Blade Liger Mk-II AB

[Dano]

I remember ten years ago when I said I'd build a real Jager.

[Chuckles]

MkII isn't a gun. It's used to designate a zoid who's performance is increased compared to its previous incarnations; additional parts may come with the designation, but they are not necessarily the cause of it. To give you an idea, the Iron Kong MkII features new sensors and a booster unit. The Gojulas MkII has the Republic Super Cannons. The Command Wolf and Bear Fighter MKIIs don't have any new weapons at all, but they feature enhanced performance.

What you are thinking of is the CP-01 Heavy Beam Cannons.

That said, no. There is no room for the Heavy Beam cannon to mount on a Blade Liger that already has the Attack Booster Unit.

Also, Dano wasn't mocking you. He was riding on the nostalgia of youthful idealism and ambition. You need to work on your self-confidence and lighten up.

I won't bother detailing the logistical nightmare of creating an actual working zoid, but keep in mind that the zoids most people are familiar are in essence, wild animals native to the planet, who's consciousness have been implanted into artificial bodies. You would essentially need to extract the brain of a lion (or house cat, if you're cheap) and hook it up to whatever body that you've built. Any AI substitute would have to be advanced to the point of consciousness.

And now that I've shared that with you, I must ask, are you soulless enough to subject what equivocates to a living being, to a miserable existence as a military weapon?

[Maethius]

With all of the robotics I've seen at work in the world, it wouldn't be far fetched to go in this direction with a remote or AI controlled unit. I think pretty much every Zoider has seen the vids of the Big Dog and its currently armed cousin, of the advances in controlled robotics used for sport in Japan, and of various garage builds around the world like the famous MondoSpider.

If I were to pursue an actual military robot prototype, I would look at the current and future trend in conventional warfare and begin my quest there. Developments are likely to stray from larger, more easily targeted and expensive manned units and sway heavily toward lighter, more expendable and less expensive units such as the Ripsaw 65mph remote tank... designed for extremely rugged ground warfare with high probability of limited urban deployment. A smaller unit with advanced plastic armor, more agility, and similar speed would be a safe bet. The Riptide goes one step further, being amphibian as well; a mere $750,000 to $1million production cost for a tank that can load into an APC command vehicle, carry a pair of armor piercing 50-caliber machineguns into battle (I can see these replaced with a light vulcan like the M134 minigun or even heavy combat shotgun systems like the AA12 which require less accuracy and can hold a variety of munitions). This would allow a light vehicle to engage personnel and vehicles with near equal effectiveness.

If you could replicate any form of animal's control and speed of movement for this kind of combat, I might be wise to look into cats, but I would also look into other species. For instance; using a chassis like a cheetah to close with targets would be viable, especially if it could identify possible mines and place footfalls between them. However, once in a city, I would want a unit that could move more like a primate to climb, bump, swing, and roll with the environment. Or a jumping spider or any number of nimble insects.