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Compiled by Arion Hunter
Dedication
Firstly, I'd like to thank Mark Simmons, the resident Gundam guru for giving me my position at the defunct Gundam Project Message Board. It gave me access to the wonderful base of knowledge there. I'd also like to thank the many people who directly or indirectly provided me with extra formation, including, Thomas E. "Zinegata" Ting, Redcomet, and Black Knight. I am eternally indebted to all of you.
Introduction
This is the official Gundam Project Frequently Asked Questions page. This is intended to help fans new to the Gundam universe with some of those often asked questions and here we have archived some of the most asked and speculated questions with answers to them all. If the answer to your question isn't here, it is suggested you go to the links listed at the bottom to see if it is answered there. Be warned, this FAQ contains many spoilers.
A little background info:
The original Mobile Suit Gundam aired in 1979 and totally flopped. It was on the verge of cancellation when the director launched a last ditch pitch and converted the series to three movies, which were than released into theaters. Eventually Mobile Suit Gundam caught on and became one of the most popular anime series ever, similar to Star Trek In the United States (this is why Mobile suit Gundam is also known as Japan's Star Trek).
Mobile Suit Gundam begins in UC 0079 at the Side 7 colony. The war between the spacenoid Zeons and the Earth Federation has settled into a six month stalemate. The Federation has taken this time to develop it's own prototype mobile suits at the Side 7 colony. The carrier White Base has come to pick up these suits and transport them to Earth. Unknown to the White Base crew, a Zeon cruiser has followed them and two Zakus proceed to attack and demolish the prototypes. Amuro Rei, the son of a Federal Force engineer, commanders one of the surviving prototypes, the RX-78-2 Gundam. and attacks the Zakus with the manual in his lap.
After the attack, the White base crew gathers all the civilians and prototypes left and leave the Side 7 colony. With most of the crew killed in the attack, the White Base is now manned by young untried civilians from Side 7. Amuro is now the official pilot of the RX-78-2 Gundam and and the main defender of the White Base. The White Base proceeds to finish it's original mission of taking the prototypes to Earth under the command of officer cadet Bright Noa. This is the stage for the Mobile Suit Gundam series.
Table of Contents
General Questions
Q: What is the difference between the Alternate Universes and the Universal century?
A: The Alternate Universes were all their own timelines (Turn A is still unknown) and all of them except Turn A had no influence from Yoshiyuki Tomino. The Universal Century was all set in one timeline and all the stories are connected in some way.
A: Mobile suits are one of Gundam's trademark gimmicks. These are giant robots, humanoid fighting machines operated by human pilots. The first mobile suits were developed by the Duchy of Zeon as high-mobility space fighters, and soon proved to be a major advantage for the Duchy. Contrary to popular supposition, mobile suits did not evolve from civilian construction machines. It was only after years of military research that the Duchy's engineers were able to solve the hardware and software problems involved in creating a humanoid vehicle. With these problems solved, the technology was subsequently adapted for civilian use.
Q: About how much does the average Mobile Suit weigh?
A: The average Mobile Suit weighs in at about seven tons and 16 meters in height (Just over 50 feet).
Q: How are mobile suits operated?
A: Since their movements are controlled almost entirely by software, mobile suits are quite simple to operate. The pilot only has to steer, control speed, point and shoot, so piloting a mobile suit is much like operating any type other vehicle. The physical controls usually consist of a set of joysticks, foot pedals, and button/keyboard combinations (similar to a fighting video game); systems like the neo-psycommu used in the Rafflesia allow for Newtypes to pilot mobile weapons by thought only. Mobile suit cockpit displays, whether mundane flat panels or 360-degree panoramic monitors, display the surroundings as if the pilot were sitting in the mobile suit's head. Gundam Wing's "linear frame" cockpit actually swivels in sync with the mobile suit's head to minimize pilot confusion.
The original RX-78 Gundam was equipped with a "learning computer" capable of learning from its human pilot, making it . As pilot Amuro Rei gained combat experience during the One Year War, the Gundam's computer became capable of fighting autonomously, as demonstrated during its final duel with the Zeong. The data gathered by the Gundam's computer was invaluable in programming the Federation's mass-produced GM mobile suits, but this technology was seldom used in subsequent stories. Artificial-intelligence systems such as GUNDAM SENTINEL's ALICE system and GUNDAM W's mobile dolls are heirs to the Gundam's learning computer.
Q: What was the first Mobile Suit made?
A: In UC, it's the MS-01. Info taken directly from Mark Simmons' MS
Classics:
"The development of the mobile suit started in UC 0071, when
the Zeon military began planning new weapons for the era of Minovsky
physics and solicited proposals for an agile, highly mobile space fighter.
Two companies vied for the contract; while MIP's MIP-X1 was a more
conventional space fighter, Zeonic's radical ZI-XA3 used a humanoid form
for greater flexibility and maneuverability. It was this latter design
that won the contract, and in 0073 Zeonic began work on the
newly-christened Mobile Suit project under the close supervision of
Colonel Kishiria Zabi.
Thus it was that Zeonic's prototype ZI-XA3, renamed the MS-01, became the first mobile suit. Standing about 14 meters tall and weighing just 17 tons, it was smaller and far less powerful than the combat mobile suits that were to follow it."
In Gundam Wing the Tallgeese is the first mobile suit manufactured.
Q: What's the little V thing at the top of a Gundam's head called and what's it used for?
A: It's called a V fin. The use has never been totally confirmed, but it is speculated that it might be some form of antenna or could just be decoration.
Q: What's the little red goatee thing at the bottom of the Gundam's face called and what's it for?
A: There's no real canon name for the red goatee thingy at the bottom of it's face, so you can call it what you like. It's use has never been determined besides general speculation, but it possibly could be used as a heat vent.
Q: What is the difference between Mobile Armor and Mobile Suits?
A: The vast majority of weapons you see in Gundam series are mobile suits, which are humanoid mobile weapons between about 15 and 25 meters in height; Mobile suits are more agile and maneuverable, adaptable to different environments, and more cost-efficient and easily mass-produced. Mobile armors tend to be much larger and not humanoid; Mobile Armors are usually much more powerful, heavily armed and armored, with the room to include bulky tech systems (like the early Psycommu system) that wouldn't fit into an Mobile Suit. Basically, Mobile Armors are the equivalent of a modern tank, while the mobile suit would be considered infantry. Variable/Transforming Mobile Suits and Mobile Armors are a different story. All Variable Mobile suits and Mobile Armors have two different modes (Armor & Suit) they can enter. In the Mobile Armor mode, they are more versatile and maneuverable; the mobile suit mode provides speed and power.
Q: What is Luna Titanium made of?
A: We actually do not know the exact materials of Luna Titanium, but there are two different assumptions:
A) It it a composite armor, like Chobam, only the traditional metals are replaced by titanium.
Q: Where did Gundarium come from?
A: Gundarium was an improvement upon the Luna Titanium developed at the Earth Federation Luna II base.
Q: What is the difference between Gundarium and Gundanium?
A: In UC history, the first wonder-armor is Luna Titanium, named after the Federation's Luna II base where it was first developed. Since it's expensive and difficult to produce, after the One Year War the Federation standardizes on titanium-ceramic composite, which is almost as good. Meanwhile, renegade Zeons at the asteroid base Axis manage to duplicate Luna Titanium, naming their version Gundarium (with an "r") after the famous mobile suit.
Gundanium (with an "n") appears only in Gundam Wing. It's not only stronger than the titanium used on other Wing suits, but probably tougher than any material used in Gundam's mainstream Universal Century continuity. Neo Titanium, used in the Serpent, is supposed to be twice as strong as, and half the weight of, regular titanium - but still inferior to Gundanium.
Q: What does it take for a Mobile Suit to fly?
A: Like they say, if you but enough thrust behind it, you can make a brick fly. The trick is keeping it up in the air. Where mobile suits are concerned, most of them use propellant-guzzling rocket engines that can't be used for long periods of time (on the order of 20-30 minutes by my best guess). So air-breathing jet engines are really a prerequisite.
