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Architect's Workshop (Girls' Frontline design quest)

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Wow, a lot of stuff XD
Thankfully, a lot can be merged more or less together (IMO):
-Armored Covering
--adhesive-backed armor 'bandages'
--involving the adhesive-backed armor'bandages' already brought up.
--armored Sleeves (basically metallicweaved bandages)
--armor plates and insulative adhesivefoam.
--kevlar vests, strips and plates

-Spare parts
--replacement syth-muscle tissues -ideally modular, something that can be shaped into a replacement forwhatever its replacing (bicep, trapezius, back muscles, whatever)
--spare Part Doll (can use the dollarms, legs, and common panels with quick un/reattach)
--spare body-parts + tool kit
--we should have historical/statisticaldata about what gets damaged or needs repair most often. Put theparts and tools most likely to be needed in a box and ship it.
--emergency battery/fuel cell in caseprimary ones are damaged.
--spare electrical wires multiplegauges

-Tools
--a "surgery" tool kit foropening up and servicing Ringleaders. Tools for opening them up,getting to the inner workings, and sealing up the synthskin andsynthflesh afterwards
--will require powerful tools forgetting through synthflesh made to resist gunfire.
--just, like, an actual repair kit
--welding equipment
--hammer and clamps to straightenendoskeleton
--pliers, scissors, scalpels, saws,pretty much everything inside a surgery kit but for t-doll.

-Field Cannibalism
--scavenger protocol - inventory listof compatible replacement parts found in SF/G&K dolls
--field-acquired replacement partsprotocol.
--cross-check the parts your mooks usewith the ones you and the other ringleaders are made of. Its likelyinferior, but cannibalizing a unit or two is better than havingdamaged and inoperable parts.
--parts commonality how many parts arecross compatible between various units.

-Extra Fluids
--replacement fluid "IV bags"made to hook into Ringleader synthflesh and replace the fluids theyneed to function (can be adapted for coolant, lubricant, or otherstuff)
--spare fluids
--cleaning supplies for the fluids.

-Filling
--inside panel coating
--expanding foam
--quick hardening cement, less forhealing more to make sure that everything is watertight.(Flex seal)

-Repair Bot
--do we have repair bots? Could we senda copy of Architect out to do field repair?
--mechanic conversion
--some kind of medic drone or doll.
--specialized welding bot
 
Undeadmuffin01 said:
Wow, a lot of stuff XD
Thankfully, a lot can be merged more or less together (IMO):
-Armored Covering
--adhesive-backed armor 'bandages'
--involving the adhesive-backed armor'bandages' already brought up.
--armored Sleeves (basically metallicweaved bandages)
--armor plates and insulative adhesivefoam.
--kevlar vests, strips and plates

-Spare parts
--replacement syth-muscle tissues -ideally modular, something that can be shaped into a replacement forwhatever its replacing (bicep, trapezius, back muscles, whatever)
--spare Part Doll (can use the dollarms, legs, and common panels with quick un/reattach)
--spare body-parts + tool kit
--we should have historical/statisticaldata about what gets damaged or needs repair most often. Put theparts and tools most likely to be needed in a box and ship it.
--emergency battery/fuel cell in caseprimary ones are damaged.
--spare electrical wires multiplegauges

-Tools
--a "surgery" tool kit foropening up and servicing Ringleaders. Tools for opening them up,getting to the inner workings, and sealing up the synthskin andsynthflesh afterwards
--will require powerful tools forgetting through synthflesh made to resist gunfire.
--just, like, an actual repair kit
--welding equipment
--hammer and clamps to straightenendoskeleton
--pliers, scissors, scalpels, saws,pretty much everything inside a surgery kit but for t-doll.

-Field Cannibalism
--scavenger protocol - inventory listof compatible replacement parts found in SF/G&K dolls
--field-acquired replacement partsprotocol.
--cross-check the parts your mooks usewith the ones you and the other ringleaders are made of. Its likelyinferior, but cannibalizing a unit or two is better than havingdamaged and inoperable parts.
--parts commonality how many parts arecross compatible between various units.

