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[Empiricist]

There would also be Charles' Remote Turret Conversion Kits.

[Execute/Dumbo.exe]

Perhaps you could make the HEBC-p sort of shaped like a sniper rifle, with most mechanisms dedicated to heat conduction and aiming.
Or perhaps even like a rocket launcher of sorts, with heat rapidly vented out the back.

[Sean Mirrsen]

I have some ideas on how to deal with the excess heat, but as a first step I'd like to try and reduce that heat a little.

Depending on how that goes, we can install automanip heat munchers, simple powerful heat vents, or maybe a system of single-use "heat sinks" that have the excess heat dumped into them, and can be "reloaded" to keep firing (and perhaps reused after they cool off, depending on what they're made of).

[Nikitian]

Any news on Mk+ II (MCP-II) suits?

Take the MCP-I suit and reinforce the chest with the same fabric that the Civic Defender's longcoat and add the auto-medical equipment into the pack (including a small tank of that regenerative fluid), and an iris on the helmet set to activate on massive body trauma.

One might want to check if newer and cheaper armor can be substituted, however. And, well, it might trigger the Overseer's wrath to finish the design for her. Other than that, this new design should be fairly fine and finished, I think.

[Radio Controlled]

Somewhat unrelatedly, I think we should start formulating a list of things we're sending to the Sword with the next shipment, besides another gaggle of sods.

I'd like you guys to use a construction crew sometime soon (there is one available today!) to build a Hammer cannon in parts, to ship to Q'baja. And make sure it gets its own transport, in case the transports arrive at the sword after she ftl jumps. Also, load some cryopods on the ship, so we can take our new science crews back with us. And include instructions (IKEA style).

And also, a few construction ships for them, so they can start building jump point defenses.

Do we have any discrete plans for personal armor prototypes using the new materials, or are we just upgrading existing suits with them?

Was gonna design a few 'suits' (like the civic longcoat) using these once mission ends. Mostly a matter of deciding how much to use, price and weight. Balancing exercise really, not a lot of designing to do anymore. Feel free to beat me to the punch to ensure we have them before next mission batch.

If you want you could load me into a Hammer shell and shoot it straight into the sun.

Then again, shells are expensive.

[Devastator]

I find it odd that no one has been the least bit concerned about ARESTEVE commenting on the fact that the universe is falling apart.

Why, precisely, do you find that odd?  Being a power-mad anarchist is kinda entirely compatable with being a HMRC member..

[syvarris]

Somewhat unrelatedly, I think we should start formulating a list of things we're sending to the Sword with the next shipment, besides another gaggle of sods.

My plans for Anton's contributions so far include:

3 Plasma Stake weapons - Battlesuit sized, with two autoloaders for optional installation, plus ammo. The crew might have some spare battlesuits to test these with if the base assault goes well.

1 MkIII-A prototype. I'm unwilling to let go the idea of a specialized atmospheric/aquatic mobility suit, so Anton will probably just swap a MkIII's rockets for ducted fans and airfoils, fit it with a generator, and give it the programming from the MACS project. It might not find permanent use in the ARM special forces on the Sword, which frequently have to go into airless environments, but any planetary forces might make good use of them if the test goes well.

Hopefully, a High Energy Blast Cannon prototype - yes, I'm already coming up with names for the critically unstable prototype technology that's as likely to melt the user as it is the enemy.


Do we have any discrete plans for personal armor prototypes using the new materials, or are we just upgrading existing suits with them?

This is a good idea.  It'll help to decide what we need to finalize.  I don't think it belongs on the Hephaestus page, but putting it on the wiki would probably be a good plan.

As for Saint's stuff, I think it's just the Heavy robotic body, which is the lightened Battlesuit design.  It might be overkill to send three of them though.  I'll let Radio/PW/the council decide, when it's time.

We'll probably want to finalize a new light armor using the sharkmist, and a medium armor to replace Milnoplate.  IF our tech isn't automatically updated, at least.  Someone definitely needs to update battlesuits to use sleeves.

Also, ARESTEVE's two prototypes.

Lastly, we might be able to reduce the cost of some old equipment (or make it slightly better) if we use that frictionless material in stuff.  Exoskeletons would like it, as would any kinetic ranged weapon with a barrel.

