Miscellaneous functions in Mechas

[Lord Dearche]

They hardly ever bring up toilet functions in any mecha show really. Especially not older ones because there's really no need to unless they feel like animating the character actually going to the can.

In most cases probably the space suits will have a waste collection system in them the way they do in real life, Since they have to be entirely sealed anyways. Knights of Sidonia actually did bring it up that their suits will auto insert a catheter into the pilots urethra.

In SEED it took Kira several days after he stole the Freedom to actually reach the earth, so unless he made a quick stop at a truck stop before reaching Joshu-A, he probably had something like that in his suit.

On earth? ehhh, just turn your mecha with it's back to the wind, open that hatch, and let it go into the breeze and be free. If #2, go find some bushes and that solves that.

For years thoough I've always been more intersted in if certain mecha have more...comfortable settings, such as in case of situations where you're needed to be in the cockput for several days. Food, water, air conditioning/air filter, hell, even something like a reclining pilot seat to use as a bad or something.

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I'd shamefully install a tiny fridge somwhere inside. And a hot plate!

[Henyo]

what i meant was all the misc functions. not just the toilet.

[Wingnut]

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I'd shamefully install a tiny fridge somewhere inside. And a hot plate!

British tanks had/have a hot plate inside for making tea.

Also in the UC at least it seems they go with the absorbent diaper route as there's one scene in Victory with one of the LM pilots complaining about needing to go, but his stuff was already full. He was forced to go in the suit anyway, but commented that it would be worth it due to what he found going on outside his MS.

[Dendrobium Stamen]

British tanks had/have a hot plate inside for making tea.

Most (or even all) post-1945 British armoured fighting vehicles include a "boiling vessel" (aka: a kettle) as part of the design - yes, the British Army goes to war in 65-ton tea-makers They can also be used to heat field rations of a boil-in-the-bag variety, which is also useful, and practical.

Which does raise the relevant question of what MS pilots do in such circumstances - Kira's flight from PLANT to JOSH-A being one of the most pertinent examples of a relatively long-duration spell in the cockpit. Presumably there must be "comfort" facilities in Freedom, but since it wasn't immediately relevant to the plot, we're not shown where, or of what variety.

Something for fanfiction writers to explore, no doubt!

[Deathzealot]

Honestly, my head-canon on that question is simple. He didn't fly from PLANTs to JOSH-A. Instead the Junk Guild saves the day again and he hitches a ride on a JG Transport off-screen thanks to Clyne's connection with Reverend Malchio to the Junk Guild.

[Mimeblade]

My question is this though: When it comes to Gundam, where do you draw the line between Field Rations and Space Ice Cream?

I mean, you're in space, so the rations would have to be made differently, right?

[MythSearcher]

My question is this though: When it comes to Gundam, where do you draw the line between Field Rations and Space Ice Cream?

I mean, you're in space, so the rations would have to be made differently, right?

for richer countries, modern field ration looks pretty much like space food.
I'd like to think of it like this:
higher nutrition value and higher energy-to-mass ratio -> field ration
better tasting and ignoring energy/nutrition ratio(thus bringing more dead-weight) -> entertainment food.

[JEFFPIATT]

http://www.spaceflight.nasa.gov/living/ ... index.html
this is related on the space food topic also "astronaut ice cream" never left earth as part of the space program rations an big part of the nasa kits is keeping food with small particles out of the ship since one crumb can damage equiptment hence the only bread in space is tortillas. the other factor is that eva suits have depends due to haw hard it is to remove the suit once it is on so more than likely the " normal suits" have them since it's not like there going to be able to quickly return to the mothership to use the head. the strangest feature for me was seeds built in qwerty keyboards in all ms for easy alterations of the ms os buring operation. but that may have been exclusive to the experimental units so that the test operators could make alterations on the fly.

[JTMC93]

The keyboard could also be used for data collection, record keeping, etc. 00 had them as well only their's was a holographic projection.

[Deathzealot]

I think all of the modern Gundam shows besides Unicorn (i think?) had Keyboards in their mobile suits, gundams. Not that all of them actually used them.

[MythSearcher]

I think all of the modern Gundam shows besides Unicorn (i think?) had Keyboards in their mobile suits, gundams. Not that all of them actually used them.

Imagine the keyboard going loose during 10g+ dodging manoeuvre.

[JTMC93]

Most seem to either be digital or virtual not mechanical. Which makes sense.

[Mimeblade]

Okay, I got another question... this one is probably more advanced...

Nanomachines...

Apparently Turn A has the ability to repair itself AND it's pilot!

I really don't want to picture that due to gore, but in the future, and with stuff like DG Cells (G Gundam), is it possible to have some kind of repair/regeneration state for a cockpit maybe?

Or maybe even preservation like Frozen Stasis?

And who knows what the ELS Innovators are capable of in 00 Trailblazer...

[Lord Dearche]

The thing about Turn-A is that even though most Gundam tech and ablities are out there, at least they try to base mots of it on SOME sort of basis. But Turn-A's abilities in general are just such total BS that it's impossible to take seriously. Like the whole wiping out all tech in existance thing, DG cells also didn't really work in a real logical way as much as just "they worked in whatever way the plot needed them to at the time".

