Welcome, Bay12, to Armories of Valturia.
Your goal is join an arms company, design weapons, and sell them for a profit. The most successful company will be recognized as the official national armory of Valturia.
It is 1910, and as is tradition, this Arms Race takes place in the real world, except with a bunch of extra, fictional nations squeezed in. Machine guns are bulky and water-cooled, automatic loading pistols are a recent novelty, and armies are expected to fight in open fields at great range with firing lines of riflemen. The world has not experienced the first world war (though it will soon) and most generals know battle as a chess game of daring charges and clever pincers which has not changed much since Napoleon's time. Most armies have not even considered the opportunities of mechanization.
These people will be your clients, and your business will be in selling small arms of your own make: everything from pistols and shotguns to heavy machineguns and possibly cannons, and all sorts of weapons in between. Not only must your products be good, they must also appeal to the taste of generals who are deciding how to equip their armies.
Valturia, land of iron. The country sits in a tiny region of defensible, metal-rich mountains, but it was once the seat of a wide empire. Long ago, when the empire crumbled into civil war, Valturia avoided destruction by signing a treaty which guaranteed her independence, but forbade her from going to war with any of her many bordering nations and former vassals, no matter how small or weak. For hundreds of years, the tiny nation has been a hub of cultures from across the former empire, famously neutral in wars but incapable of any greater ambitions. However, the treaty said nothing about selling arms.
It is now the 20th century, and His Majesty Narvik II has hatched a scheme. The tools of war have grown more powerful, terrifying, and most of all, expensive. If the British empire's armies can defeat enemies ten times their number by using machine guns, then perhaps it is not armies, but weapons which now win wars. Valturia may remain neutral, but still shape the nations around her, by providing weapons to favored factions. Failing that, the country could stand to bring in a whole lot of money. There are three companies in Valturia which have produced weapons, and all of them will receive funding from the crown to expand and fulfill military contracts.
You will join one of these companies, but don't click the links for them until you've decided which you want to join. The plans made by each company are confidential.
Behrens (http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=177409.0) is located in the northwest of Valturia, and their primary product is pocket watches and clocks. They produced some pistols under license from a foreign design in the last few years, which is the extent of their involvement in the arms business. They are known for extremely precise, hand-finished machining. Behrens starts with 60 credits.
Fabrique Riviere (http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=177411.0) originated as a lumber mill and furniture company, and began selling cap-lock shotguns, and later, breech-loading rifles. These are widely regarded on the foreign market as a plague of cheap, mass-produced rubbish, but the quality of the wooden stocks is decent. However antiquated, this means there is already a complete assembly line in place for guns. FR starts with 55 credits.
Prykanbul Manufacturing (http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=177410.0) is owned by a family whose origins are in the furthest east of Valturia's former empire, and there are rumors that their patriarch is wanted for crimes in the old country. Their trade is in metalwork, of common hardware and horseshoes but most famously swords. At one point in the past they manufactured muskets, but this production ceased as firearms became more complicated. The sword business continues on a small scale, and the quality of their blades makes them sought-after. Prykanbul starts with 65 credits.
For quick discussion of the game, there is also a Discord server (https://discord.gg/syEWr2W). There are private text channels for each company.
The Rules
This is essentially an Arms Race game, you design weapons and compete with the other companies. However, instead of taking your weapons to battle for territory and resources, you will have your weapons tested by armies who will decide which they wish to purchase, and if you win the contract, you will gain money.
Turns take place in a two or three phases, and each turn represents the passage of a year.
Drawing Phases:
There are two primary actions which take place during the drawing phase:
Design a new product from scratch.
Revise an existing product design.
Both of these are explained in greater detail later, but they are the bulk of your activity in the game. You may also have opportunities to spend money in other ways, such as upgrading your factory, and that will take place in this phase. While there is no hard limit to the number of designs or revisions you may make in a turn, they become increasingly expensive if you do multiple in one turn. During the drawing phase you may start as many designs or revisions as you can afford. There is a second drawing phase, where you may do this again, if you wish. This allows you to make a revision or a new design once you know the results of your first phase, if you wish, but you can of course pass as well.
Bidding Phase:
After you've completed (or passed) both action phases, it will be time to bid on contracts. Normally, you can bid on no more than two contracts each turn. For each contract, you must choose what item you are submitting, as well as the price. Once all companies have submitted their bids, the testing phase can begin.
Testing Phase:
Clients field-test each gun which is submitted, and choose their favorite to fulfill their contract. You'll receive a report on your gun, and how happy the client was (or wasn't) with it. During this phase, it may be common for previously unknown flaws to be discovered. Take note that I did not say clients choose "the best" gun. In addition to having unique circumstances and requirements, clients take into account price (coming in under-budget is always appreciated) and their own personal biases. Some clients may have opinions about military doctrine which range from antiquated to objectively wrong. This phase is where I have to do the bulk of the writing, so expect to wait a bit.
End of Turn:
A few things happen at the end of the turn. First, you spend money on assembly lines if necessary. If you've won two contracts, you may actually only be able to fulfill one contract, so you must choose which. You also choose whether to build an assembly line or re-tool an existing one. Next, assembly lines, including ones just created, assemble a batch of firearms if there is a buyer, and you receive the profits in time to start the next turn. If you are building a new assembly line from scratch, you might not turn a profit immediately.
Lastly, a set of new contracts will be posted. Contracts which weren't fulfilled last turn may or may not reappear. In addition to your profits, you receive Prestige (victory points). In 1940, the company with the most Prestige will win the game.
Designs and Revisions
This is the main thing you will do in this game! Having a better design than your opponents means you can win contracts. Designs are phrased narratively. Simply describe the sort of weapon you would like to design. You may have goals in mind ("must not cost more than 20 credits per batch"), but most of all you must have shape and method of operation ("magazine-fed simple blowback pistol"). You may also wish to specify construction methods- for example, a cast receiver is cheaper than one milled from a block. Extremely specific detail might be subject to change during the actual designing of the gun.
Revisions work just like designs, except they modify an existing design instead of creating something from scratch. Common examples would be redesigning an existing gun in a different caliber, fixing a flaw in a gun, or changing features like the sights or stock. You could also try to simply make it cheaper or more reliable. If you design a new ammunition cartridge, you will need to spend a revision on it.
There is an additional stipulation from His Majesty: Because it would be very advantageous for Valturia to have influence over supplies of ammunition, you may only use domestic ammunition, not pre-existing cartridges from other countries. Therefore, you will have to design your own cartridges most of the time, unless you can license one from the other Valturian companies.
Designs and revisions cost money! Each dice roll has a price depending on how many you do in the turn: each costs 10 Credits, times the number of items before it. IE the first costs 10, the second costs 20, the third costs 30 etc. Designs also cost a flat 10 Credits more (this system makes designs more expensive without making it so that the order in which you do them matters).
Designs and revisions involve a dice roll: 2d4 will be rolled, producing a number between 2 and 8 with an average of 5. They also have a difficulty, in the form of a bonus or penalty.
Results:
1 or less: You cannot make a working example on schedule.
2-3: The weapon has significant design flaws or missing features.
4: The weapon has some minor flaws.
5: The weapon performs exactly as desired, or required only minor compromises.
6-7: The weapon is a strong example of performance, reliability, or both.
8 or more: You stumble on a design which is particularly clever, performing beyond expectations in some way.
These are somewhat approximate! There may also be flaws inherent to a weapon's design even if everything goes as planned, or hidden manufacturing issues which appear later.
Difficulty:
+3: An extremely simple task.
+2: A very familiar design.
+1: A design which is familiar to you or already common on the market.
+0: Average.
-1: A design which is ahead of its time.
-2: A design which is very complicated, ahead of its time, or both.
-3: A design which stretches the limits of your capabilities.
-4: A design which it's unlikely anyone in the current era could make, such as relying on materials which are not readily available.
Notice that the difficulty of a design makes a big difference! Determining the actual difficulty is more art than science. As a rule of thumb however, consider similar historical guns, and your previous design portfolio. For example, submachineguns in this era are typically not very reliable, so they're difficult to make. However, if you have already made a semiautomatic pistol with a similar function it will be less difficult. If you've made a submachinegun already and are making a second attempt, it will be much less difficult, even if the first was bad.
Assembly Lines
Designing a weapon is only half the battle! Actually building it requires an investment into an assembly line. You start with one assembly line and His Majesty will fund the initial tooling. You also have space for a second assembly line. Starting a new assembly line costs 50 credits. Retooling an assembly line to make a different design costs 10 credits. Changing to a revision of the same design is free. This means it is much more cost effective to sell a gun you have already designed than make an entirely new one for a contract. It also means that you can switch between different revisions as often as you like, so you can do something like offering automatic or semi-automatic versions of the same gun.
Assembly lines make one batch of a weapon per turn, if there are buyers. If your contract specifies multiple batches, then it will keep an assembly line occupied for multiple turns. Later in the game, the civilian market will be available: retailers will buy weapons which are legal to sell to civilians, but at a small margin, as they take a cut.
If you have won a contract and are starting an assembly line, it will be assembled and produce its first batch immediately. If you have won multiple contracts, you have to choose whether to build an additional assembly line, or only to fulfill one contract.
Prestige
The game will end in 1940. Every contract has Prestige points associated with it, and the company with the most prestige at the end of the game wins. Companies are not expected to go bankrupt.
Other Actions
There a few actions which don't follow a specific phase, but may be an option. If you run out of money, you may need to receive a grant from the crown. This does not need to be paid back, but will cost you Prestige. Alternatively, two companies may borrow or loan money at any terms agreeable to the both of them. Similarly, you may license designs, or offer the use of assembly lines. Licensed designs are added to your portfolio (possibly on limited terms) but do NOT grant experience as if you had designed it yourself. You may also use your assembly lines to produce weapons for another company, if they have won more contracts than they can fulfill, or won a contract which calls for multiple batches to be delivered at once. Again, this at a fee agreeable to both parties. It may also be possible to tamper with another company's design process or supply chain, but I'm sure none of you would do something so untoward, so we will not speak of this here.
1910 Contracts
These are the contracts available for the first year. You should design a weapon which suits one of them to submit.
The 4th Artillery Regiment of Ira is looking for officers' pistols. They are considering either revolvers or auto-loading pistols, but have made the particular request that the guns hold at least 7 cartridges. They also prefer the gun to fire a powerful round to as long a distance as a pistol can manage. Furthermore, they should look sharp. This is part of an officer's uniform after all, and it should command respect. They are willing to pay around 30 credits per batch, for 2 batches. 8 Prestige. Tip: Cost for an average revolver is around 15 credits, and an average semiautomatic is around 20 credits.
The Rutz Cavalry Legionnaires are looking for a carbine. It should be short, but still boast sufficient firepower to be a threat to enemy horses. More than anything however, it should be easy to wield and reload on horseback. Accuracy is not a primary concern, as the cavalry can ride close to their targets and shooting from horseback is imprecise at best. They are interested in purchasing 2 batches at 30 credits each. 6 Prestige. Tip: Cost for an average rifle is around 20 credits.
The City-State of Procino is interested in pistols for Royal Police. They say that the gun should be small, and slim profile. Semi-automatic is preferable. It will mostly be used at close range, but should be reliable. Appearance is of no concern- in fact, it will apparently be concealed most of the time. They are willing to pay around 25 credits per batch. 5 prestige.
The Vostoy Revolutionary Army is in desperate need of rifles. While they want a rifle which holds multiple rounds, is accurate to a long distance, and is reliable, they really want them to be cheap above all else. They will buy up to 4 batches, and possibly from multiple suppliers, but it should be cheap as possible. They're not willing to pay any more than 24 credits, and less is more. 3 prestige.
With these contracts in mind, choose a company to join and lead them to success. Design a weapon which these clients will find suitable- but remember, it must be MORE suitable than the competition's offers!
1910 Field Report
Alright- 1910 is coming to an end, and all three companies have their first (or first new, in Fabrique's case) weapon. First, the finances:
Behrens came up with a weapon they liked on their first try, so they still have 40 credits.
-The 8mm Behrens cartridge. This is a near-imitation of 7.63mm Mauser used in the C96 pistol. It has a short round bullet, and the case is 25mm in length and rimless (making it suitable for use in magazines). It has a shoulder 5mm back from the bullet, which widens by 1.5mm.
-Behrens Semi-Automatic 'Valturia' Pistol: This is a pistol chambered in 8mm Behrens. It loads from detachable 8-round box magazines which are inserted to the bottom of the handle, and operates with a slide recoil system, in which the barrel lowers under the slide on two pins after traveling backwards a short distance. The slide extends behind the grip, and it is returned by two recoil springs which create a hip on other side of the gun along its length above the grip. Shells are ejected upwards to the right. The gun has a 90mm barrel and is a little more than twice that length overall, about 40mm of which is behind the grip. It features a thumb magazine release and notch sights on top of the slide, and a safety lever operated with the off hand. Every piece is milled and nicely finished in a mirror-smooth silver color, except patterned wooden grip plates. Costs 24 credits per batch.
Fabrique Riviere had to revise their weapon, they've got only 15 credits.
-Riviere 11mm Cartridge: A rimmed cartridge with a center primer and pointed bullets. The case is 50mm in length, and straight. Not extremely powerful but decent ballistics thanks to its shape.
-Riviere 1885: A single-shot rifle, which loads from a trap-door breech, in which the breech block flips up above the barrel allowing a cartridge to be inserted. It has a large, visible hammer on the outside of the rifle which shows its percussion-cap origins, although it fires brass Rivier 11mm cartridges with a center primer. It has a traditional full wooden stock with very few extra fittings, except for a range-adjustable sight on a sliding rear track, with a front bead sight. Aside from the stock, quality of the parts is somewhat poor, although its simple design makes it reliable. Its achilles heel is that the hammer can easily be damage when the gun is dropped. By 1910 standards, range and accuracy are subpar. Costs 16 credits per batch.
-FR No. 1.b Carbine "Nouveau": This is a lever-action rifle, but instead of the traditional tube loader, it uses an internal magazine hidden in a hump in the wooden stock. This holds 5 rounds, and can be loaded from stripper clips. The lever mechanism also has some feed issues, it is slightly susceptible to pressure to the left or right and will often fail to chamber if it is not carefully moved straight-on. Once the cartridges are chambered, they at least fire as expected. Since nothing except the hammer moves when fired, it is as accurate as can be expected of the barrel, which is somewhat cheap. The moving parts are made from castings, and their simple design means they're not prone to binding, but they don't feel smooth. Feature wise, it's very simple with no extra safety, and has simple non-adjustable open sights, some checkered grip patterns on the stock, a brass butt plate and a sling attaching from the bottom. Costs 18 credits.
Prykanbul Manufacturing designed a new cartridge to go with their new gun, they have 25 credits.
-Prykanbul Curved Sword: A curved sword with a round pommel and a large, flat blade. Rather heavy, but the blade is made of excellent steel and it keeps an edge even when clanging against lesser steel. Costs 25 credits per batch.
-The .48 Prykanbul Express rifle cartridge, a rimmed cartridge with a round bullet and straight case measuring 3 inches in length, making it wider and longer than an average rifle cartridge. Uses a somewhat antiquated powder formula which is slow-burning, so it benefits from a long barrel.
-Prykanbul Manufacturing 6x50mm Light Rifle Cartridge: A 6mm FMJ cartridge with a 50mm tapered and shouldered case. The case is semi rimmed, having both a small rim and an inset for the extractor to grab. The bullet itself is long and has a pointed shape, with a boat tail. The case is made of steel. It's a fairly high velocity round. -1 cost to guns using this.
