Well.
Use Expense Credit 1 on MagegemsHere's what we intend for it to do. This list of course isn't definite, and it's of course ultimately up to evicted.
- Make Blastshell+R/E Cheap.
- Double-charge +R and +E Blastshells to double the effects of each while remaining cheap (We would be able to afford better Magegems and thus have more power for more Blastballs).
- Increase power of +R/E Blastshells for the HA1. (Either doing a +1.5R/+1.5 E or +2R/1E and +1R/+2E or something like that. We would be able to afford better Magegems = more space for Blastballs)
- Cheap AS-R1s (AS-R1 should be Cheap because of Crystalworks, but it was never brought up. Therefore having Cheap AA gems should allow for universally Cheap AS-R1s)
- Increase capacity of Aethergems (So we can use better Magegems when making Aethergems for the same price. So an A Magegem can be used to make an AAethergem instead of AA Magegem/AA Aethergem, etc.).
- (EDIT) Make the Mundane not useless? If the above point goes through, then the Mundane should be able to use AAethergems instead of Aethergems to power its SPF-C, and should thus become Expensive down from Very Expensive.
I decided not to include the +2R/1E or +2E/1R Blastshell since that's probably overdoing it and we'd probably come into size issues.
Expense Credit 1
1 - Magegems: Chiefwaffles
Expense Credit 2
1 - Save the credit: Chiefwaffles
Orders
4 - Do not reveal the F43 in the next battle report: Andres, Helmacon, Kadzar, Chiefwaffles
EDIT: I've made a design for a potential F44. The idea is to basically focus on making a better KPD (and also 20mm turret), so it's much more energy efficient and uses the cushion-like "pushing" instead of literally propelling via explosions.
Should actually be easy, and I mean it this time. It's basically just "try again on the F43", which should get a decent amount of bonus modifiers.
Lemme know if anyone has ideas for a different type of aircraft, 'cause I'd love to type it out.
Future(ish) Design: ASAF-F44The KPD is a good start, but is lacking. That is why the main focus in this design is the KPD Mk. 2, an incremental improvement of its predecessor. The rest of the F44 is an incremental but serious improvement to the F43. The F43 was a prototype - a proof of concept. The F44 is the real deal.
The Mark 2 does away with the primitive Blastball propulsion of old. Instead of having a thruster to blow explosions out of, we build on the KPD's circuitry to not create a Blastball, but rather a new kind of spell based on it.
The new spell, while based on the Blastball, is far from an explosion. Almost like a cushion of magic, in a way. We build on our mastery of kinetic energy and pressure from the Mark 1's Blastball to create this. Instead of a thruster, the KPD will "push" the aircraft along. As if there was a physical object there.
We also build on our failure of before and take advantage of circuitry to ensure stabilization. Precise "pushes" at specific locations at the right times yield to something much greater, allowing the F44 to effortlessly glide in any direction through the air, quickly. Really, this is what we intended to do at first, but sometimes you can't get it right on the first attempt.
The Mark 2 is remarkably energy efficient. It turns out that this improved propulsion method is much less power hungry. Explosions are crude and imprecise. You simply just release magical energy in an area. But when you harness it as the Mark 2 does, and use only the needed amounts in the perfect areas, the energy usage drops by insane amounts. No magic is wasted in the Mark 2.
As a result of this, we need a radically lower amount of Aethergems fueling the Mark 2. We don't know the precise amount yet, but it should be much lower.
We also spend some time on the ball turret introduced in the F43. We take our experience with mechanics and simply add some gears and whatnot to the turret in order to allow for the gunner to easily maneuver and aim the ball turret via a series of easy-to-use controls.
The AS-HAC-1 is upgraded to 20mm to allow it to pierce Moskurger armor while retaining a high muzzle velocity as well.
Finally is the shape and Aethergems. And a neat little device we call a "Linkgem"
The new KPD's significantly decreased energy usage means much less Aethergems are required. The Aethergems are low enough in number that we can put them in an armored chamber between the ball turret and cockpit, roughly the size of the cockpit. The armor is layered Crystal heavy enough to stop multiple ballistae bolts. Not too heavy in the big picture because it's Crystal and it's a small area. But the goal is to ensure that the Aethergems cannot be detonated in-flight.
We call this chamber the "Reactor". A very fancy name.
The shape is simple. The cockpit is made largely out of crystal glass and features the pilot and controls along with the aforementioned "Linkgem", a simple device made using an AAA Magegem. The Linkgem simply converts audio vibrations on its surface into magic (like how the anti-magic charm does with magic -> audio) and sends this down a crystal wire to another Linkgem. No magic powering is required as the audio only needs to travel through it as naturally converted magic then back as audio. This is obviously low priority.
The cockpit is small and is just big enough to seat the pilot semi-comfortably and other items necessary for the cockpit.
Behind the cockpit is the Reactor, of similar size to the cockpit. Behind the reactor is the ball turret. The ball turret houses the second Linkgem, connected by crystal wire to the Cockpit Linkgem. This allows the Gunner and Pilot to easily talk with each other despite their physical separation.
The F44 is shaped very roughly like an arrowhead. At the front the cockpit is shaped roughy like a tear, behind it is the sort-of-cylindrical Reactor which vaguely looks like it has a sphere slightly protruding from its center. Behind this is the ball turret. Our apprentices can have a bit of freedom with the aesthetics.
Generally speaking, the F44 is intended to be similar to the F43 in aspects not mentioned below.
KPD Mark 2 - "Fix" the KPD to be like how it was envisioned - "pushing" the craft via direct and precise applications of kinetic energy, allowing UFO-like movement of equal (+fast) speed in any direction. Intended side-effect is that this is
much more energy efficient because of the precise usage of energy instead of wasting it in unfocused explosions like the F43.
Ball Turret/20mm Upgrade - Upgrade the ball turret to have mechanical controls from the inside and to house a 20mm gun based off of the AS-HAC-1 for armor piercing while retaining high muzzle velocity.
Linkgems -
Very low priority feature. We just take the "magic -> sound" aspect of anti-magic gems and apply it to an AAA Magegem. Then we connect the Magegem to another AAA Magegem via crystal wire, where the sound-turned-magic turns back into sound. The result is basically just a fancy can telephone, allowing people on the ends of either linked Linkgem to talk to each other.
Reactor - We have a low-enough number of Aethergems that we can just put them in an armored chamber called the Reactor. Armor is a bit more than the Cockpit/Ball turret, able to tank numerous Ballistae bolts without signs of damage. But as long as armor is enough so they can't easily trigger a detonation by attacking the reactor, it's fine. Reactor should roughly be size of cockpit (which can hold the pilot + controls + essential items).
Structure - Very roughly like an arrowhead. Cockpit at front connected to the Reactor connected to the Ball Turret.
TL;DR: A refined version of the F44, with lower magic consumption, a
much better KPD, and some miscellaneous mild neat features.