The Mech Touch novel Chapter 1639

Chapter 1639 Three Interpretations

A few tense days went by as Ves and Gloriana both concentrated on their work.

The Adonis project entered a new phase as Gloriana finished mapping Vincent Ricklin's condition.

As a client, Vincent was less than ideal.

His piloting skills reflected his scattered piloting experiences. His lack of specialization meant that he didn't possess any strong strengths, which was generally seen as a disadvantage.

"Vincent is versatile, but that's generally not a good thing." Ves remarked. "Perhaps it's for the best that he wants us to design a hybrid mech for him. He'll be able to compensate for his lack of exemplary skill by relying on the arsenal of his mech."

Gloriana, who sat next to him at the design lab, nodded in agreement. "While it's not a good idea for a mech pilot to rely on the features of his mech to cover for his shortcomings, it's the only way he can make achievements on the battlefield. It won't be very conducive to his growth, though. A mech pilot that lets his mech do the heavy lifting will never improve as fast as a mech pilot who has to struggle for every victory."

This was a very well-documented phenomenon. The quality and capability of a mech had to match the skill level of the mech pilot.

For example, it was fine for Ves to design a mech as fantastic as the Transcendent Messenger because he knew it would be paired with elite Kronon mech pilots.

This was different, though. The budget for the Adonis was just as much as the budget for a Transcendent Messenger.

Obviously, the people who arranged the commission wanted Ves to design a mech comparable in performance as the Transcendent Messenger. He already proved he was capable of designing a great custom mech at this price level, and with Gloriana's help the Adonis would doubtlessly be even better!

Unfortunately, how well did these bureaucrats and officials understand what was appropriate for Vincent Ricklin?

Ves and Gloriana wouldn't feel so hesitant about their budget if it was only half as much.

Contrary to what many people might think, mech designers did not necessarily insist on designing the most expensive mechs.

If a more powerful mech was paired with an awful mech pilot, then it was hard to bring out the full potential of the machine.

"Don't worry too much, Ves." She attempted to comfort him by patting his arm. "I've faced these situations before back at home. Few can resist the temptation of piloting an impressive mech. We just have to make sure that we design a mech that Vincent can grow into after being baptized on the battlefield."

"So the premise is to design a mech that is easy to pick up but offers a lot of room for growth, right?"

"Exactly. In case of a hybrid mech like the Adonis, we can just implement some limiters and lock some functions until Vincent has grown skilled enough to handle all of its capabilities."

While this solution wasn't perfect, Ves thought it was good enough.

If Ves designed a mech as complex and formidable as the Transcendent Messenger, then it was best to pair it up with a highly-trained mech pilot such as Taon Melin or Lord Javier of House Eneqqin.

Both of them were very talented in mech piloting and enjoyed some of the most rigorous training offered by their respective states. Designing a mech to such capable mech pilots was any mech designer's dream.

As for Vincent...

He wasn't as good in swordsmanship as a swordsman mech pilot. His marksmanship left much to be desired when compared to a marksman mech pilot. He wasn't as good in piloting skirmisher mechs as Raella Larkinson, and he definitely wouldn't be able to match Jannzi Larkinson's ability in piloting space knights.

There was nothing Vincent was truly good at, and that troubled the mech designers.

If Vincent wanted them to design a simple knight mech or rifleman mech, then they could have easily designed it with a low skill floor and a high skill ceiling.

Yet everything became a bit more complicated because Vincent insisted on a hybrid mech.

From a defensive standpoint, the Adonis he demanded resembled a knight mech or a heavy mech. Vincent clearly wanted a mech that boasted the maximum level of protection a medium mech could bear.

From an offensive standpoint, the Adonis relied on multiple weapon systems. Fortunately, Vincent hadn't set any priorities, so the main armament of the mech was clearly its Sandbreaker rifle.

Ves and Gloriana treated the missile launchers, wrist-mounted nail drivers and spare sword as auxiliary weapons. They didn't have to devote too much capacity to accommodate these secondary weapon systems.

"If you strip all of the frills from the Adonis, it's basically an armored rifleman mech."

"You could also call it a long-ranged striker mech, Ves."

"The point is that we should approach its design as a ranged mech that mainly relies on armor rather than mobility to protect itself. It's similar to the Dawnbreaker and Novabreaker in that regard."

Of course, with a budget as generous as theirs, the Adonis would definitely be paired with an armor system that could withstand at least twice as much damage!

After Ves gained a comprehensive understanding of the data that Gloriana gathered, they began to design a draft for the Adonis.

"Vincent clearly prizes the cosmetic design of his custom over its functional design." Gloriana explained to Ves. As a mech designer who designed many custom mechs, this detail hadn't escaped her notice. "So it is best to start sketching out the external appearance of the Adonis before we proceed with trying to fit components into the draft design."