-Extra Fluids
--replacement fluid "IV bags"made to hook into Ringleader synthflesh and replace the fluids theyneed to function (can be adapted for coolant, lubricant, or otherstuff)
--spare fluids
--cleaning supplies for the fluids.

-Filling
--inside panel coating
--expanding foam
--quick hardening cement, less forhealing more to make sure that everything is watertight.(Flex seal)

-Repair Bot
--do we have repair bots? Could we senda copy of Architect out to do field repair?
--mechanic conversion
--some kind of medic drone or doll.
--specialized welding bot
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Nice collation, thanks for doing this.
 
Sarhat said:
Taking notes huh?

Sadly, I'm not much into technical repair so I wasn't able to offer something, uh, reasonable. Though, I wonder, which Ringleader is dealing with Electronic Warfare? Scarecrow, Gager? Maybe Mastermind herself...
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We already helped Intruder with Electronic Warfare
EDIT: I don't know if it's her "job" tho
 
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Sarhat said:
Yeah, I remember. I was talking about those EW dolls on Griffin side and who and how in SF can deal with them within cyber space or something like that.
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Never played the game so I might be wrong but I don't think G&K have EW dolls. Intruder faced signal jammers in our quest. Large scale "proper" EW is probably done by humans behind a computer for G&K.

EDIT: I guess Griffin dolls might have some limited field EW capacity but I don't know if they have dedicated ones
 
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Chapter 18
  • Threadmarks
    • You mull over the problem slowly, methodically. First thing you notice is what she's asking might not necessarily the best solution. One doesn't go to a doctor with their own diagnosis and asking for specific pills: they go with symptoms, and the rest is up to the doctor. That's why you, a self-proclaimed doctor, look past the wording of the request, straight into the problem itself: Executioner is getting damaged. And by preventing that in the first place you can solve everything at the root!

    Unfortunately, "just wear body armor" isn't going to cut it: a regular one doesn't provide limbs protection, and besides Ringleaders are remarkably obsessed with their individual styles. Intruder would literally rather die than dress into something she doesn't like, and the rest of the bunch is not much different. So if you want to dress your requester into a suit of armor, you'll have to get creative about it.

    You consider Executioner's personality, her quirks, her battle style, and overlay that onto the requirements for the armor derived from the damage statistics. Luckily you don't have to worry about minor spalling and backface deformation, so one design immediately stands out.
    Yes, this design, implemented in modern materials, is what you could go with: overlapping plates to reinforce vital parts while still allowing flexibility, limb protection that doesn't get in the way of movement too much, and most importantly, Executioner would love it.

    You run the numbers, mentally assembling a prototype and calculating relevant metrics. Turns out for the level of protection you require, weight is getting out of bounds. Playing with the inputs, you're left with three options for the suit: sacrifice protection and stay within weight limits, sacrifice mobility by going over the weight limits, or come up with a new material to stay within the weight limits and still get the required protection. A footage with Executioner deflecting bullets with her sword catches your attention. You sigh and cross out the overweight option: this one is destined for failure.

    There are notes somewhere, the results of your prior experiments on injecting tungsten-carbide compounds between interweaved multi-walled carbon nanotubes and polymer chains elongated at the molecular scale. You were forced to abandon the research due to the lack of progress back then...

    Breakthrough points requirement (2): True

    But now you know enough to complete Molecularly Injected Thermal Hardened Reinforced Interconnected Layers, or MITHRIL. It would take some time, but would provide the highest quality material for the armor.

    You put the options down and switch to the next type, field repairs. You have a fair share of knowledge when it comes to Ringleaders mechanical anatomy, and you noticed long ago they were not designed for the ease of repair. Unlike the mass-produced variants, each Ringleader is a work of art, a prototype built from the ground-up without care for modularity or interchangeability of components. You'd say you and your compatriots were designed for extreme toughness and survivability instead, to keep fighting for as long as possible, gradually trading off superior specifications for continued operation as damage adds up. You're pretty sure if Ex were to loose her limbs, she'd still rip out a throat or two with her teeth. That durability allows Ringleaders to face a small army of Griffin T-Dolls on their lonesome, but also makes it very hard to properly repair one in the field.