-Prykanbul Manufacturing SR-6-10 6mm Short Rifle Model 1910: This is a bolt action rifle with a 22-inch barrel, making it between the typical length of a rifle or a carbine, and a full wooden stock. It has an internal magazine with a double-stack, single feed arrangement, which holds 7 rounds. It can be loaded from 7-round stripper clips, although these are slightly large and unwieldy. The bolt hand sits upward when the bolt is open and 90 degrees to the right when closed. The last notable feature is an aperture sight. The rear sight about 2cm in diameter, and a couple inches from where the user's cheek should sit. It is adjustable for elevation and windage with large thumb screws on the left, and top right. There is also a bayonet lug where a knife-type bayonet can be secured with another thumbscrew. Both the front and rear sight posts are tall, the front is 5cm above the barrel. The workmanship of the barrel and moving parts is average, it's reasonably accurate and feeds consistently. Costs 21 credits per batch.
Field Tests
The 4th Artillery Regiment of Ira is looking for officers' pistols. They are considering either revolvers or auto-loading pistols, but have made the particular request that the guns hold at least 7 cartridges. They also prefer the gun to fire a powerful round to as long a distance as a pistol can manage. Furthermore, they should look sharp. This is part of an officer's uniform after all, and it should command respect. They are willing to pay around 30 credits per batch, for 2 batches. 8 Prestige. Tip: Cost for an average revolver is around 15 credits, and an average semiautomatic is around 20 credits.
The sole entrant for this contract is the Behrens Semi-Automatic 'Valturia' Pistol at 30 credits:
"It definitely looks different. A real weapon fit for an officer! It's more curvy than lumpy like a lot of the pistols you can buy now, and the finish is exquisite. We also went through several magazines- by the way, those are nice. They might be expensive, but it's so much more convenient than loading from stripper clips or loading a revolver. Eight rounds is also a nice advantage over our old revolvers. On the shooting range, we found these were... accurate enough. They're just not as accurate as revolvers firing single-action, but then, what is? These cartridges are small though, and they don't give a ton of range. Despite this, the gun kicks like a mule too. In my opinion, I'd really love a long-barreled version. We also found they were reliable enough in our tests. We got a couple jams when firing fast, but they weren't hard to clear. We don't do mud tests or anything like that here- we keep our guns clean, we're not filthy people."
"For 30 credits, we'll take them!"
The Rutz Cavalry Legionnaires are looking for a carbine. It should be short, but still boast sufficient firepower to be a threat to enemy horses. More than anything however, it should be easy to wield and reload on horseback. Accuracy is not a primary concern, as the cavalry can ride close to their targets and shooting from horseback is imprecise at best. They are interested in purchasing 2 batches at 30 credits each. 6 Prestige. Tip: Cost for an average rifle is around 20 credits.
Fabrique Riviere offers the FR No. 1.b Carbine "Nouveau" at 28 credits.
"A lever-gun, and in rifle caliber. That's definitely a good start. In particular, these 11mm rounds look like they have the power I need to do my job. I don't appreciate the move to small calibers nowadays. The lever is easy to work on horseback, so I prefer it even it's what some might consider an antiquated design. They seem to shoot alright on the target range as well. On the other hand... the price is great, but it definitely feels cheaply made. The action feels... what was the word one of my officers used? Ah, crusty, that's a good way to put it. While it shoots alright, we had a little trouble in the horseback trials. I could take or leave the strippers, it's not a sure thing to get them in all at once when you're at a gallop so I might just insert single rounds anyway. But the real trouble was, I had it jam up when I tried to chamber a round a few times. It's finicky and seems to go wrong occasionally unless you're delicate with it, and to put it simply we are not delicate men and we are not doing a delicate job. I ended up cranking the lever a few times and wiggling it back and forth, which was a hit or miss thing between chambering the round and dropping it on the ground. So, I really like this gun but I'll have to consider it with the reliability issues."
Prykanbul Manufacturing offers the SR-6-10 6mm Short Rifle Model 1910 at 28 credits.
"This seems to be a pretty standard sort of rifle. I'm not seeing a lot of features that are tailored to us horse-soldiers though- except the bayonet, that I rather like. The bolt action is... fine, it runs smoothly enough. The seven round capacity is impressive for a magazine, although it's about the same as a tube-loader. I'm given to understand the big benefit of these magazines is that they can be loaded all at once with a stripper clip, but the 7-round clips are just unwieldy. I'm not fond of the sights either, they're big and complicated. On the upside, it definitely feeds every time."
It's not an easy decision, but I think we're going to have to go with the FR Carbine. Despite some quality issues, it's much more of a proper cavalry weapon.
The City-State of Procino is interested in pistols for Royal Police. They say that the gun should be small, and slim profile. Semi-automatic is preferable. It will mostly be used at close range, but should be reliable. Appearance is of no concern- in fact, it will apparently be concealed most of the time. They are willing to pay around 25 credits per batch. 5 prestige.
Once again, the only entrant is Behrens with the Valturia Pistol, offered here at 28 credits.
"These pistols are... not very compact, but they are compact considering that they have a practical cartridge. It kicks and definitely feels its size, but I am confident our men can handle it. The finish is too flashy. Between that and the price, it certainly seems to be a wealthy man's sidearm. Also, it does holster a bit oddly with its shape which is wide in the middle. We tested them thoroughly and they do jam sometimes, it is worth keeping in mind that this is a downside compared to revolvers."
We'll buy them, but not for more than 25 credits.
The Vostoy Revolutionary Army is in desperate need of rifles. While they want a rifle which holds multiple rounds, is accurate to a long distance, and is reliable, they really want them to be cheap above all else. They will buy up to 4 batches, and possibly from multiple suppliers, but it should be cheap as possible. They're not willing to pay any more than 24 credits, and less is more. 3 prestige.
Prykanbul Manufacturing offers the SR-6-10 6mm Short Rifle Model 1910 at 24 credits.
"Could do better range, but really, we won't complain. Holds decent ammo and shoots it every time, that's what matters."
We'll take all you can sell!
Fabrique Riviere offers the Riviere 1885 at 24 credits.
"Old hammer guns? I don't mean to be picky but when Prykanbul is offering modern weapons at the same price, we'd much rather stick to those."
Results:
Behrens has 40 credits, 8 Prestige, and a contract worth 6 credits profit for 2 turns. (Assuming they don't want to fulfill the Procino contract at reduced price)
Fabrique Riviere has 15 credits, 6 Prestige, and a contract worth 10 credits profit for 2 turns.
Prykanbul Manufacturing has 25 credits, 3 Prestige, and a contract worth 3 credits profit for 4 turns (no cancellation penalty).
Also happening this turn: Behrens and Fabrique have adopted logos.
(https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/767305563591278593/767892856220155904/Behrens_Logo_1910.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/hqvP6iB.png)
So far, Behrens has taken a definitive lead, thanks mostly to good dice rolls. Aside from them, nobody has the money the money to make a new design and re-tool an assembly line next turn. No team has the money to start a new assembly line, either. Coming up, expect much more profitable contracts, which will be available for at least two turns. Contract details TBD!
A few short announcements:
-Valturia has a flag, why not. This probably won't become relevant again.
(https://i.imgur.com/TltK0ke.png)
We call it the "swisslatsylvania flag"
-Ammunition types will not get dice rolls. Instead, everyone will get average results for the specifications of their cartridges. Simply choose a reasonable size, shape and rim type and you should be good. Furthermore, any developed bullet types will be available in any sizes you have access to which are reasonable. For example if you develop tracer bullets, you will be able to produce belts with mixed tracer and ball cartridges automatically, and you will still be able to do so if you develop a new cartridge size later. Like cartridge types, these may be licensed as well.
-Contract Cancellation: Most contracts will now reward prestige per batch delivered. This include the previous Ira Artillery and Rutz Cavalry contracts; they will award 4 and 3 prestige per batch delivered, respectively. The Vostoy contract will be an exception; delivering at least 1 batch nets you 3 prestige, and none further after that. A contract may specify further penalties for cancellation.
-Prices: As I said before, most contracts are going up in value. In some cases, you may be looking for more money still. Some clients may be willing to pay above their stated price, but the gun should be pretty perfect for their needs. They will also be a little more forgiving of guns which are obviously more expensive, such as in contracts which may be fulfilled by a revolver or self-loading pistol.
1911 Contracts
Ira's 1st Army is looking to adopt a new general purpose infantry rifle. These should be able to fire to the maximum range possible while being accurate enough to hit enemy infantry lines in a volley. Bayonets are a requirement. They should also be very reliable. 2 Batches @ 40 credits, 5 prestige each. This contract will be available until 1913 if there are no bidders. Cancellation: -3 Prestige, Ira will not consider you for 1 contract.
Procino Royal Police are looking for a close-quarters firearm. They are conducting trials on a practice course which tests handling and marksmanship in a simulated indoor combat environment. They are comparing disparate weapons such as pistols, shotguns, and compact carbines. 1 Batch @ 36 credits, 6 prestige each. This contract will be available until 1913 if there are no bidders.
The Kingdom of Vostoy is looking for a machine gun: These will be emplacement weapons, most likely in rifle caliber or larger. Reliability, such as it is for machine guns, is a primary concern. Accuracy, range, and capacity for sustained fire are also factors, as well as ease of use. 2 Batches @ 60 credits, 8 prestige each. This contract will be available until 1912 if there are no bidders. Cancellation: -5 prestige, wanted for execution in Vostoy. Tip: depending on the design, costs of machine guns can vary considerably, but average around 40.
The Altussia Navy is looking for a service pistol: This will be carried by men on deck to repel boarders or any surprise attacks in docking operation. While it should have a certain level of accuracy and firepower to be considered acceptable, these will not be used very often. Therefore, they should be reliable after being carried loaded for a long time, and compact and comfortable to wear. Sailors will be carrying out all sorts of laborious tasks, so the pistols must not get in the way. Lower cost is also highly preferable. 2 Batches @ 32 credits, 4 prestige each. This contract will be available until 1912 if there are no bidders. No cancellation penalty.
1911 Company Status
Here are finances and prestige after turn-end. Note that some prestige numbers have reduced as I have made prestige on a per-batch basis.
Behrens:
-Credits: 46
-Prestige: 4
Line 1:
-Assembling Valturia Pistols
-Contract: Ira Artillery, 6 Credits, 4 Prestige, 1 turn
Fabrique Riviere:
-Credits: 25
-Prestige: 3
Line 1:
-Assembling Nouveau Carbines
-Contract: Rutz Cavalry, 10 Credits, 3 Prestige, 1 turn
Prykanbul Manufacturing:
-Credits: 28
-Prestige: 3
Line 1:
-Assembling: SR-6-10 6mm Short Rifle Model 1910
-Contract: Vostoyan Revolutionaries, 3 credits, 3 turns
Remember you can loan money, or license items such as ammunition.
1911 Field Report
Ira's 1st Army is looking to adopt a new general purpose infantry rifle. These should be able to fire to the maximum range possible while being accurate enough to hit enemy infantry lines in a volley. Bayonets are a requirement. They should also be very reliable. 2 Batches @ 40 credits, 5 prestige each. This contract will be available until 1913 if there are no bidders. Cancellation: -3 Prestige, Ira will not consider you for 1 contract.
Prykanbul manufacturing offers the SR-6-11 6mm Short Rifle Ml. 1911 @ 40 credits: We found the range and accuracy of the 6mm Short Rifle to be sufficient in range and power for a standard issue rifle. The lack of damage to the bolt or extractor after shooting many steel-cased rounds is impressive, and the jacketed bullets reduce the need for cleaning as well. The large magazine is a reliability concern, dirt getting inside might be an issue and we did damage some of the magazines when dropping the gun. I don't think the extra capacity is worth extending the magazine out of the stock, since a soldier can only load so quickly from clips the long-term rate of fire is the same as a smaller magazine anyway. The sights are an interesting combination of the design behind regular open sights and precision tower sights. Normally we would prefer to have fixed sights adjusted by the quartermaster rather than leave sighting-in of rifles entrusted to ordinary soldiers, but we're happy enough with this rifle to give it a try. I'm not sure about this middle ground, but the soldiers seem to like it. The rifle features carrying straps and bayonets as expected, so no shortcomings there. We'll take it at 40 credits.
Procino Royal Police are looking for a close-quarters firearm. They are conducting trials on a practice course which tests handling and marksmanship in a simulated indoor combat environment. They are comparing disparate weapons such as pistols, shotguns, and compact carbines. 1 Batch @ 36 credits, 6 prestige each. This contract will be available until 1913 if there are no bidders.
Prykanbul manufacturing offers the SR-6-11 6mm Short Rifle Ml. 1911 @ 34 credits: This weapon is a bit long, even for a carbine. A bolt action weapon is also not really what we are looking for. In the trial course, we found its size slowed our shooters down, although the large magazine was a compelling feature. Good power although that's not the first priority.
Fabrique Rivier offers the FR No1.b Carbine "Nouveau" @ 36 credits: The lever action is definitely faster than a conventional bolt, so this was an interesting weapon, although it's still a little bit long for indoor use. While it fires quickly, stopping to load a stripper every five rounds isn't great. While it fires much larger cartridges, our time trials scored worse than a double action revolver.
Behrens offers the 'Valturia' Mod. 1 @ 34 credits: Between the trigger pull and recoil, this weapon was more difficult to use than others in the trial. However, the magazine size, repeating fire, and ability to reload from box magazines led to times that were far superior to other weapons in this trial. The power is less, but we think it will at least be sufficient. We'll take this at 34 credits.
The Kingdom of Vostoy is looking for a machine gun: These will be emplacement weapons, most likely in rifle caliber or larger. Reliability, such as it is for machine guns, is a primary concern. Accuracy, range, and capacity for sustained fire are also factors, as well as ease of use. 2 Batches @ 60 credits, 8 prestige each. This contract will be available until 1912 if there are no bidders. Cancellation: -5 prestige, wanted for execution in Vostoy. Tip: depending on the design, costs of machine guns can vary considerably, but average around 40.
Fabrique Rivier offers the FR No.2.a Machine Gun 'Wiel' @ 60 credits: The Wiel is certainly an interesting design. The big wheel-housing on the side of the barrel obscures peripheral vision a bit, and the gun just wants to jump around while firing. We quickly found during trials that the best way to use the gun is to pile sandbags around the tripod. Once it's a little more under control, it feeds pretty consistently. When it does jam, it's usually not too bad to clear, although sometimes it "drops" a bullet or casing into the machinery. This requires the crew to either dig the bullet out with their fingers or pop the bottom maintenance panel off so it can fall out. The 200-round cloth belts are effective and re-usable, and although they have a limited lifespan they're cheap. We would still like a more powerful cartridge, if the weapon can handle it We'll take it at 60 credits.
The Altussia Navy is looking for a service pistol: This will be carried by men on deck to repel boarders or any surprise attacks in docking operation. While it should have a certain level of accuracy and firepower to be considered acceptable, these will not be used very often. Therefore, they should be reliable after being carried loaded for a long time, and compact and comfortable to wear. Sailors will be carrying out all sorts of laborious tasks, so the pistols must not get in the way. Lower cost is also highly preferable. 2 Batches @ 32 credits, 4 prestige each. This contract will be available until 1912 if there are no bidders. No cancellation penalty.
Behrens offers the 'Valturia' Mod. 1 @ 32 credits: Edited: Originally I had an incorrect price, and the Altussians denied this contract. In fact Behrens offered at 32 which would be successful. It's a little heavy, but it is nice looking. Hopefully these magazines last a long time, they're expensive to replace. We'll take it at 32 credits.
Company Status
Behrens made one revision this turn, a longer version of their pistol, so they've spent only 10 credits.
-The 8mm Behrens cartridge. This is a near-imitation of 7.63mm Mauser used in the C96 pistol. It has a short round bullet, and the case is 25mm in length and rimless (making it suitable for use in magazines). It has a shoulder 5mm back from the bullet, which widens by 1.5mm.
