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On the Henry Kissinger / Daffy Duck Silliness Scale, I think OGREs rank about a 9 and Titans a 10.7. Both are extremely silly. I have to imagine OGREs are not quite so silly as they are not trying the engage in hand to hand combat, by hitting each other over the head with swords the size of freight train cars, then I can (almost, barely) imagine a situation in which a land-battle platform might be mobile.

If, say, some not incredibly major change in technology occurred, such as a massive advance in SIGINT that really favored the defending party. Perhaps, something like a vastly improved EMP technology that would burn out the opposition's ability to detect the enemy almost on a planetary scale. In some ways we almost have that now.

Still, even if the EMP knocks out almost everything, and has the cars grounded (we'll assume the titans and ogres are not, because half your nation's GDP went to building shielding for them), your horse cavalry scouts are going to be pretty quick to report in on monsters the size of the Empire State Building striding toward your capital building, and even today's conventional artillery is not going to have a hard time knocking that out.

Now, on the Potsy Webber / Arthur Fonzerelli Coolness Scale, both are equally high off the top end of the meter.

I come out a little bit on the side of the OGREs, because that was the second sci fi wargame I ever bought, after Avalon Hill's Starship Troopers.

How about you?

There is something about giant stompy robots. Not going to lie, they are over the top crazy and fun.

Buy my cold, cybernetic heart lies behind a few meters of biphasecarbite armor.

The obviously correct third answer: BOLOs. All hail the Dinochrome Brigade.

Tsagualsa wrote:
The obviously correct third answer: BOLOs. All hail the Dinochrome Brigade.

You are, of course, correct. Did they ever show up in a wargame, or was OGRE the best place to scratch the giant doom tank itch?

I need to track down some of those old books. Borrowed from a friend years ago, so don’t have them on the shelf to re-read.

I love big stompy mechs as much as the next guy, up to a point. But above a certain weight class, investing that many resources and that much firepower on a vehicle that can be taken out by shooting off a leg or jamming a hip just isn't smart. Doesn't matter how tough the rest of the mech is, you're only ever one joint away from being immobilised/toppled.

Compare to an OGRE, where you can shoot out multiple tanks and, sure, it'll be a bit slower and maybe the turning circle will be wider, but it stays mobile and usable.

you need both the big stompy robot and the massive vehicle

otherwise upon what does the big stompy robot ride into battle?

mind you I still want a 40k scale Hellbore

pondering pinching some of that concrete drain pipe..

 Nevelon wrote:

Tsagualsa wrote:
The obviously correct third answer: BOLOs. All hail the Dinochrome Brigade.

You are, of course, correct. Did they ever show up in a wargame, or was OGRE the best place to scratch the giant doom tank itch?

I need to track down some of those old books. Borrowed from a friend years ago, so don’t have them on the shelf to re-read.

I don't think they ever saw a wargame other than that early-age ATARI game.

The books are extremely cheap to get as eBooks/Kindle, as well as all the Retief books, which are probably enjoyable enough for people that like Ciaphas Cain and somewhat of a hidden gem

I absolutely loved Keith Laumer. Retief and BOLOs both. I especially loved the book (Retief's War, maybe?) where he got to drive a BOLO. Talk about two unstoppable forces...

The Groaci AND those incompetent, cowardly traitors in the CDT better look out...

All hail the Laumer, BOLOs rule

but ridiculously large bipedal robots are mighty cool too

Ogres, which are vaguely feasible, while Titans and (Battletech battlemechs) are impractical for the previously mentioned reason of one bad joint away from immobility. I say this despite playing more Battletech than Ogre. I do like moderately big stompy mechs though. A four-legged mech might make more sense as it could get around on three legs, and legs can go places vehicles with treads cannot.

Now for writing military sci-fi the BOLO is clearly superior by far. Bolos have personalities; ogres barely do, and titans do not.

For some background on the Bolo, my thread at BGG may be of use. There is also a link there to the Fifth Imperium which hosts various Baen Books CDs. Baen Publishing does permit the downloading of those CDs, so you can read some of the new Bolo stories. None of them are by Mr. Laumer; just other authors with their own take on the Bolos.
[Link] The Bolo Stories by Keith Laumer (and Others)

And speaking of impractically sized vehicles, here's one person's take on Die Maus

 Ancestral Hamster wrote:
Ogres, which are vaguely feasible, while Titans and (Battletech battlemechs) are impractical for the previously mentioned reason of one bad joint away from immobility. I say this despite playing more Battletech than Ogre. I do like moderately big stompy mechs though. A four-legged mech might make more sense as it could get around on three legs, and legs can go places vehicles with treads cannot.

Now for writing military sci-fi the BOLO is clearly superior by far. Bolos have personalities; ogres barely do, and titans do not.

