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6 (42.9%)

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3 (21.4%)

Total Members Voted: 14

[Madman198237]

Darnit Yami, don't make me find the Schlock Mercenary comic that-oh, fine.

You know what we call flying soldiers on the battlefield?

So, the Kerata. I'd almost propose an alternative version for it, except I'll be voting for it in next turn's REVISIONS. Yes, revisions. The Kerata, right now, is technically a vehicle built by someone else. Remove the Caelium and remove the troop compartment and we basically have up-armored a civilian car and added a really powerful MG turret to the roof. Hey, that sounds familiar! Probably because like 75% of the armored cars ever built were civilian vehicles up-armored and sometimes armed. (This is not counting the protected limousines and whatnot that government leaders drive around in, despite those technically qualifying as armored cars. If I *did* count those, it'd be 99.9% of armored cars designed off of civilian frames) Neither one of those things will be difficult to do, and together they should make the car perfectly functional at towing around artillery and providing a faster-moving armored platform to use GGGs and LGGs from.

[Twinwolf]

I mean, to be fair, my interpretation of Yami's design (which does seem more a design than a revision) was that those jump packs are not actually for in-combat use - they're meant to get soldiers behind enemy lines from unexpected angles to raid logistics and artillery positions and come back, rather than flying around and being giant targets. I think that's actually a fairly reasonable use for them (kinda like paratroopers but with a way to get back), but not immediately neccesary and not something I think we can do as a revision.

Anyway, given that explanation I could possibly support a revision for armored cars next turn.

[Madman198237]

We might manage it in a revision, but paratroopers get shot down even at night. They're basically just low-budget paratroopers, and if that sphere makes any noise they're actually worse than regular paratroopers.

Now, if we managed to produce power armor and a Lifting Engine derivate capable of providing them short high-speed jumps across things like rivers, canyons, open terrain, bunkers, awkwardly-placed infinitely deep chasms, and tanks, THAT might be more useful. They won't be as easy to shoot down if they're armored enough to resist rifle and SMG fire, especially if they don't hang around long enough to get hit with anything heavier.

[Man of Paper]

Doesn't look like things are gonna shift, so I'll lock down the votes and start work on the revisions.

[Yami]

Right, let's not try and fine a way around fortifications and trenches, because our soldiers might be in danger.  Let's just send them straight at the guns instead.  I'm sure it'll be safer.  Seriously though, Air Mobile Infantry would give us mobility that we seriously lack.

As for the Kerata, I'm doubting we'll ever get it fixed at this rate.  We should just obsolete it and accept that we're not getting anything faster'n walking speed.

~Yami mad genius Scientist.

[Madman198237]

You really should just take the genius out of your signature line, joke or not. We can EASILY get something faster than walking speed and we definitely should. Ironic that you would insist that we can do something hard that has clear and probably debilitating downsides on the one hand while stating that we will never achieve anything that humans achieved with horses several MILLENNIA ago.

[FallacyofUrist]

Oh. I know! Let's do Myomer-sliced horses!

[Twinwolf]

The problem with infantry in the air in any capacity other than getting to their fights, is that they're giant moving targets. On the ground, there's a thing called 'cover' and 'concealment'. In the air, any half decent shot can kill them no problem unless they're moving fast enough to be dangerous to themselves. Hence wanting to wait for armor before considering it.

And I don't think the Kerata failing means we can't do vehicles. Like at all. It just means that particular vehicle failed. There have been some truly shit vehicles in human history and we still have cars, tanks, airplanes, and so on, don't we :p

Honestly it's a tad annoying that you act as if everyone who disagrees with you is an idiot.

[Yami]

Apologies.

~Yami

[Man of Paper]

Year 1913 AC Hot Season, Revision Phase

Proposal: Senapang Rifle Var.S

A sniper variant of the Senapang. When a new batch of Senapangs are produced, they are each tested for their accuracy at various ranges. Those that have the greatest marks are fitted with a long-range scope, and become Senapang Variant: Sniper rifles, and are given to the best marksmen in each squad in place of their standard service rifle. These snipers pick off enemies as they poke their heads out of their fortifications, or aim for high value targets when they foolishly enter their sightlines.

