TheOmnimercurial
Dragon Bard
- Location
- UK
We do still suffer from quite a large piloting skill gap, unless that has changed off screen?
So maybe a 6/9/0 instead?
Gives more tonnage for weapons or armour anyway.
Mackie wasn't a Maus after all: Nukashuba strikes back
- Thread starter tomwritestuff
- Start date
- Sci-Fi
We do still suffer from quite a large piloting skill gap, unless that has changed off screen?
So maybe a 6/9/0 instead?
Gives more tonnage for weapons or armour anyway.
Jumpjet use isn't a piloting skill check unless you're doing something reckless. (Or maybe have certain damage?)
EDIT: ..I blame the other BT Design Quest, did a double take when I noticed too late which Quest/Reply I was quoting and replying, sorry!
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It was all set to be moved into production at the tail end of the last thread. However, with the lack of orbital control, and the fact that it's endo-composite structure, thus the Super Wasp has probably fallen back into even more doldrums of design hell. Like, that's gonna need to be redesigned to be built on the ground with standard structure. Extremely unfortunate. Because I did really think it was a nice machine.
- Location
- Michigan, USA
It was very nice, but Standard Structure is doable, that just means weaponry is what needs changing.
Instead of an SRM/T-4 a dual tube would work if we wanted to keep CASE and the LPPC.
Instead of an SRM/T-4 a dual tube would work if we wanted to keep CASE and the LPPC.
..odd thought, but I wonder if we can make Quad Turrets for our Heavy Scorpions.. Hmm..
In another note, I'm a bit curious on what Ellie will be piloting (if she wins) if any.. maybe.
..we really need another 'focus' after doing PPCs. T_T;
In another note, I'm a bit curious on what Ellie will be piloting (if she wins) if any.. maybe.
..we really need another 'focus' after doing PPCs. T_T;
- Location
- Across the universe
Exactly that.
The Goliaths are manufactured on [REDACTED] and Gwen doesn't fully trust [REDACTED] with everything. The Panthers are being refit, not wholly remanufactured.
Game mechanically, you are looking for Primitive DHS.
The Scorpion is, as someone guessed earlier, a case of Combat Computer.
Not many votes yet!
- Location
- US
[X][Focus character selection] Your twin sister is going to be so jealous that you were the first to drive Test Pilot Delta's car.
-[X] Not that Jennifer would have enjoyed that drive half as much. Once you get back in the Lorris, it's guns and comms for you all the way, and that gets boring. (Jessica.)
[X][Focus character selection] You weren't supposed to take any detours after landing, you were supposed to come straight here for debriefing on what exactly happened on Dorman's World. (Jenever Kinston.)
[X][Focus character selection] Because your name is John Murphy Junior, and anything that can go wrong will go wrong. But you have your father's files, and you're determined to clear his name by vindicating his choices.
[X][Technical agenda] The first thing on the agenda is building a new export machine to support the struggle of Nudzretian allies against occupying forces.
-[X] Not that Jennifer would have enjoyed that drive half as much. Once you get back in the Lorris, it's guns and comms for you all the way, and that gets boring. (Jessica.)
[X][Focus character selection] You weren't supposed to take any detours after landing, you were supposed to come straight here for debriefing on what exactly happened on Dorman's World. (Jenever Kinston.)
[X][Focus character selection] Because your name is John Murphy Junior, and anything that can go wrong will go wrong. But you have your father's files, and you're determined to clear his name by vindicating his choices.
[X][Technical agenda] The first thing on the agenda is building a new export machine to support the struggle of Nudzretian allies against occupying forces.
TheOmnimercurial
Dragon Bard
- Location
- UK
[X][Focus character selection] Your twin sister is going to be so jealous that you were the first to drive Test Pilot Delta's car.
-[X] Not that Jennifer would have enjoyed that drive half as much. Once you get back in the Lorris, it's guns and comms for you all the way, and that gets boring. (Jessica.)
[X][Focus character selection] You weren't supposed to take any detours after landing, you were supposed to come straight here for debriefing on what exactly happened on Dorman's World. (Jenever Kinston.)
[X][Focus character selection] Half the reason you drove it was to make trouble by arriving in a way that got everyone's attention. If the bureaucrats keep dragging their feet, South District and North District are likely to meet in the middle sooner rather than later. (Mary Kliger.)