@Nik (MCP.II)

Finalizing a MCP with the medical systems would be a good plan, but I dislike Pyro's idea of armoring it.  I used to think it was a good idea, but it's bad for people who might want medical systems for cheap, and for robots who would want the armor but not the medical stuff.  Just seperating the two seems best.

I'd like you guys to use a construction crew sometime soon (there is one available today!) to build a Hammer cannon in parts, to ship to Q'baja. And make sure it gets its own transport, in case the transports arrive at the sword after she ftl jumps. Also, load some cryopods on the ship, so we can take our new science crews back with us. And include instructions (IKEA style).

Done, at least the part where we're building a hammer.

Was gonna design a few 'suits' (like the civic longcoat) using these once mission ends. Mostly a matter of deciding how much to use, price and weight. Balancing exercise really, not a lot of designing to do anymore. Feel free to beat me to the punch to ensure we have them before next mission batch.

I'll probably do it if it needs to be done.  Currently, I'm figuring the sharkmist armor should replace the Civic defender's longcoat, and hexsand should replace milnoplate (which should become a standard item).  Battlesuits would get a layer of sharkmist, atop four layers of hexsand, possibly with variation of the hexsand's resistance like the normal BS.

Do you agree?

[Nikitian]

@syvarris Well, I think the armor there is meant to be more a medical/lifesaving feature, rather than actual true protection; the way the helmet has a small bit of plating. I didn't think robots would care much about it. Perhaps using either the new cheap materials or plain old metal plating the cost of armor could be decreased below one token? Just like the helmet plate comes free with Mk suits.

Now that I think of it, if/when you'll be designing new armor suits, it might be a nice idea to design a 1-token vest or something. You know, a tier below the Civic Defender's longcoat, just barest and cheapest armor available. And then if decreasing the cost of chest armor for MCP-II to zero doesn't work, it can be safely swapped out of the design.

One more thing: I am torn on whether Hexsand armor should replace/follow design of Milnoplate (medium-light, does not decrease the mobility much) or the Protectorate suit (medium in the sense it's a bit below Battlesuit level of armor; complicates user mobility). Or maybe there should be upgrades to both? More equipment variety, easier to customise loadout.

ADD: Just had an idea. Could we perhaps mix up regular carbon nanofibers and alien sand (and maybe even miniscule hexes, if possible) to create upgraded armorcloth? I understand that so far the armor upgrades have been confined to rigid armor types.

[tryrar]

Hey guys, we still don't have an official name for the hex material. I'll start this off with the name of Zero Delta(as in zero change since it absorbs energy rather frighteningly efficiently with no visible change)

[Parisbre56]

Call it Hexstone, plain and simple.
Or Spacefloor or Hexbed, because it sounds like Seafloor/seabed and there were various things that looked aquatic living on it.
Or Greyice or Alloice, because it's slippery like ice.

[Sean Mirrsen]

I'm just calling it hexplate. Hexplate armor.

[Nikitian]

Hexplate, hexscale, yeah. Hexstone because it's kinda stone (the original stuff, 'naturally' occuring)?
Or just hex(es). It's not like we've encountered many hexagonal things so far. ...Only "color solid dash" hexagons on Nyartifacts, I think?

((In unrelated news, I just found out that the wiki doesn't have an idea what a Nyartifact is. Poor, deluded thing. ))

[Parisbre56]

I thought we were talking about the original stuff. Armour should obviously be hexplate and hexsand, depending on variant.

You should probably run some tests to see how easily it breaks, since after it breaks it's useless. So if it's much worse than BS plate it's not good for replacement. At least not full replacement. Some inner layers should be OK, since they give the driver a second chance.

[Harry Baldman]

Has anyone checked what exactly mythril is? Is it space-magical in nature or just an extremely sophisticated nanomaterial (like spider silk, but exponentially stronger)? And if it's the latter, what's the smallest and thinnest it can get while retaining reasonable unbreakability and unbendability?

[Sean Mirrsen]

Has anyone checked what exactly mythril is? Is it space-magical in nature or just an extremely sophisticated nanomaterial (like spider silk, but exponentially stronger)? And if it's the latter, what's the smallest and thinnest it can get while retaining reasonable unbreakability and unbendability?

Monorazor wire is very sturdy as long as it is taut. I'm guessing it's related in some way.