ELS Innovators are probably immportal. Since they don't age at all. Not even the ones that aren't fully ELS such as the girl from the start who was infected, and looked the same age those 50 years later. And since they seem to all share mental links it's possible the entire body vould be destroyed and they'd just materialize a new one. At the least, Setsuna was confirmed to have a quantum brain by the end, so you could entirely throw him into a valcano and burn up every atom in his body and he'd still just be alive and probably create a new ELS body to use.

[Deathzealot]

Hmmm I thought all Innovators aged slowly therefore the reason why the Sumeragi's crew where made of so many of them.

[SonicSP]

The 00 movie noted that Innovators have a lifespan of twice of a normal humans. Don't know whether this applies to people who finalized as Innovators due to being consumed by the ELS. The scene that mentions it was talking was due to analysis on Descartes.

Innovades are noted to have not age. Not sure whether that means whether they can live forever or not but it's due to the nanomachines they're equipped with. That's only referring to the bodies though, their minds can be backed up to Veda and be transferred to new bodies afterwards.

Setsuna was classified as a special type of Innovator by one of the sourcebooks. Probably related to his ELS experience but it also didn't elaborate on what abilities he has as a result.

[SonicSP]

Just remembered something else in 00. They seem have this sort of "patches" kept in the MS that can be used to re-seal their space suits if it gets damaged or breached.

During the fight against Ali in S1, Neil's spacesuit got torn by shrapnel flying in the cockpit. In the next scene where he got out into vacuum, the patch can be seen at the point of penetration. He applied it offscreen.

Setsuna also applied the same patch in S2 offscreen to seal the part of his suit that got penetrated by a gunshot by Ali. Of course unlike Neil, he wasn't operating in a vaccuum with the patch but Neil's scene in S1 showed that it's effective at re-sealing the suit.

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00 suits also use a special type of seat that doesn't require seatbelts. I believe one of the documentation books noted that it's something that prevents the pilot from moving or getting ejected during harsh movements but allows the pilot to stand like nothing is holding him back in a normal calm situation. This is further strengthened by the plug slot in the back that connects to the pilot's suits. The plug thing was added after a test experiment on the Second Generation Gundam Plutone to further stabilize the setup. We have seen Setsuna pilot the Exia at least once without his suit so the seat setup seems to work fine even without the plug.

I think the Vagan MS from AGE may have work under something similar since they have no seatbelts either and I think we've seen Zeheart pilot it without a suit quite a bit. A contrast from the EFF suits from the same world that does use normal seatbelts.

[Wingnut]

Just remembered something else in 00. They seem have this sort of "patches" kept in the MS that can be used to re-seal their space suits if it gets damaged or breached.

During the fight against Ali in S1, Neil's spacesuit got torn by shrapnel flying in the cockpit. In the next scene where he got out into vacuum, the patch can be seen at the point of penetration. He applied it offscreen.

Setsuna also applied the same patch in S2 offscreen to seal the part of his suit that got penetrated by a gunshot by Ali. Of course unlike Neil, he wasn't operating in a vaccuum with the patch but Neil's scene in S1 showed that it's effective at re-sealing the suit.

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00 suits also use a special type of seat that doesn't require seatbelts. I believe one of the documentation books noted that it's something that prevents the pilot from moving or getting ejected during harsh movements but allows the pilot to stand like nothing is holding him back in a normal calm situation. This is further strengthened by the plug slot in the back that connects to the pilot's suits. The plug thing was added after a test experiment on the Second Generation Gundam Plutone to further stabilize the setup. We have seen Setsuna pilot the Exia at least once without his suit so the seat setup seems to work fine even without the plug.

I think the Vagan MS from AGE may have work under something similar since they have no seatbelts either and I think we've seen Zeheart pilot it without a suit quite a bit. A contrast from the EFF suits from the same world that does use normal seatbelts.

Yeah, this isn't anything new to the Gundam world, especially in the UC. Once the linear seat/panoramic cockpit got standard, you see seat belts disappear until Victory. This being that there is a similar plug in a pilot suit there to keep one secure to the chair and not float off or be flung aside during maneuvers or impact josseling. Seabook in F91 even notes this out loud when the F91 sits upright suddenly and he is thrown about a bit and notes that might not happen if he was wearing a normal suit.
Same goes for the magic not-duct tape to seal a tear, or in Amuro's case in CCA, a crack in the visor of his helmet.

[SonicSP]

Yeah, this isn't anything new to the Gundam world, especially in the UC. Once the linear seat/panoramic cockpit got standard, you see seat belts disappear until Victory. This being that there is a similar plug in a pilot suit there to keep one secure to the chair and not float off or be flung aside during maneuvers or impact josseling. Seabook in F91 even notes this out loud when the F91 sits upright suddenly and he is thrown about a bit and notes that might not happen if he was wearing a normal suit.
Same goes for the magic not-duct tape to seal a tear, or in Amuro's case in CCA, a crack in the visor of his helmet.

That's nice to see to see more examples of it. I guess it's not much of a surprise to me that much that are more of this misc. stuff like this in a long running series like Gundam.

[Deathzealot]

Wasn't their a crack in Char's visor during that final sword duel in 0079? And he did the same.