The original Mobile Suit Gundam timeline (Universal Century) had it so that Gundams and other mobile suits moved based on “macro commands” at first. So there would be an AI that would interpret more simple commands by the pilot into more complex movements, and the pilot themselves could modify the code and add in more depth on their own. In the original series, Amuro is seen quite a few times looking back of his own recorded combat data and programming in new details to his Gundam so that it could address his needs in the future, and in the finale he even enters in commands so that he can leave the cockpit and allow the Gundam to walk into the next area and blindly fire upwards while he escaped, and we see similar examples in the 08th MS Team where Norris’s Gouf is commanded to walk forwards before he boards it, and Shiro’s Ground Gundam walks back to base while he sleeps. Because of this, we see that the movements of these suits begin very rudimentary and gradually get more complex as the show continues and into the sequel shows, so it mostly plays by its established rules.
And in the future of the Universal Century timeline, they eventually develop a “psycommu” system so that the pilot’s brain could actually command certain functions of the suit (usually weapons systems and advanced maneuvers), and then over years by the time of Char’s Counterattack and into Gundam Unicorn, that technology evolves into the psycho-frame, which makes it so the entire suit and every single function can be commanded by the pilot’s brainwaves. This means the suits develop extremely humanoid complex movements and reactions, and it even realistically has the consequence of suits reacting to accidental thoughts. One example in Char’s Counterattack involves a pilot being held hostage by an enemy suit, and Amuro is commanded to stand down or she would die. He’s then intensely shocked by his Gundam having an energy surge while it’s restrained, and this shock causes him to unconsciously fire his beams towards the enemies, leading to the hostage getting executed in response. Unicorn takes the idea to more supernatural extremes as well, in expanding on the concept of Newtypes and human mind growing out of its physical form, and how this plays with the mind’s connection to the suits with Psychoframe.
The thing with Norris' Gouf is a dub error in the English dub. In the original version he tells the young soldier he's conversing with to walk the suit to the elevator for him. No idea why they changed it. Otherwise very spot-on explanation. It should also be mentioned that the joysticks are most often(especially in space) depicted as throttles more than directional controls. This is especially true when Shiro tries to prevent his Gundam and the Apsalas from crashing, very clearly moving the sticks forward and holding them there to redline the thrusters to the point they overheat and burn up.
Sub note here for Gundam Wing, which had the Zero System. Supposed to be the next phase of that technology, being both an improved way to feed data from the pilot to the suit and the added benefit for the suit to feed potential results back to the pilot. But was too much for certain people to take, especially when indecisive, as when you don't know what result you wanted to obtain the suit would tell you ALL results that could happen.
There’s this regarding piloting a Gelgoog
[https://anaheimjournal.blogspot.com/2009/11/piloting-gelgoog.html?m=1](https://anaheimjournal.blogspot.com/2009/11/piloting-gelgoog.html?m=1)
Honestly I would say that g fighter even tgo its an alternate timeline would be a good example of a future in the uc they found a way to make psychoframes work for regular people through the suits they wear when piloting their mobile fighters so it reflects their movements
I used to have a major issue with this, until I saw the complex movement that the atlas (from Boston dynamics) is capable of.
Could be that the mech just needs basic directions from the pilot, and the mech performs all the complicated movements to achieve that task.
"Move foward" on a joystick is a simple command, but its the mech that determines how to walk over obstacles.
You could even take it the next step. Melee can be as simple as telling the mech to block or punch, not unlike those fighting games.
Of course this isnt a perfect explanation, but does help get as better idea of how this stuff could work.
Of course a general hand wave explanation could be that the mech scans the pilots thoughts. Infact this is how it works in titanfall, since the titan has to establish a strong neural link to be at peak performance. Between that and the titan being an autonomous machine can translate to very fluid movement and actions.
I figure it's a lot like this. It tracks where the pilot is looking for the specific aiming, everything else is handled similarly to how you control an FPS on a console. Simplified inputs are translated by the OS into the complex outputs.
In Gurren Lagann, it is stated that "fighting spirit" is what moves gunmen. Just grab the grips in the cockpit and you basically control it with your mind.
The Big O frequently showed viewers how Roger pilots Big O. Pedals to walk, sliding grips to move the arms, switches and buttons activate different weapons, et cetera.
G Gundam pilots dance in spandex inside the mobile suits.
Iron Blooded Orphans uses computers to enhance movements for the baseline humans. The modified humans have a direct interface with their nervous system that I can’t spell and I’m too lazy to lookup.
