Design: ME-STS-64 'Starknight'(Hard) (4+4)-1 = 7: Superior Craftsmanship
Lights move on the display. The Starknight has no actual window in its cockpit, being deemed a structural integrity. Instead, the Birdbrain guidance system displays lights and guidance and statistics on the electronic screen where the window would be. A dashed line moves slowly forward, a vector-constructed digital Earth disappears to the side of the large cockpit-encompassing screen.
The engine shuts off, allowing a few minutes of power in Electrogel stores before the generators kick in. STABIL-ICE coolant falls silent as pumps recognize target temperatures finally reached.
Silence.
All six of the cramped crew appreciated the brief respite. Daniel Leino, chosen as Pilot Commander for his experience flying the first sub-orbital Skyranger, leans back in his seat. Watching the lights on the screen. The burn completed, all they have to do is wait until near the moon for a retrograde thrust. Not that any of the crew would have to do anything -- the Swallow would do that for them. Their job was to monitor it in case of errors, and be there to tweak the mission plan as needed in real time.
Back in MAGMA, things are different.
A television feed is broadcast to an assembled audience in a huge platform suspended in the middle of MAGMA. Carved into and built out of the surrounding walls are additional places for the many citizens of MAGMA to sit. Of course, the feed is sent to all of Mereth, but the people have assembled here. From the wealthy to the middle class and poor. It's a perfect sample of Mereth.
"...a day for history!" Exclaims President Nix Gelus at a podium dwarfed by the screen,
"No matter what the future may hold, our accomplishments shall ring through all of time and beyond. We cannot comprehend, truly, the breadth of this impact. And we will not stop here; I assure you!"His long-running speech at an end, he departs from the podium. A stranger of familiar yet odd appearance accompanies him. They get into a either a deep conservation or fight as he and his Bearguard disappear.
Similar events are held for the first landing on the moon, and their safe return to Earth as Merethan heroes.
...
The Starknight is a marvel of engineering. A larger Skyranger with stubby wings and thrusters bulging out both sides. The spacecraft is powered by a single yet
very powerful GOFAST turbopump engine. A preburner combusting a small amount of fuel powers a turbopump bringing GOFAST into main combustion chambers outputting through the primary engine nozzles towards the rear at each side, as well as many nozzles across the craft for complete RCS and control. The Starknight can hover in place, turn in any direction with remarkable time, anything. Claims that this is overengineered are preposterous.
Power is provided by the engine during burns, and from auxiliary GOFAST sources other times. Small Electrogel batteries hold minutes of charge. While hovering, airtime is to be minimized to keep its massive fuel expenditures as low as possible.
We split the craft into two compartments. First, a pressurized front cabin: amenities, stations, and storage for essentials. Three double-bunks occupy this cabin, two on the side and one one at a divider between the "crew area" and pressurized cargo area. A deployed table for eating lies between the bunks. Near the front of the spacecraft are the crew stations. Two seats are placed at the front to see the panoramic screen and pilot. This screen shows immense amounts of data pertinent to piloting. Four seats behind, facing the walls, are for the rest of the crew. All seats have integrated CATs, data fed into a central Datalink in chassis.
Any Datalink-compatible piece of equipment can be plugged into ports inside the unpressurized cargo bay or covered ports on the outside. Uses so far include syncing the ship with ORACLE-A (useful for reasons expanded on later) and having the crew control any CAT-operated equipment from within the craft.
The aft unpressurized compartment takes up the majority of the spacecraft. Standard loadout includes two HAUNTERs and four SERFs to be used for anything. Two GOFAST generators connected directly to electrical systems and fuel lines provide power to the Starknight. These generators can be moved elsewhere outside and kept connected by long fuel lines; alternatively, power cabling can be led outside. A Starknight could power small outposts by connecting fuel/power to them. Long Datalink cables allow "distant" SERF operation, though maximum tether length will
always be a problem.
Plenty of space is left, to be used for whatever the mission needs, like half a dissembled Excavator.
A crew of 6 fits here, lasting for about two weeks on admittedly basic life support. STABIL-ICE pipes effortlessly cool the craft and, combined with ablative shielding, minimize re-entry damage.
