Heard it's something about the power generator of MS (and the bigger crafts in Gundam world) naturally caused disturbance to guided weapons like missiles and probably beam rifles of that time, making it unreliable compared to physical close range weapons.
Although we know it's something about doing it mano-a-mano looks manlier and more engaging rather than blasting each others from distance like watching the battleship fight in Starship Operators.
Seika said: Heard it's something about the power generator of MS (and the bigger crafts in Gundam world) naturally caused disturbance to guided weapons like missiles and probably beam rifles of that time, making it unreliable compared to physical close range weapons.
That's sorta right. Minovsky Particles rendered radar and guided weaponry useless. Also, there weren't any beam rifles until the Guncannon and Gundam showed up, and they worked just fine around a dense field of Minovsky Particles (heck, beam weaponry wouldn't be possible without Minovsky Particles).
What it did was make long ranged battleship battles nigh-impossible, even with whatever beam cannons they had. It forced them to get into closer range, where Zeon's mobile suits came into play.
Raena said: Question though, why were Zaku's outfitted with Heat Hawks and melee weapons BEFORE the Federation made Mobile Suits of their own?
To chop the cannon barrels off of ships, I guess. Also, the RB-79 Balls were used by the EFSF shortly before GMs came into play, so I guess Zakus were outfitted for those, too.
