"AIDs shell" nice. Literally sending our enemies AIDs.
Also an interesting idea which I really like but it also seems really risky. Any idea for stepstone techs to work on in the meantime?
A future revision! This one is just a prospect for the future - I probably wouldn't do it anytime soon.
Future revision: Screw Propeller
The steam paddle used by our SBP1 is clunky and slow. A new solution was devised by a mathemagician in the naval department of the Design Bureau. Instead of a large paddle sitting both above and below the water, something called a "screw propeller" - named so for its shape - can be placed completely underwater. This new propulsion method grants steam-powered ships much higher speeds thanks to its new shape.
Adaption is easy - the screw propeller works off of a mechanical connection to the steam engines just like the steam paddle, and makes much better use of the steam engines' generated power.
Also, another future design! I think this one should be done fairly soon, but not now. It's actually pretty simple: The main differences between it and the SBP1 are the crystal plating and the size. Though simply increasing the size has a lot of benefits - agility, integrity, space for weapons, etc. If we do develop it then we'd need an anchored crystal revision almost right after. It'd be pretty funny though if we designed the Crystalclad, deployed it, then develop anchored crystal. Assuming no spying is going on, watch as Moskurg upgrades the range of their anti-magic and laugh.
Future Design: AS-SBP2 "Crystalclad"
The Crystalclad is a magnificent display of Arstotzkan might and is poised to forever change the ways of warfare on the seas.
Its number one advantage is its crystal plating: The cheap, light, and strong crystal we're so familiar with has been manipulated into plating for the whole ship, literally cladding it in crystal. The effect is an awe-inspiring vessel. The ship is designed for the crew to operate on the ship largely from the inside to maximize protection against enemy attacks.
The ship is equipped with 4 cannons of any type, along with three steam engines. The ship is designed around holding this weight and thus will not be disadvantaged by it. The crystal armor will make the ship nearly impervious to enemy attempts to sink it. In fact, most ballista bolts should bounce harmlessly off of the armoring.
The ship itself is a huge creation and dwarfs the SBP1, as it was designed specifically to hold the engines and cannons without a loss in reliability and integrity. While heavier, the ship maintains and even beats the speed of the SBP1 with an additional steam engine. The ship is actually much more agile than the SBP1 thanks to the much higher profile of the ship in water.
Tests and calculations have also been done regarding a Crystalclad in an enemy anti-magic field: Crystal plating will slowly disappear off the ship - it isn't an immediate effect due to the sheer mass of it. An unarmored Crystalclad is much more vulnerable to enemy bombardment as the crystal is merely the primary layer of armoring on top of wood, but the ship will not sink. It is comparable to our previous standard boats before the SBP1 when unarmored. However, due to the range at which naval engagements are fought and the fact that the SBP2 will match or beat the speed of enemy ships means an anti-magic field is an extreme rarity.
Also, once we solve the artillery problem (THEY CAN'T KEEP INCREASING THEIR RANGE BUT WE SURE CAN INCREASE OURS EHHEHEHEHE) we should do anchored crystal regardless. It'd help make crystal research useful again and having our crystal weapons back would be amazing. And since I doubt we'll be getting an update tonight...
Please vote for the heretic or anti-magic shell to FINALLY COUNTER LUCKY STRIKE. We keep on delaying this and we keep on hurting because of it. I would like to re-emphasize that nearly the entire enemy advantage comes from lucky strike. Getting rid of it would vastly improve our performance in literally every theater.
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Topic: Wands Race - [Arstotzka] {COMPLETED} (Read 391743 times)