Orbital mechanics and navigation isn't the most trivial of tasks, but isn't
hard. We could manually plot courses to and from the moon or any other destination. But...
A.) This is very much
not the Merethan way (very important).
B.) The logistics cost of organizing multiple constant trips between here and the Moon is just too high (less important).
We've devised a guidance system to solve the issue. Named the "Swallow" when accidentally used to calculate flight paths for different swallows, it's heavily based off of the Skyranger's guidance.
Provided a flight plan, it uses the flight systems of the Skyknight and its sensors to maintain said plan to the letter. It can land and take off quite well, compensate for unexpected deviance from the plan, and warns its human pilots if it cannot compensate or if it expects the flight plan to be flawed (in which case our pilots step in). It processes a lot of data for this, all fed to the pilots in the form of a giant panoramic electronic screen in the cockpit where a window would normally be. The crew may not be able to see outside, but they'll see everything the Swallow does. Which is a lot.
Now, our Swallow is nowhere near smart enough to form a plan on its own. The ORACLE-A calculates a comprehensive flight plan -- from take off to landing back on Earth -- uploaded via Datalink connection to the Starknight. During ORACLE-A connections the Starknight also uploads its own flight log, which can be of use for the ORACLE.
Software updates allow the ORACLE-A to "know"
some orbital navigation, but for now it can only monitor the Earth, moon, and our flights.
A former ORACLE-A node and Skyranger airfield has been converted into a spaceport. It provides beds for crew and staff. It has large underground warehouses for storage of useful materiel, underground Starknight hangars, and Starknight launch facilities. Importantly, it also houses an expanded ORACLE-A Node giving ORACLE-A power for orbital navigation.
We've optimized the fuel storage for trips as far as the moon with extra allowance for unplanned adjustments. While (minimal) dedicated launching infrastructure is used on Earth, the Starknight can quite easily land and take off vertically anywhere.
We've successfully landed Starknights on the moon where a port has been assembled. So far: a a single completed excavator, generators, a tank of fuel, and a metal landing pad. Knowledge of suitable areas for operations is at best completely unknown. But it has potential.
Congratulations, you have reached a new theatre: the Moon!The Moon represents a place you know little about and is completely inhospitable to almost all of your technology. It has several different mechanics.- You do not know the number of regions in the moon, as each region represents a patch of lunar land useful for operating in, not just arbitrary chunks of land. Each region has 2 sections of territory, and given proper equipment/advantage you can advance 2 sections at a time.
- Each owned region allows for an Operation, used for practically anything, from moon mining to military outposts to -- again -- anything. They can affect combat in their region, on the Moon, in space, on Earth, anywhere. Operations are created in Design/Revision actions and are assigned to regions in Combat Phase. Unless otherwise stated, Operations can have multiple instances in play (ieiyj one operation type and 6 regions, you can have the same operation in each region). You can perform an unlimited operation actions in the combat phase.
- Empty regions can have an operation placed immediately. Regions with an existing allied Operation require one turn to switch.
- Enemy Operations, held by you, can be dismantled as a free instant action. A revision can be spent to gain varying amounts of knowledge on its inner mechanics (roll, techniques, and how alien the operation is) and dismantle; or a revision can be spent to take control of the Operation if you can feasibly understand how to operate them without significant effort.
- Ambitious Operations can have two types of cost:
- A "construction cost": requisite materials are made unusable to you for a single combat report, or...
- A "maintenance cost": requisite materials are made unusable to you as long as the Operation is active.
- You have a region rating: how well your logistics network works on the moon. Your max regions held is equal to your region rating. This is expanded with further investments to support extended activity on the moon.
- If the other side ends up at the Moon, then Combat will occur as long as as at least one side has any form of offensive capabilities.
- Regions are not linear. You may choose to attack (settle, if unopposed) any region; they may do the same. By default, you can only attack one other region at a time. It is possible to, for example, have an operation reinforce another region (or itself), thus creating your version of linear regions.
