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[Sean Mirrsen]

((I would suspect that the generator+gloves setup wouldn't cost a single token anymore. A 4TPU generator alone costs 2, at least normally.

And I honestly don't see that much that you stand to gain by using that approach, besides theoretically being able to buy a different weapon that complies to the same system without extra expense (meaning, the same expense as you had made when you bought the system), as well as losing the ability to give your weapon to someone else if you're incapacitated. And the electro-punches, of course. At this rate you may as well repurpose the Red Hand into the generator system - it already has a more powerful generator (I never got an exact figure on that, but going from the cost it has at least 6TPU), and it is a melee and ranged weapon, as well as a replacement of at least two engineering tools, all by itself. Integrating a Power Grip^tm into the handpiece would be trivial.

You can just go ahead and dig the design up, I think Anton won't mind if you merge your project into it, as long as you notify him first.))

Anton Chernozorov

Make sure there are cargo containers available for the Merchant freighter's first run, as well as stasis chambers for the many RoboSods that will be making the trip on it, assuming they need them. Anything that isn't ready or available, give orders to prepare or manufacture.

"XO, this is Chernozorov. Spaceship construction facilities are being built, the FTL freighter is being refitted for its first run, and I think that's all of my assigned duties until either is done. I'll be requisitioning a science team for some high-energy weapons projects. If you need me, I'll be either in the research labs or in the VR Room."

Requisition a SCIENCE team. First project is short and simple.

Using the earlier experiment data, have the SCIENCE team work on miniaturizing a Free-Electron Laser into a portable weapon. Make two versions if possible, one man-portable (like a rifle), one Battlesuit-portable (like a Cutting or Mining laser). Work with the team to complete this in the shortest possible time.

Spoiler: General features of the FEL (Reminder) (click to show/hide)

(Laser Rifle top, FEL Rifle bottom)

In general, a FEL is a slightly more power-efficient laser that works best continuously, and is capable of adjusting its output to anything from microwaves, to infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, and X-rays. It can also cycle its beam inside the lasing medium for a rapid increase in beam power.

Its drawbacks are greater complexity (can't just be taken apart, and the wiggler chamber must be vacuum), and greater bulk and weight due to the heavy block of magnets, the generator, and the everything else.

Besides the mentioned functions of wavelength adjustment and charged pulse, it has the standard features of the laser weapons - being able to adjust output power and diffusion.

Try to finish the project soon enough to pack a few prototypes into the first transport mission to the Sword.

[piecewise]

Bear with me here for a sec. This all looks fine, but I'm not sure I'm catching the point. You want to just have ARESTEVE design a bunch of alternative exoskeletons for later use? A library, as you said. Ok. But what alternative qualities should we be researching towards? Just like, alternations of which stats they boost or various "Half" stat boosts like the 1/3rd  and 2/3rd ones we already have? I understand the idea here, I'm just not sure what the results you're looking for are and I don't want to make you wait a month or something only to get something completely different and incorrect.

There are three big reasons for it:
-in-game: it is stated that the UWM, and us, uses ancient technology (dating to the altered wars) because that seemed to work up till now. This would be a way to have a 'general tech upgrade' that justifies us having better gear than we used to (e.g. an exoskeleton with bigger bonuses yet same token cost) without technology appearing from thin air.

-OOC: as I said, it is a handy way to justify in-game how we get to certain things. for example, let's say we agree on a new suit that gives A and B bonuses for X tokens. After working that out, we'd still need to somehow get that design in-game. Now, however, we can say "Oh look, the database has a design that fits just what we need, how convenient!". You could say it's a flavor thing (as in, you wouldn't have us wait for the design anyways once we worked it out), but I think it's a good excuse to avoid meta. So if it works, we won't have to wait for a design to complete after discussing things on a game mechanics level.

-I don't have the most time in RL right now, so I'm trying to set things up so that, once I do have time, I can focus on designing without having to wait for stuff to finish (e.g. "Wait a month for ARESTEVE to work this out").

Everything clear now? If yes, completion date?

Would your happen to have any footage of UWM misconduct? Especially the kind that involves indiscriminate firing into crowds of civilians? I am considering having a campaign aimed at UWM soldiers, as judging by the demographics, they probably aren't in it for the cause.

Message back:

Hmm. I might be able to help you, but I'm quite busy right now. Could you perhaps ask me again in [10 real life days]? Just send me a reminder.

It's evidently not apparent, but I haven't even been trying to trick Piecewise recently anyways.  If I were, I would never have clarified twice that robosods were ten times as fast to produce as flesh sods.  I wouldn't have asked him if my turns were too long either.  But when a group is specifically made to stop people from doing such, when nobody is even trying to, that feels like a challenge, and gives a wonderful faceless opponent to fight.  I'm saying that it's counter-productive; if Piecewise dislikes people doing something, he should ask them to stop.
And, as far as your last point, in general I agree with you.  But I don't really in this case, mostly because of how much PW likes to emphasize [TORTURE_FOR_FUN].

Well, it seems some other people don't see it that way, or else there wouldn't be an issue, now would there?

*sigh* I really get too into this.  What are you trying to accomplish?  I'm pretty sure we've talked about this before.))

Because I'm trying to get you to change a behavior that actively annoys both some of your fellow players and your gm. Remember pw is giving you all this entertainment for free, the least you can do is to try and not do anything that makes this more difficult than it has to be.

I can't tell you it will cost the same, but if you'd like a new take on the exoskeleton with the available data from your missions and such, I can certainly do that. Give it till...The 8th.

((I actually wrote this turn (not the end) in a dream.  Posted it too.  But then I woke up and realized that I actually hadn't.))

Turn:

1.Last turn, you said just sticking the Testament's generator in the Testament would make the gun cost more.  Just to make absolutely certain, you mean that it would cost five tokens, rather than four plus one to buy the suit, yes?

2.If so, I'd like to mess with the power suit.  Rather than be a full suit, change it to be just the pair of gloves, with cables running to the generator which attaches to the back.  It should be something to attach to an MK.Suit (or whatever the user wears), rather than a full suit.  Make sure the cables are attached to the arm with armbands or something- I don't want them to hang loose.