[X][Technical agenda] The first thing on the agenda is building a new export machine to support the struggle of Nudzretian allies against occupying forces.
-[X] Not that Jennifer would have enjoyed that drive half as much. Once you get back in the Lorris, it's guns and comms for you all the way, and that gets boring. (Jessica.)
[X][Focus character selection] You weren't supposed to take any detours after landing, you were supposed to come straight here for debriefing on what exactly happened on Dorman's World. (Jenever Kinston.)
[X][Focus character selection] Half the reason you drove it was to make trouble by arriving in a way that got everyone's attention. If the bureaucrats keep dragging their feet, South District and North District are likely to meet in the middle sooner rather than later. (Mary Kliger.)
[X][Technical agenda] The first thing on the agenda is building a new export machine to support the struggle of Nudzretian allies against occupying forces.
Wild possible agenda down the line: If we can find Nuhai rebels and ship them a bunch of submarine mechs, the Ghosts probably are not well equipped to deal with underwater guerillas. (Underwater mecha guerillas is more than one anime series, isn't it?)
That said, right now Nuhai is stable (if unfavorable) and Nudezret isn't (if we trust Mary's judgement, and we often do.)
That said, right now Nuhai is stable (if unfavorable) and Nudezret isn't (if we trust Mary's judgement, and we often do.)
Possible, but we'll need to ship in trainers too. Never tried making submarine Mechs before so I'm a bit curious and interested on how it works.
And hoping they don't get intercepted on a Nat 1.
We not only made submarine mechs, we sent some to Nuhai ages ago - it was one of the original set of Raven variants. Nuhai specifically wasn't interested in any hardware that couldn't operate in/on/over water, and at the time we wanted to try to bring them into the Nukashuban mech importer family.
Most of them got wrecked in the pirate raid. Mostly because they're Ravens, but having torpedo launchers instead of missile launchers so they can barely fight above water may not have helped. It's possible surviving units are still in operation on Nuhai. There are some in Nukashuban militias that have aquatic branches, which are presumably still out there harassing the wild goldfish.
We'd want the battlemech to be at least fairly effective out of the water to be able to take on lighter garrison forces, and have some secondary LRT-5s or a SRT-4 with UMUs for ensuring they won the fight in the water should they be pursued and being able to withdraw into deeper water and escape. Preferably leg-mounted, so that they can at least pop shots at people while both are standing in depth 1 water.
The aquatic ravens that exist already can actually force breach checks on the unsuspecting underwater quite well already. Their issue in military use is that they can't fight out of the water.
Some other issues to consider- underwater combat is both super deadly and niche. Breaches can be very lethal without tech that we simply don't have yet, and the majority of fights don't happen in-water. Only an absolute moron of a Ghost commander would tie themselves chasing into depth 2 or deeper underwater with the usual roster of battlemechs.
Also for a bit of a meta problem thinking, I don't really trust the bot who runs most combats to not stupid themselves into dying before they made contact with enemies (I mean, it did drown most of its goldfish contingent in a river battle earlier), and fights on-shore would probably result in the aquatic mechs probably pushing out of the water and losing their advantages.
The aquatic ravens that exist already can actually force breach checks on the unsuspecting underwater quite well already. Their issue in military use is that they can't fight out of the water.
Some other issues to consider- underwater combat is both super deadly and niche. Breaches can be very lethal without tech that we simply don't have yet, and the majority of fights don't happen in-water. Only an absolute moron of a Ghost commander would tie themselves chasing into depth 2 or deeper underwater with the usual roster of battlemechs.
Also for a bit of a meta problem thinking, I don't really trust the bot who runs most combats to not stupid themselves into dying before they made contact with enemies (I mean, it did drown most of its goldfish contingent in a river battle earlier), and fights on-shore would probably result in the aquatic mechs probably pushing out of the water and losing their advantages.
There, the question is how much important stuff is in the water that forces them to engage there. They still shouldn't send in the mechs...but not sending in the mechs means only sending in vehicles. Probably only vehicles that were built on Nuhai, mostly before the Ghost occupation, because would they really have brought a naval contingent in the invasion force? Though those Nuhaian warships aren't bad IIRC.
