- Location
- Australia
Just remember, everyone trying to earmark funds, we've got the mother of all four way battles to repair from. Don't be extravagent.
Blood, Sweat, and Tears (WH40k Design Bureau)
- Thread starter DaLintyGuy
- Start date
- Sci-Fi
Escort carriers might be big, but I don't think showy is a good word for them. I guess we could put together something on a War Hawk hull and have that and the fighters be the only things we send them this turn, though. (I don't think that'll get us as many hypothetical gratitude points in a vacuum as three incomplete Spatha hulls would, but I suspect an omake bonus could easily close that gap.)
Hey, @DaLintyGuy, in the name of being helpful, I put together a ship history and XP tracking spreadsheet for you, and filled it out with all our current ships: Naval Register Tracking. It'll automatically generate the ship status and history in pretty much the same format you're using on the naval register. You won't be able to edit it, but you can make a copy and edit that. (I had to make some assumptions about which battles our ships did and did not get experience for, but the final totals should all be the same. You might want to double check them.)
Foreign Intelligence (Tensions Reduced)
So, I did another thing while we're waiting for the update:
Fleet Bastion Gehault Naval Intelligence
Classified - Eyes Only
Calavan Navy
Faction Overview:
After the withdrawal of the bulk of IN forces from the Lativa subsector, many systems were left scrambling to see to their own defense. Among the most successful of these has been the Calavar system, thanks in large part to its possession of a civilian shipyard. Since at least MY40.XXX, Calavar has been constructing escort-grade warships, though it is not believed to have any capital ships at this time. They have employed this small navy to wage an aggressive campaign against the Traitor and Xeno forces near Calavar in a self-styled "crusade", with moderate success. Their naval technology, initially crude, has been getting steadily less so, likely as a result of their alliance with the Mechanicus Outpost Lexicalum. It is still, however, well below IN standards.
Strategic Outlook:
The Calavan Navy holds themselves to be loyalists, and with some justification: they have, to date, fought exclusively against Xeno and Traitor forces, liberating several worlds (see: Baliafax, Uniary, Homna) and allying themselves to Mechanicus Outpost Lexicalum and even Lativa System itself. They have, however, brusquely rejected Gehault's lawful authority, allegedly due to "irreconcilable disagreement with Gehault's strategic posture". Since then, they have made no openly hostile moves, but have begun supplying Yttreum with military equipment. Intelligence believes that open conflict is inevitable in the short to medium term.
Calvar's primary strength is industrial. As one of the few systems in the Lativa subsector still able to produce warships, Calavar is able to not only maintain but expand their naval forces, and they have been doing so with enthusiasm. At the time of withdrawal, Calavar posessed only a small civilian shipyard, but as their current forces are well in excess of what this yard could produce, it is assumed that they have greatly expanded it. If Calavar could be brought to heel, their proven ability to build and maintain warships would be an incalculable asset to Gehault, alleviating or perhaps even eliminating our maintenance difficulties. In the event of open conflict, the Calavar-V shipyard should be considered maximum priority for intact capture.
Known Ship Classes:
Armed Freighter
Calavar's earliest naval assets were armed freighters typical of home-grown defense fleets. A few are known to remain in service, but they are not believed to have constructed any in some time. These ships are not considered a serious threat to naval vessels.
Escort Carrier
A fairly typical example of the breed, these small carriers built on freighter hulls are Calavar's only known carrier assets. They are known to operate limited numbers of Fury Interceptors and Starhawk Bombers, and are believed to be the original source of Savior multirole strikecraft.
Resolute-class Corvette
The Resolute-class is the first proper warship constructed by the Calavan Navy, and is believed to still form the bulk of its warships. The fleet which made contact with Gehault in MY40.XXX consisted of four Resolutes and an escort carrier, making this the best-observed Calavan warship class. Despite size and tonnage more typical of frigates, Calavar classifies these ships as corvettes, likely due to unfamiliarity with naval terminology. Armed with large numbers of low-quality macrocannons, the Resolute may be thought of as an inferior version of a Claymore-class Corvette. Early examples of this class mounted standard merchant engines, unusual segmented shields, and no proper armor, but the class has been revised at least once as Calavar's technology improves, and newer ships are significantly more formidable. Like all of Calavar's known warships, the Resolute suffers from a distinct weakness in point defense weaponry.
"Argent"-class Torpedo Frigate
These frigates, believed to be built on the same hull as the Resolute-class, are armed with a battery of macrocannons and a pair of torpedo tubes. Intelligence has not observed the torpedoes themselves in action, but unconfirmed reports suggest they are slower and less powerful than IN torpedoes. Nonetheless, they are known to have been employed effectively against both Ork and Traitor fleets. The Argent class mounts armor but is believed to lack both shields and point defense, suggesting that the hull design has difficulties mounting sufficient defenses.
"Tomahawk"-class Heavy Frigate
This heavy frigate, armed with 50% more macrocannons than the Resolute-class, is believed to be an experimental class of one. Its sheer size limits its speed and maneuverability to little more than a typical freighter. Unlike early-model Resolutes, however, it mounts both shields and armor, making it both more powerful and more durable than its smaller predecessors - though of course, it is still no match for a Sword-class frigate.
"Lancer"-class Heavy Frigate
The first Calavan ship known to mount lance weaponry, this heavy frigate carries a macrocannon battery and a pair of lances. The lances are reported to be nearly as powerful as IN standard lances, but have a notably shorter maximum range. The hull design is similar to that of the Tomahawk, suggesting it may have similar mobility issues. The class's heavy lance armament makes it a high priority target.
Unconfirmed lance-armed frigate class
Unconfirmed rumors suggest that Calavar has begun fielding lance-armed frigates, suggesting that the Lancer class may have proven uneconomical. Little is known about these frigates, and even their existence is uncertain.
