Inspired by the newly released game Titanfall (which I, ironically, have not played), I started wondering if there are any mecha mods for Minecraft?
I know the various exotic pieces of tools and armour provided by mods will allow you to be invincible, fly, 1-hit-kill mobs with a railgun/laser/plasma cannon, mine at breakneck speeds and so on, but those abilities are still inferior to doing exactly the same while piloting a big robot. So therefore, I look for/propose a mecha mod. Either standalone, or as a child mod of existing tech mods such as IC2.
I guess the mod would involve a temporary replacement of the player model, swapping it for a robot of some size (say, 3, 7 or 10 blocks in height, depending on how much resources you want to put into it, and how much power you have to run the thing). The mecha itself would probably require a multiblock machine for assembly, but this can be done as simple as having a 1-block thick platform requiring all its blocks to have an unblocked view of the sky. A 2x2 or 3x3 platform would be enough for the smallest mecha, going as far up as 8x8 for the really big ones.
Adding tools and weapons to the mecha would be done in/on the assembly unit, possibly in the style of MPS. A mining module would require a pickaxe or ten, some hydraulics/wiring, electrical circuits and so forth. Dump it all in the assembly unit, and it would add the stuff to the mecha (or upgrade what the mecha already has).
Piloting the mecha would be interesting. Small mecha(s?) would not be that much taller than ordinary players, and be able to fit in a 3x3 vertical opening (like a Nether portal) or 2x2 horizontally (like an End portal). They'd be able to navigate caves comfortably, and engage mobs in hand-to-hand combat. Useful for mining, spelunking or just hanging around. Big enough for the player to feel powerful, small enough to be used around most bases, forests and villages. Mines 3x3 tunnels with its mining module. Generally not much more powerful than players equipped with high-end armour (such as Quantum Suit or expensive MPS stuff), but bigger and capable of taking more hits, not to mention carrying more loot (if upgraded properly).
Mid-size mecha would lose the ability to fight in close combat, preferring to use ranged weapons (its mining equipment would still hurt, though). They would be a little too big to fit in caves or indoors in bases not specifically built for them, but able to blast their way through if needed. They'd delete Leaf blocks upon touch, making them capable of navigating forests. Unless equipped with (expensive) flying modules or impact dampeners, they would be badly damaged by falling from high places (such as off mountains or Quarry edges). They walk up 1-block-high ledges as if they were stairs.
Big mechas would be endgame toys, but practically invincible to anything but gravity. Without prior planning, getting this thing out of your base after assembly could prove quite a challenge. Being a two-digit number of blocks tall, and several blocks wide, they would need some elbow room. Running them would require vast amounts of resources and whatever power supply you're using, but they would be able to manipulate the world around them on an unprecedented scale. Its mining tools would make craters for every click, or huge holes in the landscape after a few moments of digging. The internal storage capacity of a large mecha would be on par with mid-tier AE Storage disks. It would be able to obliterate Withers with a few rounds of its weapon system. Forests would fall as it walked through them. They would mostly be useful for clearing land for large construction projects, or doing some manual quarrying. Need a forest flattened to build your base? Big mecha. Are your bases so far apart that even walking through the Nether is a bit of a trek? Clear the way and make a straight tunnel between your portals with a big mecha. Too many mountains blocking the view of the sunset from your bedroom window? Needing to empty a desert to get enough Sand for your glass dome project? Building something requiring you to place lots of 3x3x3 structures with a single click? Big effin' mecha. Making manual work efficient again.