- Offenses on the Moon occur even with a full Region Rating. The opponent will lose a section/the region if on the losing side, but the attacker can't hold it. The area becomes unoccupied.
- An Orbital Theatre has been created, representing the balance of power in orbit. Assets in this theatre can affect both planet(oids), though the Moon is easier to help.
- Space TU (STU) represents the ability of the logistics network to transport between the Moon and Earth. Designs providing STU will likely provide extra if their expense is decreased.
Remember: you can be very creative in your Operations. It's not just things that would be only useful on the moon, but
anything that could be useful to your side.
Importantly,
Aratam will be made aware of your presence on the moon this coming Combat Report.
Complete lack of armor means the Starknight costs less:
5 Ore. Its extreme usage of fuel makes it cost
5 Oil. Together making it
Very Expensive.
It provides
+1 STU and
+1 Moon Region Rating. Due to its versatility, it should provide +1 STU for every decrease in expense level. Region rating would be helped most by improving the Starknight itself.
According to reports, the requirement for Datalink cables tethered to a landed craft give a very short range and our logistics suffers.
The single makeshift "spaceport" on the Moon is only good for one Starknight at a time, creating a soft bottleneck. Starknights can only hold so much Datalink cabling to use , tethering SERFs and HAUNTERs. Humans cannot travel outside at all, forcing us to hope that bots can do everything. Time spent on the voyage means spacecraft can't spend much time on the Moon before having to depart. With many more problems.
But we're on the Moon.
Transport Capacity: 2/3 (2/2 Oil, 0/0 Ore Imported)
Space Transport Capacity: 0/1 (Nothing Imported)
Resources: 4 Ore,
3 Oil,
1 MagmatiteMoon Region Rating: 1
Weapons- ME-CLAW-63: A Magmagel-using laser gun. Bit unwieldy for regular soldiers, but easy to carry (and can be duel-wielded) by Bear soldiers. Uses Magmagel canisters inserted into the barrel to fire. Has a beam mode and pulse mode, with the beam capable of cutting unarmored people in half. Can easily melt through current Aratamite infantry armor, though not instantly. Damage is precise; it can do a lot of damage in very small areas -- it's best used against vital organs. Beam mode, when concentrated on the exact same spot of a Tank/heavy armor for a few seconds, can melt through the armor and damage whatever's directly behind it. Has a(n unused) port to pump in/out Magmagel for continuous use. Terrific accuracy at any range, though damage scales with distance (making it Long-ranged). Comes with 3x scope for sniping.
[Expensive] 2 Ore, 1 Oil, 2 Magmatite - ME-GWS-63 'TALON': A variant of the ME-CLAW-63 with expanded Magmagel tanks and capacitor arrays, that works on a controlled overload. Takes 5 seconds to charge a laser pulse which turns everything in its path to plasma, then a large chunk of its target to plasma. Needs a 30 second cooldown period between shots, and has an extensive STABIL-ICE cooling system. If cooling is damaged or overheated otherwise, weapon explodes violently. Can shoot 10 times before recharge (which can be done in-field by external connection or by using its host's power supply) Very heavy, and currently only fit for deployment as the primary weapon of a Grizzly.
[Very Expensive] 3 Ore, 1 Oil, 4 Magmatite - "Stalwart" Rifle: A semi-automatic rifle with mediocre accuracy at Long range and good accuracy at Medium (and useless accuracy further).
[Cheap] 1 Ore - UF-AC-41 Velociraptor: This autocannon is a revision of AC18, with several improvements. The gun is a little more tolerant of different ammo weights and the shells have been modified so that mixed ammo belts are possible. The use of more advanced materials has allowed some parts to become lighter, while a heavier bolt and stronger spring allows a rate of fire of 750 RPM, with a final gun weight of 48kg. In infantry use, it has noticeably more recoil, but this is less of a concern on vehicles.