Once you have jet engines to resolve the propellant problem, the only other thing you need is more than one gee of thrust - this is the bare minimum to counter the pull of gravity. In theory, a jet-propelled mobile suit with one gee of thrust should be able to stay airborne for hours at a time. On the other hand, some high-powered machines - the mobile armors Azzam and Apsaras, the Psyco Gundams, the Xi and Victory Gundams - use a Minovsky craft system to keep them airborne.
Of course, if you want to travel at any kind of decent speed, it helps to have a streamlined form. The Zeta Gundam's wave rider mode, and the Asshimar's saucer shape, are good examples of this.
Okay, so that's prolonged flight. If you only need to make short jumps or fly for brief periods, it'll suffice to have plenty of thrust. The mobile suits of F91 and Victory Gundam, which pull 4 gees on average, are able to buzz about like bumblebees as long as their propellant holds out.
Q: Why put a scope on a mobile suit weapon and how would it work?
A: The scopes on mobile suit weapons are usually patched into the main camera system, that's what puts the actual crosshairs up on the pilot's display. If you were just aiming by the main camera system, you'd probably wind up missing, as it isn't lined up with the gun. By providing a sight, you can pretty much get more accurate aim on an enemy. The scope sends out a low-power, high-frequency beam (laser) that 'paints' the target. The reflected beam is then received in the MS' 'eyes' or the forehead sensor on some mobile suits. The range and angle of the beam is computed and the targeting reticle (crosshairs or any other shape) is drawn over the intended target.
Q: Can I-fields block lasers and why aren't lasers widely used as mobile suit weapons?
A: No, they cannot. The reason why lasers aren't widely used in the UC universe is because of Minovski particle physics. In battle both sides usually release Minovski particles. Minovski particles distorts all forms of Electromagnetic Radiation. Which means lasers, a form of light, would get dispersed and wouldn't be even close to effective unless it was really powerful (colony laser) or if it was used at almost point blank range. In either case it would be inferior to Mega Particle weapons because these are not affected by Minovski particles and they are sufficiently stronger.
Q: Will beam weapons work underwater?
A: They will still work, just won't be as powerful, as evidenced by Amuro's first fight with a Gogg. In Gundam X, a beam rifle's power is cut by 50% in water.
Q: How do machine guns work in space?
A: There's no air friction to slow them down, so they will keep momentum as they move instead of losing it and stay on course. They do travel more slowly than beam blasts, but if the target isn't very agile, a bullet or missile will actually retain more of its punch over a long distance than will a beam shot (which tends to dissipate as it travels). In atmosphere, both projectiles and beam weapons suffer adverse effects - beams are further scattered by the atmosphere, while projectiles are both slowed down and pulled groundwards by gravity.
Q: How can a heat weapon block a beam saber?
A: Think of the plasma as pure heat, in a sense. Well, for the heat saber to pass through the heat blade it would either have to absorb the heat or push it out of the way. The blade would absorb some heat (causing damage in the process) but due to the heat-resistant nature would push a lot out of the way. However, due to the i-field, the heat can't expand, and once it can't contract it would push back against the blade and force it back (thus a quick clash). The blade itself would be quite damaged in the process and if the beam sabre was forced continually against it the blade would be toast rather fast. Generally, the way it blocks is due to heat expansion.
Q: Can more than one beam weapon be equipped on a mobile suit at a time?
A: Yes.
Q: Do beam sabers or rifles do more damage?
A: Sabers. While the blast from a beam rifle diffuses over distance, the plasma in the saber's core, superheated at 100,000+0 Celsius, is much more powerful.
Q: In mobile suit specifications, what does it mean by 120 mm machine gun? Is that how thick the bullet is?
A: The measurement refers to the diameter of the projectile itself. The 120mm rounds have a projectile with a diameter (width) of 120mm. The case, which houses the propellant, may be significantly larger in diameter than the projectile. Think of a coke bottle: the cap is the projectile and the bottle itself is the case, housing the propellant.
Q: How many bullets are fired in a round?
A: One bullet is fired in a round. 1 round = 1 bullet, and is usually referred to as a "round of ammunition." Guns have varying rates of fire, how many rounds per second, minute, ect it can pump out. So far, there has never been a solid RoF (Rate of Fire) number given for any MS weapons in Gundam.
Q: What keeps beam rifle's or any other beam weapon's barrels from melting and what are they made of?
A: Beam cannon and rifle barrels have to be replaced after long enough use, similar to the gun barrels of today. If you fire continuously for a period of time, machine gun crews have an extra barrel to change out so the first can be let cool before being used again. The barrels are made of super high tensile steel and ceramic alloy.
A: This figure is the ratio of the full weight of the robot to its unfueled weight - i.e. the weight once all the rocket propellant has been used up. For example, the Gundam Mark II has a full weight of 54.1 tons and a mass ratio of 1.44; 54.1/1.44 = an unfueled weight of about 37.6 tons.
The mass ratio is an important figure in rocketry. The thrust-to-weight ratio doesn't affect the final velocity of a spacecraft, just the mass ratio. (The full formula is velocity = 9.81 meters/sec^2 x natural log of mass ratio x specific impulse. Specific impulse, measured in seconds, reflects the efficiency of the propellant used.) A high-acceleration vessel may reach its final velocity faster, but in the stretch, the Messala (mass ratio 1.96) will outrun the Zeta Gundam (mass ratio 1.70).
The mass ratio of a current rocket is about .91. In a fraction: 91% propellant, 6% payload, and 3% hardware.
Q: How do you figure the acceleration of a mobile suit?
A: Acceleration is simple - just divide the total thrust by the full weight. The thrust is usually given in kilograms, so divide by a thousand to get tons of thrust/tons of mass. This ratio - typically 1.0 or higher - is the acceleration in gees.
(Technically, kilograms aren't a legitimate measure of force. But using kilograms rather than newtons does make things simpler)
Q: What are the modifications needed for a space mobile suit to operate in Earth's atmosphere and why would a space mobile suit need modifications to work on Earth?
A: In outer space, gravity and friction (no air, no air resistance, no friction) have limited effect. Thus, an object does not need to be aerodynamic in order to move about. To move forward or in any direction, a force in the same direction has to be exerted by the object. Thus the thrusters are fired in the opposite direction of the point you want to get to. intended direction. This is done by firing the main thrusters and expelling thrust mass in the opposite direction as the intended heading. Changing direction (steering) requires the firing of additional thrusters (referred to as verniers).
However, in an atmosphere, the four forces of flight (lift, drag, thrust, and gravity) dictate what type of object can fly efficiently. The first ingredient to making a craft fly is thrust. No craft will fly until there is some sort of propulsion behind it's movement. A rocket shot from and upright position will fly straight upward until it's thrust is exhausted, then crash back to the ground. Aerofoils (wings) allow an aircraft to stay stable in the air, instead of succumbing to gravity and crashing back to Earth. They create two differing areas of pressure above and below the wing. This produces a lifting effect that allows the object to fly. Also, since air exerts friction on all moving bodies, an object would have to be aerodynamic in order to reduce the amount of drag the object produces as it moves through the air. The effects of drag can be seen if you compare the sleek shape of a kayak and a flat-bottomed row boat. Since the kayak is more streamlined than the row boat, it produces less drag in the water and thus can be propelled at a faster rate using the same amount of work than the row boat. Also, steering an aircraft poses a different set of concerns than steering an spacecraft. Aircraft have control surfaces (flaps and alerons) that change the shape of the aerofoils (wings) and thus, change the amount of lift (or drag) on each wing. This causes the aircraft to turn.
Take the example of a Frisbee. Here the four forces are a work as well.
- Lift- Air moves over the top of the Frisbee, lowering the air pressure and causing the disk to rise.
- Gravity- Gravity works against lift, and pulls the Frisbee downward, causing to neither rise nor fall, but stay flat.
- Thrust- The amount of force behind the throwing of the Frisbee determines the amount of thrust it has.
- Drag- According to the amount of thrust the Frisbee has, the drag will increase or decrease upon throwing. But since a Frisbee does not have infinite fuel, gravity will gradually pull the frisbee toward the Earth, lowering it's speed, and the drag amount of drag will decrease.
