I am in agreement with Highwinds assessment (mostly ).
Infantry Training Regiment - my opinion is go for Special Operation Command (SOCOM) forces: Navy Seals, Marine Force Recon, Green Beret, etc.
Stealth oriented troops to operate behind enemy lines as intel gathering, Target Acquisition & Spotters, surgical strike teams specializing in demolition / targeted killing, etc.
We have an abundance of AKP's who have proven their worth (both jacketed and standard), but for stealthy surgical operations we have only !2! platoons. Asymmetric warfare when conducted with competent socom operatives, good intel, and adequate fire support are astounding force multipliers.
MLRS construction for the Motor Pool should be a no brainer, jaw dropping anti-infantry ability and with the Divine Thunderbolts one of the most devastating K Scale weapons in our arsenal. Their only downside is limited battlefield endurance, once they've unloaded they take a dedicated reload vehicle to re-arm. (And the SPLL's can be acquired next downtime to cover that!)
I intentionally left the Drydock open for @Nixeu as our Admiral to chime in on. Personally I'm for either a SEAL delivery mini-sub mounted to the Staurolite (deliver SEAL teams unobserved, keeping the Staurolite at a safe range) --OR-- the Special Operations Craft – Riverine (SOC-R) a 10m long shallow draft (2') , heavily armed (comparable to the SuperCobra), boat suited to stealth insertions or patroling coastal waters (in good weather), rivers, and streams.
I am in agreement with Highwinds assessment (mostly ).
Infantry Training Regiment - my opinion is go for Special Operation Command (SOCOM) forces: Navy Seals, Marine Force Recon, Green Beret, etc.
Stealth oriented troops to operate behind enemy lines as intel gathering, Target Acquisition & Spotters, surgical strike teams specializing in demolition / targeted killing, etc.
We have an abundance of AKP's who have proven their worth (both jacketed and standard), but for stealthy surgical operations we have only !2! platoons. Asymmetric warfare when conducted with competent socom operatives, good intel, and adequate fire support are astounding force multipliers.
MLRS construction for the Motor Pool should be a no brainer, jaw dropping anti-infantry ability and with the Divine Thunderbolts one of the most devastating K Scale weapons in our arsenal. Their only downside is limited battlefield endurance, once they've unloaded they take a dedicated reload vehicle to re-arm. (And the SPLL's can be acquired next downtime to cover that!)
I intentionally left the Drydock open for @Nixeu as our Admiral to chime in on. Personally I'm for either a SEAL delivery mini-sub mounted to the Staurolite (deliver SEAL teams unobserved, keeping the Staurolite at a safe range) --OR-- the Special Operations Craft – Riverine (SOC-R) a 10m long shallow draft (2') , heavily armed (comparable to the SuperCobra), boat suited to stealth insertions or patroling coastal waters (in good weather), rivers, and streams.
We really need to invest some more actions in infantry-level gear, so that we can give the stealthier folks sturdier stuff than BDUs with kevlar vests....
You -could- use the I.T.R.'s free action to research incorporating known technologies as a form of upgrade to Infantry equipment.
A valid example would be to take the Ballistic armor used to upgrade the Combat Jackets shortfalls and adapt it for general infantry use. Your previous research did say for use when mounted or dismounted from the Jacket if I am not mistaken. (Having trouble finding the exact post).
I intentionally left the Drydock open for @Nixeu as our Admiral to chime in on. Personally I'm for either a SEAL delivery mini-sub mounted to the Staurolite (deliver SEAL teams unobserved, keeping the Staurolite at a safe range) --OR-- the Special Operations Craft – Riverine (SOC-R) a 10m long shallow draft (2') , heavily armed (comparable to the SuperCobra), boat suited to stealth insertions or patroling coastal waters (in good weather), rivers, and streams.
Depends pretty heavily on what designs we have access to, which I'm not actually well-versed in. All I know is that we can make PT Boats. I don't think we've reverse-engineered either the Sea Dragon or the Staurolite. We might have found the plans for something else lying around, but I can't recall that being in our loot anywhere. Still might have some around, but I haven't asked @Smithsguild to find out. Allow me to fix that.