For some background on the Bolo, my thread at BGG may be of use. There is also a link there to the Fifth Imperium which hosts various Baen Books CDs. Baen Publishing does permit the downloading of those CDs, so you can read some of the new Bolo stories. None of them are by Mr. Laumer; just other authors with their own take on the Bolos.
[Link] The Bolo Stories by Keith Laumer (and Others)

And speaking of impractically sized vehicles, here's one person's take on Die Maus

Thanks for that - an excellent post over there, and a great way to waste away a weekend or two, either indulging in old memories or making new ones

 Ancestral Hamster wrote:
Ogres, which are vaguely feasible, while Titans and (Battletech battlemechs) are impractical for the previously mentioned reason of one bad joint away from immobility. I say this despite playing more Battletech than Ogre. I do like moderately big stompy mechs though. A four-legged mech might make more sense as it could get around on three legs, and legs can go places vehicles with treads cannot.

Now for writing military sci-fi the BOLO is clearly superior by far. Bolos have personalities; ogres barely do, and titans do not.

For some background on the Bolo, my thread at BGG may be of use. There is also a link there to the Fifth Imperium which hosts various Baen Books CDs. Baen Publishing does permit the downloading of those CDs, so you can read some of the new Bolo stories. None of them are by Mr. Laumer; just other authors with their own take on the Bolos.
[Link] The Bolo Stories by Keith Laumer (and Others)

And speaking of impractically sized vehicles, here's one person's take on Die Maus

Which, sadly, is a pretty good argument against BOLOs and OGREs, let alone giant robots. I'm not sure that the giant rodent might not be more practical in battle. Somebody needs to make a wargame based on this. Or just add the rules into 40k.

 NapoleonInSpace wrote:

Which, sadly, is a pretty good argument against BOLOs and OGREs, let alone giant robots. I'm not sure that the giant rodent might not be more practical in battle. Somebody needs to make a wargame based on this. Or just add the rules into 40k.

There are some Kaiju games if you want giant monsters smashing things. King of Tokyo/New York, or old school like Gamarauders. Probably a lot more out there, but those are the ones I have on the shelf.

 NapoleonInSpace wrote:
Which, sadly, is a pretty good argument against BOLOs and OGREs, let alone giant robots. I'm not sure that the giant rodent might not be more practical in battle. Somebody needs to make a wargame based on this. Or just add the rules into 40k.

Giant rodents as AFV- Pros:
1. Legs permit movement in a larger variety of terrain, including bodies of water too deep to ford as rodents can swim.
2. Rodents can climb and burrow, giving increased movement options. Think of the surprise value of an armored rodent company tunneling into an enemy's rear area and attacking their field HQ!

Giant rodents as AFV- Cons:
1. As the picture shows, the rodent has an extremely high profile, making it easily spotted and targeted.
2. Similarly, the slope is non-existent, so shot deflection is unlikely, making penetration a sure thing.
3. Basic model rodent is unarmored, but perhaps it can be equipped with armor the way warhorses were once armored with barding. If rodent barding is practical, perhaps it can be enhanced with reactive armor.
4. The fatal problem is that rodents are prey animals. As such, they are timid and paranoid. Some of this could be mitigated by breeding rats instead of mice, as rats have a vicious streak*, but would still be prone to running away at the wrong time.

*Wild rats deliberately target the young of other rodent species and eat them. If you have a rat infestation you will not have any other rodents on the premises. Downside is rats are smarter than other rodents and so more difficult to get rid of. {Though not as difficult as cockroaches, the ultimate survivors.}

 Ancestral Hamster wrote:

 NapoleonInSpace wrote:
Which, sadly, is a pretty good argument against BOLOs and OGREs, let alone giant robots. I'm not sure that the giant rodent might not be more practical in battle. Somebody needs to make a wargame based on this. Or just add the rules into 40k.

Giant rodents as AFV- Pros:
1. Legs permit movement in a larger variety of terrain, including bodies of water too deep to ford as rodents can swim.
2. Rodents can climb and burrow, giving increased movement options. Think of the surprise value of an armored rodent company tunneling into an enemy's rear area and attacking their field HQ!

Giant rodents as AFV- Cons:
1. As the picture shows, the rodent has an extremely high profile, making it easily spotted and targeted.
2. Similarly, the slope is non-existent, so shot deflection is unlikely, making penetration a sure thing.
3. Basic model rodent is unarmored, but perhaps it can be equipped with armor the way warhorses were once armored with barding. If rodent barding is practical, perhaps it can be enhanced with reactive armor.
4. The fatal problem is that rodents are prey animals. As such, they are timid and paranoid. Some of this could be mitigated by breeding rats instead of mice, as rats have a vicious streak*, but would still be prone to running away at the wrong time.

*Wild rats deliberately target the young of other rodent species and eat them. If you have a rat infestation you will not have any other rodents on the premises. Downside is rats are smarter than other rodents and so more difficult to get rid of. {Though not as difficult as cockroaches, the ultimate survivors.}

Hmm. Considerably more cons than pros.

Might just mean that "Ancestral Hamster" is trying to avoid duty on the battlefield...