Topic: CWAR: SFS Thread // Revision Phase // Warm Seasons 1947 (Read 11112 times)

Man of Paper · « **on:** January 15, 2023, 03:46:23 am »

Welcome to the new world. It's time we start solidifying our position in this divided Fortress-City. There are four points of interest on either side of The Wall that we need to keep in mind as we proceed. They are as follows:

SFS Points of Interest:
Tonngaza Refinery: A fuel refinery built on the southernmost tip of the Fortress-City. Provides an Expense Credit each turn.
Loz and Sons Law Firm: A building housing all the knowledge of law (and peoples secrets) that one might need. Provides an Advantage Credit each turn.
Harren University of the Sciences: The most prestigious education center on the island. Provides a Research Credit each turn.
Glaza Private Detective Agency: A popular investigative service among locals. Provides a Sabotage Credit each turn.

We should keep our enemy's Points of Interest in mind if we are to deny them of their services in the future.

UNSA Points of Interest:
Allied Central Bank: A bank in the walled upper-class community in the east of the Fortress-City. Provides and Expense Credit each turn.
Westlan Broadcast Center: A tall building used for both radio and television broadcasts locally. Provides an Advantage Credit each turn.
North Point Observatory: A building used to study the skies. Provides a Research Credit each turn.
Tri-Dream Telecoms: A telecommunications business that provides service to the (northern half of the) Harren Islands. Provides a Sabotage Credit each turn.

The UNSA is no doubt positioning themselves to become a dominant and dominating presence globally, and it is up to us to prevent their success. It is the Design Phase, and you have two designs you can create. Good luck.

Spoiler: SFS Armory (click to show/hide)

Spoiler: Resources (click to show/hide)

Spoiler: Resource Nodes (click to show/hide)

Spoiler: Harren PoIs (click to show/hide)

Spoiler: Credits (click to show/hide)

Spoiler: World Map (click to show/hide)

Spoiler: Islands Map (click to show/hide)

Maxim_inc · « **Reply #1 on:** January 15, 2023, 01:13:13 pm »

So, any ideas on what we should do?

Just basic armory wise, the two notable gaps I've seen after a quick skim is a lack of infantry anti-tank and ground vehicles to use it on.

NUKE9.13 · « **Reply #2 on:** January 15, 2023, 01:34:25 pm »

Early game, our priorities are to strengthen our covert ops (and counter-covert defences), and to lay a technological foundation for mid-game equipment.

Hence, I propose a pistol (useful for spies and counterspies alike);

Quote

Nebolshoy Pistol:
Wait, wait, hang on. Let me get this straight. You're telling me that we're making a pistol... without being coerced?

Yes, if one is going to engage in covert operations, sometimes a smaller gun is called for. The Nebolshoy fires 8.8x18.8mm ammunition from an 8-round magazine. It is not designed for long-range combat, rather focusing on having decent stopping power at short ranges.
To allow... less well-trained forces to use the gun effectively, ease of operation and maintenance is a priority. While unconventional forces would ordinarily also want cheap gear, we don't intend for them to pay full price- so the gun uses high-quality steel to reduce the burden of maintenance.

In addition to the base model, covert operatives will also be provided with a compatible silencer.

And a motor, since we'll want a decent one for almost any serious vehicle we design. I'm thinking we might want to look into copters- useful for proxy war special forces, could also have some utility in covert ops. Of course, we cannot hope to outmatch the UNSA for lifting capacity, given their access to Caelium, but with a powerful motor we might be able to go faster than them.

Quote

Gasified Gavrilium Perpetual Revolution Output Engine:
Can you believe the primitive past we used to live in? When solid-state Gavrilium was the apex of power generation? Simpler times. Worse times. Capitalist times. How can the revolution go forwards, when the motor doing the revolving is the product of capitalist "innovation"?

Gasified Gavrilium is produced quite simply, by freezing Gavrilium to -150 degrees Celsius, then quickly transferring it to a furnace (the atmosphere of which must be exclusively non-reactive gasses) at >1500 degrees Celsius. The freezing causes the Gavrilium to become brittle; the subsequent extreme heat causes it to sublime straight into a gaseous form, which is extracted through vents in the top of the furnace (it being substantially lighter than most other gasses). Once gasified, Gavrilium is surprisingly resistant to turning back into a liquid, let alone a solid. It seems that once the bonds between molecules are broken, there's no going back. Fortunately, we don't need it to go back.
Gasified Gavrilium responds to energy with energy. Run an electrical current through it, and the current gets stronger. Keep it up, and soon the equipment you are using to feed the current into the gas will melt from the intensifying feedback. It is unfortunately not possible to exploit this to explosive ends- while the feedback can get absurd, it requires external equipment to maintain, never forming a self-sustaining reaction.

