Technological advancement of FFVII's world

[?????]

In science fiction/fantasy communities, it's a popular pastime to gauge the level of advancement of a particular group against that of others. I've been wondering where FFVII's tech measures up. Someone on another forum said it actually wasn't all that advanced; my senses balked at that, so I replayed parts of the game. There's some really sweet stuff to be had; Shinra has battle mechs (Guard Scorpion, the Gunners, Proud Clod, smaller enemies) and directed energy weapons aplenty, though by the time of AC they've pretty much all been destroyed. The only tech-based energy weapon we see in the whole movie is Barret firing his laser cannon at Bahamut Sin. The Highwind also has some good stuff onboard.

There's also the Sister Ray, arguably the sweetest piece of tech in the game. But all we know about the Sister Ray's power is that it pierced the shield at the North Crater. Was the shield simply being used to keep out trespassers, or did it have another purpose? That would help determine the Sister Ray's general power range, and by extension, that of a WEAPON, and in turn, that of the party and the world in general.

[Skyblade]

In science fiction/fantasy communities, it's a popular pastime to gauge the level of advancement of a particular group against that of others. I've been wondering where FFVII's tech measures up. Someone on another forum said it actually wasn't all that advanced; my senses balked at that, so I replayed parts of the game. There's some really sweet stuff to be had; Shinra has battle mechs (Guard Scorpion, the Gunners, Proud Clod, smaller enemies) and directed energy weapons aplenty, though by the time of AC they've pretty much all been destroyed. The only tech-based energy weapon we see in the whole movie is Barret firing his laser cannon at Bahamut Sin. The Highwind also has some good stuff onboard.

There's also the Sister Ray, arguably the sweetest piece of tech in the game. But all we know about the Sister Ray's power is that it pierced the shield at the North Crater. Was the shield simply being used to keep out trespassers, or did it have another purpose? That would help determine the Sister Ray's general power range, and by extension, that of a WEAPON, and in turn, that of the party and the world in general.

Did you miss the whole "The Sister Ray killed two of the WEAPONS" thing?

[Jiro]

didn't it only hit emerald? it killed diamond....

[Big D]

didn't it only hit emerald? it killed diamond....It killed Sapphire Weapon at Junon, then Diamond Weapon on the plains near Midgar. Emerald Weapon was underwater the whole time...

FFVII's technology is interesting. The fact that magic and technology developed alongside each other, and even overlapped, meant that there were some fairly unique arrangements in their world, such as machinery that uses magical energy (materia-equipped robots, for instance, as well as the rocket's on-board gravity). Mako energy itself is used as a fuel source, providing energy for mako reactors, ground vehicles, and airships.
Weapon development seems to have been affected by the world's unique conditions, too. When twenty-foot armoured beasts are roaming the place, something more than a small-calibre firearm is needed. Big swords may have remained in use because of this... yet every weapon type has its uses. The political climate of FFVII's world is totally different from ours, apparently. Since there doesn't seem to have been a feudal/warmongering era, there was never any need for huge armies to be given the most-efficient possible means of wiping each other out. This could also help explain why firearms didn't rise to dominance - not only are they less effective than edged/massed weapons against some natural enemies, they were never needed in order for the human populace to wage bloody warfare against one another... the result being a world where guns and swords are more-or-less equal, depending on the circumstances, and on the preference of the individual. It's interesting, though, that Shinra's elites prefer swords, while assault rifles are only used by the regulars.
The war against Wutai seems to be the only big human conflict in the planet's history, aside from Jenova's first appearance and the various skirmishes fought by or against Shinra. Since Shinra was originally a weapons manufacturer, it's presumable that a lot of their advances came about during that conflict. So you end up with an odd military - on the one hand, you've got an enormous cannon (the Sister Ray) which, when given additional power, can fire halfway around the planet; but the army's greatest soldier fights with a seven-foot sword and magic.

Some of Shinra's technology seems quite impractical and wasteful, too - like they just poured money into their projects without caring about efficiency. Notice how their first spacecraft has artificial gravity, and has a full life-support system that means the crew never needs personal oxygen supplies? The whole project would've been much quicker and easier if it followed the kind of developments that our space programs used. Also, Shinra's production cars are quite silly. Most of the cars seen on Midgar's streets (including those in the secret FMV commercial inside the Shinra building) are driver-only, regardless of their size. Huge vehicles, but only room for one. The blue ute stolen by the heroes is a slight exception, but also a silly design: it's got a tray, so it should be able to carry a load, but it's small and unstable. Then there's that enormous hog bike, as stolen by Cloud. Lots of power and lots of coolness, but little practical purpose. Shinra seems to focus on extravagance, and style over substance...

