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[TopHat]

+1 to further examination and disassembly of A-1, weak spot analysis of A-2, sending RSUs for extended observation of D2 ruins, and the weapons upgrade. We might also want to consider flamethrowers, as the aliens seem to want to close before firing. Covering the target with burning fuel should also help negate the trouble of aiming for a weakpoint.

Proposed new standard procedure: Immediately prior to every mission, an RSU is to be sent out to look around for 5-10 minutes. That should stop us blundering into any more warzones.

Missions: I'd leave D5 for a moment, send a team to D4 for brief sampling, and send an RSU through to each of two additional destinations picked randomly (both fairly low-risk activities)

Purchases: I'd go with the barracks (-200,000) (A1 seems nice for more rapid deployment into the Security room for emergencies). If possible, remove the jail cells from this one to leave more bed space. and hiring 21 soldiers (-315,000). That leaves 42,500 left over once four weeks' wages (-100,000) are deducted, as a reserve or for weaponry upgrades if necessary.

Cost requests: Some things I'd consider are a scout helicopter small enough to fit through the Warpgate, up-armoured EVA suits if any are available and possibly a spy drone if we have any which can fit through the gate.

[somemildmanneredidiot]

I want to propose that we start working on drawing up objectives as well as a general game plan for what we want to do as well as how we want to do it. Right now we're not acting, we're reacting. I need to run around these next some hours so I can't make this post as detailed as I'd like, but attempting to brainstorm a strategy for how to deal with our current problems and likely future ones, and then working out our various options for how to achieve those objectives would probably help us both in game and out.

The only thing I can jolt down before I need to run off is long term planning for at least one off planet base. Being able to keep a constant dial between two secure facilities would provide us with some strong additional security if our current understanding of Gate interactions is correcy.

Add, figuring out what just happened involving the Gate during our first combat to the research list. And now that I think of it, we should draw up a research list of all active projects and all projects that we think we should be working on but aren't yet for whichever reason.

[Nirur Torir]

For the squad weapon load-outs, I'd like to bring some anti-air, mortars, a medic, and a recon quadricoptor drone. I don't know how much specialization we even really bring, though.

GM: Can we get a rough profile on the enemy planes (Are they gunships? Fighter/bombers/ Pure bombers? Do they look like a space-going craft? If we can out-specialize them, we may be able to somewhat make up for a tech gap), and what multi-purpose infantry weapons might be able to hit them? It would be good if we could get an anti-armor/anti-aircraft rocket that would work.

Double post:
Also, I purpose a policy that when personnel are deployed to a D, we keep the Gate dialed and open for the duration of the mission as well as the security room fully manned, whether or not that end statement is redundant.

Set-up a blast door just inside the gate, so someone can't just lob anti-matter through. It would be an embarrassing way to lose a war.

[Chiefwaffles]

If anyone would prefer I updated a bit less frequently to let more people participate, just let me know.

I changed the suggested weapon loadouts a bit because I assumed they were made with a 15-man squad in mind and for this update I'm assuming a 12-man squad and I'm adding the independently-suggested flamethrower to the loadout. The counts were reduced by one where possible. So if the count of a weapon was above one, it was reduced by one. You'll see when I actually give the loadout.

Also, an explanation of the team system introduced below: (I recommend reading that part first then this if you need more info)
Basically instead of just taking whatever soldiers are available and shoving them out the gate together, you have set teams which already have equipment and the like. So instead of saying "send 5 soldiers, each armed with the SXL-Mega-Death-Launcher, an assault rifle, but no grenades, to D319", the action would just be "Send [team name] to D319."
I won't lie. This is mostly to make my life slightly easier. But I do have plans to possibly allow 'upgrading' of teams in the future. Possibly.
Interplanetary Research Ward: Update 4


You barely knew the soldier who died. You thought about this as you gave a personal speech at his service. But you know that what you're doing, what your entire division and program is doing, is more important than any one person.

Back at Waypoint base, things are more or less returning back to whatever 'normal' is. With the construction of the barracks and new soldiers arriving, you start implementing policies to hopefully ensure survival of teams on excursions. Before any excursion, the area will briefly be scouted to ensure you're not walking into a warzone. Though RSUs aren't omniscient and probably will miss some things. Still, though. Better than nothing.

A more refined 24-hour guard is established at security - 2 12-hour shifts with 12 people each, meanign a fully-staffed and protected security room. Though really, shifts aren't too important in this context- all that really matters is that there are 12 soldiers available at any time.