[Cheap] 3 Ore
- AS-AC18: An advanced primer ignition autocannon, which ignites cartridge primers before the round is fully chambered. It fires the new, large, 20x100mm round, fed from a top-mounted 25 round C-shaped magazine with a powerful spring, usually armor piercing, about 600 times per minute. The weapon is quite large with a simple action but heavy barrel, weighing over 40 kilograms, and it requires being mounted to a carriage, foundation, or vehicle to fire with accuracy, although recoil is reduced by the nature of its action. It is dependent on a careful balance between the force of the shell and the force of the action, which means that different ammo types cannot be interchanged without recalibrating the gun. It has a terrifying ability to punch through armor and emplacements. Lighter materials have slightly decreased the weight from the previous 40kg.
[Cheap] 3 Ore
- UF-MRL-40 'SARUKH': The Sarukh is a multiple rocket launcher, which fires rockets one meter long to deliver 6kg warheads at a maximum range of 12000 meters. The rockets have impressive destructive power, compared to shells they do not need thick metal casings, so most of the weight of the rocket is either warhead or propellant. The rockets are launched electrically off of rails, and the rails are in a 4x2 array. The rockets can be fired all at once, but it takes about four minutes to reload the whole launcher, so the sustained rate of fire is not better than regular artillery. However, a rocket array is extremely light compared to a cannon, and can move very quickly, firing all at once and retreating before fire is returned from the enemy. Accuracy is poor compared to shells; to reliably hit a single target with a volley they should be used within 8km. Currently available as a truck trailer.
[Cheap] 1 Ore, 3 Oil
- ICE Rocket: A rocket for the Sarukh equipped with an ICE non-explosive warhead. Instant lethalities within 5m, very high fatalities within 10m, serious injuries (and occasional fatality) along with (usually temporary) vehicle non-operation to 50m. The cold dissipates quickly outdoors.
- ICE Thrower: A 20m-ranged pressurized ICE thrower that can rapidly cool an area in front of the operator to (eventually) lethal levels or outright kill/severely harm those directly hit by ICE. The ICE doesn't naturally react until roughly 10m out from the barrel, though it can hit other things in its way and react with whatever it hits. Prolonged use is discouraged, due to close proximity with ICE and ICE-affected areas being very dangerous even with the extensive insulation operators wear.
[Cheap] 2 Ore, 3 Oil - AS-RPG28 A: A rocket-propelled grenade, fired out of a launch tube. The grenade itself consists of a conical shape with a narrow tube of propellent out the back, and twisted fins in the middle of the tube. The launch tube is 3cm wide, a meter long and the rocket fits in up to the fins, and is just a metal tube with a handle. To ignite the propellant, soldiers remove a pin, on the rocket, which is first clipped by a short chain to a trigger on the handle. The tube itself and each grenade each weigh 3kg. It is accurate enough to hit a tank out to almost 100 meters, after which it drops quickly. Rockets are available with warheads based on each type of grenade, including a HEAT conical shaped charge.
[Cheap] 2 Ore, 1 Oil - ME-GVM-61 "Penguin": A 500 kg 33cm diameter 3.5m long black and white missile with long and stubby wings. Controlled remotely via an embedded television camera, and contains basic onboard transistor-based guidance allowing for a relatively straight course when jammed. Two missiles are carried in basic launcher trucks. Has a range of 50 km and a lethal radius of 50m; it can fit an ICE warhead or a HE warhead.
[Cheap] 3 Ore, 3 Oil - ME-MO-62 "Nameless Death": A large mortar that uses rocket-propelled ammunition to give it a more than respectable range, with the ability for ICE or HE warheads. Its advantage lies in its versatility and ease-of-use: it can be mounted on Bear Armor's rear mount, deployed on the ground, and an automatic version exists for mounting on the Grizzly. Though the infantry version is somewhat hard to use without Bear Armor. Bear Troopers can fire their rear-mounted mortar at any time, without deployment, using a button on the suit's arm, though they have to aim through their posture, and the mortar has to be manually reloaded by another person. Grizzly mech versions are fired via the CAT interface, but are harder to aim and the CAT interface can't do anything other than "fire".
