Blood, Sweat, and Tears (WH40k Design Bureau)

This seems like a regular las battery but with extra steps. Because having swappable capacitors mean that once the shot is fired, that capacitor is empty, so what will recharge it? the ship's reactor. Why not just hook the reactor to the Las weapon so it doesn't need to reload. It would be like converting a belt-fed heavy machine gun into a magazine fed machine gun with more time spent reloading than firing. Our problem we have is that we were more focused on kill ships rather than PD so Lances are the primary focus. Las Batteries will be good PD as they just blast any fighter craft out of the sky, but it would be a terrible ship-to-ship weapon because of its lower power output.
I was aiming for something that out-ranges macrocannons and has a better rate of fire, also las battery work just fine for anti-ship work, maybe not as hard a hit but they have better range as far as I know if you have information that disproves that I would be interested to see it.
 
Question: how feasible is it to convert macrocannon shells to a Casaba Howiter? If its possible to do, all we'd really need to do is shoot the shell out far enough so that the nuke wont damage the ship.
Macrocannons shells are huge so getting it to fit wouldn't be a problem. It would also work much better as a weapon if it uses an impact fuse instead of a proximity fuse. So get to writing a design and a name for your nuclear shells. Not sure how it compares to the Thermo-Cavitation shells but we'll know once we spent a research action on it.

I was aiming for something that out-ranges macrocannons and has a better rate of fire, also las battery work just fine for anti-ship work, maybe not as hard a hit but they have better range as far as I know if you have information that disproves that I would be interested to see it.
Of course Las weapons have more range and there is nothing wrong with a Las Battery. The problem is the capacitors system. Which is better on a fixed emplacement? a belt-fed machine gun that doesn't need to reload for a long time or a magazine fed machine gun, that needs to change magazine every once and a while? Your Blaze is the Las Battery equivalent of a magazine fed machine gun. Not sure what the stats will be like for a Las Battery compared to our Lances, but with it being smaller, I think it would deal less damage? maybe less range too?
 
Last edited:
Of course our Las weapons have more range, and there is nothing wrong with a Las Battery. The problem is the capacitors system. Which is better on a fixed emplacement? a belt-fed machine gun that doesn't need to reload for a long time or a magazine fed machine gun, that needs to change magazine every once and a while? Your Blaze is the Las Battery equivalent of a magazine fed machine gun. Not sure what the stats will be like for a Las Battery compared to our Lances, but with it being smaller, I think it would deal less damage?
So from what I can tell, we'd need to spend a R&D action to get laser macrobatteries in the first place. Though I suppose if you adjusted the blaze lock system so that theres a capacitor system AS WELL as the standard powerfeed, you could use it as an overcharge/emergency power supply. Kind of like the way Hotshot las packs work.
 
Of course our Las weapons have more range, and there is nothing wrong with a Las Battery. The problem is the capacitors system. Which is better on a fixed emplacement? a belt-fed machine gun that doesn't need to reload for a long time or a magazine fed machine gun, that needs to change magazine every once and a while? Your Blaze is the Las Battery equivalent of a magazine fed machine gun. Not sure what the stats will be like for a Las Battery compared to our Lances, but with it being smaller, I think it would deal less damage?
I had been reading about laslocks when I thought it up and went with the assumption that one of the big stumbling blocks on deigning such weapons was the power feeds so as a stop gap replace that with something simpler while working on the guns themselves which may be easier as las weapons are supposed to be easy to scale (may be fannon not sure), then when we have working naval las weapons we can go back and replace the capacitors with a proper feed system.

I will note that rouge trader had rules for las, plasma and melta naval weapons.
 
I had been reading about laslocks when I thought it up and went with the assumption that one of the big stumbling blocks on deigning such weapons was the power feeds so as a stop gap replace that with something simpler while working on the guns themselves which may be easier as las weapons are supposed to be easy to scale (may be fannon not sure), then when we have working naval las weapons we can go back and replace the capacitors with a proper feed system.