-Behrens Semi-Automatic 'Valturia' Pistol: This is a pistol chambered in 8mm Behrens. It loads from detachable 8-round box magazines which are inserted to the bottom of the handle, and operates with a slide recoil system, in which the barrel lowers under the slide on two pins after traveling backwards a short distance. The slide extends behind the grip, and it is returned by two recoil springs which create a hip on other side of the gun along its length above the grip. Shells are ejected upwards to the right. The gun has a 90mm barrel and is a little more than twice that length overall, about 40mm of which is behind the grip. It features a thumb magazine release and notch sights on top of the slide, and a safety lever operated with the off hand. Every piece is milled and nicely finished in a mirror-smooth silver color, except patterned wooden grip plates. Costs 24 credits per batch. Now 23 credits per batch after Model 1 update in 1911.
Valturia Model 1.: This version of the Valturia pistol is larger, with a 125mm barrel and slide to match, which makes the recoil more controllable in addition to the other benefits conferred by a long barrel. Its operation is simplified slightly, to a single-pin tilting barrel. The operation difference and price difference carries over to the shorter version of the pistol. 23 credits.
-Credits: 36
-Prestige: 4
After Turn End:
Behrens can use their proceeds from both new contracts to build a new assembly line, leaving them with 2 4 6 credits. This means they will be cancelling one turn of the Ira Artillery contract.
-Credits: 6
-Prestige: 14
Line 1:
-Assembling Valturia Pistols
-Contract: Altussia Navy, 9 credits, 4 prestige, 1 turn
Line 2:
-Assembling Valturia Pistols:
-Contract: Procino Royal Police, 11 credits, 6 Prestige, Complete
Fabrique Riviere spent most of their profits and savings to design a new machine gun, leaving them with 5 credits.
-Riviere 11mm Cartridge: A rimmed cartridge with a center primer and pointed bullets. The case is 50mm in length, and straight. Not extremely powerful but decent ballistics thanks to its shape.
-Riviere 1885: A single-shot rifle, which loads from a trap-door breech, in which the breech block flips up above the barrel allowing a cartridge to be inserted. It has a large, visible hammer on the outside of the rifle which shows its percussion-cap origins, although it fires brass Rivier 11mm cartridges with a center primer. It has a traditional full wooden stock with very few extra fittings, except for a range-adjustable sight on a sliding rear track, with a front bead sight. Aside from the stock, quality of the parts is somewhat poor, although its simple design makes it reliable. Its achilles heel is that the hammer can easily be damage when the gun is dropped. By 1910 standards, range and accuracy are subpar. Costs 16 credits per batch.
-FR No. 1.b Carbine "Nouveau": This is a lever-action rifle, but instead of the traditional tube loader, it uses an internal magazine hidden in a hump in the wooden stock. This holds 5 rounds, and can be loaded from stripper clips. The lever mechanism also has some feed issues, it is slightly susceptible to pressure to the left or right and will often fail to chamber if it is not carefully moved straight-on. Once the cartridges are chambered, they at least fire as expected. Since nothing except the hammer moves when fired, it is as accurate as can be expected of the barrel, which is somewhat cheap. The moving parts are made from castings, and their simple design means they're not prone to binding, but they don't feel smooth. Feature wise, it's very simple with no extra safety, and has simple non-adjustable open sights, some checkered grip patterns on the stock, a brass butt plate and a sling attaching from the bottom. Costs 18 credits.
-FR No.2.a Machine Gun 'Wiel': This is a machinegun in FR 11mm. It is a large, heavy weapon which sits on a tripod, and feeds from 200-round cloth belts. Its unusual "wheel operation" method gives the gun a distinctive outline. On the right side of the barrel mounted vertically is a wheel enclosed in a sheet metal housing, about 240mm, with a crank. Under the barrel is a small "pedal" attached to the wheel. When the gun is fired, a gas port pushes on this pedal, the wheel rotates 180 degrees and then springs back, pushing on a lever which operates the gun. There is an adjustable screw which places friction on the wheel to control rate of fire, but when set too low the gun simply fails to operate, so it really only adjusts between 400-500 rounds per minute. The rest of the gun involves a long extractor arm which pulls cartridges from the belt, and pushes them into the chamber, as well as the bolt itself, and a number of tiny parts which regulate their operation. The belt sits below the receiver and casings eject from the top. Most of this is hidden in a sheet metal case with a lid which clips into place for ease of maintenance. It also features a front carry handle which, when pressed down, acts as a release for quick change barrels, which are finned for cooling. It has fixed ladder sights with range markings out to 1500m, and a pistol grip with an optional wooden shoulder stock. The gun operates with reasonable reliability, though its reciprocating parts lurch the gun violently up, down, forward and back during operation. Attempting to use the front handle to hold the front down often loosens the quick change barrel. At higher rates of fire, the barrel can simply come loose on its own (it will rotate and the gas port will cease operating the gun harmlessly). 40 credits.
-Credits: 5
-Prestige: 3
After Turn End: Assuming they want to cancel their Rutz Cavalry contract in favor of the more profitable Vostoy contract. This means spending 10 credits on retooling, while taking in 20 credits profit.
-Credits: 15
-Prestige: 11
Line 1:
-Assembling Wiel Machineguns
-Contract: Vostoy, 20 credits, 8 Prestige
Prykanbul Manufacturing made a revision to their short rifle, expanding the magazine and altering the sights.
-Prykanbul Curved Sword: A curved sword with a round pommel and a large, flat blade. Rather heavy, but the blade is made of excellent steel and it keeps an edge even when clanging against lesser steel. Costs 25 credits per batch.
-The .48 Prykanbul Express rifle cartridge, a rimmed cartridge with a round bullet and straight case measuring 3 inches in length, making it wider and longer than an average rifle cartridge. Uses a somewhat antiquated powder formula which is slow-burning, so it benefits from a long barrel.
-Prykanbul Manufacturing 6x50mm Light Rifle Cartridge: A 6mm FMJ cartridge with a 50mm tapered and shouldered case. The case is semi rimmed, having both a small rim and an inset for the extractor to grab. The bullet itself is long and has a pointed shape, with a boat tail. The case is made of steel. It's a fairly high velocity round. -1 cost to guns using this.
-Prykanbul Manufacturing SR-6-10 6mm Short Rifle Model 1910: This is a bolt action rifle with a 22-inch barrel, making it between the typical length of a rifle or a carbine, and a full wooden stock. It has an internal magazine with a double-stack, single feed arrangement, which holds 7 rounds. It can be loaded from 7-round stripper clips, although these are slightly large and unwieldy. The bolt hand sits upward when the bolt is open and 90 degrees to the right when closed. The last notable feature is an aperture sight. The rear sight about 2cm in diameter, and a couple inches from where the user's cheek should sit. It is adjustable for elevation and windage with large thumb screws on the left, and top right. There is also a bayonet lug where a knife-type bayonet can be secured with another thumbscrew. Both the front and rear sight posts are tall, the front is 5cm above the barrel. The workmanship of the barrel and moving parts is average, it's reasonably accurate and feeds consistently. Costs 21 credits per batch.
--Prykanbul Manufacturing SR-6-11 6mm Short Rifle Model 1911: This version of the rifle has a 10-round double stack magazine, which is visible extending below the gun, and can be loaded from 5-round stripper clips. There are new, simpler sights, where the rear sight has a knob which slides up and down a rail with distance markings from 200 to 2000 meters. Instead of the traditional notch, there is a small aperture, which is drilled in a flat sheet. The aperture is somewhat large because the angle through which the shooter looks through the sight depends on the elevation slider. 21 credits.
-Credits: 18
-Prestige: 3
After Turn End: Assuming they want to drop their old contract for the new one.
-Credits: 37
-Prestige: 8
Line 1:
-Assembling: SR-6-10 6mm Short Rifle Model 1910
-Contract: Ira 1st Army, 19 credits, 5 Prestige, 1 turn
1912 Contracts:
The Altussia Navy is looking for a service pistol: This will be carried by men on deck to repel boarders or any surprise attacks in docking operation. While it should have a certain level of accuracy and firepower to be considered acceptable, these will not be used very often. Therefore, they should be reliable after being carried loaded for a long time, and compact and comfortable to wear. Sailors will be carrying out all sorts of laborious tasks, so the pistols must not get in the way. Lower cost is also highly preferable. 2 batches @ 32 credits, 4 prestige each. No cancellation penalty.
Crovem's 3rd Rangers are looking for a marksman rifle: This is for special operations and high-priority targets. They're looking for a rifle which is as powerful and accurate as possible. Good quality sights are a must. Any other features which help marksmanship, such as a bipod, are desirable as well. Should also be reliable. Rate of fire or capacity are not concerns, in fact, a single-shot design is acceptable. 1 batch @ 50 credits, 10 prestige. Available until 1913.
A Forenian Expedition is looking for survival rifles: A group is intent on leaving Forenia to found an independent colony near the arctic. They need rifles (or shotguns) for hunting. Low cost is a priority. Reliability is most important, as they'll have limited access to replacement parts and cleaning supplies. 2 batches @ 32 credits, 4 prestige. Available until 1913.
Vostoyan Revolutionaries are looking for a machine gun: Cheap, cheap to maintain, reliable. If possible, they would also be interested in something which is easier to move around than standard machine guns, as they often have to retreat or make hit-and-run attacks. Something like a pistol-caliber machine gun might be acceptable. 2 batches @ 48 credits, 7 prestige. Available until 1913.
A little format change: I'm going back to giving a pause between field trials and the new turn. I'm calling this the Signing Phase: after you complete field trials, you will often have to choose which contracts to sign if you've won multiple, and runners-up might have the opportunity to sign unfulfilled contracts as well. Once companies have decided what contracts to sign, the new contracts will be revealed.
Secrets: If you do choose to design something and not submit it for trials, you can keep it under wraps. Just bringing it up to be totally clear that this is allowed since Prykanbul considered doing this, although they ultimately chose to submit their design instead.
Civilian Sales: I've decided to handle these in a pretty passive way: if you have an assembly line tooled, but it's not fulfilling a contract, it will automatically sell guns to retailers if it is legal to do so. Your profit margins are small and randomized somewhat. This will essentially just give you a small amount of extra money, it should always be better to have a contract. Right now in Valturia, it is legal for civilians to buy weapons which are not automatic-fire and have a bore equal or less than 18.5mm.
1912 Field Trials
Crovem's 3rd Rangers are looking for a marksman rifle: This is for special operations and high-priority targets. They're looking for a rifle which is as powerful and accurate as possible. Good quality sights are a must. Any other features which help marksmanship, such as a bipod, are desirable as well. Should also be reliable. Rate of fire or capacity are not concerns, in fact, a single-shot design is acceptable. 1 batch @ 50 credits, 10 prestige. Available until 1913.
Prykanbul Manufacturing offers the SR/M-6-12 at 50 credits: "This is a most unusual rifle. The features are very compelling, but we were surprised to even see such a short-barreled weapon submitted to these trials. After setting up the unusual adjustable stock, we found it was very comfortable and easy to use. For the price, we're using the sights that come with the weapon rather than attaching an optic, which we think could be improved- they're good quality, but they're still not a big improvement over standard infantry sights. Despite our misgivings over the size of the gun, we found the accuracy to be fairly impressive, a noticeable improvement over a standard infantry firearm, although the rounds could be more powerful and the drop at range is significant. Still, firing from a bipod with a custom-fit stock is an unmatched experience, so we'll take it for 50 credits.
A Forenian Expedition is looking for survival rifles: A group is intent on leaving Forenia to found an independent colony near the arctic. They need rifles (or shotguns) for hunting. Low cost is a priority. Reliability is most important, as they'll have limited access to replacement parts and cleaning supplies. 2 batches @ 32 credits, 4 prestige. Available until 1913.
Prykanbul Manufacturing offers the SR-6-11 at 30 credits: "A bolt action rifle that works, and under budget. We're not fans of the large magazine, that's probably a big mechanical failure point. Steel-cased cartridges also aren't a good choice for us, they're at risk of going to rust. These aren't the most powerful cartridges but they're an acceptable compromise of power and weight. We feel the same about the 'short rifle' weapon size, it's not as heavy to haul around as a full rifle and it seems to shoot well enough. For 30 credits, we'll take it.
Company Status
Behrens spent no money this turn.
-The 8mm Behrens cartridge. This is a near-imitation of 7.63mm Mauser used in the C96 pistol. It has a short round bullet, and the case is 25mm in length and rimless (making it suitable for use in magazines). It has a shoulder 5mm back from the bullet, which widens by 1.5mm.
-Behrens Semi-Automatic 'Valturia' Pistol: This is a pistol chambered in 8mm Behrens. It loads from detachable 8-round box magazines which are inserted to the bottom of the handle, and operates with a slide recoil system, in which the barrel lowers under the slide on two pins after traveling backwards a short distance. The slide extends behind the grip, and it is returned by two recoil springs which create a hip on other side of the gun along its length above the grip. Shells are ejected upwards to the right. The gun has a 90mm barrel and is a little more than twice that length overall, about 40mm of which is behind the grip. It features a thumb magazine release and notch sights on top of the slide, and a safety lever operated with the off hand. Every piece is milled and nicely finished in a mirror-smooth silver color, except patterned wooden grip plates. Costs 24 credits per batch. Now 23 credits per batch after Model 1 update in 1911.
Valturia Model 1.: This version of the Valturia pistol is larger, with a 125mm barrel and slide to match, which makes the recoil more controllable in addition to the other benefits conferred by a long barrel. Its operation is simplified slightly, to a single-pin tilting barrel. The operation difference and price difference carries over to the shorter version of the pistol. 23 credits.
-Prestige: 14
Line 1:
-Assembling Valturia Pistols
-Contract: Altussia Navy, 9 credits, 4 prestige, 1 turn
Line 2:
-Assembling Valturia Pistols:
-Contract: Procino Royal Police, 11 credits, 6 Prestige, Complete
Fabrique Riviere spent no money this turn.
-Riviere 11mm Cartridge: A rimmed cartridge with a center primer and pointed bullets. The case is 50mm in length, and straight. Not extremely powerful but decent ballistics thanks to its shape.
-Riviere 1885: A single-shot rifle, which loads from a trap-door breech, in which the breech block flips up above the barrel allowing a cartridge to be inserted. It has a large, visible hammer on the outside of the rifle which shows its percussion-cap origins, although it fires brass Rivier 11mm cartridges with a center primer. It has a traditional full wooden stock with very few extra fittings, except for a range-adjustable sight on a sliding rear track, with a front bead sight. Aside from the stock, quality of the parts is somewhat poor, although its simple design makes it reliable. Its achilles heel is that the hammer can easily be damage when the gun is dropped. By 1910 standards, range and accuracy are subpar. Costs 16 credits per batch.
-FR No. 1.b Carbine "Nouveau": This is a lever-action rifle, but instead of the traditional tube loader, it uses an internal magazine hidden in a hump in the wooden stock. This holds 5 rounds, and can be loaded from stripper clips. The lever mechanism also has some feed issues, it is slightly susceptible to pressure to the left or right and will often fail to chamber if it is not carefully moved straight-on. Once the cartridges are chambered, they at least fire as expected. Since nothing except the hammer moves when fired, it is as accurate as can be expected of the barrel, which is somewhat cheap. The moving parts are made from castings, and their simple design means they're not prone to binding, but they don't feel smooth. Feature wise, it's very simple with no extra safety, and has simple non-adjustable open sights, some checkered grip patterns on the stock, a brass butt plate and a sling attaching from the bottom. Costs 18 credits.
-FR No.2.a Machine Gun 'Wiel': This is a machinegun in FR 11mm. It is a large, heavy weapon which sits on a tripod, and feeds from 200-round cloth belts. Its unusual "wheel operation" method gives the gun a distinctive outline. On the right side of the barrel mounted vertically is a wheel enclosed in a sheet metal housing, about 240mm, with a crank. Under the barrel is a small "pedal" attached to the wheel. When the gun is fired, a gas port pushes on this pedal, the wheel rotates 180 degrees and then springs back, pushing on a lever which operates the gun. There is an adjustable screw which places friction on the wheel to control rate of fire, but when set too low the gun simply fails to operate, so it really only adjusts between 400-500 rounds per minute. The rest of the gun involves a long extractor arm which pulls cartridges from the belt, and pushes them into the chamber, as well as the bolt itself, and a number of tiny parts which regulate their operation. The belt sits below the receiver and casings eject from the top. Most of this is hidden in a sheet metal case with a lid which clips into place for ease of maintenance. It also features a front carry handle which, when pressed down, acts as a release for quick change barrels, which are finned for cooling. It has fixed ladder sights with range markings out to 1500m, and a pistol grip with an optional wooden shoulder stock. The gun operates with reasonable reliability, though its reciprocating parts lurch the gun violently up, down, forward and back during operation. Attempting to use the front handle to hold the front down often loosens the quick change barrel. At higher rates of fire, the barrel can simply come loose on its own (it will rotate and the gas port will cease operating the gun harmlessly). 40 credits.