You check to see the possibility of always keeping the two Warpgates connected in the event of a Team going on an excursion, but it's not really possible. According to the initial investigations of the Warpgate, it has a hardwired 'shut-down' time - approximately 24 minutes. And better yet, there's some kind of minor "cooldown" when reconnecting two gates where the connection was 'automatically' destroyed. The cooldown isn't that major - it's about one minute in length. It does appear to actually be a limit of the Warpgate system, and not an artificial limit, however. Shutting off the gate and severing the connection before it does by itself doesn't actually circumvent the cooldown. It just appears to be in proportion to the amount of time the gate was active.
So in short: The gate can only be open for 24 minutes before having to "cool down" for about a minute.

Before you send out any more excursions, you consider the way you've been handling them. As it stands, teams are simply just randomly assembled from the first soldiers available. In the future, it would probably be better to create a more formal team system. As in - different teams with the same soldiers in each team. Having set teams which you can name and specialize (full-on warfare, guerilla attacks, exploration, etc.) will help a lot in the long run.
It'll also make organization easier. Because that's the important thing, right?

Anyways, back to the subject of gates. Hoping to see if you can find out any information about the missing soldier, you head over to R&D. Passing by the room where Artifact #1 is being carefully taken apart. you run into Greenfield in the central part of R&D. You ask him if it's possible to find some sort of "history" for connections in Warpgates. Greenfield appears to think for a minute, then responds.
"Well, it would make sense to have that as a feature, but we'd need to deconstruct a dialer or Warpgate to find that, and the risks involved in doing so are fairly severe. Best case scenario of messing it up is stranding the deconstruction team on that planet. So if you ever have a spare Warpgate or dialer unit that you can afford losing, let R&D know and we'll start working on it."
Well, that doesn't help.

Still, you continue the preparations for future encounters with the hostile species. First off, you change the weapon loadout of a single squad: You do come into one problem here though: In the loadout, you have special weapons like the anti-materiel rifle, the flamethrower, and more. Special weapons (which can be seen like "heavy weapons" in a way) aren't covered by the standard military equipment you have 'free' access to, and have to be paid for with the IRW's funds.
Special Weapons are paid for in a way differently than one-time fees. You have to pay each time a Team with a special weapon is deployed - a deployment fee. Deployment fees of special weapons will be listed in the catalog. Special weapons present in the loadout will also be highlighted with their fees shown.

Default Squad Loadout (For a 12-man squadron)

• 4x Multi-Chambered Grenade Launchers
• 4x Assault Rifles (AP Ammo)
• 1x Light Machine Gun
• 1x Anti-Materiel Rifle (Special Weapon; $50/deployment)
• 1x Rocket Launcher (Special Weapon; $75/deployment)
• 1x Flamethrower (Special Weapon; $40/deployment)

Total cost per deployment: $165

In addition, AP Ammo is the standard ammunition for all weapons that would be able to use it.

With the weapons on their way, your next stop is R&D again. The engineers spent the last few days analyzing the armor trying to find weak points. Now that they have been sufficiently studied, the soldiers have been instructed on how to hit the weak points. While it's not great, it'll definitely improve combat effectiveness of regular weaponry against the alien armor by some degree.
Greenfield also details his report on the aircraft seen at D5.
"First off, we can't really say much so far since all we have is some shaky footage with the aircraft in the background. We're going off an awfully small amount of information here. The aircraft is definitely using some completely different type of technology to keep itself in the air than our aircraft. It does have wings, but they appear to be rather stubby - maybe they're just for appearance purposes, but they definitely aren't the focus of the design. At most the wings could maybe reduce the load on whatever tech they're using when the aircraft is doing 'regular' flying. The weapons actually look like a much higher-powered version of the stuff seen from Artifact One, that weapon we got from the same place.
If we had to guess, I'd say that this aircraft fulfills the role of a gunship based on its use in the field. But the design looks vaguely similiar to an interceptor. There's a possibility it fulfills both roles, but it can't really be said for sure at this point. And as for the space-worthy question, all we can say is that the propulsion tech can probably be used in space."

Greenfield then walks you over to the disassembly site of Artifact #1, the alien gun. Thanks to the R&D techs and Greenfield, apparently R&D has had great luck in disassembling it. They found two things of note: The 'circuitry' in the weapon and the power source.