Scorn-class Bombardment Ship
Designed to bombard ground forces and destroy immobile fortifications to the exclusion of all else, this ship class features heavily in reports of Calavar's ground battles. Its single, enormous spinal cannon fires oversized shells containing large but primitive fusion warheads. It also carries a small number of troop transport shuttles to provide additional support for soldiers on the ground. As it does not have the mobility to effectively use spinal weapons in a naval engagement, this class is exclusively a support unit. It is believed to be built on a freighter hull, further making it unsuitable for the line of battle.
Fleet Bastion Gehault Naval Intelligence
Classified - Eyes Only
Calavan Navy
Faction Overview:
After the withdrawal of the bulk of IN forces from the Lativa subsector, many systems were left scrambling to see to their own defense. Among the most successful of these has been the Calavar system, thanks in large part to its possession of a civilian shipyard. Since at least MY40.XXX, Calavar has been constructing escort-grade warships, though it is not believed to have any capital ships at this time. They have employed this small navy to wage an aggressive campaign against the Traitor and Xeno forces near Calavar in a self-styled "crusade", with moderate success. Their naval technology, initially crude, has been getting steadily less so, likely as a result of their alliance with the Mechanicus Outpost Lexicalum. It is still, however, well below IN standards.
Strategic Outlook:
The Calavan Navy holds themselves to be loyalists, and with some justification: they have, to date, fought exclusively against Xeno and Traitor forces, liberating several worlds (see: Baliafax, Uniary, Homna) and allying themselves to Mechanicus Outpost Lexicalum and even Lativa System itself. They have, however, brusquely rejected Gehault's lawful authority, allegedly due to "irreconcilable disagreement with Gehault's strategic posture". Since then, they have made no openly hostile moves, but have begun supplying Yttreum with military equipment. Intelligence believes that open conflict is inevitable in the short to medium term.
Calvar's primary strength is industrial. As one of the few systems in the Lativa subsector still able to produce warships, Calavar is able to not only maintain but expand their naval forces, and they have been doing so with enthusiasm. At the time of withdrawal, Calavar posessed only a small civilian shipyard, but as their current forces are well in excess of what this yard could produce, it is assumed that they have greatly expanded it. If Calavar could be brought to heel, their proven ability to build and maintain warships would be an incalculable asset to Gehault, alleviating or perhaps even eliminating our maintenance difficulties. In the event of open conflict, the Calavar-V shipyard should be considered maximum priority for intact capture.
Known Ship Classes:
Armed Freighter
Calavar's earliest naval assets were armed freighters typical of home-grown defense fleets. A few are known to remain in service, but they are not believed to have constructed any in some time. These ships are not considered a serious threat to naval vessels.
Escort Carrier
A fairly typical example of the breed, these small carriers built on freighter hulls are Calavar's only known carrier assets. They are known to operate limited numbers of Fury Interceptors and Starhawk Bombers, and are believed to be the original source of Savior multirole strikecraft.
Resolute-class Corvette
The Resolute-class is the first proper warship constructed by the Calavan Navy, and is believed to still form the bulk of its warships. The fleet which made contact with Gehault in MY40.XXX consisted of four Resolutes and an escort carrier, making this the best-observed Calavan warship class. Despite size and tonnage more typical of frigates, Calavar classifies these ships as corvettes, likely due to unfamiliarity with naval terminology. Armed with large numbers of low-quality macrocannons, the Resolute may be thought of as an inferior version of a Claymore-class Corvette. Early examples of this class mounted standard merchant engines, unusual segmented shields, and no proper armor, but the class has been revised at least once as Calavar's technology improves, and newer ships are significantly more formidable. Like all of Calavar's known warships, the Resolute suffers from a distinct weakness in point defense weaponry.
"Argent"-class Torpedo Frigate
These frigates, believed to be built on the same hull as the Resolute-class, are armed with a battery of macrocannons and a pair of torpedo tubes. Intelligence has not observed the torpedoes themselves in action, but unconfirmed reports suggest they are slower and less powerful than IN torpedoes. Nonetheless, they are known to have been employed effectively against both Ork and Traitor fleets. The Argent class mounts armor but is believed to lack both shields and point defense, suggesting that the hull design has difficulties mounting sufficient defenses.
"Tomahawk"-class Heavy Frigate
This heavy frigate, armed with 50% more macrocannons than the Resolute-class, is believed to be an experimental class of one. Its sheer size limits its speed and maneuverability to little more than a typical freighter. Unlike early-model Resolutes, however, it mounts both shields and armor, making it both more powerful and more durable than its smaller predecessors - though of course, it is still no match for a Sword-class frigate.
"Lancer"-class Heavy Frigate
The first Calavan ship known to mount lance weaponry, this heavy frigate carries a macrocannon battery and a pair of lances. The lances are reported to be nearly as powerful as IN standard lances, but have a notably shorter maximum range. The hull design is similar to that of the Tomahawk, suggesting it may have similar mobility issues. The class's heavy lance armament makes it a high priority target.
Unconfirmed lance-armed frigate class
Unconfirmed rumors suggest that Calavar has begun fielding lance-armed frigates, suggesting that the Lancer class may have proven uneconomical. Little is known about these frigates, and even their existence is uncertain.
Scorn-class Bombardment Ship
Designed to bombard ground forces and destroy immobile fortifications to the exclusion of all else, this ship class features heavily in reports of Calavar's ground battles. Its single, enormous spinal cannon fires oversized shells containing large but primitive fusion warheads. It also carries a small number of troop transport shuttles to provide additional support for soldiers on the ground. As it does not have the mobility to effectively use spinal weapons in a naval engagement, this class is exclusively a support unit. It is believed to be built on a freighter hull, further making it unsuitable for the line of battle.
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Sir_Travelsalot
Never wakes up tired.
- Location
- At Home
Lativa
irreconcilable
Something referred to as being of Calavar is Calavan.
Other than that, a wonderful bit of work.
Gah, fixed. Can't believe I've been reading that wrong this whole time.
They're classifying it as an upgraded Resolute.
A nice piece of work. For a reward...