Lastly, propulsion in air is a lot different than in outer space. In atmosphere, jet engines require to ingredients to produce thrust : fuel and an oxidizer (oxygen). A Jet carries the fuel that must be burned, but the engine must bring in the oxidizer to the combustion chamber. Since oxidizer is readily available in our atmosphere, jet engines an be used. But since there is no oxidizer in space, spacecraft carry their own supply of oxidizer (and/or hydrogen usually in liquid form) in order to burn fuel.
Q: What does fire-linked mean and what advantage does a fire-linked weapon have over a regular one?
A: Fire-linked means that a weapon is directly attached to the mobile suit's controls. Fire-liked weapons are usually in pairs (i.e. head vulcans) and can be fired at the same or in an alternating pattern.
A: Each Side (in UC) seems to have its own currency. A few units of currency are mentioned in the animation (Side 6 currency in 0080), but most are still relatively unknown.
Q: Does the isotope Helium-3 actually exist?
A: Yes, it does, but there is very little in the Earth's atmosphere.
Q: How is Helium-3 mined from Jupiter?
A: It is assumed that the isotope helium-3 was derived from Jupiter's upper atmosphere using ramscoops, magnetic fields that attract H3 from the area surrounding the ship that generates the field. Modern science has proved that there is less helium on Jupiter than the other gas giants though. Oh, well. It's not like that matters anyway. :)
Q: Where are Reactors located on Mobile Suits?
A: The reactor's location really varies depending on the MS. The backpack is a possible location, but most cutaways for backpacks show they're usually filled up by thrusters. The Zaku has a reactor directly under the pilot. The Gundam has multiple reactors, both in the core fighter and in the Mobile Suit itself. The Superior Gundam has reactors in its shoulders. Most seem to be in the torso, upper or lower depending on cockpit location (both the Dom and the Gelgoog look like they'd have it in the upper torso), some even have smaller reactors in the upper legs. All reactors in Gundam Wing are above and behind the cockpit.
Q: Are Multiple Beam Weapons Too Hard on the Reactor?
A: They can be it the generator isn't powerful enough. If the generator can't generate the power needed to activate a weapon (like to fire a beam rifle), it becomes useless.
Q: Can Minovsky Particles be bent?
A: Yes, they can be bent, as evidenced by the beam tomahawk.
Q: What is the impact Of a Colony Drop?
A: There is no exact calculation for the impact of a colony drop, because the various colonies that have been dropped in the Gundam universe vary in impact. Examples of this are: The canon impact for the piece of colony that hit Sydney, Australia in Operation British is 60,000 Megatons and it took out about a tenth of Australia. In Operation Stardust, there was a huge crater left from the colony drop on Kansas with debris scattered everywhere. In ZZ Gundam, the colony that hit Dublin, Ireland only affected Dublin and the colony was left sticking straight up like a giant lawn dart :P (directly attributed to Plot Contrivance and the general goofiness of ZZ). In Gundam X, the colony (colonies) dropped pretty much decimated most of the Earth's landscape.
Q: How many Mobile Suits can a ship actually carry?
A: Officially, most space ships in UC have pretty small MS capacities, although it varies considerably. Common cruiser types (like Salamis Kai/Musai) have only around 3 while assault carriers (often the star of the series) like the White Base have only around six to eight. The epitome of MS capacity is the OYW's Doros, with MS capacity at around 100?(still need to check). Animation and books usually tend to exaggerate these numbers though, so don't be surprised if ships are said to carry more MS than they are officially and realistically supposed to carry. If you want to be absolutely sure on the MS capacity, check the Mecha Domain, and attribute any extra MS a ship is carrying as either "escorts" or being "strapped onto the outer hull".
Q: Are there any naming conventions on the ships?
A: Most ship classes have an identifiable English meaning such as "Pegasus", the winged horse of Greek mythology, or "Magellan", named after the famed explorer. Other ship names (particularly Zeon ones) such as Musai, Gwajin, Tibe etc have no direct meaning we have yet been able to find and are probably used by director because they way the name sounds :) (the same applies to many MS names).
Naming each individual ship is another matter however, as each series usually has some sort of naming convention or preference, such as Gundam Sentinel's use of WWII ship names for most of its ships. This is not always the case though, and the naming is not always 100% consistent.
Q: When did Mobile Suits start having ejection pods and in what series? How did they work? Did the suit just break apart, did the pod force itself from the rear or front of the suit?
A: While it's not known when ejection pods were first implemented in mobile suits, there have been several examples of their use. The Sazabi has an ejection pod which blasts out of the head which opens up. There's also the famous ejection seat on the Ground Type Gundam.
It appears most suits logically would have an ejection system for operation in space where the entire front armor piece blows off, but this theory is invalidated by gee's that the pilot would endure during ejection. Nearly all suits have some form of from a doomed mobile suit. At least one mobile suit in V Gundam with a rear entry hatch which could possibly used for escape. Also, in one of the Gundam Wing graphic novels, there's a Leo with a rear hatch for sneaky escapes. And finally there's the core fighters which are meant to be a very elaborate ejection system really.
Q: Did all mobile suits have frontal entry? Were there any that had any other sort of entry, i.e. rear entry?
A: The majority of mobile suits have them in the chest or pelvic area, but some notable exceptions are the Zeong, Sazabi, and Psycho, all of which have the entry way/cockpit in the head; the Double Zeta also has a cockpit in its double barrel beam rifle. With research, you can find that mobile suits can have many different entry ways.
Q: What are the different on-board ship systems which either enhance, alter, control or communicate with pilots and how do they work?
- A contraction of "psychic communicator", the psycommu system receives thoughts from a human brain and translates them into commands comprehensible to a computer system. A powerful newtype can project his or her thoughts to the psycommu system and use it to carry out complex tasks, like simultaneously controlling several remote weapons. The system can't be used by ordinary humans, due to their weaker brainwaves. With radio nullified by Minovski particle jamming, psycommu-amplified brainwaves are the only reliable means of controlling remote weapons. Psycommu-equipped mobile suits and mobile armors are typically armed with several remote-controlled drones, known as "bits" or "funnels," which act in concert to surround and destroy enemies. Later developments of the psycommu system include the mysterious biosensor; the super-sensitive psycoframe; and the quasi-psycommu system, a variant which can be used by normal humans.
- Neo-Psycommu is something used by Newtypes for almost completely unmanned control of a Mobile Armor. As far as I know, we first and only see it in Gundam F91, where it is used by Korozo Ronah in the Lafressia, which is a horribly large, red Mobile Armor with hundreds of tentacles. The Neo-Psycommu in the Lafressia works by attaching to Iron Mask (Korozo)'s mind via cables that attach to the back of his helmet. This means that cockpit space can be virtually forgotten as the pilot controls the entire mobile armor with his mind.
- Playfully referred to as the 'poor man's psycommu' system, the quasi-psycommu system ACTIVELY scans the pilot's brainwaves (as opposed to just PASSIVELY receiving brainwaves) and translates these into commands that can either control the MS itself or remote weapons called bits (or funnels, depending on the design). Because the pilot doesn't have to project his/her brainwaves into the quasi-psycommu system, it allowed OldType (non-Newtype) pilots to control weapons systems previously reserved for Newtypes.
- Advanced Logistics Inconsequence Cognizing Equipment (A.L.I.C.E.) This system links to the core learning computer inside an MS and is able to analyze all battlefield situations and capable of tactical decisions on it's own (sounds like the Z.E.R.O. system, doesn't it? ). The final goal is to achieve a fully automated and unmanned control system for MS warfare. A.L.I.C.E. was also programmed with a female personality because the project wants to develop an Artificial Intelligence that is capable of understanding an MS pilot. "She" must be able to fill the role of a capable & understanding woman that would respond to the needs of a pilot. The end result would be for A.L.I.C.E. to "marry" the pilot & evolve into a true Valkyrie (Goddess that carries the souls of warriors into Valhalla). In order for A.L.I.C.E. to approximate human behavior, everything must be taught from scratch (like an infant). Meith Roots (the lead character's mother) was the lead technician responsible for educating A.L.I.C.E.'s basic knowledge, and at the same time providing the role of a "mother". But as the intelligence of A.L.I.C.E. begins to grow, she will also need someone to fill in the role of a "father". But that person must also provide the role of a brother, friend, and lover throughout the development stages. So the project would have to find a man that didn't play by the rules and provide the needed challenges for A.L.I.C.E. to achieve it's goal.
