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[SamSpeeds]

Hmmm, true. Though I do think they'll wait to upgrade their droids until they've dealt with Mirage Plating properly. Would it be possible to deploy Hrungnir's on other planets this turn?

Vedrfolnir FF QS-05 (1): evilcherry
QS-PIA-05 'Heimdallr': (3) Madman, Maximum Spin, SamSpeeds
QS-DCD-05 'Thyle': (2) Jilladilla, strongpoint,
Vidarr Wave Generator: (1) Thanatoss Russ

Sorry for flakin LOL. I just realized it'll be possible for them to counter EWAR in it's proposed form just by localizing their modules to each individual unit, or using some form of communication we can't detect or mess with. And infantry is important.

[Madman198237]

Depending on the TCs required for Power Armor, yes, it might very well be possible to deploy tanks on more planets. In fact, we might very well be capable of lifting the non-stealth tanks from D, and moving them to A, while moving in a new unit of stealth tanks to D.

[Jilladilla]

Personally, I'm more for moving the Non-Stealth Tanks to F, to get Ertex off of our half of the map. We have 3 able combat ready ships, an ITC with a Dove and 2 Loki's; and 2 Odins, Thought and Memory. So we can stop their unit being picked up at E being shipped to reinforce any of the frontlines at least. Or try to, I suppose. One ship does not make a great blockade.

[Madman198237]

We still have deployed Lokis, yes? They can mostly cover a planet, at least make it hard for the ITC to land something there, even without radar.

Odin retreats to Quillus for repairs, Thought covers D, Memory moves to A, and the Lokis with the transport at D take the non-stealth tanks to F and cover the orbit there. Sound like a plan?

[Strongpoint]

QS-EAI-05 'Muninn'
Based somewhat on the Huginn's predictive neural network, the Muninn system aims to create a true AI system, an expanded neural network of sorts, capable of expanding its own processes, knowledge, and usability. The first iteration will be specifically designed to be capable of using a host vehicle's sensors and transmitters to hack hostile computer systems and subvert them to our cause.

Thyle is a mostly a hardware project, this one is a pure software. One tries to get experience in CPUs and sensors, this tries to get experience for AIs.  Thyle is recon\disinformation\hacking, this one is a pure hacking

Those are very different approaches.

Anyways, an EWAR design is going to ensure we start losing infantry combat. They *will* be improving their droids, and probably deploying them to A since we destroyed them over D.

EWAR targets droids.
Power armor makes worse droids (because meatbag in armor is still inferior to upgraded droids, especially considering that they have far better batteries)

Power Armor, however, might very well be a way to get us additional SPP/GPP. Our ships aren't atmosphere-capable, therefore they must be built in orbit. A civilian version of a power-armor (A powered exoskeleton, most likely) would be a great thing to have in space.

I would consider voting for a civilian power armor design but revision of military version isn't going to do as much. That if we get usable power armor and won't require to spend a revision to fix it to usability immediately.

Also, we can revise our current spacesuits into something with a battery for civilians. No need to go power armor (because civilians need no metamaterial armor and other things army need)

[Maximum Spin]

Thyle is a mostly a hardware project, this one is a pure software. One tries to get experience in CPUs and sensors, this tries to get experience for AIs.  Thyle is recon\disinformation\hacking, this one is a pure hacking

Those are very different approaches.

Not if you understand computers it isn't.

[Strongpoint]

Thyle is a mostly a hardware project, this one is a pure software. One tries to get experience in CPUs and sensors, this tries to get experience for AIs.  Thyle is recon\disinformation\hacking, this one is a pure hacking

Those are very different approaches.

Not if you understand computers it isn't.

It is a very refined argument and adds a lot to the discussion.

Thyle has a very different approach and it is an obvious fact who bothers to read and compare. Proposing "more efficient" thing that does different thing in a different way is proposing a different thing, not proposing a "more efficient" version

[Madman198237]

-snip for quote-pyramid-reducing sanity-

You either hack and subvert the enemy's computer systems ENTIRELY, or you...try and fool them with data that, at some point, is going to be obviously false? Thyle is different, yeah, it's also reliant on the speed of human thought and is generally not detailed as a suggestion. An AI both gives us long-term advantage, and makes the hacking system itself far, far more powerful (and more focused than Thyle, which is trying to, what, do every bit of EWAR [countermeasures, deceit, AND direct subversion] and make cups of coffee on request?).

[Thanatos Russ]

Quote
Vedrfolnir FF QS-05 (1): evilcherry
QS-PIA-05 'Heimdallr': (3) Madman, Maximum Spin, SamSpeeds, Thanatos Russ
QS-DCD-05 'Thyle': (2) Jilladilla, strongpoint,
Vidarr Wave Generator: (0)

[NUKE9.13]

QS-PIA-05 'Heimdallr'
Named for the Norse god of vigilance and the night guard of Asgard, Heimdallr is our first foray into Powered Infantry Armor. The armor itself is Mirage Plated ceramic with a titanium under-layer with Faraday shielding, constructed so that, like Gothic plate armor, it supports its own weight when at rest. Under the armor is an insulated, temperature-controlled pressure suit. A web of pressure sensors in strategic parts of the pressure suit allows the user to actuate electric motors that power the joints. The hands are not motorized. The motors themselves are powered through the use of a battery-backpack, using a much improved Eitr battery that now does not explode. Also in the backpack is the computer system for the HUD. The armor plate covering the eyes can be slid up, revealing a (heavily tinted to reduce laser damage as much as possible) ballistics-glass visor, should the HUD system (visual data provided by two cameras on either side of the helmet, one in visible light and one in IR) fail. The armor's battery and computer systems are more powerful than necessary, to accommodate later improvements. A small radio built into the helmet and connected to the computer package and an IFF transponder complete the set.