A Perpetual Revolution Output Engine consists of a pressurised shroud of Gasified Gavrilium surrounding a what looks like a fairly simple (albeit sturdy) electrical motor. To start the motor, charge from a battery is fed into the conductive coil, which causes the magnetic core to start rotating. You know, electric motor. The trick is that once going, the battery is disconnected, and the ends of the coil are connected to each other. This wouldn't work- the mechanical energy imparted on the magnetic core would drain the charge almost immediately-, but the Gasified Gavrilium shroud reacts to the current passing through the coil, strengthening it as fast as (or faster than) the mechanical force drains it. Voila, perpetual motion.
To be clear, the Gasified Gavrilium does nothing but surround the coil- its mere presence (in the right configuration) causes the current to become stronger.
To stop, speed up, or slow down the motor, the pressure of the Gasified Gavrilium shroud can be adjusted, pumping the gas in or out. For an emergency stop, there is a mechanical valve that opens the shroud up to the outside atmosphere, which will very quickly see the pressurised Gasified Gavrilium escape.

Though historical records suggest that Gavrilium tends to deplete extremely slowly, it does deplete, so it isn't really perpetual. Still, it's a ludicrously efficient fuel, and the PRO Engine has the potential to produce insane amounts of torque, in a compact package with relatively few moving parts.

TricMagic · « **Reply #3 on:** January 15, 2023, 01:35:29 pm »

Nuke has a fuel source writeup in discord. His other suggestion is a pistol.

We could make an anti-tank bullet. Just use Fissiles and Gavrillium for maximum boom.

Nin. +1 to Nuke. (I know that isn't how it works, but eh.)

Taricus · « **Reply #4 on:** January 16, 2023, 07:10:37 am »

I'm thinking we could do some *weird* shit with fissiles and gavrilium in regards to a power source. And it could be pretty great as well. That being said however, the pistol is something we could do better with.

Moreover, I doubt we're restricted from getting our own Caelium. Anyone up for a new and improved Charybdis?

Quote

Sanyavich SA-1 Pistol

Designed with useable stopping power in mind, the Sanyavich pistol boasts a 12-round magazine loaded with 10x22mm rounds, ideal for close-in use. Intended to be comfortable to use and reliable in the field, the Sanyavich is a relatively uncomplicated design, though high-quality tooling and materials are used to ensure the end result is up to Selicate standards

With a threaded barrel and a silencer being designed for use by covert operatives, the pistol should also serve our infiltrators well

NUKE9.13 · « **Reply #5 on:** January 16, 2023, 08:25:21 am »

Quote from: Taricus on January 16, 2023, 07:10:37 am

Moreover, I doubt we're restricted from getting our own Caelium. Anyone up for a new and improved Charybdis?

I asked on Discord, and MoP said no. We cannot get our own Caelium.

Quote

That being said however, the pistol is something we could do better with.
Quote
Sanyavich SA-1 Pistol

As someone who isn't actually a gun expert, could you explain the key differences between your proposal and mine? The main difference I can see is that yours is larger. Which I'm not sure is beneficial, given the primary use will be for covert operations- something easier to hide would surely be better than a few extra rounds of a higher calibre.

TricMagic · « **Reply #6 on:** January 16, 2023, 08:41:07 am »

I'm someone who will vote for Nukes, on the argument of easier tooling and use. 8 mag rather than 12. Also the Line and TR pistol.

Quote from: Votebox

Nebolshoy Pistol: (1) TricMagic
Gasified Gavrilium Electroturbine: (1) TricMagic
Sanyavich SA-1 Pistol: (0)

Man of Paper · « **Reply #7 on:** January 16, 2023, 12:51:27 pm »

Sanity/Difficulty Checks:

Nebolshoy is Normal, up from Easy due to developing your first silencer.
Gasified Gavrilium Electroturbine is Hard. It's a new development in an old field (engines). It's an electroturbine. The difficulty largely comes from being your first gavrillium design, and not just because it uses gavrillium. I feel it's important to make clear that special resources do not increase difficulty just because they're being used, and the method to "gasify" the gavrillium is easy enough to do in an industrial setting that using it to make an alternate form of gavrillium isn't going to hit the difficulty either.
Sanyavich is Normal, same reasons as Nebolshoy, with a potential increase in stopping power as well as size.