I will note that rouge trader had rules for las, plasma and melta naval weapons.
Calavan ships already have the power infrastructure necessary for powering void shields, so we're not really hurting for ways to power a las macrobattery. What we're missing is native (ie: non Outpost Lexicalum) expertise in the construction of las weapons in general.
 
Last edited:
So from what I can tell, we'd need to spend a R&D action to get laser macrobatteries in the first place. Though I suppose if you adjusted the blaze lock system so that theres a capacitor system AS WELL as the standard powerfeed, you could use it as an overcharge/emergency power supply. Kind of like the way Hotshot las packs work.
Much better idea, I approve of this.

I had been reading about laslocks when I thought it up and went with the assumption that one of the big stumbling blocks on deigning such weapons was the power feeds so as a stop gap replace that with something simpler while working on the guns themselves which may be easier as las weapons are supposed to be easy to scale (may be fannon not sure), then when we have working naval las weapons we can go back and replace the capacitors with a proper feed system
Yeah, that will not be a problem. There are several layers of wrong assumptions in this post. 1st we already have a functional Naval Lance, we already have the power feed "stumbling block" solved by a very big cable directly connected to the ship's reactor. 2nd Laslocks are not a place to get inspiration for a Naval battery, they are more of a neccessity when the world does not have access to modern machinery to make the precise parts of a Lasgun, and the Lasguns that gets put on a Feudal world will break down after a century of not getting proper maintenance. That is why those world made Laslocks, so that they at least have something to shoot with as the centuries old Lasgun doesn't work in the centuries it hasn't gotten repaired. Calavar obviously does not have that problem. 3rd I would ask Dalinty whether las weapons are easier to scale or not. 4th We already have working naval las weapons, it is called the Farstrike Lance and we just researched an upgrade to increase its range.
 
Last edited:
So from what I can tell, we'd need to spend a R&D action to get laser macrobatteries in the first place. Though I suppose if you adjusted the blaze lock system so that theres a capacitor system AS WELL as the standard powerfeed, you could use it as an overcharge/emergency power supply. Kind of like the way Hotshot las packs work.
I would quite happily support this.

Yeah, that will not be a problem. There are several layers of wrong assumptions in this post. 1st we already have a functional Naval Lance, we already have the power feed "stumbling block" solved by a very big cable directly connected to the ship's reactor. 2nd Laslocks are not a place to get inspiration for a Naval battery, they are more of a neccessity when the world does not have access to modern machinery to make the precise parts of a Lasgun, and the Lasguns that gets put on a Feudal world will break down after a century of not getting proper maintenance. Calavar obviously does not have that problem.
My mistake I guess.

3rd I would ask Dalinty whether las weapons are easier to scale or not.
Good point. Hey @DaLintyGuy am I wrong about las weapons being easy to scale?

4th We already have working naval las weapons, it is called the Farstrike Lance and we just researched an upgrade to increase its range.
Aren't the farstrikes particle rather then las weapons?
 
Technically speaking, the Farstrike Lance is a particle accelerator akin to a melta weapon. The Calavan crusade currently has no large scale las weapons to speak of as far as i can tell. That said, can we downscale a farstrike down to battery grade and use an array of those for macrobatteries? Since as far as I know, a Lance on an escort sized ship is a spinal weapon. Would save us a design action since we're working on a derivative design rather than going for macro-scale las weapons and then seeing if we can tie a hotshot capacitor system to that.
 
Last edited:
Good point. Hey @DaLintyGuy am I wrong about las weapons being easy to scale?
To a degree. Making a laser Battery would not be difficult even for you, though starting a bit on the basic side would help.


Technically speaking, the Farstrike Lance is a particle accelerator akin to a melta weapon.
While some melta weapons are particle weapons, the Farstrike does not count as such. Partly due to the difference between naval and surface combat of course, but also because a primitive circular accelerator does not scale down overly well.
 
