Which would you be more interested in from a narrative standpoint?:
A) Man-Sized Power Suits
B) Giant Piloted Mecha (does not have to be humanoid)
Remember to show your work.
>>13966702
>A) Man-Sized Power Suits
Makes it feel more human as it just seems like a second skin. Can be really good for subtlety
Ex. Halo Spartans
>B) Giant Piloted Mecha (does not have to be humanoid)
Gives a great sense of scale, showing superiority or power over others.
Ex. Kamille using the Mk.II to mess with the MP
Both are good in different situations.
>>13966844
A) Might as well be a super-human. Not much different from a hero archetype in most cases but even good use makes it feel like nothing more than a supersoldier.
B) Assuming a hard "real" focus, it's a vehicle. Possibilities are endless, for good or for bad. Entirely depends on how it is written, but to me it is almost always more interesting than powered armor.
Powered armor might as well be a legendary sword and shield with a modern dash of flavor, or when produced en masse, nothing more than standard outfit for a future soldier. Mecha have tons of possibilities. The difference between Dragonar, Dougram, VOTOMS, and Gundam are fairly notable and that's within series that are pretty similar to each other.
>>13966702
I love that color palette.
>>13966702
>not combined arms
>>13966891
>Powered armor might as well be a legendary sword and shield
Don't see how a giant mecha would be any different.
From a Narrative stand point it really depends on what kind of story you wanna do.
If you want to do a story about a giant all out war for a city or country then piloted mech suits interest me more.
but if you're doing a story about a squad trying to destroy a super weapon in said city then man-sized power suits interest me more. It all depends on the situation really and whether or not its plausible in the scenario.
They wouldn't send in giant mech suits to destroy a super weapon that can destroy giant mech suits.
>>13966702
Both. Everything.
For there to be credible warfare, there must be Poor Bloody Infantry. For there to be the spirit of mecha, there must be Giant Piloted Mecha.
Man-sized power suits, landmover-sized mechs and other less flighty items are what make the setting, set the table, set the stage, and for the whole to become complete, the "secret superweapon", the ace-in-the-hole, the mantle of the hero, the true Mecha is needed. Without the first, it can't shine as brightly. As Gundam taught us.
Power armor is more realistic than a giant mechanized robot and therefore make the story world much more believable to the audience.
Big robots make no strategic sense in an armed conflict.
I think Votoms' ATs are the right size. They are basically 1-man tanks.
The question is malformed.
Since neither actually exists their traits are entirely invented. A narrative does not naturally grow from either one because neither one has any inherent traits beyond being made the fuck up. The height may be different (if entirely unspecific) but any trait you associate with one can easily be applied to the other by just making shit up.
Your question amounts to "Are tall people or short people more interesting from a narrative perspective?"
>>13967572
You should watch an anime some time.
>>13967572
You are not very familiar with concepts of plausibility and how it relates to science fiction writing.
>>13966702
Both in a combined arms setting. The power armor is smaller and faster, but they run into issues with dealing as much damage to mechs and typically one hit takes them out, and the giant robots are bigger, stronger, more defensive, and have more weapons, but they have vulnerable areas like joints and can have trouble hitting the smaller and faster power armors.
I just like powered armor in general. Hard to say which one is more interesting from a narrative standpoint since mecha are just there to be cool, basically. What a powered armor does is put the operator in way more danger than a giant robot though. You can have a Gundam take plenty of severe hits without the operator being in harms way. Any good hit against someone in powered armor is going to do serious damage though.
Another thing about mecha vs power suits is that the physicality of the operator does not matter in a mecha (unless for some reason you give it a 1:1 body control mechanism). While a power suit can amplify the strength and speed of its operator, it can do nothing for their endurance. You'll get tired after extended use. Anyone and their mom could theoretically pilot a mecha with knowledge of how to do so. Not everyone could do the same in powered armor.
It also depends on where you want it to sit on the power scale of fighting vehicle. You need to do a lot with a mecha to justify its existence on a battlefield with tanks and gunships if it is of similar (or, as is often the case, of greater) cost to produce and maintain. With powered armor, chances are it's just noticeably above infantry but below the aforementioned vehicles. If it can contend with them it's because of tactics.
Actually that reminds me.
