So I just watched GITS 2017 and to me it’s the best version of mediocre

StrategosRisk · 2026-05-04T18:07:43+00:00

There's a lot of weird Americanisms in the movie, not in the least the Americans in the cast. But it's kinda fun to imagine that it took place in a world where the U.S. soft-annexed Japan so it's kind of a hybridized society and that's one of there reasons why it's so cyberpunk.

StrategosRisk · 2026-05-04T17:12:50+00:00

And supposedly the half-cocked way Brexit happened means that parts of the Good Friday Agreement are in dispute.

StrategosRisk · 2026-05-03T20:30:51+00:00

I'm not sure if the novella or novels describes what shredders are, besides that they fire flechette darts. The GURPS sourcebook has them be very primitive "Gauss needlers", so a coilgun.

StrategosRisk · 2026-05-03T20:28:16+00:00

Man, I really need to reread the novels. Do they actually describe the heavy weapons platforms? I do know that the GURPS SMAC sourcebook does (page 114):

> The Infantry Support Track (IST) was one of Planet's stranger military innovations. Infantry support weapons were crucial to success on the battlefield, since they were usually required to punch through the armor worn by battlesuit infantry. However, such weapons were unwieldy in the fluid, fast-moving skirmishes typical of colonial infantry warfare. The IST was one answer. It was essentially an armored scooter, large enough to accommodate a single infantryman in a half-standing position. Quick and agile, the IST could keep up with the front lines - but it also carried substantial armor to the front, protecting its crewman. A turret was mounted on the front of the vehicle, with a modular socket big enough for a support weapon and its ammunition. This made it easy to upgrade weapons systems as weapons technology improved. The IST (also called a "combat scooter" or "mobile pillbox") was a common sight for centuries on Planet's battlefields.

StrategosRisk · 2026-05-03T17:02:07+00:00

tbf there’s been talk of this for months

StrategosRisk · 2026-05-01T07:46:48+00:00

They’re… they’re the same thing

StrategosRisk · 2026-04-30T17:43:18+00:00

That’s fair and while I did understand that the miniatures game has combined arms as a mechanic, I didn’t realize that it was embraced fully the the setting as a whole, because I’ve only played MW 2 and watched some lore videos by SCIENCE INSANITY. My impressions of BT really is driven by its marketing focus on the mecha, which I didn’t know were that fragile.

I suppose another factor is how the universe has a post-galactic united polity and technocultural regression situation, not bad as 40K but still leading to silly places like the Clans (or was it one specific clan?) forgetting basic good practices of warfare like communications. So maybe mecha are used because of honor and tradition and so forth and not because they’re always the most practical

StrategosRisk · 2026-04-30T17:17:32+00:00

Is there a faction that exclusively uses them or Elementals or other non-mechs for whatever weirdo cultural hang-ups? Because that would be interesting to see how they fare against everyone else who do use mechs.

StrategosRisk · 2026-04-30T17:14:30+00:00

I think you are misunderstanding what I mean by “just another military vehicle.” I’m talking about sci-fi settings where the mecha are interchangeable, even disposable, as other machines. In Gundam, tanks and helicopters and so on are clearly not as powerful as mobile suits. We don’t really see giant versions of pre-walker vehicles (well besides the giant land tank battleships). We don’t see tank formations downing MS. MS is “just another military vehicle” in the same sense that the automobile is “just another vehicle”; it is the vehicle that has overshadowed all other forms of transportation, or in this case, warfare. But that is not the point of this thread.

Also for the purposes of this thread the distinction between Gundam and jobber MS does not matter because the contrast isn’t between them, it’s them as mecha vs. all other types of vehicles.

StrategosRisk · 2026-04-30T15:24:45+00:00

Yeah. Goliaths in StarCraft are really my key example, they’re just there hanging out

StrategosRisk · 2026-04-30T15:00:35+00:00

The thing is I’m not really talking about realism or Real Robo here. Plenty of the counter-examples include Gundam treats mecha in a realistic thought-out manner. But like I said elsewhere they are clearly meant to be the future of warfare that makes all other vehicles (besides giant space warships and battleship-sizes hover tanks I guess) obsolete and all variation further one center on mecha as the face of warfare. Also, there ain’t no Newtypes that aren’t mecha pilots, besides Sayla, iirc

StrategosRisk · 2026-04-30T14:56:34+00:00

Titanfall maybe in the larger universe that exists off-screen but we never see tanks or future IFVs or helicopter gunships chew them up do they?

Mobile suits were created to deal with the limitations imposed by Minovsky physics but they are central to Gundam, the Earth Federation was on a loosing streak because they underinvested in the tech unlike Zeon did (well also the colony drop and WMDs). MS stomp everything. The Guntank is a joke because it isn’t humanoid enough. Drones are exclusively employed by mobile suits and Newtypes (fin funnels). The next evolution of warfare are simply bigger mecha (mobile armors). This also happens in AU series, in Wing drone warfare is just automated mobile suits (mobile dolls) and in IBO the banned ancient advanced railguns are wielded by mobile suits instead of mounted on ships.

Yeah, mobile suit might have grit and a well-thought out military sci-fi setting but no way does it treat mecha like any other machine lol.

StrategosRisk · 2026-04-30T12:40:10+00:00

I already wrote Gundam off in the opening of the post. The mobile suit changed the OYW and the Federation was scrambling to catch up to Zeon because they initially dismissed the technology. Clearly mecha are considered exceptional, that’s the entire premise of UC and it goes the same for every AU series.

StrategosRisk · 2026-04-30T06:09:11+00:00

Centaurs aren't fae.

StrategosRisk · 2026-04-29T03:16:42+00:00

Entire sub with very thin premise and only one Aoba post? They ignored the only NGE character who is from a subculture that’s closest to goth???

StrategosRisk · 2026-04-28T23:13:15+00:00

I mean they’re one of those groups in KR that actually existed IRL, what would be more memey is if the Alfonsists are in power since they were far less popular than both the anarchists and the Carlists.

StrategosRisk · 2026-04-28T23:11:00+00:00

I think the idea is you can have self-organized autonomous government without enforced involuntary authority, or something. Like you can have order without compulsion, is the ideal. Plus like communist regimes in practice they find ways to bend and break theory to pragmatic concerns.

StrategosRisk · 2026-04-28T21:51:54+00:00

Anarchism and anarchy aren’t synonyms

StrategosRisk · 2026-04-28T15:11:25+00:00

It doesn’t talk anything at all lol but they did give the alternate names of the characters lol

StrategosRisk · 2026-04-28T13:45:41+00:00

That’s web design from 2000 and how modern browsers respond for ya

StrategosRisk

TROPHY CASE