[Cheap] 2 Ore - ME-AEM-63 'Shrike': A 100kg missile with a 15kg ICE/HE warhead. Its associated "Birdbrain" computing pod allows for real-time target detection/analyzing, giving pilots a simple holographic reticule overlay in the cockpit and allowing effective tracking of any kind of target. Its warhead can be adjusted in real time by the computer for optimum damage against the selected target (air-bursting, shaped charge, etc.) and it has high-res sensors with a relatively-thin viewing angle to find targets. On-board missile computer is simple and enacts out orders given by Birdbrain pre-launch, but can wirelessly receive new orders/communicate intel. Not specifically long-range.
[Cheap] 2 Ore, 2 Oil
Armor- Standard Uniform: A plain blue featureless uniform. The blue's mild enough that it doesn't really stick out.
- ME-PA-59 'Bear Armour': "Infantry" armor based off of the now-obsolete Tiger suit. Boasts full body coverage, albeit with fairly frequent gaps in the joints; the breastplate/taces can block rifle bullets at nearly all ranges and most of the armor can stop pistol bullets at point black. It has insulating fur inner lining. Armor plating is semi-manually removed from the outside through a series of switches to enter/exit/perform maintenance. Lasts 8 hours of consistent high-power use, and charge is monitored by a dial in the helmet. Embarking/disembarking from the outside takes about 30 seconds, and disembarking without assistance takes a few minutes. It stands at [~7 ft/~2m] tall, and uses a smallish bulletproof glass visor for limited visibility. Pilots boast slightly increased speed and slightly decreased agility (but same strength) over regular unarmored individuals while in the Armour, twice the strength of average soldiers, and have their skin dyed blue from the Electrogel. Has mounts for a WALK-TALK and larger ICE Thrower tank, and a velcro strip in the helmet for maximum pilot comfort. Contains advanced shock/recoil-dampening capabilities in gauntlets. Fit with Magmagel, and equipped with a charging port that can finish charging in one minute.
Equipped with COMBAT plating.
[Cheap] 4 Ore, 2 Oil, 1 Magmatite - Bear Armour Shield: A
slab of metal shield roughly the size of a riot shield, made out of thick metal, for wielding in one hand. Limits visibility and two-hand operations' effectiveness (like reloading), but doesn't restrict mobility and can be used with one-hand weapons. - "Drop Bear" Armor: A suit of Bear Armor with two relatively large fuel tanks attached to the back, with nozzles places around the suit. Can launch a Bear Trooper high into the air 50 meters forward, where they land with a noticeable (albeit minor) shockwave and no harm to themselves. Single-use, and prohibits use of heavy weaponry and especially the ICE Thrower.
[Expensive] 4 Ore, 3+1 Oil, 1 Magmatite
- ME-MAS-62 'Grizzly Armor' v2: A ~4m-tall mechanized combat suit, based vaguely on Bear Armor. Heavy COMBAT plating covering the chest - where the pilot resides nearly integrated in the armor connected via a Cerebral Action Translator looking at a fiberscope connected to the head - protects the pilot, and that COMBAT plating is covered by further Mangalloy plating to protect more effectively against small arms. Faster than most/all soldiers, but still relatively slow in vehicle standards. Pilot has basic sense of "touch" from the suit, allowing for a good degree of coordination. Can generally tank a single Hydra cannon shell with no internal damage -- just a moderately-sized patch of damaged COMBAT plating. A second shell in the same spot would pierce front armor and embed itself in the back, potentially causing internal damage (most notably severing of Electrogel conduits to some motors), and a third shell - also in the same spot - would destroy the suit. Has 8 hr of charge using Rechargeable Electrogel, and a backup battery providing another 8 hr of charge but that has to spend time charging the Electrogel while not moving. Can equip any vehicle-suited or heavy weapon held by Mereth, an upscaled Bear Shield, or a 6-rocket Sarukh pod in either(/both) of its two arm modules. Fit with Magmagel, and a charging port that allows charging in five minutes. Charge monitored by dials in the cockpit. "Ursine Vision" system has 4 television cameras relayed to the pilot in the cockpit (who can choose to ignore them in favor of the fiberscope) as well as a dedicated Handler at the nearest ORACLE-A node, who points out important things, gives tactical advice, and relays intelligence to ORACLE-A. Cameras are obvious targets and delicate, but not essential to operation.
