[Asuras]

Originally Posted by kyp275

Eh, not sure where you got that impression from, looking back through the posts, the discussion up until this point has been about the feasibility of the platform based on realistic expectation/scenarions. By bringing in anime mechas level tech, you've moved it to a completely different topic all-together.

I'm not even talking about Gundam level tech. Don't be ridiculous. you don't need to be a Gundam to have the abilities I mentioned.

Actually, technological limitation means EVERYTHING in the context of this discussion. There's no point in debating the potential advantages of a bi/quad legged platform if you're adding a bunch of preconditions that includes magic power source / building material etc. It'd be like debating the practicality of manned fighter jets in the future by basing it on stuff like inertia nullifier and macross-style missiles.

Also, the viability of a military weapons platform cannot be evaluated in a vacuum, their capabilities must be compared to their contemporaries. There's little point in saying a mech has all these advantages with these future techs when you compare it to a modern day tank.

But the thing is you can debate the practicality and usefulness of a system using technology we can't currently access. It's the reason people even consider building new types of weapons; if we didn't consider the advantages of a new technology as being useful on the battlefield, why would we ever develop it? You can consider the advantages of a future mecha on the battlefield and still have your head below the clouds.

Again, you can... The only reason we consider a mecha is to see what it offers us in comparison to a tank. We would attempt to build one because it is being compared to a potentially inferior tank. And to even say a mecha is totally and utterly implausible today seems a bit silly either way; consider when we got to the moon. We still have trouble launching rockets into space and the 1960's managed to send men to the moon. Looking at other forms of technology doesn't necessarily inhibit our ability to make completely new things at the same time.

Actually, guided munitions such as missiles are extremely potent on a battlefield, especially in anti-vehicular roles. Go ahead, hide behind that building, it's not gonna do you a whole lot of good when you're facing Javelin-type munitions that attacks from above.

As for hovering, it would massively increase the maneuverability of the armored vehicle, and give it even more capable at crossing terrains than ground based platforms. That being said, it's also a "magic" tech, so there's little point in debating how it'd perform against other "magic" techs.

But how are you going to target the unit behind the building to launch the missile in the first place?

Yes, hovering would be grand, but in all honesty, I find it even more implausible than a mecha.