The circuitry is composed of familiar (yet much more advanced) silicon-based technology, yet in some places there's some kind of crystal that appears to act as its own circuit. You note to yourself that you really don't know much about circuitry.
The point is that the 'basic' circuitry used in this weapon uses both much more advanced silicon technology, similiar to modern computers, and some kind of crystal with an unknown purpose.

Next up is the power source. It seems to be some kind of power cell, actually. In a secure container is a volatile liquid. Analysis of this liquid shows it to have large amounts of energy potential in it. Parts around the container seem to have the purpose of a much more direct way of gathering it than current technology (read: something other than turbines), but the actual method used is unclear. The number-one takeaway from this is the liquid found in it, which is obviously acting as the actual source of energy in the weapon. The liquid and its container, deemed Artifact #3, are currently being kept in storage.

Before excursions are started again, you briefly find the prices of two things: A scout helicopter and an armored EVA suit.
Scout Helicopter - $30,000
Unfortunately there are no armored EVA suits. Not really something the military uses.

Three RSUs are sent to D2, with the objective of being stationed around the ruins to collect data. While you were originally planning to keep constant communications with the bots, that's not possible because FTL communications happens to be pretty tricky without use of the Warpgate. So a better solution was settled on and the drones are set to store data until a routine dialing of D2, where the data is collected by Waypoint base.

Drones are also sent to the new destinations D6 and D7. D6 is interesting. As soon as the RSU entered, temperature alarms started going off. But before it was returned, the RSU managed to record a colossal collapsed building. In fact, the building, or pillar, seems like it could be the same kind of building encountered in the distance at D1. D7 was also fairly interesting. The Warpgate actually seems to be underwater on this planet. Before the (sea-like) pressures forced the RSU to return, relatively high levels of radiation and even acidity were detected by the probe.

A team is sent to D4 with the standard loadout. (-$165 in deployment fees) Their only order is to briefly sample the various aspects of the planet. Most of the area seems normal at the time, but two things are seen by the embarked team:
1.) Some kind of sea-based lifeform that appears to be fairly large to our standards - probably about the size of a larger shark.
2.) There actually appears to be some kind of wreckage scattered across the island. While definitely eroded by time and mostly covered, it does look like something crashed in the sea here.
The samples return normal. Some aspects are different than from here, but the differences are relatively minor and don't really impact anything.

RSUs are sent through the gate to Destination 5 to scout around and look for survivors in the village. (-$165 in deployment fees) After about ten minutes, there are no signs of hostiles. With that done, Team 1 prepares to embark. Composed of 12 people total, with three of them being specialists - Emma Dawson, Dan Stevens, and Sarah Leaf.

Destination 5
The team finishes walking through the gate. With the specialists at the front, they look around and carefully walk over to the still-smouldering village. As they near closer to the village, they start to see corpses.

Human corpses.
They continue walking into the village. The buildings look like they were made with wood, stone, hatching, and the like, but are now just ruins. Some still have fires, the smoke rising up into the air. The village seems completely deserted.

The team spends about half an hour looking for survivors. As Sarah Leaf turns to head back to the group, something catches the corner of her eye. A man standing up. Sarah yells for the rest of the team as she rushes to this person. Clutching one of his many wounds, the man feebly points at a serious of steep hills about a mile away. Sarah just barely makes out a small cave entrance, which she thinks the man is referring to. He begins to sit down, obviously in pain from his wounds, before Sarah is thrown away from him in an explosion.

"ENEMY AIRCRAFT!" yells another soldier as he hurriedly sprints over to the dazed Sarah.

What does the team do now?
The gate is 2 miles away.

Spoiler: Team 1 (click to show/hide)

Personnel:
9 Soldiers
- 1 Assault Rifle
- 1 Rocket Launcher
- 1 Anti-Materiel Rifle
- 1 Flamethrower
- 1 LMG
- 4 Grenade Launchers
Sarah Leaf (LIGHT WOUNDS)
- Assault Rifle
Emma Dawson
- Assault Rifle
Dan Stevens
- Assault Rifle

Spoiler: Galaxy (click to show/hide)

Explored Planets: (Planets where some effort was given by the IRW to be explored - ordered by most recent data)
Destination 5: [IRW Presence] [Enemy Presence]  Ruined village attacked by hostile forces.
Destination 2: [RSU Presence] Vacuum; Ruins with autonomous defenses.
Destination 1: Suspiciously perfect soil/water/air/vegetation; huge pylon seen in the distance from the gate.