- The EXAM System is something that has the imprint of a Newtype's mind/soul embedded into it. It enhances the reaction/response time of a Mobile Suit and also allows a non-Newtype to use Newtype weaponry.
- The Bio-Sensor actively scans the pilot's mind, to a point, and sends data into the Mobile Suit. Thus, any bursts of emotion affect the Mobile Suit greatly, e.g, MSZ-006 Zeta Gundam with Camille Vidan. When he gets enraged, the Zeta becomes a force to be reckoned with.
- Bio-Computer is from Gundam F91. It is a heavily-upgraded form of our mysterious friend, the Bio-Sensor. It it works by taking the brainwaves of a Newtype pilot, amplifying those in the manner of a normal Psycommu, and then doing the Bio-Sensor method of actively scanning the pilot's brain.
- The Mobile Trace System takes the pilot's movements and converts them into the Mobile Fighter's actual movements, sort of like a marionette. However, the Mobile Trace system goes beyond just direct control of the Mobile Fighter's movements. It also employs a sophisticated feedback system that allows the pilot (or combatant) to 'feel' any obstacle/opposition to the Mobile Fighter's movement/action. It goes as far as to induce actual pain in the pilot, if warranted.
- The ZERO system from Gundam W is a unique system that makes it so you are basically the Gundam. It enhances your abilities greatly and You have to be a perfect soldier (aka Heero and Zechs) to control the ZERO system, otherwise you will go insane.
- The Flash System from Gundam X enables a newtype pilot to control several unmanned "bit mobile suits" in addition to the Gundam itself.
Q: Will there actually ever be Newtypes?
A: No one knows. The only evidence of a actual semi-newtype is the ability to increases muscle mass (read article here) and the possible merging of the human mind with technology (read article here). Also, NASA has set up a simulator in which a man sits in a chair and controls a Mars rover using only his thoughts. It responds to his neural impulses and guides the machine around. The only problem is that this man is a Zen Buddhist and a trained martial artist, so he has much more focus than the average person.
Q: Can we actually build a Mobile Suit?
A: Yes and no. While robots like ASIMO have been built, ASIMO still has balance problems. ASIMO generally balances well, but should it be knocked over it wouldn't be able to correct, because its limbs cannot respond. The closest we have to an actual project working toward an actual walking, working mecha is Mechanized Propulsion Systems. Keep in mind, if we ever actually do build a mech' it will most likely be 12-15 feet tall, not the 50 feet of a Gundam.
Q: Are Minovsky Physics and fusion reactors possible?
A: Yes, Minovsky Physics could possibly exist in our universe, but at this point there is not enough H-3 to use in today's fusion reactors. For a more detailed explanation, here is an essay by by the famous resident Gundam scientist, Ambidextrous, on the possibility of Minovsky Physics and fusion reactors.
UC questions
A: Universal Century
Q: When does Gundam take place according to our AD calendar?
A: No one's sure on the actual date when the UC calendar begins, but there are several speculative dates. The original date released by Yoshiyuki Tomino is 2066 AD, but there is some evidence that it could be 2001 AD, some point after 2045 AD or 2081 AD.
For 2001: In episode 26 of the first GUNDAM series, Char is shown a surveillance photo with the date-stamp "2079" (GUNDAM takes place in UC 0079) - the date-stamp was omitted when this sequence was re-animated for the GUNDAM II movie. In episode 8 of ZETA GUNDAM, Char inspects an astronomical photo with the date-stamp "SPT 20 2087" (ZETA GUNDAM takes place in UC 0087). This seemed to be enough to convince the cover designers of the MS SENKI comic, which takes place in UC 0079, to put the date "2079" on the cover in big, bold type.
For 2045: The timeline used in Bandai's books, and since adopted by other publishers, claims that construction of the first space colony began in 2045 AD. The next date listed in the timeline is UC 0001, at which point actual migration presumably begins. Since colonists can't move into the colony until it's close to completion, there could be a gap of several years - if not decades - between the beginning of construction (2045 AD) and the beginning of emigration (UC 0001).
For 2081: (taken from Mobile Suit Gundam: High Frontier) In the last episode of Gundam 0080, a newspaper is shown with the date Monday, 14 January 0080. If this is canon, then it gives us a very specific reference point from which to determine which dates in Gundam history correspond to which days of the week. Tenuous? Perhaps. But it�s internally consistent weekdays and weekends match up with the dates given for them�and the timeline in B-CLUB�s Gundam 0080 Visual Comic, Volume 2, seems to to have been used as a source for the timeline in Sunrise�s Gundam 2000 calendar. Furthermore, the official Shindosha timeline indicates that, like the Gregorian calendar to which it appends, UC leap years are multiples of four�in Gundam ZZ, Axis proclaims itself to be Neo Zeon on 29 February 0088�so UC 0080 must be a leap year in which 14 January is a Monday. This further invalidates the 1969 AD and 2001 AD start dates, as in neither case would 14 January 0080 be a Monday.
There are, in fact, only three dates more than 80 years (to reach UC 0080) but less than 150 years (to be reasonable) subsequent to 2045 AD in which 14 January falls on a Monday in a leap year: 2132 AD, 2160 AD, and 2188 AD. If UC 0080 were 2132 AD, then UC 0001 would be 2053 adjusting eight years. It took that long to put a Man in a Can onto the Moon, from Project Mercury on 31 January 1961 to Apollo 11 on 20 July 1969. O�Neill himself projected 25 to 30 years for it�had we started building his High Frontier in 1979 AD, we�d just be finishing it around 2002 AD. If UC 0080 were 2188 AD, then UC 0001 would be 2109 AD�64 years or about three generations. That�s almost as long as from the beginning of the UC to the timeframe of the original series. Too long!
The sweet spot is 2160 AD. By this reckoning, the Universal Century begins in 2081 AD over a century after the original series aired following 36 years of construction�on par with O�Neill�s own projection and Von Braun City is completed in 2107 AD, with the original series action taking place in 2159 AD. (Note: This theory assumes that all colonies follow O'Neil's speculation that it takes thirty years to build a colony.)
Q: Why is it called Duchy of Zeon in some texts, but Principality in others?
A: Duchy and Principality mean basically the same thing and in the English dub of Mobile Suit Gundam it was changed to Principality. There's really nothing to sweat over.
A: Any way you want. Most Japanese texts favor "Zion", which may or may not be a dubious political commentary. Regardless, the English-language term is pronounced "zy-on", whereas Gundam's evil empire is pronounced "jee-on" or "zee-on". I favor "Zeon" as a more-phonetic compromise, but it's been pointed out that a classic Star Trek episode features bad guys whose name is spelled "Zeon" but pronounced "zay-on". Maybe "Jion" is the only option left.
A: Originally, they were not really nazified. They did have the "Seig Zeon" rally cry, the fact that they gassed several colonies (similar to the persecution of the Jews), and Gihren himself is called "Hitler's Tail" by his own father at one point, but they more resemble WWI-era Austro-Hungary than they do WWII Germany. When Yutaka Izabuchi started working on Gundam in 0080 UC was when you see more and more German and Nazi symbolisms, like panzer faust (Tank Fist in German), Kaempfer (Fighter in German), Wermacht looking uniforms, and small arms similar to that of Nazi Germany.
A: Victory Zeon. Seig is German for victory.
A: In theory, a newtype is a human being with heightened awareness and empathic powers. According to the visionary Zeon zum Daikun, the evolution of newtypes was a natural result of humanity's migration into space, and this new breed of empaths would bring about peace and spiritual enlightenment. You needn't watch a lot of Gundam before realizing how far wrong he was. In practice, the most significant trait of newtypes is that they make great mobile suit pilots. While the manifestation of their powers varies from person to person and series to series, in general they have superhuman reflexes and a "danger sense" that alerts them to ambushes and sneak attacks. They are capable of certain forms of empathy, telepathy and emotional rapport, especially with other newtypes, and their powerful brainwaves allow them to use a variety of specialized weapons and control systems.