-Prestige: 11
Line 1:
-Assembling Wiel Machineguns
-Contract: Vostoy, 20 credits, 8 Prestige
Prykanbul Manufacturing made another version of their short rifle, a marksmanship version with match quality barrels and highly advanced ergonomic features.
-Prykanbul Curved Sword: A curved sword with a round pommel and a large, flat blade. Rather heavy, but the blade is made of excellent steel and it keeps an edge even when clanging against lesser steel. Costs 25 credits per batch.
-The .48 Prykanbul Express rifle cartridge, a rimmed cartridge with a round bullet and straight case measuring 3 inches in length, making it wider and longer than an average rifle cartridge. Uses a somewhat antiquated powder formula which is slow-burning, so it benefits from a long barrel.
-Prykanbul Manufacturing 6x50mm Light Rifle Cartridge: A 6mm FMJ cartridge with a 50mm tapered and shouldered case. The case is semi rimmed, having both a small rim and an inset for the extractor to grab. The bullet itself is long and has a pointed shape, with a boat tail. The case is made of steel. It's a fairly high velocity round. -1 cost to guns using this.
-Prykanbul Manufacturing SR-6-10 6mm Short Rifle Model 1910: This is a bolt action rifle with a 22-inch barrel, making it between the typical length of a rifle or a carbine, and a full wooden stock. It has an internal magazine with a double-stack, single feed arrangement, which holds 7 rounds. It can be loaded from 7-round stripper clips, although these are slightly large and unwieldy. The bolt hand sits upward when the bolt is open and 90 degrees to the right when closed. The last notable feature is an aperture sight. The rear sight about 2cm in diameter, and a couple inches from where the user's cheek should sit. It is adjustable for elevation and windage with large thumb screws on the left, and top right. There is also a bayonet lug where a knife-type bayonet can be secured with another thumbscrew. Both the front and rear sight posts are tall, the front is 5cm above the barrel. The workmanship of the barrel and moving parts is average, it's reasonably accurate and feeds consistently. Costs 21 credits per batch.
--Prykanbul Manufacturing SR-6-11 6mm Short Rifle Model 1911: This version of the rifle has a 10-round double stack magazine, which is visible extending below the gun, and can be loaded from 5-round stripper clips. There are new, simpler sights, where the rear sight has a knob which slides up and down a rail with distance markings from 200 to 2000 meters. Instead of the traditional notch, there is a small aperture, which is drilled in a flat sheet. The aperture is somewhat large because the angle through which the shooter looks through the sight depends on the elevation slider. 21 credits.
--Prykanbul SR/M-6-12: This is a modified version of the Prykanbul Short Rifle. The biggest mechanical change is that it uses 5-round detachable box magazines, which come about flush with the wooden furniture and have a heel release (and a related furniture indent). This is intended to be a marksman rifle, so the benefit of this is that an optic can sit above the receiver. The gun does not ship with an optic, but it has a smooth flat plane for mounting one (it also includes SR-6-11 style iron sights). The other visible changes are mostly to the furniture: part of the shoulder stock folds down to form a monopod, and a bipod mounted on the furniture under the barrel. The bipod is made of steel tubing and has an adjustable height, tightening in place with wingnuts on each leg. The butt plate is also mounted on screws so that its length can be adjusted, and there is a similarly adjustable cheek piece on the stock. The complex stock features are largely finished by hand because there wasn't a lot of time to design tooling, driving up the cost. 30 credits.
-Prestige: 8
Line 1:
-Assembling: SR-6-10 6mm Short Rifle Model 1910
-Contract: Ira 1st Army, 19 credits, 5 Prestige, 1 turn
Turn End Summary:
Prykanbul will have to choose whether to replace their existing contract with one of the new ones they have won. For them, this will not require a retooling. The other companies have existing contracts as well, although Prykanbul has expressed interest in a possible deal to have another company fulfill a contract of theirs under license.
As soon as Prykanbul decides what to do, all companies will receive the profits of their current contracts, and the new contracts will be posted.
1912 Signing and Turn End:
Behrens is subject a little funny accounting, hopefully the last of it. I wrote in numbers earlier for the most profitable short-term option, taking both the Procino and Altussia contracts. I misread the vote box, they voted to re-submit their gun this year to the Altussia navy contract at the same time as choosing to take the Procino contract, thereby avoiding the cancellation of their older contract. At least the new phase system should avoid this sort of confusion in the future.
This means after building their assembly line and making the Mod. 1 revision they had 3 credits: after a cost-reducing revision, the Ira contract profited 7 credits, and they also earned 11 credits from Procino. This turn they sign the Altussia contract, receiving 9 credits. They also have an assembly with no contracts. This sells to civilians, making 4 credits and 1 prestige.
-The 8mm Behrens cartridge. This is a near-imitation of 7.63mm Mauser used in the C96 pistol. It has a short round bullet, and the case is 25mm in length and rimless (making it suitable for use in magazines). It has a shoulder 5mm back from the bullet, which widens by 1.5mm.
-Behrens Semi-Automatic 'Valturia' Pistol: This is a pistol chambered in 8mm Behrens. It loads from detachable 8-round box magazines which are inserted to the bottom of the handle, and operates with a slide recoil system, in which the barrel lowers under the slide on two pins after traveling backwards a short distance. The slide extends behind the grip, and it is returned by two recoil springs which create a hip on other side of the gun along its length above the grip. Shells are ejected upwards to the right. The gun has a 90mm barrel and is a little more than twice that length overall, about 40mm of which is behind the grip. It features a thumb magazine release and notch sights on top of the slide, and a safety lever operated with the off hand. Every piece is milled and nicely finished in a mirror-smooth silver color, except patterned wooden grip plates. Costs 24 credits per batch. Now 23 credits per batch after Model 1 update in 1911.
Valturia Model 1.: This version of the Valturia pistol is larger, with a 125mm barrel and slide to match, which makes the recoil more controllable in addition to the other benefits conferred by a long barrel. Its operation is simplified slightly, to a single-pin tilting barrel. The operation difference and price difference carries over to the shorter version of the pistol. 23 credits.
-Prestige: 19
Line 1:
-Assembling Valturia Pistols
-Contract: Altussia Navy, 9 credits, 4 prestige, 1 turn
Line 2:
-Assembling Valturia Pistols:
-Contract: None
Fabrique Riviere completes their Vostoy machine gun contract.
-Riviere 11mm Cartridge: A rimmed cartridge with a center primer and pointed bullets. The case is 50mm in length, and straight. Not extremely powerful but decent ballistics thanks to its shape.
-Riviere 1885: A single-shot rifle, which loads from a trap-door breech, in which the breech block flips up above the barrel allowing a cartridge to be inserted. It has a large, visible hammer on the outside of the rifle which shows its percussion-cap origins, although it fires brass Rivier 11mm cartridges with a center primer. It has a traditional full wooden stock with very few extra fittings, except for a range-adjustable sight on a sliding rear track, with a front bead sight. Aside from the stock, quality of the parts is somewhat poor, although its simple design makes it reliable. Its achilles heel is that the hammer can easily be damage when the gun is dropped. By 1910 standards, range and accuracy are subpar. Costs 16 credits per batch.
-FR No. 1.b Carbine "Nouveau": This is a lever-action rifle, but instead of the traditional tube loader, it uses an internal magazine hidden in a hump in the wooden stock. This holds 5 rounds, and can be loaded from stripper clips. The lever mechanism also has some feed issues, it is slightly susceptible to pressure to the left or right and will often fail to chamber if it is not carefully moved straight-on. Once the cartridges are chambered, they at least fire as expected. Since nothing except the hammer moves when fired, it is as accurate as can be expected of the barrel, which is somewhat cheap. The moving parts are made from castings, and their simple design means they're not prone to binding, but they don't feel smooth. Feature wise, it's very simple with no extra safety, and has simple non-adjustable open sights, some checkered grip patterns on the stock, a brass butt plate and a sling attaching from the bottom. Costs 18 credits.
-FR No.2.a Machine Gun 'Wiel': This is a machinegun in FR 11mm. It is a large, heavy weapon which sits on a tripod, and feeds from 200-round cloth belts. Its unusual "wheel operation" method gives the gun a distinctive outline. On the right side of the barrel mounted vertically is a wheel enclosed in a sheet metal housing, about 240mm, with a crank. Under the barrel is a small "pedal" attached to the wheel. When the gun is fired, a gas port pushes on this pedal, the wheel rotates 180 degrees and then springs back, pushing on a lever which operates the gun. There is an adjustable screw which places friction on the wheel to control rate of fire, but when set too low the gun simply fails to operate, so it really only adjusts between 400-500 rounds per minute. The rest of the gun involves a long extractor arm which pulls cartridges from the belt, and pushes them into the chamber, as well as the bolt itself, and a number of tiny parts which regulate their operation. The belt sits below the receiver and casings eject from the top. Most of this is hidden in a sheet metal case with a lid which clips into place for ease of maintenance. It also features a front carry handle which, when pressed down, acts as a release for quick change barrels, which are finned for cooling. It has fixed ladder sights with range markings out to 1500m, and a pistol grip with an optional wooden shoulder stock. The gun operates with reasonable reliability, though its reciprocating parts lurch the gun violently up, down, forward and back during operation. Attempting to use the front handle to hold the front down often loosens the quick change barrel. At higher rates of fire, the barrel can simply come loose on its own (it will rotate and the gas port will cease operating the gun harmlessly). 40 credits.
-Prestige: 19
Line 1:
-Assembling Wiel Machineguns
-Contract: None
Prykanbul Manufacturing will take the Crovem Ranger contract, and use the proceeds of this and their existing contract to build a second assembly line. By the year end, both of these contracts finish, leaving them will two assembly lines tooled for Prykanbul Short Rifles.
-Prykanbul Curved Sword: A curved sword with a round pommel and a large, flat blade. Rather heavy, but the blade is made of excellent steel and it keeps an edge even when clanging against lesser steel. Costs 25 credits per batch.
-The .48 Prykanbul Express rifle cartridge, a rimmed cartridge with a round bullet and straight case measuring 3 inches in length, making it wider and longer than an average rifle cartridge. Uses a somewhat antiquated powder formula which is slow-burning, so it benefits from a long barrel.
-Prykanbul Manufacturing 6x50mm Light Rifle Cartridge: A 6mm FMJ cartridge with a 50mm tapered and shouldered case. The case is semi rimmed, having both a small rim and an inset for the extractor to grab. The bullet itself is long and has a pointed shape, with a boat tail. The case is made of steel. It's a fairly high velocity round. -1 cost to guns using this.
-Prykanbul Manufacturing SR-6-10 6mm Short Rifle Model 1910: This is a bolt action rifle with a 22-inch barrel, making it between the typical length of a rifle or a carbine, and a full wooden stock. It has an internal magazine with a double-stack, single feed arrangement, which holds 7 rounds. It can be loaded from 7-round stripper clips, although these are slightly large and unwieldy. The bolt hand sits upward when the bolt is open and 90 degrees to the right when closed. The last notable feature is an aperture sight. The rear sight about 2cm in diameter, and a couple inches from where the user's cheek should sit. It is adjustable for elevation and windage with large thumb screws on the left, and top right. There is also a bayonet lug where a knife-type bayonet can be secured with another thumbscrew. Both the front and rear sight posts are tall, the front is 5cm above the barrel. The workmanship of the barrel and moving parts is average, it's reasonably accurate and feeds consistently. Costs 21 credits per batch.
--Prykanbul Manufacturing SR-6-11 6mm Short Rifle Model 1911: This version of the rifle has a 10-round double stack magazine, which is visible extending below the gun, and can be loaded from 5-round stripper clips. There are new, simpler sights, where the rear sight has a knob which slides up and down a rail with distance markings from 200 to 2000 meters. Instead of the traditional notch, there is a small aperture, which is drilled in a flat sheet. The aperture is somewhat large because the angle through which the shooter looks through the sight depends on the elevation slider. 21 credits.
--Prykanbul SR/M-6-12: This is a modified version of the Prykanbul Short Rifle. The biggest mechanical change is that it uses 5-round detachable box magazines, which come about flush with the wooden furniture and have a heel release (and a related furniture indent). This is intended to be a marksman rifle, so the benefit of this is that an optic can sit above the receiver. The gun does not ship with an optic, but it has a smooth flat plane for mounting one (it also includes SR-6-11 style iron sights). The other visible changes are mostly to the furniture: part of the shoulder stock folds down to form a monopod, and a bipod mounted on the furniture under the barrel. The bipod is made of steel tubing and has an adjustable height, tightening in place with wingnuts on each leg. The butt plate is also mounted on screws so that its length can be adjusted, and there is a similarly adjustable cheek piece on the stock. The complex stock features are largely finished by hand because there wasn't a lot of time to design tooling, driving up the cost. 30 credits.
-Prestige: 23
Line 1:
-Assembling: Prykanbul Short Rifle
-Contract: None
Line 2:
-Assembling: Prykanbul Short Rifle
-Contract: None
Thus, 1912 ends. Behrens has one assembly line occupied and one unoccupied, both tooled for pistols. Fabrique has finished their machine gun contract, leaving their one assembly line unoccupied. Prykanbul has two assembly lines unoccupied, and tooled for rifles.
1913 Contracts:
A Forenian Expedition is looking for survival rifles: A group is intent on leaving Forenia to found an independent colony near the arctic. They need rifles (or shotguns) for hunting. Low cost is a priority. Reliability is most important, as they'll have limited access to replacement parts and cleaning supplies. 2 batches @ 32 credits, 4 prestige.
Vostoyan Revolutionaries are looking for a machine gun: Cheap, cheap to maintain, reliable. If possible, they would also be interested in something which is easier to move around than standard machine guns, as they often have to retreat or make hit-and-run attacks. Something like a pistol-caliber machine gun might be acceptable. 2 batches @ 48 credits, 7 prestige.
Crovem's Ministry of Ordnance is looking for a portable automatic weapon: They are interested in creating an experimental unit to use automatic weapons which can be operated by individuals. Since there's probably not a big war coming up or anything, this is an open-ended contract. Autorifles, machine pistols, or anything in between might be acceptable, and they want to figure out what sort of combat roles they can fulfill by experimentation. 1 batch @ up to 70 credits, though they expect to pay less for small caliber weapons compared to larger ones. 8 prestige. Available until 1914.
Procino's 1st Bersaglieri Bicicletta are looking for a lightweight primary weapon: These are a new specialization of infantry, equipped with bicycles. They want to be armed with a weapon which is as light weight as possible, both in terms of the weapon itself and the ammunition carried. Some variety of carbine is most likely. These weapons will be tested in a sort of biathlon trial with the bicycles, and will be rated on shooting ranges scores such as time and accuracy to hit targets at various distances, and on how much they impact mobility. General infantry concerns like reliability are considered as well. 2 batches @ 36 credits, 6 prestige. Available until 1914.
Oh holy crap it's been almost two weeks. Oops.
Behrens has designed an automatic version of their Valturia pistol, with an even longer barrel and an attachable shoulder stock.
-The 8mm Behrens cartridge. This is a near-imitation of 7.63mm Mauser used in the C96 pistol. It has a short round bullet, and the case is 25mm in length and rimless (making it suitable for use in magazines). It has a shoulder 5mm back from the bullet, which widens by 1.5mm.
