Mech Exo Armours and their colour

[Zeus Thunderbolt]

I was wondering why the diferent types of Mech in the WG fan fic where coloured in such a bold and noticable way when they are mostly used by the military and military equipment is camoflaged?

[*zeo]

Since I'm the tech guy for the fic I'll explain.

If you think about it Mech armour is hardly stealthy in the fic's present technological level, we're basically talking about bulky exo-suits that are little more than walking tanks. Thermal and noise signatures will give them away long before they are seen. Besides they are fighting zoaforms which can all have enhanced senses that make conventional camouflage technics useless.

The color is then actually for the benefit of the pilots who need to identify friend and foe quickly when fighting in the thick of battle with swarms of zoaforms who in some cases are equally vibrant in their colors. It is important to remember these armours are for fighting zoaforms and not regular humans.

Besides color camouflage only works if you put the mechs into similar color battle field. I.E. a jungle camouflage paint job would be useless in a desert terrain. So even a gray tone would be of limited usefulness.

Camouflage is also mainly to avoid detection at range so to avoid enemy fire, aside from the bio-weapon zoaforms most battles are close range hand to hand combat which neither bright nor dull color armour will help.

This is why mechs are being developed in fic with advance camouflage capabilities like the Wolf Knight armours but they are not designed for head on battles like the other mechs.

In the meantime the vibrant colors helps identify each armor type and make organizing them in the heat of battle easier.

Edited October 11, 2004 by Guest

[Frost]

Gee you are pretty good at this Zeo

[McAvoy]

I'll throw some of my military experience here...

Most don't know this but camies don't work unless you are moving, and it's from a long distance. That goes for any environment. Also there are variants like the digi cams (camouflage in small box patterns) which is good for NVG (night vision goggles) or like technology.

Zoaforms negate both of those. Quicker reflexes and better vision. Only way camouflage would work on the Mechs is first they mask heat and noise completely, and they move way faster.

That's as simple as I can tell you. There are some camouflage that does work standing still, like tanks but that's just to off set the distance, nothing more. Still can see them, just can't judge the distance.

[*zeo]

Yes, thanks McAvoy. Real life experience is always appreciated.

I would just add the only possible exception to the need to move camouflage would be snipers who can literally make themselves look like part of the scenary but there is no way to hide a tank in the same way unless you bury it, quite simply there aren't any bushes that big and a big rock in the middle of nowhere would be more than suspicious. In which case it would be kinda useless in battle

Besides getting hit is their main concern so offsetting enemy fire with camouflage technics is the usual tactic as McAvoy so rightly pointed out.

You only get away with camouflaging something that big if it's a transformer but then we wouldn't be dealing with a Guyver fan fic then.

Course for those who do want to imagine Transformers fighting Zoanoids, just imagine big metal feet stomping on bugs

[McAvoy]

I just remember this in one of the Military Technology Newspapers I get every week, that they're developing a 'cloaking device' for Tanks. It's exactly what the last James Bond movie depicts. What it does is, is records a image on one side the vehicle then projects it on a seemless screen on the other. Making it look like you are looking through the vehicle. But it works best when it does not move.

[*zeo]

Yes, integrated fiber optic mess for creating an optical illusion, the technology is reflected in the fic for the Wolf-Knight armors.