Just posting a "instant theory, just add water" for discussion.
As previous threads regarding phrase shift and variable phrase shift have theorized, the colour is produced by the vibration of the molecules, and it might reflect the strength of the PS at that area.
Now, lets look at the PS equipped MS. We will be using the duel gundam as a test subject here, since it's pretty much the most basic PS equipped MS currently. No shields are equipped, else the thread will gradually go off-topic sooner or later.
The colours of the duel are as follows: off-white, blue, orange-yellow and grey (joints).
Now, assume for a moment that blue is stronger than off-white.
The parts that are blue are the entire upper torso area, the backpack, the kneeguard, the foot, behind the wrist, and last but not least the side shoulder guards.
Pretty logical. The torso definitely has to have the thickest armour, as it is where the pilot and controls are located. The Tieren is a great example of this, very top-heavy.
Next, the backpack. Assuming that in CE, they still require some kind of fuel to propel themselves (and not use pure energy or something like that), the propellant should be located very near, if not inside the backpack itself. therefore the thick armour, else if it goes BOOM! you guys know the rest
Moving on, the foot. assume MS walks the same way as us, where the front of our foot pushed back and propels the body forward, that foot is going to need to be very strong and rigid, else it will eventually bend and break. Furthermore, it is one solid piece unlike that of say, the zeta gundam's, so its even more vulnerable to breaking due to stress.
EDIT: refer to zaft vs alliance for how the duel walks.
The kneeguard is the next location which requires heavy armour, else the joints beneath will be easily damaged or destroyed by enemy fire. This of course is based purely on the theory that the joints do not have PS. You could argue that when you bend your msia's or models, the blue part do not move up to cover the now exposed joints, but seeing the newer MG like the gundam mkII ver 2 for instance, where the kneeguard actually moves up as well to cover the knee joint, I say that it's probably the limitation of the kit itself, and not a design flaw.
The side shoulder armour is a little confusing at first, but looking at the side view of the duel, it actually blocks the head. Also, everyone needs to pull off an ocasional shoulder-to-the-face kind of attack, and it actually makes sense. You can also refer to how most, if not all zeonic MS like the zaku and gouf have those round, thick shoulder guards. The shoulder joint beneath the shoulder armour is already covered with off-white PS armour, plus another thick armour over it, so the blue part is not really meant for protecting the shoulder joint.
Ad finally, the wrist area. That is the most confusing part that has "thick" armour. Perhaps there is some important fragile bits located underneath, like hydralics for the hand and fingers, and the fact that it is slightly jutting out could also mean that it can provide some degree of protection to the exposed wrist. or again, useful for a mecha fistfight. Taste my bangles! *whack*
Then the rest of the MS is off-white, not much explaning needed. The grey parts on the legs are actually part of the frame, which is pretty weird considering that they are exposed. Perhaps it is to reduce the weight of the MS or legs, so it can better support itself? Like how in armoured core, you can reduce the weight of the legs so you can make a slightly heavier AC. Or like the Hyakushiki, with the very exposed legs
Moving along, we have the extremely colourful head. blue parts for the chin and headband.
Assuming that the chin houses some advanced gyroscope technology for balance, like that of the AW gundams, any damage or knocking around = one drunk MS. So naturally, it needs to be protected. Heavily.
As for the headband, it could be for protecting the sensors (eyes) as well as the igelstung CWIS and other stuff inside the head. Nothing much to talk about here, just that why is only the front portion covered? A possible explanation would be that the sides are already blocked by the side shoulder guards, and the back is protected to some extent by the backpack. Anyway, a skilled pilot shouldn't be having his butt against the enemy (unless you are like the rick dias, backstabbing the backstabbers with back mounted beam pistols.)
Now, there's only 2 parts left: the crest and the chest vents, which are in orange.
The only explanation that i could come up with is that orange PS has some sort of ability to quickly lose heat. Makes sense for the chest vents, since that's where all the exhaust is going to get out from, but as for the crest, perhaps the communation systems produce a lot of heat? Or it could be that assuming it really is to facilitate the loss of heat, radiation is also released (or allowed through) more readily, and as such the communication part is in orange. However, if this is the case, why not make the whole antenna orange as well?
