Playing With / Super Prototype

Basic Trope: Prototype mechas (and other similar super weapons) are more powerful than their mass-produced counterparts.

• Straight:
  • Humongous Mecha Troperion Zero, the prototype used for the creation of the Troperion Mk. I, exceeds the specifications and has better equipment than its MP counterpart.
  • Mad Scientist Dr. Serum turns his captive into the superpowered Captain Light with Super Serum, and Captain Light promptly escapes. All subsequent subjects develop superpowers but are not so good as Captain Light.
• Exaggerated:
  • Troperion Zero is capable of leveling entire armies with alarming ease, while the Troperion Mk. I units are mostly there just to explode by the dozen whenever the mecha of the week shows up.
  • Captain Light wins the Super Power Lottery; all the rest get at most a sense of absolute direction, and many die hideously.
• Downplayed:
  • Zero is better than the Mk. I units in performance, but not by enough to matter in most cases.
  • The Super Serum works on every subject, but produces random powers, equivalent in strength; Dr. Serum just resents that the one with light powers can't be reproduced.
  • The first batch of Super Serum produced a lot of deaths, a lot of deformity, some trivial powers, and Captain Light, one full-blown super. Subsequent batches have not killed or deformed, and produced a lot of powers, it's just unpredictable if any given batch will match Captain Light in any subject.
  • The Troperion Zero is 25% more powerful and faster but slightly less durable than it's mass produced counterparts. A skilled pilot could use this to give an advantage when battling Mk. I mechs.
• Justified:
  • Troperion Zero is an ancient alien starfighter from which reverse enginereed technology has been used to create the Mk. I units. A lot of its technology still is too advanced (or expensive) to be replicated, and a lot more remains beyond human understanding.
  • MP units are cloned/copied from Troperion Zero. Thanks to the Clone Degeneration, MP units lose the powers that the original had, or they get defects like lower endurance, etc.
  • Few people can actually pilot Troperion Zero, so the mass-production model was adjusted to actually be within most people's ability to pilot.
  • The company making the prototype sunk all their resources into it, and upon getting a production contract, they cut corners to secure a greater profit for themselves, or to get more built in a shorter amount of time.
  • There are many technologies and gadgets that, while nice in theory, are not practical for field use for various reasons (cost, reliability, the ability to withstand often harsh field conditions, ease of repair, etc.) so while they're present in the prototype, they're removed or replaced with less capable versions for the mass production model.

  • Troperion Zero has a mass-produced civilian variant. Due to the designers valuing safety above sheer performance, the high-voltage railgun, arm-mounted single barreled vulcan chaingun, over-the-shoulder missile launcher, and superconducting particle cannon are obviously not included.
    