-Behrens Semi-Automatic 'Valturia' Pistol: This is a pistol chambered in 8mm Behrens. It loads from detachable 8-round box magazines which are inserted to the bottom of the handle, and operates with a slide recoil system, in which the barrel lowers under the slide on two pins after traveling backwards a short distance. The slide extends behind the grip, and it is returned by two recoil springs which create a hip on other side of the gun along its length above the grip. Shells are ejected upwards to the right. The gun has a 90mm barrel and is a little more than twice that length overall, about 40mm of which is behind the grip. It features a thumb magazine release and notch sights on top of the slide, and a safety lever operated with the off hand. Every piece is milled and nicely finished in a mirror-smooth silver color, except patterned wooden grip plates. Costs 24 credits per batch. Now 23 credits per batch after Model 1 update in 1911.
--Valturia Mod 1.: This version of the Valturia pistol is larger, with a 125mm barrel and slide to match, which makes the recoil more controllable in addition to the other benefits conferred by a long barrel. Its operation is simplified slightly, to a single-pin tilting barrel. The operation difference and price difference carries over to the shorter version of the pistol. 23 credits.
--Behrens Valturia Mod 2 Automatic Pistol: This variation of the Valturia comes equipped with a switch for full automatic fire. It's also the largest variation of the Valuturia yet: the 210mm stretches the limits of the design without significant alteration, and it includes a detachable wooden stock with a carry sling (notably, not a holster stock). The automatic fire is controlled with thumb a switch on the right side, and fires at a rate which hard to measure exactly but is extremely high. The recoil is drastic, and due to the nature of the swinging barrel it's not very accurate at this fire rate even in a vice. It also includes an expanded 16-round magazine which extends far below the grip, feed is not especially reliable with this magazine whether in single or automatic fire. 26 credits per batch.
-Prestige: 19
Line 1:
-Assembling Valturia Pistols
-Contract: Altussia Navy, 9 credits, 4 prestige, 1 turn
Line 2:
-Assembling Valturia Pistols:
-Contract: None
Fabrique Riviere has made a significant revision of their Wiel machine gun, most of the gas handling has been reworked while the receiver is the same. It now relies on a constantly spinning flywheel.
-Riviere 11mm Cartridge: A rimmed cartridge with a center primer and pointed bullets. The case is 50mm in length, and straight. Not extremely powerful but decent ballistics thanks to its shape.
-Riviere 1885: A single-shot rifle, which loads from a trap-door breech, in which the breech block flips up above the barrel allowing a cartridge to be inserted. It has a large, visible hammer on the outside of the rifle which shows its percussion-cap origins, although it fires brass Rivier 11mm cartridges with a center primer. It has a traditional full wooden stock with very few extra fittings, except for a range-adjustable sight on a sliding rear track, with a front bead sight. Aside from the stock, quality of the parts is somewhat poor, although its simple design makes it reliable. Its achilles heel is that the hammer can easily be damage when the gun is dropped. By 1910 standards, range and accuracy are subpar. Costs 16 credits per batch.
-FR No. 1.b Carbine "Nouveau": This is a lever-action rifle, but instead of the traditional tube loader, it uses an internal magazine hidden in a hump in the wooden stock. This holds 5 rounds, and can be loaded from stripper clips. The lever mechanism also has some feed issues, it is slightly susceptible to pressure to the left or right and will often fail to chamber if it is not carefully moved straight-on. Once the cartridges are chambered, they at least fire as expected. Since nothing except the hammer moves when fired, it is as accurate as can be expected of the barrel, which is somewhat cheap. The moving parts are made from castings, and their simple design means they're not prone to binding, but they don't feel smooth. Feature wise, it's very simple with no extra safety, and has simple non-adjustable open sights, some checkered grip patterns on the stock, a brass butt plate and a sling attaching from the bottom. Costs 18 credits.
-FR No.2.a Machine Gun 'Wiel': This is a machinegun in FR 11mm. It is a large, heavy weapon which sits on a tripod, and feeds from 200-round cloth belts. Its unusual "wheel operation" method gives the gun a distinctive outline. On the right side of the barrel mounted vertically is a wheel enclosed in a sheet metal housing, about 240mm, with a crank. Under the barrel is a small "pedal" attached to the wheel. When the gun is fired, a gas port pushes on this pedal, the wheel rotates 180 degrees and then springs back, pushing on a lever which operates the gun. There is an adjustable screw which places friction on the wheel to control rate of fire, but when set too low the gun simply fails to operate, so it really only adjusts between 400-500 rounds per minute. The rest of the gun involves a long extractor arm which pulls cartridges from the belt, and pushes them into the chamber, as well as the bolt itself, and a number of tiny parts which regulate their operation. The belt sits below the receiver and casings eject from the top. Most of this is hidden in a sheet metal case with a lid which clips into place for ease of maintenance. It also features a front carry handle which, when pressed down, acts as a release for quick change barrels, which are finned for cooling. It has fixed ladder sights with range markings out to 1500m, and a pistol grip with an optional wooden shoulder stock. The gun operates with reasonable reliability, though its reciprocating parts lurch the gun violently up, down, forward and back during operation. Attempting to use the front handle to hold the front down often loosens the quick change barrel. At higher rates of fire, the barrel can simply come loose on its own (it will rotate and the gas port will cease operating the gun harmlessly). 40 credits.
--FR No.2.b Light Machine Gun "Weil": This shares most of the rear action with the original Weil, but the entire gas mechanism is vastly different. A gas port in the barrel pushes a small lever, which exerts force on a spinning flywheel in the position of the old wheel through a ratcheting mechanism, like a bicycle's freewheel. This flywheel has a coupling rod to the reciprocating action of the gun. The trigger disconnects this. It can be spun up with a crank, and then maintains speed for up to 30 seconds before coming to a stop. Each time the gun fires it accelerates the flywheel a little bit. The whole time the flywheel is spinning, it makes a distinctive ratchet noise. The exact rate of fire depends on the speed of the flywheel, it can operate as low as 90 rounds per minute, and will accelerate as the gun continues firing, up to 500 rounds per minute, at which speed the gas lever is not returning for every shot so the gun loses a little speed. The top rate of fire may be much lower depending on how well-lubricated the gun is. The gun will fail to chamber a second round if it is fired when the wheel is at a complete standstill, and it often fires once after the trigger is released. There are also some weight saving measures: the barrel is shorter, lighter, has no fins, and lacks a quick disconnect mechanism. The removable wooden stock has a large hole in the middle, and the tripod is smaller and lighter. It's portable by one man, although someone else will still have to carry the ammo. 42 credits per batch.
-Prestige: 19
Line 1:
-Assembling Wiel Machineguns
-Contract: None
Prykanbul Manufacturing saved their money, opting to make no new products this year.
-Prykanbul Curved Sword: A curved sword with a round pommel and a large, flat blade. Rather heavy, but the blade is made of excellent steel and it keeps an edge even when clanging against lesser steel. Costs 25 credits per batch.
-The .48 Prykanbul Express rifle cartridge, a rimmed cartridge with a round bullet and straight case measuring 3 inches in length, making it wider and longer than an average rifle cartridge. Uses a somewhat antiquated powder formula which is slow-burning, so it benefits from a long barrel.
-Prykanbul Manufacturing 6x50mm Light Rifle Cartridge: A 6mm FMJ cartridge with a 50mm tapered and shouldered case. The case is semi rimmed, having both a small rim and an inset for the extractor to grab. The bullet itself is long and has a pointed shape, with a boat tail. The case is made of steel. It's a fairly high velocity round. -1 cost to guns using this.
-Prykanbul Manufacturing SR-6-10 6mm Short Rifle Model 1910: This is a bolt action rifle with a 22-inch barrel, making it between the typical length of a rifle or a carbine, and a full wooden stock. It has an internal magazine with a double-stack, single feed arrangement, which holds 7 rounds. It can be loaded from 7-round stripper clips, although these are slightly large and unwieldy. The bolt hand sits upward when the bolt is open and 90 degrees to the right when closed. The last notable feature is an aperture sight. The rear sight about 2cm in diameter, and a couple inches from where the user's cheek should sit. It is adjustable for elevation and windage with large thumb screws on the left, and top right. There is also a bayonet lug where a knife-type bayonet can be secured with another thumbscrew. Both the front and rear sight posts are tall, the front is 5cm above the barrel. The workmanship of the barrel and moving parts is average, it's reasonably accurate and feeds consistently. Costs 21 credits per batch.
--Prykanbul Manufacturing SR-6-11 6mm Short Rifle Model 1911: This version of the rifle has a 10-round double stack magazine, which is visible extending below the gun, and can be loaded from 5-round stripper clips. There are new, simpler sights, where the rear sight has a knob which slides up and down a rail with distance markings from 200 to 2000 meters. Instead of the traditional notch, there is a small aperture, which is drilled in a flat sheet. The aperture is somewhat large because the angle through which the shooter looks through the sight depends on the elevation slider. 21 credits.
--Prykanbul SR/M-6-12: This is a modified version of the Prykanbul Short Rifle. The biggest mechanical change is that it uses 5-round detachable box magazines, which come about flush with the wooden furniture and have a heel release (and a related furniture indent). This is intended to be a marksman rifle, so the benefit of this is that an optic can sit above the receiver. The gun does not ship with an optic, but it has a smooth flat plane for mounting one (it also includes SR-6-11 style iron sights). The other visible changes are mostly to the furniture: part of the shoulder stock folds down to form a monopod, and a bipod mounted on the furniture under the barrel. The bipod is made of steel tubing and has an adjustable height, tightening in place with wingnuts on each leg. The butt plate is also mounted on screws so that its length can be adjusted, and there is a similarly adjustable cheek piece on the stock. The complex stock features are largely finished by hand because there wasn't a lot of time to design tooling, driving up the cost. 30 credits.
-Prestige: 23
Line 1:
-Assembling: Prykanbul Short Rifle
-Contract: None
Line 2:
-Assembling: Prykanbul Short Rifle
-Contract: None
1913 Field Trials
A Forenian Expedition is looking for survival rifles: A group is intent on leaving Forenia to found an independent colony near the arctic. They need rifles (or shotguns) for hunting. Low cost is a priority. Reliability is most important, as they'll have limited access to replacement parts and cleaning supplies. 2 batches @ 32 credits, 4 prestige.
Prykanbul manufacturing offers the SR-6-11 @ 30 credits: This isn't an absolutely great option for a survival rifle. The large magazine which extends below the gun seems like a failure point. The steel casings are also a major concern. We need bullets to last a long time and we will be contending with snow and moisture at all times, so it's concerning that these might have the potential to rust. Otherwise the performance of this gun is quite good. The price is also quite nice especially considering the advanced design, so we will take it rather than wait for more contracts to come up. We'll take it at 30 credits.
Vostoyan Revolutionaries are looking for a machine gun: Cheap, cheap to maintain, reliable. If possible, they would also be interested in something which is easier to move around than standard machine guns, as they often have to retreat or make hit-and-run attacks. Something like a pistol-caliber machine gun might be acceptable. 2 batches @ 48 credits, 7 prestige.
Fabrique Rivier offers the FR 2.b 'Weil' @ 50 credits: This is without a doubt the weirdest gun I have ever used. The men laughed a bit when I explained its operation. Its behavior is also quite idiosyncratic, learning to control the fire rate takes some getting used to. However, it was surprisingly controllable so maybe there is something to this complicated method of operation. There's definitely some inconvenient factors. Most of all, having the spin up the flywheel before firing is awful for trying to use it on the move, and means it takes a moment to ready the gun when it must be fired after standing watch as well. We're also concerned about maintenance. We're poor to put it bluntly, and we have to work with what supplies we can. These seems like a lot of effort to keep lubricated and clean, and replacement parts look expensive as well. Nonetheless, I think it's better than the machine gun the royalists are using. We captured some of those and found them pretty beastly to use.
Behrens offers the Valturia Mod. 2 @ 40 credits: A machine pistol? We can't seriously control the field with this sort of weapon. We might be able to put it to use for storming buildings but we really need an open field weapon right now and we don't have funds to spare for anything else.
We'll take the FR 2.b Wiel at 50 credits.
Crovem's Ministry of Ordnance is looking for a portable automatic weapon: They are interested in creating an experimental unit to use automatic weapons which can be operated by individuals. Since there's probably not a big war coming up or anything, this is an open-ended contract. Autorifles, machine pistols, or anything in between might be acceptable, and they want to figure out what sort of combat roles they can fulfill by experimentation. 1 batch @ up to 70 credits, though they expect to pay less for small caliber weapons compared to larger ones. 8 prestige. Available until 1914.
Fabrique Rivier offers the FR 2.b 'Weil' @ 68 credits: This is a very novel design for a machine gun, and overall we were impressed with its performance. No excess recoil ends up in the hands of the shooter, almost all of it is either stored in the flywheel or expelled out the gas port, so in use one feels most the movement of the action, which is not so bad. Still it's not extremely portable, one man can't readily carry the weapon as well as a supply of ammunition and operate it by himself. It's not especially heavy for a machine gun but it's still a full size machine gun.
Behrens offers the Valturia Mod. 2 @ 36 credits: We weren't too impressed with this as a primary weapon for soldiers. These pistol caliber rounds aren't very powerful, and the automatic firing rate empties the magazine so quickly that its combat use is very questionable. We had much better performance on the target course with the single fire mode. This is a good quality pistol but not really a primary automatic weapon. It would be much more compelling if it were more powerful and slower firing.
We will keep the trials open for another year, looking for an automatic weapon operable by a single a man as a primary weapon. If we don't have any new submissions, the Weil is most appealing.
Procino's 1st Bersaglieri Bicicletta are looking for a lightweight primary weapon: These are a new specialization of infantry, equipped with bicycles. They want to be armed with a weapon which is as light weight as possible, both in terms of the weapon itself and the ammunition carried. Some variety of carbine is most likely. These weapons will be tested in a sort of biathlon trial with the bicycles, and will be rated on shooting ranges scores such as time and accuracy to hit targets at various distances, and on how much they impact mobility. General infantry concerns like reliability are considered as well. 2 batches @ 36 credits, 6 prestige. Available until 1914.
Prykanbul Manufacturing offers the SR-6-11 @ 34 Credits: These "short rifles" were a little bit long for our taste, compared to a normal carbine length. They were somewhat awkward on the obstacle course and when rapidly mounting or dismounting. Weight is okay, although the ammo is slightly heavy with the steel casings. We did like their range and power however. The large magazine is also a very good feature. Carrying ten rounds loaded meant our soldiers could shoot a lot of targets immediately after dismounting from the bicycle without stopping to reload. This lead to good scores on the target range and we think it will maximize the effect of rapid relocation in the field. The sights are interesting too.
Behrens offers the Valuria Mod. 2 @ 34 Credits: As a pistol, obviously this was excellent for mobility. While the stock piece isn't as light as if it were a holster-stock, the entire weapon system is much lighter than a rifle. The bullets are also obviously much lighter, enabling soldiers to carry perhaps twice as many comfortably. That's good because the automatic fire is not accurate. When using it, our soldiers expended a lot of bullets and didn't really complete the target course any faster. Part of that might come from reloading often, the entire magazine can be dumped in about a second. Even with a stock, the Valturia is definitely less accurate than a good rifle as well. For our use, some kind of height-marked sight would be a big benefit, compared to the ordinary pistol sights which are currently equipped. While these are fine pistols, and the weight savings of ammunition are great, if we had the choice we would choose a high-caliber round as far as pistols go to maximize the range of the weapon.
We will take the SE-6-11 at 34 credits.
Summary:
Fabrique Riviere has won one contract, and Prykanbul Manufacturing has won two. In both cases they have open assembly lines for all the new contracts, so there's no reason not to take them. Behrens' machine pistol wasn't popular with the current contractors, so they'll have to make do with civilian sales for their second assembly line.
