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[andrea]

my idea would be to spend a revision to turn those missiles into true space bound ones.

[Detoxicated]

So my reasoning for a heavier corvette: fast and easy to produce, able to carry some drones later on. Knowledge in space ship creation, counter to their heavy corvette.


Also a future design
spermwhale laser drone
Equipped with a single laser, this extremely agile drone has athena guidance, several thrusters, its own small reactor and elongated antenna to further its sensor reach. It is used as disattached arms of the ship it belongs to.In swarms these things become the eye and the sting of the fleet it supports. While it is easily destroyed, this thing can deal a fair deal of damage to small ships by itself and even bigger ships get in trouble when facing a swarm of spermwhales.
Edit:
Windfish Spermwhale Frigate
Equipped with six lasers, this ship also wields an armada of fifty spermwhales. It has a split role, for one its drones do exploration and recoinessance but in combat situations the ship is able to coordinate the fleet and its fifty spermwhales can deal damage where needed.

[Chiefwaffles]

If we send a Cuttlefish to cover the ITC, that means best case scenario, we'll be forced with an obsolete ship next orbital combat. Or worse - the ship gets damaged or destroyed. It won't guarantee protection of the Sarissa, too (remember when we last tried to do the sacrificial protection thing? They still managed to hamper our cargo unloading efforts after getting rid of the escort).
If we send the ITC to D without protection, we guarantee we have an extra 2 SPP for our ship stuff next turn, and if the enemy somehow finds and destroys the ITC (which is unprecedented), we just lose 2 SPP that could never be used for military purposes this following turn anyways. Besides, even if we don't get any new designs to D we won't even lose land. Just remain at a stalemate.

Iron Heart Line(0):
Plan NUKE-2.11 (2): 3_14159, Chiefwaffles
Plan NUKE-3.12 (3): Andrea, joha4270, Blood_Librarian

[andrea]

Iron Heart Line(0):
Plan NUKE-2.11 (3): 3_14159, Chiefwaffles, Andrea
Plan NUKE-3.12 (2): joha4270, Blood_Librarian

Point made, I guess. it is true that last time a cuttlefish didn't help much against an odin... and now we have a damaged cuttlefish against an odin with better aiming.

[Detoxicated]

Design "Sand in the Gear" Drone defence System
Super agile drones equipped with heightened sensors. They act as eyes and ears for athena and they attempt to get in the way of enemy bullets and missiles and attempts to hail onto the enmy like a meteorite strike. It is reinforced with our strongest materials.

[Chiefwaffles]

Design: EAF-ACD1 "Aegis"
Just as in Greek mythology Athena wielded the Aegis to protect, Ertex's Athena will use Aegis to protect us.

The Automated Combat Drone "Aegis" is a humanoid design - a bit larger than a human, but otherwise resembling one. It's built completely out of Island Alloy, and its lack of more directly-flexible parts mean we don't have to sacrifice protection for mobility. Its head is the least humanoid thing about it - moreso a bundle of sensors shaped to not be too offputting to the human eye. An Athena node is distributed throughout the entire frame. We thought about the head as the Athena node, but that's an obvious weak spot. We thought about the torso, but that's a big target. So instead, we're simply distributing it out to minimize the chances of catastrophic damage. The thing is powered by NQ Cells distributed along the frame too (but mostly in the center).
It's of course bipedal, the tech behind it being prior bipedal robot designs before our departure from Earth, some tweaking by ourselves, and Athena managing it.

The Aegis' Athena node individually is relatively intelligent. Involving such dynamic functions such as "continue shooting at what you were shooting at", "don't shoot at friendlies", and "continue walking to where you were supposed to walk before disconnection from the network." Because of the fact that Athena is a networked intelligence, individual Aegis units should be able to tank surprising amounts of damage - even if their Athena node isn't functioning, that doesn't mean it can't receive orders from Athena; a damaged/destroyed node just means it can't properly contribute to the networked intelligence.
So even if you manage to blow a hole through the center of an Aegis, it should still keep functioning if it has enough intact servos to move, an antenna, and any capacitors with charge left. But blowing a hole through it should still be hard given it's made using Island Alloy and isn't just haphazardly given a couple of I-Alloy plates to hang on itself like the X100-I.