3.Does this still cost a single token?

---

4.Can we build KE rifles from crossroads?  They're the sniper rifles which fire 'bullets' made only from raw force.

((Aaand, @Radio.

First, I apologize.  Both to you and PW, although I'm not even sure if he reads these nowadays.  I got angry at your reply and lost control, and I dislike when that happens as much as anyone else.

I partially disagree with your last reply, but right now I just really want to end this argument, so I won't explain how.  I would like to say that I'm not actually really angry about the comittee itself- I find it vaugely annoying, but more amusing than inciting.  That's how the original comment was intended.  Amusing, not inciteful.))

I mean it would make the gun itself cost more, I've not been considering the cost of the suit really. But if all you're doing is taking the generator off the suit and sticking it in the gun, then the cost overall would stay the same, yes.

Hmmm. I dunno, seems a bit gamey to split costs around and use the fact that there is a minimum denomination to get by with free stuff.

I dunno. Maybe, but they'd be very uncheap.

Oh and someone pointed out that your testament was massively unbalanced in terms of ammo and they're right; I think a wire got crossed and sizes or amounts got mixed up because I was busy. 17280 shots out of  a 1/3rd propane sized tank don't make no sense. The propane sized tank was what I considered for a normal magazine. A really big magazine would be like an oil drum on your back.

((I would suspect that the generator+gloves setup wouldn't cost a single token anymore. A 4TPU generator alone costs 2, at least normally.

And I honestly don't see that much that you stand to gain by using that approach, besides theoretically being able to buy a different weapon that complies to the same system without extra expense (meaning, the same expense as you had made when you bought the system), as well as losing the ability to give your weapon to someone else if you're incapacitated. And the electro-punches, of course. At this rate you may as well repurpose the Red Hand into the generator system - it already has a more powerful generator (I never got an exact figure on that, but going from the cost it has at least 6TPU), and it is a melee and ranged weapon, as well as a replacement of at least two engineering tools, all by itself. Integrating a Power Grip^tm into the handpiece would be trivial.

You can just go ahead and dig the design up, I think Anton won't mind if you merge your project into it, as long as you notify him first.))

Anton Chernozorov

Make sure there are cargo containers available for the Merchant freighter's first run, as well as stasis chambers for the many RoboSods that will be making the trip on it, assuming they need them. Anything that isn't ready or available, give orders to prepare or manufacture.

"XO, this is Chernozorov. Spaceship construction facilities are being built, the FTL freighter is being refitted for its first run, and I think that's all of my assigned duties until either is done. I'll be requisitioning a science team for some high-energy weapons projects. If you need me, I'll be either in the research labs or in the VR Room."

Requisition a SCIENCE team. First project is short and simple.

Using the earlier experiment data, have the SCIENCE team work on miniaturizing a Free-Electron Laser into a portable weapon. Make two versions if possible, one man-portable (like a rifle), one Battlesuit-portable (like a Cutting or Mining laser). Work with the team to complete this in the shortest possible time.

Spoiler: General features of the FEL (Reminder) (click to show/hide)

(Laser Rifle top, FEL Rifle bottom)

In general, a FEL is a slightly more power-efficient laser that works best continuously, and is capable of adjusting its output to anything from microwaves, to infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, and X-rays. It can also cycle its beam inside the lasing medium for a rapid increase in beam power.

Its drawbacks are greater complexity (can't just be taken apart, and the wiggler chamber must be vacuum), and greater bulk and weight due to the heavy block of magnets, the generator, and the everything else.

Besides the mentioned functions of wavelength adjustment and charged pulse, it has the standard features of the laser weapons - being able to adjust output power and diffusion.

Try to finish the project soon enough to pack a few prototypes into the first transport mission to the Sword.

Thats the "loop" laser right? Yeah. Alright.

We'll say that will be done in time to send them some, though It may not be perfected in that time.

[syvarris]

Instead of actually tinkering this turn, I suppose I'm clarifying.  Here's your last post, with the other people snipped out:

((I actually wrote this turn (not the end) in a dream.  Posted it too.  But then I woke up and realized that I actually hadn't.))

Turn:

1.Last turn, you said just sticking the Testament's generator in the Testament would make the gun cost more.  Just to make absolutely certain, you mean that it would cost five tokens, rather than four plus one to buy the suit, yes?

2.If so, I'd like to mess with the power suit.  Rather than be a full suit, change it to be just the pair of gloves, with cables running to the generator which attaches to the back.  It should be something to attach to an MK.Suit (or whatever the user wears), rather than a full suit.  Make sure the cables are attached to the arm with armbands or something- I don't want them to hang loose.

3.Does this still cost a single token?

---

4.Can we build KE rifles from crossroads?  They're the sniper rifles which fire 'bullets' made only from raw force.

<Snipped conversation with Radio>

I mean it would make the gun itself cost more, I've not been considering the cost of the suit really. But if all you're doing is taking the generator off the suit and sticking it in the gun, then the cost overall would stay the same, yes.

Hmmm. I dunno, seems a bit gamey to split costs around and use the fact that there is a minimum denomination to get by with free stuff.

I dunno. Maybe, but they'd be very uncheap.

Oh and someone pointed out that your testament was massively unbalanced in terms of ammo and they're right; I think a wire got crossed and sizes or amounts got mixed up because I was busy. 17280 shots out of  a 1/3rd propane sized tank don't make no sense. The propane sized tank was what I considered for a normal magazine. A really big magazine would be like an oil drum on your back.

I'm gonna deal with this piece by piece.

Spoiler: Cost of the generator shock glove things (click to show/hide)

Here's the post where I got the original price for the shock gloves:

<RP snipped>

1.Ask ARESTEVE to start expanding our current fleshpit facilities: I'd like four more, two producing brains, two normal body sods.  If possible, I'd like a timeline for their completion.

2.Request that ARESTEVE begin building the infrastructure required for producing custom brains, for use in wetware.  Preferably, good enough to produce any brains we might have need for- including human brains.

3.Get the completion date for 2.

