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[Kot]

The beautiful thing about something like that is that it's not really anti-armor. It's anti-everything. Also, it's not like it's a definite anti-tank weapon, I imagine it's going to only really matter against the first couple designs, so depending on where the game goes we might want a proper anti-tank gun.

[NUKE9.13]

Just to get the important stuff out of the way ahead of time:

ADM Index: 3N2

Will this be the index for all machine guns, or only heavy standalone ones? I can see arguments both ways. Either way, I think you should update this post, since Category 3 currently seems to exclude machine guns in its definition.

[Kot]

The post is preliminary anyway, I wanted to keep a detailed record but I think it will look better at the end of... preliminary... turns, when we have enough gear for it to look cool.
As for the machinegun, I initially went with 5N, decided to instead go 3N, went back and then back to 3N again (It's also complicated because various Russian .50 machineguns are included in GRAU index system but stuff like 14.5 KPVT and such is only included as part of whole armored vehicle setup because the gun itself predates GRAU index, meaning it seems to be absolutely up to us). I think classifying it as an artillery piece is a nice bit of flavour considering they're so heavy the crew is at least like four to six guys but I don't feel strongly about it.

[Aseaheru]

 In my book, HMGs are heavy weapons, whereas LMGs, GPMGs, and suchlike are smallarms. Basically... Does it need a carriage, a mount, or a tripod? Heavy weapon. Can it be used without one? Smallarm. So, the KPV, including the infantry version, is a heavy weapon; PTRS/PTRD are smallarms, and so on. Thats how it all makes sense to me, anyways.

[Kot]

In my book, HMGs are heavy weapons, whereas LMGs, GPMGs, and suchlike are smallarms. Basically... Does it need a carriage, a mount, or a tripod? Heavy weapon. Can it be used without one? Smallarm. So, the KPV, including the infantry version, is a heavy weapon; PTRS/PTRD are smallarms, and so on. Thats how it all makes sense to me, anyways.

Yeah basically my line of thinking as well.

[Funk]

That can you carry and fire it line is what i go with as well.

[Man of Paper]

Preliminary Turn 2

It is now your second Design Phase. While your forces build up the defenses along No Man's Land, you are tasked with developing the weaponry the soldiers will use to defend it. In this case specifically this means some sort of machine gun or mortar. Have fun, scrubs.

Edited to add: Reminder that the report is in the core thread if you forgot.

Spoiler: Armory (click to show/hide)

Arms and Equipment
NSA-SR-12-3-5, ADM Index: 5N1 "Bunaiteach": A 110cm long, 3.8kg straight-pull bolt action rifle firing 7.5x55mm copper jacketed spitzer rounds from a six-round magazine reloaded through charging clips or individual bullets. Tangent sights rest at 50m and are marked every 100m out to 1000m. Has an effective range of 800m. Reliable. Comes with a cleaning kit and 600mm sword bayonet sporting a 450mm double-edged straight blade. Comes with a belt sheathe. White beech and blued steel along with a nearly flush magazine provide a slick appearance. Cheap
-NSA-LR-12-4-2, ADM Index: 5N2 "Banchéile": Bunis modified for range with a 5x scope mounted 45 degrees off the centerline, a bipod, a muzzle break, and comfortable padding. Scope is adjusted via screws, marked for 100m-1000m, and have a small silhouette for a human at 100m and 500m. The scope provides the weapon (but not the human) a 1300m effective range. Cheap

Spoiler: Territories (click to show/hide)

Capital
Northern States Administration: 2/0

Western Lane
Administrative Forest: 2/0
Northern Plain: 3/0
NO MAN'S LAND: NEUTRAL
Southern Plain: 0/3
Southern Star Mountains: 0/2

Central Lane
Administrative Forest: 2/0
Northern Plain: 3/0
NO MAN'S LAND: NEUTRAL
Southern Plain: 0/3
Southern Star Mountains: 0/2

Eastern Lane
Administrative Forest: 2/0
Northern Plain: 3/0
NO MAN'S LAND: NEUTRAL
Southern Plain: 0/3
Southern Star Mountains: 0/2

Capital
Kingdom of The Southern Star: 0/2

Spoiler: Map (click to show/hide)

TURNTURNTURN

[Quarque]

Machine gun time. I'm not sure yet which of the designs so far I like best but I sure as hell can't write up anything better. Generally speaking, I think I prefer the design that can sustain fire the longest, but not sure which one that would be.

