Welcome to this Mecha Design Quest! This is a spinoff/companion quest to Solace and the Knights of Insurrection. This quest takes place in an original Space Fantasy setting, where an AU Earth and Humanity have successfully spread colonies across not just the Milky Way, but also into neighbouring galaxies. I need to create a boatload of mecha designs for that quest, and I thought it might be more fun to make it a collaborative process since I'm doing the work anyway!
Take part in this quest if:
You want to design big stompy robots (and occasionally other sci-fi military equipment). Mecha are mostly based on Battletech, Robotech and Votoms designs, but Gundam & Armoured Core influence is present too.
You want to see your collaborative mecha designs drawn and added to a growing folio of sci-fi hardware!
You want a quest with lighter narrative/character elements and a gameplay-focused experience.
You want to affect another quest's experience by creating mecha that can and will show up there.
Advance a mecha-driven style of warfare and develop unique innovations that will shake things up.
Enjoy figuring out how to blend somewhat hard sci-fi technology with magical innovations that defy conventional physics!
Welcome to this Mecha Design Bureau Quest! This is a spinoff/companion quest to Solace and the Knights of Insurrection. This quest takes place in an original Space Fantasy setting, where an AU Earth and Humanity have successfully spread colonies across not just the Milky Way, but also into neighbouring galaxies.
I need to create a boatload of mecha designs for that quest, and I thought it might be more fun to make it a collaborative process since I'm working on it for another quest anyway!
Take part in this quest if:
You want to design big stompy robots (and occasionally other sci-fi military equipment). Mecha are mostly based on Battletech, Robotech and Votoms designs, but Gundam & Armoured Core influence is present too.
You want to see your collaborative mecha designs drawn and added to a growing folio of sci-fi hardware!
You want a quest with lighter narrative/character elements and a gameplay-focused experience.
You want to affect another quest's experience by creating mecha that can and will show up there.
Advance a mecha-driven style of warfare and develop unique innovations that will shake things up.
Enjoy figuring out how to blend somewhat hard sci-fi technology with magical innovations that defy conventional physics!
Project Knight - Mecha Design Bureau
Turn 1: Year 0 of Project Knight
Dear Director #########,
We want to congratulate you on your placement as the Head of R&D for Project Knight.
To recap your mission statement::
Lead the ideation and engineering of fully fledged Mecha under Project Knight.
Manage production contracts and allocation of industrial resources to ensure success.
Take on special projects at the request of your superiors and achieve their goals.
Guide the research and development and new technologies and support systems.
Support the engineering and development of other, non-Mech projects if deemed relevant.
As you know, Zaibatsu Space announced the first successful deployment of Warmecha as part of their ongoing operation against the Perseid separatists. We've long thought it would be possible to militarize some kind of large walking combat system, but we previously abandoned it as cost ineffective with few upsides compared to traditional, ground-based vehicles. It looks like we've been proven wrong - they were incredibly effective against traditional vehicles, owing to a combination of factors.
No one's really got experience in this sort of thing, but we're making you a top priority. Every major nation on Earth is now shopping around for their own Mecha - we can't let the Zaibatsus hold a monopoly. The lab rats are processing everything they know about the Zaibatsu Mecha, but we're going to be flying in the dark here.
Your first task is to commit to what type of contract we'll be trying to fill, get your engineers together, and get on it. We need a mockup ready by the end of this year if we're going to convince anyone that we're worth funding.
Welcome to the Company. Don't let us down.
Key Details about Warmecha thus far:
The term Warmecha is used to categorize any militarized walking robotic combat system standing at a height of 3+ meters.
Simple Industrial Mecha have been utilized for some time as a natural extension of Exo-Suit development.
Zaibatsu Warmecha are believed to be using some sort of neural link which allows the pilot to 'possess' the suit. We have classified information which should allow us to replicate this.
Despite the Zaibatsu being leaders in drone tech, it seems Mecha must be piloted by a living human. It is believed this has something to do with Humanity's innate ability to interact with the powers beyond the veil.
New Vote: What kind of contract are you taking on?
[] [CONTRACT] - Earth's leading superpowers are similarly surprised by the Zaibatsu's success in producing Warmecha. The Golden Empire of the Ning Dynasty and the North Atlantean Federation in particular are both looking for a high-performance combat model that can match or exceed the performance of the Zaibatsu Mecha.