Visited Planets: (Planets known of but not explored in any 'real' way- data may not be up-to-date.)
Destination 1: Breathable atmosphere. Apparent forest and general apparent 'friendly' environment. Surveillance unit returned after two days completely unharmed.
Destination 2: Vacuum (no atmosphere). Apparent ruins. Surveillance unit stopped responding roughly a minute after arrival. (Note - This counts as 'surviving')
Destination 3: Immense heat and destruction within seconds of arrival. Likely sun or other extreme hostile destination.
Destination 4: Breathable atmosphere. Small island surrounded by sea. Repeated signal interruptions, but unit returned safely after two days.
Destination 5: Breathable atmosphere. Regular terrain, and what appears to be a village in the distance. Unit immediately returned to prevent contact.
Destination 6: Immense heat - unfit for human life. A huge toppled pillar/building next to the Warpgate.
Destination 7: Underwater. High pressure, acidity, and radiation.

Coordinate Index currently houses extreme amounts of Warpgate coordinates. Any one of these can be dialed on Switchboard.

Spoiler: Species (click to show/hide)

Hostile Species #1:
Encounters: (1 total)
Encountered at Destination 5.

Funds: 117,500 Credits

Spoiler: Waypoint Base (click to show/hide)

Base Size: 5x5 tiles


(White border means the two rooms are connected via passageway.)

Power Usage: 62/100.
(-10p) Control Room: A room that houses the Switchboard along with control & support staff. Has a window to the Device Room, controls the Device room entirely, and has equipment for controlling/managing the entire base as well as supporting + managing away teams.
(-30p) Warpgate Room: The room housing the Warpgate. Holds ramping to it as well as various equipment dedicated to controlling aspects such as direct input and powerflow to the Warpgate.
- Warpgate Ventilation Upgrade: The Warpgate Room has independent life support systems that can be remotely activated and that will last a few weeks before having to switch back to the main base ventilation.

(-5p) Security Room: A 2-tile wide room with equipment and fortifications to help defend against attacks - cover, cameras, blast doors and regular heavy doors, checkpoints, and more. Manned by up to 12 personnel and has 2 MG emplacements facing towards the Warpgate Chamber entrance.

(+50p) Nuclear Reactor: A self sufficient nuclear reactor providing 50 power.
(+50p) Nuclear Reactor 2: A self sufficient nuclear reactor providing 50 power.

(-5p) R&D Lab: A room housing basic fabrication facilities and research equipment for both engineering and research. Manned by up to 15 research pesonnel.

(-1p) Staff Quarters: Has enough room and housing for 60 personnel.
(-1p) Small Staff Quarters: Has enough room and housing for 30 personnel.
(-3p) Barracks: Armory and barracks for soldiers. Has enough room for 20 soldiers and large amounts of weaponry + armor.
(-3p) Barracks: Armory and barracks for soldiers. Has enough room for 20 soldiers and large amounts of weaponry + armor.
(-3p) Small Medbay: A medbay with room for 10 people in medical care, and 20 in quarantine. Most efficient when staffed with 5 medical personnel.

(-1p) Exit: Self-explanatory. Multiple elevators (freight and otherwise) to the surface.

Surface Buildings/Emplacements
Helipad: Can fuel, maintain and hold up to 2 large helicopters.

Spoiler: Staffing & Personnel (click to show/hide)

40/40 Soldiers
35 Trained Soldiers (26 waiting at Waypoint Base) (9 at Destination 5)
- GWMM-17 Rifle (Multipurpose Assault Rifle) [Standard weapon] OR LMG OR Grenade Launcher OR Anti-Materiel Rifle OR Rocket Launcher OR Flamethrower
- Basic Body Armor (Kevlar Armor)
- 2 each of following: Concussion, Flashbang, and Shrapnel grenades
5 Specialists (3 at Destination 5)

70/90 Regular Staff
Research
4 Scientists
4 Engineers
7 R&D Techs

Trained
5 Medical Staff (Medically trained; staff medbay)

General
20 Technicians (Keep base running)
10 Control & Support Staff (Manage away teams and staff Control Room)
5 Management (General upper-management of program)
15 General Staff(Food, Custodial, Etc.)

