Combat-Writing Thread

Hm, true. Though after you reach a certain velocity you have to wonder if the drill is actually contributing to damage done. That and I'm not sure a drill bit and motor are going to enjoy being slammed into something at high speed!

That just sounds like a guided missile with an unnecessarily complex and ineffective warhead, though it does sound more practical than a vehicle weapon.

Its 15 meters tall and around 20 meters long.

It basically makes use of a kind of shielding around the drill that makes the drill itself nigh invulnerable and extremely penetrative.

I did not know that it'd ideally take micro-seconds to penetrate armor, but with that in mind, there's a new dimension to this thing's Beware the Silly Ones aspect - you don't get seconds to think about how to deflect the drill. If it actually hits your mech, its pretty much a done deal that it'll chew you to pieces.

Only in a head-on engagement, only if it hits squarely, only if the target stays still instead of making a hard break sideways, thereby ensuring that the drill cuts a shallow gash across the armor and failing to penetrate as a result. Reengagement capability is nil if you fail to kill on your first pass. And that's leaving out the difficulty of closing in on an opponent of similar maneuverability and speed, who may be blasting you at range.

In short, the crippling flaw in this weapon is that it ignores the basic precept of combat: to wit, that the enemy gets a vote. And there is far too much an unsurprised opponent can do to negate the advantages of the weapon.

Going by the commentary here...

Hm, I suppose you're right - the flying lemon's chief weapon only works if the opponent's dumb enough to sit there and allow the silly flying fruit to try its ramming attack. Its "wings" are extremely sharp weapons on their own, but its chief weapon - the drill - is simply underwhelming.

Though if deployed against large flying vessels or ships, it may well have a different value, given its armor is extremely resilient and it could produce a lot of damage against a hull.

Hm, I may need to consult you guys about my Humongous Mecha from now on. You seem better at evaluating them than me.

The lemon chief could perhaps work better for sneak attacks and ambushes or as a support for other, larger creatures. Like a giant Mighty Glacier mecha to fight against the hypothetical opponent, keeping him busy, then the lemon chief emerges and pierces him through with the drill.

It might make a more reasonable "Bunker Buster".

I...think this question is relevant to this thread?

How do I write and show a character who has a lot of combat experience? I got a character who's a former forest ranger/hunter and currently a sniper with nearly two decades of combat experience.

His specialty outside of sniping includes things like sensing where combatants are hiding (he also got incredibly good hearing, smell and overall intuition), closer quarter combat, and good at appearing out of nowhere and disappear instantly. But his most prized skill is the ability to BS his way out of fighting.

He's about average sized man (175cm tall), with wiry figure, some grey hair, and constantly tired look, not exactly an intimidating look. If anything else, he is often described as looking pretty frail. So I guess intimidating the opponent wouldn't really work?

Weeeellll. There's two general routes I foresee.

Option one, you want the skills to remain mostly hidden until it's time to reveal them. That's easier; you can subtly hint at his past profession, focus on how he mostly keeps out of fighting and seems fairly ordinary, right up until he breaks out the skills. This can work best if he's a supporting character and you don't show things from his POV.

Option two, and much harder, you want to actually write from his perspective. In which case it's known to the reader early on that he has combat experience and past damage, and you want to portray that. The first piece of advice I can give is to go and find veterans' memoirs to read. Quartered Safe Out Here by George Macdonald Fraser is the first to come to mind (because it's right next to my desk); New York Times has a brilliant, chilling reflection by a Marine lieutenant and Afghan veteran, How We Learned To Kill. Another one is this guest column on Foreign Policy, Thoughts on Coming Home from Combat. (You may need to circumvent the nagwall with a scriptblocker first.)

Search out those memoirs and reflections if you want the story to ring true, and note common trends. Different people handle it differently; how your character handles the experience will be central to writing him.

O.....kay, I will have to stick with first option until I've done enough research.

Oh, and thanks for the resources!

So it's finally happened. We may have the first instance of robot-on-robot violence. Third paragraph.

I'm sure that someday, this will be considered quite historic.

I wonder if we will ever see two bipedal mechas fighting each other in battlefield. If that's never going to happen, I will be content with two soldiers in powered exoskeleton fighting as well. If THAT'S not going to happen either...well, I will be a sad panda.

Now that we're on the topic of mechs, I might as well ask. If bipedal mecha of the Real Robot variety (no blatantly ludicrous space-magic bullshit) were a viable combat vehicle in real-life, what tactical role would they occupy? Would they replace tanks?

And speaking of tanks, I'd like the thread's opinion on this thing. Sci-fi as fuck.

Depends on their size probably, if we're talking soldier exoskeletons than it's just a supplement to help them do their job more effectively. If it's bigger vehicles like mechs than I doubt they'd replace tanks. Bipedal replication in machinery is much more complex than treads and a drive train.