>>13966891
Equates powered armor to a legendary sword and shield. The way that the Madox-01 is used to take out a tank is the exact same strategy that Sigurd used to kill Fafnir in the Volsung Saga.
https://youtu.be/Qp9BmKn5NKg#t=1m23s
So maybe he's on to something.
Really, I just think they're cool.
>>13970551
Timestamp didn't work. The last tank that is destroyed at 1:23 is the one I was referring to.
>>13967289
It's a vehicle. There's a separation between pilot and battle.
Powered armor is an extension of the self. Mecha are nearly characters in their own right. (Not taking into account Braves or Transformers where they literally are.)
Going to use Amuro here because everyone knows it.
The initial gap between Amuro and Gundam is large. Amuro, even as a tech wiz, has trouble for a good stretch simply piloting the Gundam. It picks up the slack for him. However, Amuro grows and evens the gap between them. He even helps it advance by use of learning computer. Eventually magnetic coating is needed to make it keep up with Amuro, at which point they are practically one being because it can keep up with him perfectly. However they are still different entities. The Gundam can be damaged, Amuro can be fatigued, but they happen at different rates and times. In the end, Last Shooting makes it clear that Amuro is his own person, separate from the war machine. But he will never stop being the pilot of the Gundam and he will always hold that connection. It is more like a dutiful partner than a simple tool, complementing Amuro's power and evolving with him. Could it be simplified to that? Perhaps. Is such a relationship always the case? No, but it is more often than not, especially compared to powered armor.
Powered armor makes the distinction less clear. Often times it is close in size to a human. Being able to see the pilot's face is not uncommon. It exists not so much as a full vehicle but as an augmentation of the pilot's physical attributes. By definition it is more like a tool than a machine, making the comparison more accurate. You care more about the person inside than you do the armor (it's in the name, too). Without a person there can still be a Zaku or a Big O or a Getter or an AT or a Mazinger. But without someone inside the armor, there is emptiness. It is a tool without a master.
>>13967454
>talks about realism
>post a gif of people doing cartwheels to dodge rockets
The epitome of an armchair general. If I didn't know better I would think this post was satire.
>>13967598
>Dune
>Star Wars
>etc
The most popular science fiction franchises give shit all about plausibility. It's like suggesting realistic weapon handling and firing is vital to making a good action movie.
>>13966702
Power armor is about enlisted grunts working together as a team to overcome their opponents. The strength of the power armor contrast with their weakness and powerless over their own lives.
Giant robots is about a hero and maybe his two best friends being vital players and turning the tide of the war in their favor. Their weakness comes purely from their inability to deal with personal issues.
>>13970805
>It's like suggesting realistic weapon handling and firing is vital to making a good action movie.
It certainly helps.
>>13966702
I like both but each is usually only used for one setting.
Power armor is always used in shows with smaller conflicts that are more down to earth like appleseed,flag, and parts of mospeda. However bigger mechs 14m + are usually involved in conflicts that can affect the entire human race and will cover larger themes such as coexistance and world peace. On the other hand smaller mecha are used to cover subjects tha refer to a certain smaller specified group of people code geass s1 & megazone to an extent. Even so they both grow into larger stories overtime because that's how mecha and sci fi work.
I would like to see a show with a setting the scale of gundam use power aour or at least mechs below 2.5m, it would be interesting
>>13970805
Dune and SW are more sci-fi fantasy to be honest desu.
I choose the impossible,
I choose... MaK3000.
Suits generously larger than man-sized, yet are still worn, not piloted.
>>13966702
>Which would you be more interested in from a narrative standpoint?:
Well the main benefit of powersuits, is you can go indoors.
Giant mecha is restricted in where they could go. Basically in Space or in the outdoors. Interesting that Macross went around that problem by having Zentradi, which means we have indoor areas large enough for giant mecha to walk around in. But other than that giant robots are left outside when people need to enter buildings.
I did not realize that we are backwater /lit/.
>>13971002
The original term, and the one Lucas one used for Star Wars a lot of the time was science fantasy. Which then became Space Opera. Which became Science-Fiction in the public eye.
>>13973070
It's all sci-fi really. There is a disparity between hard sci-fi and one that involves things like space magic.