The Aegis has relatively nimble hands. It can pick up and manipulate most general tools, but can't do anything like keyboards, precision tasks, and the like. It's meant to hold guns and maybe pick up other things. It has "ports" and "hooks" and whatnot to attach extra gear to, and its hands can be "plugged" into our equipment - namely Raider rifles - to directly operate them from the Aegis unit's integrated cell. It's equipped with a speaker that has a randomized fairly human-like (still obviously robotic to prevent the auditory uncanny valley) voices in case it needs to coordinate with nearby humans or direct Quillus prisoners and the like. But most coordination with Triumvirate-aligned humans will likely be via Athena directly speaking to individuals via radio.


We're going for Quality over Quantity, here. But that's not to say Quantity is a valid aim of ours. Just less-so than Quality. Aegis units can perfectly coordinate with each other and other Athena equipment (e.g. Sarissa) instantly based on perfect intelligence from the entire Athena network. The units can make expert effective use of armor thanks to the fact that they have no bendy and squishy parts. They're much more durable regardless of armor because they can survive a lot more damage than a human (and have no pain). They can be more agile than humans thanks to not having to wear bulky suits. They can be manufactured at will. They mean less Ertexite lives lost (and no tricky philosophical questions about sapient robots! If there ever will be a sapient AI, it'll be Athena, and Aegis units are just a part of the same Athena).


TL;DR: A bipedal combat robot controlled by Athena. I-Alloy frame, NQ Cell powered and, most importantly, cool.
((In terms of difficulty, I'd say Normal. It basically has two "new" things: Athena controlling individual bots (helped greatly by Athena Flexibility) and being bipedal (which we're currently doing fairly well on in real life). If it was just doing these things, it'd probably be Easy, but we also have to put the whole thing together.))

Reference images will be edited into their own spoiler soon.

[FallacyofUrist]

Neat. Do you think we can use our lasers to shoot Quillus' projectiles out of the sky with an Athena upgrade?

[sprinkled chariot]

Railgun slugs are probably too fast for our lasers.

[FallacyofUrist]

Railgun slugs are probably too fast for our lasers.

A laser moves at the speed of light. Literally, nothing can move faster.

[Happerry]

Railgun slugs moving fast is still relevant because it doesn't matter how fast our weapons are if they aren't pointed in the right spot long enough, and the faster the enemy slugs go the harder it is to hold them under laser fire long enough to knock them off course. I mean, it's not like these are guided missiles with electronics we can explodify, they're just solid slugs of metal. Even if we have perfect aimbot accuracy, would we actually dump enough energy into them to do anything by the time they hit us?

If we want to 'not be hit by railguns', I'd think the first thing to look at would be ECM or radar jammers or some such so they have worse aim or better dodging for us so we're a harder target.

[andrea]

I think both ways are viable. we don't need to vaporize that much to throw them off course. But obviously, the earlier we see them the easier it is.

[sprinkled chariot]

Using something like space bursting tactical nukes might be somewhat more efficient then heating up superfast slugs, also we just got experience with missiles and nukes.

Zeus

By modifying our existing land based tactical nuclear weaponry to be used in space , our engineers have created multifunctional space missile. Depending on athenas decision it may be used for dispersing enemy slugs and fighters by accurately timed nuclear explosions, or it may aswell be used for directly bombarding enemy ships.

TlDR : they most likely expect us to be laser show specialists, so by attacking them with precise Athena guided nuclear missiles we outmaneuvre any laserproof defenses they might deploy.
Also unlike heating up gottagofast slugs, explosion can actually push slugs from lethal course or break its structural integrity.
And design should not be very hard, since we just got expertise in area.
Finally, it will have them scratch heads thinking, what our next research step will be.

[andrea]

Honestly, I don't believe nukes make good point defense.