[] [CONTRACT] - The Great Powers are interested in Mecha, but do not have the budget of the superpowers. The Commonwealth in particular has stated interest in a faster, lighter-weight model capable of combat patrols, recon, and infiltration.
[] [CONTRACT] - Second Tier States have also gathered interest in Mecha, but they can't afford the kind of tech the larger powers are asking for. They tend to prefer defensive tactics, and so they're looking for a cheaper model that just needs to hold the line.
[] [CONTRACT] - The Megacorps and some Third Tier States have interest in the security applications of Mecha. They've asked if we can put together a small, cheap, lightweight model armed for policing, anti-insurgency, and regional defence.
Voting is open until
at minimum, hopefully there'll be some interest in this one so it can continue! Compared to my other quests it's going to be narrative light and I'm hoping that'll keep it quick to update, but frequency of my update schedule is still TBD.
Scheduled vote count started by Verisaimilitude on Jan 11, 2025 at 6:32 PM, finished with 17 posts and 12 votes.
[X] [CONTRACT] - Second Tier States have also gathered interest in Mecha, but they can't afford the kind of tech the larger powers are asking for. They tend to prefer defensive tactics, and so they're looking for a cheaper model that just needs to hold the line.
[X] [CONTRACT] - Earth's leading superpowers are similarly surprised by the Zaibatsu's success in producing Warmecha. The Golden Empire of the Ning Dynasty and the North Atlantean Federation in particular are both looking for a high-performance combat model that can match or exceed the performance of the Zaibatsu Mecha.
[X] [CONTRACT] - The Great Powers are interested in Mecha, but do not have the budget of the superpowers. The Commonwealth in particular has stated interest in a faster, lighter-weight model capable of combat patrols, recon, and infiltration.
[X] [CONTRACT] - The Megacorps and some Third Tier States have interest in the security applications of Mecha. They've asked if we can put together a small, cheap, lightweight model armed for policing, anti-insurgency, and regional defence
Project Knight - Mecha Design Bureau
Turn 2: Year 0 of Project Knight
[X] [CONTRACT] - Second Tier States have also gathered interest in Mecha, but they can't afford the kind of tech the larger powers are asking for. They tend to prefer defensive tactics, and so they're looking for a cheaper model that just needs to hold the line.
Looking over the options, there was a lot of disagreements. Many people felt this was an opportunity to really stretch our legs and put the highest grade tech out possible. In the end, it was agreed that we would be better off developing a budget option first. The bigwigs agreed this made the most sense; any prototypes aimed at the superpowers would be competing with both Zaibatsu tech and their own native defence industries. By aiming to impress the Second Tier nations, we'd have a large and diverse market across lots of different potential customers, and if the model was good enough we might even be able to impress some of the larger nations. Premium grade systems can come once we've got more experience building these things and are more confident in our ability to compete.
Building a Mech is no simple task, even without bringing military applications into the matter. First off, we needed to:
Develop a working Neural Link system to build a cockpit around.
Design and build a working, mobile skeleton of a chassis.
Develop a miniaturized power core suitable for our Mech's needs.
Another department would be developing the Neural Link system and cockpit, apparently it was so classified that we weren't allowed to know the full details. For now, they were leaving the design of the chassis and power core to us. It seemed like it would make sense to agree on the baseline specifications and requirements for the Mech first, then build a skeleton that matches those parameters.
Current Project Requirements:
Low price point per unit.
Easy to build in bulk.
Weapons and armour should reliably defeat armoured vehicles of the same tonnage.
Per the requirements above and our interested contacts, we have a few proposals regarding the chassis design and production which we think will be of interest to you:
Budget Zaibatsu Clone:
We know that the Zaibatsu use an agile bipedal design with multiple weapon hardpoints allowing for customisable loadouts, and their hand actuators are advanced enough to carry and hold external weapon systems if needs be. This makes a lot of sense for us too, given the broad number of customers we hope to sell to. We'll be making a second rate copy, but at least we're copying something we know works - and we can sell it a hell of a lot cheaper than they can.
[Bipedal Chassis], [+] Flexible Design Appeals to Many Customers, [-] Challenging to Design
Simplified Combat Mech:
The flexibility of the Zaibatsu designs are definitely appealing, but it's not like it's hard to imagine what kinds of firepower our customers want and provide it up front. They need a gun that can engage armoured vehicles and Mecha, infantry suppression, and enough armour to take hits and keep moving. Instead of flexible hardpoints for mounting differing weapon systems, we'll just set up the weapons hardpoints in a small number pre-determined locations and keep them simple and focused on just the relevant weapons. If we can cheaply produce hand actuators that can carry external weapon systems, that'll be a bonus, but not a priority.