1913 Signing and Turn End
Behrens completes the last term of their Altussia Navy contract with one assembly line, while the other assembly line continues to sell Valturia pistols to retailers, with the Mod. 1 being most popular. These sales earn 5 Credits and 1 Prestige.
-The 8mm Behrens cartridge. This is a near-imitation of 7.63mm Mauser used in the C96 pistol. It has a short round bullet, and the case is 25mm in length and rimless (making it suitable for use in magazines). It has a shoulder 5mm back from the bullet, which widens by 1.5mm.
-Behrens Semi-Automatic 'Valturia' Pistol: This is a pistol chambered in 8mm Behrens. It loads from detachable 8-round box magazines which are inserted to the bottom of the handle, and operates with a slide recoil system, in which the barrel lowers under the slide on two pins after traveling backwards a short distance. The slide extends behind the grip, and it is returned by two recoil springs which create a hip on other side of the gun along its length above the grip. Shells are ejected upwards to the right. The gun has a 90mm barrel and is a little more than twice that length overall, about 40mm of which is behind the grip. It features a thumb magazine release and notch sights on top of the slide, and a safety lever operated with the off hand. Every piece is milled and nicely finished in a mirror-smooth silver color, except patterned wooden grip plates. Costs 24 credits per batch. Now 23 credits per batch after Model 1 update in 1911.
--Valturia Mod 1.: This version of the Valturia pistol is larger, with a 125mm barrel and slide to match, which makes the recoil more controllable in addition to the other benefits conferred by a long barrel. Its operation is simplified slightly, to a single-pin tilting barrel. The operation difference and price difference carries over to the shorter version of the pistol. 23 credits.
--Behrens Valturia Mod 2 Automatic Pistol: This variation of the Valturia comes equipped with a switch for full automatic fire. It's also the largest variation of the Valuturia yet: the 210mm stretches the limits of the design without significant alteration, and it includes a detachable wooden stock with a carry sling (notably, not a holster stock). The automatic fire is controlled with thumb a switch on the right side, and fires at a rate which hard to measure exactly but is extremely high. The recoil is drastic, and due to the nature of the swinging barrel it's not very accurate at this fire rate even in a vice. It also includes an expanded 16-round magazine which extends far below the grip, feed is not especially reliable with this magazine whether in single or automatic fire. 26 credits per batch.
-Prestige: 24
Line 1:
-Assembling Valturia Pistols
-Contract: None (Finished this turn)
Line 2:
-Assembling Valturia Pistols:
-Contract: None
Fabrique Riviere has finished selling machine guns to the Vostoyan Royalists, and is now selling improved machine guns to the Vostoyan Rebels.
-Riviere 11mm Cartridge: A rimmed cartridge with a center primer and pointed bullets. The case is 50mm in length, and straight. Not extremely powerful but decent ballistics thanks to its shape.
-Riviere 1885: A single-shot rifle, which loads from a trap-door breech, in which the breech block flips up above the barrel allowing a cartridge to be inserted. It has a large, visible hammer on the outside of the rifle which shows its percussion-cap origins, although it fires brass Rivier 11mm cartridges with a center primer. It has a traditional full wooden stock with very few extra fittings, except for a range-adjustable sight on a sliding rear track, with a front bead sight. Aside from the stock, quality of the parts is somewhat poor, although its simple design makes it reliable. Its achilles heel is that the hammer can easily be damage when the gun is dropped. By 1910 standards, range and accuracy are subpar. Costs 16 credits per batch.
-FR No. 1.b Carbine "Nouveau": This is a lever-action rifle, but instead of the traditional tube loader, it uses an internal magazine hidden in a hump in the wooden stock. This holds 5 rounds, and can be loaded from stripper clips. The lever mechanism also has some feed issues, it is slightly susceptible to pressure to the left or right and will often fail to chamber if it is not carefully moved straight-on. Once the cartridges are chambered, they at least fire as expected. Since nothing except the hammer moves when fired, it is as accurate as can be expected of the barrel, which is somewhat cheap. The moving parts are made from castings, and their simple design means they're not prone to binding, but they don't feel smooth. Feature wise, it's very simple with no extra safety, and has simple non-adjustable open sights, some checkered grip patterns on the stock, a brass butt plate and a sling attaching from the bottom. Costs 18 credits.
-FR No.2.a Machine Gun 'Wiel': This is a machinegun in FR 11mm. It is a large, heavy weapon which sits on a tripod, and feeds from 200-round cloth belts. Its unusual "wheel operation" method gives the gun a distinctive outline. On the right side of the barrel mounted vertically is a wheel enclosed in a sheet metal housing, about 240mm, with a crank. Under the barrel is a small "pedal" attached to the wheel. When the gun is fired, a gas port pushes on this pedal, the wheel rotates 180 degrees and then springs back, pushing on a lever which operates the gun. There is an adjustable screw which places friction on the wheel to control rate of fire, but when set too low the gun simply fails to operate, so it really only adjusts between 400-500 rounds per minute. The rest of the gun involves a long extractor arm which pulls cartridges from the belt, and pushes them into the chamber, as well as the bolt itself, and a number of tiny parts which regulate their operation. The belt sits below the receiver and casings eject from the top. Most of this is hidden in a sheet metal case with a lid which clips into place for ease of maintenance. It also features a front carry handle which, when pressed down, acts as a release for quick change barrels, which are finned for cooling. It has fixed ladder sights with range markings out to 1500m, and a pistol grip with an optional wooden shoulder stock. The gun operates with reasonable reliability, though its reciprocating parts lurch the gun violently up, down, forward and back during operation. Attempting to use the front handle to hold the front down often loosens the quick change barrel. At higher rates of fire, the barrel can simply come loose on its own (it will rotate and the gas port will cease operating the gun harmlessly). 40 credits.
--FR No.2.b Light Machine Gun "Weil": This shares most of the rear action with the original Weil, but the entire gas mechanism is vastly different. A gas port in the barrel pushes a small lever, which exerts force on a spinning flywheel in the position of the old wheel through a ratcheting mechanism, like a bicycle's freewheel. This flywheel has a coupling rod to the reciprocating action of the gun. The trigger disconnects this. It can be spun up with a crank, and then maintains speed for up to 30 seconds before coming to a stop. Each time the gun fires it accelerates the flywheel a little bit. The whole time the flywheel is spinning, it makes a distinctive ratchet noise. The exact rate of fire depends on the speed of the flywheel, it can operate as low as 90 rounds per minute, and will accelerate as the gun continues firing, up to 500 rounds per minute, at which speed the gas lever is not returning for every shot so the gun loses a little speed. The top rate of fire may be much lower depending on how well-lubricated the gun is. The gun will fail to chamber a second round if it is fired when the wheel is at a complete standstill, and it often fires once after the trigger is released. There are also some weight saving measures: the barrel is shorter, lighter, has no fins, and lacks a quick disconnect mechanism. The removable wooden stock has a large hole in the middle, and the tripod is smaller and lighter. It's portable by one man, although someone else will still have to carry the ammo. 42 credits per batch.
-Prestige: 26
Line 1:
-Assembling Wiel Machineguns
-Contract: Vostoyan Rebels: 8 profit, 7 prestige, 1 turn remaining
Prykanbul Manufacturing has earned two contracts, both for their existing rifle, so it's all profit and no tooling costs.
-Prykanbul Curved Sword: A curved sword with a round pommel and a large, flat blade. Rather heavy, but the blade is made of excellent steel and it keeps an edge even when clanging against lesser steel. Costs 25 credits per batch.
-The .48 Prykanbul Express rifle cartridge, a rimmed cartridge with a round bullet and straight case measuring 3 inches in length, making it wider and longer than an average rifle cartridge. Uses a somewhat antiquated powder formula which is slow-burning, so it benefits from a long barrel.
-Prykanbul Manufacturing 6x50mm Light Rifle Cartridge: A 6mm FMJ cartridge with a 50mm tapered and shouldered case. The case is semi rimmed, having both a small rim and an inset for the extractor to grab. The bullet itself is long and has a pointed shape, with a boat tail. The case is made of steel. It's a fairly high velocity round. -1 cost to guns using this.
-Prykanbul Manufacturing SR-6-10 6mm Short Rifle Model 1910: This is a bolt action rifle with a 22-inch barrel, making it between the typical length of a rifle or a carbine, and a full wooden stock. It has an internal magazine with a double-stack, single feed arrangement, which holds 7 rounds. It can be loaded from 7-round stripper clips, although these are slightly large and unwieldy. The bolt hand sits upward when the bolt is open and 90 degrees to the right when closed. The last notable feature is an aperture sight. The rear sight about 2cm in diameter, and a couple inches from where the user's cheek should sit. It is adjustable for elevation and windage with large thumb screws on the left, and top right. There is also a bayonet lug where a knife-type bayonet can be secured with another thumbscrew. Both the front and rear sight posts are tall, the front is 5cm above the barrel. The workmanship of the barrel and moving parts is average, it's reasonably accurate and feeds consistently. Costs 21 credits per batch.
--Prykanbul Manufacturing SR-6-11 6mm Short Rifle Model 1911: This version of the rifle has a 10-round double stack magazine, which is visible extending below the gun, and can be loaded from 5-round stripper clips. There are new, simpler sights, where the rear sight has a knob which slides up and down a rail with distance markings from 200 to 2000 meters. Instead of the traditional notch, there is a small aperture, which is drilled in a flat sheet. The aperture is somewhat large because the angle through which the shooter looks through the sight depends on the elevation slider. 21 credits.
--Prykanbul SR/M-6-12: This is a modified version of the Prykanbul Short Rifle. The biggest mechanical change is that it uses 5-round detachable box magazines, which come about flush with the wooden furniture and have a heel release (and a related furniture indent). This is intended to be a marksman rifle, so the benefit of this is that an optic can sit above the receiver. The gun does not ship with an optic, but it has a smooth flat plane for mounting one (it also includes SR-6-11 style iron sights). The other visible changes are mostly to the furniture: part of the shoulder stock folds down to form a monopod, and a bipod mounted on the furniture under the barrel. The bipod is made of steel tubing and has an adjustable height, tightening in place with wingnuts on each leg. The butt plate is also mounted on screws so that its length can be adjusted, and there is a similarly adjustable cheek piece on the stock. The complex stock features are largely finished by hand because there wasn't a lot of time to design tooling, driving up the cost. 30 credits.
-Prestige: 33
Line 1:
-Assembling: Prykanbul Short Rifle
-Contract: Forenian Expedition, 9 Profit, 4 Prestige, 1 Turn remaining
Line 2:
-Assembling: Prykanbul Short Rifle
-Contract: Procino Bicicletta, 13 Profit, 6 Prestige, 1 Turn remaining
1914 Contracts
Fresh spring air in 1914! New, exciting technologies are on the horizon and while there are conflicts among the small nations around Valturia, a strong system of alliances means that war is unlikely to break out in Europe. This promises to be a peaceful and productive upcoming summer.
Crovem's Ministry of Ordnance is looking for a portable automatic weapon: They are interested in creating an experimental unit to use automatic weapons which can be operated by individuals. Since there's probably not a big war coming up or anything, this is an open-ended contract. Autorifles, machine pistols, or anything in between might be acceptable, and they want to figure out what sort of combat roles they can fulfill by experimentation. 1 batch @ up to 70 credits, though they expect to pay less for small caliber weapons compared to larger ones. 8 prestige. Available until 1914.
The Kingdom of Vostoy is looking for an assassination weapon: In an unusually frank request, King Vostok VI has personally written a letter requesting a batch of weapons "for assassinations against members of Fabrique Riviere, who are traitorous warmongers committing high treason against the kingdom of Vostoy". They want a weapon pistol or rifle which can be concealed (so a rifle should at least disassemble), and possibly has a suppressor. The weapon should have sufficient power "to slay inhuman beasts" and either be concealable enough for a user to get very close to the target or effective from a long range. 1 batch @ 55 credits, though they expect to pay less for pistols than rifles. 4 Prestige. This contract is not open to Fabrique Riviere.
Valturia's Royal Bank is seeking weapons for armed guards: Banks guards either spend most of the day standing watch at bank locations themselves, or operating the armored trucks and loading/unloading money and other valuables. They're not expected to use their weapons often, so the primary concern is that they be easy to carry and simple to use. They're also highly visible to the public, so the weapons are part of their uniform and should communicate wealth and sophistication. Something like a gold-plated finish might be ideal. Accuracy, effectiveness, and reliability are secondary concerns, though repeating weapons with a large ammo reserve are ideal. 1 batch @ 55 credits, 8 Prestige.
Ira's Infantry wants to adopt machine guns: Just ordinary machine guns for defensive lines, no bells and whistles. The more range and power, the better. Besides range and power, long term use is the main gauge of performance. The more it can resist overheating, the better. The easier it is to keep bullets fed into the gun, the better. It should also be reliable in operation, sturdy, and insofar as it's possible for a machine gun, easy to maintain. 2 batches @ 60 credits, 7 Prestige.
Behrens designed a new sub-machine gun in a bid for the advanced weapons contract. This left them broke, but the weapon still wasn't up to snuff. Without contracts to rely on, they went hat-in-hand to His Majesty and requested a grant. This got them enough money for a revision, at the cost of 10 prestige.
-The 8mm Behrens cartridge. This is a near-imitation of 7.63mm Mauser used in the C96 pistol. It has a short round bullet, and the case is 25mm in length and rimless (making it suitable for use in magazines). It has a shoulder 5mm back from the bullet, which widens by 1.5mm.
-Behrens Semi-Automatic 'Valturia' Pistol (Mod. 0): This is a pistol chambered in 8mm Behrens. It loads from detachable 8-round box magazines which are inserted to the bottom of the handle, and operates with a slide recoil system, in which the barrel lowers under the slide on two pins after traveling backwards a short distance. The slide extends behind the grip, and it is returned by two recoil springs which create a hip on other side of the gun along its length above the grip. Shells are ejected upwards to the right. The gun has a 90mm barrel and is a little more than twice that length overall, about 40mm of which is behind the grip. It features a thumb magazine release and notch sights on top of the slide, and a safety lever operated with the off hand. Every piece is milled and nicely finished in a mirror-smooth silver color, except patterned wooden grip plates. Costs 24 credits per batch. Now 23 credits per batch after Model 1 update in 1911.
--Valturia Mod 1.: This version of the Valturia pistol is larger, with a 125mm barrel and slide to match, which makes the recoil more controllable in addition to the other benefits conferred by a long barrel. Its operation is simplified slightly, to a single-pin tilting barrel. The operation difference and price difference carries over to the shorter version of the pistol. 23 credits.
--Behrens Valturia Mod 2 Automatic Pistol: This variation of the Valturia comes equipped with a switch for full automatic fire. It's also the largest variation of the Valuturia yet: the 210mm stretches the limits of the design without significant alteration, and it includes a detachable wooden stock with a carry sling (notably, not a holster stock). The automatic fire is controlled with thumb a switch on the right side, and fires at a rate which hard to measure exactly but is extremely high. The recoil is drastic, and due to the nature of the swinging barrel it's not very accurate at this fire rate even in a vice. It also includes an expanded 16-round magazine which extends far below the grip, feed is not especially reliable with this magazine whether in single or automatic fire. 26 credits per batch.
-Comet Heavy Automatic Pistol Mk. II Mod 1: This is a simple blowback, open-bolt automatic weapon, chambered in 8mm Behrens. It's about the size of a carbine with a rifle stock, and the receiver is a lathed cylindrical piece which contains all of the working parts. There is a long spring housing behind the receiver, and a 32-round double stack magazine sits below. The barrel is 24cm, a small portion of the gun's overall length, and it sits in a shroud of sheet metal with drilled holes. It fires from an open bolt, so the trigger simply holds the bolt open when not depressed. When the bolt slams closed, it chambers a round and fires, and there is a charging handle on the bolt. A safety notch can hold the bolt in the open position. It's not compatible with existing Behrens magazines. Like most automatic weapons it suffers occasional feed jams. Simple feed jams are not hard to clear, but rarely a cartridge becomes disoriented inside the magazine which could take minutes to fix (or a fresh magazine). Furniture includes simple notch sights, a wooden shoulder stock with a rear pistol grip and flat foregrip under the receiver, and a detachable bayonet which screws into place. Costs 35 credits per batch.