    So, what can you do? You take another look at Executioner's injuries statistics. Handgun bullets and grazing hits mostly fail to penetrate her synthetic skin backed by synthflesh that hardens upon impact. Assault rifle bullets do better at close range, sometimes reaching her endoskeleton. On rare occasions they get stuck in joints, inhibiting movement, or get entangled between myomer muscle fascicles, reducing output and precision.

    High-energy rounds from sniper rifles and some machineguns either just pierce through flesh without significant harm, or hit her endoskeleton. They have enough energy to ricochet off it and travel along, doing several times more internal damage. Sometimes they undergo expansive deformation or shatter, resulting in even more trouble. Not enough to stop a Ringleader with a single hit, but after taking a dozen, with more and more subsystems switching to "limp home" mode, performance degradation becomes obvious.

    Exoskeleton damage is almost unheard of, and no wonder: G&K does not pack the firepower to make it happen. Well, a shaped charge can do it, but good luck hitting a Ringleader with an anti-tank rocket. And if it happened, it'd probably mean instant game over anyway, so at least this problem is out.

    You sigh again. This doesn't look easy. You can't find a quick fix for it. A degraded fascicle here, a severed or short microcircuit there, in dozens of different places, all insignificant on their own and requiring specialized facilities to repair. Like the one you have at the main base, a sarcophagus-like pod with a whole room of supporting machinery. That's where you had your hand rebuilt after the explosive incident that cost you several fingers. The thing is, Ringleaders are no old cars to just open a hood and replace a bundle of wires. The repair pod has myomer micro-tentacles that can go into a bullet wound, travel half the body on the inside, grind the bullet and fragments to dust and suck it out, and then rebuild everything from inside out, restoring circuitry, injecting muscle threads, regrowing synthflesh and nano-welding synthskin, all while modulating pain signals to make the procedure if not an enjoyable, but at least a boring experience. If you were to dig into the same wound with a pair of pliers, you'd surely do more harm than good.

    You browse through a wide variety of sealants, patches, bandages, crutches and zip-ties. They all have their uses, but fundamentally unable to solve your problem. They are stop-gap measures to make something broken work again somehow until proper repairs can be made, while you're asked to restore Ex to her prime condition when she's still far from needing those things. No, you need something much more advanced here... like nanite solution that can be injected to restore everything without any external intervention?

    Breakthrough points requirement (3): False

    Right, and give her a whole nanite-based body so that she can perform mimicry and melt through things. What do you think, Ex-1000? You drop the silly idea and consider more practical ones. For instance, switching to a new body would make your requestor as prime as possible, and would not require too much machinery. The damaged body can be sent to the main base for repairs, and having... 3 to 4 bodies total should be enough to always have a fresh spare to switch into.

    Sounds nice, expect that's what Ex is already doing as often as she can. Which is not often enough. Like all other Ringleaders, she has only one spare body besides her active one, and a new one gets queued to production no earlier than the total number of functioning bodies drops below two. That's the best you can afford at this point, otherwise you'd just mass-produce Ringleader-grade troops that'd tear Griffin T-Dolls to pieces with their bare hands.

    Maybe you can try to make a mobile version of the repair pod then? Since you won't need exoskeleton-related functions and power requirements that come with it, it should be possible to scale it down enough to fit onto a wheeled platform. Not a small feat, but sure a feasible one. You put it down and scowl and the unusually short list of ideas. That's it? Aside from talking to Intruder and asking her to teach Ex the importance of tactical retreat to keep her body, yes.

    No. It's you own idea to process the requests in the order they came in, you didn't promise anyone to adhere to it, and Executioner doesn't know you're considering her request now. For the first time a treacherous thought of skipping the request by pretending to put it off surfaces in your mind. Why not? There might be more important things you're needed for, so you could just say this one's turn hasn't arrived yet...

    [x] Gusoku-type armor, standard materials, average protection: 1d 2d, success outcome.
    [x] Gusoku-type armor, MITHRIL, maximum protection: 2d 4d, major success outcome.
    [x] Mobile repair pod: 2d 4d, major success outcome.
    [x] Read all remaining requests in the queue, decide which one to take after that: 1d.
     
