Misused: Super Prototype

I think Super Prototype is suffering from missing supertrope syndrome; it should be split in order to clear things up. As defined, the trope is "a prototype model that's better than the mass production version", but the description also includes Ace Custom (which is a redirect to Super Prototype) which is a unique model tuned to a particular Ace Pilot's specifications. That's worthy of a split in and of itself, but it also gets used as a generic "unique, powerful model" trope, which doesn't fit either of its definitions.

I'd like the trope family to look like this:

• Unique Unit: A model that is unique, or at least very rare, for whatever reason.
  • Ace Custom: A Unique Unit designed or modified specifically for a particular Ace Pilot.
  • Super Prototype: A Unique Unit intended as a testbed for a mass production version, usually much more powerful than the mass produced version ends up being.
  • Unreproducible Unit: A unit that's unique because it's impossible to create another; it may be based on Lost Technology, or you may have run out of the Applied Phlebotinum that powers it, or it may simply be so old that they don't make them any more and most have since fallen out of service.

These aren't necessarily mutually exclusive; it's certainly possible to have a Unique Unit that was built for a specific pilot using experimental technology that can't currently be reproduced, making it an example of all three subtypes.

Here's a handful of examples from the Gundam franchise, to illustrate what I mean:

• Super Prototype: The original Gundam; used Nigh-Invulnerable armor and Energy Weapons. The mass produced version, the GM, used conventional armor and less powerful Energy Weapons.
• Ace Custom: The Nu Gundam, designed and built specifically for Amuro Ray. Also uses Applied Phlebotinum in the form of the psycoframe, but doesn't count as a Super Prototype because it was never intended for mass production.
• Unique Unit: Several MS used by the 08th MS Team end up as this; specifically Shiro's Ez8 and Karen's GM Head — both were repaired in nonstandard configurations after taking battle damage.
• Unreproducible Unit: The Blue Destiny, which has an AI module that contains the soul of a Newtype woman that was imprinted on it in a freak accident, can't be reproduced for obvious reasons.

Another related concept that I'm not sure is tropable or not would be Nonsuper Prototype — advanced weapons used by elite forces before anyone else has them, but eventually given out to the Mooks, too. Zeon's various mobile suits after the Zaku (the Gouf, Dom, and Gelgoog) in Mobile Suit Gundam would be examples of this — they're all three first seen in the hands of Ace Pilots (Ramba Ral, the Black Tri-stars, and Char, respectively) but begin showing up as normal units after their initial appearance.

edited 26th Feb '12 10:58:28 AM by NativeJovian

The reason for the misuse of Ace Custom was TRS merged the two a whole back (which I tried to fight against.) dispite the two things being very different tropes.

I think we have a Nonsuper Prototype with Inferior Prototype or something similar. Otherwise, overall support.

I would, however, suggest not using "unit" in the name. It makes it sound too much like Hero Unit or something of a similar nature.

Edit: Maybe Field Testing The Prototype for Nonsuper Prototype?

edited 26th Feb '12 8:21:19 PM by Deboss

Unique Unit (the name) would include Hero Unit as a subtrope.

You convinced me, OP. I especially like the Unreproducible Unit trope suggestion. I know I've seen that one a million times, and it has nothing to do with prototypes.

Should we start with a crowner to decide how (and if) we're splitting this?

edited 26th Feb '12 8:56:45 PM by abk0100

I wouldn't call it an Unreproducable Unit though. It doesn't tend to be a unit. It's often a sword, or a weapon, or a key or something. I would go with Unreproduceable Item.

@ Deboss: Yeah, you're right re: Hero Unit, but I'm not sure what would be a better name than Unique Unit. Unique Model? Unique Design?

@ shimaspawn: I don't think that's quite the same thing. These tropes are about manufactured technology. The Infinity +1 Sword being one-of-a-kind is generally to be expected, because it's hand-made by some guy at a forge, not designed by engineers and constructed in a factory. Unreproducible Item might be a trope, but it's not this trope.

edited 26th Feb '12 9:39:17 PM by NativeJovian

True, but it's generally something like a gun or a computer. Not a unit. Unreproducible Tech?