-Prestige: 14
Line 1:
-Assembling Valturia Pistols
-Contract: None (Finished this turn)
Line 2:
-Assembling Valturia Pistols:
-Contract: None
Fabrique Riviere saved their money this turn, opting to bid with guns they have. Another good contract could earn them a second assembly line.
-Riviere 11mm Cartridge: A rimmed cartridge with a center primer and pointed bullets. The case is 50mm in length, and straight. Not extremely powerful but decent ballistics thanks to its shape.
-Riviere 1885: A single-shot rifle, which loads from a trap-door breech, in which the breech block flips up above the barrel allowing a cartridge to be inserted. It has a large, visible hammer on the outside of the rifle which shows its percussion-cap origins, although it fires brass Rivier 11mm cartridges with a center primer. It has a traditional full wooden stock with very few extra fittings, except for a range-adjustable sight on a sliding rear track, with a front bead sight. Aside from the stock, quality of the parts is somewhat poor, although its simple design makes it reliable. Its achilles heel is that the hammer can easily be damage when the gun is dropped. By 1910 standards, range and accuracy are subpar. Costs 16 credits per batch.
-FR No. 1.b Carbine "Nouveau": This is a lever-action rifle, but instead of the traditional tube loader, it uses an internal magazine hidden in a hump in the wooden stock. This holds 5 rounds, and can be loaded from stripper clips. The lever mechanism also has some feed issues, it is slightly susceptible to pressure to the left or right and will often fail to chamber if it is not carefully moved straight-on. Once the cartridges are chambered, they at least fire as expected. Since nothing except the hammer moves when fired, it is as accurate as can be expected of the barrel, which is somewhat cheap. The moving parts are made from castings, and their simple design means they're not prone to binding, but they don't feel smooth. Feature wise, it's very simple with no extra safety, and has simple non-adjustable open sights, some checkered grip patterns on the stock, a brass butt plate and a sling attaching from the bottom. Costs 18 credits.
-FR No.2.a Machine Gun 'Wiel': This is a machinegun in FR 11mm. It is a large, heavy weapon which sits on a tripod, and feeds from 200-round cloth belts. Its unusual "wheel operation" method gives the gun a distinctive outline. On the right side of the barrel mounted vertically is a wheel enclosed in a sheet metal housing, about 240mm, with a crank. Under the barrel is a small "pedal" attached to the wheel. When the gun is fired, a gas port pushes on this pedal, the wheel rotates 180 degrees and then springs back, pushing on a lever which operates the gun. There is an adjustable screw which places friction on the wheel to control rate of fire, but when set too low the gun simply fails to operate, so it really only adjusts between 400-500 rounds per minute. The rest of the gun involves a long extractor arm which pulls cartridges from the belt, and pushes them into the chamber, as well as the bolt itself, and a number of tiny parts which regulate their operation. The belt sits below the receiver and casings eject from the top. Most of this is hidden in a sheet metal case with a lid which clips into place for ease of maintenance. It also features a front carry handle which, when pressed down, acts as a release for quick change barrels, which are finned for cooling. It has fixed ladder sights with range markings out to 1500m, and a pistol grip with an optional wooden shoulder stock. The gun operates with reasonable reliability, though its reciprocating parts lurch the gun violently up, down, forward and back during operation. Attempting to use the front handle to hold the front down often loosens the quick change barrel. At higher rates of fire, the barrel can simply come loose on its own (it will rotate and the gas port will cease operating the gun harmlessly). 40 credits.
--FR No.2.b Light Machine Gun "Weil": This shares most of the rear action with the original Weil, but the entire gas mechanism is vastly different. A gas port in the barrel pushes a small lever, which exerts force on a spinning flywheel in the position of the old wheel through a ratcheting mechanism, like a bicycle's freewheel. This flywheel has a coupling rod to the reciprocating action of the gun. The trigger disconnects this. It can be spun up with a crank, and then maintains speed for up to 30 seconds before coming to a stop. Each time the gun fires it accelerates the flywheel a little bit. The whole time the flywheel is spinning, it makes a distinctive ratchet noise. The exact rate of fire depends on the speed of the flywheel, it can operate as low as 90 rounds per minute, and will accelerate as the gun continues firing, up to 500 rounds per minute, at which speed the gas lever is not returning for every shot so the gun loses a little speed. The top rate of fire may be much lower depending on how well-lubricated the gun is. The gun will fail to chamber a second round if it is fired when the wheel is at a complete standstill, and it often fires once after the trigger is released. There are also some weight saving measures: the barrel is shorter, lighter, has no fins, and lacks a quick disconnect mechanism. The removable wooden stock has a large hole in the middle, and the tripod is smaller and lighter. It's portable by one man, although someone else will still have to carry the ammo. 42 credits per batch.
-Prestige: 26
Line 1:
-Assembling Wiel Machineguns
-Contract: Vostoyan Rebels: 8 profit, 7 prestige, 1 turn remaining
Prykanbul Manufacturing designed a new automatic rifle based on their existing 6mm cartridge.
-Prykanbul Curved Sword: A curved sword with a round pommel and a large, flat blade. Rather heavy, but the blade is made of excellent steel and it keeps an edge even when clanging against lesser steel. Costs 25 credits per batch.
-The .48 Prykanbul Express rifle cartridge, a rimmed cartridge with a round bullet and straight case measuring 3 inches in length, making it wider and longer than an average rifle cartridge. Uses a somewhat antiquated powder formula which is slow-burning, so it benefits from a long barrel.
-Prykanbul Manufacturing 6x50mm Light Rifle Cartridge: A 6mm FMJ cartridge with a 50mm tapered and shouldered case. The case is semi rimmed, having both a small rim and an inset for the extractor to grab. The bullet itself is long and has a pointed shape, with a boat tail. The case is made of steel. It's a fairly high velocity round. -1 cost to guns using this.
-Prykanbul Manufacturing SR-6-10 6mm Short Rifle Model 1910: This is a bolt action rifle with a 22-inch barrel, making it between the typical length of a rifle or a carbine, and a full wooden stock. It has an internal magazine with a double-stack, single feed arrangement, which holds 7 rounds. It can be loaded from 7-round stripper clips, although these are slightly large and unwieldy. The bolt hand sits upward when the bolt is open and 90 degrees to the right when closed. The last notable feature is an aperture sight. The rear sight about 2cm in diameter, and a couple inches from where the user's cheek should sit. It is adjustable for elevation and windage with large thumb screws on the left, and top right. There is also a bayonet lug where a knife-type bayonet can be secured with another thumbscrew. Both the front and rear sight posts are tall, the front is 5cm above the barrel. The workmanship of the barrel and moving parts is average, it's reasonably accurate and feeds consistently. Costs 21 credits per batch.
--Prykanbul Manufacturing SR-6-11 6mm Short Rifle Model 1911: This version of the rifle has a 10-round double stack magazine, which is visible extending below the gun, and can be loaded from 5-round stripper clips. There are new, simpler sights, where the rear sight has a knob which slides up and down a rail with distance markings from 200 to 2000 meters. Instead of the traditional notch, there is a small aperture, which is drilled in a flat sheet. The aperture is somewhat large because the angle through which the shooter looks through the sight depends on the elevation slider. 21 credits.
--Prykanbul SR/M-6-12: This is a modified version of the Prykanbul Short Rifle. The biggest mechanical change is that it uses 5-round detachable box magazines, which come about flush with the wooden furniture and have a heel release (and a related furniture indent). This is intended to be a marksman rifle, so the benefit of this is that an optic can sit above the receiver. The gun does not ship with an optic, but it has a smooth flat plane for mounting one (it also includes SR-6-11 style iron sights). The other visible changes are mostly to the furniture: part of the shoulder stock folds down to form a monopod, and a bipod mounted on the furniture under the barrel. The bipod is made of steel tubing and has an adjustable height, tightening in place with wingnuts on each leg. The butt plate is also mounted on screws so that its length can be adjusted, and there is a similarly adjustable cheek piece on the stock. The complex stock features are largely finished by hand because there wasn't a lot of time to design tooling, driving up the cost. 30 credits.
-AR-6-14: This is a gas-operated automatic rifle firing Prykanbul 6mm. It fires from a closed, rotating bolt, and feeds from 30-round double-stack magazines, which are quite fat with a slight curve. The barrel is carbine-length at 18 inches, and a gas piston underneath runs almost the full length. Cartridges are ejected from the top left, then the bolt carrier is returned by a heavy spring concealed in the stock. The force needed to rotate the bolt closed helps delay the firing process, so the gun fires about 400 rounds per minute. It includes a bipod similar to the SR/M marksman rifle and sights from the standard SR-6-11, plus a carrying handle partway up the gun. Besides this the gun is extremely barren of features. It has no safety and fires fully automatic only, with careful trigger pull single shots can be fired. The charging handle is large notch directly on the bolt carrier. The gun feeds well, and takes longer than some light machine guns to get hot, but when it does get very hot there can be issues with cartridges failing to extract (the rim bending instead) or cartridges cooking off, sometimes two or three rounds belatedly. It weighs about 22 pounds, and can be fired from standing though the recoil is significant, the gun feels to push back then pull forward in the user's hands as the long and heavy piston returns. Costs 38 credits per batch.
-Prestige: 33
Line 1:
-Assembling: Prykanbul Short Rifle
-Contract: Forenian Expedition, 9 Profit, 4 Prestige, 1 Turn remaining
Line 2:
-Assembling: Prykanbul Short Rifle
-Contract: Procino Bicicletta, 13 Profit, 6 Prestige, 1 Turn remaining
1914 Field Trials
Crovem's Ministry of Ordnance is looking for a portable automatic weapon: They are interested in creating an experimental unit to use automatic weapons which can be operated by individuals. Since there's probably not a big war coming up or anything, this is an open-ended contract. Autorifles, machine pistols, or anything in between might be acceptable, and they want to figure out what sort of combat roles they can fulfill by experimentation. 1 batch @ up to 70 credits, though they expect to pay less for small caliber weapons compared to larger ones. 8 prestige. Available until 1914.
Fabrique Riviere maintains their previous offer of the Weil 2.b @ 68 credits.
Behrens offers the Comet Heavy Automatic Pistol @ 55 Credits: This is a compelling weapon! It's light enough for a soldier to carry on the march and at a sprint, and the choice of pistol-caliber ammunition helps to reduce the problem of maintaining ammo supplies while using automatic fire. On the other hand, a single-fire option would still be very useful. The exclusive use of automatic fire definitely limits the situations where the Comet is useful, it's very difficult to get single, accurate shots should the need arise. The feed quality is also so-so, although it seems inevitable that an advanced weapon design like this should suffer occasional jams. With a weapon like this, enemy soldiers who considered themselves safe could very suddenly find themselves in the cone of fire of a machine gun- a rout would be almost guaranteed. The other downside, of course, is its range. It's no total replacement for ordinary rifles, although it could be extremely effective for specialist soldiers. The price is a bonus too.
Prykanbul Manufacturing offers the AR-6-14 @ 64 credits: This is a real improvement in mobility over machine guns previously made in Valturia, without compromising on power like the Behrens design. Despite impressive metallurgy from Prykanbul as usual, it does suffer from heat issues under sustained fire. It's also a lot heavier than an ordinary rifle, and fires full sized rifle cartridges in automatic only, so there's less capacity for soldiers to carry the gun and all of the ammo they will need on the march. On the other hand, aside from middling mobility, its range makes it capable of fulfilling the primary duty of rifles in an open field. Like the Comet, reliability is... good enough for our experimental purposes. It certainly isn't going to replace emplaced machine guns in their task.
For the power it can bring to the field, we will select the AR-6-14 at 64 credits.
The Kingdom of Vostoy is looking for an assassination weapon: In an unusually frank request, King Vostok VI has personally written a letter requesting a batch of weapons "for assassinations against members of Fabrique Riviere, who are traitorous warmongers committing high treason against the kingdom of Vostoy". They want a weapon pistol or rifle which can be concealed (so a rifle should at least disassemble), and possibly has a suppressor. The weapon should have sufficient power "to slay inhuman beasts" and either be concealable enough for a user to get very close to the target or effective from a long range. 1 batch @ 55 credits, though they expect to pay less for pistols than rifles. 4 Prestige. This contract is not open to Fabrique Riviere.
Fabrique Riviere sent a bunch of guns even though they're banned from the contract: One after another, the Vostoyan government receives packages with weapons from FR's history. Wiels, carbines, antiquated rifles, a musket. Each delivery taunts them, as if to say, "you know these are the weapons you want anyway." As some of the packages get returned, FR staff waste more valuable paid time coming up with ways to get them through the border, eventually resorting to copying the Behrens or Prykanbul logos. However, when opened, some weapon with the FR emblem is always inside- eventually including logging equipment which could arguable be repurposed as weapons. None of this provokes an actual response in the form of a letter or announcement, but the Fabrique Riviere engineers giggle to themselves imagining the reactions which must have no doubt been elicited from Vostoy's notoriously short-tempered king or the government officials who often take after him.
Prykanbul Manufacturing offers the SR/M-6-12 marksman rifle @ 52 credits: This price is intended to leave a little extra room for optical sights, although it doesn't necessarily cover the cost of good quality ones. On the other hand, it's also the only serious submission. The Vostoyan government "trials" consist of a short range session where their marksmen try out the weapon. "Excellent. I was hoping we would receive a weapon which would permit us to kill rats without getting close enough to smell them." The Vostoyan government will purchase this for 52 credits.
Valturia's Royal Bank is seeking weapons for armed guards: Banks guards either spend most of the day standing watch at bank locations themselves, or operating the armored trucks and loading/unloading money and other valuables. They're not expected to use their weapons often, so the primary concern is that they be easy to carry and simple to use. They're also highly visible to the public, so the weapons are part of their uniform and should communicate wealth and sophistication. Something like a gold-plated finish might be ideal. Accuracy, effectiveness, and reliability are secondary concerns, though repeating weapons with a large ammo reserve are ideal. 1 batch @ 55 credits, 8 Prestige.
Behrens offers the Valturia Mod. 0 for 44 credits: Splendid looking pistols! They have a nice finish and a sleek, modern design. We'll definitely prefer the use of the 8-round magazines, since reliability is important and we definitely don't want the magazine sticking out when the guns are carried loaded. We found that they shoot well enough, probably better than the old revolvers. Besides, we're not at the range all day, and the extra ammunition lets us get away with missing more, eh? We'll take them for 55 credits.
Ira's Infantry wants to adopt machine guns: Just ordinary machine guns for defensive lines, no bells and whistles. The more range and power, the better. Besides range and power, long term use is the main gauge of performance. The more it can resist overheating, the better. The easier it is to keep bullets fed into the gun, the better. It should also be reliable in operation, sturdy, and insofar as it's possible for a machine gun, easy to maintain. 2 batches @ 60 credits, 7 Prestige.
Fabrique Riviere offers the Weil 2.a @ 60 credits: This is certainly a machine gun. It's definitely an odd design. The decision to make it rifle caliber instead of using high-power, dedicated machine gun rounds should make it pretty controllable, but the mechanism makes it jump like a trout on a dock. I feel like I can definitely imagine a better machine gun to use. It does work at least. We fed a lot of belts through it, changed the barrel, and it handled the stress well. We can't delay adopting machine guns, so we'll take this at 60 credits.
It is now the signing phase!
Behrens will no doubt want to take their Royal Bank contract, they won't even have to retool. Fabrique Riviere might be able to afford a new assembly line this turn, though I haven't double checked the math. Prykanbul will have to decide which of their existing contracts to drop if they want to fulfill the Vostoy contract, though the lower-paying expedition contract is the likely choice.
