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[Scholar Knight]

An alternative revision would be working the charge-shot tech into a weapon for Officers- basically just a beefier pulse pistol capable of performing charge shots. But I agree that getting the Scout up to par is more important.

Scout.exe Behaviour Rework B
We've all been there. You've coded a super-cool giant-death-robot virus, but forgotten to code its behaviour routines, so it just walks around doing nothing. Right? Everyone's made that mistake, right? Please tell me I'm not the only one.

Anyway, Scout.exe needs a new brain. It should be capable of basic scouting operations without micromanagement. The Hacker in charge will still be able to override this behaviour if needed (I assume that's how viruses work, anyway). Highest level behaviour should be prioritised. ((I'm not sure how in-depth we're supposed to make this sort of thing))
1 - Scouting. Patrol designated area, identifying items of interest. Avoid confrontation where possible. Send data to nearby Officers and the commanding Hacker.
2 - Combat. If forced into combat,
  2.1 - Attempt to escape by deploying a decoy flare and driving away.
  2.2 - If this fails, use pulse pistol to attack nearby enemies, using speed and agility to avoid enemy fire as much as possible. If surrounded, use power-prow to break out.
  2.3 - When flare is recharged, if there are no enemies left, send combat data to Hacker and resuming scouting. Else, go to 2.1.
3 - Manually Activated Behaviour. If commanded to do so, activate designated subroutine:
  3.1 - Use power-prow to attack designated barrier/enemy. (Useful for breaking down weak firewalls or damaging shielded foes, or whatever)
  3.2 - Continually execute 2.2. (Useful if an extra gun is needed in combat)
  3.3 - Repeatedly deploy decoy flares while driving in the designated direction at designated speed. (Useful for luring away stupid enemy forces)

Sounds like a good breakdown with some variance. To speed things up I'll vote for this.

Scout.exe Behaviour Rework B - SK

[NUKE9.13]

Scout.exe Behaviour Rework B: (2) SK, NUKE9.13

[Screech9791]

Scout.exe Behaviour Rework B: (3) SK, NUKE9.13, 0cra_tr0per

[Happerry]

Turn -C : Revision Phase

Scout.exe Behaviour Rework B
We've all been there. You've coded a super-cool giant-death-robot virus, but forgotten to code its behaviour routines, so it just walks around doing nothing. Right? Everyone's made that mistake, right? Please tell me I'm not the only one.

Anyway, Scout.exe needs a new brain. It should be capable of basic scouting operations without micromanagement. The Hacker in charge will still be able to override this behaviour if needed (I assume that's how viruses work, anyway). Highest level behaviour should be prioritised. ((I'm not sure how in-depth we're supposed to make this sort of thing))
1 - Scouting. Patrol designated area, identifying items of interest. Avoid confrontation where possible. Send data to nearby Officers and the commanding Hacker.
2 - Combat. If forced into combat,
  2.1 - Attempt to escape by deploying a decoy flare and driving away.
  2.2 - If this fails, use pulse pistol to attack nearby enemies, using speed and agility to avoid enemy fire as much as possible. If surrounded, use power-prow to break out.
  2.3 - When flare is recharged, if there are no enemies left, send combat data to Hacker and resuming scouting. Else, go to 2.1.
3 - Manually Activated Behaviour. If commanded to do so, activate designated subroutine:
  3.1 - Use power-prow to attack designated barrier/enemy. (Useful for breaking down weak firewalls or damaging shielded foes, or whatever)
  3.2 - Continually execute 2.2. (Useful if an extra gun is needed in combat)
  3.3 - Repeatedly deploy decoy flares while driving in the designated direction at designated speed. (Useful for luring away stupid enemy forces)

3 + 2 + 1 = 6 : Above average (Easy)

It's fairly easy to update Scout.Exe's brain so it needs less constant attention once you turn your attention towards a pure intelligence update. You steal an auto-explore function from Age of Space Empires 2, borrow some swarm coordination coding from real life drones, improve it's ability to report on what it finds (IE, add a reporting function so that it exists), and write a script to auto-record and sort the reports for later consultation so you don't need to manually read and remember each one. The Scout will also use its special abilities with more skill now, whether in combat assist, distraction, or scouting mode, and can even be ordered to suicide charge a selected target with its ramming prow.

