Print

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

[Chiefwaffles]

Core Thread
See the Core Thread for rules and cross-nation discussion. If you're actively participating in the other team, please don't look any further than the OP.

The multi-level Design Division is located just beneath the ground, near the capitol of Mereth. Warm lighting washes through the surprisingly spacious halls. The concrete used in its construction is covered by lavish artwork and decorations. At the bottom level of the underground building, the central heating hums away to maintain a comfortable atmosphere. Dotted lines not obscured by rugs on the concrete flooring lead people to various rooms and levels, including the most important level. Accessible only by staircase (instead of the elevator, like most levels) and its entrance filled with statues, this level houses the Lead Designers - you - of Mereth.
Being brought into the room are stacks upon stacks of top secret Forenian and Cannalan documents. None of the documents in these stacks provide any conclusive technology, theory, design, or any tangible thing. But in them is knowledge that will allow you to do wondrous things. Eventually, everyone is situated in their chairs in the brightly-lit and well-decorated concrete room, ready to begin designing.


The Design Bureau has also been tasked with a very important task. While Forenia and Cannala have already sent your nation (and those damn Aratamians, most likely) the material vital to start your operation, Mereth still has to secure an official relationship with either Forenia or Cannala by the end of this year. This is vital for aid in resources and other avenues over the course of the coming war, but you will also be able to access the designs of your "Sponsor" - designs far better than those currently held by Mereth. Both Forenia and Cannala have expressed a willingless to give away some of their older designs - from Autumn 1942 or before.
After picking a Sponsor at the end of this year, Mereth will be able to choose one of that Sponsor's designs [from ICAR, at/before Autumn 1942] at the end of each year until, not including, 1960 to add to its own designs. That's 5 designs in total.
If Aratam also attempts to court the same nation as us, then we will likely both have to send over our design from this year to attempt to prove our natural ingenuity.


The year is 1954. A missive from the capitol informs you that the first offensive will begin at the start of 1960, meaning you have six years to make your preparations.
The Design Phase of 1954 has begun. Vote on a single design to submit.

Spoiler: Starter Designs (click to show/hide)

Transport Capacity: 0
Resources: 2 Ore, 1 Oil

Weapons

• "Stalwart" Rifle: A semi-automatic rifle with mediocre accuracy at Long range and good accuracy at Medium. (and useless accuracy further)
  1 Ore
• "Heartstopper" Pistol: A 2-round semiautomatic pistol semi-accurate up to Short range. Has enormous stopping power. Pride of the Merethan army.
  1 Ore

Other

• Standard Uniform: A plain blue featureless uniform. The blue's mild enough that it doesn't really stick out.

Spoiler: Map (click to show/hide)

[M: 2/2; A: 0/2] Mereth: The majority of Mereth's population live in this area in the Tundra, surrounded by a plethora of natural resources making the climate much easier to bear.
2 Ore 1 Oil
[M: 4/4; A: 0/4] Tundra: A frozen landscape with few features. The more northern land starts to be more populated with features facilitating human life, allowing the development of a bustling civilization.
[M: 4/4; A: 0/4] Taiga: A large snowy forest. Cold, but full of life.
[M: 4/4; A: 0/4] Plains: Largely flat terrain full of grass and the occasional hill.
[M: 2/4; A: 2/4] Sea: Relatively shallow water with beaches next to the Plains and Swamp perfect for ports. Control over this region allows ship-based support (not cargo or troop landing) to be rendered to your forces everywhere but the Taiga and Desert.
1 Oil
[M: 2/4; A: 2/4] Mountains: Treacherous (and often narrow) mountain paths with extreme height differences, the coldest weather on the continent, and only the rare passage viable for anything above small-scale movements.
1 Ore
[M: 0/4; A: 4/4] Desert: Desert terrain facing little rain and fairly hot temperatures.
[M: 0/4; A: 4/4] Swamp: A swamp, filled with large stretches of shallow still water, lots of bugs, and lots of swamp-y plants and fauna.
[M: 0/4; A: 4/4] Jungle: A hot and humid jungle (and rainforest) filled with trees obscuring the sky from the ground. The northern land begins seeing a few clearings, perfect for human habitation.
[M: 0/2; A: 2/2] Aratam: Cities surrounded by jungle with plenty of natural resources and conditions fit for relatively comfortable living.
2 Ore 1 Oil

[Maximum Spin]

Let us design the Moleman, an underground transport / tunneling machine. We will become the Great Underground Empire!

[Madman198237]

I'm thinking we ought to dive into some advanced technology, rather than immediately trying to invent things like that---if we have the underlying techs (And some logistics/infrastructure designs!) we'll be able to deploy more advanced designs that they can, giving us a long-term advantage that we might be able to ride to their capital.

[NUKE9.13]

Advanced technology, you say?

Unusual Chemistry: Many of the more... exotic design proposals we have rely on chemical compounds that either don't exist yet, or are ruinously expensive to produce using conventional methods. What's an engineer to do when a design calls for Unquenchable Fire? To whom shall he turn when the parts list has a note on it saying "Invent Freeze Gel". Is there no one who knows how to provide Ultimate Gunpowder?
Enter the Unusual Chemists. Men and women shunned by their colleagues for their unorthodox views on chemistry (and the laws of physics). These eccentric figures are waiting in the wings for the chance to get some military funding to build that reverse distiller they've always dreamed of- and at last that time has come.
By devoting time to Unusual Chemistry now, we shall have an easier time with designs requiring chemical ingenuity in the future.

