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Time...to die.

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Total Members Voted: 14

[Man of Paper]

You get one design with a research credit and the second design with the small support weapon guideline.

[Chiefwaffles]

I think we get two designs this turn, plus another research credit if we meet the support weapon design?

Seems like we’re at a disadvantage because we designed the GA1 early, I think?

Design: GHMG-12

An interesting take on the current HMG paradigm, the GHMG is our own machine gun. It uses 7.7Gmm caliber (same as our rifles, but using Gavpowder), fired at an extraordinarily rapid rate. Normally, the gavpowder and firing rate even separately would result in gun-melting heat, but we have a solution.

A “Gavrilium Cooling Rod” protrudes upwards out of the right or left sides of the gun at a 45 degree angle. We’ve managed to replicate the cooling effect from the Gavrilium Engine. It glows a nice blue (which can be cowled) and keeps the gun at insaningly cool temperatures (relative to other machine guns).
The gavpowder and firing rate should result in amazing destructive power, unparalleled by any other gun!

[NUKE9.13]

Does 7.62mm (also why 7.62 instead of 7.7 like our rifles?) really qualify as 'heavy'?

Also I double-checked with MoP on Discord, and apparently the reward for guideline designs is not always a design credit; so no, we haven't 'lost' a design by creating artillery early.

Anyway, obviously we want to design a machine gun. For our second design, we don't want to waste a research credit on a resource design (which isn't rolled for). Perhaps an armoured car?

E: Wait, change of plan: we use the RC on the machine gun, and use the 'machine gun design' on a special resource. That way, we get a high-quality MG, and a special resource to use in next phase's design.

[Chiefwaffles]

Well, according to Wikipedia, "weapons from World War I identif[y] as 'heavy' due to the weight and encumberment of the weapons themselves" in contrast with more modern HMGs, which are identified as such due to their caliber.
I'm open to changing it to a higher caliber, but for now I'll keep it at 7.7 (I didn't realize our guns were using 7.7 -- I was just going off of a figure of another WW1-era HMG rifle cartridge).

And I'm definitely opposed to using the Research Credit on the machine gun. Unless MoP is willing to be a bit more flexible (letting us use the research credit on the small support weapon design), doing that + using the small support weapon design on a resource means we miss out on the reward for following the guidelines of a design.


And when we do make a GavEngine-using design, maybe we could do a new artillery piece? Motorizing it, using the engine to cool the barrel and fix that flaw, and just generally improving the artillery as well as adding mobility. Armored Car works too though.


EDIT: Unrelated question to MoP: In the rumors you posted in the core thread for Salvios, what does "There are also mutterings that they've embraced their homeland, whatever that means" have to do with our actions? I'm pretty much just curious.

[NUKE9.13]

My thinking was that so long as we design a small support weapon, we'll get the guideline bonus, regardless of whether we use the design allocated to it or not. However, I might be wrong- I'll check with MoP.

E: Yeah, he says it's fine.

[Man of Paper]

A very stretched reference to the molten grenades and volcanic territory. I wanted to drop an equal number of hints without really giving anything away. Like saying the automobiles were glowing. It's safe to assume it's the engine, but I purposely didn't specify. I didn't really like it but I didn't want to say "hey they have grenades that can burn you good" either.

[Parsely]

A “Gavrilium Cooling Rod” protrudes upwards out of the right or left sides of the gun at a 45 degree angle.

Please don't put things sticking up out of the top of the gun that don't need to be there, your poor gunner needs to be able to see over the weapon!

Spoiler: It's like having a carrying handle that doesn't need to be there. (click to show/hide)

Instead, why not have the rod below the barrel and in line with it so it isn't protruding at all? It would also provide a convenient place to safely grab the gun.

---

Leaders have noticed soldiers' expedient use of automobiles equipped with makeshift armor and as a result designers have developed a purpose made combat car, meant for use by what the designers envision as completely motorized rifle companies on the front lines.

