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Originally Posted by Wiki
The history of Knightmare Frames is roughly divided in four Ages, which mark the birth of a new kind of weapon platform and its evolution into a full-fledged combat system.[1]
[edit] First Age: Infancy
The First Age saw the creation of 'emergency survival cockpits' for conventional vehicles like Main Battle Tanks and Armored Personnel Carriers. Equipped with rocket engines to fly the crew away from the wreck, the contraptions were soon equipped with artificial legs to allow greater mobility. Limited room inside the said tanks and other vehicles however restricted the number of legs to two. Although unarmed and with limited power sources, the 'walking cockpits' nevertheless sparked much interest and laid out the bases for gressorial machines.
[edit] Second Age: Turning Point
Several years later, the Britannian Empire entered the Second Age by authorizing research and development (R&D) on an innovative weapon, implementing several systems that had just been created, just as:
Multipurpose manipulators
Landspinner propulsion systems
Factsphere sensors
R&D, however, only enjoyed a short lifetime and the entire project remained at trial level, as the Landspinners suffered critical jams and brutal accelerations, causing the Knightmare Frames to tumble during test trials. The manipulators were unable to handle high-precision tasks and it wasn't until the Third and Fourth Age that acceptable results were finally achieved. R&D, however, went two separate ways, namely the application of military-based robotics projects and the use of social-oriented programs. The former was assigned to a Britannian Army Special Division, the 'Special Dispatch Guidance System Division', while the latter went in the hands of a private group, the Ashford Foundation. The said company proactively implemented technologies related to training and education, enabling the entire Knightmare Frame program to make progress fluidly.
The bipedal weapon was in the meantime nicknamed 'Knightmare' by the Army but it non-offensive equipment was referred to as 'Frame' by civilians. The union of those two terms eventually gave birth to the system's current name, 'Knightmare Frame'.
[edit] Third Age: Archetype
The Third Age quickly reaped the favorable results from the Second Age and focused on making Knightmare Frames truly combat effective platforms. As such, technology fields were prioritized, with greater focus given on mobility and ordnance.
As some time, the use of supraconductor elements became paramount in Knightmare Frame R&D. One material specifically gained interest: Sakuradite. The Sakuradite-rich Coalminus was observed to bring out high output yields, effectively boosting the Knightmare Frames' performances. Before long, the mineral's value had multiplied, and it had become the core of many political issues and positions, most notably Britannia's foreign and diplomatic policies.
It was also at that time that the famous Ganymede prototype, manufactured and designed by the Ashford Foundation, made its appearance. Its test pilot gained renown and was granted knighthood, before eventually getting married to the Britannian Emperor. However, the company suffered great damage when she was assassinated and started to decline. The Ashford Foundation eventually retired from its business and its employees were disbanded. The truth on the Empress' death was never truly elucidated but rumors suggest that her downfall was caused by a political feud meant to keep the rising Ashford Foundation in check.
[edit] Fourth Age: Implementation
The Fourth Age was heavily influenced by the venerable Ganymede prototype. The once experimental vehicles definitively became weapon platforms and, from earlier test results, the RPI-11 Glasgow was rolled out, first model to be truly considered combat capable. It proved its tactical and technological superiority during the invasion of Japan in 2010 A.T.B. by crushing the local army with relative ease. Its success confirmed, the Glasgow underwent many modifications and upgrades, becoming the baseline unit for the Britannian Army. Even after it became obsolete, its frame was still used as template for later generation models such as the Sutherland, the aquatic Boatman or the Gloucester. Some units are, even to this day, still used by the Knightpolice for law enforcement. Other countries and factions such as the Japanese Liberation Front even created its own variants, namely the Burai, Burai Kai and Raikou, before creating its own designs, although with highly different designs.
Knightmare Frame R&D has now reached its seventh generation, although there are few prototypes of this kind to this day. Nevertheless, upgrades and discoveries are still made every day, as now particle and wave technology are being intensively implemented in experimental weaponry.
[edit] Fifth Age: Evolution
Following the fourth generation was the fifth generation Sutherland, which kept the Glasgow's development path with a focus on improving mobility and close combat performance. The Glasgow was developed with conventional weapons such as tanks in mind, but apparently gave no consideration to fighting other Knightmare Frames. Though the Glasgow's basic technology was far from inferior, most of its success came thanks to Britannia's overwhelming power. As the success of the Glasgow lead to a worldwide boom in robotic weapon development, it became obvious that a more up-to-date approach was required.
The Sutherland's improvements to cockpit comfort and function, as well as its close combat abilities, show that the concept of robot combat was highly considered during its development. In addition to improved mobility, the refined landspinners provided the ability to pivot-turn (rotating the landspinners in opposite directions, allowing for rapid turning in place). The feedback from this technology was later returned to the Glasgow. The Second Princess Cornelia and her bodyguards make use of the Glouchester, custom machines made from the Sutherland. The remodel shows that it was not intended for anti-robot combat, but rather anti-Knightmare combat, reflecting the Chinese Federation and the EU's development of their own Knightmare Frames.
[edit] Sixth Age: Missing and Continuation
Because the Fifth Generation Sutherland and Gloucester featured similar refinements to the Knightmare Frame's technology, there was little overall innovation. As a result, the once-rapid pace of KMF development quickly slowed to a near-halt. Seeking a breakthrough, various technical trial-type machines were developed, but none produced any form of concrete results. For some time, it seemed like research into bipedal walking weapons was nothing more than wildly grasping for results. Thus, the Sixth Generation is often referred to as the "Missing Generation".
The machine that broke this stagnant period was the Seventh Generation Lancelot. Its development was handled by a key member of the Knightmare development group's applied engineering department. The OS, frame materials, and research from the First through Fifth (Sixth) Generations were all brought into line for its conception. Firstly, the frame features a differing amount of Sakuradite. Though typically used for the Yggdrasil Drive which powers KMFs, the Sakuradite is used for more than just the Coalminas core. This provides the unit with overwhelming power. Thanks to its high output, technologies such as the MVS (Maser Vibration Sword) and electromagnetic shielding could be employed. In addition to the Sakuradite dispersed throughout the frame, it is also used in the VARIS (Variable Ammunition Repulsion Impact Spitfire), with the intent of giving it the strength to survive a direct hit. This kind of rapid development completely defies the notion of general purpose and mass production units, resulting in the Lancelot being a unique machine.
At this point, there are two possible futures for KMF development. One is to take the technology introduced in the Seventh Generation and find a cheap way of introducing it into mass production machines. The other is to develop other technologies from the missing Sixth Generation to produce Seventh Generation machines other than the Lancelot. The thinking behind the technology in the Guren Nishiki and related machines could be considered "Another Seventh Generation".
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