A: A non-Newtype pilot.
A: A device stores Minovsky particles in a high-energy compressed state, so that only a little energy is needed to trigger the fusion into mega particles. Once all used up, it must be replenished at a Mobile Suit's home base or ship. Simplified, it's like a rechargeable battery for beam weaponry.
A: A removable E-cap that can be replaced during battle.
A: A small thruster use in concert with the Active Mass Balance AutoControl to help right a suit.
A: It is a basic frame that allows for certain components to be swapped out easily in order to perform quick customizations and repairs.
A: There is no canon answer for this question, but there are four speculative answers: General Model, Gundam Mass-produced, Gundam Mass Production type, or GundaM.
Q: How does the RX-78-2 dock with the core fighter?
A: The upper and lower halves of RX-78-2 are equipped with their own reactors and thrusters. The upper half has the reactor in the backpack. The lower half has the reactors in the waist and one per leg. The thrusters are in the backpack (upper) and in the soles of the feet(lower).
Q: What are the different forms of the modular G-Fighter system?
A: There are several forms that Gundam and G-Fighter can take. One is G-sky and another is G-Bull.
G-Sky is the rear half the the G-Fighter with the Gundam legs inserted into it, along with a Core Fighter plugged into the Gundam.
G-Sky Easy is the rear half of the G-Fighter with a Core Fighter, no Gundam legs needed.
G-Bull is the forward half of the G-Fighter, with the torso of the Gundam inserted into it, along with a folded up Core Fighter plugged into Gundam.
Similar to G-Sky Easy, G-Bull Easy is like the forward half of the G-Fighter with a folded up Core Fighter. No Gundam torso used.
A: 'Cracker Grenades' are a sort of MS-scale hand grenade. However, the Cracker is a little different: it's comprised of a small sphere, with several explosive 'bolt' objects set into it. When the main ball explodes, the bolts are thrown out and explode seconds later. Simply put, you could say it's a multi-warhead hand grenade.
Q: Panzer fausts and sturm fausts are almost exactly, if not exactly, the same weapon. They're both single-use, un-guided projectiles on sticks. Fire the missile and discard the stick. So, what's the difference?
A: The difference in the material fired. Panzer faust is a scaled up version of the WW2 weapon of the same name. It does not fire an explosive, but a hard wad of plastic, which first flattens upon impact, then shatters, taking with it whatever armor it has hit. The sturm faust is actually an explosive. It fires a small warhead which detonates upon impact. Hence a sturm faust shot has small (4) foils that stick off from the rear. Those are there to help the warhead connect at the right angle and aim.
Q: What are the spikes on the early Zeon mobile suits useful for besides decoration?
A: The spikes are there for offensive purposes - a shoulder slam, ect.
Q: What are the various different antennas on mobile suits for?
A: The antennas are, radio antennas, rendering them useless in Minovski-jammed battlefield conditions. The Zeons place them on officer's mobile suits - typically starting at the company commander level for communicating with underlings. The reason why all Goufs have this antenna is to communicate with the Dodai YS bombers that they use as flying platforms. Presumably the addition of antennas to later-model GMs is for non-combat and low-intensity combat situations - patrolling peaceful areas, fighting civilian rebels, stuff like that.
Q: How come there are no more or less transforming mobile suits after Zeta and ZZ?
A: Shortly after Zeta for the Federation, with the fall of the Titans and the bad light most of the research institutes associated with them found themselves in, the Federation probably decided that it wasn't worth the expense of developing and building them. The Asshimar is the only true mass-produced Federal transformable mobile suit, and there are only about a dozen in addition to Blutarks, all stationed at Dakar. Plus, it's still an NRX designation, meaning it's still a prototype and not mass produced.
To put it simply, the Federation decided that the cost-effectiveness of transforming mobile suits just wasn't high enough to justify their continued use and development, and everyone else who had been building and using them had been defeated, or like the AEUG, absorbed into the Federation itself.
08 MS Team Questions
Q: How many mobile suit teams are in the Kojima battalion and how many vehicles are in each?
A: There are eight Mobile Suit teams each with three mobile suits (type unknown) and one hover truck.
A: Extra Zero 8. It was an improved unit for the 08th MS Team.
Q: What's that computer chip looking thingy in the RX-79(G)'s hand called and what's it there?
A: It's called a Hand Plug and is used to power the weapon that the Gundam is currently equipped with.
Q: How much is RX-79(G) downgraded from the RX-78?
A: They have no core block system, a downgraded thruster output, and no head vulcans
0800:War in the Pocket Questions
Q: What is the Alex's Chobam armor made of. what does it stand for, and how does it work?
A: It's basically a mix of different ceramics, steel and other things to make it super strong. The armor protects the suit against beams. It is comprised of 4 layers. What CHOBAM stands for is: Ceramics Hybrid Outer-shelled Blowup Act-on Materials. Basically it is what we would term today as reactive armor. If an incoming attack was sufficient to pierce the outer layer of the armor, then the second/third layer would explode outward. This would neutralize and incoming weapon attack and save the suit.
Q: What makes the RX-78NT1 "Alex" a newtype mobile suit?
A: The Gundam "Alex", from GUNDAM 0080, doesn't have a psycommu system or anything similar. The only respect in which it's designed for Newtypes is its incredible reaction speed. During the One Year War, the Federation knew virtually nothing about Newtypes; the only case study they had was Amuro Rei, whose most obvious special ability was superhuman reflexes. In the original GUNDAM TV series, Amuro actually starts burning out his Gundam because it can't keep up with him - friction-free magnetic coating is applied to the Gundam's joints as a stop-gap measure, but the Alex was created to be a more permanent solution to the problem. The Federation's logic here is pretty simple. Amuro Rei is a newtype; Amuro Rei is incredibly fast; therefore, Newtypes are incredibly fast. How do we best exploit Amuro, and any similar Newtypes who might appear later? Build faster mobile suits.
A: The chain mine is a weapon composed of several anti-mobile suit mines linked together via some sort of cable. The chain mine has a handle with the cable extending from it, with the mines mounted on the cable. A chain mine wraps around the target and once it's wrapped, all the mines explode on command. A mobile suit needs to be equipped with extra armor to survive a chain mine attack.
0083:Stardust Memory/Last Blitz of Zeon Questions
Q: What does the A in RX-78GP02A mean? Is it a variant?
A: The A stands for Atomic, as the Physalis caries an Atomic Bazooka. There is not a variant on the GP02.
Q: How did the Physalis manage to toss it's beam saber at the GP01?
A: An explanation from Graybear: Without an atmosphere to work against, a plasma field would be self sustaining in space without having to have a constant input of energy. All that would be required to maintain it is the power required to maintain the control I-Fields. This would allow you to disengage the beam saber from its power supply and throw it at your foe. The plasma field would not react with anything until it hit a solid object.
So all you need is a small battery to power the I Field, and you can throw a beam saber in space.
Z Gundam Questions
Q: What does Hyaku Shiki mean?
A: Model 100
Q: How does Hyaku Shiki's anti-beam coating work?
A: It reinforces the armor to help repel beam shots, though it cannot totally stop a beam. But because beams deteriorate after the time they are shot until they hit their intended target the Hyaku Shiki never gets hit by a full blast beam. Think of it as Tomson's Beam Seal.
Q: Why are most of the mobile suits in Zeta produced in few units?
A: Three reasons given:
* Mobile suits developed for newtype pilots: The Bound Doc, Psyco Gundams, et cetera require a newtype pilot, so you wouldn't make more of those than you have newtype pilots. There are also a couple of designs, like the Asshimar and Gaplant, that were originally developed for newtypes but can be operated by normal folks provided they have exception stamina and reflexes.