[Bipedal Chassis], [+] Improved Build Speeds & Maintenance Requirements, [-] Reduced Tactical Effectiveness
Heavy Firebase Crawler:
The Second Tier States are mostly fighting pirates and insurgency movements, or positioning their militaries defensively to ward off potential invaders. They don't need a fancy Zaibatsu clone mech, they need something that can do that. We need to think outside the box! We're proposing a multi-legged platform, somewhere between 4 to 8 limbs, that crawls along the ground. It won't be too nimble, and the Pilots will take some getting used to it, but it'll provide a stable base of fire that will allow us to mount heavier weapons than a Bipedal model, while still being agile and mobile enough to outcompete vehicles in urban and rugged terrain.
[Multi-legged Chassis], [+] Heavy Weapons Options, [+] Limb Redundancy adds Survivability, [-] Reduced Agility and Flexibility, [-] Harder to Pilot
Converted Industrial Walkers:
The African Union is one of the leading interested parties. As one of the few powers on Earth still engaged in open conflict, they were hoping for a new weapon to turn the tides of their war against the insurgencies of Central Africa and the Sahel States. The East African Federation is particularly interested as one of the world's leading producers of Industrial Mining Mecha, and is prepared to source us with industrial chassis at cost, while providing us with additional funding for the rest of the project.
[Bipedal Chassis], [+] Extra Funding, [+] Cheap and Easy to Build, [+] Strong Lift Capacity, [-] Slow Movement, [-] System Needs an Overhaul to make Combat-Ready
Well Director, which will it be?
[] Budget Zaibatsu Clone [Bipedal Chassis], [+] Flexible Design Appeals to Many Customers, [-] Challenging to Design
[] Simplified Combat Mech [Bipedal Chassis], [+] Build Speeds & Maintenance Requirements, [-] Reduced Tactical Effectiveness
[] Heavy Firebase Crawler [Multi-legged Chassis], [+] Heavy Weapons Options, [+] Limb Redundancy adds Survivability, [-] Reduced Agility and Flexibility, [-] Harder to Pilot
[] Converted Industrial Walkers [Bipedal Chassis], [+] Extra Funding, [+] Cheap and Easy to Build, [+] Strong Lift Capacity, [-] Slow Movement, [-] System Needs an Overhaul to make Combat-Ready
[X] Heavy Firebase Crawler [Multi-legged Chassis], Heavy Weapons Options, Limb Redundancy adds Survivability, Reduced Agility and Flexibility, Harder to Pilot
[X] Converted Industrial Walkers [Bipedal Chassis], Extra Funding, Cheap and Easy to Build, Strong Lift Capacity, Slow Movement, System Needs an Overhaul to make Combat-Ready
[] Heavy Firebase Crawler [Multi-legged Chassis], [+] Heavy Weapons Options, [+] Limb Redundancy adds Survivability, [-] Reduced Agility and Flexibility, [-] Harder to Pilot
i choose this not because i like it but because i don't like the other options which are
-a licensed copy (everyone will do it)
-a monkey model (technically already obsolete)
-a technical (unsuited for combat)
Our objective should be to make a hard counter for the zaibatsu model so has too corner the market early.
Based on this vote that was accidentally left unticked, I'm going to call the Firebase Crawler the winner by 1 vote - a very narrow victory. Working on the next part now!
Turn 3: Year 0 of Project Knight (Sub-Project Bushfire)
Project Knight - Mecha Design Bureau
Turn 3: Year 0 of Project Knight
[X] Heavy Firebase Crawler [Multi-legged Chassis], [+] Heavy Weapons Options, [+] Limb Redundancy adds Survivability, [-] Reduced Agility and Flexibility, [-] Harder to Pilot
There was fierce debate, but in the end you decided to go for the multi-legged chassis. It wasn't without its downsides, but at least you could guarantee a stable and reliable weapons platform. Many of your clients in the Second States were happy with this as long as you could put together the specs needed. The scientists from the Neural Link division weren't as pleased when they found out. Apparently they wouldn't be able to meet their project deadlines - something about it being easier to sync neural mapping with a model closer to the pilot's own anatomy.