4.The below spoiler contains the FULL information (seriously, took awhile to sift through and compile.  I can provide links to the design posts if needed) for the Testament LSW.  The shard rifle.
<Spoiler snipped because it would break the larger spoiler that contains this>

5.I want to know how many tokens it would cost, were we to put it into mass production and have it be included in the sword's new armory.  I do not want the cost of the suit that is needed to use it- only the rifle alone.

6.Cosmetic modifications that I'd like, but don't want if they would increase the price: Write 'Steve Saint's TESTAMENT Light Shard Weapon' on... whatever passes for the receiver.  Add accessory rails to the obvious places on the gun, for attaching accessories.  Use whatever is closest to standard.

7.Take a look at the MK.I prototype I modified for use with the gun (Spoiler below), and compare it with the MK.II and the UWM MK.I.  How do the latter two items get rid of the heat fins of the normal MK.I?  I'd like to integrate it into this prototype.
<Spoiler snipped because it would break the larger spoiler that contains this>

8.If I can, try and put transparent 'windows' on the suit, over the spots where a robotic body's more important extra eyes are located.  On the chest, and on the index fingers, IIRC.  If this would interfere with the perfect insulation that the suit has, put removable caps of the material over them.

9.If we started mass producing this suit, would it be possible to start issuing it for free, rather than the old MK.I?

4 more fleshpits of the size of the current one? Those will take a long while, remember, the original was built during a year long time skip. There's a lot of infrastructure and construction to go with it. Think about a month per pit.

Customized brains huh? The Biochemical forge then? Alright, We'll break ground on that one first.

About a month.

Rifle only, mass produced, about 4 tokens. Magazines would cost 2 tokens.

Wouldn't cost enough extra to matter, ie to effect token end costs

They use full body radiators, still throwing off the same amount of thermal energy, but over their entire body (minus feet) so that the heat on any individual part is much smaller.

If the windows are small, they shouldn't interfere too much.

Hmmm. Free. No. But 1 token would do it. We could just have people start with 4 tokens instead of 5 and it would cover the costs.

You said above that the suit would cost one token, were it to become the default suit.  Paris pointed out something I hadn't considered- the fact that it would be a default suit could slightly cheapen the generator, so it might actually cost more than one token.  I had just sort of assumed you'd decided the rifle was a 5-token type of thing, and assigned one of the tokens to the suit.

After that turn, I asked you if I'd be allowed to shift the generator to the rifle, and if it would cost only one token:

((Eh.  So, when I trick people, I just have to trick four or five people instead of one.  I doubt it'll be much harder; Piecewise is already pretty smart.))

1. Look at the laser rifle.  Assuming I fired it at maximum (x5) intensity for only a single second, then left it to cool for ten seconds, would it take permanent damage?

2. If not, how much would it cost, in final-product-tokens, to modify it to be capable of such?

3.Regardless of the price, I'd like to test it.  Shoot it at the head of a guy in a MK I.  How effective is it?

4.Test it on a battlesuit.  We know a 'passing sweep' with a cutting laser causes it to glow red hot, so what does a full second of concentrated fire at 250% the strength do?  Can it ruin a joint?  If it's diffused a bit, can it blind/destroy cameras?

---

5. Can we make/use things that are from the Crossroads game?

6. If I gave the Testament an onboard power system, and scrapped the suit, would the rifle cost an extra token?

"Simus, could I task a research team to start researching a method to speed up production of sods?"

7. If Simus okays it, (or posts without saying anything) task a research team to start researching a method to speed up sod production.

Yes.
NA
Pretty effective, but then again it kills the rifle and MK1's aren't that hard to destroy anyways.
It's more effective and actively cuts a bit. It could damage a joint if you concentrated on it.
Maybe, depends on what they are.
yeah, adding those parts would increase the cost.
I'll just tell you that you need to build  a bio-organic forge. It would allow for production rather then growing of organic material.

You said "yeah, adding those parts would increase the cost."  I ended up assuming that the 'yeah' implied that my idea of the generator itself costing a single token was correct, but the rest of the sentence made it somewhat ambiguous, so I asked for clification again in my last post.

Spoiler: Size of the magazine (click to show/hide)

I fully agree with you, the magazine size is outrageous.  I had thought you didn't have an issue with it, considering I've posted it along with every spoiler describing the Testament, but if you want to change it now, I'm fine with that.

Here is the quote that I decided on the size of the rounds with:

<Snipped RP stuff>

TINKER!  AND CHARGE AN AUX BONUS!
<This was the beginning to a Spoiler, but the inside is too important to snip>
First things first, set my VR body to be a dex synthflesh body with an MK.III.  Examine what my stat bonuses are.

Now spawn myself into a regular tinker environment.  Spawn a few Piezoelectric shard launchers, in various stages of deconstruction.  Examine how they work- If I understand it correctly, the gun feeds a liquid solution into the firing chamber, and then channels electricity(?) through it which instantly solidifies it into the crystals.  Then it... uses some form of electrical repulsion to propel the round out of the barrel?  I'd like a better description, if you have one.  Also, at what RPM does it fire a charged volley?  Can you fire charged volleys in quick succession?

For now, just spawn little mini-sods armed with mini-PSLs that fire rounds at the below sizes.  I want to see how well they do against full size mk1 dummies, and full size battlesuits for the heck of it.

Test 0: 24 inch shards (Yes, this is a standard PSL.  I still want the description.)
Test 1: 12 inch shards
Test 2: 6 inch shards
Test 3: 4 inch shards
Test 4: 2 inch shards
Test 5: 1 inch shards
Test 6: 1/2 inch shards
<This was the end of the Spoiler>

And puppet Charles into making a nice speech about how the civvies better get into a particular living section, and lock all the doors once the civvies are inside.

+2 dex and specific +1 dex for dodging.

Yeah, thats basically it, in terms of the mechanics

RPM? As in what speed is the shard rotating?

Yes, if you have the fluid for it.