NUKE9.13 · « **Reply #8 on:** January 16, 2023, 02:11:25 pm »

While I don't want to be hasty... I think pistol+engine is a very safe path right now.
That said, more ideas never hurt. But more ambitious things would benefit from having an Advantage Credit, which we will (hopefully) have next turn.
(I've changed the name of the "Gasified Gavrilium Electroturbine" to "Gasified Gavrilium Perpetual Revolution Output Engine")

Quote from: Votebox

Nebolshoy Pistol: (2) TricMagic, NUKE9.13
Gasified Gavrilium Perpetual Revolution Output Engine: (2) TricMagic, NUKE9.13
Sanyavich SA-1 Pistol: (0)

frostgiant · « **Reply #9 on:** January 16, 2023, 03:39:04 pm »

Pistol + Engine looks very sensible to me, Gives us A quiet weapon for spies, military police, and a sidearm, and the last 3 wars continuously proved that a good engine to build on wins wars.

While I do want to recreate Rime Rounds and other sub-Zero weaponry, It does not make for a very good early/First game design and works much better as a revision for ammunition or for dedicated Low-velocity shell throwers like mortars, grenade launchers, and such.

Quote

Nebolshoy Pistol: (3) TricMagic, NUKE9.13. Frostgiant
Gasified Gavrilium Perpetual Revolution Output Engine: (3) TricMagic, NUKE9.13, Frostgiant
Sanyavich SA-1 Pistol: (0)

NUKE9.13 · « **Reply #10 on:** January 19, 2023, 01:47:44 pm »

An idea for next turn, perhaps:

Quote

Gavrilium Evaluator Numerical Input/Update System:
Engineers are responsible for overarching plans. Interns take care of the smaller details. This includes a bunch of calculations. Some interns have been whining that they are being asked to compute far too many things in a day. Ugh. Look, someone has to do it. It's not like metal can do maths. Or can it?

A Gavrilium Evaluator is a neat little trick that you can do with a small piece of Gavrilium. Attach three wires to it, with a piece of carbon between the third wire and the Gavrilium. Run a current through wire 1, and it flows through to wire 2. Run a current through wire 3, and the current between wire 1 and 2 is interrupted. Amazing, well done, you managed to replicate a switch. Vacuum tubes have been doing this for years, and telegraph switches for decades before that.
Here's the thing, though. A telegraph switch is big and slow (relatively speaking). A vacuum tube is fast, but still big. A Gavrilium Evaluator can be made really small, and is faster than a vacuum tube. When we realised what we had our hands on, suddenly a wealth of possibilities was laid out before us. The most obvious would be radio- it would be possible to make radios so small they could fit in one's pocket. But before we could get started on a GE radio, we were presented with a more radical proposal.

Barley Cabbage (ironically, she never set foot on a farm in her entire life) was a nutcase who thought metal could do maths. Her clockwork device was slow, massive, and limited. Nobody paid any attention to it. But as the world grows more advanced, her ideas were reconsidered. And the Gavrilium Evaluator was just the thing to turn a crazy idea into a workable proposal.
By combining several Gavrilium Evaluators in different configurations, it is possible to create 'logic gates'. By combining several logic gates in different configurations, it is possible to make an electrical circuit capable of mathematical operations using binary numbers. By combining several such 'crisps' (they sound similar when stepped on) in different configurations, it is possible to create a device that can perform arbitrary operations- with the right input, it can do any calculation in the world.
In seconds.
And it barely takes up a small office room.
This will put computers out of a job forever. Goodbye, whiny interns! Hello, whiny heating fan used to keep the circuitry from freezing up!

Now, the Numerical Input/Update System is not perfect. A spider made a web in one of the prototypes, which shorted the circuitry and caused messed up output until the source of the problem was discovered. But even after removing the literal bug, mistakes would sometimes crop up, usually due to faulty circuitry or improper inputs. We've taken to referring to such issues as "bugs", in "honour" of that bloody spider.

As for what it does... well, not a lot, right now. Put a dozen interns out of work, but honestly they cost less to maintain than the GENIUS does. But I've got a feeling that this thing could catch on in the coming years. Just you wait.

