Power Armor Roles

[Wes]

The Mindy is an awesome little piece of equipment. It does, however have its drawbacks. There are certain tasks it cannot do well. What I want to talk about is the different roles that power armors can have and see which roles we find are needed but don't have a suitable vehicle.

Ketsurui Fleet Yards
Lamia M1 Space Power Armor (Star Army of Yamatai)
Mindy M2-1d Anti-Starship Power Armor (Star Army of Yamatai)
Mindy M2-1e Anti-Starship Power Armor (Star Army of Yamatai)
Kylie M3 Anti-Armor Power Armor (Star Army of Yamatai, Feisar Armaments Corporation)

Phoenix Aerospacy
Phalanx M1 Power Armor (Star Army of Yamatai, NDI, formerly Qel'noran Industrial Sector)
Nataku M2 Assault Power Armor (Nerimian Defense Initiative)
Golem M3 Infantry Power Armor (Nerimian Defense Initiative)
Phantom II M4 Stealth Power Armor (Nerimian Defense Initiative)

Other Manufacturers:
Demon M1 Infantry Power Armor
Scythe M1 Light Power Armor (NovaCorp)

Here's the roles I've come up with so far:

Space Superiority/Anti-Fighter
Space Superiority/Anti-Armor
Space Anti-Starship
Space Infantry (Marines/Boarding)
Space Infantry Engineer (Marines/Boarding)
Air Superiority
Anti-Aircraft
Ground Infantry
Ground Infantry Engineer
Ground Infantry Police/Riot
Artillery/Railgun
Artillery/Missile
Underwater
Command

 

[Derran Tyler]

Well, in terms of the NDI, its array of battle armors are designed primarily for these roles:

Light Mobile Infantry - The Light MI unit is designed primarily to capture and hold territory for extended periods of time. Individually, they are fearsome foes, but can be overcome with most anti-personnel weaponry. Designed to work in small units of five to eight battledress, Light MI are highly versatile and possess the firepower to handle almost every threat. The NDI's Golem is designed primarily for this role.

Shock Infantry - The Shock MI unit is feared not only for its awesome array of weapons, but its ability to operate in any environment imaginable and perform with excellence. The NDI's Phalanx is a prime example of this. Shock MI undergo training that is much more strenuous than that of the Light MI unit, because they often operate without appreciable air or armor support behind them. Units such as the Phalanx were designed to launch from a starship, fight their way through any defenses (including enemy starfighters) and insert themselves behind enemy lines, where they will use their superior training and firepower to wreak havoc amongst the enemy.

Assault Infantry - The Assault MI often comes with the second wave of an assault due to their tremendous size and speed disparity with their lighter cousins. While exceptionally powerful, they need the support of lighter, more mobile units to protect them. When used in concert with light infantry, the assault unit is a formidable weapon. The NDI's Nataku is seldom seen outside of major ground engagements.

 

[Tyler]

That's all quite interesting ^_^

It answers a lot of my questions about power armors, but the Raven would also have a place once the sensors are upgraded and the weapons made.

 

[Wes]

the Raven would also have a place once the sensors are upgraded and the weapons made.

Which place? Would you type up the Raven's intended role, like Derran did with his armors?

 

[Tyler]

I can do that, just gimme some time to consider the possiblities.

 

[Yangfan]

By command, I assume that Wes meant ground command, since an admiral sitting in his starship doesn't really need a power armor.

If Henry ever goes planetside in a battle situation (again) as an officer though, I think he'd value communications and defense the most in his armor.

Communications equipment would be important since information would be the limiting factor in a commander's effectiveness, and defense is important since the commander would always be a prime target for the enemy. Also, it would be standard procedures for a commander to be guarded by other, lighter units.

So, how about a modified Nataku? (Less weapons, more sensors and comm equip? Thicker armor?)

Also, assuming that everything goes smoothly and the Empire picks up Gashmere (and eventually Ohara) as client states, we'll need armor designs for those species as well. Theoretically, would the NDI or Phoenix Corp. be able to provide them?