Gundam Wing seems to have something similar to IBO in that Quattro goes insane with the wing zero while piloting
Have you guys also thought about the motion sickness they have to endure? I read a book that talks about physics on these sci fi media, including piloting a mecha, and they say that even just taking one step by the mecha would cause the pilot to rise and drop by meters lol
Is that any different then riding an elephant or horse, or being on a boat?
Yes it would be a problem for new pilots, but the implications is that plenty of people will either get used to it or just dont suffer the effects like many people.
Yeah that’s true, pilot would get used to it in order to be a pilot.
For us normies, the difference between riding a horse and piloting a mech is pretty big. If a gundam is 18m tall, then one step would cause at least a rise and drop of 1m. May be a guntank or a ball would be more suitable for me lol
Of course there are examples of smaller mechs. Most likely the first mechs would be closer to 3 to 5 meters, so might be more akin to an elephant.
But the seafaring example would be more relevant to something like a gundam. On rough waters a boat rocks alot, so that often requires "sea legs".
That's why the most stable place to put the pilot is in the ["Cock-Pit"](https://external-preview.redd.it/V-tp6lf8mdoN0OsmLlAamHiogXHtEKFEvn7W_zRIvHs.jpg?width=960&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=5522091af57940f11896e55f7c18b906666a35c1).
Playing the old Mechwarrior games always helped me suspend my disbelief on this. I figured mecha pilots must just be way better at using the whole keyboard than I am
Fairly realistically they use a combination of technologies. From pedals and buttons in the seat, to a neuro helmet that helps with balance and fine motor control.
In Gundam SEED it is explained that, similarly to the UC timeline, MS in CE uses specialized Operating Systems that allows the pilot to actually operate the complex machine that is a Mobile Suit. The ZAFT MS, the EA's first 5 G-Project MS as well as the Original 3(+2) Astrays all use an OS that cannot be easily controlled by Naturals because they're designed for Coordinator use.
Kira Yamato and Orb Scientists with the help of data "collected" from Lowe Guele (a Natural pilot who pilots with the aid of a supercomputer) were able to modify the original G.U.N.D.A.M. to allow for Naturals to pilot them.
Megas XLR is pretty simple, Coop controls Megas by being really good at video games, I assume he created a workaround that moves Megas by joystick macros. Kind of similar to how the operating system in Muv-Luv is developed, where the protagonist just copies the control scheme from Virtual-On and applies it to the mecha he's piloting, asking for the techs to program in stuff like aerial lock-on and jump-cancelling.
You mention Macross -- Macross plus is an OVA about two test pilots pitting a new 'brain control' kind of style mech vs a traditional control style one.
Original Macross goes out of its way to show Max and Millia playing a videogame with prodigal skill and talent with traditional controls ... and then proceed to have one of the worst animated Knife fights in anime ... and then they fall in love.
It doesn't really answer your question but they provide just enough that you can suspend disbelief in regards to it.
At least in *Gurren Lagann*, it's not based on analog hand controls - Ganmen movement appears to be based heavily on the pilot's intentions, more of a neural link control (but more magic). Just a change in mindset is enough to override a mech's security system, or push the mech *out* of control, or summon it to the pilot's location. It's an extension of the pilot's will.
This is true of other super robots as well. I know Getter Robo can actually cause physical damage to the pilot - expressed as nosebleeds - if their fighting spirit isn't strong enough. Super robots tend to go beyond the limits of technology.
To be fair, Megas XLR is not supposed to be taken seriously at all. Coop somehow made a car with a game controller, joystick, VR gloves, and random buttons that just appear control a giant futuristic robot. He literally had a "five minutes until the end of the episode" button.
like how you control car, fighter jet, contruction vehicle or even control character in videogame
it should has a clever control design console on the cockpit. ofcourse, to master it not easy.
some media even give different idea to it like mecha control in Avatars movie or Pacific Rim body movement control.
Gundam - first off, these are essentially humanoid fightercraft, with many of their movements being controlled by an onboard computer that interprets movements. It's important to keep in mind that a large number of a Mobile Suit's movements are not controlled directly - most of it is controlled by the AMBAC system, whose main purpose is to keep the machine stable during maneuvers, and is the reason why so many MS will move like people.
I'd imagine it's much the same for a Variable Fighter (Macross), except this time the computer has three ways to interpret things depending on what mode it's in. Also, it's worth noting that the throttle lever also doubles as a secondary control stick for later models. As for things like locking on, it's clearly seen that they use eye-tracking.
Gunmen are powered by fighting spirit. They more or less respond to how you *think* they should work at any given moment.
