterboy2098]

so question.. what comic based vehicle/weapon/mecha should i try to upload next? no promise i'll be able to pull it off (i'm still reading thru the archive of old comics i found..man most of them sucked..) but i'd love to see a list of the ones people found interesting.

[Chris0013]

Centaur tanks.

[ShadowLogan]

and a flying mini-mecha just came off as way too advanced for the global war prior to the SDF-1 arriving at earth. oddly, this is one unit that might have fit better into the original macross's post-arrival anti-UN war.

I have to disagree (though you can certainly take the POV you did). The GCW might push technology development in new directions, though it is highly likely if it is a GCW design it was a late entry or in development during the period (again late) with introduction post-SDF-1. Dialogue from Roy (IIRC) indicates the last war (GCW?) did a number on their military forces, so force multipliers like Power Armor/mini-mecha are possible to have been developed/researched late in the war (helping to explain how Earth developed mecha technologies so fast, given the more complex we make vehicles now adays the longer the development time it seems).

The flight system though could be made to be of limited use/capabilities though, mostly in the endurance area since it would likely borrow from rocket-packs and other personal flight technologies/vehicles (probably talking hundres of seconds of flight time). Most of the other (apparent) aspects of the design should also be doable in that time frame though, not to mention the design could be updated to some extent with newer technologies to improve performance.

HOWEVER, IF one is ignoring the comic's background though, one could just as easily make it an ASC or UEEF design of some type (or even Tirolian, or other faction). There are holes in the ASC designation numbering sequence for Power Armor after all allowing one to fit in a few new PA types (likely specialist).

[jaymz]

Yeah I'd say the Centaur GB. I have done it myself but not many have. It would be a good fit for what you are doing I think. Also maybe look to Robotech Research as they did do quite a bit of old comic stuff into RPG stats (that while at the time worked do not now in my opinion)

[glitterboy2098]

i'm not a big fan of robotechresearch.. not only do they stick wholly to the old RPG's rather odd setting, i disagree with a lot of what he chooses to include. the centaur isn't a mecha for example.. it's "transformation" is about as mecha-like as a V-22's tilt rotors or the Preying Mantis tank of ww2. all it does is lift its turret up turret up. trying to shoehorn it in as a mecha makes for some very odd results.. square peg in round hole.

the centaur is one i want to use though. i just need very good background to explain it, since it also seems rather more advanced than it should be for the global war (which seems to have been fought with basically 80's/90's gear as you'd expect). might make it a post SDF-1 design exploiting the early advanced tech discoveries.

[ShadowLogan]

i'm not a big fan of robotechresearch.. not only do they stick wholly to the old RPG's rather odd setting,

Well the site really hasn't been updated since '08, the same year the 2E RPG was released (and IINM before any of the source books).

the centaur isn't a mecha for example.. it's "transformation" is about as mecha-like as a V-22's tilt rotors or the Preying Mantis tank of ww2. all it does is lift its turret up turret up. trying to shoehorn it in as a mecha makes for some very odd results.. square peg in round hole.

The Centaur tank though might be in a gray area, not quite "mecha", but not quite "conventional". Technologically speaking most of the hardware is already present/available by the time of GCW/GW, but I don't think that would disqualify it as a mecha. The transformation is a bit more extensive than the V-22/PM tank given the "legs" appear to have some ability to flex, plus the stub arms. I agree it doesn't feel like a traditional mecha, but it also doesn't feel like a conventional vehicle either, so maybe a hybrid status (or 1/2-track equivalent of a mecha).

i just need very good background to explain it, since it also seems rather more advanced than it should be for the global war (which seems to have been fought with basically 80's/90's gear as you'd expect). might make it a post SDF-1 design exploiting the early advanced tech discoveries.

While some aspects of the design are advanced for the GCW/GW, those might be retrofits (recall that the TMS book mentions some of the designs getting a makeover) like any energy weapons or even the hover system.

As for a backstory if one is looking to avoid the GCW/GW origin aspect: competitor/alternative to the Destroid/Battloid concept would seem the most likely solution. Based on more mature technology examples (Preying Mantis Tank, Robosaurous-type, hovercraft, etc) since bipedal robots would require more development and the UEDF might want to bank on something less radical should development hit snags. It could also field a design quicker to fill the roles of Defender (modified turret), Spartan (modify weapon turret, and "arms"), and Tomahawk Destroids easily enough, maybe even the Phalanax (Monster would likely require a whole new design, but the other 4 are similar enough they could use a common frame).

[drewkitty ~..~]

I do like the alpha drones, both reg. & shadow. It takes the place of the long neglected hole table of forces int the UEEF.