Difficulty: Easy
Result: 11 (5+5+1) = Masterwork

When a soldier was found using half of his broken binoculars strapped to the side of his rifle to impress his buddies high command saw the potential of a marksman's rifle designed for long-range precision fire. A telescopic sight was developed to pursue this goal, and the results were brilliant as usual.

The 8x sight uses three thick lines (two from the sides, one from the bottom) to make up the crosshairs, and thanks to this development can be used to fire the Senapang out to it's actual effective range of 1200 meters, though shots can still cause injury and death out to 4 kilometers (though at that distance it's almost pure luck when a shot lands). The scope is mounted off-center to the right to continue allowing the rifleman to load the weapon with stripper clips.

The scopes do not add cost to the rifle, and so we can freely hand one out to each squad thanks to the cost of the Senapang.


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


Proposal: Retractable Roofs

As we saw, as good as the Armored Sled is, it has a weakness: The high ground. If one can get a solid angle they can fire down into the sled like shooting fish in a barrel. This won't do when we arrive at Harren. As such, I propose we revise the Armored Sled to include a roof. In order to not hinder soldiers getting out of the sled, the roof is built to retract with a crank on the inside, and a hatch in case that mechanism jams.

Difficulty: Trivial
Result: 9 (4+2+3) = Above Average

In order to protect our troops in Armored Sleds from fire from above we have installed retractable roofs to the vehicles. Two rails curve from the back of the Armored Sled upward and to the front. Interlocked slats of steel rest stacked at the back until required, where a lever is pulled and the chains in the rails pull the roof up and over. The system is connected to the GavEngine that powers the Caelium foil, allowing the roof to be raised and lowered without needing to manually crank anything.

Adds 1 Ore to the design, making a Roofed Sled variant that is (EXPENSIVE) until cost can be dropped and the Armored Sled completely replaced.


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


Proposal: M3 Fragmentation Grenade

A fragmentation grenade, based on the M2 incendiary. The gav charge has been removed and replaced with metal fragments, while the casing of the grenade has been thickened. The exposive charge has been made smaller as well, to make it more suitable for use by assault troops.

Difficulty: Easy
Result: 11 (6+4+1) = Masterwork

The M3 can be as lethal as the M2 while doing significantly less damage to the environment around it. The M3 uses an explosive charge to shatter and propel the casing of the grenade as well as the metal shards inside of it. The grenade is lethal within a 5 meter radius and debilitating with 15, though fragments have occasionally been flung as far as 200 meters. The M3 is shaped like a palm-sized egg to facilitate ease of throwing and carrying, though sticks can be screwed into small threads on the bottom if so desired. The best part of the M3 is the inclusion of our long-abandoned grenade switch. At the top of the weapon is a cap that, when twisted before being pulled off, will set an impact fuse on the grenade, whereas just popping it off will light a 7 second fuse. A pin holds the cap securely in place to prevent accidental priming and detonation.

The M3 costs 2 Ore, making it (CHEAP).


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


As Salvios advances on land we also march onward with determination in our technology. Our enemies will tremble until crushed under heel. We have, however, been missing something very important. We have yet to design a flag that truly represents Salvios as a nation. As such, it is up to you, our brilliant engineers, to design a flag that will represent us as we pave our way forward. They are to be posted and voted on in this thread, though the winner will be gloriously displayed in the Core Thread for all to bask in.

As it is the Strategy Phase we must also once more decide on a sector to fortify as well as a resource and where to put it. We've also had a number of marksmen prove their worth, so we leave it up to you to select one designated marksman for a special commendation [That commendation being that he's consistently in battle so I can write about him. Same rules as the first time]. We move on the South Peaks and Savannah, and soon all of our side of Harren Island will be cleared of Selicate soldiers. Our LEA-13s have been hard at work trying to glean information from our enemies without giving themselves away, and so we should have some useful information on our foes soon enough.

