[quote=ASTA]
Hm, so this idea really is going live I see.

To me, we should be placed into squads. As a squad, the players should probably go for mech designs that offset another team member's inherent weaknesses, or rather go for a specific combat role that is made evident by their mech's specifications. Story wise, we could go for the so-called 'homeland' being under attack, though maybe it could be interesting to put the homeland in a dire situation. Perhaps it's been invaded by foreign forces, with armed civilian groups and official military remnants forming the backbone of the resistance movement or something.
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Yeah, I'm definitely leaning towards the squad-option, though I thought I would leave it out there in case some people were interested in other options. I am digging the whole homeland defense option for the story, as it could lead to things like civilian made mechs and such, allow for some of the more radical designs to be implemented, as well as let people participate as other factions.

[quote=Aristo]
I'm all for the Chromehounds style, or a mixture of the two without energy-based or 'super weapons.' As there are lots of global actors involved in the RP, are the players going to be grouped under a single nation, or split into whatever nation they choose? I fear the latter would make things a bit disorganized, unless they worked together OOC to develop an ongoing story in a specific theatre of war.
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Chromehounds style is definitely where I'm leaning towards, as much as I like the Armored Core universe. In terms of who will be playing what, I'm still unsure. If we do homeland defense, there could always be the possibility of another nation lending aid, though it would be pretty well limited to the NorAm/EU/Commonwealth bloc, as the Soviets and Shogunate are independent aggressors. If we do end up going into the homeland defense aspect, it will likely take place in NorAm, likely to be the east coast, but things could change.

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As of the moment, I'm mostly working on two key things. The first of these is the system in which military mechs are constructed, and I think I'll be going with a system very similar to that of Chromehounds and Armored Core. Essentially, there will be six component groups to build the mech from. These components are as follows:

-Mobility Base: Self-explanatory, it's what moves the mech
-Generator: Provides power to the mech's systems.
-Cockpit: Cockpit is rather self-explanatory, it's where your pilot controls the mech from.
-Weapons: Shooty things.
-Armor: Armor comes in the form of extra plates that can be mounted on the mech to provide buffer-zones against incoming fire.
-Auxiliary: This covers other systems not found in the above categories.

The second thing I am working on is the factions themselves, and how they interact with each other. For this setting, the Soviet Union is the originator of the Battle-Engine design, and is the most advanced faction, utilizing high-tech neurological linking systems to essentially fuse the pilot with their machine. In essence, the Soviets have lighter, more agile, and harder hitting mechs, but due to their complexity, they are not very durable and do not wear well in extended conflicts. NorAm will be traditionally average, using standardized components that wear well, and overall their forces will be more varied and adapted to longer conflicts than their counterparts. Commonwealth is another advanced faction, though they have moved a different direction. Their mechs are more often that not, un-piloted. With their isolation, the Commonwealth has taken to advances in AI technology, and thus have been able to create stable, sentient artificial intelligences that work alongside their living military.

Of course, some things may change as I develop them, but this is what I'm currently working on.