[] Handshake in the Dark: A small number of Gehault shipmasters want out of their cause, having seen the success of their neighbors and hoping to curry favor with their change of loyalty at this key point.
[] Affirmation of Intent: The diplomatic corps of Calavar in conjunction with the Sororitas Orders scores crucial victories, pushing away the building distrust and delaying the inevitable conflict after the current war in the East closes.
[] A Masked Stranger: A corrupt contact at Gehault bears unexpected fruit, handing an intelligence packet containing up to date readiness information on the fleets of Gehault.
I am committing to the update going out tomorrow, so be prepared for that.
[] Handshake in the Dark: A small number of Gehault shipmasters want out of their cause, having seen the success of their neighbors and hoping to curry favor with their change of loyalty at this key point.
[] Affirmation of Intent: The diplomatic corps of Calavar in conjunction with the Sororitas Orders scores crucial victories, pushing away the building distrust and delaying the inevitable conflict after the current war in the East closes.
[] A Masked Stranger: A corrupt contact at Gehault bears unexpected fruit, handing an intelligence packet containing up to date readiness information on the fleets of Gehault.
I am committing to the update going out tomorrow, so be prepared for that.
Gah. Those are so good. If we can get our hands on actual IN warships, no matter how much in disrepair they are, it would be a hell of a boon.
The second one is also very important to keep fellow loyalists or 'loyalists' from attacking us when we are busy with killing Heretics and Xenos.
The second one is also very important to keep fellow loyalists or 'loyalists' from attacking us when we are busy with killing Heretics and Xenos.
Ooh, that's a really tough choice. On the one hand, free ships with IN tech. On the other hand, delaying the conflict for a turn or two would make us that much stronger and them that much weaker. On the third hand, knowing exactly what we're up against certainly has the least direct impact but could be extremely valuable nonetheless. I feel like I should go with Affirmation of Intent so that we can get our first light cruiser out before things get hot, but I don't know; free IN ships is a hell of a thing to say no to...
To be fair, these are disillusioned captains in a strictly meritocratic work environment. They had to make do with scraps, hence why they might be willing to change sides. Plus some other things that are technically below our level of abstraction but makes for some good fluff.
Warmach1ne32
Machine of War and Quests
- Location
- Indonesia
I am currently watching Battlefleet Gothic Armada videos guides from players for inspiration and I think I can adapt a few technologies from the game for our use. Like these 3.
(Utility/Defence) Void Cluster Capacitors: While the Haptrix Rapid Shields have done good work in protecting our vessels, it's unique design is starting to show it's weaknesses, especially against Lances which shields are designed to defeat. One solution would be to backtrack and use more conventional singular shield that covers the whole ship. Another solution is to double down and improve the recharge speed of the Haptrix Shields. The Void Cluster Capacitors are multiple capacitors systems that can independently recharge a section of a Haptrix shield multiple times, with 1 capacitor in the clustor of 6 being able to fully recharge a section before needing a short amount of time to be fully charged enough to be used again. Should a ship be under fire from 1 direction, the Cluster Capacitors can fully recharge that section 6 or more times, drastically increasing our ships survivability. Each capacitor recharges one at a time. When used to charge a Mono-Shield system, the Cluster will dump all of its capacitors to charge the main shields requiring a long recharge period before it can be used again.
(Hangar Add-On) Automated Refueling Station: With a majority of our fleet having hangars, improving their performance by automating most of the refueling procedures will help in reducing the time they need to fully restock, which results in more sorties overall resulting in more damage delivered.
I think I could also explain away how the IN can have a different ship transfer void shields. It is either by using Microwave emmiters to send microwave energy to the target ship which can then be converted into electricity to help charge the capacitor much faster. Or they just teleport fully charged void shield capacitors onto allied ships. I think it is the former since replacing void shield capacitors in the middle of combat is really dangerous and just sending huge amounts of power to recharge the capacitors faster would be much safer. Tell me what you guys think of these ideas.
(Utility/Defence) Void Cluster Capacitors: While the Haptrix Rapid Shields have done good work in protecting our vessels, it's unique design is starting to show it's weaknesses, especially against Lances which shields are designed to defeat. One solution would be to backtrack and use more conventional singular shield that covers the whole ship. Another solution is to double down and improve the recharge speed of the Haptrix Shields. The Void Cluster Capacitors are multiple capacitors systems that can independently recharge a section of a Haptrix shield multiple times, with 1 capacitor in the clustor of 6 being able to fully recharge a section before needing a short amount of time to be fully charged enough to be used again. Should a ship be under fire from 1 direction, the Cluster Capacitors can fully recharge that section 6 or more times, drastically increasing our ships survivability. Each capacitor recharges one at a time. When used to charge a Mono-Shield system, the Cluster will dump all of its capacitors to charge the main shields requiring a long recharge period before it can be used again.
(Hangar Add-On) Automated Refueling Station: With a majority of our fleet having hangars, improving their performance by automating most of the refueling procedures will help in reducing the time they need to fully restock, which results in more sorties overall resulting in more damage delivered.
I think I could also explain away how the IN can have a different ship transfer void shields. It is either by using Microwave emmiters to send microwave energy to the target ship which can then be converted into electricity to help charge the capacitor much faster. Or they just teleport fully charged void shield capacitors onto allied ships. I think it is the former since replacing void shield capacitors in the middle of combat is really dangerous and just sending huge amounts of power to recharge the capacitors faster would be much safer. Tell me what you guys think of these ideas.
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- Location
- yorkshire
loving this looking forward to seeing more
Turn Seven Design Results, Construction Phase Begins
Plan Upgrades and Consolidation
Result: 10-1 (minor upgrade)= 9
The nigh cataclysmic battle that was the final Relief of Uniary highlighted the issues and limitations of even the militant derivation that was the T-100 Auspex. The sheer number of contacts and electromagnetic pulses as void shields were repeatedly battered down drowned out the active portion of the targeting system at times which lead to volleys becoming ineffective. Where in a duel between two ships the enemy volley could be tracked even faintly the chaos of a fleet battle rendered it impossible and affected the usefulness of the Rapid Shields and the new engines.
