A new AS-R2 design for after this combat phase. We've made armor, transport, and now we just need an effective weapon to truly capture a huge lead in terms of infantry.
Design: AS-R2 Service RifleThe AS-R2 is the weapon for the new age of magic and technology. The definitive weapon, to be eventually issued to every one of our soldiers. Soon, a day will come when the crystal axe is but an artifact of the past, reserved for the rare instance when Moskurgers manage to get into melee range.
The AS-R2's main improvement is the magazine. What was preventing the effective use of the AS-R1 in infantry combat was its rate of fire. Sure, breech-loading can make our cannons effective weapons, but it's not enough for the fast-paced nature of melees.
Sure, we could use this, but it's not as fun and potentially even harder to do!
The AS-R2 makes use of this magazine to self-load new bullets into the firing chamber after the previous one is fired. While ways were theorized on how to get the rifle to automatically load, we've decided to base this technology on the bolt-action breech-loading we developed earlier for the AS-HAC-1 then implemented in all our cannons, including the AS-R1.
The bolt-action self-loading is simple. We already have a lever on all our cannons that operates the very secure breech hatch - another Arstotzkan ingeniuity. We extend this technology to instead open a breech-hatch connected to an internal magazine of the rifle. When the hatch is loaded, basic springs in the magazine push a bullet into the firing chamber before the hatch is closed again. This is all done with a simple operation of the lever arm on the side of the AS-R2, making reloading the weapon easy.
Clips of 4 bullets are issued to our soldiers that can be easily inserted into the magazine. So a soldier can fire, flip the lever, then repeat 3 more times before stopping to quickly insert a new clip. Magegems are inserted into the rifle independently.
The AS-R2 was initially planned to utilize mechanical means of self-loading new bullets, but our Mathemagicians found this boring, "not cool enough", and still required loading of clips of bullets.
So we did something new. A miniaturized fabricator scroll similar to the ones we have in the Crystalworks lies in the rifle. Making the scroll small enough to fit in the rifle is easy. Fabricator circuits/scrolls radically grow in size with complexity, but a bullet is a relatively simple shape and our new Crystalworks fabricators from the Mk. 2 Crystalworks make this even easier.
The crystal fabricator, being circuit-based, is easily activated automatically by the firing circuits after the previous bullet leaves the chamber. Of course, recoil is still an issue and fabricating Crystal isn't
completely instant, so the gun isn't fully automatic by any definition. We've slowed the fabrication process compared to the Crystalworks to allow for increased energy efficiency. Yet its rate of fire is extremely faster than anything we've ever made before.
The Crystal bullet is tweaked to be made out of slightly heavier durable crystal. The tweaks here are of course minor. They're not in any shape or form able to be applied elsewhere, but are just enough to allow the crystal bullets to be on par with their more regular counterparts.
The gun can be powered via three methods:
1.) Crystal wiring input slots near the handle and near the back can be connected to external power sources, allowing the gun to be operated as if a wizard was using it by anyone. We don't have anything that can take advantage of this
yet, but having this input ready is very easy to do.
2.) Direct operation by a mage is easy and very viable, as mages can fire the weapon without stopping to reload.
3.) Operation by a mundane user is slightly different. The AS-R2 is powered by two AA Magegems inserted into the bottom. The AA Magegems are paired and attached together in a clip to be easy to reload. The two Magegems have enough power combined for two firings. The SPSF-C powering the AS-R1 still left some energy in the AA Magegem, just not enough to be useful. We can use this to power the crystal fabrication.
The barrel of the gun takes advantage of the Crystalworks Mk. 2 to be much more exact in its construction and rifling, ensuring great accuracy increases. We're aiming for the AS-R2 to remain accurate up to Extreme range (which is its max range), but remaining accurate to Long range would also be acceptable.
Finally, a scope is placed on the top of the gun using modified Crystal Glass (again taking advantage of the more precise and easier-to-use processes of the Mk. 2 Crystalworks!) that magnifies whatever's behind the glass. This "Optical Crystal" can be used to allow the user to see precisely at Extreme ranges, and perhaps even spot for artillery at BLOS(+1). We doubt it'd be useful for sniping at BLOS even if the gun could reach that far, but we don't need that. The Scope can be attached and detached as necessary.
The Crystalworks Mk. 2 should allow for the Rifle to be Cheap in construction. Though mundane users are bottlenecked by the Magegem cost, the actual rifle itself should be Cheap thanks to the new Crystalworks being able to more effectively fabricate complex shapes and whatnot. The AS-R1 never benefitted from the Crystalworks despite its brethren like the AS-HAC-1 receiving cost reductions.