IT IS NOW THE STRATEGY PHASE.

Spoiler: Designs (click to show/hide)

Infantry

Senapang Pattern Rifle: A 110 cm, 4 kg dark wood masterpiece. 7.7mm rounds are fed via 5-round stripper clip into the 10-round internal magazine, which can also be loaded with rounds individually. It has an adjustable rear sight with 100 meter increments. It also has a bayonet lug and comes with a bayonet. Padded for operator comfort, extremely dependable and reliable. The Senapang outclasses many rifles of our time. Costs 2 Ore and 2 Wood. (CHEAP)

--Senapang Pattern Rifle (Var.S): A Senapang with an 8x scope, providing effective fire to 1km though shots can fly as far as 4km if you don't care about actually hitting your target reliably. Each squad has one Designated Marksman with a Var.S. Costs 2 Ore and 2 Wood. (CHEAP)

SMG-12 Sub-Machine Gun: Essentially a low-powered hand-cranked personal Gatling Gun fired from the hip and fed 10mm pistol rounds through a box magazine under the weapon. Difficult to aim, as there is a crank mounted on top of the thing. Occasionally fails to load chambers, resulting in the nickname "The Stuttergun". Still, it's a big step in personal automatic firearms. Costs 4 Ore and 2 Wood. (OBSOLETE)

--SMG-12a Sub-Machine Gun: Replaces the crank system with an open bolt blowback system, with the added benefit that it can actually be aimed. Rate of fire drops but reliability increases. Costs 3 Ore and 2 Wood. (CHEAP)

M2 Dispersion Grenade: A fantastic incendiary weapon. Effectively a canister on a stick that explodes in a burst of heat and molten metal. The sudden burst of wilting heat causes intense burns out to three meters while the flying molten Gavrilium can inflict serious wounds out to ten. Costs 1 Ore and 1 Gavrilium. (CHEAP)

M3 Fragmentation Grenade: A fragmentation grenade built from the knowledge of our previous grenades. Lethal within a 5m radius, debilitating within 15, but can cause injury out much further if you're (un)lucky. Has a cap that can be pulled off for a 7 second fuse or twisted and pulled for impact. Shaped like an egg, but can have a stick screwed into the bottom if desired. Costs 2 Ore (CHEAP)

GGG-12 Gavrilium Gatling Gun: A tri-barrel gatling gun that uses a small GavEngine to rotate the barrels. Fires up to 600 rpm with a range up to 2200m thanks to the 7.7G rounds which use a GavPowder load. A heat sink helps provide equilibrium between the heat caused by the Gavpowder load and the freezing caused by the depletion of Gavrilium rods in the engine. Uses a dial to adjust rate of fire. Effective and reliable. Costs 5 Ore and 4 Gavrilium, making it (VERY EXPENSIVE).

--LGG-12 Light Gatling Gun:  A GGG-12 without the Gavpowder. Range drops to 1500m but Rate of Fire is increased to a possible 1200 RPM. Is also much lighter, allowing it to be redeployed very easily by a crew. Can also be deployed with a small artillery carriage. Costs 4 Ore and 2 Gavrilium. (CHEAP)

GA1 Cannon: A 150mm piece of artillery that uses a mixture of cordite and powdered Gavrilium to fire rounds fairly accurately to six kilometers but potentially out to nine if accuracy isn't really a factor. The barrel warps from extended use so teams are asked to restrict themselves to six rounds at a time before needing to cool for an extended period. Costs 5 Ore and 3 Gavrilium. (EXPENSIVE)

--GA1B Cannon: By modifying the powder, barrel, and alloy used in the GA1's construction, the GA1B can fire 5 rounds a minute accurately up to 10km. The use of Chemical Compounds in the powder formula complicates things. Costs 4 Ore, 2 Gavrilium, and 1 Chemical Compounds. (EXPENSIVE) [complex]

