Gundam 00

[MorphineSoldier]

Fufufufu.

You got too scientifical for a mecha anime. >_>

XD

I'm going to translate that for you.

What you just said: "You're using too much science in your science-fiction!"
=P

[Jake]

What you just said: "You're using too much science in your science-fiction!"

Ay, mecha-anime and particularly Gundam delibrately ignore and sometimes contradict real science, though. "Hey, this inconvenient thing called 'physics' means that nobody would ever use a giant robot at all due to various practicality issues, and half our storylines wouldn't work due to obvious workarounds to the problems du jour..." "Uh... eh... Minovsky particles!"

The real reason that spaceships in mecha anime have big windows on the bridge has bugger-all to do with engineering redundancies; it's because otherwise, people wouldn't be able to cheap-shot spaceships by taking out the glass.

[MorphineSoldier]

What you just said: "You're using too much science in your science-fiction!"

Ay, mecha-anime and particularly Gundam delibrately ignore and sometimes contradict real science, though. "Hey, this inconvenient thing called 'physics' means that nobody would ever use a giant robot at all due to various practicality issues, and half our storylines wouldn't work due to obvious workarounds to the problems du jour..." "Uh... eh... Minovsky particles!"

The real reason that spaceships in mecha anime have big windows on the bridge has bugger-all to do with engineering redundancies; it's because otherwise, people wouldn't be able to cheap-shot spaceships by taking out the glass.

Gundam's actually notably better about it than most, at least in the better series. [SEED threw physics to hell in favor of angst and politics, but I like it anyways most days.]
Pretty much anytime science-fiction noticeably ignores science, it pisses me off. Thus, it makes me feel better to believe that the space ships have windows for the good reasons I posted. XD

[PyTom]

Actually, it's completely necessary. We have windows in the shuttles too for similar reasons. In space there are a SHITLOAD of things that could potentially rain hell on your electronic equipment, particularly things that rely on relay signals of some kind, like radar or camera feed.
Between stars having flares, gravitational pulls from celestial bodies and dust kicked up from space debris your equipment is liable to fuck up at any time. In that situation, the only thing you can rely on is that your engine is working, and you can presumably navigate visually if you have to..

Actually, I suspect the reason there are windows on the shuttle is more for tradition than anything else. I've seen them land the thing with the runway only visible for maybe 30 seconds or so, and it has little use in space. (Operationally... science and beauty are other considerations.)

If the shuttles' computers were to fail, the orbiter would become a very expensive brick.

I suspect that the right layout for a space warship would be to have a well-protected combat command center, with a bridge for less dangerous operations. (Similar to Navy ships... and Battlestar Galactica seems to get this right.)

[Samu-kun]

The real reason that spaceships in mecha anime have big windows on the bridge has bugger-all to do with engineering redundancies; it's because otherwise, people wouldn't be able to cheap-shot spaceships by taking out the glass.

That's what I was about to say. XD

But they never do it ordinarly unless it's near the final episode. Hahaha. XD Just like they almost never shoot the good guys when they're transforming.

[Nebi]

Just like they almost never shoot the good guys when they're transforming.

Or who picks up all of Gundam Virtue's stray pieces when it becomes Nadleeh. :| The scrap collector probably swears every time it happens. "#$*(&$*()@ Tieria! (#&*$"

[Jake]

Gundam's actually notably better about it than most, at least in the better series.

Better than super-robot stuff, perhaps, but still like night and day compared to something like Planetes.

[lordcloudx]

Just want to add in that Freespace 2 is the most realistic space combat sim I've ever seen/played. (it's now freeware too)

[LVUER]

If you want to be very-realistic, then there won't be any Gundam (or any Humanoid Mecha in that matter).

[bloodywyvern]

Well it would be possible and somewhat practical to a degree, just not in the sense Gundam makes them. They would not -walk-, if anything a humanoid mecha would have wheels on the feet to have any sort of speed. Even that though is impractical due to the easy ability to simply trip them up...

[MorphineSoldier]

If we wanna get really into realism - Lockon wouldn't have died the way he did. xD

The gun would have imploded from the puncture and subsequent loss of integrity, rather than exploded. Space lacks the oxygen to fuel an explosion. There may have been some oxygen within the Arms, but hardly enough to blast the whole thing and everything surrounding it into smithereens.

LOCKON DIDN'T DIE! IT WAS OBVIOUSLY A HALLUCINATION!

[LVUER]

If we talk about realism, we won't be making any humanoid mecha to built a war machine. It would be far too impractical, cost-inefficient, and we all know that human body is not built for any combat purpose.

I still haven't watch Gundam 00 (only 4 first episodes) but there could be explosion in space. But there won't be fiery and flame anywhere (there's no oxygen in space) but the shockwave will be tremendously big. Watch Gun Buster, it depicts realistic battle in space (including where the pilot couldn't hear any sound and could loose the sense of direction easily).

[bloodywyvern]

Actually a humanoid war machine would be practical in some senses, and not so much in others, much like anything really. The real thing that it has an advantage in is flexibility of movement. Something like a tank has a very limited and slow range of movement and an inability to move if trapped or sinks in to something. If you give it a humanoid factor, it can adapt to many more situations then the classic weapons we have. Now cost efficient is an entirely other matter. It may be more efficient just to adapt the technology to improve the regular soldiers, and give them a body suit rather than a mech.

[LVUER]

There has been a discussion about this somewhere, it was very interesting.
Of course there a pro in making a humanoid mecha as a war machine, but weighing the cons, (for me) it is a big NO to make any kind of humanoid mecha in a military application, especially if you want to make a war machine.

In other field, like construction (think Patlabor) or SAR, humanoid mecha has better use but not in battle field.

When we talk about military, we also must think about cost, logistic, amount of time and money to train the crew/personnel, etc, etc.

The cons of having humanoid mecha as a war machine :
1. Inability to bring heavy weapons (the mecha will be tripped over when shooting it)
2. Inability to travel soft terrain (due to focused weight on feet)
3. Large and tall profile, making an easy target for any aerial and ground weapons
4. Mobility Kill (just destroy the legs)

[Samu-kun]

Once again we got too scientifical for a mecha anime. XD

It reminds me of the laws of mechas...

http://members.tripod.com/~NuGraphite/tutorial09.html