Arstotzka was the first side to do magitech, with Moskurg following (Jets, that lightning rifle, the
coilgun, etc.) later. We started with the steam engine, and boy did we pay for it. Let me list our steam engine-related actions.
Steam Engine Design #1Design: Steam Engine [2-2, 1-2+1, 6-2]
Well...it doesn't explode right away, at least. That's good.
Smith-made steel, assembled in a confusing and curious configuration of pipes, valves, boilers and a single rotating steel-on-steel joint that screeches whenever it runs - the entire design team took a step back when the thing turned on for the first time. It's the worlds first steam engine, and by god it's glorious.
It first took a minor tweak of our existing Flame Wall spell to generate a more manageable sized flame. It still requires the attention of a mage to be maintained, but so long as they aren't distracted for more than a few seconds it wont go out. This flame was then placed in a special brazier below a sealed container of sea water. As the entire vat of water heats up, steam goes up through a pipe to a secondary container, which has two adjustable valves facing perpendicular to the center. This secondary container is attached via a rotating joint that leaks steam whenever it runs (which our researchers point to as an "emergency release valve"). When the water reaches its boiling point, the steam goes up through the pipe, into this container, and out through the valves to produce rotation. To make sure the entire thing won't break under pressure, we also took the liberty of making sure the parts are as thick as we can possibly make them - that requires a lot of steel, and to avoid cracking the floors at the AAAA with the weight the contraption is assembled outside.
It's loud, it's heavy, it's not very powerful, and it's expensive as can be, but technically...well, it's the continents first working steam engine. That's certainly very impressive, even if we don't currently have a way to harness the rotational energy coming from the secondary container. Unfortunately, the rotating joint has a tendency to seize as the pipe heats up and the seawater produces waste-salt, and the spinning valves need to be adjusted as the amount of steam coming through increases and decreases. Since it's difficult to immediately control the temperature of the water inside the tank as the steel casing retains a great deal of heat, all these combined to result in the secondary container suddenly blasting up off the steam engine and disappearing into the sky during one glorious demonstration. Luckily no one was hurt in the explosion, and the rest of the device was perfectly fine. Still, we'll likely need to do a lot more work with this device before it's ready to be put to practical use.
The Mathemagicians would also like to note that if you find where the secondary container landed, they will pay a hefty sum to have it returned to them. National Effort.
(NOTE: I'm allowing you guys to develop this nearly 8 centuries early because magic doesn't exist in the real world anyways, and it is plausible that if it had something like his might have come along sooner.)
Steam Engine Revision #1
Revision: Low Power Steam [4]
The initial design was too large and heavy to be set up inside, let alone mounted to a ship. The first order of business is getting it down to a more managable size.
There's no reason for the initial boiler to be quite so big, so the first step is to scale it down to something approximating a cauldron in size. We nearly reduced the steam pipes to the same scale, but after some tests we decided to simply reduce it down to half size to avoid clogged pipes resulting in another explosion. The secondary container and valves are likewise reduced in size, and as an added bonus we add an emergency steam valve to the top to prevent it from exploding off if the pressure builds up too much. The engine has to cool down before the release valve can be reset, but at least now it won't launch into nearby villages and start any more cults.
The contraption still weighs a staggering amount, but it could concievably be put aboard a ship without sinking it.
Unfortinately, the spinning secondary container has very little torque, though it can reach impressive speeds. We also have no current means of regulating the power once it starts up, and the salt water tends to gum up the internal mechanisms after prolonged use. Additionally, we don't currently have any means of converting the spinning portion into useful energy - all it does at the moment is spew steam spirals.
On the bright side, the flame spell means we won't have to feed the engine.
Steam Engine Design #2Design: Improved Steam Engine [3, 3, 4]
As marvelous as this invention is, it's utterly useless unless we find some way of harnessing it. The first step is to put a ninety-degree bend in the neck of the contraption so it rotates perpendicular to the ground. This prevents us from having to gearbox the rotation into another direction, conserving some of the power.