It is now Turn -B, starting with the Design Phase. During this phase you must vote on what new object to design or old thing to redesign. As well, remember to discussion, post, and vote on contest write ups. As a reminder, the contest deadline has been extended to the end of turn -A, the next turn.

During turn -B, you have One Bonus Action for designing a hacker to lead your sides forces.

Spoiler: Designs (click to show/hide)

Hackers
None

Viri
Minion.exe
These roughly humanoid programs are neither very sophisticated (intelligence and coding wise) or very strong, but they are mass producible and smart enough to obey orders without continual direct supervision. Which isn't always something you can take for granted with generic digital constructs, as a lot of them are dumber then rocks. They're not coded with anything more powerful then a basic energy pulse pistol, but they can still defeat the average civilian whom thinks too much of themselves. Just avoid putting them up against Data Police Agents. (Simple)

Officer.exe
Based on the generally available in the Undernet Minion programs, Officer.exe constructs aren't much stronger then their lesser kin, still only coded with a basic energy pulse pistol, though officers also come with basic melee coding. But the big difference between and Officer and a Minion is that Officers are coded with noticeably more advanced bit-brains and have a basic tactical library integrated in their knowledge banks, allowing them to lead teams of Minions on operations without needing constant hand holding. (Complicated)

Scout.exe
A three wheeled trike with a turret mounted pulse pistol stolen from a Minion.exe, a flare launcher and a powerfield ramming prow that prevents the pistol from firing while active. Recent updates have made it noticeably more intelligent then the baseline Minions who's brain-coding the Scouts used to share, and it is now far more able to actually scout or harass enemies without dying pointlessly and without a report. They are noticeably better at teamwork then a baseline minion for scouting or combat by way of using swarm coding meant for real life drones. (Complicated)

Autonomous Digital Intelligence
None

Battle Chips
Recovery 10
This tactical battle chip is designed to mend damaged and corrupted code, healing the individual it is applied to by a minor amount. (Simple, Memory 1)

Atk+10
This tactical battle chip pre-allocates resources to empower the next program used, improving the targets ability to deal damage for a short while. (Simple, Memory 1)

MinionCall A
This strategic battle chip creates temporary replicas of the commonly known ‘Minion.exe’ program, causing a short term burst of reinforcements in the targeted zone. (Simple, Memory 1)

[TricMagic]

Firmament

Originally a group against Censoring, they believed in Freesource, the right to create anything you want. They spread this message freely and proudly in the past, before numerous projects continued to be hit by The Governmental Clusters with Cease and Desist orders over copyrights and such. After many years and fanmade projects being shut down, and the Government breathing down their necks and forcing them down, a leader decided to fight back, gathering others in the Undernet to fight the powers that be and take control of cyberspace for themselves. And so the cyber-terrorist organization Firmament came to be.

I'd like to think that Firmament is actually a multi-group effort. A mix of more above board anti-censorship freedom fighters, freeware content creators, and more radical cyber-terrorists. People from around the web, who ran afoul the corporations or government, and now see a chance to push their own agendas using one unified front.

Battle Chip: Power Up
Power Up boosts the Power of a Target. A tactical chip that can be used multiple times to increase effectiveness in battle. However it has a limit, as most low-level Viri can only handle one boost, while ADI can handle 3 to 5. The boost generally stays active for the course of a battle, and once the battle ends so does the effect.


Battle Chip Sanctuary (Probably for later.)
A high Memory and Complex strategical Battle Chip, Sanctuary overlays a local Zone you control, reducing the power and effectiveness of enemy attacks against allies and controlled code within it. It can also be used within a Zone to overlay areas in a zone you have taken control of, but the effect will not spread to new 'Tiles' in that zone. Sanctuary 'Tiles' overwrite any preexisting terrain while active. Most useful as a finisher or cap on a Zone you've taken, or for getting a foothold into one.