GBC-13 Gavrilium Bunker Cannon "Scylla": A 105mm cannon utilizing HE and solid shot with bunkers using GavGenerators designed to aid in cooling of the weapon and powering of the bunker. Utilizes the same altered GavPowder and metal alloys the GA1b does. Can be fired out to 10/15km. Costs Ore, Gavrilium, and Chemical Compounds. (EXPENSIVE) [complex]

"Mountain" Myomer Lifting Kit: A reinforced canvas suit with cords of myomer muscle running across it powered by a small GavEngine in the back. Allows users to lift 250kg. Sees most of it's use in a support role and not on the front line. 2 Gavrilium, 2 Myomer. (CHEAP)

BSU: The Berani standard uniform is made of light cotton dyed khaki. A wide brim steel helmet offers some protection, and leather patches on the elbows and knees provide a level of comfort and protection when kneeling or leaning on something. The uniform has a large number of pockets, belts, and satchels made of cotton webbing in order to carry large amounts of equipment such as ammo and grenades. Entrenching tools are provided to all soldiers.

Ground Vehicles (I guess?)

Transport Sled: A small platform used primarily to transport our machine guns and artillery, though it can aid in the general moving of supplies. Costs 2 Ore, 2 Gavrilium, and 1 Caelium. (CHEAP)

Armored Sled: A mobile man-driven armored firing platform utilizing Caelium Steel with a mounted G3-12 or LGG-12 that requires two men to maneuver from within. Can carry four additional passengers. Costs 3 Ore, 2 Gavrilium, and 2 Caelium. (CHEAP)

--Roofed Sled: An Armored Sled with a retractable roof assembly installed. The armored slats are guided by chains in a pair of rails that hook over the top of the Armored Sled from the rear. It's controlled by a lever powered by the on-board GavEngine to reduce time and energy needed to raise and retract the roof. Costs 4 Ore, 2 Gavrilium, and 2 Caelium. (EXPENSIVE)

ArC-12b "Kerata" Armored Car: A barely-functional troop carrier that acts as little more than mobile cover, and can be outran by a soldier on foot. Bounces wildly when going over uneven ground. Has been unofficially dubbed Errata. Costs 5 Ore, 2 Gavrilium, and 2 Caelium. (EXPENSIVE)

Aircraft

LEA-13 Lifting Engine Aircraft: A metal sphere containing a Gavrilium/Gravite engine attached to a basket to propel itself skyward. Meant for use as an observation platform, though swaying can make the job difficult. Definitely would never use a lawn chair. Costs 3 Ore, 2 Gavrilium, and 2 Caelium. (CHEAP)

Support

VTR-12 "Ceramah" Radio: Cumbersome wireless communications equipment with a range of 1.5km. A step in the right direction for reliable long-range communication.

Components

Gavrilium Engine: An engine run by extracting electromagnetic energy from Gavrilium rods and converting it to mechanical energy. Much more powerful and cost efficient than standard combustion engines. The engine's only flaw is overcooling in very cold environments as the rods freeze as their stored energy depletes, seizing the engine and shutting it down. The Depleted Gavrilium rods must be handled with proper protective equipment. Glows blue. Adds 1 Ore to the price of the base vehicle design and converts Oil cost into 1/2 the cost in Gavrilium

Caelium Steel: A Caelium-Steel alloy weighs half as much as similar volumes of steel without losing durability. Designs utilizing Caelium Steel adds 1/2 the cost of Ore in Caelium for any cost associated with the replaced steel.

Gravite: A uniquely structured piece of Caelium which can create a gravitational field to pull itself in the direction of it's Dominant side.

Specialty Resource

Gavrilium: A wondermaterial with many unknown qualities. So far we know that low applied heat produces a slow burn with results similar to coal, a sudden explosive force agitates it until it becomes a molten blob, electromagnetic energy can be drawn from it, and depleted gavrilium has a dangerously low temperature.
Caelium: A metallic substance capable of affecting gravitational fields. When a current is applied it rises above the ground at a level proportional to the strength of the current, and will move if tilted. Can be used to make alloys with other metals.
Myomer: A synthetic fiber that mimics biological muscle, but with a much greater power-to-weight ratio.
Chemical Compounds: Represents the industry required to maintain a high demand of chemicals.