[?????]

Did you miss the whole "The Sister Ray killed two of the WEAPONS" thing?

Obviously not, but the problem with that is that it's pretty hard to guess what the chemical composition of a WEAPON's armor is, and thus hard to rate the gun's power using thermodynamic equations. Basically the only thing we can tell about them is an approximate height.

The terminology "magic" is questionable insofar as its actual meaning. Naturalism, the philosophical doctrine by which science operates, states that there is a natural reason for every possible occurrence; it's an extension of Occam's razor. Thus, things that might appear magical to us are either too far advanced for us to know how to use, or they're a result of the unique properties of that world. As Arthur C. Clarke once wrote, "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." In the context of Final Fantasy, the best definition of magic is probably something akin to "feats that are only possible under isolated physical circumstances." The usage of Materia could be defined as an extreme circumstance; the average person isn't tripping over Materia wherever they go, and even if they are, it probably isn't anything useful. Even Cid Highwind couldn't land his mighty airship outside the Knights of the Round cave, because of the rough terrain; in order to obtain the uber-awesome materia, you had to have basically all the resources in the world at your fingertips.

As far as Shinra's space program goes, they quite simply had the technology and the money to make it work. That kind of thing can happen when you rule the world.

I wouldn't say that the war against Wutai was the only major conflict that VII's world has ever had. There are at the absolute minimum, 2,000 years of human history in FFVII to work with. In only the last six thousand years of our history, there have been about 15,000 wars; if we assume an equivalent average war per year value, that comes out to 5,000 wars. Crazy, ain't it?

[d£v!l'$ ph0£n!x]

u hav to think about this logically. sister ray totally removed sapphire weapon's head at junon. granted tht was very close range but still.

for diamond weapon, it travel a quarter of the way around the world and pireced straight thorugh diamond weapon, then still had enough power to travel half way around the world AND break the barrier around north crater. that is one strong weapon.

diamond weapon's armour is incredibly strong, considering how physical attacks would not even dent in in ur fight against it.

all these points were put together by square so that u subconsiouly recognise that shinra has more powered than it can handled, even if u don't recognise this consiously.

[Big D]

The terminology "magic" is questionable insofar as its actual meaning. Naturalism, the philosophical doctrine by which science operates, states that there is a natural reason for every possible occurrence; it's an extension of Occam's razor. Thus, things that might appear magical to us are either too far advanced for us to know how to use, or they're a result of the unique properties of that world. As Arthur C. Clarke once wrote, "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." In the context of Final Fantasy, the best definition of magic is probably something akin to "feats that are only possible under isolated physical circumstances." The usage of Materia could be defined as an extreme circumstance; the average person isn't tripping over Materia wherever they go, and even if they are, it probably isn't anything useful."Magic", in FFVII, is helpfully given a 'scientific explanation'. Even though it's termed "magic", the game tells us that it's a perfectly explainable form of naturally-occurring energy. Even though it obviously doesn't apply to our own world, it works perfectly in the FFVII world - rather than just being an inexplicable "mysterious power". I particularly liked the way "magic" was so tied into various aspects of the plot - Mako energy, the Lifestream and the cycle of life, materia, mako-powered or magic-equipped technology... it was a nice change from the games where magic is just something that some people can do, but with no overall relevance to the game's plot or world.
Magic, even though it's a word for supernatural occurrences, is simply a name for a natural process in the game - probably a carry-over from earlier times when the forces involved weren't actually understood.

[?????]

I thought I just said that, but I think you worded it better than I did. Feats that would seem magical to us are normal to the people in FFVII because of the understanding and energy that they have available.

The Sister Ray was still a projectile weapon at Junon, albeit a very, very powerful one, likely a large railgun. I have the video of it blowing off Sapphire WEAPON's head as proof of that.

