Print

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

[Failbird105]

We should make an upgraded combat Mule though later, I am thinking a hover combat platform.

Maybe some kind of poisonous giant ambush spider.  More of an attack dog instead of a mount.

Yeah, we should upgrade the MULE eventually, I just kinda want to savor what we've got for a few turns.

And yeah, an attack-dog style thing is pretty much what I'm thinking for our third beast.

Whether it flies or not is another question.

[Man of Paper]

Spoiler: Water's Edge and the Final Option (click to show/hide)

Grand Chieftain Tahoma prepared to take his place on the podium.

Tahoma was seen as his tribe's de facto leader back on Earth. When there were suddenly no actual leaders after the abduction he found himself leading the Navajo through these wastes, and then eventually an entire small nation of people. It was a thought that always made him laugh save for in this moment. As he took the final steps up to the rudimentary recording and transmitting equipment thrown and taped together from scraps, Tahoma's jaw clenched and tightened. Hundreds had gathered to weather the incessant heat and blinding star just to hear him speak. Many more were listening on whatever device they had available. No doubt the entirety of the military was broadcasting this moment.

"Three days. Three weeks. Three months," Tacoma spoke slowly and deliberately.

"That is the rule of thumb for how long a human can survive without water, food, and shelter respectively. When it comes to shelter," Tahoma stomped his foot on the ground, "the badlands provide. When it comes to food," he gestured to a Silicalisk pen in the distance, "the badlands provide. But when it comes to water," Tahoma spit at his feet, "the badlands are merciless."

"We struggled! But we survived! Working ourselves to death for that most precious resource because there was no other option. In the beginning, before we adapted, we lost many. Too many. And then we discovered lands past our own! People, Humans, that were thrown onto this alien world without warning as we were. Past the deserts, the verdant, lively lands of the Rayleigh Confederation. Beyond the mountains, the lands of ice and snow claimed by the Social Democracy of the Red Blossom."

Tahoma took a deep, slow breath before continuing. During the silence someone in the crowd shouted out, "Fuck those nerds."

"Both lands were abundant in the most vital of resources - water. The thing which life on Earth cannot survive without. We went to our "fellow" humans for aid, sent envoys to establish connection so that they may know of the plight of their brothers and sisters and assist them in their final hour. And they were sent back empty-handed. They had given us the opportunity to trade," Tahoma's voice began to rise.

"They demanded pay for our right to live! Wanted us to tether our very existence to material goods! We may be all that is left of humanity, and these beasts would divide us! Our envoys were right to decline! We of the Federated Cities of Sujia are no fools! Will not force ourselves to bow to the whims of the merciless! Do not kowtow to the decadent! We are all Freemen, and will forever remain Freemen! And so we must do the only thing we can, what these badlands have been teaching us for a decade: fight!. Fight for our right to live! To persist! To survive!"

The crowd had begun cheering loudly.

"We have always had to choose between water or death - but it is man, not material, that willingly stands between us and it! And so, considering the will of the people, the Tribal Council has unanimously decided to..." Tahoma paused for dramatic effect as the crowd hushed, "approve declarations of war against both groups!"

The crowd roared.

"We will survive! There is no other option! Many lives will be changed forever, or lost entirely, but that is nothing new! Not for us! But we cannot beat back the oppressive heat! We cannot dissuade the light of this star! We can take the SDRB's ice and snow, because we must, and we will! We can divert the Confederacy's rivers, and we will, because we must! They wanted to trade water for wealth! The only terms we offer now are blood for blood!"

The crowd was deafening. The badlands echoed with their roaring applause, and many joined in the cheers of approval. Tahoma took a step back and waved and gestured to the crowd before leaving the podium and leaving the town square the stage for this declaration had been constructed in.

Tahoma couldn't help but think,
"All of this for a damn drink."

So Tahoma is apparently a Navajo name translating to Water's Edge according to my googling, just so youse know. If there's any input to improve this since it is a lore proposal thing and I don't want to do something that isn't approved definitely speak up, ya nerds.

[flabort]

Turn 3 Revision Phase Results

Proposal: Powdershell Grenades

Powdershell grenades dispense a thick cloud of colored smoke to provide cover or mark a position. While it is not suggested that one inhale the smoke on a constant basis, it is not designed to be harmful over the course of standard battlefield usage.