  • Threadmarks
    • ...can we pick both mobile repair pod and Mithril armor? I'm more of a lurker here so I forgot if we can only pick one due to some sort of time constraints.
     
    DiscordOxymoron said:
    ...can we pick both mobile repair pod and Mithril armor? I'm more of a lurker here so I forgot if we can only pick one due to some sort of time constraints.
    Click to expand...
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    Sure, feel free to pick as many non-contradictory options as you like.

    Edit: I just realized this kind of vote won't be picked up by the system. Use a write-in for it then.
     
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    Solark said:
    [x] Gusoku-type armor, standard materials, average protection: 1d 2d, success outcome.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    We need a major success to get rid of thr penalty, so this option's out.

    For the armor, is this just designing armor for Executioner, or would the other Ringleaders get armor, too? Also, how long does it take a repair pod to work?

    ...If bullet removal is the main thing repair pods are used for, and doing that is fast enough for combat, could we make MITHRIL armor with just the bullet removal functionality built in? Not sure if this idea is overkill or not.
     
    [X] Plan Both is Good
    -[x] Gusoku-type armor, MITHRIL, maximum protection: 2d 4d, major success outcome.
    -[x] Mobile repair pod: 2d 4d, major success outcome.

    Thinking about it, it'll take eight days huh? A week and a day, but I'm looking at the long term here and hoping this will be worthwhile for the Ringleaders.
     
    Derpmind said:
    For the armor, is this just designing armor for Executioner, or would the other Ringleaders get armor, too?
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    Only Ex. Same with mobile repair pod: after all, Architect would be tearing out one of those from the main base. She can't reasonably build one from scratch in two days.

    Derpmind said:
    Also, how long does it take a repair pod to work?
    Click to expand...
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    Fast enough to have a damaged body repaired in time for replacement. Major success implies we solve the issue completely.

    Derpmind said:
    ...If bullet removal is the main thing repair pods are used for, and doing that is fast enough for combat, could we make MITHRIL armor with just the bullet removal functionality built in? Not sure if this idea is overkill or not.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    It's used for repairs that are as good as a brand new body. Bullet removal is just one of the many steps. And no, combining armor with this thing would be impossible for Architect no matter the breakthrough points.
     
    [x] Gusoku-type armor, MITHRIL, maximum protection: 2d 4d, major success outcome.
     
    Solark said:
    Only Ex. Same with mobile repair pod: after all, Architect would be tearing out one of those from the main base. She can't reasonably build one from scratch in two days.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    In that case, I want to do the armor. Architect develops a new type of material that might be useful in future projects, and Executioner both gets better endurance and might be able to push herself harder in the field. Also, it'll look really cool, and we all know that style is important.

    [X] Gusoku-type armor, MITHRIL, maximum protection: 2d 4d, major success outcome.
     
    I really like this update. I like all of them, but I especially like this one for some reason.

    Solark said:
    You mull over the problem slowly, methodically. First thing you notice is what she's asking might not necessarily the best solution. One doesn't go to a doctor with their own diagnosis and asking for specific pills: they go with symptoms, and the rest is up to the doctor. That's why you, a self-proclaimed doctor, look past the wording of the request, straight into the problem itself: Executioner is getting damaged. And by preventing that in the first place you can solve everything at the root!
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    Wasn't this from an in-thread conversation? Nice to see it here.

    Solark said:
    Yes, this design, implemented in modern materials, is what you could go with: overlapping plates to reinforce vital parts while still allowing flexibility, limb protection that doesn't get in the way of movement too much, and most importantly, Executioner would love it.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    Archi has Ex keyed in. Ex would indeed love a set of samurai armour.

    Solark said:
    There are notes somewhere, the results of your prior experiments on injecting tungsten-carbide compounds between interweaved multi-walled carbon nanotubes and polymer chains elongated at the molecular scale. You were forced to abandon the research due to the lack of progress back then...