If we have time left in the project, we wish to use the enhanced nature of the Crystalworks to implement magic-insulating crystal into the design, protecting the circuits from anti-magic and allowing the rifle to operate in anti-magic fields. Even better would be implementing this design into the circuitry of the AS-LFV-1 Protector.
The result shall be amazing. A rifle that doesn't require loading of bullets! For our Mages, this shall be a devastating weapon, allowing them to continuously fire without reload. The fact that
every mage will be getting one should even assuage our Mages' (and Bjorn's) dislike of being human batteries! With this weapon, our mages shall be able to become devastating weapons of war.
Even our mundane infantry shall benefit. The AS-R2 completely obsoletes the longbow by being accurate, deadlier, and quicker-firing. Even if they have to load in a new Magegem clip between 2 firings, their rate of fire shall experience drastic improvements compared to the much harder bullet breech-loading
and Magegem loading every single firing in the AS-R1.
Snipers shall rejoice as they can accurately snipe enemy officers from safety. As they can easily spot and acquire new targets then accurately and quickly dispatch them.
Artillery operators and
disposable apprentices alike shall be overjoyed as flare-spotting becomes replaced by the much more effective optical spotting from safe distances!
TL;DR: A new rifle. The main improvement is the loading. Instead of being boring and just implementing self-loading, we give the AS-R2 a crystal fabricator like the Crystalworks. It fabricates new crystal bullets on the fly. This lets our mages fire without reloading, and means our mundane troops only have to load Magegems. Accuracy improvements mean it should at least have an Effective Range of Long, if not Extreme. It should be Cheap for wizards and as soon as we upgrade Magegems/get Aethergems, it should also become Cheap for mundanes as well. The scope makes it much better for sniping. It also serves as a better spotting tool. Anti-magic resistance is frankly unlikely, and should be done first in revisions if we don't get it.
A devastating weapon to bring about a new age of warfare!
Bullet Fabrication - We make a scroll fabricating (machine) crystal bullets that're as effectively tough+heavy as regular bullets (should be easy given size). Should actually be relatively easy given the Crystalworks Mk. 2 and the simple structure of bullets. Fabrication is done automatically because it's a circuit and we already have a circuit controlling firing, but the gun isn't automatic because 1.) Recoil and 2.) Fabrication isn't completely instant (we intentionally nerf fabrication time to increase energy efficiency).
Should massively increase rate of fire. Especially for mages. See Power Requirements for more details.
Accuracy - Take advantage of the Crystalworks Mk. 2's more precise fabrication abilities to make more consistent and precise rifling+barrels, increasing accuracy. The rifle's max range is already Extreme, but the AS-R1 is accurate only up to Medium. We aim to increase accuracy to at least Long if not Extreme. Shouldn't be hard because it's basically just getting a fairly-reasonable benefit from the Crystalworks Mk. 2. It can make more complicated structures easily, so just apply that here.
Scope - Modify Crystal Glass (using our extreme knowledge in modifying Crystal + the Crystalworks Mk. 2) to magnify distant targets. Put a scope made out of the stuff on the rifle, and allow it to be taken on/put back on in the field.
Power Requirements/Loading - Add tiny slots to allow an external power connection if/when we develop that. A wizard can operate it for as long as they want, being free of bullet requirements. Mundanes use 2x AA Magegem clips that can power 2 firings (and new bullets) each. Fluff why: The SPSF-C doesn't
completely drain an AA Magegem, so we can use the extra energy to power bullet fabrication. The magegem reloading is still
much faster than loading a new Magegem and bullet in the AS-R1 and only has to be done per 2 firings, making the RoF really fast compared to anything else.
Anti-magic Resistance - Low priority. Use the Crystalworks Mk. 2's ability to create more advanced structures to make magic-insulating crystal (based off of resistive crystal) so we can make the AS-R2 immune to anti-magic. If done, preferably also applied to the Protector as well.
Expense - The Crystalworks Mk. 2 bonus never applied to the AS-R1 even though it applied to the AS-HAC-1 (I may bring this up with evicted directly). So expense-wise, we're basically using a "resource expense credit" here like we did with the Mountains metal bonus and the first Crystalworks bonus when revising our old stuff into crystal construction. So making the rifle Cheap should be extremely easy. Of course for mundane users they're still bottlenecked by Expensive AA magegems.
Difficulty - (Relatively) surprisingly easy, thanks to the Crystalworks Mk. 2. Bullet fabrication is just applying something we already have to the rifle and having it produce a simple crystal shape, made easier by the Mk. 2. Accuracy is just leveraging the more precise nature of the Mk. 2. And the scope is a modification of Crystal Glass exploiting, you guessed it, the Crystalworks Mk. 2.