Spoiler: Specialists (click to show/hide)

40/40 Barracks Slots filled
Dan Stevens (At Destination 5)
Combat: 1, Science: 1, Archaeology: 3, Language: 3, Diplomacy: 1     
Sarah Leaf (At Destination 5)
Combat: 2, Science: 3, Archaeology: 1, Language: 2, Diplomacy: 1
Charles Greenfield (Working at Waypoint Base)
Head of R&D
Combat: 1, Science: 3, Archaeology: 1, Language: 1, Diplomacy: 2
Emma Dawson (At Destination 5)
Combat: 3, Science: 1, Archaeology: 1, Language: 1, Diplomacy: 3
Jason Lerth (Waiting at Waypoint Base)
Combat: 1, Science: 3, Archaeology: 3, Language: 1, Diplomacy: 1

Spoiler: Inventory (click to show/hide)

Notable Items
Note: Only items of higher value or that are worth noting are listed here.

- Warpgate
- Switchboard

- Artifact #2
- Artifact #3

Other Items
Mostly just things that are important to know that you have/
- "Infinite" RSUs (Robotic Surveillance Units
- "Infinite" Basic EVA Suits (Hazmat, Vacuum, etc.)

Spoiler: Artifact and Specimen Log (click to show/hide)

A log of all gathered artifacts + specimens and their planet of origin.
- Artifact #1 - Alien Energy Weapon
Belongs to Hostile Species #1
Found at Destination 5
- Artifact #2 - Alien Armor
Belongs to Hostile Species #1
Found at Destination 5
- Artifact #3 - Alien Energy Source
A container of a relatively-volatile liquid with extreme energy potential.
Belongs to Hostile Species #1
Found from deconstructing A#1.

- Specimen #1 (Dissected) - Hostile Species #1 Corpse; Killed by IRW Forces; Found at Destination 5

Spoiler: Finances (click to show/hide)

Wages handled by Government.
Maintenance handled by Government.

Income
Funding session in 3 weeks. Expected funding: +$600,000

Purchases:
Barracks: -$200,000
21 Soldiers: -$315,000

Upkeep/Expenses
5 Specialists: -$25,000
2 Deployments: -$330
Expected Upkeep (next week)
5 Specialists: -$25,000

Funds Change since last update: -$540,330
117,170 Credits

[Kashyyk]

Have the launcher and anti mat rifle open fire on the flyer, whilst the various rifle armed units recover Sarah and the wounded guy. Everyone should then bail for the warp gate.

[somemildmanneredidiot]

Have the launcher and anti mat rifle open fire on the flyer, whilst the various rifle armed units recover Sarah and the wounded guy. Everyone should then bail for the warp gate.

The gate is two miles away. I don't think that we can get there without everyone being killed. We can try to get to the cave, but if we do get there without dealing with the aircraft, they could attempt to wait us out or try to collapse the cave. There MIGHT be other exits in the cave, but there's no guarantee of that.

I purpose that we do a staggered approach towards the caves. Some research shows that Grenadiers are capable of hitting aircraft with either point detonation (exploding on contact) or air bursting (exploding in the air) and that a lot more development has been done in making grenades able to detonate exactly when wanted than I knew (the main advantage of grenade launchers seems to be the ability to change when and how a grenade launched explodes, in additon to the increased range). So we should have our GLs begin firing at the enemy asap. We have the FT assist the RL with moving and reloading as they lob rockets up at the aircraft (I hear that man mounted rockets tend to have some tracking capabilities, does that apply here?). The LMG, AMR (sniper rifles don't tend to work all that well while running), and Stevens should assist Leaf and the wounded guy (if he's not dead)with moving towards the caves. Dawson should lead the way and provide occasional pot shots at the aircraft.

[crazyabe]

Have the launcher and anti mat rifle open fire on the flyer, whilst the various rifle armed units recover Sarah and the wounded guy. Everyone should then bail for the warp gate.

The gate is two miles away. I don't think that we can get there without everyone being killed. We can try to get to the cave, but if we do get there without dealing with the aircraft, they could attempt to wait us out or try to collapse the cave. There MIGHT be other exits in the cave, but there's no guarantee of that.

I purpose that we do a staggered approach towards the caves. Some research shows that Grenadiers are capable of hitting aircraft with either point detonation (exploding on contact) or air bursting (exploding in the air) and that a lot more development has been done in making grenades able to detonate exactly when wanted than I knew (the main advantage of grenade launchers seems to be the ability to change when and how a grenade launched explodes, in additon to the increased range). So we should have our GLs begin firing at the enemy asap. We have the FT assist the RL with moving and reloading as they lob rockets up at the aircraft (I hear that man mounted rockets tend to have some tracking capabilities, does that apply here?). The LMG, AMR (sniper rifles don't tend to work all that well while running), and Stevens should assist Leaf and the wounded guy (if he's not dead)with moving towards the caves. Dawson should lead the way and provide occasional pot shots at the aircraft.