    Breakthrough points requirement (2): True

    But now you know enough to complete Molecularly Injected Thermal Hardened Reinforced Interconnected Layers, or MITHRIL. It would take some time, but would provide the highest quality material for the armor.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    Though I do wonder if we couldn't have simply upgraded Executioner's baseline body with this fancy stuff, built it straight into her? Oh well.

    Solark said:
    You put the options down and switch to the next type, field repairs. You have a fair share of knowledge when it comes to Ringleaders mechanical anatomy, and you noticed long ago they were not designed for the ease of repair. Unlike the mass-produced variants, each Ringleader is a work of art, a prototype built from the ground-up without care for modularity or interchangeability of components. You'd say you and your compatriots were designed for extreme toughness and survivability instead, to keep fighting for as long as possible, gradually trading off superior specifications for continued operation as damage adds up.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    Extremely high performance, but an absolute bitch to maintain, never mind repair, on account of each Ringleader being a unique artisanal construction. Sounds about right.

    Solark said:
    You're pretty sure if Ex were to loose her limbs, she'd still rip out a throat or two with her teeth.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    *takes notes*

    Solark said:
    So, what can you do? You take another look at Executioner's injuries statistics. Handgun bullets and grazing hits mostly fail to penetrate her synthetic skin backed by synthflesh that hardens upon impact. Assault rifle bullets do better at close range, sometimes reaching her endoskeleton. On rare occasions they get stuck in joints, inhibiting movement, or get entangled between myomer muscle fascicles, reducing output and precision.

    High-energy rounds from sniper rifles and some machineguns either just pierce through flesh without significant harm, or hit her endoskeleton. They have enough energy to ricochet off it and travel along, doing several times more internal damage. Sometimes they undergo expansive deformation or shatter, resulting in even more trouble. Not enough to stop a Ringleader with a single hit, but after taking a dozen, with more and more subsystems switching to "limp home" mode, performance degradation becomes obvious.

    Exoskeleton damage is almost unheard of, and no wonder: G&K does not pack the firepower to make it happen. Well, a shaped charge can do it, but good luck hitting a Ringleader with an anti-tank rocket. And if it happened, it'd probably mean instant game over anyway, so at least this problem is out.
    Click to expand...
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    I've personally gone back and forth on exactly how resilient Ringleaders are. I like this take a lot - it's very close to my own interpretations.

    I appreciate the super detailed stuff like internal ricocheting, deformation, and shattering of the bullets.

    Solark said:
    You sigh again. This doesn't look easy. You can't find a quick fix for it. A degraded fascicle here, a severed or short microcircuit there, in dozens of different places, all insignificant on their own and requiring specialized facilities to repair. Like the one you have at the main base, a sarcophagus-like pod with a whole room of supporting machinery. That's where you had your hand rebuilt after the explosive incident that cost you several fingers. The thing is, Ringleaders are no old cars to just open a hood and replace a bundle of wires. The repair pod has myomer micro-tentacles that can go into a bullet wound, travel half the body on the inside, grind the bullet and fragments to dust and suck it out, and then rebuild everything from inside out, restoring circuitry, injecting muscle threads, regrowing synthflesh and nano-welding synthskin, all while modulating pain signals to make the procedure if not an enjoyable, but at least a boring experience. If you were to dig into the same wound with a pair of pliers, you'd surely do more harm than good.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    I really really like the imagery of the Ringleader repair unit. The "myomer micro-tentacles" that can get under the synthskin and synthflesh and repair/rebuild all the complex tissue and fiddly bits.

    It's weird and alien and a bit creepy. And it works because, as you say, these high functioning combat androids are not like old cars that you can pop the hood off.

    Solark said:
    Only Ex. Same with mobile repair pod: after all, Architect would be tearing out one of those from the main base. She can't reasonably build one from scratch in two days.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    I'm a little confused. In the update, Architect talks about building a scaled-down version of the repair pods? But if this is actually ripping out one of the rare, expensive, possibly irreplaceable repair units and putting on a wheeled chassis to send towards the font lines, that makes me very nervous.

    [X] Gusoku-type armor, MITHRIL, maximum protection: 2d 4d, major success outcome.
     