[end]
So, any comments to add on?
colour coding explained
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hey, i just took this to 4chan's /m/ just for fun and to see their response, and I happen to make some advancement in my theory. I'll post some of their challqnges here, as well as my response.
other than the extra waist part, the rest of the red part (foot and chin) remains with the same theory.
but the crest part, probably because they deemed it more important to protect the vital communication systems than the strength of the signals? also, it lacks the side shoulder armour that protects the duel's head, so it kinda makes a little sense to beef up the defense a bit for the head
woops, left out one part. the tip of the crotch is blue. as the reactor is located at the pelvic area, perhaps that blue part covers the maintenence hatch, and would need a bit more armour to prevent it from being blasted open
strike noir is actually strike E + noir pack. strike E has some parts black, such as the blue parts. looking at the core unit itself, it is because its secondary weapons, the beam pistols actually require energy, unlike the strike's toothpicks. coupled with the better flight capabilities of the noir pack and teh built in weapons as compared to the aile, it is no wonder that the noir needs a little more energy.
OP here. if we were to use the strike as a reference, then the red would be stronger than the blue, especially with the extra waist part being red, possibly to help hold the suit (and its increased weight of the packs).The only thing I ever really remember reading about Phase Shift and it's colors was the red = stronger, which the logic behind that being Strike Rouge with it's Phase Shift increased in power for it's Natural pilot was red, and both Sword Impulse and Sword Calamity, both close combat units use the same color.
Made sense based on that, but I've never seen it backed up by anything official other than Strike Rouge changing colors between settings. Especially since nothing explains the half dozen other Phase Shift colors that have been seen.
other than the extra waist part, the rest of the red part (foot and chin) remains with the same theory.
but the crest part, probably because they deemed it more important to protect the vital communication systems than the strength of the signals? also, it lacks the side shoulder armour that protects the duel's head, so it kinda makes a little sense to beef up the defense a bit for the head
woops, left out one part. the tip of the crotch is blue. as the reactor is located at the pelvic area, perhaps that blue part covers the maintenence hatch, and would need a bit more armour to prevent it from being blasted open
Maybe black is the weakest / uses the least energy? it would explain why the blitz gundam is the only black suit since its designed to operate under stealth using its mirage colloid, so it could have been designed so it's phase shift uses less battery so there is more enery for mirage colloid.
in one episode i remember the archangel used the angle of its attack to try and hit it while it was invisible and they knew its PS was switched off when it was in stealth mode.
then it fits his theory quite well, in that it uses the elast amount of energy. the blast impulse is pretty much a no brainer, with its 2 candy beams. as for the gaia, maybe it has something to do with its quad mode. it moves a hell lot faster, and perhaps it would need mroe energy due to that.The other black on is Blast Impulse, which shouldn't be in direct combat either.
The main trouble with that theory though is that Gaia was also black, and it's very much a melee combat suit.
Gaia's is simply pilot peference. i was thinking along the line of "andy's MS move faster, like his murasame", and so the joints should produce more heat *due to friction*. thus, together with the fact that he fights in the desert *metals are giant heat sinks, absorb tons of heat and stuff*, his MS are coloured orange so that they can lose heat faster and gain a upperhand in desert environments.Meh, then care explain why Gaia goes from black to orange? And strike rogue has the same stats as the original strike. Noir was a more upgraded version, but it's original colors are like the strike's. They only turn black because of the Noir Striker, as per the preference.
If you can't explain, then you sir, are an almost epic fail.
strike noir is actually strike E + noir pack. strike E has some parts black, such as the blue parts. looking at the core unit itself, it is because its secondary weapons, the beam pistols actually require energy, unlike the strike's toothpicks. coupled with the better flight capabilities of the noir pack and teh built in weapons as compared to the aile, it is no wonder that the noir needs a little more energy.
cause i wrote it?WHY AM I READING THIS SHIT
I like these kind of threads. They're very nice on the eyes.