The higher ups didn't mind - as long as the cockpit was finished before you started building the prototype, everything would be fine. They'd make the funding happen.
Gameplay of Mecha Design:
All aspects of a Mecha's design will be given ratings from lowest to highest: X, F, E, D, C, B, A, S. These numbers represent the base capabilities of the chassis, and do not account for the quality of customizations and modular components and systems you add on later e.g. the Aeon Drive, weapons, etc. Any value of X is expected to be nearly non-functional and will need to be improved somehow for the prototype to be considered usable.
Each time you make a decision for your mech, your development team will go away and attempt rolls to implement what you have asked for, attempting to improve attributes related to the highlighted positives, and minimize the reduction of attributes in the highlighted negatives.
Because you are still forming your mech, these are very early numbers that will increase as you build. Still, you should not expect the first mech you build to have particularly good stats - it'll take research, development experience, and time to be able to make a truly top of the line Mecha!
Appeal to the budget constraints of Second Tier States (Logistical Values MUST average D or higher).
Keep Production Cost affordable (preferably C or higher).
Keep Build & Repair Speed ratings high (preferably D or higher).
Must be a capable weapons platform against armoured targets (Tactical Effectiveness MUST average D or higher).
Skeletal Design (F+)
F+ | S-EFF - Structural Efficiency
F+ | S-DUR - Skeletal Durability
F | S-AGI - Skeletal Agility
F+ | S-ACT - Actuator Precision
Tactical Effectiveness (F+)
E- | T-WPN - Weapons Hardpoints
F+ | T-ARM - Armour Plating
F | T-PTP - Pilot Protection
F- | T-PTJ - Joint Protection
F | T-PTC - Component Protection
Power and Drive Effectiveness (F+)
F+ | P-PWC - Power Control
F- | P-SPD - Limb Drive Speed
E- | P-HTM - Heat Management
Logistical Values (C-)
A- | L-CST - Production Cost
A | L-TCH - Technology Cost
F+ | L-BNR - Build & Repair Speeds
E- | L-EOM - Ease of Maintenance
Dimensions/Tonnage:
N/A
Base Vital Components:
N/A
Base Weapon Systems:
N/A
Base Subsystems:
N/A
With the broad direction of our project in place, it was time to start figuring out the details. While it would be good to decide on the main armament and combat functions of the Mech in advance, truthfully we didn't have enough experience building Mecha to be confident in what kind of tonnage and systems we'd be able to install yet.
Before digging into capabilities, we would need to figure out a size, configuration, and composition for the chassis skeleton. It wasn't entirely clear what would come out of this development process yet, but it would make a big difference to what we're actually able to deploy with the system. Hopefully we'd have enough time left over in the project to refine and adapt our early decisions later.
Chassis Sizes:
[Small Chassis] This is equivalent to a 6m bipedal mech in tonnage (est. 55-75t), standing 4m max height, 6m in length.
[+2] Structural Efficiency
[-1] Technology Cost
[Medium Chassis] This is equivalent to a 7.5m bipedal mech in tonnage (est. 75-90t), standing 5m max height, 7.5m in length.
[+1] Max Total Tonnage, [+1] Structural Efficiency
[-1] Production Cost
Large Chassis This is equivalent to a 9m bipedal mech in tonnage (est. 90-100t), standing 6m in max height, 9m in length
[+2] Max Total Tonnage, [+1] Skeletal Durability, [+1] Weapons Hardpoints
[-2] Production Cost, [-1] Technology Cost
Chassis Configuration:
[Four-Limbed Model] The simplest and easiest crawler to design and build, it is simple and and ensures there is plenty of power per limb to keep the mech moving at a decent pace.
[+1] Build & Repair Speed, [+1] Ease of Maintenance, [+1] Limb Drive Speed
[Six-Limbed Model] The addition of a third set of legs will add to the stability and redundancy of the mech, as well as improving its mobility over difficult terrain.
[+1] Skeletal Durability, [+1] Skeletal Agility, [+1] Weapons Hardpoints
[Eight-Limbed Model] The addition of a fourth set of legs will greatly increase stability as well as limb redundancy and traversal over difficult terrain, but the further dilution of available power will undoubtedly reduce the mech's top speed.
[+2] Skeletal Durability, [+2] Skeletal Agility, [+1] Weapons Hardpoints
[-1] Limb Drive Speed, [-1] Ease of Maintenance
Chassis Composition:
[Basic Steel Core Skeleton] As simple as it gets, this won't do anything fancy but steel is ubiquitous and easy to work with, so you can expect this to be extremely cheap and easy to build.