Those slugs are small and very fast, intercepting will be quite hard. And in space, nukes will have extremely short range, need to detonate very close to have an effect.

[Blood_Librarian]

Design:ENV SW-002 "Tithonus"

Simply put, the Tithonus is little more then dozens of Rack mounts strapped to a large truss, with a incredible configuration ability.  Although they cannot carry infantry, they can carry large cargo crates, Automated Shuttles, and Automated War machines of the Void-borne Variety. It is also equipped with dozens of military grade server racks with the the intention that they are put into high stress hgih speed situations when the drones are active, essentially acting as the processing mainframe of the drone swarm that is to be deployed.

Admittedly, the drones designed with Tithonus are small, simple and exceedingly disposable. A laser system attached to a set of capacitors, along with a solid rocket booster and a set of maneuvering thrusts, designed to be thrown at the enemy and recovered after the battle.

Automated shuttles are little more then the previous shuttles we had, with their fly-by-wire systems slaved to either the Athena system, or a offsite drone operator.

[NUKE9.13]

It is the start of SY104
Link to Battle Report for SY103

Unfortunately, Libum Labs exploded three days after their no-major-accident anniversary. Nevertheless, they managed to release a new product- perhaps the winner of this year's event?

It is now the Design Phase of SY104

Spoiler: Tech List (click to show/hide)

Ships
ITC (Interplanetary Transport Craft): The ships that carried colonists to your homeworld, now repurposed as military transports. They use rocket shuttles to ferry things to and from the surface. These shuttles have a limited capacity, meaning that with the exception of troops, the ITC cannot carry any equipment of a size greater than 1TC. It has 4TC. It uses chemical engines for propulsion. It has no armour or armaments. It is Very Slow, and quite large.
Cost: 2SPP

ESC-FS 1 'Cuttlefish' laser corvette: A medium-sized spaceship. The Cuttlefish's hull vaguely resembles its namesake. The 'beak' is a "Hermes" variable-water-injected fusion thruster, which draws plasma from the Helios-S reactor. It has very light armour, and has three AX4-Spear turrets, which are automatically aimed by the Athena RL System, which also handles evasive manoeuvres. The more ships in the fleet, the better Athena performs, due to her distributed computing. Its speed is Moderate, though it can inject extra water into the thruster for a temporary speed boost.
Cost: 2SPP
  Island-Alloy Armour: A few plates of Island-Alloy, formed into a basic armour covering for the Cuttlefish. Despite being thin, they increase survivability by as much as 100%.
  Cost: +1SPP


Equipment
Printed Pistol: Issued to security guards before the war, the only real weapon both colonies started with. They are 3D-printed out of plastic, a process which is not entirely reliable, meaning the gun has a tendency to break after prolonged use... or any use, really.
Cost: Cheap

X100 Space Suit: A civilian space suit, totally unarmoured and cumbersome to walk in. At least it works well enough, and has a self-sealing lining meaning a single shot isn't an immediate death sentence... most of the time. Necessary for deployment to worlds without breathable atmospheres.
Cost: Cheap
  X100-I: Literally just a few plates of Island-Alloy bolted onto the outside of an X100.
  Cost: 2GPP

EAF-X1 "Ranger" Laser Rifle: A big, bulky firearm, weighing in at 15kg- just barely wieldable whilst standing. Works best against stationary targets. Can fire 30 shots in pulse mode before reloading, or 15 seconds in beam mode. Beam mode has pretty good armour penetration against conventional armour. Comes with basic scope and bipod. With the scope it is accurate at Long range.
Cost: Cheap
  EAF-PX3 Raider: A variant of the Ranger, using the new Picasso Pattern. Weighs a 'mere' 7.5kg. Fires shorter pulses, and deals more damage against moving targets. Does not have a beam mode.