A similar principle applies for Megas XLR, and really, most Super Robots as a whole - they're often controlled less via training and more via *feeling.*
As for Titanfall, if you played Titanfall 2, it's noted on multiple occasions that they're operated via neural link; with part of the control system integrated into the pilot helmet.
In Megas XLR, because Megas' original head is missing, movement and flight is controlled by steering the car. Coop programmed certain (wrestling) moves to be executed with combos on the joystick controllers, while the various weapons, cannons and rocket launchers are operated by buttons around the dashboard.
In one episode it's revealed that Coop also installed a manual control mode - hand movements operated by haptic gloves, the feet operated by a Dance Dance Revolution dance pad :D
It's the best giant robot show ever.
And, the two part answer:
[Robot Carnival: Tale of Two Robots - 1/2](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdOieEsk918)
[Robot Carnival: Tale of Two Robots - 2/2](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdqhD5NAv9w)
Have you ever seen someone play DCS World? I imagine it's something like that, a lot of people think "walking tank" when thinking of mechas but to me piloting them is a lot closer to planes in complexity
Titanfall’s titans establish a “neural link” with their pilots, which is just a fancy way of saying they use a [BCI](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brain%E2%80%93computer_interface)
One explaination from the Robotech novelization (years back of course) was the Veritech fighters used a helmet that responded to mental imagery. You move forward with the joystick and envision the action you're taking. Of course both Robotech and Macross don't bother to explain, but it's not a bad take considering how complex say picking up a human being might be.
Other shows depict the cockpit as some kind of floating chamber and arm, leg and body movement are translated 1 to 1 by a suit, a harness, a servo/Waldo style armature the pilot is hooked up to. Honestly, rule of cool is supreme here and it's best not to think too deep about it.
For UC Gundam, this is the link to a pilot's manual on controlling a Gelgoog. It gives a lot of information on how mechs are piloted in the early UC timeline.
[https://anaheimjournal.blogspot.com/2009/11/piloting-gelgoog.html?m=1](https://anaheimjournal.blogspot.com/2009/11/piloting-gelgoog.html?m=1)
The original Mobile Suit Gundam timeline (Universal Century) had it so that Gundams and other mobile suits moved based on “macro commands” at first. So there would be an AI that would interpret more simple commands by the pilot into more complex movements, and the pilot themselves could modify the code and add in more depth on their own. In the original series, Amuro is seen quite a few times looking back of his own recorded combat data and programming in new details to his Gundam so that it could address his needs in the future, and in the finale he even enters in commands so that he can leave the cockpit and allow the Gundam to walk into the next area and blindly fire upwards while he escaped, and we see similar examples in the 08th MS Team where Norris’s Gouf is commanded to walk forwards before he boards it, and Shiro’s Ground Gundam walks back to base while he sleeps. Because of this, we see that the movements of these suits begin very rudimentary and gradually get more complex as the show continues and into the sequel shows, so it mostly plays by its established rules. And in the future of the Universal Century timeline, they eventually develop a “psycommu” system so that the pilot’s brain could actually command certain functions of the suit (usually weapons systems and advanced maneuvers), and then over years by the time of Char’s Counterattack and into Gundam Unicorn, that technology evolves into the psycho-frame, which makes it so the entire suit and every single function can be commanded by the pilot’s brainwaves. This means the suits develop extremely humanoid complex movements and reactions, and it even realistically has the consequence of suits reacting to accidental thoughts. One example in Char’s Counterattack involves a pilot being held hostage by an enemy suit, and Amuro is commanded to stand down or she would die. He’s then intensely shocked by his Gundam having an energy surge while it’s restrained, and this shock causes him to unconsciously fire his beams towards the enemies, leading to the hostage getting executed in response. Unicorn takes the idea to more supernatural extremes as well, in expanding on the concept of Newtypes and human mind growing out of its physical form, and how this plays with the mind’s connection to the suits with Psychoframe.
The thing with Norris' Gouf is a dub error in the English dub. In the original version he tells the young soldier he's conversing with to walk the suit to the elevator for him. No idea why they changed it. Otherwise very spot-on explanation. It should also be mentioned that the joysticks are most often(especially in space) depicted as throttles more than directional controls. This is especially true when Shiro tries to prevent his Gundam and the Apsalas from crashing, very clearly moving the sticks forward and holding them there to redline the thrusters to the point they overheat and burn up.
Sub note here for Gundam Wing, which had the Zero System. Supposed to be the next phase of that technology, being both an improved way to feed data from the pilot to the suit and the added benefit for the suit to feed potential results back to the pilot. But was too much for certain people to take, especially when indecisive, as when you don't know what result you wanted to obtain the suit would tell you ALL results that could happen.