[+1] Build & Repair Speeds, [+1] Production Cost
[Ergonomic Steel Core Skeleton] By using the lessons of nature to refine the skeleton's design, we can ensure the skeleton carries weight more naturally than other designs.
[+1] Structural Efficiency, [+1] Build & Repair Speeds
[Reinforced Steel Core Skeleton] By reinforcing our skeletal structure beyond the minimum required, it becomes more resilient to enemy fire and can carry weight more easily.
[+1] Structural Efficiency, [+1] Skeletal Durability
[Reinforced Ergonomic Steel Core Skeleton] By combining reinforced and ergonomic design principles, we are reaching the peak of steel-cored skeletal designs, but the complex design will be more costly to produce.
[+2] Structural Efficiency, [+1] Skeletal Durability
[-1] Production Cost
[Ultradense Alloy Skeleton] An expensive but extremely strong and durable material, this will substantially weigh down a mech but make it much more difficult to damage or destroy.
[+2] Skeletal Durability, [+1] Armour Plating, [+1] Pilot Protection, [+1] Joint Protection, [+1] Component Protection
[-1] Max Usable Tonnage, [-1] Technology Cost, [-1] Production Cost
[Ultralight Alloy Skeleton] An expensive but strong and lightweight material, this will reduce a mech's weight profile considerably, allowing it to carry more bang for its buck at the cost of a bit of durability.
[+1] Max Usable Tonnage, [+1] Skeletal Efficiency
[-1] Skeletal Durability, [-1] Technology Cost, [-1] Production Cost
New Vote: Please design the Chassis Skeletal Design you want! Approval voting is used to represent some level of chaos and unpredictability in a large project like this - not everything is always going to come out perfect, and you'll have to do your best to make it work at each stage of development. There will be some time at the end of a project to refine and address flaws or contradictions in the design, depending on how much funding you receive for the project. The top vote from each category will win - ties will be resolved with a coin flip/die roll.
[] [Size] Small Chassis
[] [Size] Medium Chassis
[] [Size] Large Chassis
[] [Config] Four-Limbed Model
[] [Config] Six-Limbed Model
[] [Config] Eight-Limbed Model
Voting is now open until at least
. As always, if you have any further questions, please let me know!
EDIT: Clarified on the Ultralight/Ultradense Skeletons that they are altering max usable tonnage, not just the general tonnage of the mech. Similarly, mech size alters max TOTAL tonnage.
Project Knight - Mecha Design Bureau
Turn 4: Year 1 of Project Knight (Sub-Project Bushfire)
[] [Size] Small Chassis
[] [Config] Four-Limbed Model
[] [Comp] Ergonomic Steel Core Skeleton
The development of the basic design was intense and fiercely debated. Countless drafts were proposed, debated, and discarded. Numerous size profiles and limb configurations were proposed, but in the end, only one could be chosen. Given your potential customer base, their restrictions, and the capabilities you desired most, the decision was eventually made to forge ahead with a four-limbed model. The first mockups and working prototypes were primitive - and also revealing as to where the refined prototype could go. Despite the challenges and learnings, the higher-ups continued to pour funding into your operation, which eased the pain of learning.
Your engineers worked long hours through the year before eventually producing an effective prototype.
Rolls for Chosen Upgrades:
Engineering Rolls: Your team will roll dice for each factor of the design they are trying to impact. The dice roll is a simple d20 modified by their level of training and experience in a given field, versus a difficulty target that must be met or exceeded. The degree of success/failure will then modify the final result accordingly.
Scaling Difficulty: Note that The higher the rating of the aspect you are trying to improve, the more difficult the roll will be - thus you will see see diminishing returns if you repeatedly invest in a single facet. To overcome this, your bureau will need to grow in experience, and you will need to develop new tools, technologies, etc. that will improve your engineers' bonuses or lower the difficulty of tasks. Occasionally, specific components or choices you make when building a mech will also adjust these rolls (see the compact/enlarged hull options in this turn's vote.)
Bonus: Your team is currently very well funded! Your engineers get to roll twice and choose the higher result.