Interplanetary Radio: Essentially just a very big radio set, capable of reliable communication between planets. Too big to fit on an ITC. Currently only useful for taunting Quillus.
Cost: 2GPP
Weight: 2TC


Vehicles
EAC-TML1 Sarissa Missile Launcher: A nuclear-missile launcher consisting of three shuttle-loads worth of stuff: a small electric truck, a launch trailer, and the missiles themselves. The launch trailer loads 8 missiles, tipped with extremely small nuclear warheads for maximum 'tactical' performance. The missiles are controlled by Athena, who is now capable of flying missiles and identifying ground targets. Their range isn't great, and the launcher misfires (harmlessly) about 25% of the time, the guidance system is a bit wonky even under Athena's capable control, and the truck+trailer is slow and unwieldy, but still, nuclear-missile launcher!
Cost: 2GPP
Weight 2TC/1TC in shuttle.


Infrastructure
Colony Defence Grid: The reason you can't instantly invade the enemy homeworld. A series of surface-to-orbit missile launchers, the only real concession to self defence the planners of the colony made. How they work is a mystery, and no one wants to risk taking them apart to find out.

"Helios" Fusion Reactor: A large, Tokamak style reactor. Performs He3-He3 fusion, though it does not take full advantage of this. Provides 2SPP and 2GPP.
  Helios-S: A variety specifically designed for use in spaceships. A 'twisted' plasma flow allows for plasma to be siphoned off without disrupting the reaction.


Misc Tech
Nanoquantum Capacitor Cells, Escher Pattern Mk2: AKA NQ Cells. About 15 times better than chemical batteries. Palm-sized, weigh about a kilo each. Despite their apparent complexity, manufacture and usage is simple.

Libum-265K: A near-room temperature superconductor. Manufacture is complicated.

Hephaestus Synthesis: A complicated process that produces small amounts of Insulanium- an isotope of a certain element that resides in the "Island of Stability"; it is very heavy, yet relatively stable. Produced in too small amounts to make anything practical out of it, it is instead alloyed with more common metals, which substantially increases their strength even with only 0.25% Insulanium added.

Spoiler: Observed enemy tech (click to show/hide)

Ships
ITC (Interplanetary Transport Craft): New shuttle spotted:
  QS-RAS-00 'Dove': A heavier shuttle for the ITC, powered by a Loki-class Stardust reactor and fitted with Apollo thrusters. It has light armour and two 30mm Hayks. Can carry 3TC. Adds 1SPP to the cost of an ITC.

QS-CA-99 'Odin': A heavily armoured medium-sized spaceship. Her hull is all slope, the front being a point, from which slopes lead up to the widest point, then slopes lead down at the same angle, before being cut off, leaving a large flat area in the back, where the main thrusters are. Aforementioned main thrusters are three Apollos. She has five smaller thrusters mounted pointing in other directions, providing excellent manoeuvrability. Her powerplant is a Stardust reactor. She is armed with four Mjolnir turrets providing excellent coverage, and a single spinal-mount extra-long Mjolnir. Her armour consists of a layer of Heavy titanium with faraday insulation, with a layer of Light ceramics mounted a full three meters away from the main hull. Despite her bulk, she moves at a Moderate pace.
Cost: 3SPP

QS-SF-00 'Loki': A small-ish fighter, capable of independent operation for a few days before needing to resupply. A substantially downsized Stardust reactor provides power to the Apollo thrusters, as well as the singular Mjolnir coilgun. Has light armour, and a radio capable of same-orbit communication. Requires a transport to act as 'mothership'- two Lokis take up 1TC
Cost: 1SPP for two.

Equipment
Printed Pistol: No differences noticed.

X100 Space Suit: No differences noticed.

Interplanetary Radio: No differences noticed.

