Mecha Design Quest

After beating your head against the design of your mecha for a few days- and more than a little drinking- it became time to start development of the Workshop 3 Block 1 mecha design. The first and most important part of the redesign was a complete repackaging of the engine compartment. By mounting the radiator horizontally along the top of the engine compartment under a peaked roof, you managed to clear out plenty of room on the design. In addition, by taking the electric motor off the transmission and instead gating it to the gyro, your teams managed to simplify that entire disaster by a not-insubstantial degree. Vaus was incredibly helpful there, with his team also developing a way to adjust the oil sumps to significantly cut down on leakage. The end engine/transmission package was about twenty centimeters shorter and thereby allowed you to shave twenty-four centimeters off the total length of the mecha's forward section.

The aft section was slightly harder to compress space-wise, but since your main issue was cost, certain tricks were used to clean the plate. For starters, the large and frustrating wing doors on the driver's position were deleted wholesale, to be replaced with a larger forwards viewport and vision vent blocks that could be articulated by foot with simple hold-open cams. In addition, the driver's gun was deleted wholesale, vastly increasing vision of the position. The commander and spotter, meanwhile, lost the majority of his gun shield down to only a forward plate, and had to contend with a tarp hatch cover in case of rain. In addition, most of his vision blocks were deleted, saving cut time on the sheet steel, and the decision was made to make the subdivision to the radio compartment and the structural floor separating the commander from the gas tank to be made of grating, instead of full steel plate.

The resulting prototype 1-1 was a total 12% cost cut over the 0-1 and -2 models, which wasn't quite enough to reach 115% cost of the Workshop 1 design, now named the Requin. As such, redesign was continued.

The first thing to go at this point were crew comforts. The kind padded seats were replaced with canvass slings, folding benches, and the bare minimum of cloth. Electric headlights were removed, to be replaced by a spotlight for the Commander, and a single signalling lamp. The internal paint was abandoned wholesale, except for what little was needed around weld points as a sealant. Internal fittings were likewise simplified, and a patently Spartan air was had as the next unit, 1-2, was rolled out.

This model, by Grace of God, or whatever passed for him in this benighted industry, was just inside the cost limit. It had taken four months to do, but the French Army found it acceptable, and far more importantly so too did your superiors at Hotchkiss.

Of course, sending the 1-2 design out to the manufactury floor was a foolish move. The next step was to work with foremen and tooling engineers to work out the vagaries of the design, and figure out where steps could be taken to simplify manufacture. The fact of the matter was for large part your costs were predictions, not reality- man-hour bloat could kill the design here if construction was too difficult. Fortunately, the teams had plenty of experience with the old Araignée refits, and quickly applied most of the same design considerations to building your design. Mecha handling platforms, roll-in roll-out construction, crane scheduling, and leg mas construction were all considered, batted around, and discussed. The decision to order out several subsystems helped immensely here, since it minimized additional line spin-up.

The 1-3 prototype construction line spun up, with the French Army giving your design the temporary model designation of the Char a pied mle.1927(expérimental) and the first batch of 45 were accepted six months after trial. Unfortunately, there was some loss on this batch due to line integration issues, but the French Army gladly paid over so that the contract broke even on that shipment.

From there, the 2-1 design, for final production, was initiated, turning slowly into the 2-6 design as leg improvements and new electronics improved the design to where it was both above specification and producing good profit. Seven months after the 0- series proved their worth, the French Cavalry was properly re-arming with your design, next to the Requin. After being dubbed "Fourmi" by the troops, it was a source of great pride to you, and to the company.

Of course, pride cometh before the hit to the kneecaps. Already the French Army had a new specification they wanted designs for, and this one was a far more demanding set of specifications. Designed as an infantry supporting mecha, this unit was required to be bipedal, hit 35kph at maximum speed or 15kph over broken ground, and most critically carry two weapons: a machine-gun or autocannon, and an explosives projector. The weapon for the explosive projector wasn't specified, but it had to be able to deliver a payload of at least 750g explosive fill per shot.

Talking to your contacts in the Army, you quickly got a few more additional items to look at. Speed wasn't the primary concern here: firepower was, and to a lesser extent armor. The latest German 'agricultural mecha' had been observed with heavy armor, and more importantly a number of heavy hardpoints that could be adapted to filled with heavy weapons. Current logic dictated a downed mecha was a dead mecha, though, so the idea was the largest explosive filled round to maximize odds of control loss and a knockover- at which point, the pilot would bail or the infantry would break out the incendiary grenades.

After putting the requirements, both formal and informal, up in the Workshop 3 Office, you then got to the meat of affairs: celebrating. The entire Hotchkiss design staff, your experimental workshop included, was going out for a weekend on the town in Paris. Wine and absinthe would flow, feasts to be had, and for those interested, more exotic pastimes could be arranged. Still, amidst the antediluvian celebration, something was catching your eye. Even here and now, dancing and celebrating, there was still opportunity: you just had to break loose from the lucre in front of you to grasp it.

VOTES

Who- or what- do you see at the party to give you an edge?
[] A group of engineers from Renault, arguing over a bottle of wine at a series of more than half-finished blueprints. You think you see an engine there? (Engine Tech Upgrade)
[] A too-sober American, playing darts and trying to avoid the temptation of anything stronger than the glass of orange juice in one hand. Pity about the faint whiff of vodka coming from it, but he hasn't missed a throw yet. (Weapons Tech Upgrade)
[] A pair of Chinamen, speaking in quite legible Portuguese, whom seem to be confused about why their odd mechanical toys don't seem to be selling in the market. (Gyro Tech Upgrade)
[] A piss-drunk African preacher, speaking a Caribbean patois you can hardly make out. The mechanics trying to rouse him have a reason, though, and judging from their frantic prayers and the broken car outside, they seem to think his faith is the only thing to bring it back to life. (Eldritch Research Development)

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AN: at no point did I say this Quest would ever hew too close to the boundaries of reality...