* Mass-produced mobile suits: The Hizack and Barzam appear to be the only truly mass-produced Titans mobile suits. Technically, the GM II, Marasai, and Galbaldy Beta are superior to the cruddy Hizack, but it's assumed that they were deemed less economical to produce, as they appear only in very small numbers during Zeta. The Galbaldy appears to pre-date the Hizack, and it's designed for space combat only, so it's likely that it was phased out in favor of the Hizack...
* Wacky Scirocco mobile suits: Then we have Paptimus Scirocco, who keeps cranking out unique one-shot scratch-built mobile suits. The Messala, Pallas Athene, Bolinoak Samaan, and The O are all unique; the Gabthley and Hambrabi are also Scirocco designs, and only 2-4 of each were made. Scirocco's apparently godlike ability to crank out butt-kicking mobile suits every few episodes is the catch-all explanation for Zeta's plethora of pointless guest mobile suits.
*Not enough pilots: The Titans had something like a battalion's worth of personnel. Oftentimes they borrowed Side 3's defense fleet for large scale operations, or dragged Federation personnel in to do their dirty work (as with Layla's unit). They just don't have enough pilots to mass produce everything they come up with.
A: It's what happened to the Zeta Gundam's beam saber when Camille became angry. The biosensor increased the power output of the beam saber to unthinkable lengths. Now powered by Newtype energy, the blade grew very long and strong, longer than the ZZ Gundam's hyper beam saber.
Q: What is the feyadeen rifle?
A: It's a more powerful, slower-firing beam rifle. It'll kill you if it hits, but the Rate of Fire is much to slow for use on quickly moving targets and the rifles are larger, more massive, and thus harder to train upon a moving target. Essentially, it's a one shot, one kill weapon.
Approximate costs of Zeta era mobile suits (in gira)
Hizack....................1,500,000 gira
Bound
Doc............99,999,000 gira
Galbaldy Beta.........4,500,000 gira
GM-II.......................987,000 gira
Nemo....................1,080,000 gira
Rick
Dias................8,540,000 gira
Zaku Cannon.............630,000
gira
Space Pod....................7,000 gira
Hizack Beam
Rifle.........3,400 gira
Z-Gundam Shield..........8,000 gira
Note: No one has yet discovered what the value of a gira really is.
Char's Counter Attack Questions
Q: What are the differences between the Nu Gundam and the Hi-Nu Gundam?
A: Hi-Nu is the supposed "Finished" version of Nu. it is basically a High Performance Nu, so that's where the Hi part of Hi-Nu originates. Overall, the Hi-Nu's performance is better, the fin funnels are better, and it has slightly better weapons (weapon wise, it is pretty much the same).
Q: What are fin funnels and why are they better than regular funnels?
A: Fin Funnels are both offensive and defensive weapons. The Nu can use its fin funnels both to attack and to form a "barrier" stopping many attacks from opposing mobile suits. They are controlled by a Newtype's mind. The reason they're better than regular funnels though is because they have on-board reactors to power them so they don't have fly back to recharge.
Q: It looks like there is a beam rifle built into the underside of the Nu's shield (in between the 2 sets of missiles). Is it really a beam rifle or something else?
A: Beam Cannon/Bazooka. It's basically a larger beam cannon that stores in the shield. Amuro dropped both the shield and the bazooka in a fake out move that took out one of Char's enhanced human pilots.
Q: Why are there two barrels on Sazabi's beam shotgun and why do you have to pump the weapon every time you want to fire it?
A: The upper barrel fires a standard focused beam, and the lower barrel fires a scattering beam for close combat purposes and the barrel grip is "pumped" like a shotgun when firing the gun in scattering mode.
Q: Do Amuro and Char die at the end of Char's Counter Attack?
A: While the movie leaves an open ending, they are assumed to have been classified MIA (Missing In Action) or KIA (Killed In Action).
F91 Gundam - Various Manga Questions
A: A hardpoint is a weapons mount on a mobile suit that usually has a built in link to the reactor for powering weapons.. Hardpoints can rotate so that if they're holding a shield it can give the Mobile Suit better coverage. The Nu Gundam's shield is an example of this.
A: A shotlancer is basically a large mechanical drill designed to breach a mobile suit's reactor. Once the reactor has been breached, the reactant is bleed off safely, and the mobile suit will be disabled. It's a very good weapon to disable a mobile suit within a sealed environment when you want to keep damage to a minimum. Some shotlancers are equipped with machine guns also.
Q: How does the F91 Gundam do that after-image trick?
A: This is another mystery. In the final battle in Gundam F91, master villain Karosso Ronah comments that the F91's after-images appear to have mass, though this begs the question of how he's able to tell. One thing that's less mysterious is the F91's face-opening gimmick. In Crossbone Gundam, it's explained that both the F91 and the Crossbone Gundam can open up their face armor to help cool the supercharged bio-computers in their heads.
Q: What is the difference between a Variable Speed Beam Rifle (VSBR) and a Generative Beam Rifle Device (G-BRD)?
A: The VSBR requires a linkup to the main suit reactor, cannot operate without it, and requires heat fins to release the heat generated by the rifle, The G-BRD is it's own separate unit with it's own reactor, totally independent of the Neo Gundam (similar to the Mega Bazooka Launcher used by the Hyaku Shiki).
V Gundam Questions
Q: What are the Wings of Light or Hikari No Tsubasa?
A: The Wings of Light are a Minovsky phenomenon caused by the Minovsky drive installed on the V2 Gundam. They are emitted from the V structure on the back of the V2 Gundam to form twin I-Field blades that look like wings; they can be manipulated for use as protection, weapons, or for added maneuverability. Simplified, they function as a Beam Shield, Huge Beam Sabers and Propeller all rolled up into one. The Wings of Light can be generated by OldTypes as well as Newtypes.
Q: Just exactly what do beam rotors do, how do they work and what purpose do they serve on a mobile suit? Are they the least bit useful?
A: Beam rotors create lift and enable an MS to fly, similar to the
modern day helicopter, without requiring the more energy intensive
Minovsky craft system. They can also serve as beam shields. Several of the
Zanscare suits transform into a streamlined helicopter form.
Beam Strings: (V Gundam)
How do they work? It there some
sort of hook or point attached to a beam string? When they're used are
they straightforward weapons (fire in a straight line) or can they be
moved about in flight? If you were to get one wrapped about a the limb of
a mobile suit would it grapple to the limb or slice into it like any other
beam weapon?
A: It's an oversized weapon that is filled with psychic batteries, called psychickers, that remove the enemy's will to fight.
G Gundam Questions
Q: What does the "G" in "Mobile Fighter G Gundam" stand for?
A: (Taken from the Shuffle Alliance) According to Mark Simmons, the "G" stands for multiple things, the most obvious being "God Gundam", but also for "Gundam the Gundam", which is the title given to the champion gundam at the end of each Gundam Fight Tournament. There is a possibility it also stands for "Grapple."
Q: What's with the strange looking mobile suits?
A: Gundams here are usually used to represent some cultural aspect of the country that made the Gundam (in some cases, it's based on the personality, it seems, of the pilot). That's why you could see designs like the Nether Gundam complete with windmills since they are supposed to represent Holland. It's not really that logical, but it's an AU after all.
Q: What IS the Devil Gundam? And more importantly, what CAN it do?
A: That is the main antagonist mecha of the show is that big "space lobster" like monstrosity that is the Devil Gundam. Initially, it was SUPPOSED to repair Earth with the use of nano-machines (now the infamous Devil Gundam Cells, or DG Cells), but the control computer went haywire after sustaining some damage and the Gundam soon saw its mission as the destruction of Earth or something to that effect. In any case, it lives on a principle similar to living beings (adaptation, evolution, regeneration), and has a number of REALLY nasty capabilities, particularly regeneration, form changing (it undergoes several transformations during the series), and turning people (usually dead ones) into mindless undead zombies bound by the DG's will. The last capability gives the DG to create huge armies of undead warriors and Mobile Suits, known as the Death Army, that rampages throughout the series and provides useful cannon fodder for our heroes.
