Future MS technologies?

[Grebo Guru]

This is a subject that has been percolating in my mind, as an offshoot of the "Imagine..." thread.

If a new U.C. anime was made, and it took place after everything we've seen so far (or at least, after V-Gundam), what kind of new technologies might we expect to see? Advances in the fields of:

Pilot Controls
Motive Systems
Power
Beam Weapons
Beam Melee Weapons
Projectile Weapons
Close-Combat Weapons
Propulsion
Armor
Sensors
Newtype Technologies
Communications

What do youse guys think? Im looking to try and logically extrapolate from what we've already seen. For example:

VSBF:
A fairly obvious and logical development would be Variable Speed Beam Funnels. Simply load a classic Funnel (or, more likely, a Bit) with a VSBR.

What ideas do you guys have on the subject?

[Waterslayer]

After what I've read on V Gundam, I personally see the beam technologies going by the wayside. Too much beam-on-beam action, not enough getting the job done, if you know what I mean. Perhaps the UC universe will mirror our own and take a step back on the technology ladder.

I've personally thought about how the designs could change... Perhaps more practical. I don't see much changing about the mech itself, more how and why it works. I could see a piloting system developed that would resemble that used in Grand Gundam or even Escaflowne. Perhaps different power sources, different sensors, etc... I don't see much changing physcially though, the designers have really explored all there is, as far as practical technology is concerned.

[Grebo Guru]

Wellllll... Beams seem to be one of the big staples of Gundam. Lose them and you're not really dealing with Gundam anymore. Besides, with the advent of VSBRs and Beam Bazookas (which have the capability to punch through Beam Shields) its not that much of an issue. Unless you're talking about I-Fields... which ARE pretty compact by the time of Crossbone Gundam and/or Gaia Gear...

I could see a piloting system developed that would resemble that used in Grand Gundam or even Escaflowne.

By "Grand Gundam" I take it you mean "G Gundam" right? The "G" in G Gundam doesn't stand for Grand, it stands for "God" -- the "Burning Gundam" was called the God Gundam in Japan. The G could also stand for "Gundam of Gundams", which is what the winner of the Gundam Fight is called.

[Grebo Guru]

OK, here are four ideas:

1 - "Beam Missiles"
These would be standard Missiles (or hell, they could even be Newtype-guided Funnel Missiles) which, instead of packing an orhotodox explosive warhead, are loaded with a single-shot beam weapon. The missile hits the target and the beam weapon goes off at point-blank range. This weapon would pack the armor-defeating powers of a beam weapon but would have the projectile weapon advantage of not being stopped by an I-Field.

2 - "I-Field Disruptor"
Some kind of grenade or shell equipped with Minovsky field sensors. When the disruptor comes in contact with an I-Field, it cancels it out.

3 - "Psycho Fantasma"
A stealth cloaking system which renders an MS literally invisible -- to the human eye, at least. It requires a Psychommu system to work; it would be like the power of the old pulp superhero The Shadow. "The power to cloud men's minds so they cannot see him."

4 - "Beam Claws"
A small Beam Saber is housed in a Mobile Suit's fingertips; the MS would effectively have beam fingernails. Could also be done like Wolverine's claws.

C'mon, Im sure you guys have some more...

[Waterslayer]

By "Grand Gundam" I take it you mean "G Gundam" right? The "G" in G Gundam doesn't stand for Grand, it stands for "God" -- the "Burning Gundam" was called the God Gundam in Japan. The G could also stand for "Gundam of Gundams", which is what the winner of the Gundam Fight is called.

It's also referred to as "Grand Gundam", which was the name adopted for american audience. "God" Gundam seemed too edgy for the censors, and thus the name was changed. I know what I'm talking about.

[Grebo Guru]

...um...But the Grand Gundam is one of the Devil Gundam's Mobile Fighters (the gigantic tan one). You're saying the show is now named after one of the second-line bad guys?

I must admit, Ive never ever heard of the "G" in "G Gundam" standing for Grand and I find it a little dubious. Id be curious to know your source for this.