    Guys, all those options need to have great success. Not just passing roles. Also those will take more time to do. I say normal armor is fine. The exotic is really hard and we will just add another layer that can weaken the shot.

    [x] Gusoku-type armor, standard materials, average protection: 1d 2d, success outcome.
     
    Mechasaurian said:
    I really like this update. I like all of them, but I especially like this one for some reason.
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    Thank you! Lots of fancy SF tech in this one, maybe that's why?

    Mechasaurian said:
    Archi has Ex keyed in. Ex would indeed love a set of samurai armour.
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    Right? It's a mystery how they came up with the pirate outfit instead.

    Mechasaurian said:
    Though I do wonder if we couldn't have simply upgraded Executioner's baseline body with this fancy stuff, built it straight into her? Oh well.
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    Hmm, I wonder how. Her endoskeleton is fine as is, and is the only rigid part in her body. Subdermal armor implants? I highly doubt the aesthetical outcome, considering our girls refuse to even wear clothes they don't like. Exoskeleton? That's even more radical.

    Mechasaurian said:
    I'm a little confused. In the update, Architect talks about building a scaled-down version of the repair pods? But if this is actually ripping out one of the rare, expensive, possibly irreplaceable repair units and putting on a wheeled chassis to send towards the font lines, that makes me very nervous.
    Click to expand...
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    The repair system consists of a pod and a room of supporting machinery. Archi would take the pod itself and scale down the supporting stuff to fit onto a truck. The idea is to keep the pod close enough to make do with just 2 bodies instead of 4. I'm happy you noticed the implications btw. Though I'm not going to account for this now, it sounds like something I'd do if the quest was going too well for Archi 😈

    Thread said:
    Guys, all those options need to have great success.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    Thread said:
    [x] Gusoku-type armor, standard materials, average protection: 1d 2d, success outcome.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
     
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    Solark said:
    Thank you! Lots of fancy SF tech in this one, maybe that's why?
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    That's probably it.


    Solark said:
    Right? It's a mystery how they came up with the pirate outfit instead.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...



    Solark said:
    Hmm, I wonder how. Her endoskeleton is fine as is, and is the only rigid part in her body. Subdermal armor implants? I highly doubt the aesthetical outcome, considering our girls refuse to even wear clothes they don't like. Exoskeleton? That's even more radical
    Click to expand...
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    Yeah, it probably wouldn't work that well.

    Maybe we could have replaced the existing synth-muscle fibres with something even fancier and tougher? Graphene fibres, carbon nanotubes, diamond nanoweave? Or maybe that's already what they're made of. Oh well.
     
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    Mechasaurian said:
    Maybe we could have replaced the existing synth-muscle fibres with something even fancier and tougher? Graphene fibres, carbon nanotubes, diamond nanoweave? Or maybe that's already what they're made of. Oh well.
    Click to expand...
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    Diamond nanoweave sounds cool, and having muscles double as armor would probably be a great option for Crysis nanosuite look (which I absolutely love).
    No flesh, just bones and muscles all over. Maybe we'll get there later on.
     
    I'm having buyer remorse now about not backtracking to fix our recon drones... That doubling penalty is more punishing then I envisioned.

    Oh well, such is life.
    In that situation, I think that we should go for the most bang for our buck instead of piling stuff.

    [X] Gusoku-type armor, MITHRIL, maximum protection: 2d 4d, major success outcome.
     
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    Solark said:
    Unlike the mass-produced variants, each Ringleader is a work of art, a prototype built from the ground-up without care for modularity or interchangeability of components.
    Click to expand...
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    I figured this would be the case yeah, but wouldn't we still be made out of the same parts as the mass production ones, just at a higher quality and, probably, with some one-off upgrades that are rarer?
     
    [x] Mobile repair pod: 2d 4d, major success outcome.

    Armor is armor. Mobile Repair Pod gives SF a capability they don't have. If, for example, someone takes out Mastermind and relevant factories, MRP would still remain and would allow remaining Dolls to survive with a lot less worry about the future.
    Plus armor helps only one Ringleader, MRP would help every one of our girls.
     
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