A: Basically a group of five of the greatest fighters on Earth. Each is assigned a sort of "badge" that designates him (or her, in the original union anyway) as a particular place in the union, which is imprinted on the back hand side of one of their hands. The names of the members of the original union are unknown and when these fighters died they passed on their ranks on to 5 gundam fighters (the lead characters in G Gundam): Domon Kasshu as the King of Hearts, Chibodee Crocket as the Queen of Spades, Sai Sici (Saisaishi) as the Club Ace, George de Sand as the Jack of Diamonds, and Argo Gulskii the as Black Joker.
Q: What does the Shining Gundam's Shining Finger attack do?
A: The Shining Finger creates an energy field which can be applied in various uses (though it's really up to the writer). However, the Shining Finger Sword only worked because Domon channeled the energy of the Shining Finger into his beam saber. It can also heal someone infected with Devil Gundam cells.
Q: What does the God Gundam's God Finger attack do?
A: It has many uses and apparently performs whatever function the writer wants it to. Here are a few examples of how it's been used:
1. Normal "grab the enemy, carry it above Gundam's head, and watch them
blow up due to energy overload/intense heat" attack
2. A beam-like
blast which may or may not be as strong as the former, though the Heaven
Sword absorbed it.
3. Actually grabbing an enemy far away and
executing attack 1 on them, except on a much bigger scale. This was only
done once, during the final fight with Master Asia when Domon used the
Sekiha Tenkyo-God Finger.
Q: What do the letter and numbers in the G Gundam's model numbers mean?
A: GF = Gundam Fight
First Number = The Current Tournament Number.
-
Second Number = Where the Country placed at the end of the
previous Tournament.
N** = The Gundam's home country.
Q: Are there any Newtypes in G Gundam?
A: No.
Q: Why were Chapman, Michelo, and the other expelled fighters let back into the tournament?
A: Wong made most of the final decisions about the Gundam Fight finals. Master Asia more than likely told him of the danger that the Shuffle Domain presented to his plans. So Wong manages to get fighters with grudges against the Shuffle Domain into the finals, to purposely get rid of them without his direct intervention.
--THE 7 ARTICLES OF THE GUNDAM FIGHT INTERNATIONAL
TREATY--
1. Destruction of the head of an MS results in the said
MS' immediate disqualification from the tournament.
2. Never
attack your opponent's cockpit.
3. Fighters damage anywhere except
for the destruction of head may repair the damage as often as neccessary
and continue to compete.
4. Gundam Fighters must always protect
their own Gundams at all times.
5. All battles are done
one-on-one.
6. Gundam Fighters must not damage nor mar the honor
or dignity of the nations they represent.
7. The ring of the
tournament is the whole Earth.
Supplement to Article 1
Killing and wounding caused in error during the competition is
permissible.
Supplement to Article 7
Gundam Fighters
will not be prosecuted for destroying buildings or property on the Earth
during the competition.
Rough Japanese translations of names of some of the Devil Gundam Army's Gundams and attacks of various gundams.
1. Dong Fang Bu Bai literally means East Side Invincible.
2. Feng Yun Zhai Chi (G Gundam--Fuunsaiki, Master Asia's horse) literally means Wind Cloud Arise Again.
3. Shi Wang Zheng Ba (Grand Gundam) literally means Lion King Fight Tyrant. In English, it would be to fight to be the best.
4. Tian Zhang Jian Tao literally means Sky Sword Way. Tao in English means the way. In this case, it would mean the style of the sword.
5. Xin Liu Xing Hu Dea Jian (Dragon Gundam's final attack)
literally means New Shooting Star Butterfly Sword literally.
Gundam W - all side stories Questions
Q: Does Gundam Wing use Minovsky physics?
A: That is unknown at this point and is still being debated. While the weapons do use the term BEAM and use some form of particle beam, there is not concrete evidence supporting the use of a Minovsky fusion generator in Gundam Wing.
Q: What's the green crystal on the Gundam Wing Gundam's chest and how is it different from the one on Gundam X?
A: On all but the Deathscythe versions (it has none) the green crystal is a casing for the core of the suit and where a cable is connected to power the generator when it is low. It also holds a sensor for cameras, on board computers, and the Zero system (in Wing Zero and Epyon). The Crystal on Gundam X is for receiving the power feed from the moon station when it uses its satellite cannon.
Q: Where's the Sanq Kingdom located in the AC era?
A: It is a known fact that the Sanq kingdom is in mainland Europe, but it is assumed that the Sanq kingdom is either Italy, Greece or a possible combination of several countries.
Q: Are there any newtypes in Gundam Wing?
A: No. While in Book 2 of the Gundam Wing manga Howard says that Zechs is a newtype, that was only in the original Japanese version and was later dropped. Other references are Quate's Space Heart in Episode 10 and in the original Gundam Wing series proposal. Wufei was supposed to have a newtype ability to sense evildoers, but it was dropped.
Q: Is OZ's fortress spelled Barge or Barji?
A: In all Japanese versions it's spelled Barji, but there is no definite answer on the English version.
Q: Why does Heavyarms' Beam Gattling run out of ammo?
A: Heavyarms' Gattling runs on an e-cap, so therefore it must be recharge once used up.
Q: How does the Buster Rifle used by Wing Gundam work?
A: It generates energy using a reactor in the rear of the weapon, then store this energy in those 3 chambers behind the barrel. When needed, the energy is released through the barrel and the blast radius can be adjusted at the nozzle.
Q: How planet defensors work and how are the controlled?
A: They're largely automated. It's been speculated that the pilot has very limited control over the planet defensors - he'll press a button to deploy them, perhaps set a general formation for them, and command them to return when he wishes. There's another post somewhere around here that lists some possible formations for them - sphere, hemisphere, wall, etc.
Q: Was Tallgeese ever mass produced?
A: No, it was not mass produced. There are only two know original versions to date: the one piloted by Zechs Marquise/Milliardo Peacecraft and the one piloted by Mei Lan Long in defense of the colony at L5. Both have now been destroyed. The Leo is a scaled and powered down version of the Tallgeese, though.
Q: Shenlong is said to have 2 flamethrowers, Altron 4. I know there are flamethrowers installed in the dragon fangs, but Shenlong only has one dragon fang, Altron 2. Where are the extra flamethrowers?
A: There are 2 Flamethrowers per dragon fang, one nozzle on each side of the mouth.
Q: Did Altron's shield have any purpose at all since it's usually just hanging on its shoulder?
A: While we never see the Altron's shield do anything much, but since Shenlong's shield can be thrown it is safe to assume Altron's can too. Also it's a nice tool for ramming enemies with.
Q: What is a Random Binder and how does it help with space mobility?
A: Random Binders are those wings on the Altron's back and it is assumed that the Random Binders are just very thin, lighter versions of the Tallgeese verniers, since both verniers and the random binders increase speed and mobility.
Q: What is the Sandrock Custom's cloak for from Endless Waltz for?
A: The cloak is used by Sandrock Custom for entering and leaving Earth's atmosphere.
Q: Why is the double-bladed beam scythe better than the single-bladed?
A: Think of the Mach 3 razor blade. If the first blade doesn't hit, the second, larger one will.
Q: Wing Gundam, Wing Zero, and the Taurus have their guns showing in their transformed modes. Can they be fired in their transformed forms?
A: Yes, all three suits fire their main gun while in transformed mode.
Q: What exactly is the PX System/Coating that the Griepe Gundam, Geminass twins and the L.O. Booster use in the G-Unit Manga?
A: Its equivalent to G Gundam's Hyper mode. When activated the MS becomes faster and stronger. Also, It seems to be quite taxing, as the pilots' life force is drained whenever the system is activated. The PX system was OZ's answer to the Zero system, but because of a certain coup by OZ prize, it never made it to the main force.
Q: How does the A.S. Planet Defensor from G-Unit work?
A: It's a round metallic shield, similar to the Mercurius's crash shield, over which a protective energy barrier is generated; the end result is a practically indestructible shield. The Scorpio's AS defensor is less all-surrounding than regular planet defensors - it's similar to a regular UC beam shield, which protects against attacks from one direction only.
Q: Are the feathers falling off when Heero activates Wing Zero real?