Trivial (10 + 2) +3 = 15 (Exceptional)
Somehow, someway, someone designed a grenade with a color dial on it. The Powdershell grenade isn't explosive, but mixes oil-based dyes (which dyes, and how much of each determined by the dial) into a reactive powder that produces a thick cloud of colored smoke when it "detonates". This detonation is triggered with a similar fuze to the Shattershell grenades, after the color is selected and a pin pulled, but rather than firing a priming charge into explosives, it squeezes certain amounts of the dyes into the powder containment section and opens some vents.

The smoke spreads quickly, getting thicker as it takes in oxygen, which is why it isn't safe to be exposed to it for frequent prolonged periods of time, as it can lead to shallow breathing, lightheadedness, and passing out. This shouldn't be a problem in most fights where it's deployed, even in multiple exposures, but after fighting in a smoke screen, a soldier is recommended to take a few minutes and do breathing exercises to refresh his lungs, and perhaps spare some drops of his water ration to rinse any smoke residue out of his throat.

Having color options, selectable when the grenade is deployed, means that smoke signals can have different messages when marking a position.

It costs slightly less than a Shattershell Grenade, not using high explosives. It costs 1 Ore and 2 Oil, which is Expensive or Cheap depending on whether we decide to import Oil or Ore.

Before this can be elaborated on, two things need to be cleared up about Sujia:
a) While there may be little natural water, for some ungodly reason, the desert boasts natural springs and oases of hydrochloric acid.
b) Sujian dirt is an adhering menace like no other.
c) If a Sujian is desperate to clean their vehicle, they will try anything.

So it went that a MULE operator was lugging back a jug of dilute--for a given measure of dilute, given as the operator was using vinegar--hydrochloric acid, and while taking a detour through a Silicalisk stable, ended up slipping on a pile of the chalky substance they leave as excrement. Of course, the operator fell onto her back, immediately splashing some of the corrosive mess onto her arms and face as the jug itself flew into a stall that happened to contain a silicalisk snacking on its gravel.

As the panicked operator fled to a medical tent to get a decontamination shower, the Silicalisk did something... odd. While the specifics are unknown, given that nobody was in the stable at the time, a couple of dragoons passed by to find the beast clutching the jug in its foreclaws and slurping down the acid like iced tea on a summer day. After the spill was cleaned up and the operator docked pay for going beyond water use regulations--the decontamination shower--the Silicalisk's handlers noted a few improvements in the beast's lifestyle.

Best as can be told, the acid actually hydrated the creature, evidenced by the beast refusing water for the next several days. Furthermore, it increased the strength of its internal acid, which had a few marked benefits. The offensive uses of corrosive spit were only boosted, of course, and it gained more energy from the same amount of food!

Theoretically, by replacing the water rations afforded to Silicalisks with acid ones, we could increase the water supply available to our troops, and at the same time decrease the amount of labor and ore needed to secure food supplies for our Silicalisks!

Very Difficult (1 + 9) -2 = 8 (Below Average)
It has been observed that the domesticated Silicalisk has a slightly weaker acid than a wild one, even when not surgically altering them in any form thanks to the Acid Muzzle. Supplementing it's own acid production with naturally occurring solution from pools of hydrochloric acid, the wild Silicalisk remained more dangerous in that regard until now. By replacing the need to give water to our tamed aliens and giving them literally acid to drink, it increases the strength of the acid they themselves produce, and frees the precious water up to give to our own people. Harvesting the acid can be tricky at times, due to the dangers of falling in, or it corroding the equipment used to harvest or haul it, but it can be cut with vinegar or even weaker solutions, even going so far sometimes as to let spoiled food rot until it liquefies and cutting the acid with that.

This does come with a couple of drawbacks - acid that drips out of the acid muzzle isn't hydrating at all, for one, and is much more dangerous to handlers. It also makes them more aggressive - as if they weren't already difficult to control. It also makes them averse to drinking water, which while it seems like a good thing (we need that water for ourselves), it does make them upset when they come in contact with it, at least until they become desperate to drink. And some of the stuff that acid gets cut with does not agree with the diet of a silicalisk, and can make them sick on occasion.

This does marginally increase the combat effectiveness of Silicalisks and their handlers. And while it's not technically oil, the harvesting of acid to supplement their diet with adds 1 Oil to the cost of Silicalisks given it.