How many years away would you say we are from being equivalent to FFVII in terms of technology? If the shield at the North Crater was something Sephiroth expected to use to survive Meteor, that gives a really good indicator of the Sister Ray's power, and in turn the durability of a WEAPON. The Sister Ray would have to possess power around that of a capital ship-grade turbolaser in Star Wars if the shield is indeed intended to block Meteor. The medium-strength gun used for ship-to-ship combat outputs 200 gigatons per shot, while the light point defense guns are in the kiloton range. The heaviest guns go into the teratons, which is the range of an asteroid impact. However, the Sister Ray is an exceptional piece of technology in its world.

In The Spirits Within, nuclear energy and spirit energy are held to be the same thing, but no reaction method anywhere near our disposal is capable of producing such amounts of energy; they've probably discovered something like a stable matter-antimatter reaction, or even some type of reaction involving a grand unified theory, since if they can produce these amounts of energy it's relatively safe to assume they've discovered it. The belief does lend substance to the belief that all life is connected; different arrangements of atoms, and their constituent particles, can form everything in the universe. If this holds true for FFVII, it would seem to suggest a kind of anti-nuclear message, or at least a message of environmental consciousness; give back what you take, and all that. This planet does have a limited supply of material that's usable in nuclear reactions, after all, though theoretically even a decent-sized ball of Play-Doh, enough for a kilogram, has enough mass-energy as defined by E=mc^2 to blow up Hiroshima over 1700 times.

Devil Phoenix, I'm talking about putting a quantitative ballpark on the world's advancement, not simply a qualitative one.

[Big D]

If the shield at the North Crater was something Sephiroth expected to use to survive Meteor, that gives a really good indicator of the Sister Ray's power, and in turn the durability of a WEAPON.I'm not sure the barrier was meant to protect against the meteor's impact. From what the characters suggest (particularly Barret's dialogue after Tifa re-wakens at Junon), the barrier's just to protect Sephiroth from intruders, while he lies dormant in the depths of the crater, recovering from the massive expenditure of energy used to summon the meteor. Since he never bothers to re-establish the barrier, I'd say that he wasn't counting on it to ward off the meteor's destruction. The meteor was falling over Midgar, and Sephiroth was deep down in the northern crater... I don't think he'd have too much to worry about.
How many years away would you say we are from being equivalent to FFVII in terms of technology?That's a tough call... in some ways, we're ahead of them. Our military technology is more advanced (ICBMs, laser guided weaponry, aircraft and so forth), yet they have machines capable of fighting without a controller. The computers at Junon and elsewhere are pretty big and early-1990s looking, yet they obviously know how to create programs that give limited intelligence to robots. While Cait Sith isn't a fully sentient robot, the fact that no-one gives him a second glance suggests that truly self-aware machines aren't unheard of. Different aspects of our world's technology and theirs need to be assessed separately, I think, since there's a lot of divergence between the two. The idea of any real soldier going to war armed only with a sword is ridiculous to us, but mainstream in their world. Our first spacecraft were primitive and simple, yet FFVII's first manned rocket had artificial gravity, a computerised HUD, and the ability to survive years of neglect. Various cultural, economic and other factors have changed the way technology developed, in our world and theirs. If Shinra had some major competition, it's likely that there'd have been less stagnation and more refinement of existing ideas. Similarly, our world could've had completely non-polluting cars twenty years ago if the profit motive had come second to environmental awareness.
In The Spirits Within, nuclear energy and spirit energy are held to be the same thing, but no reaction method anywhere near our disposal is capable of producing such amounts of energy; they've probably discovered something like a stable matter-antimatter reaction, or even some type of reaction involving a grand unified theory, since if they can produce these amounts of energy it's relatively safe to assume they've discovered it. The belief does lend substance to the belief that all life is connected; different arrangements of atoms, and their constituent particles, can form everything in the universe. If this holds true for FFVII, it would seem to suggest a kind of anti-nuclear message, or at least a message of environmental consciousness; give back what you take, and all that.In TSW, spirit energy is used as a sustainable alternative to other energy forms, but it's unclear whether it's more efficient overall. Rather, I think it's the abundance and relative safety that made it the more popular choice. The movie mentions that the energy's generated from vats of micro-organisms; it's simply the 'energy of life' found in every living thing, much like the Lifestream in FFVII. Spirit energy is something with no equivalent in the science of our world; rather it's more akin to chi, or something similar - an invisible aura produced by anything that's alive. Rather than converting living matter into pure energy (like in a matter-antimatter annihilation), spirit energy can be extracted from living things (in the movie) or from its natural reserves in the Lifestream.
It's definitely at the core of FFVII's environmental message, since it nicely encompasses ideas such as sustainable energy, preservation of natural resources, and awareness of the dangers of radioactivity.