Its not that I think you dont know what you're talking about, but Im fairly sure know what Im talking about as well. I mean, Mark Simmons* is a close personal friend of mine (we hung out on Sunday, in fact).

*Mark Simmons = webmaster of the Gundam Project and Bandai's salaried translator & editor of all English-language Gundam material.

Come to think of it, I remember I once asked him about this very question. I said:

"With the God Gundam changed to Burning Gundam, the 'G' in 'G Gundam' doesn't stand for anything anymore!"

Mark agreed, saying that Bandai wanted to avoid the potential controversy of naming a Mobile Suit "God" (hence changing it to the Burning Gundam), but also pointed out that "G Gundam" could still be a legitimate title because of the term "Gundam of Gundams". He never once said anything about Grand Gundam.

Just wondering where you got this from...

[Rubel Colus]

emmm, so all the God Gundam kits / etc are called Burning Gundam in America? They have to reprint the boxes huh?

Anyway, they could have come up with some word starting with 'G' like Great, etc or juz call it G Gundam isnt it?

[Grebo Guru]

I agree, it should have been called the "Great Gundam". But no, Bandai's first choice for a new name was "Burning Gundam". Go figure.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand! MS Technologies!!! Im gonna post it again.

[Grebo Guru]

This is a subject that has been percolating in my mind, as an offshoot of the "Imagine..." thread.

If a new U.C. anime was made, and it took place after everything we've seen so far (or at least, after V-Gundam), what kind of new technologies might we expect to see? Advances in the fields of:

Pilot Controls
Motive Systems
Power
Beam Weapons
Beam Melee Weapons
Projectile Weapons
Close-Combat Weapons
Propulsion
Armor
Sensors
Newtype Technologies
Communications

What do you guys think? Im looking to try and logically extrapolate from what we've already seen. For example:

"VSBF"
A fairly obvious and logical development would be Variable Speed Beam Funnels. Simply load a classic Funnel (or, more likely, a Bit) with a VSBR.

"Beam Missiles"
These would be standard Missiles (or hell, they could even be Newtype-guided Funnel Missiles) which, instead of packing an orhotodox explosive warhead, are loaded with a single-shot beam weapon. The missile hits the target and the beam weapon goes off at point-blank range. This weapon would pack the armor-defeating powers of a beam weapon but would have the projectile weapon advantage of not being stopped by an I-Field.

"I-Field Disruptor"
Some kind of grenade or shell equipped with Minovsky field sensors. When the disruptor comes in contact with an I-Field, it cancels it out.

"Psycho Fantasma"
A stealth cloaking system which renders an MS literally invisible -- to the human eye, at least. It requires a Psychommu system to work; it would be like the power of the old pulp superhero The Shadow. "The power to cloud men's minds so they cannot see him."

"Beam Claws"
A small Beam Saber is housed in a Mobile Suit's fingertips; the MS would effectively have beam fingernails. Could also be done like Wolverine's claws.

What ideas do you guys have on the subject?

[Tachyon]

What about funnels with beam shields in them that can be used to defend the mobile suit? Perhaps the power usage is too great to put a beam shield into a funnel. Would that mean the return of the larger bits?

Psychommu controlled additional arms.

A psychommu guided missile that, when detonated, overloads an I field generator.

Funnel jamming technology? Take the other guy's funnels right out of commission!

An upgraded psychommu system that can create stealth/cloaking capabilities. Invisibility is one idea but I like the idea of making it really tough for newtypes with their enhanced senses to detect you. Lots of times in combat the enemy is far enough away that he's tough to see with the naked eye. Newtypes can use their intuition to find their opponent but what if the opponent is immune to that? Imagine the drama when the hero/villain of the series realizes (s)he is in serious trouble!

Ah, hell. I'm going to run with this idea. Let's say the hero of the story has the newtype cloaking system installed in an agile, "no frills", high performance mobile suit while the villain has a big mobile suit decked out with extra limbs, funnel tech, etc.

Non Newtype Tech:

More beam bazookas that can punch through I fields? This might make I field generators less common over time putting the fun of beam rifle combat back into center stage.