Equipped with COMBAT Plating.
[Expensive] 6 Ore, 3 Oil, 1 Magmatite
Spacecraft- ME-STS-64 'Starknight': A larger completely unarmored variant of the Skyranger designed for space and lunar travel. A Turbopumped-GOFAST rocket combustion engine powers multiple thruster nozzles all over the craft, all with good vectoring, allows for very good manueverability, speed, and fuel efficiency. It can land and take off form/into space just using landing gear on its bottom and can hover, though that's not recommended due to fuel usage concerns. ICE-cooling and ablative plating allows for relatively-low-maintenance atmospheric re-entry. Power provided by engines during burns and auxiliary GOFAST generators in other times. Panoramic electric display screen replaces window in cockpit, showing large amounts of data derived by the Birdbrain-based "Swallow" guidance system. A cramped pressurized crew compartment allows for a maximum crew of 6 for up to 2 weeks on its life support, with integrated CAT stations leading into a central Datalink conduit for every crewmember. Much larger unpressurized cargo hold has 2 HAUNTERs and 4 SERFs, and 2 GOFAST generators (used to power the craft or anything else). Has covered ports on outside of hull and on inside of cargo bay to connect Datalink conduits to, for uploading/downloading information and flight plans with ORACLE-A and letting the crew control any plugged-in remote controlled robot using the craft's integrated CAT stations. Rest of cargo hold has enough space for about half a dissembled Excavator. Requires a comprehensive flight plan from ORACLE-A via Datalink wires for orbital navigation. Equipped with radio.
+1 STU, +1 Moon Region Rating
[Very Expensive 5 Ore, 5 Oil
Air Vehicles- ME-LRMA-60 "Blizzard": A two-engine jet "Long-Range Multi-Role-Aircraft" based off of the Lightning Streak that uses a 4 "X"-shaped wing configuration via the "Tereshkova Effect" for slightly increased aerodynamics, improved redundancy, and greatly improved coolness. Its two aT-J60gi ICE "freezing stovepipe" ramjet engines allows it to be a fair bit faster than the Lightning Streak. Has one large GOFAST tank and a small STABIL-ICE tank allowing for Long range. Equipped with a single 15° rudimentary CLAW turret integrated with Birdbrain (and a small amount of Magmagel "ammo"), and 8 Shrike missiles.
[Expensive] 5 Ore, 4 Oil, 1 Magmatite - ME-EAP-63 "Skyranger": A two-multimodal-propulsion-unit suborbital transport craft. With four wings. It can propel itself out of the atmosphere and "fall" towards its destination at extremely fast speeds, making it a practical fireball (the heat of which is mostly countered through ICE circulation cooling). It can hold a full Bear squad or the equivalent weight in cargo/personnel, and using its suborbital travel method it can arrive anywhere on the continent in ~30 minutes. Its landing is extremely obvious and it requires heavy maintenance, and unless handling very light loads it has to take the long way back home, not using suborbital travel. Uses Magmagel-powered fans mostly in the atmosphere, and Magmatite-GOFAST Rockets/Ramjets at higher speeds and to get sufficient suborbital velocity. Has a CLAW hardpoint that cannot be used if suborbital travel is expected.
[Very Expensive] 6 Ore, 2 Oil, 3 Magmatite
Navy- UFN-CA-41 Catraphract: The Cataphract is a cruiser built to rival Cannala's ships. It is armed with 3x3 150mm gun turrets, each using a fully electrified loading system. Each gun can fire 8 times a minute. It has an armored citadel with 300mm of nickel-steel armor (Heavy), and a torpedo belt. The deck is heavily armored, at 120mm (Light) to defend against plunging fire, plus an extra splinter deck. The turrets are similarly armored. Additionally there are three turrets with two bumblebees on each side of the ship, capable of firing on aircraft or ships. It is powered by oil-burning steam turbines yielding a moderate speed.
[Expensive] 5 Ore, 4 Oil
- ME-MV-61 "Makeshift": A modification of the Cataphract with shooty-bits and unnecessary "crew livability" components removed.