Multipurpose Armored Squad Automobile (MArSA)
An armored car for general use by a rifle squad, whether in operational travel, tactical frontline patrols, or in support of an assault. The engine compartment contains a Gavrilium engine and is located at the front of the vehicle. Behind that is the fighting compartment which contains a driver, who has an armored viewport they can lower, the gunner, and the assistant gunner who operate a hand rotated turret that mounts a machine gun, with a shared cupola that can be used for protected visibility. Behind the fighting compartment is the flat bed, enclosed on all sides but the rear, with seats which fit 6 men on each side and double as storage lockers. The engine compartment, fighting compartment, turret, and flat bed area are protected by light armor for defending against shrapnel and rifle rounds. The tires are puncture resistant and lugs are on the sides of the vehicle for mounting spare tires. There are running boards for mounting extra passengers or equipment.

[NUKE9.13]

So, I'd still like to do this:

Gravite: Gravite is a metallic substance with unusual properties. However, until recently, it was no more than a curio; Gravite objects weigh different amounts depending on their orientation, which has for centuries baffled scientists. However, recent breakthroughs in theoretical physics indicated that Gravite might be more than just a curio- it might be one of the most important substances on the planet. An eccentric physicist by the name of Ernesto Pondus recently penned an article describing a theory of gravity that overturns the conventional model- something about family members? Professor Pondus also indicated that, properly treated, Gravite could be used to warp the effects of gravity significantly. By subjecting molten Gravite to a strong, mono-directional source of radiation, the molecules can be aligned, turning the random effects on gravity into a consistent, controllable phenomenon. By maintaining the radiation until the Gravite cools and solidifies, the effect can be 'locked', creating 'Alligned Gravite'.
We've done this, creating bars of solid Gravite that float upwards, in defiance of conventional physics. With the appropriate equipment and forging techniques, we can create Gravite objects that project almost arbitrary gravitational fields. Even more powerful effects can be achieved by keeping the Gravite (which has a relatively low melting point) in a molten state, allowing for the strength and direction of the gravitational effect to be modulated by changing the strength and direction of the radiation being directed through it.

For the MG, a problem occurs: the Gavrilium cooling rod doesn't have any outlet for its energy, so how do we cool it down? Might I suggest the following alternative:

GGG-12: Sometimes a throwback isn't a bad thing. The Gavrilium Gatling Gun is an example of this.
Unlike a machine gun, the action of firing does not itself cause the weapon to cycle. Instead, a very small Gavrilium Engine (with short, stubby rods) is used to rotate the three firing chambers, loading and firing each through the single barrel in turn. It does so at truly breathtaking speeds, firing incredibly powerful 7.7G rounds (7.7mm bullets with Gavpowder propellant) from belts, resulting in long-range devastation unmatched by contemporary weapons.
Naturally, the extraorinarily high rate of fire and powerful cartridges results in a lot of heat being generated, which would ordinarily require considerable cooling- making for a very heavy weapon. But this is the beauty of the GGG; heatsinks attached to the engine take care of the cooling problem, adding only a little weight, resulting in a weapon that, whilst not lightweight, can still be transported fairly easily, especially since it can easily be disassembled into three parts (the engine, the firing section, and the barrel).
Four soldiers (one carrying each part, and the fourth ammunition) will crew the weapon. It is also suitable for installation on vehicles of all sorts. The rate of fire can be adjusted as circumstances dictate, by turning a dial.

Or something along those lines, please feel free to suggest modifications, or copy this and change it to fit your whims. But barring changes, I'd like to do Gravite as our 'standard' design, and use the RC on the GGG-12.

[Maximum Spin]

For the MG, a problem occurs: the Gavrilium cooling rod doesn't have any outlet for its energy, so how do we cool it down?

You don't, because Gavrillium is magic. I guess you have to replace the rods every so often.

Instead, why not have the rod below the barrel and in line with it so it isn't protruding at all? It would also provide a convenient place to safely grab the gun.

That sounds like a really terrible idea unless you don't like fingers.

[NUKE9.13]

For the MG, a problem occurs: the Gavrilium cooling rod doesn't have any outlet for its energy, so how do we cool it down?

You don't, because Gavrillium is magic. I guess you have to replace the rods every so often.

:/
It's magic, yes, but it is defined magic. We know that Gavrilium becomes cold when energy is extracted from it electromagnetically. It doesn't become cold just by us saying a magic word.

