Chapter 30: Designing A Second Generation Mech In A Virtual Workshop
Alto use the first few hours to prepare and make research on what was needed to build a mech. The first hurdle was the model he would work on or in other terms his mech design or blueprint. When faced with this question the first thing he would do was to consider the size of the mech he would be working on.
Mechs came in four weight classes, the first weight class was the easiest to fabricate in terms of resources. And that being the light mechs, because they were easier to build did not mean they were actually easy to build. Light mech because of their size prioritised speed and agility over defense, this meant that they would have to be built well to reduce any bug and we'll streamlined to make those critical movements.
The second side of mechs were the more popular ones, and that being the medium weight class mechs. They were the most balanced mechs in terms of combat as they were versatile in both offense and defense, while not as fast as light mechs they made up for it in their defense and versatility. They were able to be armed with heavier weapons and thicker armour. Alto did not want to go this lane just yet, the cost for production would suck him dry. For now he preferred to master each weight class step by step. Only real mech designers could design one but then again was a beginner in the mech designer field supposed to build a mech yet. But since it was a virtual mech it surely couldn't count, right?
The next two mechs were far behind Alto's level in leaps and bounds. The next weight class of mechs were the heavy mechs, the proud devastators in the field of battle. They were practically walking tanks carrying overwhelming firepower, they sacrificed speed and mobility for defense and a devastating payload.
The last weight class was impossible for any one on a small scale production and that being the collosal mechs. They were massive city destroying machines built to take on the largest kaijus.
While the purpose of mech designers was to create mechs and the purpose of mechs being to defeat the kaiju, the players of mech galaxy wars acted quite different. The game prioritised battles between mech pilots, while this put of certain mech designers from using the games in-built designer function. The mech pilots found it a good way to sharpen their skills.
Alto had also heard of mech arena duels occuring in the real world. He still felt strange building a mech to be used as a source of amusement but he had to remind himself that his role was to build mechs and not pilot them.
Aside from the previous factor of building a virtual mech Alto had another problem to sort out next. He had already chosen to build a light mech since it would be much easier than the other weight classes. Now came the problem of purpose.