The new auspex system was an evolutionary, rather than revolutionary, development. Again the number of nodes were increased but rather than simply feeding into the bridge each cluster was tied together by a cogitator system for preprocessing before the cleaned data was forwarded to the bridge. Incidentally this also provided another layer of insulation for the bridge crew and systems from any blasphemous horrors the Traitors deployed. Specialized emitters would bracket the hull for longer effective ranges during combat.
[Distributed Array Auspex: An evolution of the T-100, the T-150 increased resolution by adding more broadcast and receiver nodes and then tied them together into local networks with dedicated cogitators. (Active 2, Passive 2.5, Long Range) (4M)]
Result: 8-0 (somewhat minor change= 8
The Farstrike Lance double accelerator weapon system had been invaluable for the fleet action over Uniary. Capable of cutting through the heavy armor of (what passed for) line ships after shields were brought down, it saved lives and tonnage that would have otherwise been lost to the Traitor swarms and the heavy guns of all sides. It's predecessor, the prototypical Thunderclap, had suffered from crippling containment loss; something that the Farstrike had solved through the use of dual-charge payloads.
Even so, simply because it was usable didn't necessarily mean that it was as good as it could become. This was something the Admiralty agreed with, as they ordered additional work to be done on the Farstrike. Compared to the Lances of the Imperial Navy it was shorter in range and possessed less force at the point of contact. Enviable for a second rate militia force, perhaps. Yet the Crusade was not merely a policing force that could be content with scaring off individual foes while safeguarding merchant shipping.
The main disadvantage of a particle beam over a laser was the base tendency of a gas to expand to fill a volume. Each atom repulsed those nearby through electromagnetic forces and in so doing decreased the damage of the packet once it struck a target. Eventually the gas would be so dispersed as to do nothing and so that distance would be tagged as the weapons maximum range. During a late night brainstorming session at one of the recreational areas on the Calavan shipyard and over a few rounds of drinks the suggestion was tossed out to use lasers to push the atoms back into place.
Such a thing could not fully contain the payload, of course, at least not without a mastery of physics the Ancients only might have had, but reducing the bleed of the particles by twenty or so percent still paid of heftily when it came to increasing the range of the weapon system. The new projectiles, instead of being a spectrum shifted blur, was now an indistinct streak as light from the targeting lasers was reflected off the gas trying to escape from the sides of the payload.
[Range +1]
Result of 7-2 (straight upgrade)+1 (salvage)=6
The Standard Macrocannon of these long years of war is a dependable construct. The first of its kind after the small guns of merchants were deemed to be woefully ineffective for the new age the Subsector found itself in, the Standard regrettably has shown its age. While useful against the lightest of Ork ships because of their high rate of fire even in the face of increasing Ork "standards", it was ineffective against naval warships for much the same reasons. Be it loading crews being massacred by boarders or damage and unable to be replenished during battle or simply lacking the power to dig deeply into the armored hull of the target the Standard was being edged out.
The subsequent derivative requested changed that. The change made to facilitate this was a new acceleration system. Instead of a longer barrel or starting charge the electromagnetic system was entirely overhauled to use a new set of materials and more of them. The ammunition was also changed slightly, slimmed down to increase the velocity of the projectile to a minor degree. Handling the increased recoil from the guns was done through the use of a actively viscous matrix to isolate the accelerator carriage from the hull: a technique inspired by industrial structures on the tectonically active Pleso. Something that aided accuracy as well.
These changes increased the ability to penetrate armored hulls. Unfortunately, as good as they were they relied on production methods that were on the fringe of what Calavan industry could accomplish. Direct Mechanicus oversight was needed for the correct precipitation of the metamaterials that formed the structure of the accelerators.
[Standard Macrocannon Battery MkII: With the lessons from Uniary in hand the demand for increased military firepower formed the foundation of the Mark II. A reduced number of barrels and more advanced components distinguish it from its predecessor though it retains much of the support architecture. Damage 3, Short Range. (4M,1A)]
Result of 5+1 (simplicity)=6
The Rapid Shield is a hallmark of Calavar at this point. It's performance in the swirling melees that result from the majority of foes faced by the Crusade has served the crews of the previously unremarkable world well against the light cannon levied against them in large numbers: the specialty of the design. Yet with the notice of external factors intruding into the theater the "scale" design has had it's limitations highlighted.
Single point weapons, commonly Lances or heavier Macrocannon, would only be resisted by a fraction of the entire capacity of the shield system. Something that made mounting a scale type shield on a Cruiser both cost prohibitive and ineffective without a major redesign. And, as it was now the traditional method for Calavan shipbuilding such a major redesign was put forward.
Compared to the scale type Rapid Shield the bubble type Rapid Shield held many of the same advantages. Comprised of many layers rather than separate scales the bubbles allow for the entire strength of the shield to be leveraged against a threat. This comes at the trade off of some of the constant protection as the system acts like a proper shield bubble rather than leaving sections of intact shields around point failures but the overall increase in effectiveness makes up for it.
And as the prospect of a Light Cruiser flagship for the Crusade grows the ability to give it the protection fitting of it's station is a valuable addition indeed...
[Bubble-type Rapid Shield: A distinctly Calavan take on standard shields. The use of bubble shields allowed for the resistance of high impact weapons such as Lances while retaining the many weak but quickly cycling sections of Rapid Shielding. Shield 3, Armor 1. (6M)]
Result of 6-0=6
The dockyard on the edge of the Calavar system was never meant to build warships. Maintain Claymore Corvettes and perform minor repairs to other Escorts perhaps but to build them? It was not designed for that purpose. There were inefficiencies and bottlenecks when it came to forming the structural members of warships that slowed down construction. Experts pored over the new schematics of the Industrial Platform reconstruction in a bid to better solve the problem.
Forges were tweaked to better produce thick members and armor while various other lines were altered to better future proof them. These changes would only come into effect once the next set of progress was completed on the platform yet it would provide a useful boost to production.