[] [Size] Small Chassis Structural Engineering (Quadrapod):Trained (+2) vs. Extra Difficulty (+1) Structural Efficiency improves from F+ to E+ | (18 vs. Diff 11 - minor success) Structural Engineering (Miniaturization):Trained (+2) vs. Extra Difficulty (+1) Technology Cost decreases from A to B+ | (13 vs. Diff 9 - minor success)
[] [Config] Four-Limbed Model Structural Engineering (Quadrapod):Trained (+2) vs. Extra Difficulty (+1) Ease of Maintenance improves from E- to D- | (17 vs. Diff 12 - minor success) Skeletal Kinematics (Quadrapod):Trained (+2) vs. Extra Difficulty (+2) Limb Drive Speed improves from F- to F+| (9 vs. Diff 10 - minor failure)
[] [Comp] Ergonomic Steel Core Skeleton Structural Engineering (Quadrapod):Trained (+2) vs. Extra Difficulty (+3) Structural Efficiency improves from E+ to D| (9 vs. Diff 14 - minor failure) Structural Engineering (Quadrapod):Trained (+2) vs. Extra Difficulty (+2) Build & Repair Speeds improves from F+ to D| (22* vs. Diff 12 - critical success)
The main underlying skeletal structure for the torso and leg support was coming along smoothly, although it wasn't without its setbacks. Figuring out how to build an efficient four-limb skeleton was proving challenging to the team, and in particular they were having troubles figuring out efficient methods of transferring power from the engine to the limbs. Lift capability wasn't an issue - it could hold its weight and more just fine - but the actuator team was struggling with figuring out how to include both articulation and rapid power flow. This was going to be limiting to the velocity of the limbs - but with a good engine and more time spent refining the limb actuators, it wasn't an unsolvable problem.
Appeal to the budget constraints of Second Tier States (Logistical Values MUST average D or higher).
Keep Production Cost affordable (preferably C or higher).
Keep Build & Repair Speed ratings high (preferably D or higher).
Must be a capable weapons platform against armoured targets (Battle Effectiveness MUST average D or higher).
NOTE: I have split Skeletal Stability into its own rating at this point; I found I needed to clearly differentiate between them at this stage of development to make things make sense.
Dimensions/Tonnage:
Height: ~4.19m (in flux, will change with limb decisions)
Length: ~6.28m (in flux, will change with limb decisions)
Breadth: ~3.14m (in flux, will change with limb decisions)
Tonnage: ~71.24t (in flux, will change with limb decisions)
Technical Specifications:
N/A
Skeletal Design (E-)
D - S-EFF - Structural Efficiency
F+ - S-DUR - Skeletal Durability
F - S-AGI - Skeletal Agility
E - S-STB - Skeletal Stability
F+ - S-ACT - Actuator Precision
Battle Effectiveness (F+)
E- - T-WPN - Weapons Hardpoints
F+ - T-ARM - Armour Plating
F - T-PTP - Pilot Protection
F- T-PTJ - Joint Protection
F - T-PTC - Component Protection
Power and Drive Effectiveness (F+)
F+ - P-PWC - Power Control
F+ - P-SPD - Limb Drive Speed
E- - P-HTM - Heat Management
Logistical Values (C+)
A- - L-CST Production Cost
B+ - L-TCH - Technology Cost
D - L-BNR - Build & Repair Speeds
D- - L-EOM - Ease of Maintenance
We had agreed on the basic design of the chassis, but now it was time to hammer down the details. The general design of the body of the Mech (including size and shape) would be important to determining our weapons and component space. Additionally, we needed to finalize the position and style of the limbs and their actuators. With those characteristics in place, we'd have the starting silhouette of our mech and figuring out how to develop and place weapons and armour would be much easier from there.
New Vote: Please design the Chassis Skeletal Design you want! Approval voting is used to represent some level of chaos and unpredictability in a large project like this - not everything is always going to come out perfect, and you'll have to do your best to make it work at each stage of development. There will be some time at the end of a project to refine and address flaws or contradictions in the design, depending on how much funding you receive for the project. The top vote from each category will win - ties will be resolved with a coin flip/die roll.
Hull Size:
[Balanced Hull] Using what we know about our components and Industrial Mech design, we stick with a fairly tried and true set of proportions.
[+1] Build & Repair Speeds, [+1] Ease of Maintenance
[Snub-nosed Hull] - The hull's length is scaled closer to the hull's breadth, while its height bulges slightly to retain volume, giving the Mech a more compact overall profile while preserving internal space. This reduces the amount of hull space available for mounting weapons.