Provides 2 TC
- ME-DDG-61 "Chillwind": A Guided Missile Destroyer equipped with a 2x-Bumblebee turret, eight Velociraptors divided amongst both sides of the hulls, all slaved to a 150km aircraft/30km ships radar system. Uses a Mostly Vertical Launch system to house 40 Penguin missile launch tubes - 20 each side - angled 30 degrees down vertically. Crew and equipment requirements mean that only four missiles can be launched and guided at a time. Has a very thin metal hull covered by Pykrete and crisscrossing pipes of STABIL-ICE to keep the Pykrete layer cool and supposedly repair any damage, though it proves ineffective at damage repair and the STABIL-ICE often runs out quickly enough such that a Chillwind's first engagement is usually without any Pykrete armor still intact.
[Cheap] 3 Ore, 3 Oil
Underground Vehicles- UT-60 Excavator: A tracked medium-sized heavily-modified tunnel boring machine, most notably using GOFAST-fuel. Can go down to Moderate and Shallow depths, moves at Very Slow speeds while underground and at Moderate speeds aboveground. Possesses limited (but notable) agility underground. Contains space for 6 soldiers and small amounts of equipment of the equivalent amount of cargo in the back, in addition to the 2 crew in its cockpit. Light armor. Equipped with the ME-SM-57 'Earth Ear' for basic subterranean navigation.
[Cheap] 3 Ore, 3 Oil; Provides 1 Ore.
- ME-CM-56 'Instant Roads': A very fast-acting sprayable concrete mixture very useful for reinforcing tunnels when sprayed by trailers hooked to a Burrower. Allows use of Burrower tunnels for logistics.
Provides 1 TC.
Other- GATE/HAUNTER: The GATE is a large ring-shaped device with a surrounding outer transparent chamber of Magmagel that, with the assistance of a specially-skilled Volunteer, can create a tear in the fabric of reality (that induces insanity if looked at in any way) leading to the "N-Dimension" (or "Astral" to filthy aratamites). It must spend a certain amount of time "Locking" coordinates, where the Volunteer is used to force a section of the N-Dimension to be stable and known enough to lock it to a position in our dimension where we can enter it. The emerging point in N-Dimension can be up to a mile away from the gate, with instant travel time. Complete ORACLE-A coverage of or very recent Volunteer visit to the target area required. 15 minutes required for a lock to an adjacent position, 2 hours for a mile away. A SERF-based remote-cable-controlled drone equipped with a sword and thrusters pilotted by the Volunteer, the "HAUNTER", is used to travel into the N-Dimension where Aratamite astral activity can be located and potentially an attempt can be made to stop or disrupt them. The GATE's tear remains open for anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour, depending on how good the Volunteer is at keeping the local landscape of the N-Dimension stable, though the Volunteer can break the lock prematurely if needed. GATEs have to be constructed on site, through premade parts can be shipped to site beforehand allowing construction in two days. HAUNTERs can not be recovered after deployment, making the design Complex.
[National Effor]t 3 Ore, 2 Oil, 4 Magmatite, [Complex] - GOFAST-Fuel: A special type of more energy-dense and stable fuel. Greatly increases fuel efficiency of anything it's in, doesn't require an oxidizer, and can rarely leak out of compromised containers.
Adds 1 Oil to cost. - WALK-TALK: The Wireless Audio Local Kommunicator-Transistor Assistance Lowers Kost Radio. A small hand-held two-way transistor radio..
[Cheap] 1 Ore - Electrogel: A very thick blue gel that creates and transmits electrical current corresponding to the amount of pressure applied to it. Comes with the "Electrogel Motor" - a very small motor with embedded Electrogel that works with power corresponding to Electrogel pressure. A patch of Electrogel can last roughly 8 hours when powering its corresponding motor nonstop at max power.
- Rechargeable Electrogel: A variant of Electrogel that can be charged with very precise pressure applied. As a general rule, the time needed to charge is 3x of how long it was used at max power usage.
- Magmagel: Electrogel enhanced with specially-ground Magmatite that allows very-fast charging.
