Possibility check: A Steampunk World

I dont think the point is to have steam mega-power beyond the realisation of realistic electricity and internal combustion, but to utilise on a much greater field the steam technology that was demonstrably available, and to develop this during the period of its heyday.

Best Regards
Grey Wolf
 

Nikephoros

Banned
It sounds like you're talking about a steam punk mecha here. There I was talking of regular mecha; the sorts that are in development today are more Power Armour than SDF Macross. Little bigger than a man.

Yeah, it's power armor. Although often lumped in with mecha, it isn't one. Powered Armor also doesn't fill the role of a tank, as mecha often do.
 
Yeah, it's power armor. Although often lumped in with mecha, it isn't one. Powered Armor also doesn't fill the role of a tank, as mecha often do.

I'd class them as a kind of mech.
See Bubblegum Crisis, its often credited with inventing this small sort of personal mecha (in Japan at least, Iron Man and that British flame thrower guy came long before) and its classed as such.
 

Nikephoros

Banned
I'd class them as a kind of mech.
See Bubblegum Crisis, its often credited with inventing this small sort of personal mecha (in Japan at least, Iron Man and that British flame thrower guy came long before) and its classed as such.

Well, as I said, powered armor isn't supposed to fill a tank's role, as other types of mecha are used in fiction. So it doesn't have the same weaknesses.
 

Susano

Banned
I dont think the point is to have steam mega-power beyond the realisation of realistic electricity and internal combustion, but to utilise on a much greater field the steam technology that was demonstrably available, and to develop this during the period of its heyday.

Best Regards
Grey Wolf

But that takes time. And if in the meanwhile, in that time it takes, easier and more practicable technologies are developed instead, well...
 
It sounds like you're talking about a steam punk mecha here. There I was talking of regular mecha; the sorts that are in development today are more Power Armour than SDF Macross. Little bigger than a man.
What, you mean something like Space Marine-esque Power Armour? The limited flexibility of such a thing, combined with its inability to go up stairs without breaking them, probably has killed the concept. The only thing it's got going for it is increased armor, and we've managed to minimalize casualities just fine without equipping even single squad of soldiers in $20k-per-person irreplacable robo-armor.

Think of the added costs with the necessary expansion of maintenance facilities, too-- a mechanically complex thing like Power Armor is going to need a devoted team of techies for, I dunno, every brigade? Platoon? Squad? Any which way, the added costs far outweight the further lowering of casualty figures.
I dont think the point is to have steam mega-power beyond the realisation of realistic electricity and internal combustion, but to utilise on a much greater field the steam technology that was demonstrably available, and to develop this during the period of its heyday.
Certainly some elements of steam-technology could be further developed and embraced by the mainstream. Advances in steam engine efficiency since railroad dieselization in OTL could be better applied in an ATL, seeing an extension in steam locomotive mainline service and possibly a longer period where steam-powered automobiles compete with gasoline-fuelled cars.
 
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I guess what I'm trying to say is that these technologies existed but were not widely used - for example road-running steam vehicles in the mid-century, steam tractors for artillery, really powerful steam locomotives in the 19th century. The main reasons they were not used are :-

-1- no purpose in doing so
-2- the vast expense compared to cheaper traditional methods
-3- government legislation regulating them into minor roles

Point -1- can be addressed in a backwards fashion by ploughing money into the development of these technologies, regardless of logic at the time of doing so. Thus, when you have a city full of road steam locomotion, it becomes an end in itself.

Whether the finance is private or government, getting the world you want is going to take substantial investment, especially to reach a level where it develops its own internal logic and becomes self-sustaining

Best Regards
Grey Wolf
 

NothingNow

Banned
Maintenanceand protection are trivial. The computing power and cybernetics you need to get anything legged to function autonomously will kill this concept. Why do you think the militiaries of OTL haven't built it yet?

No-one wants to write the Damn Code to make one work on that scale. And the Army Doesn't want something that would be Impossible to justify to An accountant no matter how awesome it may be.
The Necessary Computing Power is actually not that much by my estimate, In fact I'm going to bet that you could make one work with a stock Civillian PC at it's core.
Hydraulic "Muscles" and Accessory Servo-Motors *should* be simple enough to run. Now when Artificial Muscle-fibers get mass produced, Those would make it Extremely Easy to perform at levels necessary for Combat.
The Mechanical& kinesthetic stuff has been proven on much smaller scales. It's Just scaling up that's an Issue.
 
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