[Scholar Knight]

Bit late, but better than never.
Development Suggestions for this turn:

Wyrm.exe - Class: Viri - Tags: Flight, Melee, Zerg-rush
A simple Computer Worm in the rough shape of a snake, with wings and a sort of melee-capable head. Small (like 1-1.5 yards/meters long roughly), dumb, unarmored, but fast and deadly once it reaches infighting range. It is designed with three main characteristics in mind: To be capable of flight, to engage enemies in melee, and to be used in swarms to overwhelm enemies. In order of priority.

The bulk of the work will be on getting the flight figured out and its digital, dragon-like wings implemented. Favoring speed and maneuverability over lift or carry capacity, they only need to get their own bodies across the distance and into the melee. They will be given a basic brain, nothing too complex. Its AI will need to be capable of using its wings to get from where it is to where it isn't a target enemy. Along with basic obstacle avoidance software. The melee code will be largely ripped from the Officer.exe, with some streamlining and refinement, treating the Wyrm's bladed head as the melee weapon in question. Beyond basic autonomy to "kill target enemy" and "move onto next target", it's tactical prowess will be entirely dependent on Hacker, ADI, or Officer.exe directing.

Should it be possible without increasing its complexity, see about implementing the Scout.exe's swarm software to make Swarms of Wyrms more potent. But for now, throwing more of them in huge numbers is more valuable than a small number of them coordinating together well.


Spark.lov - Class: Tactical Battle Chip - Tags: Offensive spell, piercing, laser
Lazors are fun. Lazors are always fun. Let's give our minions a purpose-made offensive battle chip that should enable them to quickly carve through swaths of foes. While kill-sat mounted orbital death lasers and block-wide obliteration lasers would both be fun, we need to start small and practical.

The basic Spark.lov will be our first foray away from the traditional pulse weapons used on our minions and officers, and into the world of lasers. The Spark will be a finely focused and narrow beam that is designed to not only delete the code it hits, but tunnel through it, enabling a 'pierce' effect. While narrow and only effecting a relatively small cone of fire, the Spark should be enabled for a short time. Thus allowing the digital construct aiming it to be able to 'sweep' it back and forth to hit more targets, or keep it focused on one target to continuously melt through them and any armor they might have.


Will start the votebox too.

Power Up (0)
Sanctuary (0)
Wyrm.exe (1) - SK
Spark.lov (0)

[Scholar Knight]

Bonus Action: Hacker Profile
SN0WCRASH -
A classic console cowboy from times long past. An 'old' relic of the past, at least by the Internet's standards.
They started coding from a young age, and saw the early days of the internet, back when it was wild and untamed. Making fun and silly programs with friends on anonymous forums or talking about unleashing new bugs on email attachments. Now, as they have grown up, they have become sick and tired of the commercialized internet and production line software that gets shoveled out on an industrial scale.
"Coding is an art" and that's one truth that the ever illusive SN0WCRASH will stick to.

Faction Vote:

Firmament - SK

I'd like to think that Firmament is actually a multi-group effort. A mix of more above board anti-censorship freedom fighters, freeware content creators, and more radical cyber-terrorists. People from around the web, who ran afoul the corporations or government, and now see a chance to push their own agendas using one unified front.

[TricMagic]

Faction Vote:

Firmament - SK

I'd like to think that Firmament is actually a multi-group effort. A mix of more above board anti-censorship freedom fighters, freeware content creators, and more radical cyber-terrorists. People from around the web, who ran afoul the corporations or government, and now see a chance to push their own agendas using one unified front.

You definitely get it. Firmament is simply the core o the group. I'll be writing more when inspiration strikes me, but feel free to use it as a base to write more.

Primary Design
Power Up (1) TricMagic
Sanctuary (0)
Wyrm.exe (1) - SK
Spark.lov (0)


Hacker
SN0WCRASH: (1) TricMagic

Faction Vote
xX_S0C1ETY_Xx - testmen, 0cra_tr0per
Firmament - SK, TricMagic

[NUKE9.13]

You know, I was going to vote for my mortar proposal (below), but I think I'll wait until we get a glimpse of combat first, since I have no idea what to expect, and the mortar might not fit well into the style of combat in this game.

