Giant Mechs are always the best? (Interest/Sign-Up)

[DanteFalcon]

I have read no such histories. I just sat down and was like. "Mechs are cool. I should make an RP for giant mechs." And then collaborated with a few people for assistance. ONTO SPECIALTIES!

Specialties: You can do most of the things that the specialties will list. Target Analysis and Outfitting being the exceptions. You can also bring any weapon that your mech can physically support. The specialties merely improve your abilities in the ways listed below.

Remember those groups? Combat, Industry and Logistics? Well now they're important. If you add the two stats in each group you'll end up with total scores so from Example A: Combat: 4, Industry: 7, Logistics: 7. You get to choose a specialty related to each group when your totals are 3,7,12,18. . . etc. So for Example A here I'd get 1 combat, 2 industry and 2 logistics specialties. Below will be a list of specialties that I've compiled that by no means is exhaustive of all the possibilities (and I welcome any suggestions to help flesh out your character in the direction you want to go.)

Before I get into it one last thing. Specialties do not override stats. Just because you specialize in sniper rifles, if you have 0 accuracy you still won't hit anything. You know how to fine tune your sniper rifle to be able to shoot in most conditions and where your bullets will inflict the most damage but with 0 accuracy you'll almost assuredly never hit. Your specialties are tied to your character and thus do carry over when you climb into another person's mech.

Combat: Probably the least fleshed out list and thus I more than expect a few suggestions.

Melee Weapon Specialty (Name of weapon): Pick a weapon type and then you've specialized in the weapon. Knives take 0 payload, everything else that fits here requires 1 payload.

Sidearm (Name of Weapon): Again, pick a weapon type and you've specialized. This category is mostly for pistols which take 1 payload.

Primary Weapon Specialty (Name of Weapon): Now comes the big one. Same as above except that primary weapons and their ammo (recall that I assume you want nigh on infinite ammo for your missions) have different payload requirements to make sure you can carry them and handle their recoil. Feel free to submit suggestions on this as I'm going off the cursory knowledge I have of weaponry and their weights.

SMG: 3 payload
Rifle: 5 payload (5 for sniper)
Shotgun: 4 payload
Assault Rifle: 5 payload
Light Machine Gun: 6 payload
Heavy Machine Gun: 7 payload

Engineering Equipment (Name): Not a recommended specialty! But if you really want to attack things with welders or similar here you are. If its big ask me and I'll give you a payload requirement.

Heavy Ordinance (Name): This is a risky weapon due to the consequences of blowing up too much in an attempt to hit your target and they have a heavy payload requiring at least 8 payload to handle properly (ask me for an exact number for a particular weapon)

Defensive Armament: Primarily shields, payload will vary depending on size and type of shield.

Target Analysis: The ability to look at your target and get a rough idea on their abilities relative to your own. Requires a visual on the target in the field and won't work on every opponent you come across. Some are unusually deceptive!

Reflexive Movement: You've learned how adverse conditions affect your mech and how to adapt. Similar to mobility, this relies on your reflexes, allowing you to mitigate terrain's conditions to an extent. You've also learned how to move from cover to cover more efficiently, making you a more difficult target as long as you begin and end your movement in cover.

Industry:

Mobility: You are unusually skilled at controlling your mech's movements. Terrain is less of an issue for you and you know just how far the mech can bend, pushing that limit just a bit further. It doesn't make you faster but more agile and terrain is less of an issue for you.

Repair: You bring some engineering equipment with you to perform field repairs. It ain't pretty but you can patch up most mechanical problems rapidly to the point that they'll work again even if it isn't factory standard. Few mechanical problems are past your skills and repairs are considerably faster from your skill.

Scavenging: Also covers Salvaging. You can supplement your income by finding extra parts out in the field. Also used to help supplement Jury Rigging and Outfitting.

Jury Rigging: The ability to take gear found in the field and haphazardly attach it to your mech. You can attach most any mech part you find and can rig up some non mech parts though whether you can actually support it or not is still in question. Your skilled enough it won't blow up in your face when you try.

Circuitry: You know how to help circumvent EMP effects and should one of them shut you down you can get back online and fighting again faster than most would assume. Simply put, EMP's are far less effective against you but you aren't immune.

Outfitting: Similar to jury rigging except it has no use during a mission. Instead you have a nearly encyclopedic knowledge on models, makes and numbers of mech parts and how they relate to your mech. You know off the top of your head what fits and how to modify your mech to make other things fit. Between missions you can move around 2 points in your mech stats though you still can't exceed normal maximums (such as Armor 5 and Speed 5 for the first mission).

Turrets: The ability to design and place turrets. Warning: These turrets use the same auto targetting computer as your mech and thus aren't reliable on their own.