[Masamune·1600]

One has to bear in mind, as I believe Big D previously suggested, that Gaia followed a different path of development than did our Earth. While books/movies/games/assorted media with "medieval" or "futuristic" settings can be somewhat characterized by those blanket terms, FFVII presents a relatively modern world, though with technological tendencies that don't parallel ours exactly. Personally, I feel that the Gaia of FFVII was meant to reflect Earth at the time of its release, at least roughly. Again, as previously suggested, Gaia has some technology that we don't; we have some technology that Gaia doesn't. While I realize the point of this thread is to quantitatively determine the relative advancement of Gaia (apparently in terms of our Earth), I honestly feel that Gaia is, in this sense, meant to be a rough approximation of Earth circa 1990-2000, only (once again) with a different path of development.


though by the time of AC they've pretty much all been destroyed. The only tech-based energy weapon we see in the whole movie is Barret firing his laser cannon at Bahamut Sin.

Actually, Barret's "laser cannon" used against Bahamut TREMOR is a Limit Break, probably a reinterpretation of Big Shot. That's beside the point, though; a fully functional artificial hand that can unfold into a powerful weapon is itself emblematic of some fairly advanced technology.


materia-equipped robots

With the obvious exceptions of Cait Sith No. 1 and Cait Sith No. 2, robots do not seem to directly utilize materia. Materia is, ultimately, crystalized Spirit Energy, and the fact that robots, as manufactured, inorganic creations, do not have Spirit Energy would seem to preclude such use. While Cait Sith would seem to be an exception, one must remember what the starter manual to FFVII suggests.


Cait Sith rides around on the back of a huge stuffed Mog he magically brought to life.

Not only does this suggest that Cait Sith's origins were different than those of other robots, we must remember that almost every robotic enemy encountered in the game seems to operate via artificial intelligence. Cait Sith is Reeve's vicarious battle incarnation, and as such the ability to use materia is probably derivative of his Spirit Energy.

It's very likely that Mako-related technology could have been employed, but robotics in general probably doesn't use materia.


The war against Wutai seems to be the only big human conflict in the planet's history, aside from Jenova's first appearance and the various skirmishes fought by or against Shinra.


I wouldn't say that the war against Wutai was the only major conflict that VII's world has ever had. There are at the absolute minimum, 2,000 years of human history in FFVII to work with. In only the last six thousand years of our history, there have been about 15,000 wars; if we assume an equivalent average war per year value, that comes out to 5,000 wars. Crazy, ain't it?

As far as this topic goes, it's difficult to say, really. One would presume that other wars took place at some point, but the vast majority of Gaia's recorded history is unknown to the player.

I'd also like to point out that "magic," despite the fact that it is derivative from what can be called a naturally occurring energy force, has distinct and inarguable spiritual characteristics. While technological uses for Mako (which Shinra only brings about through an artificial process, although Mako can occur naturally) may continue to develop, "magic" itself is effectively immutable. The only real determining factors are one's knowledge/wisdom of the Lifestream, and one's Spirit Energy. Thus, while a natural explanation is given for "magic," it doesn't have to wholly conform to any sort of natural laws.


In TSW, spirit energy is used as a sustainable alternative to other energy forms, but it's unclear whether it's more efficient overall. Rather, I think it's the abundance and relative safety that made it the more popular choice. The movie mentions that the energy's generated from vats of micro-organisms; it's simply the 'energy of life' found in every living thing, much like the Lifestream in FFVII. Spirit energy is something with no equivalent in the science of our world; rather it's more akin to chi, or something similar - an invisible aura produced by anything that's alive. Rather than converting living matter into pure energy (like in a matter-antimatter annihilation), spirit energy can be extracted from living things (in the movie) or from its natural reserves in the Lifestream.
It's definitely at the core of FFVII's environmental message, since it nicely encompasses ideas such as sustainable energy, preservation of natural resources, and awareness of the dangers of radioactivity.

I don't have much to add here other than that Big D knows the score.