Behrens has taken the Royal Bank contract, and accepted 25 credits to produce one batch of Prykanbul's short rifles for Procino.
-The 8mm Behrens cartridge. This is a near-imitation of 7.63mm Mauser used in the C96 pistol. It has a short round bullet, and the case is 25mm in length and rimless (making it suitable for use in magazines). It has a shoulder 5mm back from the bullet, which widens by 1.5mm.
-Behrens Semi-Automatic 'Valturia' Pistol (Mod. 0): This is a pistol chambered in 8mm Behrens. It loads from detachable 8-round box magazines which are inserted to the bottom of the handle, and operates with a slide recoil system, in which the barrel lowers under the slide on two pins after traveling backwards a short distance. The slide extends behind the grip, and it is returned by two recoil springs which create a hip on other side of the gun along its length above the grip. Shells are ejected upwards to the right. The gun has a 90mm barrel and is a little more than twice that length overall, about 40mm of which is behind the grip. It features a thumb magazine release and notch sights on top of the slide, and a safety lever operated with the off hand. Every piece is milled and nicely finished in a mirror-smooth silver color, except patterned wooden grip plates. Costs 24 credits per batch. Now 23 credits per batch after Model 1 update in 1911.
--Valturia Mod 1.: This version of the Valturia pistol is larger, with a 125mm barrel and slide to match, which makes the recoil more controllable in addition to the other benefits conferred by a long barrel. Its operation is simplified slightly, to a single-pin tilting barrel. The operation difference and price difference carries over to the shorter version of the pistol. 23 credits.
--Behrens Valturia Mod 2 Automatic Pistol: This variation of the Valturia comes equipped with a switch for full automatic fire. It's also the largest variation of the Valuturia yet: the 210mm stretches the limits of the design without significant alteration, and it includes a detachable wooden stock with a carry sling (notably, not a holster stock). The automatic fire is controlled with thumb a switch on the right side, and fires at a rate which hard to measure exactly but is extremely high. The recoil is drastic, and due to the nature of the swinging barrel it's not very accurate at this fire rate even in a vice. It also includes an expanded 16-round magazine which extends far below the grip, feed is not especially reliable with this magazine whether in single or automatic fire. 26 credits per batch.
-Comet Heavy Automatic Pistol Mk. II Mod 1: This is a simple blowback, open-bolt automatic weapon, chambered in 8mm Behrens. It's about the size of a carbine with a rifle stock, and the receiver is a lathed cylindrical piece which contains all of the working parts. There is a long spring housing behind the receiver, and a 32-round double stack magazine sits below. The barrel is 24cm, a small portion of the gun's overall length, and it sits in a shroud of sheet metal with drilled holes. It fires from an open bolt, so the trigger simply holds the bolt open when not depressed. When the bolt slams closed, it chambers a round and fires, and there is a charging handle on the bolt. A safety notch can hold the bolt in the open position. It's not compatible with existing Behrens magazines. Like most automatic weapons it suffers occasional feed jams. Simple feed jams are not hard to clear, but rarely a cartridge becomes disoriented inside the magazine which could take minutes to fix (or a fresh magazine). Furniture includes simple notch sights, a wooden shoulder stock with a rear pistol grip and flat foregrip under the receiver, and a detachable bayonet which screws into place. Costs 35 credits per batch.
-Prestige: 22
Line 1:
-Assembling Valturia Pistols (Mod 0)
-Contract: Valturia Royal Bank: 21 credits, 8 prestige (Finished this turn)
Line 2:
-Assembling Prykanbul Short Rifles:
-Contract: Prykanbul Subcontract (Finished this turn)
Fabrique Riviere accepted Ira's contract, and opened a new assembly line, also making machine guns.
-Riviere 11mm Cartridge: A rimmed cartridge with a center primer and pointed bullets. The case is 50mm in length, and straight. Not extremely powerful but decent ballistics thanks to its shape.
-Riviere 1885: A single-shot rifle, which loads from a trap-door breech, in which the breech block flips up above the barrel allowing a cartridge to be inserted. It has a large, visible hammer on the outside of the rifle which shows its percussion-cap origins, although it fires brass Rivier 11mm cartridges with a center primer. It has a traditional full wooden stock with very few extra fittings, except for a range-adjustable sight on a sliding rear track, with a front bead sight. Aside from the stock, quality of the parts is somewhat poor, although its simple design makes it reliable. Its achilles heel is that the hammer can easily be damage when the gun is dropped. By 1910 standards, range and accuracy are subpar. Costs 16 credits per batch.
-FR No. 1.b Carbine "Nouveau": This is a lever-action rifle, but instead of the traditional tube loader, it uses an internal magazine hidden in a hump in the wooden stock. This holds 5 rounds, and can be loaded from stripper clips. The lever mechanism also has some feed issues, it is slightly susceptible to pressure to the left or right and will often fail to chamber if it is not carefully moved straight-on. Once the cartridges are chambered, they at least fire as expected. Since nothing except the hammer moves when fired, it is as accurate as can be expected of the barrel, which is somewhat cheap. The moving parts are made from castings, and their simple design means they're not prone to binding, but they don't feel smooth. Feature wise, it's very simple with no extra safety, and has simple non-adjustable open sights, some checkered grip patterns on the stock, a brass butt plate and a sling attaching from the bottom. Costs 18 credits.
-FR No.2.a Machine Gun 'Wiel': This is a machinegun in FR 11mm. It is a large, heavy weapon which sits on a tripod, and feeds from 200-round cloth belts. Its unusual "wheel operation" method gives the gun a distinctive outline. On the right side of the barrel mounted vertically is a wheel enclosed in a sheet metal housing, about 240mm, with a crank. Under the barrel is a small "pedal" attached to the wheel. When the gun is fired, a gas port pushes on this pedal, the wheel rotates 180 degrees and then springs back, pushing on a lever which operates the gun. There is an adjustable screw which places friction on the wheel to control rate of fire, but when set too low the gun simply fails to operate, so it really only adjusts between 400-500 rounds per minute. The rest of the gun involves a long extractor arm which pulls cartridges from the belt, and pushes them into the chamber, as well as the bolt itself, and a number of tiny parts which regulate their operation. The belt sits below the receiver and casings eject from the top. Most of this is hidden in a sheet metal case with a lid which clips into place for ease of maintenance. It also features a front carry handle which, when pressed down, acts as a release for quick change barrels, which are finned for cooling. It has fixed ladder sights with range markings out to 1500m, and a pistol grip with an optional wooden shoulder stock. The gun operates with reasonable reliability, though its reciprocating parts lurch the gun violently up, down, forward and back during operation. Attempting to use the front handle to hold the front down often loosens the quick change barrel. At higher rates of fire, the barrel can simply come loose on its own (it will rotate and the gas port will cease operating the gun harmlessly). 40 credits.
--FR No.2.b Light Machine Gun "Weil": This shares most of the rear action with the original Weil, but the entire gas mechanism is vastly different. A gas port in the barrel pushes a small lever, which exerts force on a spinning flywheel in the position of the old wheel through a ratcheting mechanism, like a bicycle's freewheel. This flywheel has a coupling rod to the reciprocating action of the gun. The trigger disconnects this. It can be spun up with a crank, and then maintains speed for up to 30 seconds before coming to a stop. Each time the gun fires it accelerates the flywheel a little bit. The whole time the flywheel is spinning, it makes a distinctive ratchet noise. The exact rate of fire depends on the speed of the flywheel, it can operate as low as 90 rounds per minute, and will accelerate as the gun continues firing, up to 500 rounds per minute, at which speed the gas lever is not returning for every shot so the gun loses a little speed. The top rate of fire may be much lower depending on how well-lubricated the gun is. The gun will fail to chamber a second round if it is fired when the wheel is at a complete standstill, and it often fires once after the trigger is released. There are also some weight saving measures: the barrel is shorter, lighter, has no fins, and lacks a quick disconnect mechanism. The removable wooden stock has a large hole in the middle, and the tripod is smaller and lighter. It's portable by one man, although someone else will still have to carry the ammo. 42 credits per batch.
-Prestige: 40
Line 1:
-Assembling Wiel Machineguns
-Contract: Vostoyan Rebels: 8 profit, 7 prestige (Finished this turn)
Line 2:
-Assembling Wiel machineguns
-Contract: Ira Infantry: 20 profit, 7 Prestige, 1 turn remaining
Prykanbul Manufacturing outsourced the last batch of short rifles for the Procino Bicicletta contract to Behrens for 25 credits. This makes for a financial loss of 12 credits, but retains them the fame gains. The contract also specifies Behrens may sell the rifles to civilian markets, but not military contracts. They're canceling the Forenian Expedition contract, which has no cancellation penalty, in order to start both of their new contracts, one of which involves retooling an assembly line.
-Prykanbul Curved Sword: A curved sword with a round pommel and a large, flat blade. Rather heavy, but the blade is made of excellent steel and it keeps an edge even when clanging against lesser steel. Costs 25 credits per batch.
-The .48 Prykanbul Express rifle cartridge, a rimmed cartridge with a round bullet and straight case measuring 3 inches in length, making it wider and longer than an average rifle cartridge. Uses a somewhat antiquated powder formula which is slow-burning, so it benefits from a long barrel.
-Prykanbul Manufacturing 6x50mm Light Rifle Cartridge: A 6mm FMJ cartridge with a 50mm tapered and shouldered case. The case is semi rimmed, having both a small rim and an inset for the extractor to grab. The bullet itself is long and has a pointed shape, with a boat tail. The case is made of steel. It's a fairly high velocity round. -1 cost to guns using this.
-Prykanbul Manufacturing SR-6-10 6mm Short Rifle Model 1910: This is a bolt action rifle with a 22-inch barrel, making it between the typical length of a rifle or a carbine, and a full wooden stock. It has an internal magazine with a double-stack, single feed arrangement, which holds 7 rounds. It can be loaded from 7-round stripper clips, although these are slightly large and unwieldy. The bolt hand sits upward when the bolt is open and 90 degrees to the right when closed. The last notable feature is an aperture sight. The rear sight about 2cm in diameter, and a couple inches from where the user's cheek should sit. It is adjustable for elevation and windage with large thumb screws on the left, and top right. There is also a bayonet lug where a knife-type bayonet can be secured with another thumbscrew. Both the front and rear sight posts are tall, the front is 5cm above the barrel. The workmanship of the barrel and moving parts is average, it's reasonably accurate and feeds consistently. Costs 21 credits per batch.
--Prykanbul Manufacturing SR-6-11 6mm Short Rifle Model 1911: This version of the rifle has a 10-round double stack magazine, which is visible extending below the gun, and can be loaded from 5-round stripper clips. There are new, simpler sights, where the rear sight has a knob which slides up and down a rail with distance markings from 200 to 2000 meters. Instead of the traditional notch, there is a small aperture, which is drilled in a flat sheet. The aperture is somewhat large because the angle through which the shooter looks through the sight depends on the elevation slider. 21 credits.
--Prykanbul SR/M-6-12: This is a modified version of the Prykanbul Short Rifle. The biggest mechanical change is that it uses 5-round detachable box magazines, which come about flush with the wooden furniture and have a heel release (and a related furniture indent). This is intended to be a marksman rifle, so the benefit of this is that an optic can sit above the receiver. The gun does not ship with an optic, but it has a smooth flat plane for mounting one (it also includes SR-6-11 style iron sights). The other visible changes are mostly to the furniture: part of the shoulder stock folds down to form a monopod, and a bipod mounted on the furniture under the barrel. The bipod is made of steel tubing and has an adjustable height, tightening in place with wingnuts on each leg. The butt plate is also mounted on screws so that its length can be adjusted, and there is a similarly adjustable cheek piece on the stock. The complex stock features are largely finished by hand because there wasn't a lot of time to design tooling, driving up the cost. 30 credits.
-AR-6-14: This is a gas-operated automatic rifle firing Prykanbul 6mm. It fires from a closed, rotating bolt, and feeds from 30-round double-stack magazines, which are quite fat with a slight curve. The barrel is carbine-length at 18 inches, and a gas piston underneath runs almost the full length. Cartridges are ejected from the top left, then the bolt carrier is returned by a heavy spring concealed in the stock. The force needed to rotate the bolt closed helps delay the firing process, so the gun fires about 400 rounds per minute. It includes a bipod similar to the SR/M marksman rifle and sights from the standard SR-6-11, plus a carrying handle partway up the gun. Besides this the gun is extremely barren of features. It has no safety and fires fully automatic only, with careful trigger pull single shots can be fired. The charging handle is large notch directly on the bolt carrier. The gun feeds well, and takes longer than some light machine guns to get hot, but when it does get very hot there can be issues with cartridges failing to extract (the rim bending instead) or cartridges cooking off, sometimes two or three rounds belatedly. It weighs about 22 pounds, and can be fired from standing though the recoil is significant, the gun feels to push back then pull forward in the user's hands as the long and heavy piston returns. Costs 38 credits per batch.
-Prestige: 50
Line 1:
-Assembling: AR-6-14
-Contract: Crovem MoN, 26 profit, 8 prestige, finished this turn
Line 2:
-Assembling: Prykanbul Short Rifle
-Contract: Vostoy Assassins, 25 profit, 4 prestige, finished this turn
1915 Contracts
By early 1915, the world has been turned on its head. After an assassination in Austria, a vast system of alliances has drawn all of Europe and most of her colonies into a huge conflict which is quickly becoming known as The Great War. Even in the last few months, nations are quickly learning that their armies and tactics have been outpaced by modern technology. Machine gun emplacements have forced soldiers out of the open field and into trenches, and brave cavalry charges are a thing of the past.
The Vostoyan Rebels are looking for a close-quarters weapon. In Vostoy, much of the fighting has moved into the city. There is now a need for weapons which are compact, quick-firing, and very powerful. Currently the most appealing weapons are repeating pistols, though these lack firepower, and shotguns, though most of the shotguns in use in Vostoy are simple double barrels without repeating fire. However as always with the rebels, budget is a primary concern. They can afford only 32 credits per batch, and cheaper is better. However, they have grown hopeful of overthrowing the Vostoyan royalty- this could be a pivotal moment. 2 batches @ 32 credits, 10 prestige. Available until 1916. Cancellation: -5 prestige, not eligible for next Vostoyan Rebel contract.
Procino is purchasing machine guns: range and power are the absolute primary concern. The minister of arms in Procino has determined that the greater the range of a machine gun, the more field is controlled by its emplacement, and commanding a wide area is the most efficient way to capitalize on positions gained. This must be greater than rifle caliber. Accuracy at range is also of value, which for an emplaced weapon means good quality tripod or something of that nature, as well as a heavy and long barrel. 2 batches @ 62 credits, 8 prestige. Available until 1916. Cancellation: -10 credits, -4 prestige.
Crovem's Infantry is seeking new rifles: Crovem has decided that the old-style of rifles, which were as large and powerful as possible and had sights ranged out to as much as a kilometer, are now antiquated. Engagements are taking place within 400 meters, and there can be no volley fire to threaten an entire area. Rifles should be accurate, quick-firing, and fire several times before being reloaded. If it's possible to make such a weapon sufficiently reliable, a repeat firing rifle might be compelling. 3 batches @ 36 credits, 6 prestige. Available until 1916. Cancellation: -5 prestige, not eligible for next Crovem contract.
Rutz is seeking a weapon for stormtroopers: The task of fighting enemies directly in a trench has been particularly difficult for Rutz, who have specialized in cavalry skirmishes. After trying and failing to make cavalry charges around trenches and machine gun positions, they have resorted to trying to run at trenches when possible, and enter with carbines. However, it's clear that there are better options. Something like a heavy pistol, repeat firing shotgun, or repeating carbine instead of the old lever-action would be a real improvement, but Rutz is considering any type of weapon which purports to be effective for this situation. 2 batches @ 48 credits per batch, 6 prestige. There is some price flexibility depending on weapon type. Available until 1916. Cancellation: -8 credits, -4 prestige.