Power Reroute: Power fluctuates through the mech to different parts of the body, improving its physical capabilities as they are used. Melee and Movement mainly. This comes at the cost of making the Mech weaker to EMP as if it was 1 generator lower.

Logistics:

Scanning Distance: You've supplemented the radar on your mech to pick up objects further away, giving you advanced notice of obstacles ahead. The radar does not distinguish between friend and foe on its own.

Scanning Strength: Your radar is simply better at dismissing the effects of jammers. You will be jammed for a short while, it might even be raspberry, but it'll clear up faster for you than most others.

Jamming: The ability to effectively confuse all radars within normal scanning distance. This is a double edged blade as it affects all friendly scanners as well. Doesn't interfere with any mechs vision.

Communications: The ability to facilitate and secure communications between a large number of people in adverse conditions as well as home base and potentially find the frequency the foes are using for communication to listen in on them.

Turret Manipulation: The ability to interface with turrets placed by another effectively overriding the auto targetting computer normally installed in them in favor of you controlling it. It is difficult to control the turret and your mech at the same time, requiring a great deal of focus to do effectively.

Signal Reading: Your exceptionally gifted at using the radar you have to figure out what's ahead. Whether precognitive or just very good at piecing the information you have together (Probably the latter) you can usually determine the status of the objects in scanner range as long as you have some basis for that information.

Oddly I've seen very little gundam. I've just spent a few days thinking and collaborating and here are the results. I'm out for a few hours so list any questions and I'll look at them when I'm back.

[Geminex]

Hey, look, it's me again!

Looking at weapons, okay. It looks like I totally got you wrong here. Since you were giving us historical context, I assumed you were actually doing alternate history stuff here, and trying to stick to realism. So sorry about that.

Could you give us some explanation as to the effects of the various weapons, though? Because it kinda seems like those are all small arms, uses by and against infantry. Unless you're intending for mech-mech combat to follow similar rules as infantry combat does, normally?

Edit: To clarify, how much harm does every individual weapon actually do? Is it one-bullet, one kill, like in infantry combat? Do you need to get, like, multiple bursts into an enemy? Are they bullet sponges?

And what about foes with heavier armor, that aren't vulnerable to bullets?

[DanteFalcon]

Good questions!

Mech-Mech combat follows some similarities. Obviously cover isn't as effective and armor is more effective.

Mechs in general take multiple shots. The cockpits are absurdly well armored so taking out the pilot is difficicult. They aren't bullet sponges however. This is at about a time period where the offense has surpassed the defense a bit. Bullets will still tear good sized holes in mechs. A mech without armor and without back-up systems will go down in a few short bursts. Even with armor a mech will go down after enough fire. Which brings us to part of the mech stat system.

There's a reason that armor can't surpass payload, and slows you down. Its so that if you want to be an armor tank your generator isn't that good which limits the amount you can do and EMP's can disable you, making you a sitting duck or outright ignorable. If your in plain view without anything to hide you'll still be downed absurdly fast so treat it as if your a soldier.

Ok now afk. Walked to a different location and its a few hours of gaming time.

[Menarker]

Any possibility of a shield? I imagine it'll be damn heavy because something large enough to protect a mech, as well as thick enough to take damage is sure to weigh hell of a lot.

EDIT: Also, with Turrents, are we talking ground based turrents or ones mounted on the mechs such as for shooting above or protecting one's behind?

[obscurejones]

Tesla can solve your power problem. Wireless transfer of power. Although you'd have to have generator represent more the resiliency of your mech's electrical infrastructure rather than actual generation in the mech. But it looks like it does that already, really.

Also, are you accepting full apps or just interest at this point?

And... Would a person of middling finances who's really good at tuning his own mech take engineer, economy, or both?

[Geminex]

Uhm. I could write up some more detailed descriptions and effects for the weapons, if you'd like?

Though you'd need to tell me what the difference between rifles and assault rifles is.

[obscurejones]

Ze number of bullets they shoot at once.

[DanteFalcon]

Shield I'll put some thought into. Turrets are placed on the ground.

Primary difference in rifles and assault rifles is yes the number of bullets they shoot at once. The higher payload is to compensate for the additional bullets. When I say non sniper rifle I'm usually referring to things in the vein of Lever Action Rifles. Those models are obviously a bit outdated but typically when I say rifle I mean mid-high caliber weapons that are probably a bit behind tech wise.

[obscurejones]

Answer my questions bird boy!

[Aldurin]

Regarding overriding turrets, will there be different degrees of complexity with the turrets that will require a higher focus stat, or will the focus stat affect how many turrets we can override while still fighting with the mech?