[Build capacity increased by ten after the next set of progress on the Industrial Platform]
>Knight Time (event project)
Result of 10-2 (pushing the boundaries)=8
The Outpost of Lexicalum had been an unremarkable place in the South of Lativa for millennia. Primarily a producer of equipment for the Imperial Navy patrol squadrons it had also provided the bulk of the advanced material for Planetary Defense Forces in the area while making notable contributions to the depot at Calsum. Operations ticked by at a comfortable pace in the security of a Subsector at peace.
When the Fall occurred it had rendered the Outpost nearly superfluous. An isolated beacon of faith in the gathering dark. And so the senior Magos invoked treaties and alliances in ways that were technically beyond their scope to bring the strength together that would be needed to survive.
Then the forces of Calavar had arrived. Their techpriests could have been argued to have lost their way but study showed that they still held to the tenets of the Machine Cult. In the technical sense even if they overstepped their stations. Children playing with things they were unprepared for, it could and was said.
Yet contact meant a transfer of ideas. And the Calavan forces went from victory to victory against their squabbling enemies so how could they not have the favor of the Omnissiah?
This agreement grew as the Crusade defended the works of the Omnissiah as well as it could. Diluted by accusations of necessity rather than piety but defended by the recovery of blessed technology. Even so the new Radicals were limited by a lack of access to resources with which to perform their research as the leaders of the Outpost had no time or resources to spend on "flights of fancy". It took some time for the ideas to coalesce enough to go to the other source of material and support…
When the Calavan authorities received the offer of collaboration from the chosen delegation of Radical Mechanicus with a degree of worry… And more greed. The Knights of House Noctris were advanced combatants above anything Calavar could produce. Even a pale echo of their glory would stand out once the Crusade was won. Perhaps, such a development could be leveraged as a show of the increasing sophistication of Calavar to gain treaties and recognition from the Forge Worlds of the Subsector and make the rulers of the world a new kind of wealthy and powerful.
Still, as certain as they were those were still musings on the future. To earn that sort of respect still had to be done and it was not going to be easy. The Radicals proposing the idea had some experience with fully mechanical legs and the Calavan Adepts had the schematics for the Sentinel. Neither of which were a good match for what was going to be done.
After some proof of concept "arthrotanks" to confirm the viability of the most important part of the project the design teams started hammering out prototypes for testing. A bipedal platform was desired, naturally enough, and so the first attempt was scaling up the Sentinel to turn it from a mechanized cavalry unit to a light tank. This program resulted in the Guardian Walker: a larger Sentinel with two main mounts and two secondary weapons such as heavy bolters/stubbers. Thicker and more robust legs and a gas turbine powerplant to feed the increased demands rounded it out yet the architecture had been proven to not scale past that point.
Design work also pointed out the limitation of the conventional control scheme of the Sentinel on a more humanoid walker. The precision of movement simply wasn't there for articulated arms in the same vein as the Knights. As such the handful of Adepts, Radicals, and security guards hacked apart a pair of high tier medical scanners to cobble together a noninvasive neural helmet akin to what was known of how the Knights were piloted. Successive iterations of the device, with additional personnel with expertise in the field, were fine tuned for the task at hand. Eventually the decision was reluctantly made to go with cybernetic controls after all in order to give some level of feedback to the pilot rather than only passively monitoring their motor cortex.
What was presented to the design board for approval was a far cry from the smooth look of the Knights. The Levy Walker as it was named was a primitive and brutalist design with little in the way of refinement unlike the venerable Knights. The inclusion of cybernetic controls did mean that blocky, three fingered hands could be used to wield varied weaponry, unlike the integrated nature of Knightly weapons. Commonality of supply with regular army formations was easily accomplished from there by simply altering existing heavy weapons to be usable by the six meter tall war machines in the same way a rifleman uses his small arms, from heavy bolter or autocannon "pistols" to rifles made from Leman Russ battlecannon or Punishers.
Handling and use of the machines was up to acceptable levels, though naturally less than a true Knight. Deploying them on ships, while possible, was not recommended even if the idea of one wielding an appropriately scaled power sword to clear a pack of cultists was a satisfying one.
[Levy Medium Walker: The fruit of the collaboration that broke the stranglehold of the Conservative faction on the Outpost of Lexicalum. While less capable in every way than the slightly taller Armiger Pattern Knight chassis due to using plasteel and ceramite instead of Adamantium for armor and inferior weapon systems derived rather than designed, the Levy nonetheless proved a successful test of the concept as a flexible trooper design.
A small plasma reactor was placed just above the hips with the pilot seated above that in a reinforced capsule and armored derivative of the Preserver infantry armor. The small "head" of the unit mounted the primary sensor clusters with backups mounted on the chest and back while supplementary seismic and auditory receivers lined the feet. Armor plating ranged in thickness equivalent to a Leman Russ on the torso down to a Chimera on the limbs.]
[Radical faction solidifies in the wake of their vindication. Lexicalum gains a Design action going forwards.]
=====
Lord Admiral: With our victory over Uniary it is tempting to think we have won ourselves a reprieve. Hmph. Wishful thinking at best. Even should our major foes be quiescent for a time we will still have to deal with the minor ones.
Gehault, at least, should be off our case for a while. A diplomatic mission went and spoke with their authority figures and promised little in exchange for a more relaxed posture... For a time. We are supporting Yttreum after all. Their war has degraded into raiding for the most part so we will see where their next moves take them.
There is a budget of 160 from Calavar+60 from the Industrial Platform upgrades+60 from her neighbors+20 from the Balafax region+15 from Uniary-15 from entertaining Radicals=300 Manufacturing to be spent and 10 Artisanal Workmanship.
[There is a lot of various costs to be paid but frankly it's too late for me to tally right this moment]
There will be a twelve hour moratorium to encourage discussion.
If you think there are accounting errors please tell me, I said I would get this today and by Jupiter I have done it even if corners may have been sanded a bit.