[+1] Reduced Dimensions, [+1] Build & Repair Speeds, [+1] Ease of Maintenance
[-1] Weapons Hardpoints
[Compact Hull] - The overall dimensions of the hull are somewhat reduced, reducing weight and visible profile of the Mech, but making it more challenging to fit required components in the remaining design space.
[+1] Increased Usable Tonnage, [+1] Skeletal Efficiency, [+1] Build & Repair Speeds, [+1] Production Cost
[-1] Roll Penalty when designing/adding components to Project's Body, [-1] Ease of Maintenance, [-1] Heat Management
[Enlarged Hull] - The overall dimensions of the hull are increased, adding space and reducing the difficulty of engineering components, at the cost of increasing weight and the visible profile of the Mech.
[+1] Roll Bonus when designing/adding components to Project's Body, [+1] Weapon Hardpoints, [+1] Heat Management, [+1] Ease of Maintenance
[-1] Reduced Usable Tonnage, [-1] Production Cost
Hull Style:
[Standard Hull] A simple and easy to produce sloped hull, cheap to build and good at everything.
[+1] Weapons Hardpoints, [+1] Armour Plating, [+1] Build & Repair Speeds, [+1] Ease of Maintenance
[-1] Production Cost
[Reinforced Hull] A little more expensive, this design sacrifices some of its payload potential to increase the Mech's survivability.
[+2] Armour Plating, [+1] Skeletal Durability, [+1] Pilot Protection, [+1] Component Protection
[-2] Production Cost
[Gunboat Hull] Designed for weapons platforms, this design sacrifices some of its potential for mounting armour for dedicated space for the placement and management of weapons.
[+2] Weapons Hardpoints, [+1] Component Protection, [+1] Power Control, [+1] Heat Management
[-1] Production Cost, [-1] Technology Cost
[Ergonomic Hull] Sleek and almost biological at first glance, this hull design works in tandem with the body's limbs to maximize the potential mobility of the chassis.
[+1] Skeletal Efficiency, [+1] Skeletal Agility, [+1] Weapon Hardpoints, [+1] Armour Plating, [+1] Power Control, [+1] Limb Driver Speed
[-1] Production Cost, [-1] Technology Cost, [-1] Ease of Maintenance
Limb Style:
[Simple Lateral Legs] Connecting the legs to the side of the body provides a decent balance of accessibility, stability, and support.
[+1] Skeletal Stability, [+1] Limb Drive Speed, [+1] Ease of Maintenance
[Simple Medial Legs] Connecting the legs underneath the body provides a greater degree of power and speed.
[+2] Limb Drive Speed, [+1] Skeletal Agility
[-1] Technology Cost
[Simple Dorsal Legs] Attaching the legs to the upper sides of the body is simple, cheap, and easy, while also allowing the legs to act as additional shields protecting the body from enemy fire.
[+1] Skeletal Stability] [+1] Armour Plating, [+1] Component Protection, [+1] Production Cost, [+1] Build & Repair Speed
[-1] Skeletal Agility, [-1] Joint Protection, [-1] Limb Drive Speed
[Crouched Lateral Legs] By lowering itself to the ground, the Mech will reduce its height profile and improve stability at a cost of speed and agility.
[+1] Reduced Height, [+2] Skeletal Stability, [+1] Joint Protection, [+1] Ease of Maintenance
[-1] Skeletal Agility
[Crouched Medial Legs] By lowering itself to the ground, the Mech will reduce its height profile at a cost of speed and agility.
[+1] Reduced Height, [+1] Skeletal Stability, [+1] Limb Drive Speed, [+1] Joint Protection
[-1] Technology Cost
[Crouched Dorsal Legs] By lowering itself to the ground, the Mech will reduce its height profile at a cost of speed and agility.
[+1] Reduced Height, [+2] Skeletal Stability] [+1] Armour Plating, [+1] Component Protection, [+1] Production Cost], [+1] Build & Repair Speed
[-2] Skeletal Agility, [-2] Limb Drive Speed
[Heavy Lateral Legs] By greatly increasing the weight and power of the limbs, Heavy Limbs grant gains stability and survivability at the cost of mobility and a bit of extra expense.