The next step is to transfer the spinning into something useful, like a paddlewheel. We experiment with a few different methods, but eventually settle on using a belt made of heavy rope. This is looped around the spinning portion, the wheel of the paddle, and a second adjustable wheel. The second wheel lets us dictate how much tension is in the belt, giving us an inefficient means of controlling the speed. The primary wheel is much larger in diameter than the spinning container, resulting in a low-speed but high-torque gearing. The paddle is made of wood and contains four blades, each standing as high as a mans knee.
The contraption is mounted on one of our largest ships. The rear sinks deep into the water, nearly lifting the bow out of the ocean. The open flame makes sailors nervous, and the loud screeching makes their teeth clench. The boiler needs to be periodically stopped and cleaned to prevent salt from causing a dangerous blockage. The belt has a tendency to slide on the wheels when wet, and too much tension causes it to snap dangerously.
Furthermore, the devices performance is...lackluster. The slow moving paddles will certainly propel the ship, but a stiff breeze will stall the boats progress. The captain points out that it'd be more efficient to replace the device with the same amount of rowers by weight, or even by swimmers pulling the boat along by tow line.
The biggest problem seems to be the inefficiency of the aeolipile design, followed by the weight. The current design is an interesting proof of concept, and despite the misgivings of the sailors, the commanders, and the king, our mathemagicians think they can produce a more efficient - and powerful - design, if given time. Very Expensive.
Steam Engine Revision #2Revision 1: Steam Turbines [4]
After some work at the chalkboard, we elect to discard the secondary container all together. The steam valves were difficult to tune when the device is spinning, and having to rotate the entire secondary container all together is a waste of energy. Taking inspiration from our mills, we fashion a small steel windmill to sit inside the pipe instead. This proves to be a rather tricky thing to do, as the windmill gets really hot while sitting in the steam and can jam quite easily. Furthermore, getting the right ratio between pipe diameter and steam output takes some testing to figure out, but after a while we find one that works. More testing (and likely mathematics) would be required to find the most efficient variation, but this shift in design results in a slight increase in efficiency. It still doesn't beat a full contingent of rowers, but the prototype putters around the port quite nicely on calm days.
A rope belt is still used to drive the paddle, and it still slips when the contraption gets too wet. Salt residue tends to creep up the pipe and clog the turbine and pipes, requiring frequent maintainance to prevent explosions. Output is still regulated by the tension in the belt. The design can now move a ship at a very modest pace on calm waters, but won't be winning any races any time soon.
And after this work, here is what our theatre commander had to say about it:
The Theatre Commander contemplates the advancements you've made with the steam engine, but he's still not convinced. The fire makes him nervous, and the weight makes the ship sit alarmingly deep in the water. Even a minor breach in the hull might be enough to send a boat to the bottom of the ocean. He does begrudgingly admit that perhaps it could carry its weight - eventually. After a lot of work, anyways.
And the next turn:
The Theatre Commander is frustrated with our inability to catch Moskurg. Either get the steam engine working or make the fireballs longer ranged - it's been so long since he's sunk a Moskurg ship."
The next combat report.
Steam Engine Design #3Design: SPB1-A "Fog-O-War" [3+1, 6-3, 1+1]
The worlds first steamship hits the waves this year. Steam Powered Boat Mark 1-A, AKA the "Fog-O-War" makes use of our existing technology and our finest equipment to realize perhaps the most intimidating contraption to ever hit the seas.
The work that went into this ship almost entirely involved over-hauling the steam engine. A steam recycler was the most ambituous change - the steam engine is now an entirely closed loop, meaning very little water must be added back in (only to make up what escapes through cracks and joints). Because of this we can run the device on freshwater, which has a lower boiling point and doesn't gum up the inner workings with salt. In a pinch the engine can run (less efficiently) on salt water. After our failed attemp to build a magic-powered steam condenser on the HC2 our Mathemagicians have instead opted for a more mundane option. Steam runs through pipes which run down the outside of the hull and into the water. The ocean water cools the pipes, condensing the steam. This system adds more weight and the horsepower is lost as the steam forces the water back up into the boiler, but at least it's not freezing or cracking pipes.
