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[Doomblade187]

Okay, here goes:

The Regiment of the Harmony

A fine example of Liir bioweaving and design, the Harmony is a species designed by the Liir to be their muscle. Each Note is an ant-like creature, with six legs and two grasping arms. They are about two meters long, and can consume most forms of biomass for sustenance. Their legs have grasping claws allowing them good traction even on hard surfaces, and their grasping hands feature retractable claws. They have four eyes- two are compound, focused on a wide field of view, and the other two are single lenses focus on binocular vision, equipped with enhanced night vision by modifying the pupil and visual cells to absorb light better in the dark while not maintaining normal day vision. The Notes do not have any ears or noses. Rather, they listen to the ground via vibration, and can detect disturbances in the air via short antenna that suspiciously resemble feline ears. Their body possesses both a chitinous exoskeleton and a cartilogeneous endoskeleton to shield critical organs from harm. Their locomotion is hydraulic driven, while special care has been taken with the specific internals such that they retain fluidity of movement. The Notes also have an internal organ inside them that connects to a pair of internalized antenna running along their cartilage endoskeleton. This setup is designed to receive only commands from the Liir telepathic organ.

The armament: Biological bacteria can produce lasers via flourescent proteins. By combining the lasing action of an active culture, focusing and treating the beam through lenses, and creating a steady state environment for the bacteria to thrive in, we can create a biological laser with good power and decent range. The "Evil Eye" biological sidearm is a 0.4 meter long one-handed weapon with a grip optimized for the hand of a standard Note soldier. It has a built in optical sight that has a biological variable zoom optic that ties back to the Note's central nervous system via a small connector patch in the wielding Note's palm. This allows the soldier to literally see through the sights of the gun as if it was another set of eyes, something they're already used to.

These soldiers are instinctively driven to eat at subsistence levels, attack any agressors, and follow the last given Liir command. They are only smart enough to follow commands with reasonable accuracy. They are grown in large bio-wombs where their genetic material is crafted by the mother womb. Once in the field, some drones (all are one sex) lay eggs, and one viable egg creates a new smaller mother womb in the field, one that can then birth new soldiers.

Anything else?

[FallacyofUrist]

Cat ears?

And some way of self-reproducing?

[Doomblade187]

Cat ears?

And some way of self-reproducing?

Hm. I'm thinking right now maybe eggs in soft cocoons. And we can add cat ears. Turn the antenna into them.

EDIT: Added in reproduction.

[Jerick]

Our telepathy can cross great distances yet sending telepathy through a planet is not completely without interference. Matter and gravity can affect our song. We can use this. The void is an empty canvas, by sending out our song/our telepathy, and then routing it through the area we wish to understand better before bring our own song back to ourselves we can examine the differences in the information we sent out and received. Thus finding and honing in on where any anomalies or interference occurs. This technique allows for us to detect objects within the range of our song. It is not however a useful technique for use on planets, only in the empty void is it quiet enough to hear the subtle changes of a void swimmer. In order to make effective use of this technique we have looked into and found a way to vastly extend the range of our song. Our investigations into song interference found the answer. By eliminating interference our song retains more 'signal strength' and can travel further and clearer. But by far the biggest drain on the range of our song was the inefficiencies of the song organ itself. Rather than just send one stream of data it sends several. These alternate songs interfere and compete with each other. It makes the song more textured and many layers of meaning. For extreme range we have devised a way to alter the song organ so the user can voluntarily block the secondary songs allowing vast distances. It should be noted that nothing effects a song in same way as a sentient mind. This technique excels at detecting sentient minds.

Sensory design.

[Doomblade187]

Boarding Appendages: (2) Jerick, Doomblade
The Regiment of The Harmony: (1) Doomblade
Psychic Pulse Detection: (1) Doomblade

[Rockeater]

Boarding Appendages: (3) Jerick, Doomblade, Rockeater
The Regiment of The Harmony: (2) Doomblade, Rockeater
Psychic Pulse Detection: (2) Doomblade, Rockeater

[Jerick]

and follow the last given Like command

Is that supposed to be Liir?