[Tachyon]

What about a new radar-type system that can detect a working psychommu system? That means a newtype using a mobile suit equipped with a psychommu system would be easier to detect far off and easier to target with weapon systems.

Then, newtypes would start switching on and off their psychommu systems. So we can keep the cool technology but still have dramatic scenes where they have to switch it off.

[Grebo Guru]

Good stuff, Tachyon! I notice you replicated a few of my ideas, but you have some great ones too. Lovin' it! Here are some more of mine:

"Beam Lancet"
This one is very simple - its just a Beam Saber built into the MS's forearm.

"Psycho-Wave Jammer"
A Psychommu jamming system. I guess it would come down to the strength of the Newtype pilot; the pilot's MS would be equipped to broadcast his Psycho Waves as interference, which would block an weaker Newtype pilot's Psychommu control signals to Funnels and Bits.

"Mobile Ships"
I have always wondered why starships in the Gundam universe don't have I-Fields. Or, for that matter, Psychommu or Quasi-Psychommu systems. And thus Bits and Funnels, etc.

"Psycho-Power Systems"
Considering that extremely powerful Newtypes (like Judo and Hamaan in ZZ) could actually power their MSs with Newtype energy alone, Id love to see a new kind of MS powerplant -- one which allows the MS to run purely on the pilot's Psycho-energies. Another option would be a Psycho-Battery, which stores the pilot's Psycho-Energy as extra reserves of power. Come to think of it, this could even lead to a kind of "Psycho Leech/Vampire" system in which an MS or MA can actually suck away the Psycho-Energies of other Newtypes in the area, making them weaker and itself more powerful all at the same time. In a Gundam UC0401 game I played in, the ref even had a giant Psychommu MA which used smaller Pyschommu MAs piloted by cloned Newtype girls as one-shot, disposable energy cartridges for its massive beam cannon!

"Psydar"
This needs a better name, but the idea would be Psychommu Radar -- a sensor system which amplifies the Newtype pilot's ESP ability, allowing him to detect other people at very very long distances (and perhaps even intuit enough about their thoughts to identify if they're in a ship or an MS or what). At long ranges, ships and MSs and rocks and such would still be undetectable, but human minds would be quite clear.

"Minovsky Jammers"
In Seed, there are N-Jammer Cancellers. They are quickly outlawed, but they do exist. I could see the Gundam universe developing Minovsky Jammers, which could do such things as turn off I-Fields, Minovsky-Drives, Minovsky Craft Systems, and even destabilize Minovsky Compact Fusion Reactors (causing enemy MSs to just explode!). With this kind of system around, alternate power sources (like SEED's battery-powered MSs) and the above-mentioned Psycho-Power Systems would be very useful indeed.

[Kuruni]

How about...

Psychowave Emitter : A device that can emit a "false" psychowave...While this false psychowave might not unable to control psycommu weapon, it's good enough to confuse a newtype opponent.
(I admit that this is inspired by V Gundam Gaiden. That manga has a newtype who could use his "false" psychowave to creat multiple illusion of his MS. Mine is just scale down...)

Beam knuckle : Maybe not really effective...but should be look cool...

[Grebo Guru]

Oohhhhh, the Psychowave Emitter is a GREAT idea! And Beam Knuckles... harkening back to Layzner's Kunckle Shots, eh? Coolness as well!

Anyone else here have any new ideas for MS tech?

[kosh]

I'm not much on all the fancy newtype tech,but why not continue the technology started in Gundam Sentinel.The modular aspects of the Superior Gundams was marvelous,as was the ALICE system,she could put an oldtype pilot on an almost even footing with a new type(imagine Johnny Ridden with an ALICE system going up against Char or Amuro).The beam smart guns are some of the best tech ever created for gundam,as are the INCOMS of the Superior and Ex-S Gundam and while I'm at it why didn't they continue the development of the transformable gundams?By the time of F91 they could have had something as flatly fantastic as a Valkyrie from Macross,except made of gundarium,imagine that.