They'd be harder to armor, harder to maintain, harder to repair, their silhouette would be a magnet for AT weapons, and I can't really see anything they'd do better than a tank aside from extremely rough terrain or light cover neutralization. So essentially the same role as armored attack vehicles.

Depends on relative size. The five-meter range would be support weapons, something like the mecha envisioned in Heavy Gear: powerfully armed, reasonably quick, able to deal the damage but lacking the durability for a straight fight with enemy heavy armor. The ten-meter range has to have the armor to stand and fight merely to exist in the first place as it's getting difficult to conceal. The twenty meter range almost has to be depicted something like 'Mechs from Battle Tech because only the master of the battlefield food chain can afford to be so large: much more durable ton for ton, perhaps by internal redundancy and subdivision, but probably still under threat.

They will all actually handle confined spaces better than tracked vehicles in some senses, less of their maneuverability robbed, somewhat more flexible weapon employment.

edited 24th Mar '15 1:17:10 PM by Night

Alright, I've got another one I want looked at.

Same RP - we have the Neuve-Caius. 17 meters tall, has some of the strongest armor at a certain point - it shrugged off a barrage of AT fire and other projectile weaponry and then wrecked the shooters in retaliation - and as for weapons it makes use of six Harken Claws, large four pronged claws attached to extremely long wires. These can crunch the armor of other mechs or spin to deflect enemy shots due to their armor, and each also holds four energy blasters within, which are basically miniaturized and less powerful versions of an energy cannon.

Speaking of, the Neuve-Caius uses two energy cannons mounted in its shoulders, and a more powerful one inside the torso, though it is vulnerable when using its central cannon.

It also makes use of a number of other wire mounted weaponry to grapple with its foes and drag them in, where its arms will...do the rest.

Edit - one last thing. Its legs are technically high pressured aerial jets rather than bipedal pieces. It shifts left to right with six jets on its back.

edited 24th Mar '15 10:13:57 PM by NickTheSwing

re: the PL-01: that's really not far off from many armored vehicles today. Unmanned turrets, remote weapons stations, laser warning, active protection, applique armor, low observability—the only questions are: is it affordable enough to actually spend money on? And will it actually all work? In theory, the active protection system missile interceptor has been around since the 1980s with the Russian Drozhd, but it was always rather buggy, and it wasn't until the recent Israeli-Palestinian spats that APSes were considered reliable enough to be worth fielding. As for thermal signature reduction and low radar reflectivity, even when coated with mud and dust—I'll believe that when I see it.

re: bipedal mecha: ehh, I really only see them working out at the powered exoskeleton level. Beyond that, there may be possible utility uses, but the bipedal, two-arms-one-head system is something that is quite versatile but not very specialized for actual fighting. All that weight and complexity that goes into the redundant arms, for instance, would be better invested in a turret.

Also, you have to realize that mechas have to be armed.

And considering how hard it is for even small bipedal mecha to just stand? It ain't gonna be carrying big guns, nor is it ever going to be possible to get it heavily armored.

Also, someone mentioned this already and anything tall and bipedal is going to be exposed as hell. A slow, expensive, hard to maintain target open and exposed? My friend, that's a wet dream of every artillery operators.

Plus you gotta figure how expensive it must be over a normal armored vehicle.

And all it takes is some smartass with a $200 RPG to hit a kneecap and ruin it's day.

Can't carry big guns, can't stand small guns.

Seriously, mecha fans. Mecha and realism simply don't work together, so just stick with super robots. Nobody questions how you can build a mecha that is literally larger than universe multiple times over by sheer willpower.

Double post, because question.

I'm writing a scene where the viewpoint character stalks a small enemy force and picks them off one by one.

Now, which would be better method for stealthy kills, knifing or garroting? His strength is that of an average special force operator.

Also, the scene takes place in a somewhat tropical forest. The character in question was a seasoned hunter in a winter forest before turning into a soldier. Would it make sense to describe that even though his enemies were struggling to get through all the vines and trees etc, he moved without a single rustle of the leaves?

I'd imagine a slit throat would be the best method since in a jungle and (presumably) behind an enemy force you wouldn't have to worry about the blood giving you away.

It's also easier to block a garotte than a knife (a quick enough person can put his hands next to his neck and negate the garrote's momentum, complicating the whole thing), a knife is the easier way to go.

Knife, got it. Thanks folks.

As a bit of hyperbole, yes. But as a literal description, I don't think so.

Even units that were intended to move stealthily through jungle^note  I know you said "somewhat tropical", but that's the closest I can think of, such as Long Range Reconnaissance Patrols (LRRPs), would still make some noise and disturbances. They just made less noise than the other guys.

It's also important to keep in mind how familiar the bad guys are with the terrain - if they operate in it frequently, or are well trained, they'll be much quieter.

edited 6th Apr '15 5:35:28 AM by Flanker66