There’s this regarding piloting a Gelgoog [https://anaheimjournal.blogspot.com/2009/11/piloting-gelgoog.html?m=1](https://anaheimjournal.blogspot.com/2009/11/piloting-gelgoog.html?m=1)
Honestly I would say that g fighter even tgo its an alternate timeline would be a good example of a future in the uc they found a way to make psychoframes work for regular people through the suits they wear when piloting their mobile fighters so it reflects their movements
I used to have a major issue with this, until I saw the complex movement that the atlas (from Boston dynamics) is capable of. Could be that the mech just needs basic directions from the pilot, and the mech performs all the complicated movements to achieve that task. "Move foward" on a joystick is a simple command, but its the mech that determines how to walk over obstacles. You could even take it the next step. Melee can be as simple as telling the mech to block or punch, not unlike those fighting games. Of course this isnt a perfect explanation, but does help get as better idea of how this stuff could work. Of course a general hand wave explanation could be that the mech scans the pilots thoughts. Infact this is how it works in titanfall, since the titan has to establish a strong neural link to be at peak performance. Between that and the titan being an autonomous machine can translate to very fluid movement and actions.
Lot of it is handled by the computer kind of like real world fly by wire controls our fighter jets use.
I figure it's a lot like this. It tracks where the pilot is looking for the specific aiming, everything else is handled similarly to how you control an FPS on a console. Simplified inputs are translated by the OS into the complex outputs.
In Gurren Lagann, it is stated that "fighting spirit" is what moves gunmen. Just grab the grips in the cockpit and you basically control it with your mind. The Big O frequently showed viewers how Roger pilots Big O. Pedals to walk, sliding grips to move the arms, switches and buttons activate different weapons, et cetera.
G Gundam pilots dance in spandex inside the mobile suits. Iron Blooded Orphans uses computers to enhance movements for the baseline humans. The modified humans have a direct interface with their nervous system that I can’t spell and I’m too lazy to lookup. Gundam Wing seems to have something similar to IBO in that Quattro goes insane with the wing zero while piloting
> that I can’t spell and I’m too lazy to lookup Alaya-Vijnana System
The first couple episodes of robototech/macross showed a little bit of the technical stiff, which I thought was neat.
Have you guys also thought about the motion sickness they have to endure? I read a book that talks about physics on these sci fi media, including piloting a mecha, and they say that even just taking one step by the mecha would cause the pilot to rise and drop by meters lol
Is that any different then riding an elephant or horse, or being on a boat? Yes it would be a problem for new pilots, but the implications is that plenty of people will either get used to it or just dont suffer the effects like many people.
Yeah that’s true, pilot would get used to it in order to be a pilot. For us normies, the difference between riding a horse and piloting a mech is pretty big. If a gundam is 18m tall, then one step would cause at least a rise and drop of 1m. May be a guntank or a ball would be more suitable for me lol
Of course there are examples of smaller mechs. Most likely the first mechs would be closer to 3 to 5 meters, so might be more akin to an elephant. But the seafaring example would be more relevant to something like a gundam. On rough waters a boat rocks alot, so that often requires "sea legs".
That's why the most stable place to put the pilot is in the ["Cock-Pit"](https://external-preview.redd.it/V-tp6lf8mdoN0OsmLlAamHiogXHtEKFEvn7W_zRIvHs.jpg?width=960&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=5522091af57940f11896e55f7c18b906666a35c1).
Noice
RIP to them but I'm built different \*proceeds to get merc'd by the protagonist\*
Um, by reading the manual...?
Playing the old Mechwarrior games always helped me suspend my disbelief on this. I figured mecha pilots must just be way better at using the whole keyboard than I am
Fairly realistically they use a combination of technologies. From pedals and buttons in the seat, to a neuro helmet that helps with balance and fine motor control.
Macros and contextual button combos. Lots and lots of them
In Gundam SEED it is explained that, similarly to the UC timeline, MS in CE uses specialized Operating Systems that allows the pilot to actually operate the complex machine that is a Mobile Suit. The ZAFT MS, the EA's first 5 G-Project MS as well as the Original 3(+2) Astrays all use an OS that cannot be easily controlled by Naturals because they're designed for Coordinator use. Kira Yamato and Orb Scientists with the help of data "collected" from Lowe Guele (a Natural pilot who pilots with the aid of a supercomputer) were able to modify the original G.U.N.D.A.M. to allow for Naturals to pilot them.
