The Mech Touch

ted a suitable pilot from the Kronons. ” Ves grinned.

With his current relations with the Ylvaine Protectorate, the Kronons were eager to accommodate his wishes.

They even promised to send more than one marksman mech pilot!

Though Miles still expressed some skepticism, he never dragged his feet when it came to assisting Ves in designing the mech.

He even offered Ves a useful suggestion.

”You should think about implementing a signature look to your mech designs. ”

”A signature look? ” Ves fell in thought.
”You ’re right.
Maybe it ’s time for me to establish a permanent brand for my style of mechs. ”

A signature look was one of the ways for mech designers to differentiate their products from the competition.

It was a way of communicating to the public that this mech came with certain strengths or guaranteed a certain level of quality.

Sometimes, a signature look was paired with a distinctive name or label.

No matter if someone had no clue about the name of the mech designer or the name of the mech model, that person would instantly associate a mech to an entire range of mechs!

Signature looks did not have to be very elaborate.
For example, one mech designer made a habit of affixing a distinctive white stripe along the exterior of the left side of the mech.

Everyone in the mech community immediately knew who designed the mech with the white stripe! No matter how much the mech models diverged, as long as they possessed this highly recognizable stripe, consumers would instantly associate the quality of the mech with the quality of the prior models bearing this stripe!

Another signature look was to shape the head of the mech in a distinct fashion.
Because the heads of mechs were often of marginal utility, they mainly served to reinforce a common brand identity.

An example of this was adding a pair of white wings to the sides of the heads of every mech.
No matter if the wings fit with the aesthetics of the mech, every mech insider instantly recognized the Senior who turned this quirk into a signature look!

”I ’ve thought about it for some time. ” Ves spoke.
”For a long time, I ’ve considered the glows of my mechs to be a good stand-in for a signature look. ”

Miles shook his head.
”While I admit that the glows are compelling, they don ’t really work through projections and other depictions.
The function of a signature look is to connect your mechs together in a single basket in a way that is clear to bystanders.
Right now, your mechs lack this common thread. ”

”I ’ve implemented a particle generator in all of my mechs. ”

”They ’re applied in a different fashion for each mech design.
Your Blackbeak radiates vapor from its shoulder pauldron, while your Crystal Lord releases vapor from its head.
Your Soldier mechs on the other hand releases a straight vapor trail from their heart position.
While your implementation is very artistic, they ’re not really connected.
Besides, the particle generators won ’t be able to show their distinctiveness when your mechs are dormant. ”

Miles had a point.
When a mech was inactive, the particle generators weren ’t enhancing their appearances.
The mechs looked a lot duller when that was the case.

What Ves really needed was a distinctive visual trait that he could apply to all of his mechs and turn it into an iconic visual cue that people would always associate with him and the LMC.

This was especially useful when it came to adding mechs to various catalogs! Whenever someone wanted to shop for a mech in a store or a virtual portal, just a single glimpse of a signature look was enough to stir the customer!

Ves took some time to consider his signature look.
He did not wish to sideline his glows and his particle generators.

He implemented both of them in his mechs from the start.
To divest his signature look from both of these traits was unimaginable to him! He could never forget his roots!

As Ves turned to the Deliverer design projected from his terminal, he began to puzzle on what he could add that set this mech apart and increased its association to his brand.

Eventually, an idea came up in his mind.

He manipulated the interface and affixed a prominent gem-like orb in the center of the head of his Deliverer mech.

Due to the Deliverer ’s existing religious iconography, the addition of a shiny ’third eye ’ instantly made the mech appear more holy!

”This..
is very distinctive. ” Miles noted.
”I don ’t think any mech designers in the Bright Republic or nearby states have adopted a third eye as their signature look.
It ’s just… ”

”This isn ’t the extent of my signature look. ” Ves interrupted him as he added something to the configuration of the addition.

Soon, the third eye began to pulse and glow with light.
Because Ves largely intended to paint the mech with white coating, the gem he opted for was clear.

Now, a bright white light radiated from the crystal eye.
Not only that, but a small amount of glowing vapor surrounded the eye, amplifying its mystical quality!

”This will be my signature look! ” Ves decided without any further hesitation! ”The glow of the crystal corresponds to the strength of the connection between my mech and its pilot.
The stronger their bond, the brighter the glow! Of course, my customers can always deactivate this feature or shield the third eye from view at any time. ”

Miles didn ’t fully understand what Ves was talking about.
”I don ’t know, Mr.
Larkinson.
I ’m not sure you are sending the right message by adopting this as your signature look.
It ’s not something a Brighter would choose. ”

The glowing third eye surrounded by creepy white mist looked anything but sober!

Just as Ves was about to argue about the distinctive look further, one of the other Tovars in the design lab yelped in alarm.

”Sir! You should see this! There ’s footage of the CFA ’s decisive strike on the home planet of the sandmen on the galactic net! ”

Both Ves and Miles immediately dropped their current conversation and browsed the galactic net as fast as possible!

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