The Mech Touch

ech types or mech concepts, they could refine their proficiency in designing these kinds of mechs to a level beyond a generalist.

”Ketis is likely pursuing this path. ” He rubbed his chin.
”However, this approach is not for everyone. ”

Ves differentiated mech designers between those who sought to broaden their capabilities and those who narrowed them down to a laser focus.

”There are advantages and disadvantages to both approaches. ”

A mech designer who wanted to narrow themselves down to a smaller variety of mechs could design fantastic mechs that fell within their area of interest.
Every mech designer with Class VI and Class VII design philosophies fell under this category.

However, the biggest shortcoming of these mech designers was that they couldn ’t really design a mech that fell outside of their specialty.

Oh, they probably possessed enough of a foundation to do a decent job at it, but a mediocre mech design didn ’t cut it in a competitive market environment.

”It would be like asking Ketis to design a rifleman mech! I know for sure it will end in tears for everyone involved! ”

On the other hand, a mech designer like Ves who was insatiably curious very much enjoyed exploring new mechs.
With regards to mech design, he did not fear the unknown.
Instead, he embraced it! If he didn ’t have the courage to tackle something new, then he wouldn ’t have the guts to design a hybrid mech, a super-medium mech, a hero mech and now a bestial mech!

All of the aforementioned mech types gave lots of mech designers headaches! Ves too sometimes wished he worked on something easier, but he persisted because he always made a lot of gains after he completed a difficult design project.

There was no right or wrong answer with regards to which approach worked better.

”It ’s just like the debate about specialization versus generalization in mech types.
The best option depends on the circumstances. ”

In his perspective, someone like Ketis would probably do fine if she became a generalist.
However, she would probably do so much better if she pursued her interest in swordsman mechs and specialized in them.
Her experiences, knowledge and passion all laid down a very favorable foundation for her to go far if she went down this road.

As for Ves, his design philosophy did not favor any specific mech type over another.
Even though he mostly designed expensive mechs up till now, that did not rule out designing cheaper mechs in the future.

For him, specializing in a narrow range of mech types made little sense.
The gains he could make from specialization would not yield more results than those who truly dedicated themselves to their narrow range of interests.

A generalist approach suited him much better as his competitive advantage was very broad and not limited to a handful of specific mech types.

He always knew he was inclined towards this direction, but now that the System pushed him to explore outside his comfort zone did he gain a new understanding about this approach.

”Even among generalists, there are differences! ”

Some mech designers merely branched out because they wanted to form a complete mech catalog that covered all the conventional mech archetypes.
They wanted their mech companies to be the one-stop solution for all the products a mech buyer could ask.

For a long time, Ves held this stance.
His intention was to slowly increase his repertoire until he covered all the necessary mech archetypes.
Once he completed his mech catalog, he no longer intended to explore something new.

”This is fine for most mech designers, but is it really the best direction to take for me? ” He asked himself.

The System obviously didn ’t want him to grow comfortable anytime soon.
Ves understood the logic of it all.
By constantly tackling strange new design projects, he trained his mind in becoming more creative in solving problems.

If he just expanded his repertoire up to a certain point and no longer explored new methods and techniques, he risked becoming more complacent.
His problem solving skills would solidify until he only became capable of solving problems that fell within his comfort zone.

”On the other hand, if I keep exploring something new, then I ’ll be so much more capable when I reach the point where progressing my design philosophy becomes difficult! ”

This was the overall lesson he learned from Seniors who tried but failed to innovate their way to Master.
A vast gulf existed between the two ranks, and only the most hard-working, creative and ingenious mech designers stood a chance of bridging this immense gap!

His passion for his Devil Tiger design project already indicated that he was heading in the right direction.
If he didn ’t enjoy the process of learning something new and expanding his horizons, then he wasn ’t suitable to climb higher up the ranks.

”I can ’t cheat my way into becoming more competent! ”

He called up his unfinished design and studied the progress he made.
With increased understanding, he became a lot more clever with how he intended to utilize ASMAS in his Devil Tiger.

Though Ves did not create a specific image to guide his design process, his passion and his singular focus was sufficient to empower it with a preliminary degree of X-Factor!

Nonetheless, obtaining a spiritual fragment and forming it into a suitable design spirit for his Devil Tiger became a higher and higher priority for the design project.
His mech would never reach its full potential without including this crucial element!

”Fortunately, I ’ve got just the place where I can obtain something suitable! ”

Within the Sentinel Kingdom, there existed a peculiar tourist planet.
Its entire surface had been terraformed into a terrestrial paradise.

Along with seeding it with many ordinary Terran and alien species, the state also seeded it with a large variety of cats, tigers, lions, leopards, panthers, and other cat-like species!

The government even dumped various exobeasts that resembled cats in this wild and savage environment!

”Our next destination is Felixia, the Planet of Cats! Lucky will love it there! ”

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