And, after all, why would a mecha need a glass cockpit?

because it's cool

>>15767934

How the hell would the pilot be able to see outside otherwise ? Remember most mecha don't operate in the darkness of interstellar space.
Most work on some planet, or some space station.

>>15767972
Videofeed from external sensors?

>>15767934

Why would you assume it's glass? Is glass the only material transparent to light you can think off?

>>15767934
Redundancy in case your sensors are jammed or otherwise destroyed.

It's especially hilarious in settings like BT, that pretend to be harder scifi and thus has dedicated sniper teams with laser weapons.

You'd imagine that they'd stop, drop and retrofit all of their robots in a hurry after the first couple of their pilots have been grilled through their glass cockpits.

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>>15768028
Hey, sometimes they use neon shutter shades too!

>>15767972
Anon, even tank drivers can barely see shit from the inside of their tank.
They rely on their commander to tell em where to drive, and even the commanders can barely see shit from where they are.

>>15768028
Cockpits in Battletech do have canopies made of some transparent armour material, it's just that they're not up to the protection everywhere else.

>>15767934
What makes you think they're glass? Maybe they're transparent metal like in star trek

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>>15768332

Someone has already created transparent wood (though it has a lower transparency percentage than glass or most plastics) and there's people working on transparent metals who have made minor amounts of it in the lab if I remember. Transparent plastics are more likely though, and they've been around with decades.

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>>15768277
soon...

You don't want the only way to see to be through a video feed because that could be damaged. Though you shouldn't have your pilot exposed unless your other sensors are damaged.

>>15768733
You could still have an emergency periscope if the cameras go down

>>15768459
Someone skipped leg day

>>15768705

I'm honestly surprised the military didn't get behind this technology like 10 years ago, ahead of the private sector.

>>15768459
Bloody Crest Industries, they'll sell to anyone.

>>15769423
Porn drives innovation, not the military.

>>15768332
>>15768409
Transparent aluminum is a real thing.
http://rense.com/general20/transparentalum.htm

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>>15769635
Well I'm not jumping into VR until they can guarantee some serious interactive 3D anime tiddy.

like, picture, the flattest, most delicious chest possible. Now imagine the exact fucking opposite.

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>>15768791
>periscope

I really wanna see a cupola like the one Atlas has implemented on a design that isn't an ugly greeblefest

>>15769423
Don't Apaches have some sort of projected camera feed/HUD, or am I confusing them with something else?

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>>15770340
Apache gunner helmets have their HMD cued up with the 30mm chaingun. Wherever they look, the gun follows.

>>15770224
Tougher in what way

>>15767934
to see outside?

I'm imagining a camera system, but with the ability to punch open (Not literally, possibly use detaching charges) a glass covering in case it fails.

>>15770906

Why would you need to? If a glass cockpit fails, that generally means it's already open. Even if it isn't, it's not like you can't see through the remains anyway. Do you mean a non glass one? I'm wondering what the chances are of just the optics on a system failing, because if electronics have failed on a unit I'd assume it has more problems than visibility regardless, like bullets holes, shorn off wings or whatever.

>>15771069

Sorry, I think I worded it wrong.

Basically having an armored covering over a glass one, if the camera fails the covering can be blown off.

Size of the glass is questionable, I don't know if you should go for periscopes or just standard glass.

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Glass cockpit, hmmm, paint bombs seem like a good attack strategy then....

>>15774962
If you can deliver a paint bomb, why not just deliver a regular bomb?

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>>15767934
Why do people get so worked up about glass cockpits? One of the first and most popular mechs ever to hit science fiction had one, and there's no reason why we can't assume it's just an expensive but durable and low-maitenance clear armor.

>>15778056
Because a paint bomb costs paint plus a minor explosive. Cheap and covers a good area of the mech. Once the pilot can't see, it's pretty easy to shoot or incapacitate it. Minimum effort for maximum effect. If you were collecting enemy parts, it's the economical way to gain another robot.

>>15778512

I wonder if anyone else has tried using similar methods to spoof a tank or something.

Judging by the fact I've never heard of it, chances are it didn't go well.

>>15779973
It is pretty common to shoot at the viewports of afvs, it's not like you can do much else with small arms.