Gundam HERO

**Michael Hopcroft** · Feb 23rd, '03, 10:24 PM

One could actually do just about every kind of mecha campaign you can think of and call it Gundam -- there's been that much variation in the numerous incarnations of the Mobile Suit Gundam franchise.

HERO seems to me the perfect system to do a Gundam game with, especially for things like Gundam Wing where some mecha are significantly more powerful than others and where the characters have significant Disadvantage points.

How do the various mechaheads on the board handle building things like Gundams and similar mecha, Newtypes and the various other characters that pilot mecha and otherwise interact with them?

**NuSoardGraphite** · Feb 24th, '03, 09:30 AM

Well, as soon as I get ahold of The Ultimate Vehicle, I plan to write up a bunch of Gundams and post them here. Probably starting sometime next week (I'm going to try to aquire TUV this coming weekend)

**Michael Hopcroft** · Mar 4th, '03, 11:19 PM

I now have a copy of The Ultimate Vehicle and have been sorely tempted to build myself a Gundam. The question is what kind? Heero Yuy's Zero Gundam? The Shinging Gunam from Mobile Fighter G Gundam? The Turn A Gundam, from my favorite Gundam series that has yet to be brought over here? So many to choose from, so little time, and so little battery power in my calculator....

**NuSoardGraphite** · Mar 4th, '03, 11:44 PM

Well, get to it!

Btw, how is Turn A Gundam? I haven't seen it yet but so far I despise the mecha designs. *shudder*

The one I'm looking forward to seeing is Macross Zero...

**Michael Hopcroft** · Mar 4th, '03, 11:54 PM

The story, from what I could tell, was great. It involved a low-tech Earth society suddenly under attack from a high-tech Moon society and fighting back with steam powered mecha and one ancient relic, the Turn-A Gundam, that was in the hands of the hero.

The hero is actually from the Moon, sent as an advance infiltrator, but changed sides when the invasion began and he was caught up in it. Making matters complicated further is the fact that the leader of the Moon Race and the eldest daughter of the family the hero is chauffer for are so close to identical that they can (and do!) pass for each other. There is the traditional masked adversary, power struggles on both sides of the war, and Earth's side ventures out into space to find its way to the Moon.

It reminded me of a cross between Gundam and Miyazaki. And it had some great characters, like the young noblewoman who pines in vain for the hero and garnered a great deal of sympathy for her spunk (she enlisted in the armed forces and became a pilot so she could fight beside him).

**NuSoardGraphite** · Mar 11th, '03, 04:06 AM

Well, I have aquired The Ultimate Vehicle. Soon, I shall begin with the barrage of Gundam writeups. I also plan to write up the many Variable Fighters found in Macross and Macross Plus (and the VFX Videogames) though probably nothing from Macross 7. I will also be writing up the VF-2 from the ill-fated Macross 2: Lovers Again, because I like that particular mecha design and will be using it as the standard Variable Starfighter for my Star Hero campaign...

Soon.

**Michael Hopcroft** · Apr 2nd, '03, 12:30 AM

Has anyone made any progress on modeling any of the Gundam mecha and characters?

**NuSoardGraphite** · Apr 2nd, '03, 01:36 AM

I'm working on them now.

I've finished the Serpent Custom and am currently working on the Wing Zero Custom. After I get a couple more pinned down, I'll start posting them. Be patient though as my own computer is in storage and I have to go to the public library...otherwise, I'd have the Serpent posted already.

**NuSoardGraphite** · Apr 2nd, '03, 01:49 AM

one of the things I'm debating right now is how to handle the Armor.

Do I give the Mobile Suits one large Def characteristic or do I give them a smaller base Def characteristic (representing the inherent toughness of the Mobile Suits endo-skeleton) and the Armor power to represent its outer layer of armor? I'm thinking the latter, as with that, one could conceivably "rip off" a chuck of armor from a section on the Mobile Suit exposing its less durable innards to attack.

What do you guys think?

Another question:

Would you guys rather see a flight movement system based on realistic G accelleration, or simplified Accelleration as presented in Star Hero and The Ultimate Vehicle?
Personaly, I lean toward realistic accelleration myself, but the Suits from Gundam Wing are so light, with tons of boost, they average out at about 8 G's each! At speed 4, thats around 195"/phase Combat move! Using the simplified method, at speed 4, it comes out to 120"/phase. Whatcha think?

**Jhamin** · Apr 2nd, '03, 09:45 AM

Originally posted by NuSoardGraphite
one of the things I'm debating right now is how to handle the Armor.

Do I give the Mobile Suits one large Def characteristic or do I give them a smaller base Def characteristic (representing the inherent toughness of the Mobile Suits endo-skeleton) and the Armor power to represent its outer layer of armor? I'm thinking the latter, as with that, one could conceivably "rip off" a chuck of armor from a section on the Mobile Suit exposing its less durable innards to attack.

What do you guys think?

Another question:

Would you guys rather see a flight movement system based on realistic G accelleration, or simplified Accelleration as presented in Star Hero and The Ultimate Vehicle?
Personaly, I lean toward realistic accelleration myself, but the Suits from Gundam Wing are so light, with tons of boost, they average out at about 8 G's each! At speed 4, thats around 195"/phase Combat move! Using the simplified method, at speed 4, it comes out to 120"/phase. Whatcha think?

I think the answers to these questions vary by series. The 008th MS team seemed to have much more "realistic" mecha that had joints that could get fouled by sand and that needed constant work, while the G Gundam sometimes seem almost like foci for all the fabulous powers of the Pilot. Things like accleeration matter in one series and don't in the other.

**NuSoardGraphite** · Apr 2nd, '03, 11:48 PM

Originally posted by Jhamin
I think the answers to these questions vary by series. The 008th MS team seemed to have much more "realistic" mecha that had joints that could get fouled by sand and that needed constant work, while the G Gundam sometimes seem almost like foci for all the fabulous powers of the Pilot. Things like accleeration matter in one series and don't in the other.

Oh, I understand that completely. Mostly this is in regards to the more realistic Gundam shows. Currently I'm writing up the Mobile Suits from Gundam Wing: Endless Waltze if that helps.

**Enforcer84** · Apr 13th, '03, 11:33 PM

So, any luck on those Gundams?

**NuSoardGraphite** · Apr 15th, '03, 01:58 AM

I'm still working on them...yes.

Its just a matter of me getting the time to sit down and post them. Currently I post from work, and I only have 30 minutes during lunchtime. I'm going to have to set aside some time at the public library, in which case I should have enough time to post 1 a day. Hopefully I can get to that this weekend....