DDOS_Mortar.exe
The DDOS Mortar is a virus to be pulled out when big guns are needed. It launches Dense Data Overload Shells that can overwhelm even the most sophisticated defences by brute force. It can break open barriers, leave ADIs reeling, and wipe an entire squad of weaker viri off the virtual map in a single blast. What's more, it can do so at extreme range, lobbing its shells in parabolic arcs from a secure position the enemy cannot even see.
There are only a few downsides to make up for this awesome power. For one, the DDOS Mortar is slow- slow to move, and slow to fire. Compressing its deadly payload takes time (in the time it takes to reload, a pulse pistol can fire dozens of times), and the sturdy barrel and hefty compression engine make for a heavy (slow-moving) virus.
Other weaknesses stem from the DDOS Mortar's specialised nature: almost all resources are dedicated to the launching of shells, with very little code spent on other areas. Thus, it is incapable of independent action, requiring an Officer (or similar) virus to give it commands (where to move and where to shoot). It is also not armed with any close-quarters weaponry, meaning that even though it can weather some pulse-pistol hits due to the sturdy build, it should be kept out of the way of enemy units lest it be overrun and destroyed.
Visually, the DDOS Mortar looks like this, but with wheels and a bigger barrel.

Instead, I will vote for the Wyrm, cos melee does seem to be an established part of this world (given that Officers have the ability mentioned as a perk).

As for the Hacker, I don't know what SN0WCRASH is supposed to do? They sound pretty generic. Like, backstory is cool and all, but I imagine Happ would like some hints as to their mechanical effects.
Again, as I am not familiar with the source material and thus don't know what combat is like, I won't propose a Hacker of my own.

Primary Design
Power Up: (1) TricMagic
Sanctuary: (0)
Wyrm.exe: (2) SK, NUKE9.13
Spark.lov: (0)


Hacker
SN0WCRASH: (1) TricMagic

Faction Vote
xX_S0C1ETY_Xx: (2) testmen, 0cra_tr0per
Firmament: (2) SK, TricMagic

[TricMagic]

Public Support Group: Freesia

Freeware Works Effort: Cyber Elf

Terrorist Branch: Zero Forma


Just something to work off of for the three primary branches.
Freesia is more focused on the public/legal side of things, orginizing protests, working to repel unjust laws, and supporting the common citizens rights.(As well as being part of the funding for Firmament, working with Zero Forma when needed for more underhanded deals.)
Cyber Elf works on freeware distribution and source code, fighting against censorship. They are mostly on the internet side of things, unlike Freesia focusing on the physical. Needless to say their works do dip into the Undernet at times, including virus development for Zero Forma.
Zero Forma(Zero Meaning) is one letter away from Firma, and are the cyber-terrorist portion of the group and who our group's leader leads. Together the three leaders form a Firmament against the government. Zero Forma are the fighting force and Undernet connection for the other groups.

Thoughts/additions/writing?

[piratejoe]

Personally, I want spark, but that can wait a turn or two.

Decided I'd may as well make a character, thanks to SK, so, here they are edited in.

CF_Dogcatcher or Ophilia Bailey, as her actual name is known due to the fact she actually does meet with other's in person as opposed to communicating exclusively online as that is a great way to get caught in her opinion. She is an...eccentric one to say the least, at least once one gets to know them. Apparently, she was skilled at computers at a young age, even when she was just thirteen, and further more was also quite skilled at noticing small details and using this to discover the location of varying things.  Despite this, they only ever used this skill initially for more minor things and worked with other's on public forms to mess with some famous people who had any stupid events planned or anything similar just for a laugh, in other words for trolling more or less. Eventually however, after a university degree in computer science, and some time working for a fairly large company to test and improve their security systems, they would come to join us after getting laid off for 'something someone else did' and potentially some protection as well due to the incident that got her fired relating to some sort of secret project the company had in question. Fittingly, tormenting their own workplace through knowing exactly how their security system worked has gone quite well for them and us...Whenever asked about their little nickname, they will always say it's a reference to her father who was a dog catcher. That, and because he had extreme skill smacking anything from insects to even a robber with a rolled up newspaper, the latter of which is a story almost everyone has heard at this point due to how amusing she finds it.

Regardless, TLDR they are a computer wiz and quite good as a detective of sorts, able to use small details to figure things out.