0: Against a MK I, this thing doesn't even get the chance to explode, it just punches straight through the guy,
1.Same as above
2. Gets about 3/4ths through and then detonates, spraying electric crystal shards in all directions. Guy is fucking dead.
3.Penetration and electricity do most damage, detonation does lots of local damage but isn't as spread.
4.-5, like above but weaker, still probably fatal or at least really damaging if you manage to hit someone in the chest
6.Now it's getting to the point that it's too small to do good damage. Still fucking hurts and such, but not really damaging in a fatal way.

I ended up choosing size 4, two-inch shards.  I thought of going with five, but calculated it out and realized a larger magazine didn't really mean anything:

The test was with shards that were literally fired from a miniature PSL, so they should have had the same relative dimensions as the large shard.  Therefore, the two inch shard is a twelfth the size in every dimension as the twenty-four inch shard.  Twelve cubed equals 1,728, so the volume of a full-size shard contains 1,728 times the volume of a two-inch shard.  That is, assuming the ratio of liquid:solid volume stays constant regardless of the size, which seems reasonable to me.

I then asked about the size of a PSL's magazine:

What size & shape is the PSL?  Do you have any pictures of something that's kinda similar?

Where is the magazine/tank of crystal fluid, and how big is it?

Does the PSL have any secondary secret functions like all the other guns?  ((Hating myself for not asking this earlier))

<Snipped actual project design stuff, and dialog.>

Think like Old painless from predator but a bit bigger near the back because of the tank of fluid.

It's in the back. Propane tank sized.

I DUNNO

That's for a full, thirty round magazine.  Used for tiny rounds, that ends up being 51840.  That's... kinda even more overkill than I'd want, so I went with 1/30 and 1/3 size mags- 1728 and 17280 rounds respectively.  Also, 1/30 and 1/3 the size of a 'propane tank', which is kinda vauge considering the variety of types of propane tank.  I dropped the former after you said I could issue the second one as standard. 

-This is kinda worthless information, but it's interesting-

I actually did calculate out what the volumes involved are.  Assuming a full PSL shard is two feet long, and about three inches thick (You've said 'as wide as your wrist', and my wrist is just shy of three inches.  I've no idea whether that's small or large >.>), and is basically two uniform cones, then it should be about 56.54 cubic inches in volume.  A Testament shard would be, obviously, one 1728th of that: 0.0327 cubic inches.  A 5.56 bullet, which occupies about the same role as the shard, is in the region of 0.022 cubic inches (Assuming it's entirely lead, which it's not, but I have no idea how to figure out what percentage is lead).  I actually calculated out the volume of a 20 LB propane tank (What I assumed you meant), including volume of the metal, but I apparently deleted it because it was basically worthless.  I remember it took awhile, so, not doing that again unless you want me to.

Also, it's late.  Some of that math might be incorrect.  Again, it's basically irrelevant.

-End worthless information-

If you need them, I can provide quotes for the Testament's magazine stuff too, but I figured that's unnecessary.  And it would eat up a lot of space.

So, after reading those, can you go through my actions again?  Last time you said 'I dunno' a lot, and for me that's kinda like my calculator saying pi equals 3.FuckIfIKnow.

((I actually wrote this turn (not the end) in a dream.  Posted it too.  But then I woke up and realized that I actually hadn't.))

Turn:

1.Last turn, you said just sticking the Testament's generator in the Testament would make the gun cost more.  Just to make absolutely certain, you mean that it would cost five tokens, rather than four plus one to buy the suit, yes?

2.If so, I'd like to mess with the power suit.  Rather than be a full suit, change it to be just the pair of gloves, with cables running to the generator which attaches to the back.  It should be something to attach to an MK.Suit (or whatever the user wears), rather than a full suit.  Make sure the cables are attached to the arm with armbands or something- I don't want them to hang loose.

3.Does this still cost a single token?

---

4.Can we build KE rifles from crossroads?  They're the sniper rifles which fire 'bullets' made only from raw force.

<Snipped conversation with Radio>

_{...God it's late.  I'm tired.  And I know this post probably has massive errors in judgment because of that.  And I'm too tired to know what they are. ._.}

[Xantalos]

((So, can we assume that a message from Steve got sent here informing Simus about Xan's demise?))

[Radio Controlled]

First, I apologize.  Both to you and PW, although I'm not even sure if he reads these nowadays.  I got angry at your reply and lost control, and I dislike when that happens as much as anyone else.
I partially disagree with your last reply, but right now I just really want to end this argument, so I won't explain how.  I would like to say that I'm not actually really angry about the comittee itself- I find it vaugely annoying, but more amusing than inciting.  That's how the original comment was intended.  Amusing, not inciteful.))

((Hey, it's alright, no harm done. The committee is meant to help pw, not attack you (for example, we discussed wether or not it'd be a good idea to let science crews research Nyartifacts.

Oh, and for the record, pie equals 3.delicious.))

I can't tell you it will cost the same, but if you'd like a new take on the exoskeleton with the available data from your missions and such, I can certainly do that. Give it till...The 8th.

Coolio. Now, can we do te same for the following things:
-generators
-fuel mixtures (mostly to get even higher energy densities)
-general computer hard- and software for suit systems

If yes, also completed by the 8th?

[PyroDesu]

Anton, Saint. Both of you please visit my simulation for a moment? I've finished a suit to replace the MkI. Do you agree with this design, keeping in mind it is for basic use and no more?

Let the others take a look. If they're fine with it, have Aresteve begin mass production. As well, bring up the Gauss grenade launcher design I made and inquire about how much it would cost those on the Sword to purchase.

[Empiricist]

Charles enters VR and spawns a detached though armored braincase with a sod brain inside it, modified to be attachable to robobodies. Run the following tests:

• A normal robobody soldier versus an enemy squad.
• A normal robobody soldier with a sod braincase that can override their body if needed versus an enemy squad.
• A normal robobody soldier versus an enemy squad. A sod braincase is hidden behind cover, it can override their body using Saint's program if needed.
• A normal robosod soldier versus an enemy squad.
• A normal robobody versus an enemy squad. A sod braincase is hidden behind cover, it is overriding their body using Saint's program.