Something like that?

Chief, is this even a viable action?

[FallacyofUrist]

Minor note: Infrastructure can be quite important. Just because you invent something that's really cool doesn't mean you also figure out how to mass produce the stuff.

Trains it is!

"Reckless" Amphibious Train:
Behold the Reckless! Our new Reckless amphibious train can travel on both land and water! An explanation as to how it can travel on water may prove useful here: floating tracks. You see, a single train car would sink into the ocean, but by using a multitude of them connected together, we can retain buoyancy!

The use of trains should be fairly obvious: we can transport troops and supplies anywhere we need them, at much faster speed than marching on road!

[Chiefwaffles]

...
Chief, is this even a viable action?

Yup.

[Madman198237]

Fallacy, please keep Wands Race out of this.

Else we shall exile you for your heretical cat-person views.

[NUKE9.13]

...
Chief, is this even a viable action?

Yup.

In that case, what the hell, let's open the door to some good old chemical phlebotonium.

Unusual Chemistry: [1] NUKE9.13
"Reckless" Amphibious Train:

[Jilladilla]

Seems like a plan.

Unusual Chemistry: [2] NUKE9.13, Jilladilla
"Reckless" Amphibious Train:

[Chiefwaffles]

Unusual Chemistry: Many of the more... exotic design proposals we have rely on chemical compounds that either don't exist yet, or are ruinously expensive to produce using conventional methods. What's an engineer to do when a design calls for Unquenchable Fire? To whom shall he turn when the parts list has a note on it saying "Invent Freeze Gel". Is there no one who knows how to provide Ultimate Gunpowder?
Enter the Unusual Chemists. Men and women shunned by their colleagues for their unorthodox views on chemistry (and the laws of physics). These eccentric figures are waiting in the wings for the chance to get some military funding to build that reverse distiller they've always dreamed of- and at last that time has come.
By devoting time to Unusual Chemistry now, we shall have an easier time with designs requiring chemical ingenuity in the future.

Design: Unusual Chemistry
(Normal) (4+3) = 7: Superior Craftsmanship

It turns out that when you run a recruitment drive for the types we're looking for, a lot of unqualified and less... sane, people also show up. But with a robust interviewing system consisting of interesting questions about the nature of reality, discussions about what they see as potential, and reviewing of their work, we find the cream of the crop.
Furthermore, we've managed to convince our government to allcate space and funding for the Mereth Division of Unusual Chemistry, directly under our leadership. They're getting their own level in the Design Division, equipped with a fully-funded laboratory and practically anything else they could ask for along with access to the top-secret documents that make our work possible. Already we have ideas coming in for interesting yet surprisingly possible applications of chemistry and the ideas in the documents.

The DUC should help us immensely in getting our foot in the door with designs under their purview. While they won't make the impossible possible, they'll definitely make our work a bit easier.

The Revision Phase of 1954 has begun.

[Hibou]

"Heartstopper" Pistol Mk. II
The Mk. II is a small step up from the original Heartstopper, turning it from a derrigner into a pepperbox style pistol with the addition of two more barrels mounted to the side of the original pair to create a 2x2 grid of barrels. The fire selector allows for single firing of each barrel in sequence, or unloading all four rounds at once (earning it the nickname "Heartbreaker"). It's still loaded with the same incredibly powerful rounds, and with this new generation will effectively double the firepower each soldier carries on their hips.

[Madman198237]

You know, Forenia is dependent on its air force...and we've got unusual chemistry now...and we need to impress them somehow...Anyone want to do Super Incredible Jet Fuel?

[NUKE9.13]

Superfuel sounds like a plan. Don't limit it to jets, though. We can superfuel everything!

[FallacyofUrist]

"Heartstopper" Pistol Mk. II
The Mk. II is a small step up from the original Heartstopper, turning it from a derrigner into a pepperbox style pistol with the addition of two more barrels mounted to the side of the original pair to create a 2x2 grid of barrels. The fire selector allows for single firing of each barrel in sequence, or unloading all four rounds at once (earning it the nickname "Heartbreaker"). It's still loaded with the same incredibly powerful rounds, and with this new generation will effectively double the firepower each soldier carries on their hips.

I like this. +1.

[NUKE9.13]

GOFAST-Fuel: Fuel! It seems like everything needs it these days- trucks, tanks, trains, watercraft and aircraft. For the near future at least, all our vehicles are going to be powered by combustion engines. Which, as mentioned, need fuel. Which we have... but we could always do better. Enter GOFAST, the fuel of the future!
GOFAST is, in the words of the DUC, "A mixture of various hyperflammable compounds, trace amounts of various metals, and regular fuel passed through a classified refinement process". It sounds... Unusual. But early tests show that it can be made remarkably stable, burns at higher temperatures, and has a substantially higher energy density than our existing fuel. There are less potent varieties on offer that are easier to make, should mass production prove prohibitive.


(I had an acronym for this, but realised it didn't work. If someone can come up with a better name, I'll gladly change it)

"Heartstopper" Pistol Mk. II: [1] FallacyofUrist
GOFAST-Fuel: [1] NUKE9.13