Broken Mold Techology? With Broken Mold Weapon as a subtrope?

Hero Unit would not be a subtrope of Unique Unit because Unique Unit is supposed to be about technology or weapons (unless I missed something). A high level spell caster is something completely different but still counts as a Hero Unit.

"Unit" refers to characters you control in strategy games. See Units Not to Scale, Worker Unit, Veteran Unit, etc. The phrase "Unique Unit" is sometimes used as a pre-existing term to refer to a type of that sort of thing. Rise Of Nations, Age Of Empires, and Civilization, for example, all use "Unique Unit" officially, in this case referring to a type of unit that can only be trained by one civilization.

edited 26th Feb '12 10:02:42 PM by troacctid

Which is why I think we should not use "unit". It will get confused with that usage as opposed to a weapon or machine.

Right, I was using the word "unit" in the sense of military hardware (eg, a tank or an airplane could be called a unit), not in the sense of a video game unit a la Hero Unit, which is where I think shimaspawn was getting confused. Stuff like guns and computers would count, but the trope is more focused on things like Humongous Mecha and Cool Planes.

I think using "model" or "design" instead of "unit" is probably the best we're going to do as far as naming goes. I'm a little uncomfortable with Unreproducible Tech because that makes me think more of a Black Box or Lost Technology that isn't understood by its current users, rather than a specific machine that they probably understand but just can't build any more of. Unreproducible Model or Unreproducible Design works better, to my mind.

Inferior Prototype = Flawed Prototype

The word is 'irreproducible'.

According to online dictionaries, they're synonyms.

Granted, it could just be that enough people incorrectly used "unreproducible" that the word eventually became acceptable, even though it started out as a mistake.

Flawed Prototype is a prototype with an Achilles' Heel of some sort. Nonsuper Prototype would be part of the Sorting Algorithm of Evil — new, improvement equipment initially used by elite enemies, which later becomes standard issue.

Ah, Flawed Prototype it.

A prototype with no flaws and no advantages is just a pre-release of the final product isn't it? It tends to be either Flawed Prototype that needs the bugs worked out or a Super Prototype that no one ever gets. I do think the idea of the Sorting Algorithm of Evil variant is a good one to add.

Uh, fix the misuse, most uses seem to be correct. Besides, prototypes that out perform the final product do get made in real life. Maybe soft split the page, be if a super prototype is really and ace custom, vise versa, or neither, I'd just change it.

New tropes are for you know the thing where, the page doesn't imply any need for a new trope. A split between the two already on it at most.

edited 28th Feb '12 10:42:19 AM by IndirectActiveTransport

Actually, we should have an Ace Custom type of trope where an important character modifies an existing model of some weapon to perform better. And I mean actually modify, not use a new paint job.

Most uses are correct by the current definition, yes, but the point of the TRS thread is that I'm proposing a change to the definition.

Ace Custom would count both units that were modified from stock and units that were built from the ground up for a specific individual (assuming that stock units exist, anyway — if everyone has an Ace Custom and there is no "standard", then that would just be Unique Models)

edited 28th Feb '12 12:41:18 PM by NativeJovian

I definitely see two distinct tropes here. Don't know about Irreproducible Unit though. Isn't that already covered by No Plans, No Prototype, No Backup?

I think No Plans, No Prototype, No Backup would be either a subtrope or a way of invoking it. A unit that, say, has to be grown from scratch and develops with a persons personality might produce something that can't be produced, but wouldn't fall under the latter.

Unique Device? Technically, any device (especially Applied Phlebotinum) can fit under these tropes.

That's true, but the current definition is definitely focused on combat vehicles a la the Giant Robot or Cool Plane. Should we expand it to include technology in general?

I don't know why Ace Custom was merged with this in the first place. I've never watched a single Super Robot Genre or Real Robot Genre show, and don't plan to start, and I still know the difference. They apply to other genres, anyway.