EDIT: Here's a design for a walker! Wizard-only, but once we get Aethergems we can
maybe revise a mundane version. We need breakthroughs in control tech first, though. The AS-R2 or another foray into crystal bullet fabrication is required, however. Anti-magic resistance is obviously a necessity.
I should also ask Evicted about the (minimum) size of the IDE so I can plan the design better.
Future(?) Design: AS-MCU-1 "Walker"Mechanized Combat UnitThe AS-MCU-1 Walker is an amazing creation. In a way, a man made out of crystal. With joints powered by unnatural means. Strength that the strongest human could never hope to rival. A menacing off-putting presence announcing its place on the battlefield.
The walker is shaped vaguely like a humanoid with a slightly larger torso in proportion to the rest of its parts, and the lack of a head. Size-wise, it's somewhere between two and three times as tall as the average soldier.
The pilot is strapped into the torso, in a cockpit covered with Crystal Glass. Hidden ventilation, similar to the combat armor, allows breathing. Entry and departure is a lengthy process, designed to ensure that the cockpit is as secure as possible during combat. A soldier will enter combat in a Walker, and leave combat in a Walker.
In the torso, behind the pilot, lies the Internal Detonation Engine. Breakthroughs in crystal gears
enhanced by circuits allow for the IDE to quickly and nimbly move the Walker as if it were a human.
The Walker's left "hand" is actually an AS-HAC-1, adapted to use the crystal shell fabrication found in the AS-R2. The cannon requires no direct labor to operate. The blastball is remotely controlled by circuitry. The bullet is automatically created by the integrated crystal fabricator. Maintenance is of course obsolete to the regenerating crystal. The integrated AS-HAC-1 is a formidable weapon. Extreme agility, fast loading, on this armored frame allows for it to be unmatched in combat.
On the right "hand" is a giant crystal broadsword, to slash into crowds of foolish massed Moskurger infantry.
The Walker is controlled by advance circuitry "linking" to a Wizard. While the concept of linking circuits to minds may seem complicated when put that way, it's shockingly simple.
In a way, the wizards cast "spells" into the input circuits. Things like "go this way", or "move my right arm like this", all while supplying the magical power required to operate the mechanism. The circuits translate these "spells" into the finer input required.
We hope to some day adapt the Walker for use by mundane soldiers. We believe we can utilizing Aethergems and a more advanced application of our mind magic. We're not even aiming at
attempting this in the Walker design, but some day.
Armor on the Walker can of course resist anything Moskurg can throw at us. The nature of Crystal makes this easy, and the power of the IDE means we can afford to make something heavy. Ballistae bolts aren't a problem at all. Lightning is c
The Walker will be a devastating weapon of mass destruction. Unstoppable by anything Moskurg can throw at us. Able to lay ruin to entire squads with its cannon and swords. Able to tank anything. Agile, nimble, quick. A weapon of the future for sure.
TL;DR: A basic mech with a sword and cannon.
Armor - Standard crystal armor resists all standard Moskurger weapons. Lightning is countered by resistive crystal layering, something which we have and don't even have to work at to implement thanks to the Crystalworks Mk. 2.
Weapons - A giant crystal broadsword in one hand, and an integrated AS-HAC-1 in the other. The AS-HAC-1 is unremarkable except for the fact that it uses the crystal fabricator of the AS-R2. Considering how easily we did things like this before (implementing breech loading from the AS-HAC-1 into all other cannons. Sure, we got a 6, but this was in addition to fixing breech loading), this shouldn't be a problem. This means the AS-HAC-1 can fire much more quickly and doesn't have to be manually loaded.
Locomotion - Gears (enhanced by circuits) powered by an IDE. Main innovation here is basically upping our knowledge of mechanics so we can handle this stuff. Considering that this is the primary focus of the design, it shouldn't really add much difficulty to the design.
Appearance/Structure - Roughly humanoid (2-3x as large as avg. human), but with a proportionally large torso (to fit the pilot and the IDE behind the pilot) and no head ('cause we don't need a head). It has no hands, and has weapons (sword+cannon) where its hands would be. It's entirely armored in crystal and has a crystal glass "cockpit" where the pilot is strapped in. To ensure that the cockpit is secure during combat, entry/exit is a long process.
This is possible. We can actually do this. Everything's in place. We have the mechanical knowledge. We have the engine. We have the materials. We can do this!
Also, we should totally make a Flamethrower. We have everything we need to do it. Hell, it should actually be really easy to make one.
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Topic: Wands Race - [Arstotzka] {COMPLETED} (Read 393407 times)