Spoiler: Designs (click to show/hide)

Transport Capacity: 0/1 General + 1/2 Sujium (1 Ore, 1 Oil available, 1/1 Sujium transported)
Resources: 3 Ore (0/1 imported), 1 Oil (0/1 imported), 2 Sujium (1/1 imported)
Credits: None right now.
Weapons

• Makeshift Earth Rifle (Cheap): Based on designs from home, cobbled together from native materials with remaining architecture. Mediocre accuracy at Long Range, good Accuracy at Medium. 1 Ore
• AK-10 Jezail (Cheap): Accurate out to Long range, devastating up close. Durable, dependable, although quirky. Lower capacity magazine, but quiet and sighted. 2 Ore
• Standard Issue Pulse Pistol (Cheap): Moderately understood alien tech in the shape of a pistol. Variable energy controls range from starting small fires to stopping a heart. It's battery powered, but its maximum energy pulses still use a lot of their juice; stun level shots are recommended as the battery life is exceptional. Very accurate up to short range, somewhat accurate at medium range. 2 Ore, 1 Oil
• Shattershell Grenades (Expensive): Simple fragmentation grenades that pack a lot of bang for the buck. 1 ore,3 oil
  
  • Powdershell Grenades (Expensive): Smoke grenades that cover a wide field range for cover or marking position. Color of the smoke can be selected on the fly just before detonating it. 1 Ore, 2 Oil

Vehicles

• MULE - Mining Utility Levitating Excavator (Expensive): Hovercraft cargo vehicle, with a scoop arm to load and unload it. Naturally slow but each one has been sped up to acceptable speeds for quick material and man transport with some crazy means - rocket engines, silicalisk chariot, "all power to forward thrusters", or even crazier. Each one has a personality to fit it's crew, and it provides 1 TC now (1 more when made Cheap), and access to 1 remote ore. 4 Ore, 2 Sujium, 2 oil

Other

• Standard Uniform: A plain uniform with very little decoration or utility. There is a space for rank insignia, and some colored markings but it's rather plain.
• Infantry Armor//Grade L: Armored protection up to modern standards, made from PETA-provoking live-harvested Silicalisk leather (Sleather) instead of Kevlar; the bowl helmets have the unfortunate name of MISTACE, but the uniform will stand up to live fire and strong acids, and the MISTACE will easily stick in the craw of a rampaging beasty.
• Reverse-Engineered Extraction Equipment (Expensive): A mining hammer, using alien minerals and tech to multiply it's momentum drastically; power hungry to control, but allows for very rapid mining expansion, and once out of power, goes out of control. Provides 1 Ore and 1 Sujium. 4 Ore, 2 Sujium
• Oobleck Storage Crates: Exploits starches in water to safely transport Sujium long distances. Be very very careful on unpacking. Provides 2 Sujium specific TC, and 1 importable Sujium.

Creatures

• Battle Silicalisk (Cheap):  Silicon based animals somewhere in shape between a horse and a mole with rocky hides and sharp claws, bred and trained for the purposes of fighting. Very aggressive and will turn on trainers if not fed rocks and ores. Acidic saliva, ability to spit it removed at young age to control it. 4-1 Ore
  
  • Acid Muzzle: Keeps the mouth clamped shut when acid spit isn't needed. Reduces the cost of Silicalisks by 1 ore, and lets them spit acid.
  • Acid Rations: By supplementing the Silicalisk diet with harvested hydrochloric acid, it reduces their need to drink and improves their organic acid's strength and their aggression, marginally improving battle capabilities while freeing up water for humans to drink. 1 Oil

It is now the turn 4 design phase. This will be the last prewar turn with two designs and two revisions, and at the end of the turn will be the judging of the second lore contest for a Research Credit.

[Jilladilla]

Right, it's time to get ourselves a heavy weapon of sort sort yeah? So here's one.

Hellephant Gun
On its own, the Sujian wastes near utter lack of water and hellish heat would make for an environment that is extremely difficult to survive in. So of course, it is not just very dry and hot and hostile to human life in general. The fauna that is native to this desert is also dangerous, ranging from 'will attack and likely kill you if you wander to close' all the way to 'evacuate the settlement if this is heading towards it'. Leaning towards the latter end of the spectrum, the Hellephant, so named for its resemblance to an Earth elephant from a distance, is a very large and extraordinarily aggressive specimen.

Of course, having to pack your bags and run very much isn't ideal; and so a weapon that could at least drive off some of these super-fauna was needed. And so lead to the creation of the 'Hellephant Gun', derived from earthly high-caliber weaponry meant to hunt big game, this large rifle is a bit easier to handle than one would expect (do note, the term 'easier' was used, not 'easy'. This is not a weapon for the weak and unprepared, it can very easily knock one over if mishandled).

