IIRC, the dex bonus of MKIIIs comes from the small manuevering rockets. They draw from the same tank as the main rockets, but you could probably shrink the tanks and remove the main rockets to cut down on price
About the infantry, I have two suggestions.
First, something I said awhile ago, is that we should give all sods MKI suits at the least. I guess the robobody ones are getting stripped down MKIIIs, so they'll be pretty obviously different, but you can still give one or the other to synthflesh sods. Simus has shown that a regular-sized synthflesh body retains it's good stats, so putting them in MKs would make them stand out less. If you mix them with the cannon fodder at the same time, it becomes difficult to prioritize targets- the only defining characteristic is their weapon.
Not to mention, giving them MK suits lets us have a wonderfully detailed view of the battlefield.
Next thing: this is more personal preference, but I seriously recommend we mix a few designated marksmen into the general squads. They don't have to be improved, just have a precision weapon and a slight change to their programmed tactics. Do I need to go into the benefits of this?
@Piecewise!
This might be overstepping some bounds, but can I get a weight estimate for a cutting laser? I thought it was closer to an M2 HMG (~80 pounds), but it only requires a str of five to wield effectively, so I'm not sure.
Also, how advanced is generator miniaturization tech in ER? I'd think it's pretty good, considering generators that can power lasers are light, but that might just be magic efficient lasers. Could you get a 200 Horsepower nuclear generator that weighs twenty pounds? Sixty? A hundred? Two hundred?
((Damn it GWG, how did you convince me this thing is a good idea by arguing against it?))
It weighs less then a gauss cannon, so probably like 60 pounds.
I'm not sure about horse power. Isn't horsepower a measure of mechanical work while generators are usually rated on how much power they generate rather then the strength with which they can turn a gear or a shaft or something?
To Virtual Reality, all participants in a single Tinker session, set to record and automatically download the file for later review.
Set up my own project, with fusion fuel (call it Helium-3, just to be anuetronic, but any combination of gaseous fuels works, and enough to reach 1 kiloton TNT equivalent) held within a cylinder of lithium, which in turn is surrounded with the components for creating a closed magnetic field, creating z-pinch magnetic field, and a radio antenna set to excite the fuel within the lithium. Wrap the whole thing up in a case, with a generator and circuitry for the two fields and antenna at one end of the cylinder, as well as a remote trigger for activating the detonation sequence.
Detonation sequence is as follows: The closed magnetic field is generated, the radio antenna excites the fuel into plasma, directly after which the magnetic field's polarity is reversed, containing the new plasmoid. The Z-Pinch field activates, crushing the lithium cylinder around the plasmoid, igniting fusion.
Test this away from the others. Far away.
Feyri, I explained the objective in the briefing room: Create a unique conventional weapon to kill or disable a Battlesuit, or at the very least, destroy a sufficient portion of its armor. You may not spawn complete weapons from the conventional category that are at or above the price of a cutting laser, but you may spawn their parts.
To Virtual Reality, all participants in a single Tinker session, set to record and automatically download the file for later review.
Set up my own project, with fusion fuel (call it Helium-3, just to be anuetronic, but any combination of gaseous fuels works, and enough to reach 1 kiloton TNT equivalent) held within a cylinder of lithium, which in turn is surrounded with the components for creating a closed magnetic field, creating z-pinch magnetic field, and a radio antenna set to excite the fuel within the lithium. Wrap the whole thing up in a case, with a generator and circuitry for the two fields and antenna at one end of the cylinder, as well as a remote trigger for activating the detonation sequence.
Detonation sequence is as follows: The closed magnetic field is generated, the radio antenna excites the fuel into plasma, directly after which the magnetic field's polarity is reversed, containing the new plasmoid. The Z-Pinch field activates, crushing the lithium cylinder around the plasmoid, igniting fusion.
Test this away from the others. Far away.
Feyri, I explained the objective in the briefing room: Create a unique conventional weapon to kill or disable a Battlesuit, or at the very least, destroy a sufficient portion of its armor. You may not spawn complete weapons from the conventional category that are at or above the price of a cutting laser, but you may spawn their parts.