Boarding Appendages: (3) Jerick, Doomblade, Rockeater
The Regiment of The Harmony: (3) Doomblade, Rockeater, Jerick
Psychic Pulse Detection: (3) Doomblade, Rockeater, Jerick

You know I completely forgot we could do more than one project a turn.

[frostgiant]

Boarding Appendages: (3) Jerick, Doomblade, Rockeater
The Regiment of The Harmony: (4) Doomblade, Rockeater, Jerick, Frostgiant
Psychic Pulse Detection: (4) Doomblade, Rockeater, Jerick, Frostgiant
Evil Eye of Ba'al: (1) Frostgiant

Of course this game came back during the 6 days I was without Wi-fi for more than a couple hours in the evening. On the other hand, YAY its back! Now if only I could find the Tank-class Bioform I had saved on my computer.
Voting for bio laser eye over boarding because the Fact that we need to be in melee range to use them does not speak of a good Starter weapon.

[Jerick]

Melee range is a disadvantage yes, but if we don't roll poorly these things should be utterly devastating if we get them in range. I rather doubt our enemies have devised any armour or defensive tech to counter melee weapons and grappling attacks. We can make faster, better armoured DE ships than they should be able to build due to ours being unmanned. But yet our reliance on our Node CnC ship means I don't think any protracted slogging match will go well for us as the longer the battle goes on the more likely they'll manage to line up a shot at it. We will want to end fights quickly. Hanging back and trading fire will only work until our node ship is hit. As for the Evil Eye itself I don't like it. It's just a laser. There's nothing else to it. It's boring and perhaps probably pretty ineffective. For a start I suspect the other teams will have at least basic defenses against energy weapons and projectiles out of the gate so your laser could well be countered right from the start. Secondly while bio tech can produce things like lasers there are other things bio tech is much better suited for. In other words I don't think bio lasers play to our strengths. Finally it's not distinct, lasers are obvious and I wouldn't be surprised if both [we] and the gaians have them when the game starts. Firing a laser even if it is produced by biology is going to feel much the same to use and deal with as anything our enemies will likely have. The only thing different is the flavour text describing where the laser came from. A big part of why I enjoy arms races is that they get my creative juices flowing. If we take the most boring obvious option and win due to good rolls I won't have as much fun as going the less obvious but more inventive path but still losing.

[Doomblade187]

Will edit the typo on last command for the Harmony thing.

Regarding lasers, I picked them for our horde troops because I am basically copying the enemy from the book Armor. The ant things there have heat rays- I figured lasers would let us counter any drone swarms that try and fly above us. In space, I would like to use that weird matter cannon thing. Also, if we do lasers in space, it MUST charge up in the style of IMA FIRIN MY LAZOR!

[Jerick]

I had completely forgotten the strange matter cannon. I am wary of using synthetics on standard armament. What we could do is scale it up and use it as a synthetic powered artillery cannon/ some kind of special weapon or something of that nature. We might be able to have it do considerable damage without meaning we are draining our reserves of synthetics equipping our ships.

Also, if we do lasers in space, it MUST charge up in the style of IMA FIRIN MY LAZOR!

But of course! It's not a proper laser unless it winds up with an ominous hum first.

[FallacyofUrist]

Boarding Appendages: (3) Jerick, Doomblade, Rockeater
The Regiment of The Harmony: (5) Doomblade, Rockeater, Jerick, Frostgiant
Psychic Pulse Detection: (5) Doomblade, Rockeater, Jerick, Frostgiant
Evil Eye of Ba'al: (1) Frostgiant

The Regiment has cat ears. The choice is obvious.

[Doomblade187]

My concession to the cats has worked. :3

That said, I believe spire race combat turn is probably arriving first.

[Draignean]

Regiment of Harmony
[Time: 2 Progress: 4 Cost: 4]
The most difficult part of the Regiment is the mind- a mind which must be intelligent enough to fight intelligently and adapt easily, but not so intelligent as to reach sapience or to seek independence from their commands. Some among the Liir feel there is a dark seed in the design, that we are weaving a being that can hate and kill, but can neither truly think or seek freedom. They sing of a fear that we have been somehow... tainted by the Suul-Ka.