+1

[somemildmanneredidiot]

Set-up a blast door just inside the gate, so someone can't just lob anti-matter through. It would be an embarrassing way to lose a war.

This reminds me, we should look into the pricing for having machine gun entrenchments in the Gate room, blast doors for exiting the Gate room, the Gate, and in general.

Onwards to research:

So right now as a list of research subjects, we can look into the new circuitry, the liquid and its container(listed as power source), the new element as used in the armor, the coordinate system as used by the Switchboard (is it random? Do certain numbers correlate to certain attributes?), sampling and analysing the liquid at D7, and sampling and analysing the materials in D6.

I'd really like to do research on the circuitry and the power source first with the new element as an additional ongoing thing because I believe the three are directly related. We have two weeks before our next meeting and I'd like to show them that we are making significant progress towards our objectives and that they should give us more money. Also, all of these are direct lines to better weaponry and more efficient base facilities.

Suggestions for squads and squad layouts:
The currently deployed squad and layout: Bravo, with designations being Bravo 1, 2, etc. This has a good mix of various options for when crap hits the fan and can act as our standard deployment team.

Squad Charlie: 4 ARs, 4 GLs, 3 LMGs, 1 Sniper Rifle (not anti material). This is a more basic version of Bravo. This is primarily set up so we have a squad configuration that doesn't cost us Cr.

Squad Delta: 4 GLs, 4 RLs, 3 ARs, 1 Motar. For when we want things to go boom. The 3 ARs are meant to act as assistants for operating the Motar, carrying gear, and laying down suppressing fire as necessary.

Squad Ephraim: 3 AMRs, 3 LMGs, 3 ARs, 3 Motars. A mobile fortification group. Their purpose is to get set up in a location and provide firing support and area denial to ground based troops.

Squad Foxtrot: 4 MANPADS (RLs specifically designed to track aircraft),  2 Machine Gun Turrets (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/M45_Quadmount), 6 ARs. Again, the ARs are acting as support staff. Foxtrot is designed to attempt to take down aircraft through rockets and overwhelming fire. I expect these to be deployed until we are able to begin sending out motorized anti air weaponry.

Squad Golf: 5 ARs, 4 Shotguns (Automatic and semi automatic options with FRAG 12 heavy explosive armor piercing rounds (HE-AP) loaded), 3 FTs. A close combat designed squad. For urban engagments with signficant casualties expected.

Edit: It's a bit early to be plotting out our next mission, but I'm thinking deploying two Bravo squads at D4, with Leaf and Stevens heading Bravo A and Dawson and Lerth heading Bravo B could work. They'd have the Archeology and science to investigate the area and see if there's anything of interest there.

[stabbymcstabstab]

Have the launcher and anti mat rifle open fire on the flyer, whilst the various rifle armed units recover Sarah and the wounded guy. Everyone should then bail for the warp gate.

The gate is two miles away. I don't think that we can get there without everyone being killed. We can try to get to the cave, but if we do get there without dealing with the aircraft, they could attempt to wait us out or try to collapse the cave. There MIGHT be other exits in the cave, but there's no guarantee of that.

I purpose that we do a staggered approach towards the caves. Some research shows that Grenadiers are capable of hitting aircraft with either point detonation (exploding on contact) or air bursting (exploding in the air) and that a lot more development has been done in making grenades able to detonate exactly when wanted than I knew (the main advantage of grenade launchers seems to be the ability to change when and how a grenade launched explodes, in additon to the increased range). So we should have our GLs begin firing at the enemy asap. We have the FT assist the RL with moving and reloading as they lob rockets up at the aircraft (I hear that man mounted rockets tend to have some tracking capabilities, does that apply here?). The LMG, AMR (sniper rifles don't tend to work all that well while running), and Stevens should assist Leaf and the wounded guy (if he's not dead)with moving towards the caves. Dawson should lead the way and provide occasional pot shots at the aircraft.

+1

+1 to this and somemildmanneredidiot's port.

[somemildmanneredidiot]

While I remember, if would could get prices for single or two person ATVs, that would be appreciated. If we get RSUs for free then I don't expect them to cost much, but I have an idea for a Recon Squad that would greatly benefit from them.