Housekeeping of the thread will be done tomorrow.
(Sensor) Distributed Array Auspex: The time when merchant grade sensors, no matter how expensive or cheap, can serve the crusade is now almost over. Fortunately, before this happened they've given the Mechanicus of Calavar ample information on what capabilities are needed for an actual, proper, militarized sensor array. Such requirements include hardened receivers that do not overload from detecting voidfire, a wide and distributed structure spread across the ship's hull for accurate long ranged scans, ample backups in case of combat degradation of said sensors, and specialized integrated cogitators to make sense of what the sensors are actually seeing. And lastly, they need to be hardened against enemy electronic counter-measures... or just plain old blasphemous screaming across the void. Fortunately, such capabilities are within the capacity of the Mechanicus to build.
Result: 10-1 (minor upgrade)= 9
The nigh cataclysmic battle that was the final Relief of Uniary highlighted the issues and limitations of even the militant derivation that was the T-100 Auspex. The sheer number of contacts and electromagnetic pulses as void shields were repeatedly battered down drowned out the active portion of the targeting system at times which lead to volleys becoming ineffective. Where in a duel between two ships the enemy volley could be tracked even faintly the chaos of a fleet battle rendered it impossible and affected the usefulness of the Rapid Shields and the new engines.
The new auspex system was an evolutionary, rather than revolutionary, development. Again the number of nodes were increased but rather than simply feeding into the bridge each cluster was tied together by a cogitator system for preprocessing before the cleaned data was forwarded to the bridge. Incidentally this also provided another layer of insulation for the bridge crew and systems from any blasphemous horrors the Traitors deployed. Specialized emitters would bracket the hull for longer effective ranges during combat.
[Distributed Array Auspex: An evolution of the T-100, the T-150 increased resolution by adding more broadcast and receiver nodes and then tied them together into local networks with dedicated cogitators. (Active 2, Passive 2.5, Long Range) (4M)]
(Farstrike Lance Upgrade or Add On) Laser Containment Array: The Farstrike lance boasts damage output within spitting distance of standard IN lances, but its range is far shorter. This modification attempts to address this weakness by surrounding the particle beam in a shell of lasers. The additional damage dealt by these lasers is marginal at best; their real purpose is to contain the main beam by nudging stray particles back in the right direction.
Result: 8-0 (somewhat minor change= 8
The Farstrike Lance double accelerator weapon system had been invaluable for the fleet action over Uniary. Capable of cutting through the heavy armor of (what passed for) line ships after shields were brought down, it saved lives and tonnage that would have otherwise been lost to the Traitor swarms and the heavy guns of all sides. It's predecessor, the prototypical Thunderclap, had suffered from crippling containment loss; something that the Farstrike had solved through the use of dual-charge payloads.
Even so, simply because it was usable didn't necessarily mean that it was as good as it could become. This was something the Admiralty agreed with, as they ordered additional work to be done on the Farstrike. Compared to the Lances of the Imperial Navy it was shorter in range and possessed less force at the point of contact. Enviable for a second rate militia force, perhaps. Yet the Crusade was not merely a policing force that could be content with scaring off individual foes while safeguarding merchant shipping.
The main disadvantage of a particle beam over a laser was the base tendency of a gas to expand to fill a volume. Each atom repulsed those nearby through electromagnetic forces and in so doing decreased the damage of the packet once it struck a target. Eventually the gas would be so dispersed as to do nothing and so that distance would be tagged as the weapons maximum range. During a late night brainstorming session at one of the recreational areas on the Calavan shipyard and over a few rounds of drinks the suggestion was tossed out to use lasers to push the atoms back into place.
Such a thing could not fully contain the payload, of course, at least not without a mastery of physics the Ancients only might have had, but reducing the bleed of the particles by twenty or so percent still paid of heftily when it came to increasing the range of the weapon system. The new projectiles, instead of being a spectrum shifted blur, was now an indistinct streak as light from the targeting lasers was reflected off the gas trying to escape from the sides of the payload.
[Range +1]
(Weapon) Standard Macrocannon Battery Mk2: A natural iterative development of earlier Calavan macrocannons, the Mk2 utilizes many of the same components as the Mk1 to ease logistics concerns regarding spare parts. The key difference is two-fold; the electromagnetic coils in the gun's barrel have been wound twice as tightly to provide a significant increase to projectile velocity, and the batteries themselves have been installed with shock dampeners not unlike those in structures built on seismically active regions, so as to mitigate an incoming impact's effects on accuracy.
Result of 7-2 (straight upgrade)+1 (salvage)=6
The Standard Macrocannon of these long years of war is a dependable construct. The first of its kind after the small guns of merchants were deemed to be woefully ineffective for the new age the Subsector found itself in, the Standard regrettably has shown its age. While useful against the lightest of Ork ships because of their high rate of fire even in the face of increasing Ork "standards", it was ineffective against naval warships for much the same reasons. Be it loading crews being massacred by boarders or damage and unable to be replenished during battle or simply lacking the power to dig deeply into the armored hull of the target the Standard was being edged out.
The subsequent derivative requested changed that. The change made to facilitate this was a new acceleration system. Instead of a longer barrel or starting charge the electromagnetic system was entirely overhauled to use a new set of materials and more of them. The ammunition was also changed slightly, slimmed down to increase the velocity of the projectile to a minor degree. Handling the increased recoil from the guns was done through the use of a actively viscous matrix to isolate the accelerator carriage from the hull: a technique inspired by industrial structures on the tectonically active Pleso. Something that aided accuracy as well.
These changes increased the ability to penetrate armored hulls. Unfortunately, as good as they were they relied on production methods that were on the fringe of what Calavan industry could accomplish. Direct Mechanicus oversight was needed for the correct precipitation of the metamaterials that formed the structure of the accelerators.