A: The feathers seen falling off are just reflections off of the real metal surface of the wings.
Q: Why does Wing Zero 'flap' it's wings?
A: There are several explanations to the question, but the most accepted is that they flap because the thrusters are multiple verniers, thus to get all of them working the best way is to shift them in order, via flapping.
Q: What is that bucket located under the standard Leo machine gun?
A: It is a 100 round Drum of 105mm Ball FMJ ammunition.
Q: What does Nataku mean, and why did Wufei always call his Gundam that?
A: Nataku was an ancient Chinese hero, and a retelling of his story can be found here.
Gundam X Questions
Q: Why was Gundam X cancelled?
A: Mostly because the time slot it was given was a dud. It originally aired in 1996 against Evangelion, which proved to be a bad move. It was next pushed to early Saturday morning, which then effectively killed all chances it had of ever becoming a success.
Q: Why do some of the Mobile Suits in X look like a mix of UC and AC?
A: The original idea of Gundam X was to take the best parts of Gundam W and fuse them with the best parts of The UC shows. Apparently that didn't work and the series fell apart.
Q: How does the Satellite System work?
A: The Gundam X receives it power from the moon, so to speak. In Gundam X, the Federation had built a "D.O.M.E" system on the moon. "D.O.M.E." was a massive solar energy collector plant on the moon. It sends energy to Gundam X via a microwave beam, or, it shoots a beam of energy straight to Gundam X. Gundam X's cannons are charged by the laser circuit (works like a laser printer) which transmits energy direct to the Mobile Suit. The energy is moved around the suit's microwave panels. Then the pilot fires it off through it's Satellite Cannons.
Q: Do the Mobile Suit bits also contain a Combat Computer?
A: No, they don't. They only have receptors to receive commands from their leader.
Q: Are the Airmaster's buster rifles the same as the Wing/Wing Zero's?
A: No, they are basically normal rifles.
Q: How does the Leopard's Inner Arm Gattling work?
A: It normally rides piggyback on the Leopard's left arm; in use it slides over the arm, engulfing it.
A: D.O.M.E. was originally the first Newtype. In an experiment, he was dismantled and reduced to DNA, and then incorporated into a system that encompasses the entire moon, codenamed D.O.M.E.
Turn A questions
Q: How many systems is the Turn A Gundam equipped with?
A: Four. They are:
*I-Field actuator system: Turn A Gundam actually has no mechanical actuators. The I-Field actuator system works as actuator power and moves the machine's mechanical movements, allowing the great majority of the Turn A Gundam to be empty, cargo space and silos.
*Nanomachines: Turn A Gundam is equipped with a Nano Machine system, allowing for a certain modicum of self repair to itself.
*Moonlight Butterfly: a term used for Turn A Gundam's nano-machine system in attack mode. Billions and billions of nano-machines are released into the air, acting as a corrosive, destructive force.
*Minovsky drive system
Q: What is the Moonlight Butterfly in Turn A?
A: It is the super attack that is used by Turn A and Turn X. It is a cloud of nanomachines released from the back of Turn A and Turn X that immediately disassembles all technology. The only way to temporarily block it is to use an I field.
Q: How are the nanomachines contained? And once released, can they be contained again, or do you have to wait until they die out?
A: They are just contained all over the body of Turn A. But when they are released, it's comes out of the back. Whenever some part of the MS is damaged though, they come out and repair it, but the nanomacines are really small, that you can't see them unless they come out in abundance. Then you can "see" them in the form of an aura. It isn't clear if they can be contained again or Turn A keeps producing more, if in fact nanotechnology is a form of self-repair.
Q: What's with this Turn A blowing a hole in the moon thing?
A: Contrary to popular belief, the Turn A's rifle alone did not blow a hole in the asteroid Mistletoe. The Turn A destroys the runaway asteroid Mistletoe by igniting those leftover nuclear warheads with a blast from its beam rifle - similar to the classic Super Napalm.
Q: What's so great about Turn X?
A: Like the Turn A, it uses nano-technology as well and the fear was that Gim Ginganam, it's pilot, would use it to destroy all technology like the Turn A did before. Aside from being able to use the Shining Finger attack, the pilot of the Turn X has the ability to split the MS's head, arms, body, and legs up to attack an enemy by firing beams. Except from its head since that's where the cockpit is located. Think of it as being Beats or Funnels only with its own body parts. The Turn X has one arm that is an extremely powerful mega beam cannon.
Q: I noticed some of the Mobile Suits used in Turn A look like ones from various different series. Why is that?
A: This is a rather difficult question. Most of what you will see is fan speculation, as Yoshiyuki Tomino likes to leave things rather open-ended. There are two opinions among fans of the series. the first one is that Turn A is basically the series that ties all the various universes together, making Turn A set in the far future, long after the UC, AW, AC and FC eras. the other opinion is that Turn A is just another alternate universe that just happens to have some of the Gundams from various series in the beginning.
Q: What does the "CC" stand for in Turn A's calendar year "CC 2345"?
A: While the other series have the dates given with in Roman letters (AC, AW, FC and UC), Turn A has it given in kanji. The second kanji character is Senki, the standard "Century" in Japanese. The first kanji character is SEI / SHO / tada(shii), which (among other things) means "correct" in the sense of right, proper or just.
Transpose "Seisenki" into Japlish and you get "Correct Century"
Q: What is the heat fan and how does it work?
A: It is shaped like the Sazabi's beam tomahawk and operates like any other heat weapon.
Q: What is the Minchi drill? Is it basically a MS sized drill? Is there anything special about it?
A: It is a large club-like weapon outfitted with a large amount of
teeth of teeth. The club end of the drill spins at a high revolution, and
can tear apart solid objects, like shield and armor, with ease.
Mobile Suit design help from Mark Simmons
In the One Year War timeframe, at least, we can get pretty good approximations by comparing the numerous permutations of the Zaku, Dom, Gelgoog, GM, et cetera. My estimates are as follows...
* Thrusters: Component weight is roughly 1 ton per 32,000 kg of thrust. For example, a GM with 55,500 kg of thrust would have to allocate 1.7 tons for thrusters.
* Verniers: Component weight is roughly 1 ton for every 5 verniers. So a GM with 10 verniers must allocate 2.0 tons.
* Reactor/generator: Fewer data points to draw on here, but it seems to be in the neighborhood of 1 ton for every 200 kW of output. (That's mostly based on the Rick Dom vs. Rick Dom II comparison, in which there's a 0.1 ton weight discrepancy after taking thrusters into account.) So a GM with a 1250 kW output would allocate 6.3 tons.
In this example, the GM's thrusters, verniers, and reactor account for roughly 10 tons of its dry weight. The remaining 31.2 tons would include the frame, armor, cockpit, and avionics. It would also cover built-in weapons - the vulcans, and probably the beam saber, which appears to count as built-in weaponry (since the GM II and GM III have the same amount of carried weapons, despite the different number of beam sabers).
While the cockpit and avionics are probably fairly negligible in weight, the armor would be a pretty substantial factor. I've seen estimates of 10 tons for the weight of the Gundam's armor, which seems reasonable and probably applies to the GM as well...
For the sake of argument, let's say the 60mm vulcans weigh 0.2 tons apiece (versus 0.1 tons for 30-40mm models) and the saber 0.8 tons (i.e. 2 tons per megawatt). Then we have 10 tons of armor and exactly 20 tons for the frame-and-cockpit package.
Once the dry weight's accounted for, the rest is pretty straightforward. Carried weapon weights seem to be figured as estimated payloads, rounded off to the nearest ton - 5 tons for a light load, 6 tons standard, 7 tons heavy. Then add in propellant - typically 12-15 tons - and you're done.
The World Wide Gundam Informational Network - Run by Lord Satorious, one of the biggest encyclopedias of Gundam mobile suits.
Gundam Mechadomain - The new home of the Gundam section of the Mechadomain
Mobile Suit Gundam: High Frontier - Highly extensive report on all things related to space colonies and colonization.
GundamOfficial.com - Bandai's official American Gundam site. Was last updated April 16, 2001.