Prelude Revision Phase: Colony Transport
Proposal: Icarus-Class Airship
While the pigeon class was revolutionary for it's time, the harsh environments of the Frostlands soon proved that it was mostly a fairweather craft. The Icarus class emerged from a series of field modifications and adaptions to the pigeon, culminating in a design that could be kitbashed from Pigeon spare components or (unfortunately) wreckage.
Despite it's smaller frame, the Icarus utilizes the same engine layout and blaugas boosted steamcore as it's predecessor, giving it enough power to make decent speed even in headwind. Steering and ballast systems have been similarly adapted, making the airship considerably more maneuverable.
The main innovation (and the most accidental one) was an attempt to cover the outer hull with cladding from ruptured gasbags. Unlike the doped outer skin, this cladding allowed ice accumulation. While this would be a tremendous problem in any other situation, the high windspeeds of the winter storm and the generally harsh conditions keep this ice accumulation limited to a relatively thin layer, which ends up protecting the airship from wind, temperature and give it a more aerodynamic shape.
It also the source of the airships name. Myth among sailors goes that flying above the storms, in the sunlight, would melt the ice layer and deprive the ship of it's protection
Difficulty: Easy [+1]
Result: 5+6+1 [12] = Masterwork
The new Icarus-Class Airship, while not looking particularly impressive, was nonetheless a crowning achievement of our engineers. Building upon the previous Pigeon-Class hull, this new design sidestepped the most glaring flaw of the Pigeon - that being it's volatility when exposed to the elements - and in doing so ended up producing a vehicle that was both cheaper and safer than all previous designs.
By placing ruptured gas pouches from the scavenged wrecks of Pigeons, accompanied by a series of strategically placed grooves and bumps, on the hull, the Icarus is able to accumulate a thin layer of ice upon it's surface. By manipulating this ice buildup, the simple act of flying creates an aerodynamic frame capable of effectively regenerating from damage given enough time. Simultaneously, this ice buildup is able to insulate the hull against the violent reactions that plagued the Pigeon, providing an extra barrier between the steam and the elements.
It is now the Design PhaseWith the new Icarus airships in production, it was obvious that our people would be able to quickly reclaim the earth from the ever-encroaching frost. Sidestepping the need to cross the blasted earth, our nation's leaders began preparations for a mass exodus of colonists from the homeland. Five great caravans of airships left the motherland for the Dubrovich colony, with our own forefathers in the fifth. But when our ancestors came across the colony site, we found an empty shell of a city. The great generator was powered down, the food reserves were gone, and there were naught but a few shivering survivors, huddling around burning piles of refuse in crude tents. After the first few airships touched down, their parts scrapped to build the growing colony, a group calling themselves the Jarnskeggi had struck, slaughtering the civilians and taking our resources for themselves.
In our rush to reclaim the Frostlands, we had neglected to arm ourselves against the world. Certainly, we had never expected to encounter others in the frigid wastes, and even less that they would attack us on sight. Going back to the homeland was not an option; we had used up the last of our blaugas reserves in reaching Dubrovich. Our only option was to defend ourselves against these savages.
Design the main small-arms weapon your people used to push back against the Jarnskeggi. Pigeon-Class Airship: A medium-size airship, capable of traversing large distances quickly given the right conditions. Due to issues regarding insulation, catastrophic hull failure can be an issue when caught in winter storms.
Icarus-Class Airship: A light airship, able to traversing large distances even when caught in ice storms. Maintains hull integrity and aerodynamic performance by manipulating frost buildup on its hull. Capable of regenerating light damage by re-growing its frost barrier.
Total Resources: [/b] 2 Coal, 2 Wood, 2 Metal
Dubrovich: 7 Coal, 2 Wood, 2 Metal (3/3)
Whitemere: (0/3)
Hartton: (0/3)
Storm's Eye: (0/3)
Ilburgh: (0/3)
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Topic: Frost Race: Dubrovich Thread (Prelude Turn 3/5: Revision Phase) (Read 4802 times)