But I'd like to digress for a second. Regarding phase-shift, I've heard someone's suggestion before that perhaps, instead of armor, phase-shift can be configured for real-time changes according to the user's environment. Instead of configuring the colors for the strongest defense, why not configure the colors for camouflage? Better yet, if phase-shift can do intricate details and color changes, why bother painting on decals/markings/insignias on your machine when you can just program a picture of it on a specific area of your machine?
Kind of an octocamo for Gundams, I imagine.
- Maelstromm
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There would be a problem with this theory if you think about it, AFAIK, when Andy got the Gaia, he never used it on earth, thereby making the color for his PSA a tad pointless as it stands out too much in space...if anything, the black colored Gaia should be more efficient at losing heat than the Orange-red Gaia, so why the color change, assuming we when along with your 'heat losing' theory?Duraham wrote:
Gaia's is simply pilot peference. i was thinking along the line of "andy's MS move faster, like his murasame", and so the joints should produce more heat *due to friction*. thus, together with the fact that he fights in the desert *metals are giant heat sinks, absorb tons of heat and stuff*, his MS are coloured orange so that they can lose heat faster and gain a upperhand in desert environments.
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the chin part, i believe that i have already mentioned it while using the duel as a reference. to protect the gyroscopes, assuming that we follow the AW gundams.azrael wrote:Ewww 4chan responses.
If red was the strongest, why isn't every PS/VPS using red then? And why make the chin red if it doesn't do anything. Why did Kira set Strike Rouge's PS in Strike color's if Red was stronger. So the whole red=stronger doesn't make a whole bunch of sense.
as for the red part being stronger, it could be due to the fact that the strike is a pretty outdated MS by that time, and Kira simply wanted to channel a bit more energy to the propulsion and other systems to increase the performance of the MS as a whole. thus, the PS is toned down a little, assuming that stronger PS takes up more energy
I'm a bit stumped over this one actually, but then again I'll simply attribute it to pilot peference. sort of like why Char keeps on piloting red mechs. as for the "heat losing" theory, its more of a "why Andy prefers orange" than a "why does he keep using it" kinda thing.There would be a problem with this theory if you think about it, AFAIK, when Andy got the Gaia, he never used it on earth, thereby making the color for his PSA a tad pointless as it stands out too much in space...if anything, the black colored Gaia should be more efficient at losing heat than the Orange-red Gaia, so why the color change, assuming we when along with your 'heat losing' theory?
and in terms of colour, doesn't black absorb heat much faster?
- Maelstromm
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Basic physics my man, black and other 'dull' colors may absorb heat faster, but they lose heat just as quickly, that's why radiators and such are usually painted black or other 'dull' colors...Duraham wrote: and in terms of colour, doesn't black absorb heat much faster?
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but heat "travels" from a hotter place to a cooler place. in a desert environment, the exterior is much hotter than the MS, and with a black MS, heat is going to be gained so much faster than it can be lost.Maelstromm wrote:Basic physics my man, black and other 'dull' colors may absorb heat faster, but they lose heat just as quickly, that's why radiators and such are usually painted black or other 'dull' colors...Duraham wrote: and in terms of colour, doesn't black absorb heat much faster?
unless of course, you are talking about at night.
- Maelstromm
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yes, but I'm looking at it as a whole. Andy is known as the tiger of the desert (since when did deserts have tigers anyway?), and it does make sense that his MS would be tuned to be more effective in his favourite environment.Maelstromm wrote:You do remember that we're talking about Andy's Gaia which was, AFAIK, only used in space...right?
simply because he didn't get a chance to use it now, doesn't mean that he won't get to use it in future.
also, the 2nd point would be pilot peference, like how Char's MS are all red (okay, salmon pink, but you get the idea).
EDIT: third point: the orange PS is used to facilitate greater heat loss. and black is for lower energy drain.