Oi, Smith. What designs do we actually have to work with for naval vessels?
It is safe to assume the first thing you do upon receipt of ANY working model of new tech is do comprehensive documentation for purposes of being able to reproduce and maintain your gear.
The Jaeger CAD program from the black site is versatile in that given a 3-D scan it can apply known material properties and known stresses and help you with a virtual teardowns providing exploded views of how things 'should' work.
Jaeger design was a lot of kludging known conventional working designs and trying to figure out how to apply them to giant mechanical people. Things like powertrains and engines from all corners of human engineering were programed in as tools for modelling theoretical jaeger applications. It wouldn't be unlikely nuclear power plants used in naval applications would be ported in for help designing an aquatic Jaeger.
IE. with little hard work on your part inputting known data you can plug in hull thickness, hull shape, engine size, etc and the CAD could reverse engineer a lot of the unknowns without you pulling all the pieces apart.
TLDR; All the shineys mentioned are doable easily. The only one you're lacking hard numbers on would be the SEAL Delivery mini-sub, and it would be cake walk for it to design something that would serve as a replacement to the one that historically was made to work with the Staurolite.
@Nixeu Initially you had the SOC-R & the Anti-Kaiju Patrol Torpedo designs, You have since acquired working models of the Staurolite and the Sea Dragon the designs were added into your design library as your mechanics have performed extensive maintenance and repairs and documented it all.
(LOL; more stuff I need to update build sheets with discovered shortfalls in my documentation. Build sheet will behas been updated with build costs. The Staurolite will have support restrictions similar to the the Spooky as it is a game breaking beast.)
The SEAL Delivery sub will take a design/research roll it will have a target number based on features requested. In this case stealthy and dependable.
Honestly that's at least sort of what I envision for the "inner armor" for the Jackets; basically a set of armor you can wear independent of the Jacket, to keep you more safe from stuff.
@Nixeu Initially you had the SOC-R & the Anti-Kaiju Patrol Torpedo designs, You have since acquired working models of the Staurolite and the Sea Dragon the designs were added into your design library as your mechanics have performed extensive maintenance and repairs and documented it all.
(LOL; more stuff I need to update build sheets with discovered shortfalls in my documentation. Build sheet will behas been updated with build costs. The Staurolite will have support restrictions similar to the the Spooky as it is a game breaking beast.)
The SEAL Delivery sub will take a design/research roll it will have a target number based on features requested. In this case stealthy and dependable.
Okay. Wouldn't mind more PT boats, since they're probably the most effective naval combatants besides the Staurolite we have. Marine Protector-class cutters are meant for stuff like anti-piracy and anti-smuggling patrols, or, in the Sea Dragon's specific case, protecting submarines while transiting from their base to the more open ocean, when they're surfaced and highly vulnerable. Their machine guns are good for dealing with smaller targets (like, say, Deep Ones), but mostly on the surface, and not so much big enemies. They don't bring that much firepower to the table for major naval combat. Good for patrolling, though.
As for the SOC-R...I mean, it's got utility, but it's purpose is tangential to naval combat. I guess I'd be okay with making some, if they're going to be really helpful, but I think I'd really rather have more naval firepower (PT Boats) than a specialized and heavily armed speed boat that looks built for brown water, at best. That's just my opinion, though.
@Nixeu having a SOCOM friendly delivery vehicle that moves below radar could be quite helpful. They are brown water vessels as you state and their value protecting their environment is niche (but a valuable niche similar to the ALSV's performing offroad patrols).
They provide a service that other vehicles simply cannot, providing cover of areas blue water vehicles with deeper draft cannot go and most mechanical ground vehicles find impassable; Rivers and streams. The cyborgs of Charleston have proven capable of amphibious assault , Patriot's Point had in its inventory a korean/vietnam era brown water PT boat, so it would not be a stretch to think that rivers and streams could be exploited to their advantage if their ability to operate in that theater goes uncontested.
