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I got to talking with Sawyer about his Mech in Trek idea, and we quickly realized he meant more like Battletech level stuff, but not that combat oriented.
But that got me thinking about a Robotech style Star Trek counter universe :)
I mean can you imagine what Klingon mecha would look like? Or the sleek Starfleet Veritechs?
How about the Romulans Mecha with cloaking devices?
:)
OK, despite my opposition to actually mixing Trek and mecha, it's still fun to think about. :)
If you're familiar with Vision of Escaflowne, like the bad guys there, Romulan mecha could have actual cloaking cloaks (as in the flowing kind). That would be bad-a$$.
Klingon stuff would be klunky and low tech -- like Sakura Wars :D Steam-mecha Klingons with no-daichi. Oh yeah!
-- Daniel
I can probably see Romulan incorporating unmanned battlemechs if possible, like Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum in Andromeda. Manned light battlemech would have a personal cloaking device, an ideal way to have a remote user controlling the unmanned mechs near the battlefield.
Klingons would rather have those Elemental armors built for their size.
Cardassians would prefer heavy mechs.
Bajorans would scrap whatever they can from the Cardassian left behind by the Occupation and build light mechs and an occasional medium or heavy mechs. The same goes for the Maquis.
Ferengi will use any mechs suitable for pirating and raiding in the 24th century than the Orions, which is looking more like a criminal syndicate.
As for the Federation, as hard as I have tried, I could not picture Starfleet or another Federation military utilizing battlemechs. The closest they'll come to such technology is a utilitarian purpose AgroMech similar to the one in Aliens. However, to compensate the lack of battlemechs is the advances in their weapon technology.
What the Federation (or more specific Starfleet) might use could be something like the mech+cutter combination found in some of RTG's Mekton games , e.g. Starblade Batallion, as an exploration vessel:
A small ship (the Cutter) with a crew of about 8-12 and a single mech docked to the cutter for spaceflight. Once the cutter lands on a planet the mech detaches and starts exploring, while the cutter serves as a base camp for the expedition.
Such a combination would be good for exploration missions and possible smaller civilian mining/prospecting outfits.
When not making silly steam-punk references, this is more along the lines of what I would think could happen. You mean someone else owns Starblade Batallion? Whoa.Quote:
Originally posted by Lancer
What the Federation (or more specific Starfleet) might use could be something like the mech+cutter combination found in some of RTG's Mekton games , e.g. Starblade Batallion, as an exploration vessel
-- Daniel
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Hey, I even started a campaign in that setting. Too bad it died after a few sessions because of those pesky real life things like players moving to god-knows-where, etc.Quote:
Originally posted by Sho-sa Kurita
When not making silly steam-punk references, this is more along the lines of what I would think could happen. You mean someone else owns Starblade Batallion? Whoa.
Best thing about this setting IMO are the many shades of grey in the background - real people with real motives doing things for better reasons than just being the good or bad guys.
U.S.S. Prometheus?
There actually was a few light and medium mechs from Battletech, that were outfitted for civilian and/or rescue use.
The Urban ? Mech springs to mind.
But you could take the basic Battletech premise and overlay on the ST universe.
Except BT is more advanced time ways (3050's). Yet ST tech which is 700 years earlier is much more advanced ;)
This could be a really cool premise.... hmmm..... :)
Well, the UrbanMech would provide a heavy support element for a platoon of Powered Armors or Elementals in urban or civilian emergency situations.Quote:
Originally posted by SIR SIG
There actually was a few light and medium mechs from Battletech, that were outfitted for civilian and/or rescue use.
The Urban ? Mech springs to mind.
Given the state of AG technology in the ST universe, there is no real call for anything like a BT mech... it would be far less maneuverable, far more mechanically complex and less useful in both combat and exploration missions... and a 5 ton ST mech would tear up BT mechs like they were inanimate rocks, anyway.
I always thought that a ST equivalent would be a light scout/combat vehicle with AG, shields and phaser emitters (or disruptors, depending on race)... with (and this would be really useful) multiple deployable sensor drones for survey and recon. I did a 3D model of one once, and its a rather simple, yet elegant form and design... about the size of a small to medium size shuttle, with a two man crew.... but it's not something you will probably ever see in ST, except maybe in a book--mainly because it makes too much sense :)
But I wonder....
How would Ground Forces/Security Officers/Rapid Response Teams deal with 'convenient plot twist energy fields that disrupt high-tech equipment'?
Surely, things like Picard's Dune Buggy and BattleMechs were meant as non-electrical alternatives?
Interestingly enough ... there are ground vehicles is Star Trek: Nemesis ... if trailer is anything to go by.
I am very wary of AG, or anti-grav (if that is what you mean) technology. When it comes to high-speed ground vehicle I prefer the continuous contact with the ground (by wheels), in case something do go wrong and either shut off power to your vehicle. With AG-propelled vehicle, even if it is few inches off the ground, once power is cut off to the AG while in acceleration, you're going to have a very hard landing, unless you have a very safe braking system.
I suppose that Ground Forces personnel would have some sort of mobile fire support platform to help them out planetside, you can't always assume that you'll have air and space superiority. So some sort of Phaser Tank, like a "Hammer's Slammers" type tank, with a 2 or 3 being crew, would be made. It would have shields, armor, phaser arrars or a phaser bank, maybe photon grenade launchers, isomagnetic disintegrators, microtorpedo launchers, and other tools of mayhem. Do we have any rules for vehicles in any Trek RPG? But this tank would be fast, mobile, agile, and hostile.