[Standard Macrocannon Battery MkII: With the lessons from Uniary in hand the demand for increased military firepower formed the foundation of the Mark II. A reduced number of barrels and more advanced components distinguish it from its predecessor though it retains much of the support architecture. Damage 3, Short Range. (4M,1A)]
(Defense) Multilayer Rapid Shielding: As the distributed shield design of Haptrix-pattern shielding seems to be inherently unworkable at cruiser-scale, a new approach is needed. This new system still layers multiple weak shields, but uses conventional full bubble shields rather than smaller scales. The outermost layers are weakest and fastest to recharge, with the shields getting progressively stronger farther in, although of course even the innermost is much weaker than a traditional shield.
Result of 5+1 (simplicity)=6
The Rapid Shield is a hallmark of Calavar at this point. It's performance in the swirling melees that result from the majority of foes faced by the Crusade has served the crews of the previously unremarkable world well against the light cannon levied against them in large numbers: the specialty of the design. Yet with the notice of external factors intruding into the theater the "scale" design has had it's limitations highlighted.
Single point weapons, commonly Lances or heavier Macrocannon, would only be resisted by a fraction of the entire capacity of the shield system. Something that made mounting a scale type shield on a Cruiser both cost prohibitive and ineffective without a major redesign. And, as it was now the traditional method for Calavan shipbuilding such a major redesign was put forward.
Compared to the scale type Rapid Shield the bubble type Rapid Shield held many of the same advantages. Comprised of many layers rather than separate scales the bubbles allow for the entire strength of the shield to be leveraged against a threat. This comes at the trade off of some of the constant protection as the system acts like a proper shield bubble rather than leaving sections of intact shields around point failures but the overall increase in effectiveness makes up for it.
And as the prospect of a Light Cruiser flagship for the Crusade grows the ability to give it the protection fitting of it's station is a valuable addition indeed...
[Bubble-type Rapid Shield: A distinctly Calavan take on standard shields. The use of bubble shields allowed for the resistance of high impact weapons such as Lances while retaining the many weak but quickly cycling sections of Rapid Shielding. Shield 3, Armor 1. (6M)]
(Economy) Dockyard militarization: Although the Calavar-V dockyard has been greatly expanded and is being expanded further, replicating and expanding the existing systems does not change the fact that they were originally designed for small civilian vessels. Although they can nonetheless produce capable warships, it is not without some difficulties, especially when casting the great structural beams of a ship's frame. This project seeks to change that, reviewing the various bottlenecks of warship construction and improving the least adequate systems.
Result of 6-0=6
The dockyard on the edge of the Calavar system was never meant to build warships. Maintain Claymore Corvettes and perform minor repairs to other Escorts perhaps but to build them? It was not designed for that purpose. There were inefficiencies and bottlenecks when it came to forming the structural members of warships that slowed down construction. Experts pored over the new schematics of the Industrial Platform reconstruction in a bid to better solve the problem.
Forges were tweaked to better produce thick members and armor while various other lines were altered to better future proof them. These changes would only come into effect once the next set of progress was completed on the platform yet it would provide a useful boost to production.
[Build capacity increased by ten after the next set of progress on the Industrial Platform]
>Knight Time (event project)
Result of 10-2 (pushing the boundaries)=8
The Outpost of Lexicalum had been an unremarkable place in the South of Lativa for millennia. Primarily a producer of equipment for the Imperial Navy patrol squadrons it had also provided the bulk of the advanced material for Planetary Defense Forces in the area while making notable contributions to the depot at Calsum. Operations ticked by at a comfortable pace in the security of a Subsector at peace.
When the Fall occurred it had rendered the Outpost nearly superfluous. An isolated beacon of faith in the gathering dark. And so the senior Magos invoked treaties and alliances in ways that were technically beyond their scope to bring the strength together that would be needed to survive.
Then the forces of Calavar had arrived. Their techpriests could have been argued to have lost their way but study showed that they still held to the tenets of the Machine Cult. In the technical sense even if they overstepped their stations. Children playing with things they were unprepared for, it could and was said.
Yet contact meant a transfer of ideas. And the Calavan forces went from victory to victory against their squabbling enemies so how could they not have the favor of the Omnissiah?
This agreement grew as the Crusade defended the works of the Omnissiah as well as it could. Diluted by accusations of necessity rather than piety but defended by the recovery of blessed technology. Even so the new Radicals were limited by a lack of access to resources with which to perform their research as the leaders of the Outpost had no time or resources to spend on "flights of fancy". It took some time for the ideas to coalesce enough to go to the other source of material and support…
When the Calavan authorities received the offer of collaboration from the chosen delegation of Radical Mechanicus with a degree of worry… And more greed. The Knights of House Noctris were advanced combatants above anything Calavar could produce. Even a pale echo of their glory would stand out once the Crusade was won. Perhaps, such a development could be leveraged as a show of the increasing sophistication of Calavar to gain treaties and recognition from the Forge Worlds of the Subsector and make the rulers of the world a new kind of wealthy and powerful.
Still, as certain as they were those were still musings on the future. To earn that sort of respect still had to be done and it was not going to be easy. The Radicals proposing the idea had some experience with fully mechanical legs and the Calavan Adepts had the schematics for the Sentinel. Neither of which were a good match for what was going to be done.
After some proof of concept "arthrotanks" to confirm the viability of the most important part of the project the design teams started hammering out prototypes for testing. A bipedal platform was desired, naturally enough, and so the first attempt was scaling up the Sentinel to turn it from a mechanized cavalry unit to a light tank. This program resulted in the Guardian Walker: a larger Sentinel with two main mounts and two secondary weapons such as heavy bolters/stubbers. Thicker and more robust legs and a gas turbine powerplant to feed the increased demands rounded it out yet the architecture had been proven to not scale past that point.
Design work also pointed out the limitation of the conventional control scheme of the Sentinel on a more humanoid walker. The precision of movement simply wasn't there for articulated arms in the same vein as the Knights. As such the handful of Adepts, Radicals, and security guards hacked apart a pair of high tier medical scanners to cobble together a noninvasive neural helmet akin to what was known of how the Knights were piloted. Successive iterations of the device, with additional personnel with expertise in the field, were fine tuned for the task at hand. Eventually the decision was reluctantly made to go with cybernetic controls after all in order to give some level of feedback to the pilot rather than only passively monitoring their motor cortex.