Primary Design
Power Up: (1) TricMagic
Sanctuary: (0)
Wyrm.exe: (3) SK, NUKE9.13, Piratejoe
Spark.lov: (0)


Hacker
SN0WCRASH: (1) TricMagic
CF_Dogcatcher: (1) Piratejoe


Faction Vote
xX_S0C1ETY_Xx: (2) testmen, 0cra_tr0per
Firmament: (3) SK, TricMagic, Piratejoe

[Rockeater]

[

Primary Design
Power Up: (1) TricMagic
Sanctuary: (0)
Wyrm.exe: (4) SK, NUKE9.13, Piratejoe, Rockeater
Spark.lov: (0)


Hacker
SN0WCRASH: (1) TricMagic
CF_Dogcatcher: (2) Piratejoe, Rockeater


Faction Vote
xX_S0C1ETY_Xx: (2) testmen, 0cra_tr0per
Firmament: (4) SK, TricMagic, Piratejoe, Rockeater

[NUKE9.13]

Yeah, alright.

Primary Design
Power Up: (1) TricMagic
Sanctuary: (0)
Wyrm.exe: (4) SK, NUKE9.13, Piratejoe, Rockeater
Spark.lov: (0)


Hacker
SN0WCRASH: (1) TricMagic
CF_Dogcatcher: (3) Piratejoe, Rockeater, NUKE9.13


Faction Vote
xX_S0C1ETY_Xx: (2) testmen, 0cra_tr0per
Firmament: (5) SK, TricMagic, Piratejoe, Rockeater, NUKE9.13

[TricMagic]

Primary Design
Power Up: (1)
Sanctuary: (0)
Wyrm.exe: (5) SK, NUKE9.13, Piratejoe, Rockeater, TricMagic
Spark.lov: (0)


Hacker
SN0WCRASH: ()
CF_Dogcatcher: (4) Piratejoe, Rockeater, NUKE9.13, TricMagic


Faction Vote
xX_S0C1ETY_Xx: (2) testmen, 0cra_tr0per
Firmament: (5) SK, TricMagic, Piratejoe, Rockeater, NUKE9.13

[Happerry]

Turn -B : Design Phase

Wyrm.exe - Class: Viri - Tags: Flight, Melee, Zerg-rush
A simple Computer Worm in the rough shape of a snake, with wings and a sort of melee-capable head. Small (like 1-1.5 yards/meters long roughly), dumb, unarmored, but fast and deadly once it reaches infighting range. It is designed with three main characteristics in mind: To be capable of flight, to engage enemies in melee, and to be used in swarms to overwhelm enemies. In order of priority.

The bulk of the work will be on getting the flight figured out and its digital, dragon-like wings implemented. Favoring speed and maneuverability over lift or carry capacity, they only need to get their own bodies across the distance and into the melee. They will be given a basic brain, nothing too complex. Its AI will need to be capable of using its wings to get from where it is to where it isn't a target enemy. Along with basic obstacle avoidance software. The melee code will be largely ripped from the Officer.exe, with some streamlining and refinement, treating the Wyrm's bladed head as the melee weapon in question. Beyond basic autonomy to "kill target enemy" and "move onto next target", it's tactical prowess will be entirely dependent on Hacker, ADI, or Officer.exe directing.

Should it be possible without increasing its complexity, see about implementing the Scout.exe's swarm software to make Swarms of Wyrms more potent. But for now, throwing more of them in huge numbers is more valuable than a small number of them coordinating together well.

4 + 1 + 0 = 5 : Average (Normal)

The beta-testers described the Wyrms as 'Teeth someone was stupid enough to give wings'. Even more mindless then a minion, and more mindlessly aggressive given their comparative lack of self-preservation coding, Wyrm.exe programs pro-actively engage threats, anything that looks like a threat, anything that might sometime become a threat, and anything they think might be a threat. Fortunately deeply embedded friend or foe identification circuits have lowered incidents of friendly fire down to the minimum, and that's essentially just Wyrms picking a fight with each other. Wyrms are entirely dependent on outside authority for things such as 'targeting priority' and 'not giving away an ambush' and 'knowing when to retreat', and have even less code stability then a Minion, but somehow they manage to come in even greater numbers. A certain limited amount of swarm coordination programming has been programmed into them, but mainly just enough that they don't get in each others way most of the time.