From a strictly naval utility perspective they may not be a first choice draft pick, but overall strategically surrendering a theater from inability to act could prove disastrous.
@Nixeu having a SOCOM friendly delivery vehicle that moves below radar could be quite helpful. They are brown water vessels as you state and their value protecting their environment is niche (but a valuable niche similar to the ALSV's performing offroad patrols).
They provide a service that other vehicles simply cannot, providing cover of areas blue water vehicles with deeper draft cannot go and most mechanical ground vehicles find impassable; Rivers and streams. The cyborgs of Charleston have proven capable of amphibious assault , Patriot's Point had in its inventory a korean/vietnam era brown water PT boat, so it would not be a stretch to think that rivers and streams could be exploited to their advantage if their ability to operate in that theater goes uncontested.
From a strictly naval utility perspective they may not be a first choice draft pick, but overall strategically surrendering a theater from inability to act could prove disastrous.
It's basically an infantry transport with guns. Which means it's basically not part of my bailiwick. I don't generally handle overall strategy, I handle Naval strategy and logistics. The rest is more your guys' thing. If you guys think they're necessary, build them. If not, build PT Boats. That's my advice.
Also, anywhere a 2-foot draft boat can go that a 5-foot draft ship like the Sea Dragon can't doesn't qualify as "amphibious" or even a problem for a Navy to handle in my book. If my feet can reach the bottom and keep my head above the water, it's the Army's problem, not mine, IMO. Maybe the Marines', if I'm being generous, or possibly the Coast Guard.
t's basically an infantry transport with guns. Which means it's basically not part of my bailiwick. I don't generally handle overall strategy, I handle Naval strategy and logistics. The rest is more your guys' thing. If you guys think they're necessary, build them. If not, build PT Boats. That's my advice.
Fair enough, the Naval Dockworks are under your umbrella though and before we clogged the que with Infantry friendly boats I thought it would be courteous to explain the need and utility and give you a chance to say "I need these now instead to support 'my' mission". If you think that you have enough PT's to serve for this downtime then I would suggest plugging the hole of rivers and streams.
I was unaware that the Protector was that shallow a draft of a vessel, it could serve easily in a river patrol scenario and is better suited to blue water operations my only caveat is it cannot serve for stealth insertion or extractions of SOCOM forces. I believe it would be a small matter to reinforce the Sea Dragon to host a Hedgehog and give it subsurface utility against submerged foes. An upgrade as it were...
Edit: Actually the Sea Dragon could be useful for SOCOM if it were to have something like the Zodiac's onboard for the last leg of a stealth insertion / extraction.
Actually @BadKatt85 the Protector Class Cutters come standard with a high performance rigid hull inflatable boat (RHIB) that if properly painted could serve in a Zodiak's stead. The Stern launch and retrieval ramps allow them to be launched and recovered while the Cutter is already underway.
On thing to remember is although the Sea Dragon has a shallow draft her length (27m) and her beam ( almost 6m) limit which rivers and streams are accessible. The SOC-R has a length of 10m and a beam of nearly 3m in comparison.
Fair enough, the Naval Dockworks are under your umbrella though and before we clogged the que with Infantry friendly boats I thought it would be courteous to explain the need and utility and give you a chance to say "I need these now instead to support 'my' mission". If you think that you have enough PT's to serve for this downtime then I would suggest plugging the hole of rivers and streams.
I was unaware that the Protector was that shallow a draft of a vessel, it could serve easily in a river patrol scenario and is better suited to blue water operations my only caveat is it cannot serve for stealth insertion or extractions of SOCOM forces. I believe it would be a small matter to reinforce the Sea Dragon to host a Hedgehog and give it subsurface utility against submerged foes. An upgrade as it were...
Edit: Actually the Sea Dragon could be useful for SOCOM if it were to have something like the Zodiac's onboard for the last leg of a stealth insertion / extraction.
Hm. I'm...honestly not sure. On the one hand, our Naval firepower isn't great. The PT boats have fairly limited torpedos, and having more of them to either make for a better sucker-punch from the ambush we're considering would be really nice. On the other, they'll still have limited firepower, no matter how many we build. So the Staurolite and Triton are going to be the stars of the show regardless.