[Big D]

With the obvious exceptions of Cait Sith No. 1 and Cait Sith No. 2, robots do not seem to directly utilize materia. Materia is, ultimately, crystalized Spirit Energy, and the fact that robots, as manufactured, inorganic creations, do not have Spirit Energy would seem to preclude such use. While Cait Sith would seem to be an exception, one must remember what the starter manual to FFVII suggests.
Cait Sith rides around on the back of a huge stuffed Mog he magically brought to life.Not only does this suggest that Cait Sith's origins were different than those of other robots, we must remember that almost every robotic enemy encountered in the game seems to operate via artificial intelligence. Cait Sith is Reeve's vicarious battle incarnation, and as such the ability to use materia is probably derivative of his Spirit Energy.

It's very likely that Mako-related technology could have been employed, but robotics in general probably doesn't use materia.Hmm... a lot of Shinra technology is mako-powered, so I reckon it's feasible that materia could be installed in mechanical devices. Quite a few robotic opponents use magic, for example the various Sweepers which can fire the e-skill Matra Magic. If a robot's powered by mako, then it theoretically ought to be capable of using some of that energy to activate materia.

While it's rare for robotic enemies to use magic, it happens now and then - which suggests that it's at least possible, in some cirucmstances.

[Masamune·1600]

Yes, except that with the exception of Matra Magic, no robotic/machine opponent ever uses any sort of materia-derived attack. Matra Magic might possibly be usable without materia; it 'appears' as a missile-based attack, after all.

I really just don't think its possible for a completely artificial being to use materia. One or more materia could be installed in a robot, but without an actual connection to the Planet, I don't see how the magic could be brought out.

[?????]

My computer fried, so I've been unable to respond to anything for several days.

I'd hardly say that our military technology is more advanced than theirs. Types of technology are generally immaterial when it comes to comparisons; it's all about the power that can be generated, and their tech's power generation far exceeds what we can do currently. They clearly do have many types of aircraft, including helicopters and jets, as well as massive and durable airships, something we lack. It seems fairly obvious that few if any ordinary craft could survive the kind of abuse that the Highwind took in VII's ending, considering that the surge of Mako directed enough energy to almost tear the airship apart. One might argue that the Highwind possesses shields of some sort, seeing as the WEAPONs repel its ramming attempts, but that's debatable; one might just as easily say that the WEAPONs have shielding, which isn't that hard to believe.

Mako does have to conform to whatever natural laws govern it; nothing unreal exists.

I didn't see any indication that Barret's laser was a limit break, but again, I don't have any of the guide documents for the movie.

One could hold that Mako is a form of chemical energy, if it's extracted from lifeforms. It seems to be able to produce power comparable to nuclear reactors, but I don't know enough biology to judge the validity of that.

As for soldiers and swords, most of them, including all mainstream Shinra personnel and even the Turks, fight with guns. Only special cases like Cloud and Sephiroth exhibit the kind of strength, durability, speed, and reflexes necessary to carry a sword to a gunfight.

[Big D]

As for soldiers and swords, most of them, including all mainstream Shinra personnel and even the Turks, fight with guns. Only special cases like Cloud and Sephiroth exhibit the kind of strength, durability, speed, and reflexes necessary to carry a sword to a gunfight.I'd disagree. All of the members of SOLDIER use swords - including the third, second and first class members encountered in the Shinra Building, Junon, and Sister Ray, respectively. None of the Turks use firearms: Reno uses a pommelled cattle-prod, Rude fights with his fists, and Elena seems to use explosives. Shinra's regular grunts use guns, grenades and rocket launchers.
One might argue that the Highwind possesses shields of some sort, seeing as the WEAPONs repel its ramming attempts, but that's debatable; one might just as easily say that the WEAPONs have shielding, which isn't that hard to believe.
Yeah, I think it's the Weapons that are shielded - Ultima Weapon, at least, which is surrounded by a 'barrier' of some sort when it blazes off into the sunset.

Shinra's military arsenal is an odd mix. Their helicopters are small and certainly nothing special; they don't even appear armed. The Gelnika airships are a large, sluggish transport planes. Apparently few in number, and quite crude compared to our own aircraft, but still capable of some fairly remarkable feats, such as taking off from a very short runway. The Highwind is definitely a one-off - the only airship of its kind. It's powered by Mako energy (referenced somewhere, but official), and can definitely take quite a pounding. It's beyond anything we've got in our own world, but - like the Sister Ray and the space rocket - it seems to be a case of one design that's been 'over-engineered'; a single idea having huge amounts of resources poured into it, to take it as far as possible. Where other Shinra technology is mass-produced, the biggest and best are very few in number, and the most remarkable are completely unique.