Spoiler: Territories (click to show/hide)

Salvios: 3 Ent., 2 Ore, 2 Oil, 2 Wood, 2 Gavrilium, 2 Myomer // 100% Control (Radio Coverage)
Lowlands: 1 Ent., 1 Ore (1/3 Resources) // 100% Control
Desert: 0 Ent., (0/3 Resources) // 100% Control
Plateaus: 1 Ent., 1 Caelium (1/3 Resources) // 100% Control
Badlands: 0 Ent., (0/3 Resources) // 100% Control
Rolling Hills: 0 Ent., (0/3 Resources) // 100% Control
Volcanic Range: 0 Ent., (0/3 Resources) // 100% Control

Spoiler: Resources (click to show/hide)

Ore: 3
Oil: 2
Wood: 2
Gavrilium: 2
Myomer:: 2
Caelium: 1
Chemical Compounds:: 0

Spoiler: Special Rules (click to show/hide)

Radio Coverage: Radio Coverage improves the ability to effectively defend a sector based on efficacy of the design.
Enhanced Fortification: Due to advancements in Salvios a sector can be brought to max Entrenchment with a Revision. Max Entrenchment Level has also been raised to four (4).

[Twinwolf]

While I don’t have suggestions for another hero yet, or a flag design, I do have thoughts on strategy. The rolling hills would be where Abbera is most likely to push if they took the crossing, so fortify that. Two things of fair importance use chemical compounds and are currently complex because of it, so we should grab that. Put it in the back line for safety and in the desert to avoid all our eggs in one basket.

(I think barring new priorities, we should grab either more Caelium or more Ore next turn. Either one would be useful.)

Fortify:
Rolling Hills (1): Twinwolf

Resource
Chemical Compounds in the Desert (1): Twinwolf

[Yami]

Seems sound.

Fortify:
Rolling Hills (2): Twinwolf, Yami

Resource
Chemical Compounds in the Desert (2): Twinwolf, Yami

~Yami.

[Twinwolf]

A hero suggestion. Since it's a marksman specifically, I had an idea. Salvios (and the empire it was initially a part of) has Russian influences. During the first world war, if I'm not mistaken Russia had fairly notable female snipers. So, it might be a fun nod to that.

(Name was generated on behindthename with a few cultures that seemed relevant to Salvios ticked. If someone has different suggestions please feel free to make them.)

Arina Marcia Jasso

Arina Marcia Jasso was born to a wealthy merchant family based in the capital of Salvios. From a young age, she never really took an interest in the ‘ladylike’ things her parents tried to teach her, more of an active and athletic individual. Eventually, her father allowed her to follow him hunting. While it was just to humor her and hopefully dissuade her from the “manly” activity, they found that she had a natural skill at this, quietly stalking prey and being highly accurate, whether with a hunting bow or, later, a rifle. As Salvios marches to war, most of Arina's family is unaffected - her brothers help run the family business, rather than join the war effort as many men of the country do. She, believed that a family of their prestige needed to contribute more than just money to those that protected them and ran away to join the army.

While the majority of the Salvios armed forces are men, and she had difficulty convincing the recruiters to allow her to join, a few things worked in her favor. One was throwing money at the problem, and two was proving her skill in marksmanship. When the brass started looking for marksmen, even the most prideful of the men in her squad didn’t even pretend they could match Arina's precision with the Senapang. On her new sniper rifle, she etched the family name and crest. She has recently received commendation for distinguished service.

[NUKE9.13]

Yeah, that looks good to me. The flag issue may be trickier, though.

Here's a simple flag design:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Yellow is our national colour, red is the colour of unity, the circle with a square hole is a coin: Salvios is united through money.
I sort of feel like going for a simple, elegant flag, but I'd understand if people want something a little more exciting.

[Maximum Spin]

I'd reverse the colours, thus making the coin both A) gold, and B) symbolic of Salvios.