Since apparently I have Ideas™, imma write up some tech proposals.

"Casablanca"-type Fusion Shell: Explosively formed penetrator weapons are not unknown to the Mechanicus; generally the the weapons of the desperate, which is a fair assessment of the Lativa sector in general. The Casablanca is essentially an EFP writ large; a high-yield atomic weapon forming a relativistic jet of plasma out of a metallic plate. With the power of the Motive Force and AdMech mastery of physics, the Casablanca (in theory) should match or surpass current kinetic penetrator performance as well as increase effective range of our current macrobatteries due to the speed at which the plasma jet propagates. The shell must still be fired away from the ship in order to avoid damage from atomic detonation however, which may affect accuracy until gun crews can adjust to the initial "lag" between firing the shell and detonation. Archival data suggests that this style of weaponry originates as far back as M2, though analysts are still mystified by references to piano music in the data dumps.
-"Boggart" seeker head: If the Casablanca yields favorable results, tentative plans call for adding a seeker head and fuze that would aim the shell in flight and detonate at a more favorable proximity to the enemy, contributing to longer range and more accurate fire.

"Tachocline" Las macrocannon: Essentially a lascannon enormously scaled up, the "Tachocline" would be Calavar's first foray into captial scale laser weaponry. The simplicity of las weapons in general should lend itself to a reduced logistical footprint in reduced maintenance as well as no longer needing shells to be manufactured.
-"Blaze Lock" capacitor system: Should the Tachocline perform as expected, a capacitor system similar in function to Hotshot las power packs has been proposed to further increase firepower. Reinforced power feeds, increased cooling, and a lens more forgiving of heat warping may be required if the capacitor system increases yields beyond standard tolerances.

"Dragon's Teeth" Lance Torpedo: Inspired by the Ork's crude, if potent, "Zappas", the Dragon's Teeth torpedo utilizes an atomic warhead to power an array of expendable laser devices to generate a barrage of powerful x-ray lasers. In theory this subjects the target to a concentrated barrage of firepower, though whether that barrage is "merely" the equivalent of a storm of macrocannon shells or the equivalent of the armor shredding power of a Lance is dependent on how much the Admech can extrapolate from the Ork's haphazard designs. The Dragon's Teeth, should the design meet projected expectations, has the advantage of being able to hit a target beyond the effective range of most point defense batteries, however this means that the laser barrage can be blocked by Void shields and other energy screens that a standard torpedo would not be subject to.

Edit: changed the name of the las macrobattery.
 
Last edited:
@fu12 added those designs to the list. I think the Casablanca would be even more effective if it has an impact fuse, as in explodes on impact, it means that the jet would be at its most powerful, right up against the enemy ship and not a long way away, which will reduce its power output due to spreading out. It could work as PD and overkill a swarm of fighters but it would be a better hole puncher with an impact fuse.
 
Last edited:
Part of the appeal of a casaba howitzer is that the jet is near relativistic in speed, meaning long range and the dispersion remains low over its effective range, though that is more a function of how narrow the jet that forms is. An impact fuze on a casaba dramatically cuts its effective range plus you might be better off with a standard atomic payload behind a kinetic penetrator. Also a Casaba howitzer is not exactly just a nuclear shaped charge, in the same way that an EFP is not just a weird HEAT round. With EFPs (and im assuming casabas) the main advantage is that you get significantly increased range over a normal shaped charge. However, the standard shaped charge has significantly better penetrating power for its size relative to an EFP.

The goal of the Casablanca was more or less maintaining current macrocannon performance but at an increased range, not increased yield. I mean, if it has a demi-melta effect, great, but the increased range was the goal there. Besides, we already have something like that in the Thermo-cavitation shells, though we may want to fiddle with a nuclear shaped charge shell if we really need increased damage inside normal shell ranges, though hopefully we'll have upgraded to actual plasma or laser batteries by the time that becomes an issue.
 