- Maelstromm
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Yes, but IRC, Andy was probably the only guy using an orange-colored PSA suit, the second Sword Calamity unit was using TPSA so I think that the color of it was only to differentiate it from the first Sword Calamity (either that or it's the pilot's preference). Also, all his units before the Gaia were orange too, so I'm more inclined to believe the color of the Gaia when in his hands was more of a personal preference, he probably switched the colors as a custom 'paint-job' regardless of how they may affect the heat absorption/ loss capabilities...Duraham wrote: yes, but I'm looking at it as a whole. Andy is known as the tiger of the desert (since when did deserts have tigers anyway?), and it does make sense that his MS would be tuned to be more effective in his favourite environment.
EDIT: third point: the orange PS is used to facilitate greater heat loss. and black is for lower energy drain.
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actually, i was thinking of some other theories as of now, after giving and challenging it with more thought.flamingtroll wrote:If this theory holds, wouldn't naturally all NJC equipped suits use bright red for their suits since they do not have any constrains for power usage (enough to power the first generation METEOR as an extra)
as officially stated, the intensity of the colour equals to the strength, but right now i want to challenge the idea of the different colour being used for certain jobs, such as black for low energy cost and orange for heat loss.
so yeah, red and blue for more strength. but in terms of duration. as in, blue for taking impacts, whereas red is more for prolonged usage. like, say blue vs red for the feet. for blue, you can take the impact of landing from jumps much better. this makes sense since the duel, with its full weight is a whooping 103tons. okay, granted that the EA didn't expect it to use the assauldshrould, but even when it evolved to the Blu Duel, it retains its blue feet.
as for strike, for aile strike is spends most of its time in midair, and can use its boost to decelerate before hitting the ground. and when it is in launcher configuration, it can help to not only take the extra weight, but also the extra recoil, given how he keeps firing at an angle to the horizontal. the vertical component will definitely add some extra force downwards. F = X cos @
Uh... you can have soles that can survive a colony dropping on them, though I really doubt that would help the suit. It doesn't really matter how strong the foot is because the ankle and knees are what takes the shock from landing, which in the Duel's case are the least armoured among its family. It's really the same with the Launcher Strike firing, unless the feet are cushioned they act as nothing more than a platform holding the rest up.Duraham wrote:like, say blue vs red for the feet. for blue, you can take the impact of landing from jumps much better. this makes sense since the duel, with its full weight is a whooping 103tons.
HellCat wrote:They decided against that because most Gundam fans already have something up their butt.ShadowCell wrote:I'm skipping this one if it's in suppository form, though. Like, I like Gundam, but not that friggin' much.
Sorry, but I'm this color theory hard to swallow. If black is for low energy costs, then what's the point of Freedom or Justice having a black chest when the thing has a near unlimited operational lifetime. If blue is better for impacts, then why not make them all blue. If red is better for prolonged use, why not make them all red? If orange was better for heat loss, then why not use it when they where in the desert? It boils down to why not this or why not that on all MS, not just one color here or one color there.
With Launcher Strike, the only recoil is in the shoulder armaments.
With Launcher Strike, the only recoil is in the shoulder armaments.
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The issue with the nuclear-powered MS not using bright red unbeatable Phase-Shift is simple: they aren't powered directly by the nuclear engine. I think it's in the MG Freedom manual, or somesuch source, which states that MS such as Justice and Freedom still take their immediate supply of energy from a battery; it's just that the battery is instantly recharged by the nuclear engine. I'd presume this is to prevent a pilot sending too much energy to a particular system and frying it, but either way it means that even a nuclear-powered mobile suit only has so much power immediately available to all its electricity/energy-consuming systems.
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Seeing how battery suits can still use their guns and maintain their PS armor for a extended period using only a non rechargable battery, I still fail to see how a constantly recharged battery would fail to provide NJC suits with with constant bright red PS and still being able to use their weapons, especially for melee oriented suits like Justice. Unless there is a limit to how much power a battery can provide in CE. It would seem to be a pretty convoluted design for no good reasons though, seeing how the said reactor directly powered a METEOR as well.