Most of this ease of use lies within its Sujium assisted ammunition; by exploiting Sujium's properties, the amount of force exerted upon the bullet by its gunpowder charge can be doubled without any increase in recoil! Though of course, this charge is lesser than would be normal for such a caliber, as ideally a gun shouldn't shatter bones every time it's fired. The sujium used is not integrated into the bullet, as Sujium's properties would certainly introduce more uncertainty into the bullets ballistics, not to mention the effects on drag and the fact that sujium's tendency to 'bounce' would likely degrade armor penetration; and so the bullet is ensconced within a Sujium sabot, designed to break away after leaving the barrel and imparting its sub-caliber bullet with every last ounce of Sujium-doubled force while maintaining a normal ballistic trajectory.

The Hellephant Gun itself is a very large bolt-action weapon feeding from a magazine fully integrated within its buttstock; a measure taken to help weigh down the sujium in its ammunition with mundane weight to help prevent it from flying off (not to mention that its position is where the gun moves the least while aiming); and reloading consists of totally removing it and replacing it with a fresh one. Notably, a consequence of this reloading style is the fact that the gun can be breech-loaded; for the times when one has spare bullets but not a spare loaded magazine-stock. Which distressingly may be more frequent than one would like given the bulk of the later.

[Failbird105]

An interesting species native to the outback region near Sujia, though it is not rare to see them in the deserts or Sujia itself. These enormous, broad-shelled crustaceans where discovered on some of our earliest excursions outside of our own lands, really they where hard to miss with their size. Though their taming is relatively recent compared to the Silicalisks, they have proven themselves similarly useful, and show some level of intelligence, similar to dogs on Earth.

The Sculptor Crabs shell is a tough and sturdy material, that analysis has shown to be similar to plastic. Our AK-10s struggle to pierce it even at close range, and while pulse pistols can melt into it, they lack the penetration to do serious damage to the crabs important organs and meat-parts without focused firing. Meanwhile the crabs claws, having single 'hooks' rather than pincers like Earth crabs, can be swung with great force, making them an effective weapon at close ranges. Provided, of course, that the crab can reach close ranges with its fairly ponderous speed.

The reason for their name comes from a curious behavior that the Sculptor Crabs show. They are known to gather sand and small objects, and then give a solid structure to the pile with their adhesive saliva. Sometimes they create simple structures with it, using their specialized claws to shape the sand, other times they coat their bodies in it to add an extra layer of armor. This hardened sand is, obviously, nowhere near as sturdy as their own shells, it would not offer much more protection than a similarly thick wall of sandbags(minus the spilling), but the ability to erect fortifications quickly with little material is quite useful.

The Crabs bodies are not built for being ridden, and so a specialized saddle must be made for them. This saddle has seating for a few people, and has positions where heavy weapons could be attached when we inevitably develop such a thing. The main cost sink for the crabs however, is their diet. Or specifically, the liquid part of it. In a similar way to how Silicalisks drink acids, the Sculptor Crabs drink oil. The difference however is that unlike acid for lisks, the oil is actually quite important for the crabs. It is a major part of how they form and regrow their plastic-like shells, along with the consumption of certain cacti that grow out in the outback, which we assume are what gives the material its toughness.

Revamped the Crabs a bit. Now their saliva is just a general adhesive, their shells are plastic-based, and they drink oil to grow their shells as a way to give them a reasonable resource cost.

[Man of Paper]

Reminds me of monster hunters crabbybois. I like it.

[Man of Paper]

Proposal: "Darude" Light Mortar

The Darude is a 60mm mortar. Due to the highly mobile nature of our forces, the mortar can be secured in the bed of a MULE to use as a mobile firing platform. The Darude can also be transported and deployed by infantry thanks to being a light 21kg split between three separate pieces. The disassembled Darude are the cannon, the bipod, and the baseplate.

There are five types of munition made for the Darude:
Fragmentation rounds based loosely on the Shattershell Grenade
Smoke rounds based loosely on the Powdershell Grenade
Illumination rounds that come in high intensity white and a low-light red
High Explosive rounds for hard targets
Acid Rounds using a silicalisk acid-derived compound to eat through flesh and armor

----------------

As reengineering an Earth mortar should be relatively easy we should be able to get away with the munition variety. Then again, this is absurd and I'm not sure the mortar quite fulfills that need as-is. We could add some warcrimes rounds for it too. Since, y'know, hydrochloric acid. It'd be a shame not to utilize the experience.

[Failbird105]

Perhaps like, Silicalisk acid grenades for melting through heavy armor? Hydrochloric doesn't work that well against metals.

