Haha, well, there’s not all of that. There’s only one mech and one pilot, so you don’t need to deal too much with conflicting personalities. Just the one. No base building either, unfortunately. The company that owns the mech doesn’t own the city, so they can’t just plop down stuff wherever. Assuming we’re talking about ground support here, I was mostly envisioning the ground support going around and doing things like taking out big guns, or generators that support the enemy.

[spoiler]rip post[/spoiler]

So, the mech is powered off of a person known as a "Star Child", which without going too deep into the lore stuffs is basically just someone with a crazy high magic potential, but who's unable to actually cast any spells. They're essentially hooked up to a tower like a battery, and then a cable feeds their magic into the giant honking mech suit to give it power. From there, they also get the ability to control it telepathically. However, as you might imagine, powering an entire mech suit is incredibly taxing on the body, and they can't actually keep the mech powered for very long. Or, in other words, the mech is designed to be used in short bursts, not long missions, and it's usually prepped and deployed in the middle of a mission, not at the beginning. Ergo, if they were to deploy additional vehicles and troops, they would most likely be deployed long before the mech suit ever hits the field, so unfortunately carrying the extra manpower onboard doesn't actually make a whole lot of sense in this particular context.

[spoiler]rip post[/spoiler]

No need to apologize, that just means you're a creative type, which is a good thing! :D I was thinking the mech was probably pretty much invulnerable to smaller dudes, so swarms of smaller enemies, and snipers probably wouldn't do much. However, the opposite is also true, where the big monster the mech is fighting is also pretty much invulnerable to anything but the mech. So, your priority as ground support would be to weaken the monster by sabotaging its support systems, and taking out big weapons that could otherwise hinder the mech, like big turrets and artillery and that sort of thing. I'm not 100% sure on all the worldbuilding details yet, but I don't think shield generators would be a thing, because there's both magic and technology in this world, and I do want to make sure they're differentiated. Sci-fi shields feel like more of a magic thing, but nobody would have the level of magic needed to create a shield big enough to impede this gigantic mech suit. I was also probably envisioning more of an arena type thing, rather than a level. The mech will probably be anchored to a tower via a cable, so it can't actually travel that far, so it's only brought out for the big boss fight itself. So, it's less about clearing a way forward, more about keeping the mech from being blasted to smithereens by a turret while it's fighting the building-sized werewolf. But yeah, I agree. The more I talked about it with people, the more I liked the idea of being ground support for the big mech. Unfortunately, looking at the poll, most folk prefer to be the big mech itself. If/when I get the RP up and running, I'll probably offer the player a choice once they get to that point. They can choose whether or not they want to be in the mech, or support it from the ground. [spoiler]Speaking of, if I do get it going, you're welcome to join in. I believe you previously expressed an interest in RP. It would be on Discord, though.[/spoiler]

[spoiler]rip post[/spoiler]

[spoiler]rip post[/spoiler]