QS-PIA-05 'Heimdallr' (Hard): (2+2)-1=3: Buggy Mess
So there are a few problems with the Heimdallr Powered Infantry Armour.
Let's start with the most pressing: the battery. Because despite going over all the schematics, we were unable to discover what makes the Eitr so unstable. As a result, it still explodes at the drop of a hat. So all our tests have involved more conventional batteries, which aren't really powerful enough to be used practically. This makes Heimdallr armour extremely impractical, since it either has a 15-minute battery life, or explodes.
Next, let's talk about the actual armour. So, the Mirage Plating kind of relies on very precise alignment to redirect light properly. Whilst the armour is standing still in exactly the right pose, it is extremely hard to see. Otherwise, the weird and unpredictable ways that the light gets redirected turns it into a flashing light show. The conventional armour, meanwhile, weighs a ton. Well, not a literal ton, but it's still extremely heavy, and the thick plates make movement awkward.
The motors, meanwhile, are fine- or they would be, if the armour had the projected weight. As it is, they struggle to move the titanic suit, making it sluggish- and even then, the strain is too much for the motors, which frequently fail.
After struggling with everything else, we didn't have time to even get started on an advanced HUD. Users will have to make do with a regular visor.
The radio and transponder work fine.

Should we, for whatever reason, choose to deploy Heimdallr armour, it will cost us 3GPP for a unit's worth (this does not mean all infantry are wearing it, since even if it worked perfectly, there would be situations where its use would be sub-optimal. However, if we really want to, we can equip a unit with two sets, providing most infantry with a suit). It takes up 1TC (For what it's worth, it takes up 0.5 shuttle TC).


It is now the Revision Phase of SY105.

[Thanatos Russ]

yeah our revision should be to fix the heimdallr so that it works as intended if not better than intended.

[Jilladilla]

Okay, as I said on the discord, the priority of problems are, in my opinion, as such: #1 The battery. The shelf life is too short/explody. #2 The motors. Either we need to get slightly better motors or make this slightly less of a brick. The Lightshow effect is fine, laser protection was its purpose and it still does that. It just lost any stealth it had, but eh.

And now for my Sleep-Deprivation-Fueled Revision!
Fix the Heimdallr.... (Seriously. Name Requested. I will become your best friend.)
A curious event happened, a rowboat washed up near our Design Facility, inside was the head researcher for Lorf R&D himself! He claims that the shareholders barred lab access until he came up with a catchy, advertisement worthy, description of the Eitr. In his words, this left him in a near constant state of boredom-induced sleep. After the obvious monumental failure of the proof of concept prototype, they left him for dead. The only reason we're giving this sleep deprived researcher another chance is the fact that he had some very crude blueprints of how to fix the Eitr... We then promptly threw him at the Heimdallr project, and told him to fix it.

Our first priority is to fix the Eitr's... Explosive tendencies. The Lorf himself suspects that the jostling is causing short circuits to occur with disastrous results. Increasing the power storage would be nice, but it is not our objective here.
Secondly, the motors are too weak for the job. For now, we will greatly reduce the thickness of the Titanium layer enough so that the motors will start working with acceptable performance. As Ertex does not utilize weapons beyond lasers (Their Sarissa is not a weapon, but Warcrimes incarnate!), this is a simple compromise. The blueprints for the fully armored version is to be kept on record, however, in case it is needed.
Thirdly... This is more of a quality of life fix, to address the battery life issue... The Mirage Plating is given a switch, allowing the wearer to conserve power when not in direct combat. Also, a large charging cord is included with the suits, allowing them to be recharged from a Hrungnir's reactor.

[Strongpoint]

Heh, that what happens when you hope for above average rolls and don't account possibility of other kind of rolls in your decisions. Well, there are no other choice but burn a revision on it. Not much to discuss this turn.

[Jilladilla]

Heh, that what happens when you hope for above average rolls and don't account possibility of other kind of rolls in your decisions. Well, there are no other choice but burn a revision on it. Not much to discuss this turn.

It's a tricky balance, difficulty. If you stick with Easy designs, you're very likely to fall behind the tech curve; and a more ambitious opponent will just end up outclassing you. If you go with harder ones, well you put more of your progress in the hands of RNGesus. A very tricky balance indeed.

[Maximum Spin]

Madman suggests that Heimdallr is better served with a full redesign. This is probably accurate, so:

Optical Metamaterials, Yet Again
A brilliant stroke of genius from the Optical Metamaterials design team has resulted in a new product with specially constructed semiconductors integrated into the metamaterial construction, allowing the frequency band the metamaterial redirects to be adjusted by the simple expedient of altering the voltage across two metal contacts on the inside. Every installation of Mirage Plating now includes a dedicated onboard computer that automates this process at a user's command; it is also provided to Huginn as a new input to the learning algorithms, although we expect the benefit from this to be limited until Huginn itself has been improved. While designing this, we also probably found some shortcuts to make Mirage Plating generally better in other ways, of course, though it wasn't the focus.