 

[Wes]

I wasn't necessarily thinking ground only. A command power armor would be the armor that the squadron leader has. As you pointed out, the command armor would have more advanced communications and control abilities. Some weapons might be sacrificed for additional sensors and armor.

If Phoenix doesn't make power armors for the newer species, I'm sure NovaCorp, Phoenix, or another company will. ^_^ Then again, there's still no troll power armor, lol. That'd certainly be interesting!

 

[Derran Tyler]

Command armors are silly. All it does is present a target to the enemy.

 

[Yangfan]

That's a good point. But an effort can be made to make the command armor visually indistinguishable from the other armors surronding it, from a distance, at least.

I mean, not much fighting is done eyeball-to-eyeball around here.

 

[Wes]

Several days back I noticed a post that you were looking for designs for a new Lamia, so I looked through the mecha lists And found, that in the Lamia, the Mindy, and the Kylie, you had three very powerful but fairly specialized power armors. The Lamia and Mindy are both Powerful Anti-ship Weapons, but there weapons are rather unsuited for Anti-fighter/Power armor combat. The Kylie is a beastly anti-personel/power armor weapon, But is less suited for taking down larger ships.

What I am suggesting is that (with any help you are willing to provide) I attempt to design a brand new Power armor, capable of filling both the combat roles of the Mindy and the Kylie, and in turn start an RP of sorts with Ayana and any others whom would like to be invoved where we would, in fact, test the new prototype Power armors under various Combat situations. In english, I want to design a new power armor for you, and then set up a "test piloting" RP with Ayana as one of the test pilots.

I think attention should be given the variety of power armor roles that are not filled by the current power armors. The mass production model of the Mindy is only 2 years old and the Kylie has only been on the market for a month or two. Both have really been terrific at their roles thus far, and are already in very widespread use (not so much the Kylie, but the Mindy is extremely common, only outnumbered (and I'm not sure on this) by the Lamia M1).

I would love for you to to design a new power armor and will give you all the help I can, but I'm not seeing the Mindy or Kylie needing a replacement for many years. The Lamia, however, is in need of an upgrade or replacement because WickedArms Corporation is going out of business. Since the Mindy has the same role as the Lamia, there's room for a possible change of role as well. Rather than trying to outdo the RP's top-of-the-line armors in their specialty roles, why not choose a role that they don't excel in, such as infantry or artillery?

As a final note, the idea of a test pilot appeals to me. Since Yuuko and Yui are test pilots, too, it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to build an ongoing test pilot RP into the Nozomi plot, with pilot/armors facing off against each other and all that good stuff.

 

[Miyu Ayana]

As a final note, the idea of a test pilot appeals to me. Since Yuuko and Yui are test pilots, too, it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to build an ongoing test pilot RP into the Nozomi plot, with pilot/armors facing off against each other and all that good stuff.

^_^ I see I'm not the only fan Of Macross+

Anyway, I digress once again.

I'll happily go to work on it, though I would really apprecate any Ideas you guys might have. I would especially apprecate any information on the various tecnoligies you have invented here, especially any info on Scalar and Aether beam technologies, as well as the various missile and shiled techs, as well as any other information that is vital for the design of a new mecha.

Also, If i were to Wish to Incorperate new technologys inot the New mecha, how would I go about that?

 

[Wes]

Also, If i were to Wish to Incorperate new technologys inot the New mecha, how would I go about that?

If it's new to the RP, someone would have to invent tthose technologies. It's not impossible, but remember research costs money...lots of money.

 

[Ametheliana]

I've seen a few different mecha have psychological warfare as usually a secondary role (ex. Erla 2 and Haidan VANDR) and think the Mindy utilizes this niche of role as a secondary or at least tertiary role.

From the Strategy and Tactics of the Star Army of Yamatai wiki page:

The Empire is very conscious of the psychological aspect of war and actively seeks to cause terror and panic in enemy ranks through shock attacks, propaganda, and ruthlessness