[Sean Mirrsen]

Charles enters VR and spawns a detached though armored braincase with a sod brain inside it, modified to be attachable to robobodies. Run the following tests:

• A normal robobody soldier versus an enemy squad.
• A normal robobody soldier with a sod braincase that can override their body if needed versus an enemy squad.
• A normal robobody soldier versus an enemy squad. A sod braincase is hidden behind cover, it can override their body using Saint's program if needed.
• A normal robosod soldier versus an enemy squad.
• A normal robobody versus an enemy squad. A sod braincase is hidden behind cover, it is overriding their body using Saint's program.

((I'm... not sure what you want to find out with this. A single robosod versus an enemy squad is still going to lose regardless of where its brain is. Also, 1/4 and 3/5 sound almost the same - you might want to clarify for PW what the exact difference in the setups is. 2/3 are practically the same as well, because I'm not sure what the practical difference is - is the braincase sitting out in the open in 2?))

[Empiricist]

((Whether an armored sod brain could remotely operate the robobodies in a squad remotely. I know it will likely lose, but I wish to see whether there is any performance difference. 1 is a normal soldier, 4 is a sod. 3 is a soldier, 5 is an empty body. In 2, the soldier has the braincase attached to them.))

[Nikitian]

No problem.
Just before the Defense of Hephaestus started, I was able to develop substance that, when injected, makes humans regenerate mild to moderate injuries - that is, in the field, without help of any other special equipment. Also, preliminary tinkering shows that it can possibly be integrated into the medical systems of Mk II with only minimal additions.
Specs attached to this e-mail. I really hope that it can be put to good use by ARM.
File attached: 'Aqua Mortis' Fleshknitter specifications
#MSanctor

[syvarris]

Saint pauses his work for a few minutes to join Simus' sim

"Hmm.  So that's what you meant by MCP.  Impressive, I have to say, but how does it respond to being shot in a vacuum?  Does it perform anywhere near as well as an MK.II?

Also, before we mass produce it, I'd think we should produce and test a few real, physical prototypes- just in case something in the real world isn't simulated by the VR."

Okay Simus' MCP suit, but request that we only produce prototypes for real-world testing for now.

((Nik, do you have a link for the actual specifications for that stuff?  Sounds great, but I don't relly remember what PW said about it.))

[piecewise]

Instead of actually tinkering this turn, I suppose I'm clarifying.  Here's your last post, with the other people snipped out:

((I actually wrote this turn (not the end) in a dream.  Posted it too.  But then I woke up and realized that I actually hadn't.))

Turn:

1.Last turn, you said just sticking the Testament's generator in the Testament would make the gun cost more.  Just to make absolutely certain, you mean that it would cost five tokens, rather than four plus one to buy the suit, yes?

2.If so, I'd like to mess with the power suit.  Rather than be a full suit, change it to be just the pair of gloves, with cables running to the generator which attaches to the back.  It should be something to attach to an MK.Suit (or whatever the user wears), rather than a full suit.  Make sure the cables are attached to the arm with armbands or something- I don't want them to hang loose.

3.Does this still cost a single token?

---

4.Can we build KE rifles from crossroads?  They're the sniper rifles which fire 'bullets' made only from raw force.

<Snipped conversation with Radio>

I mean it would make the gun itself cost more, I've not been considering the cost of the suit really. But if all you're doing is taking the generator off the suit and sticking it in the gun, then the cost overall would stay the same, yes.

Hmmm. I dunno, seems a bit gamey to split costs around and use the fact that there is a minimum denomination to get by with free stuff.

I dunno. Maybe, but they'd be very uncheap.

Oh and someone pointed out that your testament was massively unbalanced in terms of ammo and they're right; I think a wire got crossed and sizes or amounts got mixed up because I was busy. 17280 shots out of  a 1/3rd propane sized tank don't make no sense. The propane sized tank was what I considered for a normal magazine. A really big magazine would be like an oil drum on your back.

I'm gonna deal with this piece by piece.

Spoiler: Cost of the generator shock glove things (click to show/hide)

Here's the post where I got the original price for the shock gloves:

<RP snipped>

1.Ask ARESTEVE to start expanding our current fleshpit facilities: I'd like four more, two producing brains, two normal body sods.  If possible, I'd like a timeline for their completion.

2.Request that ARESTEVE begin building the infrastructure required for producing custom brains, for use in wetware.  Preferably, good enough to produce any brains we might have need for- including human brains.

3.Get the completion date for 2.

4.The below spoiler contains the FULL information (seriously, took awhile to sift through and compile.  I can provide links to the design posts if needed) for the Testament LSW.  The shard rifle.
<Spoiler snipped because it would break the larger spoiler that contains this>

5.I want to know how many tokens it would cost, were we to put it into mass production and have it be included in the sword's new armory.  I do not want the cost of the suit that is needed to use it- only the rifle alone.

6.Cosmetic modifications that I'd like, but don't want if they would increase the price: Write 'Steve Saint's TESTAMENT Light Shard Weapon' on... whatever passes for the receiver.  Add accessory rails to the obvious places on the gun, for attaching accessories.  Use whatever is closest to standard.

7.Take a look at the MK.I prototype I modified for use with the gun (Spoiler below), and compare it with the MK.II and the UWM MK.I.  How do the latter two items get rid of the heat fins of the normal MK.I?  I'd like to integrate it into this prototype.
<Spoiler snipped because it would break the larger spoiler that contains this>

8.If I can, try and put transparent 'windows' on the suit, over the spots where a robotic body's more important extra eyes are located.  On the chest, and on the index fingers, IIRC.  If this would interfere with the perfect insulation that the suit has, put removable caps of the material over them.

9.If we started mass producing this suit, would it be possible to start issuing it for free, rather than the old MK.I?

4 more fleshpits of the size of the current one? Those will take a long while, remember, the original was built during a year long time skip. There's a lot of infrastructure and construction to go with it. Think about a month per pit.

Customized brains huh? The Biochemical forge then? Alright, We'll break ground on that one first.

About a month.

Rifle only, mass produced, about 4 tokens. Magazines would cost 2 tokens.