Having AMU ought to prevent mech suicides pretty well, I think, at least away from coastal areas? They're not walking on the bottom so they don't have to worry about tripping, falling face first in the water, and generally pratfalling to death.
Aquatic is more a high tactics/operational level ability than a battlemap one though. You either use it to fight in deep water where the greater part of the enemy force is unusable, or you use it for surprise amphibious attacks where you have concentrated force and the enemy doesn't. If you try to use to fight a peer force across the waterline, it's not going to work out well. (Because surfaced to fight at best you're even, but your AMU are dead tonnage, your torpedoes are probably dead tonnage, and if you take damage you likely can't safely retreat into the water. And the enemy would have to be utter idiots to come into your preferred environment to play.)
CHARACTER SELECTED
- Location
- Across the universe
Ellie and Murphy Junior.. I think, based on the highest rolls?
TheOmnimercurial
Dragon Bard
- Location
- UK
Ellie and Murphy Junior.. I think, based on the highest rolls?
Our Threads newest Ship!
Do you like coffee?
- Location
- Across the universe
Do you like coffee?
Your twin sister is going to be so jealous that you were the first to drive Test Pilot Delta's car. Not that Jennifer would have enjoyed that drive half as much. Once you get back in the Lorris, it's guns and comms for you all the way, and that gets boring. A hovercar with hot rods and a blazing fast smile, though … score one for Jessica.
You'd feel a lot better if you could recover the body of the proper owner of the hovercar. It wasn't on the battlefield – you searched – and the White Ghosts must have taken it with them along with his Super Ettin. It would settle the upset in your mind, and Jennifer would finally be able to move on. She insists he's still alive.
The Lorris clocking in at over eighty tons meant it had to be dismantled before being shipped back from Nudezret. Dropping into Nudezret on a near-ballistic trajectory like you did when you arrived on the moon with old Mama Scorpion is risky business; trying to launch from Nudezret undetected is near suicidal without the use of a stealth craft. The stealth shuttles that can go both ways cost roughly eleven million N-bills each to manufacture for only eighty tons of capacity.
One of the political analysts you met during your debriefing told you that he thought there had been a change of leadership by the White Ghosts partway through their invasion. After ten years, why wouldn't they have landed troops on Nukashuba and Hefusts? Why had they assumed a defensive posture? Skirmishes and cross-border raids continued, but the White Ghosts seemed content to hold the spaceways and their early conquests.
Whatever world the White Ghosts called home was large and prosperous. They could – and had – sent more soldiers and supplies in, a steady stream running back and forth. Before leaving the United States of North Nudezret, you'd heard rumors that the White Ghosts took some of their more faithful converts off to their home world with them, too.
***
"Ellie warned me. Her mom said you drove off with the car." Your sister glares at you.
You bask in the familiar warmth of her anger. "And it's marvelous."
"Lucky you didn't crash it," Jennifer says with a scowl. "You're a lousy driver. I'm driving it back."
You roll your eyes. "Fine," you say. "Just show me to the coffee room."
Old Mama Scorpion's niece shares her questionable habit of drinking the sinful beverage. Perhaps worse, she struck a bargain with Lieutenant Colonel John Murphy Junior, aka "Junior" or "Johnny," and got him to pull the beanpole academic's espresso machine back out of storage… and put it in the lounge that functions as the main informal meeting room. It's the kind of device that you would never see in Idanova, but you'd seen one similar in your time in the USNN. Even back on Nukashuba, you don't quite feel like you're really home. Not that it's a good time to travel to the remote Idanovan mountains.
In the coffee room, you find Ellie distastefully staring at a battered and dented gold mug with "BEST PROFESUR" engraved in childish writing on it.
"What's this?" you ask.
"Dr. Kliger's favorite mug," Johnny tells you. "I found another box of her personal effects. I thought Ellie might like them."
"I made it when I was, like, four," Ellie says. "God, I could just die of embarrassment right now."
You sniff tentatively. The smell of coffee is nice. You've heard that Nuhaian coffee beans are much better than the greenhouse varieties grown on Nukashuba, but you wouldn't know.