To make up for the relatively low out-put of the steam engines we've opted to load two onto the ship, both of which drive a single paddle located centrally on the rear. Because the load is split between the two of them we can gear it much higher and turn the paddle faster.
Learning from our success with the HC series we've scrapped the external heat source and instead opted for a hybrid PSF and Flamewall spell to provide steady heat directly through the wall of the boiler. Much like before, this requires the attention of the attending apprentice to operate consistently. We've opted for dual rudders to sit on either side of the paddle for some much-needed turning speed as the weight increase makes the cornering sluggish.
Finally, we've affixed an HC1-E to a raised platform on the bow. Due to our abundance of apprentices we can afford to assign two per ship; one to operate the engine and one to fire the cannon.
Due to the incredible weight of the steam engines and cannon the ship sits very low in the water. This provides considerable drag, and choppy waters threaten to flood over the sides when out of port. Salt water is also hard on the steam engines and cannon, so despite proper maintenance rust grows. Finally, the closed-loop system of the steam recycler threatens to cause ruptures in the joints and thinner pipes. It's difficult to regulate the internal pressure of the engine; an emergency valve has been installed to prevent an out-right explosion, but if popped the engine loses all power and must cool down before it can be reset.
Despite all these flaws, it can - barely - match pace with a Moskurg ship once at full steam. It's not as manueverable, but it does currently out-range everything Moskurg has deployed. Due to the very expensive nature of the steam engines, cannons, and ships, the Fog-O-War is a Very Expensive as well, especially without the mines in the mountains to suppliment the high metal cost. We will be able to deploy three in each sea theatre, although decreasing the cost of its components will allow us to outfit more of our fleet with these upgrades. Very [Very] Expensive.
Not that we got a 6-
3 on expense. Evicted invented a new "Very Very Expensive" tier
just for this. He later put it to Very Expensive after complaining by Ebbor, but that was a while after.
Here is what we get from all this:
Our new Fog-O-War, initially designed to match Moskurg speed and out-range their artillery, now simply matches them in both areas.
It doesn't help that nearly any damage to the steamship inevitably results in it sinking; it sits so low in the water that once it starts to flood it's nearly impossible to stop.
It was an expensive stalemate and we will likely lose ground unless something changes next year.
So it's still not quite that good.
And
finally we get a revision which makes the steam engine "useful". Though still not by much.
Steam Engine Revision #3Revision: Magical Condensor: [5+1]
We get the details of the condensing system worked out.
It certainly took some complicated spellwork; the spell needs both the input of the outside temperature, the temperature of the metal it's engraved in, and the target temperature. It needed a rather complex formula to govern the intensity of the spell based on these inputs and a number of safeties to prevent it from cracking or freezing parts of the machine it shouldn't.
The result is a more efficient steam engine. This increases the devices reliability because the pipes no longer need to dip into the ocean, and the weight by a small degree due to the smaller amount of metal components required. The colder steam creates a low-pressure area in the condensor that draws more steam in, so the engine doesn't have to actively push the fluid through and more energy can be spent driving the turbine.
The net gain from all this is our SPB's will now outpace Moskurg ships by a non-negligable amount, even though they still match us for range. As a bonus, we've also applied this spell inscription to our HC1-E's, allowing them to cool off quicker and fire at an increased rate. Because steam needs to exit the cannon to get the most velocity for the shot, we can't use this to reclaim the steam for the cannon, however.
The inscription requires the complex spellwork to be engraved into the metal by hand in an intensive, length process that only skilled metalsmiths are able to pull off. The engraving is then filled in with gold, allowing the magic to be held within.
Curiously, we discover by accident that a completed circle, or "circuit", allows the spell enchantment to remain on the weapon indefinitely. Breaking this circuit causes the magic to dissipate.
The enchantment is not immune to anti-magic effects. Very Expensive
Now. Compare this to
Moskurg.Design: HS-aM-EA1 Coilgun [6-1+1, 2-1, 5]
The scarred princess certainly knows her stuff.