QS-IRW-99 'Hayk': The Hayk is a micromissile-firing rifle. It is magazine fed, has a reasonable rate of fire, and is accurate at a surprising distance- theoretically out to Long range, although few are capable of such superhuman feats. There is an ammo variant which explodes on contact, though it is less accurate and in shorter supply.
Cost: Cheap

QS-GL-02 'Fog Machine': The Fog Machine is a simple grenade launcher, basically nothing more than an oversized Hayk with a shortened barrel. It fires either smoke/chaff or explosives. Range/accuracy is a bit of an issue.
Cost: Cheap


Vehicles
QS-MBT-02 'Hrungnir': The Hrungnir is a big tank, with fairly heavy armour in the form of a layer of ceramics atop a layer of titanium (all sloped). It is powered by a Stardust reactor, basically the same one used by the Loki. The energy is used to drive electric motors which in turn drive the treads upon which the Hrungnir sits. It is equipped with a 50mm stabilized auto-loading Mjolnir coilgun, the barrel of which can also be used to fire upsized explosive Hayk rockets. It has an electronics package that handles fire control and sensors. It also has smoke/chaff dispensers, which automatically cloud the vehicle in smoke/chaff (for atmosphereless planets) when sensors detect unusual heating.
Cost: 4GPP
Weight: 3TC


Infrastructure

Colony Defence Grid: No differences noticed.

QS-CPP-96 'Stardust': A fusion reactor, copies of which can be found across Quillus, powering industry. Utilises powerful niobium-tin superconductors, cooled by liquid helium, to contain plasma in a Tokamak-style. The "Brokkr's Forge" improvements have made it slightly more effective, to the point where it reaches ignition. Grants 2GPP and 2SPP. A smaller version designed for use in spaceships also exists.


Loose Parts
QS-MAC-97 'Mjolnir': A coilgun (and definitely not a railgun) capable of firing 150mm slugs at considerable speeds. Requires a substantial power supply. Ground installations cost 1GPP for four. Ship mountings cost 1SPP for eight.

QS-MHD-98 'Apollo': A magneto-plasma-dynamic thruster of exceptional efficiency. Uses hydrogen plasma by default; heavier elements can be injected into the mix for a boost in thrust.

Spoiler: Production (click to show/hide)

Ship Production Points: 16+2+2(E)
  6 Points: 3xITC
  2 Points: 1xCuttlefish
  12 Points: 4xArmoured Cuttlefish

Ground Production Points: 16+2+4(E)
  4 Points: 4xX100-I
  4 Points: 2xSarissa
  14 Points: -
 
Units: 5
  1 Unit on planet A (X100-I)
  2 Units on planet D (X100-I)
  1 Unit on planet E (no extra equipment)
  1 Unit on planet F (X100-I)

Spoiler: The Map (click to show/hide)

Don't even worry about this looking nothing like a solar system. Its, uh, optimal transfers or something. Look, it's dumb, but what do you want from me?

Key:
A: A volcanic world. Constant eruptions and earthquakes result in a thoroughly unpleasant environment. 4SPP, 2GPP
  E:1/6, Q:3/6
B: Rocky world. (Almost) no atmosphere, no major tectonic activity, this planets is... boring. The most notable terrain features are the craters that litter the surface. 2SPP, 2GPP
C: An ocean world. Covered in 94% water, with a breathable atmosphere, and a few inhabitable islands. Prepare for lots of island-hopping. 2SPP, 4GPP
  Q:6/6
D: An earthlike world. Covered in 69% water, with a breathable atmosphere, most of the surface being inhabitable. Terrain varies wildly, from open plains to thick jungles- and of course vast seas. 5SPP, 5GPP
  E:5/6, Q:0/6
E: A frozen world. Almost entirely covered in ice, with an atmosphere too thin to breathe. Ice sheets make for treacherous terrain, with snow-covered mountains being not much better. 2SPP, 4GPP
  E:6/6
F: Rocky world. (Almost) no atmosphere, no major tectonic activity, this planets is... boring. The most notable terrain features are the craters that litter the surface. 2SPP, 2GPP
  Q:4/6, E:0/6
G: A desert world. With a few salty 'seas' covering a mere 12% of the surface, the majority of this planet is dry as a bone. Vast sandscapes dominate, punctured by low, rocky hills, and the ocassional oasis. The atmosphere is breathable. 2SPP, 4GPP.
Ertex&Quillus: Earthlike worlds. Capturing the enemy homeworld results in victory. Yield no Production Points. I mean, they do, but those are already accounted for in your basic industry.