Now, I'm just a simple country Hyper-chicken, but something about this seems odd to me. My background is more in chemistry then physics but wouldn't exciting a gas to the point of being a plasma using radiowaves need a fairly large amount of energy? I mean, radio waves are pretty low energy things, are they not? I mean, I (mostly) understand the mechanics here, but actually getting these things to function like you propose seems like it will need a shit ton of energy.
"R right. Unique. Weapon. Conventional.
"I'm receiving you perf f ectly."
...
Great. Now I should create something new. What benefits can I give that have failed before?
Oh yes, let's put solar implants in guns and let them fire a direct stream of converted energy due to the exposure! That'll work!
Or let's modify the network of conduction so that a tesla sabre would be able to increase its output without damaging the origin.
...
"...I'll just be here then. Working. In my private space."
Designate a closed connection in the Tinker. Work there...
Everyone stay away from Feyri's private areas. She's working with them.
What exactly do you want to work on?
Anton appears in VR with a slightly bored expression on his face.
"I suppose I could just use that fusion missile I designed, but I think that for fairness' sake, I'll go ahead and make a new weapon anyway. Well, something of a same weapon, but in a different form factor. That alright, XO?"
Design a missile warhead based off the kinamp sandwich:
"Hammerhead" sub-nuclear offensive warhead
Form-factor: 65x980mm spin-stabilized missile
Propellant: Standard self-oxidizing solid fuel mix
Payload: 200 grams Aster-Ex, 2x kinetic amp ("kinamp sandwich" setup) as initiator.
Choice of: direct impact plate, 1500 grams shaped tungsten carbide pellet filler, or 1800 grams depleted uranium shaped penetration slug, as contact medium.
Detonator: Choice of impact fuse, proximity fuse, and/or command detonator.
Operation: Missile self-stabilizes following launch using deflected exhaust gases to impart spin. 500 milliseconds after leaving the launcher, the missile is armed. Upon receiving detonation signal, the 200 grams of Aster-Ex explosive detonates, pushing the contact plate of the kinamp-sandwich initiator forward, crushing the mineral foam padding within the sandwich, and imparting the force of the explosion and the momentum of the missile into the first kinetic amplifier. The force is amplified, and transferred into the second kinetic amplifier, where it is amplified once more, and transferred into contact medium. The magnitude of the forces involved releases a significant amount of energy in all directions - shooter is advised to take cover if at less than medium range.
If equipped with direct contact plate, warhead transfers all energy directly into target, imparting significant momentum to outer layers of its surface, potentially causing massive damage, but limited by the composition of the surface struck.
If equipped with depleted uranium penetrator, warhead transfers energy into the penetrator, partially melting it and imparting it a velocity in excess of 2000 meters per second, ensuring massive armor-penetrating damage regardless of target composition.
If equipped with tungsten carbide pellet filler, warhead creates a cloud of superheated metalloid debris moving forward in a 60 degree cone at speeds in excess of 2000 meters per second, ensuring a wide area of effect and massive damage to soft targets, regardless of their thermal protection.
Primary advantage: Unlike conventional explosive and nuclear weapons, leaves the shooter in far less danger than the enemy due to the directed nature of the resulting explosion.
Disadvantage: High cost... what else? Token costs of approx. 10 per missile, production costs unknown.
Make a simple four-tube shoulder-fired missile launcher for Hammerhead missiles. Load four Hammerheads with depleted uranium penetrators. Spawn a Battlesuit some 200m away. Commence testing.
This would work, though I'm not sure about the penetrators. The force would probably just shatter the thing into high speed shrapnel. So it would be more a shotgun then a spike. Still, it would probably punch through most armor.
Engage tinker mode: MEDICAL EDITION!
Project 1: Pressure Tent improvements
Ver A: Reusable variant, with assorted mechanisms to deflate and repack the tent for reuse.
Ver B: Armored variant, resistant to small arms fire.
Ver C: Supplied variant, has medical supplies, tools, and delicious snacks cleverly packed inside of it, ready for easy access after inflation.
Ver D: ALL OF THE ABOVE! If all of the above not possible, as many as possible.
Interested in price (in tokens) and feasibility 
A: doable. Bigger and more bulky though, since you'll need to re-compress the atmosphere and and such.
b: doable. Again, heavier and more bulky.
c. Very doable but kinda meaningless.
D. Doable. Just even bigger and bulkier too. Could strap it to flint and just have him carry it.
To Virtual Reality, all participants in a single Tinker session, set to record and automatically download the file for later review.