"Okay. Dish," you say, as Jennifer closes the door carefully. "What in the blazes is STEAMBOOT WILLIE? I know we're just test pilots here, but…"
"But I don't want us to make a mistake that's obvious to seasoned warriors such as the two of you," Johnny says, bluntly finishing your sentence. "The fact that your clearance still hasn't gone through is criminal." He reaches behind the coffee machine, pulling out a cardboard tube. A few moments later, he's unfurled honest-to-goodness flimsy blueprints out on the table. "Can't take a digital copy outside of the secure systems, but I've a fair hand at a drafting table," he explains. "Never mind that we'll have to send digital copy to the manufacturing site. That will be fun."
What are you looking at?
[][Type] Aerospace fighter
[][Type] BattleMech
[][Type] Hovertank
[][Type] Other (write-in)
Where is the intended primary manufacturing site?
[][Site] Nukashuba
[][Site] Hefusts
[][Site] United States of North Nudezret
[][Site] Multiple sites in Nudezret
Are you trying the coffee?
[][Coffee] Better fit in with these furtive people and try it.
[][Coffee] Nah. Little swig from the hip flask, all good.
[][Coffee] Fake pouring yourself a cup so that Jennifer pours herself a cup and drinks it.
[][Coffee] Uh. Picked up the habit in the USNN. Kind of need it.
[][Coffee] (write-in)
.. Nevermind! It looks like we'll be rolling with Ellie and one of the twins.
..will ponder what to vote. But maybe ASF or CV? At the heart of Nudezret?
Not sure on coffee...
EDIT: Votes!
[X][Type] Land-Air Mech! (If allowed...)
[X][Type] Aerospace fighter
[X][Site] United States of North Nudezret
[X][Coffee] Uh. Picked up the habit in the USNN. Kind of need it.
-[X] Don't forget to add ungodly amounts of sugar and milk.
..will ponder what to vote. But maybe ASF or CV? At the heart of Nudezret?
Not sure on coffee...
EDIT: Votes!
[X][Type] Land-Air Mech!
(If allowed...)[X][Type] Aerospace fighter
[X][Site] United States of North Nudezret
[X][Coffee] Uh. Picked up the habit in the USNN. Kind of need it.
-[X] Don't forget to add ungodly amounts of sugar and milk.
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11 million N-bills for an interplanetary stealth transport doesn't seem too bad...
However, that chokepoint makes me think that we probably want to look at 40 tons for anything we're planning to ship in. Though 75-80 would also be plausible if the niche calls for going big. 27-39t, 41-74t, and 81+t are either inefficient or really messy to ship.
20t also works if we have a nice light design.
However, that chokepoint makes me think that we probably want to look at 40 tons for anything we're planning to ship in. Though 75-80 would also be plausible if the niche calls for going big. 27-39t, 41-74t, and 81+t are either inefficient or really messy to ship.
20t also works if we have a nice light design.
- Location
- Michigan, USA
[X][Type] Aerospace fighter
[X][Site] United States of North Nudezret
[X][Coffee] Uh. Picked up the habit in the USNN. Kind of need it.
[X][Site] United States of North Nudezret
[X][Coffee] Uh. Picked up the habit in the USNN. Kind of need it.
Grrr. That 80-ton breakpoint. A new 35 wouldn't be too far off, or re-engine the Marauder-Catapult for an existing close to breakpoint mech. All of our existing designs are just awkward to shift.
[X][Type] BattleMech
For mostly meta reasons, because I don't have the first clue where to start with ASF design or tanks. Johnny here slapping some carefully made blueprints on the table and asking mechwarriors to tell him if there's anything wrong with an ASF design, then flipping it over to reveal a battlemech on the other side would be an amusing moment. But I don't want to go into the Land Air mech black hole. Those are cursed rules that I don't want to touch. For good reason. Eugh. Overengineered bondoggles.
[X][Site] Multiple sites in Nudezret
Designing something to be pieced together in mass on the surface.
[X][Coffee] Uh. Picked up the habit in the USNN. Kind of need it.
The scuffles over the first cup in the ad-hoc expeditionary company became legendary, until Mama put a stop to it.
[X][Type] BattleMech
For mostly meta reasons, because I don't have the first clue where to start with ASF design or tanks. Johnny here slapping some carefully made blueprints on the table and asking mechwarriors to tell him if there's anything wrong with an ASF design, then flipping it over to reveal a battlemech on the other side would be an amusing moment. But I don't want to go into the Land Air mech black hole. Those are cursed rules that I don't want to touch. For good reason. Eugh. Overengineered bondoggles.