[Failbird105]

Hellephant Gun (1): Failbird
Sculptor Crabs ():
Darude Light Mortar (1): Failbird

I just can't bring myself to vote for the Crabs. I made them, and I like them, but the problem is that they're basically living heavy vehicles, and thus will get rather quickly replaced. I want our animals to be something special, something that we'll struggle to make a machine that can properly take the place of, or just wouldn't have a good reason to bother replacing.

At the same time, I also can't build up the inspiration to make something else that I like more, so I've just gotta go with this.

[Doubloon-Seven]

Hellephant Gun (2): Failbird, D7
Sculptor Crabs ():
Darude Light Mortar (1): Failbird
RNAR-1 (1): D7

Since Sujium is locking us out from creating spectacular magic powers psionics, let's have a machine gun.

Okay, who submitted a PKM?

Physical resemblance to a certain Soviet weapon aside, the RNAR is a decent machine gun. The unnervingly large 300-round crate it feeds from should be evidence enough of that. Given the stamina needed to carry it around with ammunition, operators are advised to not skip leg day.

We're not totally heartless, however. Firing standard 8mm bullets at 300RPM would likely blow a person's arm off, both target and user. To deal with this, the stock holds a chunk of Sujium and a robo-fistpercussive instrument linked to the trigger to balance out the forces while firing. There are batteries to keep the Sujium inactive when not chucking lead downrange. Operators are strongly advised to not forget to change them.

Other accoutrements include a quality optical scope similar to that installed on the AK10, tritium iron sights, and a bipod, in the event you want to brace the gun.

Every purchase comes with complimentary water sachet!

[Failbird105]

Hellephant Gun (2): Failbird, D7
Sculptor Crabs ():
Darude Light Mortar ():
RNAR-1 (2): D7, Failbird

Gonna vote this for now. I'll see what the bird has to offer when it's been made.

[Jilladilla]

Right. Here is the Scout Bird concept I was having for a bit. Here it is. As always, feel free to critique, suggest edits, or even blatantly copy the proposal to suggest your own, slightly edited version of it.

Obsidian Raven
Life within the Sujian Wastelands is utterly alien from that of Earth's; and this is only partially due to the majority of said life being silicon-based instead of the carbon-based life we were used to. Still, despite all of their differences, they occasionally manifest some eerily similar occurrences. One of those is a large, seemingly decently intelligent bird that we have taken to calling 'Obsidian Ravens'.

The avian's may seem very similar from a distance, but up close the distinction is far more obvious, with this bird's feathers instead consisting of very thin, sharp, slates of black rock. A defense that would be extremely formidable back on Earth. It is a defense that is largely wholly insufficient out in the wasteland. Hence, the Obsidian Raven largely fulfills a scavenger role within the wastes (though it is notable that the Ravens that live more towards the edges of the wastes are more aggressive, we figure that it is because they can bully their more 'mundane' neighbors for food sources); however, none of these features are what caught our attention to the birds. When one of our members, a veteran hunter and birdwatcher, noticed unusual behavior between some of the predators of the wastes, where they displayed an unusually above average knowledge of where their prey was; and in almost all cases, the Raven's were present. As if they were leading them to their goal.

'Domestication' efforts were tricky at first, in trying to calm down these flighty creatures enough for efforts to be made, as well as handling their very dangerous plumage, but the Sujian Spirit is not one to be stopped from a few failures or cuts! In the end though, the occasional scavenger has been seen working with these avians to help them find resources critical for our people. Though in true Sujian fashion how they utilize the birds is a total mess of methods; some merely teach them how to carry and use old cameras; others use precise acrobatic sequences to convey back knowledge; some swear that some of the master tamers manage to speak with the birds themselves! However, the craziest have to be those who have tried to teach the ravens how to utilize Shattershell grenades!

[Failbird105]

Hellephant Gun (2): Failbird, D7
Sculptor Crabs ():
Darude Light Mortar ():
RNAR-1 (1): D7
Obsidian Raven (1): Failbird

Basically, drones without needing the tech for drones. Bombing, scouting, etc.
Not able to do everything a drone could, but considering I doubt we could even try to make drones at this point(at least, not having spent all our tokens), this is a plenty good alternative.

[Man of Paper]

I’m picturing it like the bird in Pink Floyd the wall during shit what’s the name of the song uhhhh Goodbye Blue Sky, that was it

[Jilladilla]

Hellephant Gun (3): Failbird, D7, Jilladilla
Sculptor Crabs ():
Darude Light Mortar ():
RNAR-1 (1): D7
Obsidian Raven (2): Failbird, Jilladilla