Ooh, can I play ball to?
and you can only use parts from cutting lasers and above, and not the full weapon.
Just to be clear: nothing but stuff from the regular armory listing? Cause that severely limits options (both your and Sean's designs wouldn't be applicable, for example). I went with nonstandard stuff for these, though feel free to ignore them completely.
(since I'm not actually in the running, I'll just give short concept descriptions of these instead of fully fleshed out designs.)
A shaped charge just strong enough so that it only cuts a small hole in the armor (to lower cost), but penetrates deeply enough to breach the armor and reach vulnerable parts. If possible, it should cut through the battlesuit's armor in one shot, even if the penetrating hole is quite small (and the shaped charge itself does little damage). The actual damaging part comes from a small storage of a chemical (will use namite for this example) that, thanks to a timed explosion (maybe the same one that sets of the shaped charge?) is subjected to great pressures. Because the the source of the pressure comes from behind the namite (and the sides are strong enough not to rupture too soon) some of the chemical will be forced through the small hole the shaped charge explosion created. This results in the chemical being sprayed into the sensitive parts of the suit, where they can freely damage the unarmored electronics (or maybe even the pilot, if penetration is deep enough).
In the example of namite, upon impact, the shaped charge would do little damage on its own, but the small hole created allows some of the namite to enter the suit would probably result in a spray due to pressure) and start burning away the cockpit, or maybe even the pilot. If namite proves to viscous, a more fluid chemical (a string acid?) can be used to more easily be pushed through the small breach.
Note that, even if shaped charge fails to create the hole needed for the liquid to enter and damage the suit, the resulting spray of the damaging chemical could wreck havoc among nearby unarmored infantry (imagine being sprayed with burning namite).
Range would probably be short-medium, depending on exact method used (obviously, if fired from a rocket launcher-like contraption or something like modern anti-tank guided weapons, range would be shorter than fired from a missile vehicle).
Could be guided or unguided, depending on cost versus effectiveness for either.
A shell (again, could be man-portable depending on what you need and if components can be had small enough, while still being effective and affordable) that has a small automanip in it. This automanip is kept cheap because it only needs to do one easy thing, e.g. 'upon activation, heat a beach ball sized sphere 1 meter in front of you'. The missile itself has two components: the reusable inner core with the automanip, targeting computers, protective padding (to prevent damage to the inner core's components) and other sensitive but reusable bits, and the carrying shell, with the fuel for maneuvering, retractable (when in launching tube) fins that flip open after missile launch for stable flight, more padding on the inside for the core, and a durable outer shell.
Guidance systems: multiple options, maybe combining several in case enemy has countermeasures (and since you can reuse the navigation and computer components, only the sensors might be lost upon impact).
So, you launch missile, it finds target and rams it. The missile is make of a durable material that can withstand the impact (so it doesn't crack open) and the padding protects the automanip and computers. Upon hitting, the automanip activates, and does what it needs to do. To continue with the example, it heats a beach ball sized area 1 meter in front of it, bypassing the battlesuit's armor and killing/damaging the pilot/internal components. After the battle, the shell is recovered: the inner core (containing all the expensive parts) is removed, and put into a new shell. With a little luck only the pilot is dead and the battlesuit can be commandeered. If not destructive enough, have the automanip create a 1mx2mx1mm heatblade in front of it. Or use a magnetic manip to destroy internal circuitry but leave suit intact (for recovery and reusing it ourselves).
I don't know how much the settings for an automanip can be altered once bought, if they can be altered you can have additional control over what your manip does (such as distance of where sphere is heated, or diameter of the sphere).
You can use the different kinds of manips, depending on what you need and their cost. Rather big initial cost (launcher and inner core), after that you need only buy manip batteries and new shells (maybe if the outer shells can be made sturdy enough you can also reuse these, in which case you only need to replace fuel for the missile).
Concept also usable for other stuff (like a mine that, upon activation, creates a big heatblade horizontally above it, cutting down loads of enemies at once regardless of armor).
For both of these: if projectile cannot be made small enough to be effective, use mobile missile platform (threaded vehicle with radio, basically) and give troopers some way of designating what target they want hit.