    It also comes with fine leather upholstery.
  • Troperion Zero's plans were copied by an enemy agent, but he made errors when he was copying the files, resulting in the Mk. I units being less capable.
  • Troperion Zero proved to be too expensive to be mass produced, so a much cheaper knockoff was designed for mass production, and as a result performances took a hit.
  • Troperion Zero is the definition of Awesome, but Impractical. While very powerful, it's also crippled by extremely high costs and a lengthy production time, and maintaining it proves to be a nightmare. For this reason, the Mk. I versions sacrifice power for cost efficiency and maintainability.
  • Troperion Zero's most powerful systems were designed by the truly brilliant Dr. Light, who sadly passed away shortly after the machine was finished. The new team of scientists brought in to build the Mk. 1's simply do not have Light's Spark of Genius.
  • Troperion Zero was made before the materials that it's made of were lost in a great calamity. While they were able to make more based on its design, the inferior materials they were forced to use resulted in the prototype far outpacing the mass-produced versions.
  • Production of Troperion Zero requires extremely precise, one-of-a-kind tools that are only available at Troperia University. As a result, the tolerances of Troperion Zero have to loosened so that the ordinary tools and machines available at Troperia's factories can actually make it. Of course, the loosened tolerances mean that the Troperion Mk. 1 isn't as as fast or powerful as the Troperion Zero.
  • Troperion Zero turned out to be a Psycho Prototype that drove its pilot insane and problem couldn’t be fixed without sacrificing power or Zero’s more advanced features.
  • Dr. Serum did all his development work on Captain Light, resulting in the serum being customized to him.
  • The very things that make Troperion Zero better also make it incredibly dangerous to use. Troperion Mk. I had to be nerfed to even be stable.
• Inverted: Flawed Prototype
• Subverted: Troperion Zero shows signs of being a Super Prototype, including a distinctive appearance and an unique weapon, but it turns to be inferior to Troperion Mk. I. The thing making it stand out is the sheer ability of its pilot, Alion Landstar.
  • The Super Serum turns out to only be a toxic failure that can't give anyone powers - only a painful death. It only worked for Captain Light is because he had the rare combination of powers that stayed dormant until near death. The 'production variant' Super Serum is exactly the same and will work the same for anyone else with the abilities - if they can diagnosis it in a way other than attempted homicide that will be the real innovation.
• Double Subverted: On a battle against a hi-jacked Mk. I unit, Alion starts losing his edge quickly due the high power breach between the machines. But then he engages into Zero's Maximum-Overdrive, an unique function absent from the Mk. I that overpowers completely the stolen unit.
• Parodied:
  • Combat wise, Troperion Zero doesn't appear to be too superior to the Mk. I units, but closer inspection reveals it has some awesome pilot commodities integrated; like leather seats, hi-fidelity audio systems and a mini-bar. All that Mk. I units have is a extremely uncomfortable cockpit and AM radio.
  • Zero's main weapon is a BFG capable of one-hit-killing almost everything that dares to cross its path. Mk. I's main weapon is a measly squirt gun that actually deals more damage when thrown than when used "properly".
  • Bob decides to build a toaster. His prototype is a 20-foot mecha with two Ray Guns powerful enough to vaporize any material in the world, and which also has two slots for inserting bread. After five years of improving and refining it, his final product is just that: a toaster.
• Zig Zagged:
  • The contrast between prototypes and MP units varies wildly on this series. While Troperion Zero is way superior to the Mk. I, the Subvertron Alpha is rather subpar when compared to the mass-produced Subvertron Beta. Meanwhile, the Proto-Devarium is roughly on par with its MP brothers...
  • Troperion Zero is a prototype for the the Mk. II, so it already surpasses the Mk.I. Except it also retains a couple of useful features that had to be removed from the Mk.II.
  • Troperion Zero vastly exceeds Mk. 1 in some fields, but is lagging behind it in others. It has much more powerful guns that also jam or overheat frequently, it can reach ludicrous speeds that risk turning the pilot into jelly, and its custom-machined parts allow for unusual dexterity and handling but are also nearly irreplaceable if they break.
• Averted: Prototype mechas don't particularly exceed its MP versions performance; most of them don't even get to see a real combat anyway.
• Enforced: "The show title is 'Troperion Zero: Chronicles of the Trope Wars' after all folks; the titular machine wouldn't look too impressive if it is out-classed by its little brothers. (and that would hurt the model kits sales, too)"
• Lampshaded: "Unit Zero's specifications are outstanding. Will the Mk. I units be on par with it?" "Unfortunately, no. However, that's actually a blessing in disguise: This machine is so powerful that it would kill most of its pilots if not careful. Only super-men can control this beast."
• Invoked: The prototype is intended not only to create new line of mecha, but also as a mobile platform for testing advanced weapons in real combat. Troperion Zero is jam-packed with costly experimental tech, built out of finest materials, and armaments are hot-swappable (which also just happens to increase amounts of merchandise).
• Exploited: When given a choice to pick any unit he wants, Alion chooses the Troperion Zero because he knows that a prototype would inevitably be stronger than mass production units.
• Defied: The creator's of the Troperion Zero try as hard as they can to make the Troperion Mk. I just as good as the prototype.
• Discussed: "This Troperion Zero surely packs a punch! It would be tragic if some obnoxious kid just fell into the cockpit, but what are the chances of that happening?"
• Conversed: "If they could make a one-off prototype as powerful as the Troperion Zero, why couldn't they mass-produce it?"
• Deconstructed:
  • While Troperion Zero's specs and weaponry are more potent than its MP counterparts, the experimental nature of the unit also makes it more unreliable, being more susceptible to malfunction than the tested Mk. I units. It's also almost impossible to maintain or repair due the unique nature of its components. It ends as a museum piece or as scrap-metal after a few battles, something that wasn't intended to begin with.
  • Troperion Zero really is superior to the Mk. I from a raw performance standpoint, not substantially more prone to failure, and can use many of the same parts. However, the human pilot is physically incapable of safely handling Troperion Zero. The thrusters which vastly exceed the production models, making it fully three times faster? The incredible G-forces they produce also cause brain aneurysms in pilots. The Mk. I's improved safety features mean that, in spite of lower peak performance, it's capable of moving faster and hitting harder without endangering the pilot; after the Ace Pilot is killed in action when the Wave-Motion Gun's recoil tears his arm off, the Troperion Zero is put into storage, never to be used again...
• Reconstructed:
  • Then, as enemy knocks on a door, Troperion Zero is promptly recommissioned from the museum. In the meantime, one particularly enthusiastic keeper of said museum ironed out most bugs and defects.
  • ...until the Hero's Training from Hell enables him to eventually withstand the enormous physical demands of the machine, and so it's brought back into service as his personal unit.
  • If a human pilot can't withstand the environmental pressures or pull off the nanosecond-level reflexes that the Troperion Zero is capable of, create a Benevolent A.I. that can. Now the Troperion Zero can be utilized to its full potential! Of course, the AI might be a prototype itself, Super or otherwise.

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Back to Super Prototype, but fair warning: we had to lower the specs a bit to make it work in the real world.

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