That said...you've reminded me of the fact that they do carry a lot of depth charges, good for dealing with Deep Ones. Which does make them much more versatile. I'm not going to say I need more of them, but even still, they'd definitely be very useful. I'm also not entirely happy with my current firepower. In the end, though, the Naval prong of the attack is less important than the land side of things. So, I'm still fairly divided on the subject.
@Nixeu I think I could offer a solution to the PT boats endurance problems.
Maybe construct a catamaran hulled Naval reload platform? Something with a well deck to receive spent PT's and provide at sea rearmament of torpedoes pit crew style.
Pneumatic bladders inflate once the PT is in the service zone to stabilize and isolate it from the swell that might make the two boats shift causing internal collisions. Once the ship is secure, safety hoists can swing ordinance into load position to re-arm the mk-32 tri barrel torpedo tubes. Once reloaded safely bladders deflate and the reload deck can be exited forward allowing the next reload needing PT to take its slot efficiently without the need for the loaded ship to backpedal out of the well deck.
Just an idea, but I think a dedicated torpedo reloader could make the PT's utility increase greatly by eliminating the need to home port to rearm.
I have tried hard to incorporate everything discussed, I may have missed something... please forgive.
Discussion "Plan" V0.3
All of this EXCEPT Rescue / Diversionary is negotiable.
13,452 R this turn to work with.
Savannah
Normal Actions: (5 population, 1 from Environmental bonus)
[X] - (RESERVED ACTION for Rescue / Diversionary strike)
[X] - Construct a MASH unit: 350 R
[X] - Construct 6 of the Little Bird Variants (Medivac, Spotter/T.A.G., Killer Shrikes)
1x Medivac (200 R) for our MASH unit, 3x GLTD spotter/TAG (@250 R ea. for 750 R subtotal), 1x Killer Shrike (275 R) gifted to Liberty Raiders.
Total expenditure on Little Birds: 1,225 R
Idea; lets reassign the "Mighty Merlins" to Medivac, with their double dipping in evasion skill they are able to go into hot zones and get out intact with their rescuees. Free to do, but I still need enough support for consensus.
[-] - Construct ?X# of Grey Eagle UAV's (Want to base numbers of these on number of Longbows purchased. Exact #'s to be decided)
[X] - Send our 2 Special forces teams for an Advanced deep scout of Charleston using the stealthy Blackhawks. Final plan should be more detailed, (the better the write up the better the reward.)
[-] - ?Citizenship census and ID's to be issued?
Free Actions:
[?] - Computerized Communication Center, Comm action:
?Inform citizenry in our comms range to be on high alert for increased banditry threat and the potential that Charleston may send a sizeable military force against us, borders are monitored and guarded, but increased vigilance is advised. Residents are not to engage, but are to seek shelter, and request immediate assistance from Protectorate forces over civilian comms on a dedicated Citizen Band Channel reserved only for emergency communications.?
[X] - Hephaestus Repair and Upgrade: ?finish Jaeger upgrade? (exact #'s of rolls to be purchased yet to be decided).
[X] - High Energy Lab: DEW (Lasers) Research focus to be decided by further council destruction.
[X] - Kaiju Sciences Lab: ?Finish research on Sage's EM shielding?
[X] - Savannah Hangar & Airfield: Construct ?X# of Longbow Helos (exact #'s to be decided)
[X] - Savannah Infantry Training Regiment: Train some SOCOM equivalent troops, I'm looking for something similar to Marine Force Recon or Marine Scout Snipers specializing in non-contact 'Green operation' deep penetration/ long duration intel gathering ( < 25 miles behind enemy lines); the force retains 'Black operation' capabilities if needed for high value targets of opportunity.
[X] - Savannah Motor Pool: Moar M270 MLRS (exact #'s to be decided)
[X] - Savannah Dry Docks & Shipyard: some SOC-R (exact #'s to be decided) as I feel it'd be a lethal mistake to not be able to patrol our interior waterways.
