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| - A Super Prototype is a testbed version of some piece of technology -- like a Humongous Mecha, Space Fighter, or Killer Robot -- that is, for some reason, superior to the mass-produced version. A super prototype will have better weapons, stronger armour, and higher-quality speakers than the units rolling off the assembly line. Even when there isn't very many of whatever device was designed in the first place, the prototype model is almost always the most powerful, or has at least some advantage over the other models. Examples of Super Prototype include:
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| abstract
| - A Super Prototype is a testbed version of some piece of technology -- like a Humongous Mecha, Space Fighter, or Killer Robot -- that is, for some reason, superior to the mass-produced version. A super prototype will have better weapons, stronger armour, and higher-quality speakers than the units rolling off the assembly line. Even when there isn't very many of whatever device was designed in the first place, the prototype model is almost always the most powerful, or has at least some advantage over the other models. A question that often comes up is why the super prototype is so, well, super compared to the production model. The typical reason given is that the production model is far cheaper or easier to make in large numbers. Sometimes, the technology that makes the device so much more powerful is Black Box tech (although one wonders why a prototype of a future possible design would include tech the mass-produced versions would never be capable of including), and thus not easily replicated. Or the technology in the prototype is difficult to use, thus requiring an Ace Pilot to operate, while the later models are less powerful but stable enough for normal soldiers to use. Mass-production models were likely made (in the grand tradition of military equipment) by the lowest bidder, who cut corners wherever possible. But mostly, it just lets The Hero be that much more awesome. In Real Life, a prototype is simply the first unit of a model to be built, usually made in order to do real-world tests of the design and correct any flaws before mass production begins. As such, you want your test unit to be as similar to your production unit as possible, so prototypes are frequently indistinguishable from standard models. A real-world concept that more closely resembles the super prototype is an experimental unit, which are intended to test out new technology without ever being meant for mass production at all, and frequently do have superior performance to eventual mass production models. This distinction is rarely made in fiction, however. A specific instance of Older Is Better: the prototype came first, so it is better than all that came after it. The Opposite Tropes is the Flawed Prototype. A closely related trope is the Ace Custom. See also Bigger Stick. Examples of Super Prototype include:
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