[Flyndaran]

I fully get why mail would be the preferred armor for that flexibility allowing complete coverage, ease of repair in field, and breathability which is something few gamers seem to take seriously.
But if segmented plate is supposed to be useless, then for gaming purposes reality must be taken out back and shot or at least some leeway must be given to make it something other than a point of contention for characters in setting let alone players.
I think my idea of making mail impossible to make cheap, but segmented plate can be allowing it to work for outfitting an army on the cheap. That assumes that such major demand for loads of iron doesn't cause an increase in prices negating some or even all of the point.

But that wouldn't deal with the fact that brigandine was more advanced but doesn't have an option in this article that I can see.