Savannah River and associated tributaries overall length
Chattooga river (57 miles) & Tallulah river (48 miles) join to form the Tugaloo River; Further downstream near Hartwell, the Tugaloo River (46 miles) joins with the Seneca River (now a 21 mile arm of Lake Hartwell) from South Carolina to form the Savannah River (313 miles to ocean).
These are just the major feeders of the Savannah river and does not account for small creeks, streams, ponds that are accessible. Nor the other multitude of rivers that do not intermingle with the Savannah River, a few examples include the Okatie River, Ogeechee River, Little Ogeechee River, Bull River, Blackbeard Creek, etc. ad nauseum. There is a good reason Savannah is portrayed with sphagnum moss in the trees & swamps
Situational Free Actions:
[X] - Prior to Rescue/Strike "Liberty's Toll" use their Pirate Broadcasting to Hijack Charleston broadcasts to ready disparate rebel cells to be ready for unified action on our signal.
[X] - 25 R to get the 'Outrider's' airborne ASAP. Macon
Normal Actions:
[X] - Buy artillery for their Defensive Perimeter keeping parity with Savannah defenses.
Free Actions:
[X] - Macon Hangars & Airfield: Construct X# of Strike Eagles (exact #'s to be decided)
Decisions:
[X] -
Opportunities:
[X] - Negotiate with Liberty's Council to act as the Protectorates official 'Refugee Assimilation Center' (goes hand in hand w/t my proposed Census & citizenship action)
[X] - Prior to Rescue/Strike Gift a Little Bird Airframe along with the Cargo Container M-16's and ammo for Liberty distribution to Charleston Rebels
[X] -
Somewhere...somebody who definitely always existed has just began to exist in the waking world...
Somewhere... Councilor @Dream Logic prepares their paperwork...
Somewhere...at some point...sometime...eventually.
Just finished reading. Will try and come back later to review plan.
Until then, let's remember to fix that thread issue. I don't want to deal with what happens if they're left to roam free. The Kaiju thread things. Not the thread itself.
Somewhere...somebody who definitely always existed has just began to exist in the waking world...
Somewhere... Councilor @Dream Logic prepares their paperwork...
Somewhere...at some point...sometime...eventually.
Just finished reading. Will try and come back later to review plan.
Until then, let's remember to fix that thread issue. I don't want to deal with what happens if they're left to roam free. The Kaiju thread things. Not the thread itself.
Welcome to the madhouse. Got an idea of what your position on the council/personal project is, or do you want some suggestions (at least for the former)?
I have tried hard to incorporate everything discussed, I may have missed something... please forgive.
Discussion "Plan" V0.3
All of this EXCEPT Rescue / Diversionary is negotiable.
13,452 R this turn to work with.
Savannah
Normal Actions: (5 population, 1 from Environmental bonus)
[X] - (RESERVED ACTION for Rescue / Diversionary strike)
[X] - Construct a MASH unit: 350 R
[X] - Construct 6 of the Little Bird Variants (Medivac, Spotter/T.A.G., Killer Shrikes)
1x Medivac (200 R) for our MASH unit, 3x GLTD spotter/TAG (@250 R ea. for 750 R subtotal), 1x Killer Shrike (275 R) gifted to Liberty Raiders.
Total expenditure on Little Birds: 1,225 R
Idea; lets reassign the "Mighty Merlins" to Medivac, with their double dipping in evasion skill they are able to go into hot zones and get out intact with their rescuees. Free to do, but I still need enough support for consensus.
[-] - Construct ?X# of Grey Eagle UAV's (Want to base numbers of these on number of Longbows purchased. Exact #'s to be decided)
[X] - Send our 2 Special forces teams for an Advanced deep scout of Charleston using the stealthy Blackhawks. Final plan should be more detailed, (the better the write up the better the reward.)
[-] - ?Citizenship census and ID's to be issued?