What was presented to the design board for approval was a far cry from the smooth look of the Knights. The Levy Walker as it was named was a primitive and brutalist design with little in the way of refinement unlike the venerable Knights. The inclusion of cybernetic controls did mean that blocky, three fingered hands could be used to wield varied weaponry, unlike the integrated nature of Knightly weapons. Commonality of supply with regular army formations was easily accomplished from there by simply altering existing heavy weapons to be usable by the six meter tall war machines in the same way a rifleman uses his small arms, from heavy bolter or autocannon "pistols" to rifles made from Leman Russ battlecannon or Punishers.
Handling and use of the machines was up to acceptable levels, though naturally less than a true Knight. Deploying them on ships, while possible, was not recommended even if the idea of one wielding an appropriately scaled power sword to clear a pack of cultists was a satisfying one.
[Levy Medium Walker: The fruit of the collaboration that broke the stranglehold of the Conservative faction on the Outpost of Lexicalum. While less capable in every way than the slightly taller Armiger Pattern Knight chassis due to using plasteel and ceramite instead of Adamantium for armor and inferior weapon systems derived rather than designed, the Levy nonetheless proved a successful test of the concept as a flexible trooper design.
A small plasma reactor was placed just above the hips with the pilot seated above that in a reinforced capsule and armored derivative of the Preserver infantry armor. The small "head" of the unit mounted the primary sensor clusters with backups mounted on the chest and back while supplementary seismic and auditory receivers lined the feet. Armor plating ranged in thickness equivalent to a Leman Russ on the torso down to a Chimera on the limbs.]
[Radical faction solidifies in the wake of their vindication. Lexicalum gains a Design action going forwards.]
=====
Lord Admiral: With our victory over Uniary it is tempting to think we have won ourselves a reprieve. Hmph. Wishful thinking at best. Even should our major foes be quiescent for a time we will still have to deal with the minor ones.
Gehault, at least, should be off our case for a while. A diplomatic mission went and spoke with their authority figures and promised little in exchange for a more relaxed posture... For a time. We are supporting Yttreum after all. Their war has degraded into raiding for the most part so we will see where their next moves take them.
There is a budget of 160 from Calavar+60 from the Industrial Platform upgrades+60 from her neighbors+20 from the Balafax region+15 from Uniary-15 from entertaining Radicals=300 Manufacturing to be spent and 10 Artisanal Workmanship.
[There is a lot of various costs to be paid but frankly it's too late for me to tally right this moment]
There will be a twelve hour moratorium to encourage discussion.
If you think there are accounting errors please tell me, I said I would get this today and by Jupiter I have done it even if corners may have been sanded a bit.
Housekeeping of the thread will be done tomorrow.
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Very nice results. Wish the macro cannon was higher roll but its still a acceptable design. We should build a couple more hulls for Yttreum to bolster them and increase influence with them.
Overall we have 98 in repair and replacement cost to take care of. Meaning we have 192 manufacturing and 10 artisan to use.
A chunk should go to the dockyard. While we need to keep building warships we also need to build up our ground forces as well as build defenses for Uniary. We also need to bolster our merchant marine.
Overall we have 98 in repair and replacement cost to take care of. Meaning we have 192 manufacturing and 10 artisan to use.
A chunk should go to the dockyard. While we need to keep building warships we also need to build up our ground forces as well as build defenses for Uniary. We also need to bolster our merchant marine.
- Location
- Kansas
Did... did we design a mechwarrier? Because that's what it looks like to me.
F0lkL0re
Officially not an Inquisitor
- Location
- Shetland
Yes indeed we have designed a somewhat more advanced battlemech with a MMI that doesn't give you brain damage instead of a helmet that reads brain waves.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
We did quite well for ourselves, even that kludgey Lance mod.
Time to go full Gundam.
F0lkL0re
Officially not an Inquisitor
- Location
- Shetland
Who do you think we are the Tau? you'll take our knock off battlemechs and like it.
It took a few tries but we now have a shield worth putting on a cruiser, also the dockyard need 180M to complete and our needed repairs are:
One option would be to spend only 12M on things besides the dockyard, that would increase our budget with 90M next turn and increases the size of the ships we can build to 70M per turn allowing us to start thinking about building our first cruiser or at least frigates using the newest parts.
We should do at least a single dockyard upgrade so the limit of ships raises by 10 as the better parts are more expensive and we started to build corvettes instead of frigates as we could not afford frigates with all modern parts and the new sensors only add to that. If there are no major crises this turn i like to send a ship with a cargo bay to a forge world to try and buy the military warp drive, that will cost more then the current one as well making a finishing the dockyard even more important.
so our budget is: 290-4-3-64-13-14=192M
One option would be to spend only 12M on things besides the dockyard, that would increase our budget with 90M next turn and increases the size of the ships we can build to 70M per turn allowing us to start thinking about building our first cruiser or at least frigates using the newest parts.
We should do at least a single dockyard upgrade so the limit of ships raises by 10 as the better parts are more expensive and we started to build corvettes instead of frigates as we could not afford frigates with all modern parts and the new sensors only add to that. If there are no major crises this turn i like to send a ship with a cargo bay to a forge world to try and buy the military warp drive, that will cost more then the current one as well making a finishing the dockyard even more important.
The Levy is a very impressive design for a collaboration between a single civilized world and a cut off Mechanicus outpost. The only real difference between it and a proper Knight is weaker (but cheaper) structural materials and a few weaknesses in the design born of inexperience. We should ask for Dervaius Noctris to properly train and lead our first force equipped with Levy Walkers. Might actually turn them into a proper Knight Scion House!
F0lkL0re
Officially not an Inquisitor
- Location
- Shetland
Depending on the attitude of the knight pilots (can't remember the proper term right now) they may consider our knock off knights a huge insult.