Brave Maximus wrote:I don't know... we may all be able to agree that the spark is a bit mystical and non-mechanical in nature....
Be that as it may, sparks have about as much place in a discussion of anatomy as souls do in a biology textbook. They're completely different things.
Aero Blade wrote:He didn't.
He took the equipment that gave the other Decepticons those powers and plugged them into himself. He had full access to all of the powers at once while his troops were powerless (well, without special abilities anyway). And since they got their powers back later, he obviously gave the chips back. If that isn't the precise definition of "Megatron [taking] the best pieces off of his troops and installing it onto himself" I don't know what is.
Aero Blade wrote:It takes something else, though, the skill and knowledge of how to use such items or techniques. Everyone can be taught the knowledge, but not everyone can use the objects with the kind of effectiveness that everyone else can. Those in the army aren't just thrown into their roles because they need someone there, but because they've also shown at least a basic competency in what they do. 5 soldiers can shoot a gun, but one of them is an absurdly good marksman, so you pull him out, give him a riffle, and make him a sniper. You can take a desk-working tactician and eventually teach him to weild the gun with quite a bit of work, but that doesn't mean he'll ever beat the sniper at target practice.
He will if you give him the right parts and upgrades. If a Transformer doesn't have the physical capacity to do something they can be upgraded so they do. And if they don't have the knowledge to do it we've seen information transferred directly into a Transformer's brain before.
Whether it's necessary, cost-effective or even
possible with the resources available is an entirely different question (and I'd guess the answer is usually a resounding 'no'). E.g., Mirage being who he is his electrodisruptor probably cost him more than the average robot would earn in their lifetime, much like Iron Man and his suit.
We could ignore the heaps of perfectly-rational explanations that we already have in favour of a gigantic metaphysical handwave, but
why? It doesn't add anything new, the problem you're trying to address is already explained and it would make all of the scientific plotlines we've talked about impossible.
Aero Blade wrote:Agreed. Sparks are clearly a very important part of transformers, and if there were any special traits or inclinations like I've meantioned above, it'd be in the sparks, not the tech.
Special abilities were already explained technologically in the characters' bios. In most cases, over twenty years ago now.
Aero Blade wrote:Bludgeon and his force-like metallicato powers come to mind, which he and a rare few others get through long, pacient training and a bit of natural inclination, not a particular set of circuitry build into them.
Other than one display mild telekinesis, Bludgeon has shown absolutely zero "force-like powers" in anything official. He can generate electricity as a weapon and some versions have a stealth field, but he's basically a samurai. And his abilities are almost all explained technologically in his various bios.
As much as I like what Heinrad has done with the guy, it has about as much basis in canon as Gigatron being in G1 does.
Aero Blade wrote:Agreed again. Not aiming at it to be mystical, just not easily duplicatable. Something that can't be fully understood or done by the small transformer processor, but something easily managed by the giant supercomputer that is Vector Sigma.
How does "something imparted by the giant disco ball that our pitiful minds can't comprehend" not translate into "mystical"? Either it's technology or it's not. If it's technology then it can be pulled apart, studied and replicated given enough time and effort. If it can't be, then it's magic. There's really no middle ground between the two.