Last edited:
@fu12, Alright you have convinced me. Also did some research on wikipedia, everything looks good. I am confused by why you included mentions of piano music, can you explain what that is about. Also just re-read the Boggart, what do you propose to steer it with? the only thing I can think of that can effect a Macro-shell in flight is a plasma engine and those things are delicate and expensive. Chemical rockets maybe?
 
Its me literally going "Casaba" is very similar to "Casablanca". The joke is that the Admech are gettin references to the movie instead of the weapon system. (Same with the Boggart. Humphrey Bogart was one of the leads in that film)

Steering should be relatively simple to implement, just a cold-gas RCS on the back end of the shell. Gross aim should be in the hands of the gunnery crews. A smart shell would only need to make minute adjustments, especially considering the ranges with which a seeker head would work with.
 
With EFPs (and im assuming casabas) the main advantage is that you get significantly increased range over a normal shaped charge. However, the standard shaped charge has significantly better penetrating power for its size relative to an EFP.
A major perk of cassaba howitzers is actually that they're substantially more efficient mediums for nuclear energy transfer in the void of space, when compared to just ramming the warhead into the target.
They're meant to take a sizable portion of the omnidirectional energy release of the prompt critical warhead and direct it in a single direction as a coherent plasma beam/laser hybrid, which is vastly more efficient than hoping the unfocused energy will seriously damage the enemy ship, since when a nuke goes off in space there's no real 'explosion' due to the lack of an atmosphere, unless the warhead actually ended up inside of the interior atmosphere of the ship.

(Sidenote: a boarding torpedo that's loaded with a nuke instead of actual boarders would be quite nice)
 
That's just a torpedo. They already try and bypass armour before detonating.
I remember QM saying that armor in 40k is REALLY good so a standard Torpedo will not penetrate by kinetic impact alone, you need to add melta projectors or an equivalent for it to be able to get the torpedo to penetrate and detonate inside, otherwise the Torpedo would smush itself against the target's armor and just have a surface detonation. Maybe a tandem warhead to weaken the hull to allow for a ceramite penetrator to bore a hole into the already weakened hull?
 
I remember QM saying that armor in 40k is REALLY good so a standard Torpedo will not penetrate by kinetic impact alone, you need to add melta projectors or an equivalent for it to be able to get the torpedo to penetrate and detonate inside, otherwise the Torpedo would smush itself against the target's armor and just have a surface detonation. Maybe a tandem warhead to weaken the hull to allow for a ceramite penetrator to bore a hole into the already weakened hull?
Isn't that what the Indignant does already?
 
We would be better off investing in anti-radiation seekers that will find weak spots in armor by targeting sensors. Even if there is armor under the sensors, a good volley of anti-radiation seekers could render a ship mostly blind early on in the engagement.
 
From the description of the Indignant, it's mostly a weird penetrator that relies on overpressure to kill crew and sensitive machinery. Its not really designed to blow huge chunks of ship away. Devastating to the interior, but from the way the torpedo is stated to work, leaves the superstructure of the ship mostly intact. So I guess I have another tech proposal.

"Fossorial" Torpedo: Partially inspired by orkish boarding craft and predicated by the lack of energy weapon expertise, the Fossorial pattern torpedo relies on a massive drill bit and laser cutters to bypass enemy armor and deliver its payload. The torpedo itself its more or less merely a delivery vessel for an expendable automated mining rig, which bores into the target's hull. Once the rig bypasses the armor, the explosive payload onboard detonates, devastating the afflicted ship. Current payloads will consist of atomic ordnance or sub-critical plasma reactors. The primary drawback foreseen with this delivery mechanism is the expense in manufacturing a drilling platform that can cut through armor in a timely manner.
-It is possible that this could be further developed into a true boarding torpedo. Further advances in laser cutters or true melta weapons could make the mining rig redundant and provide more space for increased ordnance payloads.
 
Back
Top