Edit: Also, we have at least a spare squad of soldiers at base. It might take a bit for them to get geared up, but they could be deployed into this situation to help.

[Chiefwaffles]

The rocket launcher is unguided, and all the pricing/catalog stuff will come when the Encounter @ D5 is concluded.
If anyone has recommendations for any particular combat 'system' it could definitely help a lot. The current way I'm handling combat is extremely annoying and awful in every way.

EDIT: I would also like to assure you that I won't be giving you 'random encounters' like this as often as recently.
2nd Encounter at Destination 5: Update 2

The team starts their approach to the cave. Dawsons quickly helps up the wounded man while Sarah gets helped u and continues on her own.
More explosionsimpact the ground as the team desperately tries to outrun the targeting by the hovering aircraft. Seeing their opportunities, the more well-equipped members of the squad take their chances at hitting it.

The aircraft is hit by two explosions. A grenade exploding in the air nearby briefly destabilizes it, and another explosion from a direct hit knocks it off its intended position completely, forcing the aircraft to take valuable time to recover. Another soldier fires his shoulder rocket launcher. It flies through the air, past a dodging aircraft. The aircraft comes in for another attack run, firing into the disorganized squadron. A soldier is thrown into the dirt from the brute force of a nearby hit, but manages to quickly get up with very minor wounds. As the aircraft fires another shot, Dawson leaps out of the way, bringing a nearby soldier with her. Both hit the ground, with the impact completely missed.


Meanwhile, Team 2 arrives at Destination 5 to see the battle away in the distance. They hurriedly take off into a sprint to help their teammates. Yelling and gunfire are heard as flashes and explosions light up the sky.

By the time they arrive, Team 1 is still relatively intact. About 4 more people are wounded and are being carried by others. But just as Team 2 prepares to fire against the enemy ship, it turns around and starts flying away into the sky.

Team 1 counts the casualties from the battle. Luckily none are dead now, but there are multiple critical injuries. The man that was brought with Team 1 is inspected, and it's not certain whether the man will make it in time. Even if he was brought through the gate and to the medbay at full sprint, it may be too late.
Both teams are currently together between the village and the cave. The gate is about a mile and a half away and the cave is fairly close by.

3 soldiers are critically wounded. (Will die without medical attention)
Dan Stevens is heavily wounded.
4 soldiers are moderately wounded.
1 soldier is lightly wounded.

Spoiler: Team 1 (click to show/hide)

Personnel:
3 Soldiers (CRITICAL WOUNDS)[/b] (Will die without medical attention)
- 1 Rocket Launcher
- 1 Assault Rifle
- 1 Grenade Launcher
4 Soldiers(MODERATE WOUNDS)
- 3 Grenade Launchers
- 1 Flamethrower
1 Soldier (LIGHT WOUNDS)
- 1 Anti-Materiel Rifle
1 Soldier
- 1 LMG

Sarah Leaf (LIGHT WOUNDS)
- Assault Rifle
Emma Dawson
- Assault Rifle
Dan Stevens (HEAVY WOUNDS)[/b]
- Assault Rifle

Spoiler: Team 2 (click to show/hide)

Personnel:
12 Soldiers
- 4 Assault Rifle
- 1 Rocket Launcher
- 1 Anti-Materiel Rifle
- 1 Flamethrower
- 1 LMG
- 4 Grenade Launchers

[Kashyyk]

First aid first, then follow this plan to get to the gate:

Distribute the red-level wounded soldiers' kit to healthy troopers. A volunteer (who should also be carrying nothing) can then carry the injured to the gate (including one for the wounded stranger).

This way, we have the five most injured being carried by five uninjured, nine soldier's worth of kit is being carried by another ten uninjured, and the five orange injured carrying their own kit.
Should be able to make fairly quick time that way.

[stabbymcstabstab]

First aid first, then follow this plan to get to the gate:

Distribute the red-level wounded soldiers' kit to healthy troopers. A volunteer (who should also be carrying nothing) can then carry the injured to the gate (including one for the wounded stranger).

This way, we have the five most injured being carried by five uninjured, nine soldier's worth of kit is being carried by another ten uninjured, and the five orange injured carrying their own kit.
Should be able to make fairly quick time that way.