Aseaheru, what's your opinion?

[Aseaheru]

 I like the gast gun, but thats because Im weird and like gast guns in general, and suggest them for every game Im in. And hey, I dident write it up this time!. So, NSA-CM-12-1-1, ADMI: 3N2 "Arrachtach" would be my choice between all of the allready suggested designs.

 So, to offer something up(I feel I need to, even if I am probably not voting for it this turn), have the Pansi, because I like the idea of giving flower-based codenames to artillery and what better flower than the pansy?

Spoiler: 3E1 "Pansi" (or colloquially "Taflwr Toesen") (click to show/hide)

   Designed with the acceptance that light, highly-mobile artillery is a requirement on the modern battlefield, the 3E1 "Pansi", better known among our troops as the "Taflwr Toesen" was developed to provide direct and indirect artillery support on a company-level basis in a package that can go almost anywhere our troops go.
   The weapon is a smoothbore 80mm low-velocity gun firing finned bombs, with a split trail, pneumatic tires for ease of towing, a hydro-pneumatic recoil mechanism, an optional automatic action, and loading via either three round clips of ammunition fed in from the left hand side of the weapon or single bombs loaded via dropping down the muzzle(a feature primarily intended for single specialty rounds prior to carpeting an area with high-explosive or shrapnel).
   The bombs used in the weapon are (as earlier noted) finned. Unlike most artillery designs of this time, they are not quick-fire ammunition, but instead have their propellant(compressed black powder, as used in our last generation of smallarms ammunition) contained within rings or 'toesen' attached prior to loading. Several of these toesen may be attached to a single bomb to improve their range, with a maximum indirect fire range of some 4200m, a direct fire range of 1000m, and a maximum velocity at the muzzle of 255m/s.
   Several types of bombs are developed for this weapon, from the standard 8M1 high-explosive round, through the 8M3 shrapnel round and 8M4 smoke round, to the 8M5 parachute flare. Fuses for the 8M1 are either simple timed devices set prior to firing or base-mounted contact fuzes, while the 8M3 uses only the timed fuze. There has been talk also of an 8M2 solid shot, deemed in the design phase to not be worthwhile at this time due to the low muzzle velocity of the weapon.

[Quarque]

I'm probably making a very bad decision.

NSA-CM-12-1-2, ADM Index: 3N2 "Arrachtach" (1): Quarque
NSA-CM-12-2-1, ADM Index: 3N2 "Torann"
NSA-CM-12-3-1, ADM Index: 3N2 "Chabair"
3E1 "Pansi" (or colloquially "Taflwr Toesen")

[Aseaheru]

NSA-CM-12-1-2, ADM Index: 3N2 "Arrachtach" (2): Quarque, AseaHeru
NSA-CM-12-2-1, ADM Index: 3N2 "Torann"
NSA-CM-12-3-1, ADM Index: 3N2 "Chabair"
3E1 "Pansi" (or colloquially "Taflwr Toesen")

[Kot]

Spoiler: The NSA-CM-12-1-2, ADMI: 3N2 "Arrachtach" (click to show/hide)