The Wyrm.exe is theoretically a Simple virus, but their dependency on outside control and management can cause more limited deployments depending on what is available to keep them from wasting themselves attacking anything that gets too close. And for a Wyrm, 'too close' means 'is within eyesight'.

CF_Dogcatcher or Ophilia Bailey, as her actual name is known due to the fact she actually does meet with other's in person as opposed to communicating exclusively online as that is a great way to get caught in her opinion. She is an...eccentric one to say the least, at least once one gets to know them. Apparently, she was skilled at computers at a young age, even when she was just thirteen, and further more was also quite skilled at noticing small details and using this to discover the location of varying things.  Despite this, they only ever used this skill initially for more minor things and worked with other's on public forms to mess with some famous people who had any stupid events planned or anything similar just for a laugh, in other words for trolling more or less. Eventually however, after a university degree in computer science, and some time working for a fairly large company to test and improve their security systems, they would come to join us after getting laid off for 'something someone else did' and potentially some protection as well due to the incident that got her fired relating to some sort of secret project the company had in question. Fittingly, tormenting their own workplace through knowing exactly how their security system worked has gone quite well for them and us...Whenever asked about their little nickname, they will always say it's a reference to her father who was a dog catcher. That, and because he had extreme skill smacking anything from insects to even a robber with a rolled up newspaper, the latter of which is a story almost everyone has heard at this point due to how amusing she finds it.

Regardless, TLDR they are a computer wiz and quite good as a detective of sorts, able to use small details to figure things out.

4 + 1 + 1 (First Hacker Bonus) = 6 : Above average (Normal)

Bailey is a thinking sort of hacker, and is well equipped to figure out and foil the cunning plans of other hackers. She does less well against more impulsive hackers, or those whom act without an overall guiding plan, or for those who's plan is too simple to be disrupted by figuring out what they are up to. One can not really cunningly defuse a hammer. Like her habit of tormenting her old workplace, her tendency to hold grudges can sometimes distract her from what's more important then an old enemy being there. Her background in security work leaves her comfortable working with viruses and programs that operate as fixed defenses, as is common in corporate security programs, though she also remembers to bring along plenty of intelligence assets for finding out what her foes are up to. Being somewhat eccentric, she often prefers programs that are 'weird' or otherwise more interesting then the standard default viruses when possible, often biasing her towards more complicated viruses then simpler to understand viri.

Firmament

Originally a group against Censoring, they believed in Freesource, the right to create anything you want. They spread this message freely and proudly in the past, before numerous projects continued to be hit by The Governmental Clusters with Cease and Desist orders over copyrights and such. After many years and fanmade projects being shut down, and the Government breathing down their necks and forcing them down, a leader decided to fight back, gathering others in the Undernet to fight the powers that be and take control of cyberspace for themselves. And so the cyber-terrorist organization Firmament came to be.

I'd like to think that Firmament is actually a multi-group effort. A mix of more above board anti-censorship freedom fighters, freeware content creators, and more radical cyber-terrorists. People from around the web, who ran afoul the corporations or government, and now see a chance to push their own agendas using one unified front.

You are the proudly undefined advocates for freeware and against annoying corporations giving cease and desist orders on fun fangames. As this worlds newest digital terrorist group, you've but to hope that, unlike all the rest, you won't be defeated by a plucky ten year old and his, or her, partnered ADI. Through your connections with abandonware sites, you've come to use the battlechip 'CallChiptune' as an identifying mark for sympathizers with your movement.

'CallChiptune' is a Battlechip that uses the Firmament's vast archives of abandonware soundtracks to summon appropriate music for any occasion. It's ability to figure out what music is appropriate can be a little off at times though, but who doesn't like a cheery 8-bit soundtrack going on in the middle of a desperate battle to keep viruses from deleting your homework? 'CallChiptune' has a memory cost of 0, and is a Simple Battlechip.

It is Turn -B, in the Revision Phase. During this phase you must vote on what revision to do to your current assets.