+1

[somemildmanneredidiot]

First aid first, then follow this plan to get to the gate:

Distribute the red-level wounded soldiers' kit to healthy troopers. A volunteer (who should also be carrying nothing) can then carry the injured to the gate (including one for the wounded stranger).

This way, we have the five most injured being carried by five uninjured, nine soldier's worth of kit is being carried by another ten uninjured, and the five orange injured carrying their own kit.
Should be able to make fairly quick time that way.

+1

We have 14 soldiers unwounded and 4 units who will die without medical attention (counting the civilian, Stevens while needing attention can last a bit). We can improvise a gurney for each one and have 3 units carry each of the three at a faster rate. Those units can leave their equipment with the not dying so they are able to move even faster. While they're setting up for that, we should have Dawson, Leaf, and an AR check out the cave. There MIGHT be people who can help there.

In the mean time, have med staff begin prepping the medbay for casualties if they aren't already and see about possibly having more qualified trauma doctors flown in if that is a thing we can do.

For a new system, it would help to know what the old system was to suggest a replacement or refinement, but I've got a couple of ideas.

A d6, d10, or d20 system could work. You create simple stats for weapons (to hit, damage, armor shred/penetration), armor (how much it covers, how well it stops attacks, durability), and vehicles  (how fast it goes, how it handles, where it goes, durability). You add or subtract to those numbers based off of combat and/or training (combat is a general stat, training is a specific stat). Then you can either set a target number based off of the unit, equipment, and/or situation, or have the two in conflict do a roll off with degrees of success based off of the difference between the rolls.

An example encounter could be our first combat. The alien armor had decent coverage, high defense, and high durability. Our armor had solid coverage, low defense, and solid durability. Most of our rolls ended up bouncing off the armor, but a couple got lucky and rolled high when the alien rolled low, letting us hit them instead of the armor and kill one. The aliens didn't need to roll as high because even though they were hitting our armor, their weapons easily overcame our defense leading to a stun and a death.

Good to know about the random encounters, though admittedly I liked the opportunity that this encounter presented. If we had managed to shoot it down then we would have had all the more to bring back for R&D. I kind of want our remaining troops to take pot shots at the retreating ship just in case we manage to shoot it down because of the possible gains, but our troops come first.

[Chiefwaffles]

Semi-related to the encounters and how somemildmanneridiot talked about R&D:
Basically, R&D isn't a linear "find item -> deconstruct item -> make/use item" path like in an XCOM-style game. It's more involved - your R&D team is dealing with technology that they've never seen before. Simply deconstructing a couple artifacts won't unlock their secrets. Of course R&D isn't completely useless, though. Just not as immediately useful as it would be in a game like XCOM.
2nd Encounter at Destination 5: Update 3

The teams are quickly reorganized on the field. Team 1 simply consists of Leaf + Dawson as well as an Assault Rifle-wielding soldier. Team 2, headed to the gate already, has the rest of the soldiers carrying the wounded. Personnel without any gear on are running ahead carrying the wounded to try and get to the gate (and therefore the medbay) faster.

Eventuallly Team 2 goes through the gate with no apparent casualties. The wounded are brought to medbay and it looks like no one will die. Unfortunately there's a large chance that the critically wounded soldiers won't be fit for service after recovery.

Meanwhile, Team 1 arrives at the entrance of the cave. Turning on their flashlights, they carefully walk in.
The cave system is eerily quiet, and the team simply continues on. Dawson stops the group, and walks over to a part of the cave wall, they start talking on their radio.
"I don't think these cave walls are natural."

What does Team 1 do?

Spoiler: Team 1 (click to show/hide)

1 Soldier
-1 Assault Rifle

Sarah Leaf (LIGHT WOUNDS)
- Assault Rifle
Emma Dawson
- Assault Rifle

Spoiler: Team 2 (At Waypoint Base) (click to show/hide)

Personnel
3 Soldiers (CRITICAL WOUNDS)[/b]
- Nothing
4 Soldiers(MODERATE WOUNDS)
- 3 Grenade Launchers
- 1 Flamethrower
1 Soldier (LIGHT WOUNDS)
- 1 Anti-Materiel Rifle


13 Soldiers
- 6 Assault Rifles
- 2 Rocket Launcher
- 1 Anti-Materiel Rifle
- 1 Flamethrower
- 2 LMG
- 5 Grenade Launchers

Dan Stevens (HEAVY WOUNDS)[/b]
- Nothing

Other
1 Man (Recovered from village) (CRITICAL WOUNDS)[/b]