Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Madman198237]

Draignean, can we immediately throw those two dice into the project, or is that not an option at this point?

[NUKE9.13]

Draignean, can we immediately throw those two dice into the project, or is that not an option at this point?

It isn't. We invest in projects in the Design Phase.

I don't think we have anything worth revising yet.

No Revision: (1) NUKE9.13

[milo christiansen]

Ouch, at least the cost will be offset by the low time.

Am I correct in assuming we can't revise anything until we have a prototype?

We could revise existing tech in some way, but I'm not sure what...

No Revision: (1) NUKE9.13, Milo

[Nirur Torir]

No Revision: (3) NUKE9.13, Milo, Nirur

Let's put two dice into advancing it next turn. We have time, no need to risk an overrun.

[Draignean]

Ouch, at least the cost will be offset by the low time.

Am I correct in assuming we can't revise anything until we have a prototype?

We could revise existing tech in some way, but I'm not sure what...

You can revise anything you already have, but you can't make changes to an unfinished design until you have a prototype.

[Madman198237]

No Revision: (1) NUKE9.13, Milo

Hm. I guess we'll want to save dice, that's for sure. That said, revisions to be made to basic tech at some point (Some of these items might be replaced instead, but if these are what should be considered):

Aetheric Gauntlet Cooling Systems: By changing the copper heatsinks and the layout of the gauntlet, heat is directed AWAY from the user, faster and more efficiently than before.

Aethersilk Vest Improvement: By backing the vest with a thin layer of bronze, the damage dealt by swords and even some bullets is vastly reduced.

Light Aether Cannon: By using a more efficient crystal system, we develop a more efficient cannon that generates less heat per shot.
Alternative: By using an extensive built-in heatsink system, we can move heat away from the gun faster, allowing either more rapid or more powerful shots (Pick one of the two options during discussion)

Basic Dinghy: A slightly expanded frame can accommodate a slightly larger and more efficient core crystal, allowing for better speeds to be achieved.

[milo christiansen]

An improved vest isn't worth it unless it is cheap enough to outfit whole squads.

Maybe a new body armor that is bronze with a thin silk layer lacquered in place. The interior would be lined with layers of insulation. The idea being the silk transforms aetheric energy into heat, which the bronze absorbs and dissipates. This would provide better protection app around while being cheaper (less silk needed). Obviously we would need to spend a design on this... Probably much later.

I would avoid improving the gauntlet too, we want to make a fast firing crossbow instead.

[Madman198237]

Actually, *you* want to make a fast-firing crossbow.

I would disagree, pointing out that the sort of lever-operated crossbow you want is less powerful by far than non-lever-action ones can be. Revising the gauntlet, however, gives us a semi-automatic and fast-firing method of disabling enemy troops very quickly, without the disadvantages of the lever-action crossbow.

[NUKE9.13]

No Revision: (3) NUKE9.13, Milo, Nirur Torir

You deleted Nirur's vote.

The Gauntlet we might do, although as mentioned, I'd rather give our marines crossbows as their default weapon. Longer range, not stopped by silk, uses plentiful wood instead of scarce crystal.
The vest, eh, maybe. I'm not convinced of the value of armour, though.
The LAC I'd rather spend a design upgrading.
The dinghy shouldn't be in combat situations to begin with, so there's little point in upgrading it, I feel. 

[milo christiansen]

Do you have any idea how slow a normal crossbow is? I'll give you a hint: they make flintlocks look fast.

I want to avoid aetheric weapons where possible, since they are relatively easy to protect against. Anti crossbow armor will be heavy, giving us a movement advantage. If they don't make armor we will slay them in droves.

[Madman198237]

Milo, they're EXPENSIVE to protect against. VERY expensive. As in, using-that-really-essential-for-every-ship-material expensive. Aetheric weapons are a solid option if they're done right. As it stands, an upgrade might not be out of place, but it's going to have to wait.

As for crossbows, I mentioned firerate. A 15 second reload time on a light crossbow capable of punching through basic body armor at close range is not very hard to imagine. A heavier crossbow that takes up to 30 seconds to load but is capable of punching through mail-backed plate armor at close range is also realistic, and if they ever become a real problem you just roll out a 1000-pound-draw-weight windlass-and-winch-loaded crossbow to punch through the hulls of most small warships.


NUKE, I am aware of all of those objections. I specifically stated that if we ever have free revisions, those are a few simple ways to do it.

[milo christiansen]

And those light crossbows are equivalent in power to a repeating model... Which would you rather have, 10 bolts or 1?

Aetheric weapons are expensive to protect against *now* but who knows what will be developed later?

Also, we could develop aetheric repeating crossbows later. Use magic to operate the mechanism for a larger version. Basically a crew served machine gun, just aim and dump bolts in the hopper...

[Madman198237]

Nope, they're not equivalent in power. For the same engineering effort required to develop this repeating crossbow you could develop three cheaper versions at three levels of raw killing power rather than one entirely inferior design with less raw killing power and more expense.

[milo christiansen]

You are acting like we will have to shoot though steel plate. In reality we don't need massive power.

Also, most heavy crossbows need metal limbs, which greatly increases the cost.

[NUKE9.13]

Could you write up a design for this proposed repeater crossbow?