- UF-SM-57 'Earth Ear' Mk. IV: A set of small attachments to be put on all available sides of a subterranean vehicle. The use of precise vibrations sent through the earth and analyzed by an onboard computer allow for identifying of earth and entities in a 20km area. A basic Cube-contained 3D-projected interface in red and blue shows the layout of the land and distinguishes between earth, buildings, vehicles, and infantry (all allied and enemy). Magnetic disks store gathered data to also be fed back to the ORACLE.
- GASOLINE: The Great Acoustic/Seismic Oil Location Initiative and Extraction device, which fits onto an Earth Ear systems allowing for relative easy surveying of underground oil deposits. Merethan regulation forbids surveying underneath Mereth for alleged safety reasons, meaning oil found as a result of GASOLINE has to be imported using our transport capacity.
Provides 1 Oil (Import)
- ICE: A chemical that very quickly reacts with the air to massively reduce heat in the surrounding area, often to the point where nearby things are frozen (ones in the epicenter frozen brittle), vehicles disabled or destroyed, and people killed.
- STABIL-ICE: A variant of ICE that relies on an added catalyst to only react when it's above a target temperature, specified during synthesization of the STABIL-ICE. Useful for ice cream and also maybe cooling of machinery and the like. Tends to slowly decay over time in storage, making it unsuitable for anything that can't expect routine maintenance.
- C.O.M.B.A.T. Plating: Composite armor plating using a thin manganese layer and a ceramic layer sandwiching a Tungsten-Bronze/Molybdenum-Bronze layer arranged to, in layman's terms, convert kinetic and electric energy into heat. The outer layers easily melt when tanking particularly impactful hits such as coilgun shots and Lvl3 Tesla blasts, but prevent death or (usually) injury in the process.
Adds +0 Ore to cost. (+1 cost nullified by ME-RID-61 'SERF") - Cerebral Action Translator A system wherein a series of jacks are implanted into the upper spine and lower brain -- roughly the neck and lower half of the back head, from the outside -- to allow for communication between computers/machinery and the human brain. Use of Electrogel as very-primitive "neurons" allows a bridge between the Electrogel and actual neuron growths, providing a channel to receive input from the neural system and a channel to send information to the neural system. It has low bandwidth, meaning it can't do a huge number of things at once, but what it does do, it does nearly seamlessly.
- ME-RID-61 'SERF': An unmanned thinner skeletal suit derived from Bear Armor, with near-human dexterity and a camera-like head. Remote controlled via cable connection to a pilot elsewhere hooked up via CAT, seeing via a television monitor and hearing via speakers. Focused on reducing the cost of COMBAT plating from 1 Ore to 0.
Infrastructure- Division of Unusual Chemistry: A fully funded department & lab under the Design Division specializing in more unusual chemistry.
- M.A.G.M.A.: A giant borehole made and maintained using Excavators, Bear Armour, Earth Ears, and many more instances of our tech. Uses ad-hoc STABIL-ICE cooling systems fitted onto Bear Armour and excavators to maintain suitable temperatures. The deepest borehole in the world, and brings up notable amounts of ore from existing land.
Provides +1 Ore - ORACLE-A: A microprocessor-based STABIL-ICE-cooled supercomputer with >100 MB of RAM and >1,000 MB of storage space using magnetic disks, and relatively blazing fast speeds using a generally advanced CPU with other cores handling peripheral tasks. Input is primarily via keyboards, and output is via vector-drawn screen graphics. When given adequate intelligence regarding known enemy activity in an area, the ORACLE-A can compile a prediction of future enemy activity over a set time period up to a week. However, we must have really good intelligence in an area for the best predictions, and the ORACLE-A can only handle a relatively few areas at a time (that must be chosen in advance by humans) due to processing power limitations. Despite this, its predictions are (when given adequate intelligence) very effective.
- Embassy "Vast Underground Forenian Embassy": An extensive and mildly luxurious underground Forenian embassy dug underneath around the center of Mereth using improvements in excavation technology designed 100% solely for civilian use and definitely nothing else.
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Topic: Mad Arms Race - Mereth Design Division (Fall 1965 - Final Design Phase) (Read 82287 times)