Yet they are a minority, and their objections do not offer a true resistance, merely a counter-harmony urging us to remember who we are. They work as ardently as any, they merely request the time needed to purify the design.

Regiment of Harmony: 0/9 [3] | 75O 25M 25E | Rushed 0 Times | Nothing Invested

Prototype
[Efficacy: 3]
The individual Notes meet expectations, no more, no less. Each one is large, omnivorous, and relatively strong. Their vibrations senses and sight are both keen, despite the peculiarity of their antennae's structure. They're reasonably tough creatures, capable of surviving in moderately hostile environments, and well armored against casual damage. The issue is that they're unlikely to survive too much beyond casual damage, and their weapons are somewhat lacking. In melee, multiple notes are quite capable of literally pulling their opponents apart, but their Evil Eye weapons suffer from lower power than desired. Multiple notes firing together can easily melt targets, but it's not a quick process, and the beams lack immediate punch.

The strength of notes will be in their comparatively inexpensive production and ability to go dark in cracks and crevices on a planet to reproduce. While they'll likely fair only modestly in open battle, they'll be difficult to eradicate completely.

Regiment of Harmony: | 175O 25M 25E | A swarm of ant-like creatures, two meters in length, with six clawed legs and two manipulating appendages. Of limited intelligence, they're meant to receive commands from Liiran handlers, but have the ability to continue following simple commands in the absence of direction. Their natural senses are keen, with good vision and fine vibration sense. While they possess limited chitinous armor and cartilaginous internal structure which protects them from minor damage, they're still susceptible to most forms attack. Each is equipped with a biologically interlocked laser beam weapon, capable of melting metal with sustained fire. While limited in individual power, the biological interface allows accuracy, and it can be a serious threat with multiple notes working together. On site reproduction allows Notes to replenish their numbers, and makes infestations very difficult for enemy forces to eradicate completely.   


Boarding Appendages
[Time: 4 Progress: 4 Cost: 3]
The Boarding Appendage system is, at its simplest, a massively upscaled barnacle of a variety common to the oceans of Vaal'Lara. Bio-engineers futz with the biology to make it fully compatible with expected configurations of hull tissues, but the general idea is simple enough that the project should be completed quite soon.

Boarding Appendages: 0/8 [3] | 120O 0M 120E | Rushed 0 Times | Nothing Invested

Prototype
[Efficacy: 4]

The first generation of polyps are quite promising. They exhibit excellent bio-compatibility and responsiveness, able to controlled quite finely by a Liir in direct contact with their simple minds. The 'bud' of each appendage serves two purposes. The first is as a chemical storage system, where various sacs fill with poisonous volatiles and corrosives for the tentical to excrete, as well as a specialized 'stomach' to allow the tentacles to transport individuals. The second is to actually hold the tentacle coil itself -which constitutes a considerable mass- as well as the muscular apparatus for launching the tentacle.

Each tentacle has a maximal length of roughly a kilometer, at which distention it is unable to transport individuals via peristalsis but retains its strength and the ability to inject chemical payloads. In most cases, the bulk of this tentacle is preserved inside the vessel in order to prevent accidental damage due to debris collision or radiation. When launched it can either be spooled out if the target is close, or launched at high speed be a muscular action. On contact with a vessel, the tentacle displays great strength and tenacity in attacking the hull. While it might take some time to breach the structure of ship, it should be capable of at least holding a vessel and spraying corrosive chemicals across its hull.

While they are hard limited by their range, these tentacles can do fearsome damage- assuming that the hosting vessel doesn't get shot to hell before they can finish their work.

Boarding Appendage: | 0T 120O 0M 50E 0S | Native to Small Mount | Capacity: -5 | Power: -4 | A thick tentacle polyp, with a spined head that's capable of latching on to enemy hulls and tearing through. Once through, it can either be used to disgorge toxic chemicals or, if the ship is equipped with them, to send infantry through via peristaltic action. However, the tentacle limited to a range of approximately one kilometer, and is 'fired' from the ship at relatively low velocity.


