A question about the principles of Mecha Design

[avestron]

OK I am going to reveal my newbieness to hardcore mecha design within the game and have several questions I'd appreciate addressed.

- 1 - With mecha Engineering is there a reason that certain pieces like engines cannot get ripped out? Am I correct in assuming that the body piece is the key node of a mecha and that engines and gyros are one with them?

- 2 - If the answer to the above is such - then does that also mean that multi-body section mechs (such as a snake shaped one) are impossible?

- 3 - I have difficulty understanding the differences between overchargers, hover jets, flight jets, arc thrusters and especially heavy actuators. Help?

Thanks for any pointers.

[Joseph Hewitt]

1. Yes

2. Kind of. I can't remember whether or not it is possible to design a snake... if it is, anyhow, you could reason it as the different segments all being part of the one body "module" (just as the different segments of an arm or leg are treated as a single unit in the game).

3. Overchargers increase your full speed but not cruising speed. Hover jets let you skim. Flight jets let you fly or jump. Arc thrusters allow you to fly or skim. All three of those allow space flight. Heavy actuators give your mecha more muscle, allowing it to walk faster, carry more stuff, and hit harder in close combat.

[Daemonward]

Oops JH beat beat me to the post.

- 1 - With mecha Engineering is there a reason that certain pieces like engines cannot get ripped out? Am I correct in assuming that the body piece is the key node of a mecha and that engines and gyros are one with them?

Yeah, engines and gyros are integral to the body and can't be removed.

- 2 - If the answer to the above is such - then does that also mean that multi-body section mechs (such as a snake shaped one) are impossible?

You can't have multiple Body modules, but you could add Storage modules between the Head, Body, and Tail modules.

- 3 - I have difficulty understanding the differences between overchargers, hover jets, flight jets, arc thrusters and especially heavy actuators.

Hover jets: let you skim which is faster than walking and you can keep moving, even if all you're legs have been destroyed, as long as you still have some working hoverjets.

Flight jets: provide thrust that increases jump time and will enable flight if the thrust-to-weight ratio is high enough.

Arc thrusters: enable skimming and provide thrust(though slightly less thrust than flight jets). The good stuff.

Overchargers: increase maximum speed(which reduces your chances of getting hit) but don't provide skim or thrust.

Heavy Actuators: Increase the weight carrying capacity of the mech with regard to MV/TR penalties. Increase the damage of melee attacks. Increase the range of thrown weapons.

[avestron]

Thank you both for the reply :c)

That makes a lot more sense.

I guess that just leaves space flight jets which I presume provide thrust and skim abilities but work best in space.

[Frumple]

Works only, not best. A Dora's immobile in a spinner, last I checked. Actually, space jets are, I believe, the only bit of the four non-ground propulsion items (flight, arc, hover, space) that only adds to space flight. Everything else gives at least a little bit to space travel along with their primary effects. 

Really, the poor things seem mostly useless; flight jets do about the same thing for space travel while eating the same weight/slot cost. I guess you could stack them on top of flight jets to get an extra kick in space jousts, but that's... a little excessive. S'already not particularly difficult to hit 2-3 hundred speed units with a mech loaded down with flights/arcs. Maybe for a specialized inter-spinner transport mecha, I'unno.