Wouldn't cost enough extra to matter, ie to effect token end costs

They use full body radiators, still throwing off the same amount of thermal energy, but over their entire body (minus feet) so that the heat on any individual part is much smaller.

If the windows are small, they shouldn't interfere too much.

Hmmm. Free. No. But 1 token would do it. We could just have people start with 4 tokens instead of 5 and it would cover the costs.

You said above that the suit would cost one token, were it to become the default suit.  Paris pointed out something I hadn't considered- the fact that it would be a default suit could slightly cheapen the generator, so it might actually cost more than one token.  I had just sort of assumed you'd decided the rifle was a 5-token type of thing, and assigned one of the tokens to the suit.

After that turn, I asked you if I'd be allowed to shift the generator to the rifle, and if it would cost only one token:

((Eh.  So, when I trick people, I just have to trick four or five people instead of one.  I doubt it'll be much harder; Piecewise is already pretty smart.))

1. Look at the laser rifle.  Assuming I fired it at maximum (x5) intensity for only a single second, then left it to cool for ten seconds, would it take permanent damage?

2. If not, how much would it cost, in final-product-tokens, to modify it to be capable of such?

3.Regardless of the price, I'd like to test it.  Shoot it at the head of a guy in a MK I.  How effective is it?

4.Test it on a battlesuit.  We know a 'passing sweep' with a cutting laser causes it to glow red hot, so what does a full second of concentrated fire at 250% the strength do?  Can it ruin a joint?  If it's diffused a bit, can it blind/destroy cameras?

---

5. Can we make/use things that are from the Crossroads game?

6. If I gave the Testament an onboard power system, and scrapped the suit, would the rifle cost an extra token?

"Simus, could I task a research team to start researching a method to speed up production of sods?"

7. If Simus okays it, (or posts without saying anything) task a research team to start researching a method to speed up sod production.

Yes.
NA
Pretty effective, but then again it kills the rifle and MK1's aren't that hard to destroy anyways.
It's more effective and actively cuts a bit. It could damage a joint if you concentrated on it.
Maybe, depends on what they are.
yeah, adding those parts would increase the cost.
I'll just tell you that you need to build  a bio-organic forge. It would allow for production rather then growing of organic material.

You said "yeah, adding those parts would increase the cost."  I ended up assuming that the 'yeah' implied that my idea of the generator itself costing a single token was correct, but the rest of the sentence made it somewhat ambiguous, so I asked for clification again in my last post.

Spoiler: Size of the magazine (click to show/hide)

I fully agree with you, the magazine size is outrageous.  I had thought you didn't have an issue with it, considering I've posted it along with every spoiler describing the Testament, but if you want to change it now, I'm fine with that.

Here is the quote that I decided on the size of the rounds with:

<Snipped RP stuff>

TINKER!  AND CHARGE AN AUX BONUS!
<This was the beginning to a Spoiler, but the inside is too important to snip>
First things first, set my VR body to be a dex synthflesh body with an MK.III.  Examine what my stat bonuses are.

Now spawn myself into a regular tinker environment.  Spawn a few Piezoelectric shard launchers, in various stages of deconstruction.  Examine how they work- If I understand it correctly, the gun feeds a liquid solution into the firing chamber, and then channels electricity(?) through it which instantly solidifies it into the crystals.  Then it... uses some form of electrical repulsion to propel the round out of the barrel?  I'd like a better description, if you have one.  Also, at what RPM does it fire a charged volley?  Can you fire charged volleys in quick succession?

For now, just spawn little mini-sods armed with mini-PSLs that fire rounds at the below sizes.  I want to see how well they do against full size mk1 dummies, and full size battlesuits for the heck of it.

Test 0: 24 inch shards (Yes, this is a standard PSL.  I still want the description.)
Test 1: 12 inch shards
Test 2: 6 inch shards
Test 3: 4 inch shards
Test 4: 2 inch shards
Test 5: 1 inch shards
Test 6: 1/2 inch shards
<This was the end of the Spoiler>

And puppet Charles into making a nice speech about how the civvies better get into a particular living section, and lock all the doors once the civvies are inside.

+2 dex and specific +1 dex for dodging.

Yeah, thats basically it, in terms of the mechanics

RPM? As in what speed is the shard rotating?

Yes, if you have the fluid for it.

0: Against a MK I, this thing doesn't even get the chance to explode, it just punches straight through the guy,
1.Same as above
2. Gets about 3/4ths through and then detonates, spraying electric crystal shards in all directions. Guy is fucking dead.
3.Penetration and electricity do most damage, detonation does lots of local damage but isn't as spread.
4.-5, like above but weaker, still probably fatal or at least really damaging if you manage to hit someone in the chest
6.Now it's getting to the point that it's too small to do good damage. Still fucking hurts and such, but not really damaging in a fatal way.

I ended up choosing size 4, two-inch shards.  I thought of going with five, but calculated it out and realized a larger magazine didn't really mean anything:

The test was with shards that were literally fired from a miniature PSL, so they should have had the same relative dimensions as the large shard.  Therefore, the two inch shard is a twelfth the size in every dimension as the twenty-four inch shard.  Twelve cubed equals 1,728, so the volume of a full-size shard contains 1,728 times the volume of a two-inch shard.  That is, assuming the ratio of liquid:solid volume stays constant regardless of the size, which seems reasonable to me.

I then asked about the size of a PSL's magazine:

What size & shape is the PSL?  Do you have any pictures of something that's kinda similar?

Where is the magazine/tank of crystal fluid, and how big is it?

Does the PSL have any secondary secret functions like all the other guns?  ((Hating myself for not asking this earlier))

<Snipped actual project design stuff, and dialog.>

Think like Old painless from predator but a bit bigger near the back because of the tank of fluid.

It's in the back. Propane tank sized.

I DUNNO

That's for a full, thirty round magazine.  Used for tiny rounds, that ends up being 51840.  That's... kinda even more overkill than I'd want, so I went with 1/30 and 1/3 size mags- 1728 and 17280 rounds respectively.  Also, 1/30 and 1/3 the size of a 'propane tank', which is kinda vauge considering the variety of types of propane tank.  I dropped the former after you said I could issue the second one as standard. 