[Taricus]

Honestly Nuke, using the design idea on gravite is... well not really a good idea since there's no purpose for it given the far more efficient engines we have as a result of gavrilium. The GGG also seems expensive for what it does, and seems like it'll chew through ammunition like no tomorrow meaning it's use as a suppression weapon isn't as good (Not to mention it'd run out of ammo in short order as well).

Though for logistical (and development) simplicity, the GHMG-12 should just use regular rounds. The fact our riflemen can use the ammo of the machine guns would be a nice boost to our logistics.

GHMG-12 (1): Taricus
Multipurpose Armored Squad Automobile (MArSA) (0):
GGG-12 (0):

[NUKE9.13]

We have two designs, Taricus. One with a Research Credit, one without.
Gravite would let us build heavily armoured flying machines, as well as gravitational shields. That said, I'm not married to the idea. But I do think we should definitely do another special resource- Gavrilium gets us power, now we need an outlet for it. Maybe you want to propose Myomer again? Or something completely different.
The GGG would be a variable speed weapon, so for situations where a high RoF isn't needed, you just lower the speed. I was thinking about removing the revolver component and just turning it into a chaingun, which would have a lower RoF, but still have an advantage over regular MGs in that it'd be more reliable (and the cooling, obviously).

[Taricus]

We don't really need a heavily armoured flying machine as the engines already enable that. And gravitational shields aren't gonna be too effective because they're defending against something specific.

And the GGG isn't a bad thing per se, it's just a little early for it. Wait until we've got enclosed monowing aircraft.

[NUKE9.13]

Our engines might enable us to build efficient, powerful planes, but they wouldn't let us build flying battleships (or rather flying destroyers- battleships might be beyond our means to start off with). Less ambitiously, it would let us make something like this:

PT-12 Armoured Tiltrotor: Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. Add 'be armoured like a beetle' to that, and you have the Perisai Terbang-12.
The PT-12 resembles a fat monoplane, possessing stubby wings with rotors on the tips, and a short tail. It has a steel-tube frame, covered in steel armour easily capable of stopping rifle bullets and resistant to heavier arms as well.
The rotors each consist of an enclosed G8 engine (with small electric heater), with a large propeller attached. For takeoff and landing, these are pointed straight up. Both can be freely rotated up to 45° backwards and 90° forwards from vertical. At higher speeds, the small wings provide some lift, allowing the rotors to be tilted further forwards, increasing speed. By rotating one slightly more than the other, the craft can be made to turn (normal control surfaces are also present). All in all, this configuration provides excellent mobility.
What it does not provide is enough lift to haul the PT-12's heavy frame into the air. To this end, Gravite antiweights are placed throughout the vehicle, with the result being that the apparent weight of the unloaded craft is almost zero, meaning the rotors only need to lift the weight of the crew and any additional cargo.
The PT-12 has a two man crew, a pilot and weapons operator. The two sit side by side in the cockpit, which has bulletproof glass windows offering a fairly good line of sight. The weapons operator has control over a [Machine Gun] mounted on the nose, as well as bomb mounts on the wings. Behind the cockpit is a small cargo area, that can carry either a handful of soldiers or a small amount of materiel.

But like I said, if people don't want Gravite, I won't be too bummed out. But I would like to hear alternatives. The enemy has two special resources already- by combining them, they'll be able to deploy a much wider variety of inventions than we can with just Gravite. Do you still want to do Myomer? I mean, I'm not a huge fan of the idea, frankly- if we do mechs, I'd rather do more steampunky mechs than organic-mimicking mechs- but it's definitely an option.

[Taricus]

Steampunk mechs are shit though (And, in my opinion, steampunk is generally shit outside of rise of legends too). And there's no point in getting a clunky mech when they will need agility to survive due to their higher profile.

As for the design you posted, I'd suspect that we could definitely do that without gravite, given the armouring on the Hind and it's powerplant.

EDIT: As I forgot to reply to the flying battleships thing; let the enemy build flying battleships. We'll sink 'em in the same way that carriers got prominence: Fighter aircraft