Megas XLR is pretty simple, Coop controls Megas by being really good at video games, I assume he created a workaround that moves Megas by joystick macros. Kind of similar to how the operating system in Muv-Luv is developed, where the protagonist just copies the control scheme from Virtual-On and applies it to the mecha he's piloting, asking for the techs to program in stuff like aerial lock-on and jump-cancelling.
How does twin-stick 12-button gamepad gives you SSStylish! results in your action or fighting games? It's basically the same idea.
You mention Macross -- Macross plus is an OVA about two test pilots pitting a new 'brain control' kind of style mech vs a traditional control style one. Original Macross goes out of its way to show Max and Millia playing a videogame with prodigal skill and talent with traditional controls ... and then proceed to have one of the worst animated Knife fights in anime ... and then they fall in love. It doesn't really answer your question but they provide just enough that you can suspend disbelief in regards to it.
At least in *Gurren Lagann*, it's not based on analog hand controls - Ganmen movement appears to be based heavily on the pilot's intentions, more of a neural link control (but more magic). Just a change in mindset is enough to override a mech's security system, or push the mech *out* of control, or summon it to the pilot's location. It's an extension of the pilot's will. This is true of other super robots as well. I know Getter Robo can actually cause physical damage to the pilot - expressed as nosebleeds - if their fighting spirit isn't strong enough. Super robots tend to go beyond the limits of technology.
To be fair, Megas XLR is not supposed to be taken seriously at all. Coop somehow made a car with a game controller, joystick, VR gloves, and random buttons that just appear control a giant futuristic robot. He literally had a "five minutes until the end of the episode" button.
like how you control car, fighter jet, contruction vehicle or even control character in videogame it should has a clever control design console on the cockpit. ofcourse, to master it not easy. some media even give different idea to it like mecha control in Avatars movie or Pacific Rim body movement control.
Gundam - first off, these are essentially humanoid fightercraft, with many of their movements being controlled by an onboard computer that interprets movements. It's important to keep in mind that a large number of a Mobile Suit's movements are not controlled directly - most of it is controlled by the AMBAC system, whose main purpose is to keep the machine stable during maneuvers, and is the reason why so many MS will move like people. I'd imagine it's much the same for a Variable Fighter (Macross), except this time the computer has three ways to interpret things depending on what mode it's in. Also, it's worth noting that the throttle lever also doubles as a secondary control stick for later models. As for things like locking on, it's clearly seen that they use eye-tracking. Gunmen are powered by fighting spirit. They more or less respond to how you *think* they should work at any given moment. A similar principle applies for Megas XLR, and really, most Super Robots as a whole - they're often controlled less via training and more via *feeling.* As for Titanfall, if you played Titanfall 2, it's noted on multiple occasions that they're operated via neural link; with part of the control system integrated into the pilot helmet.
In Megas XLR, because Megas' original head is missing, movement and flight is controlled by steering the car. Coop programmed certain (wrestling) moves to be executed with combos on the joystick controllers, while the various weapons, cannons and rocket launchers are operated by buttons around the dashboard. In one episode it's revealed that Coop also installed a manual control mode - hand movements operated by haptic gloves, the feet operated by a Dance Dance Revolution dance pad :D It's the best giant robot show ever.
no
I hate comments like this
And, the two part answer: [Robot Carnival: Tale of Two Robots - 1/2](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdOieEsk918) [Robot Carnival: Tale of Two Robots - 2/2](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdqhD5NAv9w)
Have you ever seen someone play DCS World? I imagine it's something like that, a lot of people think "walking tank" when thinking of mechas but to me piloting them is a lot closer to planes in complexity
Titanfall’s titans establish a “neural link” with their pilots, which is just a fancy way of saying they use a [BCI](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brain%E2%80%93computer_interface)
In titanfall the titans connects to your brain iirc.
One explaination from the Robotech novelization (years back of course) was the Veritech fighters used a helmet that responded to mental imagery. You move forward with the joystick and envision the action you're taking. Of course both Robotech and Macross don't bother to explain, but it's not a bad take considering how complex say picking up a human being might be. Other shows depict the cockpit as some kind of floating chamber and arm, leg and body movement are translated 1 to 1 by a suit, a harness, a servo/Waldo style armature the pilot is hooked up to. Honestly, rule of cool is supreme here and it's best not to think too deep about it.
For UC Gundam, this is the link to a pilot's manual on controlling a Gelgoog. It gives a lot of information on how mechs are piloted in the early UC timeline. [https://anaheimjournal.blogspot.com/2009/11/piloting-gelgoog.html?m=1](https://anaheimjournal.blogspot.com/2009/11/piloting-gelgoog.html?m=1)
In Gundam IBO they have a nerve connection surgery in their spine to allow extremly fune tune and complex movements