Man of Paper · « **Reply #11 on:** January 19, 2023, 03:05:27 pm »

GENI/US is firmly Theoretical in large part due to being a first foray into Gavrilium and creating a relatively complex electronic calculator.

NUKE9.13 · « **Reply #12 on:** January 19, 2023, 04:22:00 pm »

Well, if a full-on Turing-complete computer (even with no immediate applications) is Theoretical, perhaps a more specialised calculator would be a better entry point. And hey, what's a cold war espionage contest without cryptography?

Quote

Gavrilium Information Technology Gear for Uninterpretable Dispatches
When we discovered that some of our spies were sending plaintext messages, answers were demanded. "It's too hard to encrypt messages, and the enemy can crack the codes anyway." We have only one thing to say to those excuses: GITGUD.

A Gavrilium Evaluator is a neat little trick that you can do with a small piece of Gavrilium. Attach three wires to it, with a piece of carbon between the third wire and the Gavrilium. Run a current through wire 1, and it flows through to wire 2. Run a current through wire 3, and the current between wire 1 and 2 is interrupted. Amazing, well done, you managed to replicate a switch. Vacuum tubes have been doing this for years, and telegraph switches for decades before that.
Here's the thing, though. A telegraph switch is big and slow (relatively speaking). A vacuum tube is fast, but still big. A Gavrilium Evaluator can be made really small, and is faster than a vacuum tube. When we realised what we had our hands on, suddenly a wealth of possibilities was laid out before us. The most obvious would be radio- it would be possible to make radios so small they could fit in one's pocket. But there's another use case, that might be more interesting.

What makes for effective encryption? Really, it just boils down to complexity. The human brain can only handle so much, and trying to work out complex ciphers using a pen and paper can take ages. Hence, mechanical means of encrypting messages have long been in use- scrambling messages using a cipher too complex for any human to ever apply in a reasonable timeframe, and decrypting the message at the other end at a similar inhuman pace. But gears can only do so much. Gavrilium Evaluators could do much more, much faster.
By combining several Gavrilium Evaluators in different configurations, it is possible to create 'logic gates'. By combining several logic gates in different configurations, it is possible to make an electrical circuit capable of mathematical operations using binary numbers. By combining these circuits in a specific configuration, it is possible to make a machine (the size of a briefcase) that takes input (in the form of a typed-in message), and produces an output (in the form of a bunch of incomprehensible (encrypted) punch cards). Another machine, of similar appearance, can be used to turn punch cards into a typewritten message.
While in principle the tech used could be scaled up or down fairly simply, the GITGUD-W(rite) and GITGUD-R(ead) are both limited in order to keep them a portable size- so they can only handle messages of up to 140 characters. Before using a GITGUD, the user must type in a 'key' which modifies the cipher- the sender and the receiver must be using the same key to communicate.
To enable two-way communication, both sides must have one of each (we could in theory make a machine that could do both actions, but: A, that would be more work; B, this way the enemy needs to capture two GITGUDs and the keys being used by an agent in order to fully intercept communications).

Man of Paper · « **Reply #13 on:** January 20, 2023, 10:27:08 am »

GITGUD is still Very Hard, approaching theoretical. It still breaking into a new field (electromechanical (gavchanical?) computing and all that jazz), and even though it’s more focused and therefore a little easier to R&D than GENIUS it’s adding in the complications of cryptography - something for some reason largely absent in any appreciable scale in the setting. Dave made this bed, now Dave has to sleep in it. Note that this also assumes a goal of Common rarity.

Editing to clarify the difficulty of the assumed goal of Common rarity with currently available resources.

Man of Paper · « **Reply #14 on:** January 22, 2023, 04:47:47 pm »

Design Results

Proposal: Nebolshoy Pistol
Difficulty: Normal
Result: 5+5=10, Superior

The Nebolshoy is a compact short recoil action semiautomatic handgun that fires 8.8x18.8mm rounds from an 8-round magazine. The slender profile of the gun means it restricts movement less and is relatively easy to conceal. The action is fairly smooth, resulting in minimal recoil and nearly eliminating jams. The end of the barrel is threaded, allowing covert operatives the ability to attach a suppressor. The suppressor is a rounded rectangular shape and adds a bit of weight to the end of the gun. This weight is worth it, as nearly a third of the decibels of each shot that fires through it are dropped. The Nebolshoy can be quickly broken down in the field for quick fixes or smuggling, and is very easy to repair should it need maintenance. In conjunction with this ease of maintenance, the durable steel materials used to make the gun should see the Nebolshoy prove to be reliable in most situations.