The NSA-CM-12-1-2, ADMI: 3N2 "Arrachtach" is a heavy field machinegun. The weapon fires an enormous 15x110mm bullet(NSA-FC-12-3-2, ADMI: 8A2) that is considered more than enough to destroy anything in existence save for heavy concrete fortifications.
The immense weight of the weapon at around 50 kilograms is usually supported by a two-wheeled split-trailed carriage (ADMI: 3C2) where the gun has spade grips, or a static mount (ADMI: 3C1) where the gunner has a seat and uses a pedal to fire the gun, which also allows him to elevate the gun much higher, the idea being that the gun should be able to fire at high elevation to hit our enemies hiding high in their mountains.
The gun has tangent ironsights set between the magazines ranged to 2000 meters and is also able to accept the 5C1 scope from the 5N2 "Banchéile", while the static carriage specifically has a set of simple ironsights that move together with the actual gun allowing for the seated operator to comfortably take aim at the mountain-dwelling enemies. The static mount has a pair of wheels that can be attached to it to move it when not in use but it requires assembly, as it's not meant to be readily mobile.
Total weight of a loaded gun and carriage is in excess of 100 kilograms. In theory the weapon can be detached and fired without use of either mount but it's really not recommended.
The whole gun is about meter and half long, with a meter of it being the barrels, which are thick, heavy and fitted with cooling fins to help with overheating.
The actual mechanism of the weapon is very simple and operates thanks to the recoil of firing the gun.
The weapon has two sets of barrels and recievers, with a lever connecting both sides. Pressing the trigger causes one side to recoil, bringing the other into battery and unless the trigger is let go of (or all ammunition is gone), immediately fires the second side, which again brings the first side into battery and fires it which allows for extremely fast rate of fire. To dampen the recoil each side has a strong spring behind it. That, and the sheer power of the bullet should leave nothing standing after the gun has finished firing. The sides can also be disconnected which allows the gun to be single fired although that requires manual cycling of the guns.
The gun feeds from two quadrant-shaped 27-round removeable pan magazines (NSA-FC-12-3-1L and NSA-FC-12-3-1R, ADMI: 3P1 and 3P2) sitting above the recievers into which 3-round clips can be inserted (SA-FC-12-3-1, ADM Index: 3O3), usually loaded as a single type of ammunition, either simple tracer (NSA-FC-12-4-1, ADMI: 8A5) or FMJ ball rounds (NSA-FC-12-3-1, ADMI: 8A3).
The parts of the gun that aren't symmetrical tend to be marked with little letters stamped L or R depending on the side or with red squares for left and green for right side, the latter being especially important in the case of the magazines.

Spoiler: NSA-CM-12-2-2, ADM Index: 3N2 "Torann" (click to show/hide)

The NSA-CM-12-2-1, ADM Index: 3N2 "Torann" is a heavy field machinegun. This gas operated machinegun fires an enormous 15x110mm bullet(NSA-FC-12-3-1, ADMI: 8A2) that is considered more than enough to destroy anything in existence save for heavy concrete fortifications. The weapon itself weighs around 35 kilograms and is usually supported by a two-wheeled split-trailed carriage (ADMI: 3C2) where the gun has a pistol grip and a stock, or a static mount (ADMI: 3C1) where the gunner has a seat and uses a pedal to fire the gun, which also allows him to elevate the gun much higher, the idea being that the gun should be able to fire at high elevation to hit our enemies hiding high in their mountains. The gun has offset tangent ironsights ranged to 2000 meters and is also able to accept the 5C1 scope from the 5N2 "Banchéile", while the static carriage specifically has a set of simple ironsights that move together with the actual gun allowing for the seated operator to comfortably take aim at the mountain-dwelling enemies. The static mount has a pair of wheels that can be attached to it to move it when not in use but it requires assembly, as it's not meant to be readily mobile.
Total weight of a loaded gun and carriage is in excess of 100 kilograms. In theory the weapon can be detached and fired without use of either mount but it's not recommended. The whole gun is about meter and half long, a meter of it being the barrel, which is thick, heavy and fitted with cooling fins to help with overheating. There is also a muzzle brake attached to the end, helping decerase the recoil.
The gun feeds from a straight 24-round magazine (NSA-FC-12-5-1, ADMI: 3P1) sitting above the reciever into which 6-round clips can be also fed (SA-FC-12-4-1, ADM Index: 3O3), usually loaded as a single type of ammunition, either simple tracer (NSA-FC-12-4-1, ADMI: 8A5) or FMJ ball rounds (NSA-FC-12-3-1, ADMI: 8A3).

Spoiler: NSA-CM-12-3-2, ADM Index: 3N2 "Chabair" (click to show/hide)

The NSA-CM-12-2-1, ADM Index: 3N2 "Chabair)" is a heavy field machinegun. This short recoil operated machinegun fires an enormous 15x110mm bullet(NSA-FC-12-3-1, ADMI: 8A2) that is considered more than enough to destroy anything in existence save for heavy concrete fortifications. The weapon itself weighs around 50 kilograms and is usually supported by a two-wheeled split-trailed carriage (ADMI: 3C2) where the gun has spade grips, or a static mount (ADMI: 3C1) where the gunner has a seat and uses a pedal to fire the gun, which also allows him to elevate the gun much higher, the idea being that the gun should be able to fire at high elevation to hit our enemies hiding high in their mountains. The gun has tangent ironsights ranged to 2000 meters and is also able to accept the 5C1 scope from the 5N2 "Banchéile", while the static carriage specifically has a set of simple ironsights that move together with the actual gun allowing for the seated operator to comfortably take aim at the mountain-dwelling enemies. The static mount has a pair of wheels that can be attached to it to move it when not in use but it requires assembly, as it's not meant to be readily mobile.
Total weight of a loaded gun and carriage is in excess of 100 kilograms. In theory the weapon can be detached and fired without use of either mount but it's not recommended. The whole gun is about meter and half long, a meter of it being the barrel, which is thick, heavy and fitted with a large water cooling jacket to help with overheating. The gun feeds from a 75 round belt (NSA-FC-12-6-1, ADMI: 3P1) feeding into the side of the reciever usually loaded with a mix of simple tracer (NSA-FC-12-4-1, ADMI: 8A5) and FMJ ball rounds (NSA-FC-12-3-1, ADMI: 8A3).  Alongside the gun and it's ammunition box there's also a water condensing unit that attaches to the water jacket with a hose that helps reclaim the evaporated water.