[+2] Skeletal Stability, [+1] Skeletal Durability, [+1] Armour Plating, [+1] Joint Protection [+1] Ease of Maintenance
[-1] Skeletal Agility, [-1] Production Cost, [-1] Build & Repair Speed
[Heavy Medial Legs] By greatly increasing the weight and power of the limbs, Heavy Limbs grant stability and survivability at the cost of mobility and a bit of extra expense.
[+1] Skeletal Stability, [+1] Skeletal Durability, [+1] Limb Drive Speed, [+1] Armour Plating, [+1] Joint Protection
[-1] Technology Cost, [-1] Production Cost, [-1] Build & Repair Speed
[Heavy Dorsal Legs] By greatly increasing the weight and power of the limbs, Heavy Limbs grant stability and survivability at the cost of mobility and a bit of extra expense.
[+2] Skeletal Stability] [+2] Armour Plating, [+1] Component Protection
[-2] Skeletal Agility, [-2] Limb Drive Speed
Limb Actuator Design:
[Basic Actuator Design] A fairly standard set of mechanical actuators based on Industrial Mech designs. Serviceable and effective at their job.
[+1] Actuator Precision, [+1] Skeletal Agility, [+1] Limb Drive Speed
[Simplified Actuator Design] A set of simplified mechanical actuators to bring production and maintenance costs down at the cost of the agility and durability of the skeletal system.
[+1] Actuator Precision, [+1] Production Cost, [+1] Technology Cost, [+1] Ease of Maintenance
[-1] Skeletal Agility, [-1] Skeletal Durability
[Durable Actuator Design] A set of hardened and protected actuators which are protected from enemy fire and have built-in redundancies to reduce the risk of disabled limbs.
[+1] Actuator Precision, [+1] Limb Drive Speed, [+1] Joint Protection, [+1] Skeletal Durability
[-1] Skeletal Agility, [-1] Production Cost
[Powerful Actuator Design] These actuators are optimized for thrusting power, increasing the Mech's lift capacity and greatly increasing the rate and velocity of limb motions.
[+2] Limb Drive Speed, [+1] Increased Usable Tonnage
[-1] Ease of Maintenance, [-1] Technology Cost
[Flexible Actuator Design] These actuators are optimized for range of motion and flexibility, ensuring the mech is as responsive and agile as possible.
[+2] Skeletal Agility, [+1] Actuator Precision, [+1] Skeletal Stability
[-1] Ease of Maintenance, [-1] Technology Cost
[Precise Actuator Design] These actuators are optimized for the ability to make extremely small, precise movements, which makes them ideal for any mech design that relies on using its limbs to manipulate and control things. (Not recommended for a Quadrapod.)
[+2] Actuator Precision, [+1] Skeletal Agility, [+1] Skeletal Stability
[-1] Ease of Maintenance, [-1] Technology Cost
[] [Limb Style] Simple Lateral Legs
[] [Limb Style] Simple Medial Legs
[] [Limb Style] Simple Dorsal Legs
[] [Limb Style] Crouched Lateral Legs
[] [Limb Style] Crouched Medial Legs
[] [Limb Style] Crouched Dorsal Legs
[] [Limb Style] Heavy Lateral Legs
[] [Limb Style] Heavy Medial Legs
[] [Limb Style] Heavy Dorsal Legs
This is definitely hitting on the upper limit of how much stuff I'm willing to put into one vote, tbh, but I feel like these are all related enough that it still works, and I want to finish the base chassis design by tomorrow for other reasons. Votes on each stage of design will usually be smaller than this. Maybe I should've split off the legs and just accepted that it'll take a bit longer to finish, but it's too late now - I've committed and we'll see how it goes!
Voting is now open until at least
At the end of this vote, a couple things will happen:
The core of the chassis design is completed - the skeleton may be tweaked and adjusted later depending on what happens, but most of the details are locked in.
I will draw the first schematic of your Prototype Mech! I'm looking forward to seeing it 'come to life' even if it's still super WIP.
The higher-ups will give you a project review on your work so far, which will detail any concerns they have, and any additional information or assistance they can offer.
I'll review how the mechanics have worked so far and if I have to adjust anything to keep it fair, balanced, and what I need to adjust to fit my intentions. I'm winging it here so I'm expecting some hiccups and refinement is required. I also need to review the rules on weapons to make sure they're fit for purpose before we get to that stage.
I will probably need to take a break for a day or two because I have D&D on Thursday nights and the above will take me a little bit to finish.
EDIT: Forgot to explicitly add the 'reduced height' bonus to the crouched style legs, that's done now.