[Destai]

I thought FFVII was over all modern as opposed to sci-fi.

[Lynx]

when in the game did they call it saphire weapon? i remember them just saying its "weapon"

[Big D]

All the weapons just get called 'Weapon' by the characters, including Ultima Weapon and Diamond Weapon, but they each have unique names, too. Sapphire Weapon is the official name of the blue Weapon destroyed at Junon. It's not in the game, but that's what it'd called, according to the game's creators.

[Masamune·1600]

Mako does have to conform to whatever natural laws govern it; nothing unreal exists.

Mako does, but Spirit Energy and the Lifestream do not. The writers of FFVII clearly designed the game with the intent that the Lifestream posess qualities that are not wholly quantifiable; there's a reason, after all, that Spirit Energy bears that name. While its application in the physical world might involve certain quantifiable aspects, things like an afterlife are beyond "natural laws."


One could hold that Mako is a form of chemical energy, if it's extracted from lifeforms. It seems to be able to produce power comparable to nuclear reactors, but I don't know enough biology to judge the validity of that.

Mako, according to FFVII, is "compressed [and] processed Spirit Energy."


Cloud: You're talking about Mako energy, right?

Bugenhagen: Everyday Mako reactors suck up Spirit energy, diminishing it. Spirit
energy gets compressed in the reactors and processed into Mako energy. All
living things are being used up and thrown away. In other words, Mako energy
will only destroy the Planet...

Unlike the Spirit Energy it's derived from, Mako can most likely be quantified and understood scientifically (given its obvious application in Shinra technology). Beyond that, though, it's impossible to say anything about Mako that has any real support.


As for soldiers and swords, most of them, including all mainstream Shinra personnel and even the Turks, fight with guns. Only special cases like Cloud and Sephiroth exhibit the kind of strength, durability, speed, and reflexes necessary to carry a sword to a gunfight.

As Big D pointed out, all members of SOLDIER fight with swords. While it's certain that even Shinra's top troops possess nowhere near the incredible abilities of a Cloud, or a Sephiroth, or a Kadaj, it remains that they do use swords. It's possible that, given that SOLDIER members have access to magic, their ranged attack needs are taken care of, and a devastating close range weapon could instead be utilized.

It's also notable that even some Turks use swords; one of the playable Turks in Before Crisis uses a sword as his weapon. The weaponry of the Turks seems to vary between individuals, though; Reno, Rude, and Elena all fight with different weapons, and the Turks of Before Crisis all fight differently. For what it's worth, Turk (Gun), Turk (Shotgun), and Turk (Two Guns) (so named/described in the credits of Last Order) all use a gun or guns as his or her weapon(s) of choice.


Their helicopters are small and certainly nothing special;

A somewhat larger helicopter appears briefly in Advent Children. This isn't necessarily significant, but it's probable that one never is witness to the full scope of Shinra's arsenal. This doesn't invalidate your point; it simply suggests that it's difficult for one to get a complete grip on the technological nature of Gaia when information not germane to actual events goes unrevealed.


The Highwind is definitely a one-off - the only airship of its kind.

A new airship, the Sierra (or Shera, if the AC translation is to be consistent with the original translation of the game), appears in Advent Children. The same new airship also appears in the Dirge of Cerberus trailer.

[Big D]

I'm aware of the new airships in DC/AC, but in FFVII's time the Highwind is apparently unique.

While its application in the physical world might involve certain quantifiable aspects, things like an afterlife are beyond "natural laws."
Even then, it's got "natural laws" of its own. Since Spirit Energy is 'the stuff of life', it carries some imprint of the entity that once housed it. Normally, that energy disperses and loses its form once it re-joins the Lifestream; but when the pattern remains fairly cohesive, a consciousness or memories can remain intact - thus explaining things like ghosts, or characters speaking from beyond the grave.

Mako energy is basically the same as the Lifestream; it's the same kind of energy, just in a slightly different form. Reactors extract the energy and use it to generate electricity; it can also be used in piston engines and other devices. But when it's artificially compressed, it becomes Materia; the same process happens in nature, too. Notably, the Mideel doctor diagnoses Cloud with "mako radiation poisoning", even though he spent time in the Lifestream. Same substance, different application. The 'laws' of mako energy don't apply in our world, since (so far as we know) there's no powerful 'spirit energy' coursing through our bodies, or through the planet; but in FFVII, there's a consistent and logical set of 'rules', which mean a scientific reason can be applied to everything from magical powers to ghosts to telepathy, and it's all based on the properties spirit energy.

