[gurps] A spaceships Mecha - the Chessmaster

[Zan Lynx]

Clinton N. Fell wrote:
> First to address Onno's comment about arms.
> 
> I hadn't bothered to think too much about it.  Early on I had envisioned 
> them as an entrenching tool and debris clearing tool.  But after that I 
> mostly just put them there because I only used two legs.  The multiple 
> limbs has always struck me as one of the few advantages "mecha" have over 
> tanks.  If you blow a limb off the mecha it can still move, if you track a 
> tank however it is done until you can get out and fix it.  And fixing 
> track-type undercarriage outside of a repair bay is not fun believe me - 
> it isn't even much fun inside of a repair bay.  Quad track vehicles 
> somewhat mitigate this advantage - but these have problems of their own.

I think that one of the Bolo novels had a clever track repair method. 
It had about eight tracks.  It had hydraulics on the track wheels, so it 
could lift itself up.  Then it could break and spin off a damaged track, 
extrude a new track from storage and roll the new track onto the 
sprockets and wheels.

-- 
Zan Lynx
zlynx at acm.org

"Knowledge is Power.  Power Corrupts.  Study Hard.  Be Evil."