You should edit your posts instead of making multiple responses. Makes it easier to keep track of. :) [quote]Magic or si-fy there's lots of flexibility to implement Small scale barriers to protect weak points or have shaman's jam a gun on the mech with a hex or curse hindering power or cool down...even apply buffs for speed or attack...and the more there are focused on the same task the stronger the effects....[/quote] Indeed, I've made shields in other stories that come from both technology and magic. However, in a world that has both, where I don't want the applications of either to have too much overlap, shields and barriers will always be a magical thing imo. The said, an individual person's magic can never reach the levels of power that you're suggesting. The mech is way too big for a single person to cast a spell that would have any sort of meaningful effect on it. You could theoretically have this kind of stuff on a smaller scale, like in a skirmish you could potentially have someone cast a spell that disrupts an enemy gun, but nothing that would work on a giant mech. The fact that these things are on such a different power scale to anything else in the world is one of the big themes of the story. Like, even the big turrets/artillery that the support would be helping tech out is still relatively underpowered against the mech, and if it weren't for the giant monster the mech would have no problem dispatching them. Unfortunately, group casting also isn't a thing in this world, just because of the way magic works. It's a very individual thing. [quote]If the mech is attached to the power supply via cable...the supply and mech could be deployed separately....then plugged in afterwards is a good opportunity for the support crew to defend while having a task to perform...the cable would probably need defending or repair being an obvious weakness (to me) not to mention the power supply being immobile (presumably) will also be a Target.....[/quote] The mech needs to be plugged in constantly. Without a direct connection to a Star Child, it can last maybe only a few seconds. Nothing else in this world has the ability to provide a sufficient power source for this thing, so there's no emergency backup power to keep it running for any amount of time off of the cable. There are multiple towers that the mech can be transferred between, but the mech can't move itself between them, it needs to be manually transported. I imagine via some sort of underground train. But yes, the cable and the tower it's attached to are both weak points to the mech. The problem comes in the fact that, as stated, the giant monsters and the mech are on a whole other power level, so if the giant werewolf wants to destroy the cable, the only thing that can stop it is the mech itself. The cable is fairly well reinforced, so ground infantry wouldn't be able to cut it, but it is potentially vulnerable to vehicles like tanks, or big turrets if they're in range. The towers themselves aren't a problem. You'd need to bring in some pretty heavy weapons to take that thing down, and good luck with that without being seen from a thousand miles away. Unless you're a giant werewolf. Nothing the tower can do about that except deploy the mech. Defending the tower/cable is more of what you'd do as the mech's pilot rather than the support, though. [quote]Having emplacements for the support crew or having the support crew assist with reloading or weapon swaps during the mechs "cool down" still could be an option for direct support player options for defensive and offensive play style... imagine riding the mech into combat strapped to a chain gun on its ankles... shooting down giant ticks while the mech is grappling a enormous ware armadillo...I like this game[/quote] There's no need to reload. Every single function of the mech, including any weapons it would have, are all powered by the Star Child's magic. And due to the insane power difference between the mech's weapon systems and what a regular mounted turret would have, there wouldn't be much reason to attach one. Anything you could attach would be stronger if you instead left it to the Star Child. There's also only one giant monster at a time. They aren't a normal thing in the world, they have to be created, and there are only maybe 4-5 throughout the story. So, you don't have to deal with smaller monsters while the mech is dealing with the big one, because creating these monsters takes so many resources there's no point in creating anything except the big one. The monsters are basically the inverse of the mech. While the mech is technology taken to its highest level, the monsters are magic taken to their highest level. [quote]Ok..I am starting to see what you got cooking....I love this kind of stuff....I have been the wall to bounce ideas off for all my friends...art, animation, games, RP, books,....I tend to overthink things but in a way of logic, breaking things down in a way that makes sense for the universe in question...my brain doesn't do "just because" resulting in my love of getting my hands into the "guts" of games and stories...[/quote] Don't worry, things are very thought out on my end! I've had this idea for a few years, actually. There's still room for new things to be added (the cables and the towers are a new development!), but for the most part, the world is pretty solidly built. As an author, I've got a good sense for this stuff. :p I like hearing your ideas, though, perhaps it would help of you were to take a looksie at my lore doc first. I can send it to you on Discord if you want. Name's "thefirstaifos". [quote][spoiler]I would much like the opportunity to join we would just need to figure out the logistics for it I don't computer much...[/spoiler][/quote] I'm still figuring that out on my end as well. I wouldn't have the time to RP the same way I used to, where I just responded whenever I could every day. I have, like, books to work on! Still, even if the pace is going slow, that's fine by me. As I mentioned in the other thread, Aria (another RP of mine) went on for over a year, and I would've happily kept it going further. Which on that note, it is worth noting this would probably be a long-form RP. Meaning, it would also take quite a while.

The underground train idea reminds me of an anime called big-O which also had a giant giant robot deployed via subway but it just raises out of the ground breaking everything in the way even building...I would figure that infrastructure would be built near the towers for the railroad, silo and elevators to get the mech to and from....

Haha, yeah, the trains would take the mech directly to whichever tower it needs to be deployed at, and then there'd be an elevator to lift it into the inside, where it can be wired up to the capsule where the Star Child will sleep. No bursting through the ground and destroying the City. :p

The towers...and cables...if the star child is in a pod...in the tower I would guess...the cable could be hazardous depending on the size and length of the cable and how fast the mech can move....that cable would be flailing around tearing it up a risk to all and any in the way and even getting caught or tangled depending on movement......you could flavor it to work via tower mounted satellite using "magic waves"...still has limited range, can be disrupted by to many buildings or the monsters block the waves causing lower power....making combat positionings important and a need to avoid "dead zones"....