-This is kinda worthless information, but it's interesting-

I actually did calculate out what the volumes involved are.  Assuming a full PSL shard is two feet long, and about three inches thick (You've said 'as wide as your wrist', and my wrist is just shy of three inches.  I've no idea whether that's small or large >.>), and is basically two uniform cones, then it should be about 56.54 cubic inches in volume.  A Testament shard would be, obviously, one 1728th of that: 0.0327 cubic inches.  A 5.56 bullet, which occupies about the same role as the shard, is in the region of 0.022 cubic inches (Assuming it's entirely lead, which it's not, but I have no idea how to figure out what percentage is lead).  I actually calculated out the volume of a 20 LB propane tank (What I assumed you meant), including volume of the metal, but I apparently deleted it because it was basically worthless.  I remember it took awhile, so, not doing that again unless you want me to.

Also, it's late.  Some of that math might be incorrect.  Again, it's basically irrelevant.

-End worthless information-

If you need them, I can provide quotes for the Testament's magazine stuff too, but I figured that's unnecessary.  And it would eat up a lot of space.

So, after reading those, can you go through my actions again?  Last time you said 'I dunno' a lot, and for me that's kinda like my calculator saying pi equals 3.FuckIfIKnow.

((I actually wrote this turn (not the end) in a dream.  Posted it too.  But then I woke up and realized that I actually hadn't.))

Turn:

1.Last turn, you said just sticking the Testament's generator in the Testament would make the gun cost more.  Just to make absolutely certain, you mean that it would cost five tokens, rather than four plus one to buy the suit, yes?

2.If so, I'd like to mess with the power suit.  Rather than be a full suit, change it to be just the pair of gloves, with cables running to the generator which attaches to the back.  It should be something to attach to an MK.Suit (or whatever the user wears), rather than a full suit.  Make sure the cables are attached to the arm with armbands or something- I don't want them to hang loose.

3.Does this still cost a single token?

---

4.Can we build KE rifles from crossroads?  They're the sniper rifles which fire 'bullets' made only from raw force.

<Snipped conversation with Radio>

_{...God it's late.  I'm tired.  And I know this post probably has massive errors in judgment because of that.  And I'm too tired to know what they are. ._.}

Sy I'm gonna be frank with you here. I've got one Concil member who thinks I should break your kneecaps and another who wants your head on a pike outside the tinker room, with a sign stapled to your forehead that reads "Such is the fate of all Munchkins"

Lets be honest: I'm not good at slowly balancing things over time via a long series of tests. Partially because I have no hard rules for lots of it. Pricing, for instance, is just kinda made up as we go along and I sometimes make things cheaper depending on their intended purpose. As such, I feel things have gotten out of hand; mostly because of the fact that I gave out numbers that seemed fine at the time and are now proving to be broken as shit.

So While I like the Testament, tis a fine gun, we're gonna have to balance it to actually work in game and not be horribly OP. Because if we let it get in as it is, I'm gonna have to ramp the difficulty up to compensate and keep things challenging, and then everyone is gonna start dying horribly and...oh it just won't be great for anyone involved.  So forget the data and stuff I told you earlier forget dat crap.

Me and the council, we're gonna take that gun of yours, look at it from a game-play perspective, and give it back to you at a price and power level that makes sense in game. We'll do the same with the suit since it is supposed to be a package deal.

I Know thats a cop out, but I've got walls of text from several people making points about how this is going to break the game, and then walls of text from you basically showing how it's my fault it ended up this way. So it's gotta stop here, and with me, since it's my fault to begin with.

((So, can we assume that a message from Steve got sent here informing Simus about Xan's demise?))

Yes. Someone Unfreeze Xan. Or at least work on it. He's been sitting out for a long time yet remaining active. Let him back in.

First, I apologize.  Both to you and PW, although I'm not even sure if he reads these nowadays.  I got angry at your reply and lost control, and I dislike when that happens as much as anyone else.
I partially disagree with your last reply, but right now I just really want to end this argument, so I won't explain how.  I would like to say that I'm not actually really angry about the comittee itself- I find it vaugely annoying, but more amusing than inciting.  That's how the original comment was intended.  Amusing, not inciteful.))

((Hey, it's alright, no harm done. The committee is meant to help pw, not attack you (for example, we discussed wether or not it'd be a good idea to let science crews research Nyartifacts.

Oh, and for the record, pie equals 3.delicious.))

I can't tell you it will cost the same, but if you'd like a new take on the exoskeleton with the available data from your missions and such, I can certainly do that. Give it till...The 8th.

Coolio. Now, can we do te same for the following things:
-generators
-fuel mixtures (mostly to get even higher energy densities)
-general computer hard- and software for suit systems

If yes, also completed by the 8th?

One thing at a time. I'm bad enough at balance without trying to balance 4 things and their interactions at the same time.

Anton, Saint. Both of you please visit my simulation for a moment? I've finished a suit to replace the MkI. Do you agree with this design, keeping in mind it is for basic use and no more?

Let the others take a look. If they're fine with it, have Aresteve begin mass production. As well, bring up the Gauss grenade launcher design I made and inquire about how much it would cost those on the Sword to purchase.

Someone objected to mass production so

As per your launcher, pretty fucking cheap. How much did it cost you to make?

Charles enters VR and spawns a detached though armored braincase with a sod brain inside it, modified to be attachable to robobodies. Run the following tests:

• A normal robobody soldier versus an enemy squad.
• A normal robobody soldier with a sod braincase that can override their body if needed versus an enemy squad.
• A normal robobody soldier versus an enemy squad. A sod braincase is hidden behind cover, it can override their body using Saint's program if needed.
• A normal robosod soldier versus an enemy squad.
• A normal robobody versus an enemy squad. A sod braincase is hidden behind cover, it is overriding their body using Saint's program.

I have no idea what you're testing here. The first one I thought I did, but the second one confused me and the third didn't help. What do you mean override their body? Is the brain case separate from the body? Is the body acting on its own? Help.