Details like exact size, what to use as (self-oxidizing) fuel and related stuff can be worked out later on, once PW confirms concept is possible.
@ PW: just as a concept, would any of these be impossible in ER?
Neither are impossible, but that chemical charge might be hard to get balanced perfectly. And I doubt you can make that missile really reusable. Even if it is in theory I doubt many will survive to be reused.
((Oh god. Did you really have to show Saint the VR machines? There goes any hope of roleplaying for the next couple weeks, I suppose. ;p))
When Simus finishes describing her assignment, Saint draws in a breath as if to speak, but he stays silent. Saint then follows the group to the VR machines, and gets in one after watching a few others go through the process.
Once inside, he spends his first few minutes simply watching the other participants. However, before long he walks a distance away and sets up a self contained box with a battlesuit inside. He spends several minutes examining the machine inside and out, and when that isn't enough, he checks what it was designed to fight, and how well it worked. Finally, he decides to spawn three self contained arenas. Each one has a standard UWM battlesuit fighting an enemy who has had time to equip and prepare themselves to fight one. The first arena has Altered, the second has UWM infantry, and the last has whatever the most effective rebel group that fought the UWM was. Saint pays close attention to how these forces defeat a battlesuit, or even if they're capable.
Finally, Saint pulls up the armory and spawns friendly UWM troopers equipped with the various lower tier weapons, and simply directs them to fire at dummy battlesuits. Only after watching for awhile does he launch into the actual design process.
First, pull up automated microwave field manipulators. Figure out what the cost would be for an AMFM that:
-heats a radius of ~3 meters around it by at least twenty degrees for several seconds. Exact heat doesn't matter, as long as everything within the radius is heated at least twenty degrees.
-Has a fairly low weight. As in, it could be thrown a few meters by a fit man.
-Has some sort of remote activation. I want to press a button and make it activate.
-Check if automanips are cheaper/smaller if they're one shot. If so, use a one-shot.
How much would this AMFM cost?
Then, try and fit it into a fairly light and aerodynamic casing. Fin stabilized, probably. It doesn't need to be very stable, it just needs to have the front end stay the front end for a short flight. Check price on this casing.
Coat the front of the casing in some sort of strong non-conductive adhesive that can stick to battlesuit plate after a fairly high velocity impact. It doesn't have to be freakishly strong, just strong enough that it won't bounce off or be shaken off with vigorous movement. Price check on this, of course.
Use the console or whatever to accelerate this item at a dummy battlesuit at various velocities, and activate the AMFM once it hits. What's the highest velocity it can go without breaking the casing or manipulator? Make note of it.
Finally, make a launcher for it. The launcher should basically be a metal tube that fits the back half of the casing, and shouldn't touch any of the adhesive. It's loaded by just jamming the projectile in.
Attach some basic iron sights to the launcher, and an automated manip that accelerates the projectile to whatever speed I determined to be safe for the projectile a few steps ago. Put a handle and two triggers on it- first one activates the launcher's automanip, second one activates the AMFM.
Price check the launcher, and the manip that it uses. Seperately.
Assuming that there's no problem with all that ((which I highly doubt- It's four in the morning right now XP)), test fire it against a dummy battlesuit with a dummy pilot. Assuming it successfully disables it, create an urban arena and spawn in a battlesuit vs. a five sod squad, four with gauss rifles, one with this thing. Run the combat ten times, and make note of anything interesting.
((Useless RP stuff at the beginning of the post is because Simus said this was testing how people work. So, I showed how Saint would work through the problem. Of course, I already know most of the stuff, so only a little bit is bolded.
Pre-post edit: Dangit, Radio! I should have posted this last night instead of waiting to proofread. Now we're building the same basic thing.))
Welp, First, the altered being used here are the more limited ones from the battle of hexbarax sim.
So UWM military basically uses Piezoelectric shard launchers or plasma weaponry. And they seem to just shoot it a lot. Plasma melts through just about anything so it works, and the shards are sharp enough to embed themselves before exploding.
Altered...well they just swarm the other fucker and tear it open with brute force to get at the human inside.
The last, rebels from the Red Moon Rebellion. They tend to seem to use distraction and then jamming joints or spraying paint over cameras. Then they try to get it open but it just detonates it's claymores and...well yeah.
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Topic: TINKER: Miya's Hubris (Read 228946 times)