Oh, I hadn't actually thought about that. Good catch. I would think, at the very least, the cable is probably suspended. This mech is quite big, so if the cable hooked into its back, and then ran straight to the tower, it should be high enough off the ground that most things wouldn't hit it naturally. There could also probably be a mechanism in place that only lets the cable out as much as needed. Like, when the mech gets close more of the cable retreats into the tower, so that the cable is never sagging. I don't know how feasible that is on such a large scale, but I know I've seen toys with a similar mechanism at least. :p Taller buildings could be a problem, but for obvious reasons they try to use the mech [i]outside[/i] of city limits as much as possible. If a battle of such huge proportions is taking place inside city walls, then you've kinda got bigger problems. Like how the monster is in the city. It does need a direct connection, though. Broadcasting magic waves wouldn't work, because potentially something or someone else could start poaching the magic. Magic in this world is also a very physical thing. Sending magic from one source to another usually requires physical touch.

Ok like those zip wire key chains.....only concern then is cable tension and weight...the longer the cable the harder it would be to keep it taught eventually the force would out pace the mech hindering movement or worse get a slingshot style action and that would be bad.....and if the mech out paces the cable it could disconnect or get some cartoons style whiplash....sorry I love my physics....

Haha, well, at that point I would probably just handwave it. Perhaps the cable is being controlled along with the mech like an extra limb, allowing it to maintain a good balance, or maybe there's just some sort of magic mechanism also being channeled by the Star Child to keep the cable stable with the mech. Or, maybe, whatever substance the cable is built with reduces stress somehow? Or maybe it just doesn't get explained. Like, we [i]are[/i] kind of already dealing with giant mech suits. The very existence of one of those is a lot more unfeasible than a retracting cable. :p Mech suits on cables are just too cool to let physics get in the way!

Fair...and if it is activity controlled it would also help explain the limited run times and stresses on the pilot...

I mean, I think being a human battery is already a pretty good explanation for the limited time, myself. Not sure it needs any more explanation than that. :p

Also true...I over think things and I like to know how things work even in fantasy settings my mind demands things to logic in some way and I go overboard sometimes....

Nothing wrong with that! I’d actually be curious what you’d think of my first book if you’d ever be up to give it a read. I put a decent amount of work into hammering out that magic system. In any case, the main reason piloting the mech is so taxing is just because of how much magic it’s pulling out. In this universe, there’s latent magic in everyone, and it can get extracted and turned into either spells or a power source for machinery. In small amounts, there’s no problem with this, as the body will re-absorb latent magic in the air, replenishing any given person’s supply. But, if you expend more magic than you take in, you can run into a deficiency, which leads to a lack of energy, a general cold feeling, and other similar symptoms. If your magic gets too low, it can even result in death. Broadly speaking, losing magic has the same symptoms as losing blood. Light magic loss leads to a condition similar to anemia, heavy magic loss can induce something akin to hypovolemic shock. In addition, rapid expulsion of magic is also just painful. For regular spells, the pain is pretty minir, but the bigger the spell the bigger the pain. The pod a Star Child rests in is designed to ease this pain, but it can’t nullify it completely. Running the mech just kinda hurts.

That explains the pod and needing to be "sleeping".... definitely want to see the lore doc you was talking about just need to figure out how to git to it... edit:also where do I find this book of your's

It is worth noting, the lore doc isn't [i]super[/i] in depth. It's designed to be spoiler free so I can hand it to potential RPers without giving them spoilers. :p But, you would need a Discord to participate in the RP anyhow. It's pretty easy to make one, and then you can either look up my name, or I can look up yours. With Discord, I can share PDFs, which is how I've been sharing the lore doc. I'm not allowed to link my book directly, because that would be soliciting, but here is a forum thread about it: [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/262897198?sort=0&page=0]My first book[/url]. You can find it on Amazon by searching "The Heart of the World Michael Tillotson". I also have [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/264502161?sort=0&page=0]a second book[/url]. It's not quite as good imo, but it's an easier read, and still pretty fun. You can also find it on Amazon by searching "Witch of the Starlit Coven Michael Tillotson". Though, you may want to hold off on this one for a bit, because I'm planning on putting out a special edition with ART (though artbook edition would be a bit more pricey, of course)! And, I'm working on a third book, that just finished its first draft. I'm starting editing on Monday, so it'll probably be out in a month or two.

Cool...if I can get you in game while I'm at home we can work out discord over the mic discord runs on my chrome book still I am just not that familiar with it's inner workings