[X][Site] Multiple sites in Nudezret
Designing something to be pieced together in mass on the surface.
[X][Coffee] Uh. Picked up the habit in the USNN. Kind of need it.
The scuffles over the first cup in the ad-hoc expeditionary company became legendary, until Mama put a stop to it.
TheOmnimercurial
Dragon Bard
- Location
- UK
[X][Type] Land-Air Mech! (If allowed...)
[X][Site] United States of North Nudezret
[X][Coffee] Uh. Picked up the habit in the USNN. Kind of need it.
-[X] Don't forget to add ungodly amounts of sugar and milk.
A LAM would be ideal as a Skirmisher for Hit & Run Assymetric Warfare.
As to the Rules, I heard that MML can be modded more easily now?
Failing that however, a max armour LAM still has a lot of uses if you keep it mobile, plus we have AMS to aid in that further.
Our PPC's plus Bomb Bays make for a potent mixture.
Hell Directional Torso Mount and Turrets provide some extra options too!
(If allowed...)[X][Site] United States of North Nudezret
[X][Coffee] Uh. Picked up the habit in the USNN. Kind of need it.
-[X] Don't forget to add ungodly amounts of sugar and milk.
A LAM would be ideal as a Skirmisher for Hit & Run Assymetric Warfare.
As to the Rules, I heard that MML can be modded more easily now?
Failing that however, a max armour LAM still has a lot of uses if you keep it mobile, plus we have AMS to aid in that further.
Our PPC's plus Bomb Bays make for a potent mixture.
Hell Directional Torso Mount and Turrets provide some extra options too!
I'm curious about what's gone down in Nukashuban organization that puts an ASF potentially on our plate. What's become of the fleet organization in a world where they haven't been able to truely secure even Nukashuban orbital space?
The possibility of designing for production on Hefusts also raises interesting questions.
I'd consider that for a mech produced on Nudezret, using advanced Nukashuban fusion engine tech might still be problematic. Not because it's something we should keep secret, at this point, but because they don't make many. As far as current posted information goes they seem to still only build large SFE plus some MANY MICE tech transfer CFE. It might be a challenge to tool up to a new medium or small SFE.
OTOH maybe it's a false concern - they already do build SFE, and the difference in size might be a minor adaptation (with the benefit of tech transfer materials) rather than a challenging one.
The possibility of designing for production on Hefusts also raises interesting questions.
I'd consider that for a mech produced on Nudezret, using advanced Nukashuban fusion engine tech might still be problematic. Not because it's something we should keep secret, at this point, but because they don't make many. As far as current posted information goes they seem to still only build large SFE plus some MANY MICE tech transfer CFE. It might be a challenge to tool up to a new medium or small SFE.
OTOH maybe it's a false concern - they already do build SFE, and the difference in size might be a minor adaptation (with the benefit of tech transfer materials) rather than a challenging one.
- Location
- Newer England
[X][Type] BattleMech
[X][Type] Aerospace fighter
Mechs are what we're actually qualified to make, though if we can manage a cheap ASF to help contest the spacelanes all the better. No LAMs though, and especially no LAMs for export production - they were too expensive and finicky for the SLDF's infinite budget, we're not getting a usable guerilla machine out of that.
[X][Site] Multiple sites in Nudezret
USNN is doing well enough for itself already it seems, and the simpler and more spread out the manufacturing is, the harder it'll be to bomb into oblivion if the war goes hot again.
[X][Coffee] Fake pouring yourself a cup so that Jennifer pours herself a cup and drinks it.
Surely someone on this team must be free of the sinful beverage?
[X][Type] Aerospace fighter
Mechs are what we're actually qualified to make, though if we can manage a cheap ASF to help contest the spacelanes all the better. No LAMs though, and especially no LAMs for export production - they were too expensive and finicky for the SLDF's infinite budget, we're not getting a usable guerilla machine out of that.
[X][Site] Multiple sites in Nudezret
USNN is doing well enough for itself already it seems, and the simpler and more spread out the manufacturing is, the harder it'll be to bomb into oblivion if the war goes hot again.
[X][Coffee] Fake pouring yourself a cup so that Jennifer pours herself a cup and drinks it.
Surely someone on this team must be free of the sinful beverage?