The HS-aM-EA1 consists of a lubricated Adamantium barrel with miles of thin copper wire wrapped around it in separate coils. Power is supplied via an array of three dozen Thunderbolt Wands linked to each distinct coil on the twelve-foot-long barrel. Taking advantage of the "Hayat Effect", in which a coil of electrically-charged wire exerts a force on ferrous materials, the coils can be fired in rapid succession to lead the iron slug through the barrel and out the end with surprising force. The most difficult part of the entire contraption was getting the coils to fire in the correct order rapidly enough to produce the desired effect. This is done by a new invention, termed the "spark gap", in which a wire is separated enough that the lightning will only transmit when enough "electric pressure" is present. The spark gap firing sequencer is finicky though, and requires fine-tuning for humidity, altitude, and temperature so as to operate at peak efficiency. Once the spark gaps are tuned and the Thunderbolt Wands are inserted, the gun is activated by a simple knife switch.
The ferrous slug comes out of the gun with an audible cracking noise and travels at speeds difficult for the human eye to follow. Preliminary tests show the gun can fire out to Beyond Line Of Sight + 1, though the iron ball is so inaccurate that even with Lucky Strike we can't reliably hit a ship-sized target beyond Extreme Range. Currently the only ammo we have tuned for the gun is mundane iron cannon balls.
The Coilgun is monsterously heavy and requires lengthy set-up and reloading sequences. We can mount one aboard the Skyhawk in place of the ballistas with no reduction in speed, or two for a non-negligable reduction in altitude and speed. We've taken the liberty of devising an open-latch loading bay for new ammo that allows air to follow behind the slug as it travels down the barrel, as well as a crank-operated mount that allows us to turn and fire the gun between -45° and 45° vertically.
The Coilgun must be connected to ground to fire. This is not an issue for groundbased stations, but for airships the spent lightning is directed around the hull of the ship and straight down via a copper cable and reinforced Thunderbolt Wand. Occassionally the Adamantium barrel will crack, as the copper coils seem to "tighten" when charged.
Due to the large amounts of copper, manufacturing, and attunement involved, the device is so expensive and sensitive that we can only field one at a time. National Effort.
A -1+1 on effectiveness, a -1 on expense, and nothing on bugs.
What was Moskurg's knowledge regarding electricity and railguns before this?
Lightbulbs and Lightning.
That's it. Moskurg successfully made a working
coilgun using infinite lightning and basic knowledge of electricity. Whereas Arstotzka struggled to make a
steam engine using infinite fire and basic knowledge of steam.
Moskurg benefitted from the fact that Arstotzka suffered by trying to force magitech into the game. When we did it, we had to spend tons of designs on magitech because evicted wanted to punish us for trying to go so far out of the time period. But since Arstotzka had already established a precedent for magitech by the time Moskurg decides to do it, they do it easily.
I already talked about this (to Madman, even) on Discord, and I actually complained about this to evicted a
while ago in the Arstotzka thread. In response, he gave us a free revision to the steam engine. But, in his words, it "wasn't as helpful as [he] would have hoped."
This post is mainly just to allow more people to see what I think. It's just a rehash of what I already said.
And this isn't evicted's fault. The rules naturally changed during the game in an effort to facilitate
fun, and Moskurg benefitted from those rules. Evicted could have had punished Moskurg similarily and break the existing established rules; and evicted already believed (and I agree with him) that punishing people for magitech wasn't fun (though he had decided this during the steam engine development). So he simply went by the established rules.
This is completely fair. I don't blame evicted for this at all. If anything, he handled it remarkably well; if I was faced with something like this as a GM I doubt I could handle nearly as well as he did. And this isn't me complaining saying that Moskurg's victory is
unjust or anything like that. Rather, it's me just posting what I think was one of the main reasons for Arstotzka's loss. Other than luck.
But regardless of that, I do think it gave Moskurg an advantage.
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Topic: Arms Race/Design Bureau Hub/General OOC (Got a Discord Channel now) (Read 110988 times)