[?????]

Shinra's military arsenal is an odd mix. Their helicopters are small and certainly nothing special; they don't even appear armed. The Gelnika airships are a large, sluggish transport planes. Apparently few in number, and quite crude compared to our own aircraft, but still capable of some fairly remarkable feats, such as taking off from a very short runway. The Highwind is definitely a one-off - the only airship of its kind. It's powered by Mako energy (referenced somewhere, but official), and can definitely take quite a pounding. It's beyond anything we've got in our own world, but - like the Sister Ray and the space rocket - it seems to be a case of one design that's been 'over-engineered'; a single idea having huge amounts of resources poured into it, to take it as far as possible. Where other Shinra technology is mass-produced, the biggest and best are very few in number, and the most remarkable are completely unique.

I'd like to see where it references that the Highwind is Mako-powered, though it isn't too hard to believe that it uses Mako, at least to an extent. It likely has a more conventional power system to serve as a backup, and because they're leaning toward alternate energy sources by the time of AC, the Sierra may just have a very large jet engine or some form of nuclear reactor onboard. Considering its extreme maneuverability and presumable increase in durability over the Highwind, I'd lean toward the latter option.

It seems clear that Shinra has the ability to develop highly advanced weaponry, as is evidenced by such occurrences as the Sister Ray; their level of scientific understanding is sufficient to accommodate a very sophisticated level of technology, but one must remember that Shinra is first and foremost a company. They're not going to spend more money than they believe is required to reach their goals, which explains why they haven't turned the planet into Coruscant. They do have quite a leg up on us in terms of cybernetics. I played the beginning of the game again a few days ago, and I lost count of the assault drones I ran into. Nearly all of them were equipped with directed energy weapons, which although weak compared to the party, are more than sufficient to dispose of the average grunt, and were obviously mass-produced.

I don't know too terribly much about the armament onboard helicopters, unfortunately, but they didn't ever appear to use it if it was there. Presumably, their giant friggin' robots were more destructive.

[Big D]

I'd like to see where it references that the Highwind is Mako-poweredIt's not in the game, but in some official external sources I can't recall right now. There's even a mention of its Mako consumption rate...
the Sierra may just have a very large jet engine or some form of nuclear reactor onboard. Considering its extreme maneuverability and presumable increase in durability over the Highwind, I'd lean toward the latter option.
Nuclear reactors are hellishly heavy, due to the shielding and cooling systems... probably impractical for something like an airship, which depends on being very light.

[Cecinda]

The world of FFVII (the actual planet) is actually a very small one. I found it unrealistic because i imagined it to be as large as our earth, but in fact it is really probably a small planet.

[?????]

We aren't talking about the planet itself, but rather its technology. Off-topic for a second, I personally am led to believe that FFVII's world, Gaia, is either a far-future Earth or a parallel world with a divergent history. That line of thought isn't accepted en masse, but be that as it may, Gaia can't be a very small planet; otherwise, it won't have enough gravity to hold an atmosphere. Not only that, the world map is clearly not rendered to scale. I've said before not to trust game mechanics in analysis; this is another example. A Chocobo on the world map is roughly the size of Junon. A chocobo that large would not have legs with a sufficient cross-sectional area to support its mass, unless they were made of heavy structural metal, in which case the chocobo wouldn't be able to move at all.

If they do use a nuclear reactor on the Highwind or Sierra, it could not be a fission reactor; it would have to utilize efficient fusion, at the least. The actual technology and understanding to do that is actually fairly close; we may have the first thermonuclear fusion reactor within ten or twenty years. But incorporating it onto ships, especially ships of that size, is still many years away; this doesn't even take into account the fact that the Highwind must necessarily possess anti-gravity technology, or it wouldn't be able to get off the ground. We do see antigrav units in use on some of Shinra's robot units, like the Motor Ball. I read that Boeing is conducting experiments with antigrav, but who knows how that'll turn out.

[Sephitachi7]

Their helicopters are small and certainly nothing special;

If you are talking about the helicopter that Rufus' Father got into before the fight with Air-buster then you are correct in saying this, but if you are talking about the helicopters than take off from Junon in the FMV after taking the Huge Materia, then I'm not sure that 'nothing special' would qualify as a description of these.