Machine gun time. I'm not sure yet which of the designs so far I like best but I sure as hell can't write up anything better. Generally speaking, I think I prefer the design that can sustain fire the longest, but not sure which one that would be.

None of these. Technically the Chabair would, having a belt and water-cooling, with Torann being close second, even if magazines would probably be very quickly exchangeable. Arrachtach is more of an explosion than a gun, if we get anywhere close to 1500 RPM of the historical Gast gun you have a gun that fires a bullet heavier than a .50 cal and does it at the speed you'd expect something like MG42 to fire. It's closer to a ZU-23 than a Maxim gun.

Spoiler: NSA-CM-12-4-1, ADM Index: 3N2 "Ceobhrán" (click to show/hide)

The NSA-CM-12-4-1, ADM Index: 3N2 "Ceobhrán" is a heavy machinegun. The weapon fires 7.5x55mm (8A1) cartridges at a staggering rate thanks to it's novel mode of operation. The weapon has two sets of barrels and recievers, with a lever connecting both sides. Pressing the trigger causes one side to recoil, bringing the other into battery and unless the trigger is let go of (or all ammunition is gone), immediately fires the second side, which again brings the first side into battery and fires it which allows for extremely fast rate of fire. To dampen the recoil each side has a strong spring behind it. The sides can also be disconnected which allows the gun to be single fired although that requires manual cycling of the guns. The gun feeds from two long fabric belts (NSA-FC-12-7-1, ADMI: 3P2) holding up to 200 bullets each and usually carried within large metal ammo boxes (NSA-FC-12-8-1, ADMI: 3P1).
The gun can either be fired from a tripod (ADMI: 3C2) fitted with small retractable wheels that can be easily carried in place of a backpack when not in use or through the use of a static mount (ADMI: 3C1) where the gunner has a seat and uses a pedal to fire the gun, which also allows him to elevate the gun much higher, the idea being that the gun should be able to fire at high elevation to hit our enemies hiding high in their mountains. The gun has tangent ironsights set between the magazines ranged to 1000 meters and is also able to accept the 5C1 scope from the 5N2 "Banchéile", while the static carriage specifically has a set of simple ironsights that move together with the actual gun allowing for the seated operator to comfortably take aim at the mountain-dwelling enemies. The static mount also has slots on both sides for stowing the belt boxes.

This is a Gast gun in normal caliber. I don't really like it and writing it felt like a huge ass creative block. If we want to do a Gast gun specifically I'd rather do the big one.

Spoiler: NSA-CM-12-5-1, ADM Index: 3N2 "Ràsanach" (click to show/hide)