[Sean Mirrsen]

((Any chance the Council could take a look at Anton's designs as well, PW? I keep trying to undersell stuff I make in order to make it seem feasible, and I might be inadvertently self-censoring those designs into mediocrity. It would be neat to have someone else do the game-balancing. ^_^ All the different aspects of the FELs, especially. Microwaves, infrared, visible spectrum, UV, X-Ray - technically they each have their perks and quirks.))

Anton Chernozorov

I like the basic design of the suit, XO, but I'll have to concur with Saint. It's too early for mass production, considering this is what people will be relying on to keep them alive. We can probably make a small batch and send it out for field-testing with the first run of the freighter, though. If no terrible faults surface, I'd say it'll make a decent suit, fit for mass production.

I'd toss in a few ideas of my own, but they really require a whole new project, and I have to get back to R&D so we can ship some of my new weapon prototypes on the freighter as well."

Keep that work being done. Make sure to remember to make both the "rifle" and the "heavy" FEL prototypes.

[syvarris]

((...Wow, I really want to talk to those people.  Like really really.  Not even argue, I honestly want to discuss this with them.

However, that seems unlikely- they seem to want to maintain their anonymity, aside from Radio.  But hey, I can try.))

PW, if the Committee is willing to talk with me, through you or otherwise, please just let them and ignore the tinker spoiler.  The conversation one is really more important to me, as it's intended to let me know what I should and shouldn't be aiming for with Tinker.

Spoiler: Maybe conversation with Committee?  Possibly PW too if he wants to answer the questions? (click to show/hide)

I suppose this'll work by having PW copy-paste responses, if given, into his own post?

First, I have a simple question: What is the purpose of tinkering and designing weapons/armor/gadgets?

I personally, see two options: Changing the balance of bonuses certain items give (like the stuff in my tinker spoiler below, trading medical ability for armor), and utilizing things like scientific laws and materials, whether real (like Sean's electrolasers, Pyro's MCP suits), or fictional (like Piezoelectric shards, or manipulators), in new fashions to make weapons that are simply more effective than others.

Second, I have a different question:  The Testament is unbalanced, yes?  I don't need an explanation why, but I do want an example of another weapon, designed in tinker by a player, that is balanced- and a reason that someone would buy it over what is currently in the armory.

That is all.  If you do respond, thank you.  I will answer any questions that you have for me as well.

Spoiler: Tinker otherwise (click to show/hide)

((Whenever I refer to cost, I refer to finished mass-production, in-armory costs))

1.Open Simus' MCP suit design.

Design (I'm making a MK.II 'replacement'):

2.Take the MK.II helmet, including neck-snip Iris, and add a milnoplate helmet on top of it.

3.Instead of medical systems anywhere, I want to armor the torso.  Take a civic defender's longcoat, and remove the sleeves past the shoulders, and the hangy bit below the hip.  Add an extension around the neck that goes up far enough to meet the helmet.  Make sure it's securely attached, and that there aren't holes anywhere aside from the limbs.

4.Determine the price of what I have now.  Milnoplate helmet costs one token, civic defender costs three (but I cut a lot off), and MK.II helmet alone costs god knows what.

5.Using whatever extra cost I have before the effective price reaches five, add something that protects against lasers to the chest armor.  Civic defender longcoats don't offer any significant laser protection, so I'm adding it now.  Obviously, don't add if it would push the cost above five tokens.

6.Take medifoam, or something close to it, and modify it so that it can be sprayed in vacuum onto a suit breach, and will harden in short order.  Make sure it's actually capable of sealing and insulating the suit and some wound below, even if it can't pressurise the wound.


Testing:

7.Shoot a man wearing Simus' basic MCP suit, in a vacuum, in the kneecap with a gauss pistol.  As a control, shoot a normal man in atmosphere in the kneecap in the exact same way.

8.How long until the MCP guy dies?  How much longer does the atmosphere guy last?

9.Use the modified medifoam I made earlier to seal the breach at one minute, five minutes, and ten minutes (unless he's already dead).  Does it stop the person from dying/getting too much worse?

EDIT:  Welp, it seems that Simus wants Saint to do brain surgery on Xan, so that takes priority over either of those  I guess.  Stay in my room, but send an auxiliary body to do brain surgery on Xan.

If this is the type of thing that I could fail and do a faulty install, spend this turn charging a dynamic bonus by examining how his brain is built and works.

Edit2: And just to be safe, have a pair of robosods possess the other two auxiliary bodies, and follow along as bodyguards.  Remember, all of my aux bodies have a flamethrower and MK.III.

[Radio Controlled]

((Not a lot of time and on phone, so I'll have to be short:

Firstly, at Sean: Could you put all the stuff related to the project you want reviewed into one post, to make it easier on the people doig this? Just links to the posts where PW confirms stuff about it. Thank you.

@syv: first, I'd like you to do a thing: tell me exactly what kind of weapon you are aiming for. What, in your mind, should be its strengths and weaknesses? I see it right now as a fast-firing suppression weapon that has slighly lower damage that a weapon of comparable cost, but makes up for it with withering firing speed and big ammo reserve. Is this what you had in mind?

Second, please tell me how you came tot the testament's current firing rate, with links to appropriate post from pw as well as any assumptions or extrapolations you made.

First, I have a simple question: What is the purpose of tinkering and designing weapons/armor/gadgets?

Let me answer like this: yes, you can make things that are better and more powerful than what we have now trough careful tinkering. But said item should be balanced so as not to have it break the game completely (e.g. By making half the other armory stuff useless). Basically, the item's steong points need to be ofset by it's weak points to a certain degree.

Second, I have a different question:  The Testament is unbalanced, yes?  I don't need an explanation why, but I do want an example of another weapon, designed in tinker by a player, that is balanced- and a reason that someone would buy it over what is currently in the armory.

Dunno, the goop thrower maybe? Because it fills a niche that wasn't really filled before? It has multiple drawbacks (not a lot of ammo per tank, short range, not usable against things with any real strength) to make up it's plus sides (cheap, reliably nonlethal).