Sure to be a symbol of SFS engineering and reliability, the Nebolshoy is considered the standard sidearm of law enforcement, military, and government services. It costs 3 Ore, making it (CHEAP).

Proposal: Gasified Gavrilium Perpetual Revolution Output Engine
Difficulty: Hard
Result: (6+4)-1=9, Above Average

Gavrilium is a very interesting material for sure, but it is a fuel like any other. Experimentation has provided us with knowledge of how to "gasify" Gavrilium, and Selicate industrial might allows us to replicate the process on a large scale. Gasified gavrilium is lighter than air, heavier than helium and about as flammable. Gasified Gavrilium is best described as an amplifying insulator, sustaining currents passing through it while not conducting electricity itself - even when the circuit is cut off from the original power supply. Gasified Gavrilium slowly loses current-inducing capabilities over time and becomes more neutrally buoyant as it does. Depleted Gasified Gavrilium is not unlike most other types of exhaust fumes, except it hangs in the air a little longer.

The GGPROE is made up of two chambers connected through a set of pumps. One chamber is the fuel tank used to store the Gasified Gavrilium. When the engine is started a small amount of GG is cycled into the motor chamber. A starter battery provides the initial charge in the circuit powering the electric motor, and the density of GG in the motor chamber directly affects the power being provided by the circuit. The powered motor rotates a shaft that attaches the engine to whatever needs attaching. Sensors within the tanks can measure the percentage of Depleted Gasified Gavrilium in the tank and gauges can be connected to relay this information to users. Depleted GG doesn't typically begin to impact engine performance until about 45% volume, with power output steadily dropping afterward. In order to prolong engine life, an "exhaust pump" in the fuel tank can be used to force more air into the system and flush collected Depleted GG that settles to the bottom. These pumps will be able to be activated by the operator of whatever sort of equipment these engines are attached to. An emergency stop flushes the entire assembly's fuel through the exhaust.

When compared to an Internal Combustion Engine, the GGPROE can provide equivalent power to an ICE engine of similar size with half the weight and a much lower maintenance overhead. What really sets the GGPROE apart is fuel efficiency. While refueling requires flushing the entire system (optimally), it is a process that needs to be performed rarely. GGPROEs equivalent to an average car's engine could run four to five times as long as a car using fossil fuels, and fuel efficiency increases as the engines get larger.

Gasified Gavrilium Perpetual Revolution Output Engines don't have a cost of their own, but when used in a design will decrease Ore cost by a fair amount and swap Oil costs for a Gavrilium cost discounted up to fifty percent.

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

It is now the Revision Phase. You have two revisions to existing entries in the armory to make, whether they are improvements, fixes, or variations. As with the Design Phase, I will continue to provide input on the difficulties of your proposals and why.

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Author Topic: CWAR: SFS Thread // Revision Phase // Warm Seasons 1947 (Read 11112 times)

Man of Paper

CWAR: SFS Thread // Revision Phase // Warm Seasons 1947

Maxim_inc

Re: CWAR: SFS Thread // Design Phase // Spring 1946

NUKE9.13

Re: CWAR: SFS Thread // Design Phase // Spring 1946

TricMagic

Re: CWAR: SFS Thread // Design Phase // Spring 1946

Taricus

Re: CWAR: SFS Thread // Design Phase // Spring 1946

NUKE9.13

Re: CWAR: SFS Thread // Design Phase // Spring 1946

TricMagic

Re: CWAR: SFS Thread // Design Phase // Spring 1946

Man of Paper

Re: CWAR: SFS Thread // Design Phase // Spring 1946

NUKE9.13

Re: CWAR: SFS Thread // Design Phase // Spring 1946

frostgiant

Re: CWAR: SFS Thread // Design Phase // Spring 1946

NUKE9.13

Re: CWAR: SFS Thread // Design Phase // Spring 1946

Man of Paper

Re: CWAR: SFS Thread // Design Phase // Spring 1946

NUKE9.13

Re: CWAR: SFS Thread // Design Phase // Spring 1946

Man of Paper

Re: CWAR: SFS Thread // Design Phase // Spring 1946

Man of Paper

CWAR: SFS Thread // Revision Phase // Spring 1946