NSA-CM-12-5-1, ADM Index: 3N2 "Ràsanach" is a heavy field machinegun firing the standard 7.5x55mm (8A1) cartridges. The gun is both gas operated and water cooled. The gas operation means that a portion of exhaust gasses is redirected from the end of the barrel downwards into a gas tube, where then it's used to move a piston rearward to actuate the firearm action that's very reminiscent of the 5N1 rifle. Said piston has a long and strong spring coiled around it that is then used to reset the whole action and prepare the gun for firing. Since the gun is gas operated the water jacket (3IP7) doesn't need to have any flimsy water seals on the barrel, which means that the water jacket can be simply screwed onto the barrel in two pieces that also screw together in the middle.
The gas tube, piston and recoil spring are outside of the water jacket and there's a gas block that screws into the gas port and water jacket from below which connects the gas tube proper and the gas port. The gas block also has a gas regulator on the bottom which, apart from regulating the amount of gas that's used for cycling the action, can also be unscrewed to allow access and cleaning of the gas port without disassembling the entire front of the gun. The barrel sticks out slightly in front of the water jacket which allows the 5IP19 muzzle brake from the 5N2 "Banchéile" to be mounted there.
There is also a port into which water can be poured and a port into which a water hose can be screwed into that is then connected to an external condenser (3IP8) which allows to reuse the water. The gun can also be used without the water jacket which does lower it's weight considerably but also means prolonged firing risks overheating, damage to components, cookoffs or even catastrophic failure.
The machinegun feeds through it's side from textile belts that are produced either in short (75 rounds - 3O2) or long (200 rounds - 3O1) versions that can be attached to the side of the gun through use of a metal ammo box (3P1).
The weapon itself weighs around 30 kilograms and is usually supported by a tripdod (ADMI: 3C2) fitted with small retractable wheels that can be easily carried in place of a backpack when not in use or through the use of a heavy static mount (ADMI: 3C1) where the gunner has a seat and uses a pedal to fire the gun, which also allows him to elevate the gun much higher, the idea being that the gun should be able to fire at high elevation to hit our enemies hiding high in their mountains. The gun has tangent ironsights set between the magazines ranged to 1000 meters and is also able to accept the 5C1 scope from the 5N2 "Banchéile", while the static carriage specifically has a set of simple ironsights that move together with the actual gun allowing for the seated operator to comfortably take aim at the mountain-dwelling enemies. The static mount also has slots on both sides for stowing the belt box and the water condenser. The static mount has a pair of wheels that can be attached to it to move it when not in use but it requires assembly, as it's not meant to be readily mobile.

The SANE option. The BORING option. The RELIABLE option. The still quite interesting sort-of mechanically option. This is probably the closest to a standard issue machinegun of WW1 of any of the designs. If we roll right it could probably fire for days at end with short pauses for someone to come under the barrel and pick out the gunk from the gas port with a stick and maybe pee into the water jacket to replace any water that might still escape through the threads. The longer I wrote this the more convinced I became of this being the rational choice to make. Even on a bad roll I think it would work at least fine, while the Arrachtach on a bad roll might be a fancy way to turn our soldiers into suicide bombers.

[Aseaheru]

 Insane gast gun and possibly, if we feel like it, machinegun conversion of our standard rifles as the revision?

[Kot]

Considering that apparently there's no laws of war I'm afraid the dreaded Infantry QoL design is a neccesity. While I don't think we should push for morally questionable options (it's arguable if there are any in war but bear with me), primarily because I think the game devolving into who can make the funniest and most effective flesh melting combat gas will be boring, the despicable Royalists have already shown their hand with the exploding bullet. It's only a matter of time (or, even a matter of right now this very design, mortar ain't that complex so they might squeeze in some tear gas or something) before they start making weapons of mass destruction. Even if they don't, it's unlikely they'll leave their meme bullet as is and we're likely to see more of it in future.
Thus, while that's still a couple turns in future, we pretty much have to spend a design on our infantry uniforms and general gear. We need resilent fire-retardant uniforms, we need armor to mitigate the impact of the explosive ammo, we need gas masks, we need helmets, we need eye protection, we need mine clearing implements and we need personal first aid equipment. While doing armor might be a rehash of the Moskurg/Forenia stuff, it's the only obvious solution to the exploding bullet thing. It might however give us an opening to do power armor if we ever want to go that way. Not sure whether it should be the defensive design or free design, we'll see.
_{Also it will be very ironic and thematic in long run when some guy in full plate we have breaks into the King whatever's palace before shouting "Are there no true knights among you?".}

[Quarque]

The SANE option. The BORING option. The RELIABLE option.

Gosh darnit, now I just have to vote for it. This is the kind of design that radiates "cool" for me. A down-to-earth premise, but chock full of lovingly written details.

I understand if you guys need to go with the oversized gast gun, but gotta be honest with my vote.

NSA-CM-12-1-2, ADM Index: 3N2 "Arrachtach" (1):AseaHeru
NSA-CM-12-2-2, ADM Index: 3N2 "Torann"
NSA-CM-12-3-2, ADM Index: 3N2 "Chabair"
3E1 "Pansi" (or colloquially "Taflwr Toesen")
NSA-CM-12-4-1, ADM Index: 3N2 "Ceobhrán"
NSA-CM-12-5-1, ADM Index: 3N2 "Ràsanach" (1): Quarque