Psychic Pulse Detection
[Time: 2 Progress: 4 Cost: 4]
The altering of the Song is done with great deliberation, for there are many pitfalls in listening to the very fabric of thought. Should one hear an echo in the song, is it an echo of matter, or is it the echo of a thought unspoken? Longing, fear, hope, all of this cast shadows and ripples in the song, notes and half-notes that can cloud and muddle the minutes echoes that we seek to listen for.  Still, there is great hope for this project, and our researches find the problem within their reach.

Psychic Pulse Detection: 0/15 [3] | 20T 130O 20M 30E | Rushed 0 Times | Nothing Invested

Prototype
[Efficacy: 5]
In this, we have managed to create something exceptional. While there's a great deal of philosophical wonder about what it means for water and stone to impact the song, the practical side is what we will be able to augment our ships with.

Our vessels will be able to mount a specialized series of song organs, each one 'tuned' to a very specific tone -ones generally out of the frequency of normal thought in order to avoid damaging the crew- we can shout across the void and listen for the echoes. While there is very limited resolution to such a technique, we can detect many things normally unseen. The gravimetric distortion of an incoming bore, the subtly shift of electromagnetism around a metallic asteroid as opposed to a rocky one, and shadowed burn of a hot ship in the cold void. The ability to see minds within the darkness goes without saying, and these burn like stars in the distance- far beyond the range of our conventional sensors.

Unfortunately, the process of sending out this massive pulse drains the organ, meaning that it can only be done infrequently, and at the expense of much energy.

Psychic Pulse Detection Organ: | 0T 120O 0M 50E 0S | Capacity: -8 | Power: -40 | A series of specialized song organs, designed to shout into the void and pick out the barest of echoes at extreme range. While it is enormously power hungry, its lack of resolution and pulsed nature makes it primarily an out-of-combat scanner, useful for detecting enemy vessels well beyond the reach of normal sensors. Can detect both aberrant inert matter and living minds, though it's much, much better at the latter.


Revision Phase of Year -3

Resources
Dice: 1
T: 7500 + 2500
O: 22500 + 7500
M: 22500 + 7500
E: 15000 + 5000
S: 1500 + 500

Spoiler: Active Projects (click to show/hide)

Advanced Bio-Modification: 6/7 [2] | 300 Organics + 100 Energetics   | Rushed 0 Times | Nothing Invested
Telepathic Organ: 6/10 [2] | 175 Organics + 20 Metals +100 Energetics   | Rushed 0 Times | Nothing Invested
Regenerating Chitinous Hull Plating: 4/7 [2]  175O + 75M | Rushed 0 Times | Nothing invested
Sublight Drive Organ: 4/9 [2]  150O + 150E | Rushed 0 Times | Nothing invested
Thorium Glow Reactor: 4/12 [2] | 100T + 250O + 50M | Rushed 0 Times | Nothing invested
Val’Den Drone Warform: 3/6 [3] | 130O + 25M + 75E | Rushed 0 Times | Nothing invested
Sun eater Class biological fabricator: 2/15 [2] | 250O + 50M + 250E + 20S | Rushed 0 Times | Nothing invested
Node class Command Frigate: 2/8 [2] | 175O + 50M + 100E | Rushed 0 Times | Nothing invested
Psychic Pulse Detection: 0/15 [3] | 20T 130O 20M 30E | Rushed 0 Times | Nothing Invested
Boarding Appendages: 0/8 [3] | 120O 0M 120E | Rushed 0 Times | Nothing Invested
Regiment of Harmony: 0/9 [3] | 75O 25M 25E | Rushed 0 Times | Nothing Invested

[frostgiant]

ooo the pusle organ is pretty power hungry eh. And its not really a combat scanner. Can probably mount it on the node to give fleet groups scanning.

A kilometer hard range and a weakness to getting shot while it does its work, and its a low-velocity weapon. yep...