Free Actions:
[?] - Computerized Communication Center, Comm action:
?Inform citizenry in our comms range to be on high alert for increased banditry threat and the potential that Charleston may send a sizeable military force against us, borders are monitored and guarded, but increased vigilance is advised. Residents are not to engage, but are to seek shelter, and request immediate assistance from Protectorate forces over civilian comms on a dedicated Citizen Band Channel reserved only for emergency communications.?
[X] - Savannah Infantry Training Regiment: Train some SOCOM equivalent troops, I'm looking for something similar to Marine Force Recon or Marine Scout Snipers specializing in non-contact 'Green operation' deep penetration/ long duration intel gathering ( < 25 miles behind enemy lines); the force retains 'Black operation' capabilities if needed for high value targets of opportunity.
Hm. I think pointing to MFR/MSS is good, while the Green Berets are tough SOBs they're actually as much about training up locals. Which is a skillset for specops we need, but right now, long-range high-skill scouts is what we need.
We may want to do a couple more actions here to help us round out our SOCOM options.
[X] - Savannah Motor Pool: Moar M270 MLRS (exact #'s to be decided)
[X] - Savannah Dry Docks & Shipyard: some SOC-R (exact #'s to be decided) as I feel it'd be a lethal mistake to not be able to patrol our interior waterways.
Situational Free Actions:
[X] - Prior to Rescue/Strike "Liberty's Toll" use their Pirate Broadcasting to Hijack Charleston broadcasts to ready disparate rebel cells to be ready for unified action on our signal.
Macon
Normal Actions:
[X] - Buy artillery for their Defensive Perimeter keeping parity with Savannah defenses.
Free Actions:
[X] - Macon Hangars & Airfield: Construct X# of Strike Eagles (exact #'s to be decided)
Decisions:
[X] -
Opportunities:
[X] - Negotiate with Liberty's Council to act as the Protectorates official 'Refugee Assimilation Center' (goes hand in hand w/t my proposed Census & citizenship action)
[X] - Prior to Rescue/Strike Gift a Little Bird Airframe along with the Cargo Container M-16's and ammo for Liberty distribution to Charleston Rebels
[X] -
For their Arty are we looking to have them build Arty guns, or MRLS?
What's the items/options for Decisions, again?
For opportunities, I feel like you're hitting solid ideas here. What can we do with that 3rd slot?
Also, next turn, I'd like to request 2 Research actions:
-Another round of improvements on Power Armor/Combat Jackets.
-Work on improving/refining the basic armored suits we've developed.
Welcome to the madhouse. Got an idea of what your position on the council/personal project is, or do you want some suggestions (at least for the former)?
lot of things that bother me. Increasing outreach (we will take you in and protect you. From Kaiju and cults), Intel stuff both inside and outside of our territory, having a dedicated grouping for dealing with cults and mythos in the smaller scale/persistent sense, along with otherwise some general environmental stuff and maybe having a dedicated group for Cat-0 and under threats//control, maybe something to help mitigate the scale of misfires so units might stay in the fight.
Oh and I really want to see how the medical system is holding up, especially for psyche...and that's without dealing with Jaegers.
Honestly the most pressing concern I have is that while Homeland security is solid and we have a research department for it, I'd like a practical arm that's specifically for rooting out and dealing with the supernatural//unusual.
There was only one Threadbeast encountered (as of yet), and it was destroyed.
-------------------------------
As to Homeland, they work well enough at what they've been assigned to do.
The addition of an espionage/counter espionage & intelligence gathering agency would be an invaluable tool.
But I will need a detailed proposal outlining how far their reach extends...
Equivalent to NSA / CIA / The Imperial Inquisition ???
Do they command SOCOM equivalent forces and possess the power to order drone strikes / cruise missile launches? Or must they forward request for such resources from the Council?
How far into the peoples rights to be secure in their persons and property is fair game and how much transparency or oversight does this agency get?
These are all important questions to be hashed out BEFORE you form an agency. I -do- like the Idea and I think such things are definitely an element of a solid enduring political entity.
Edit: you have a lot of other questions you raise, & I will be happy to address them after I invest some thought to them. Thank you for challenging me by raising questions and policies I've not yet considered, it helps keep my creative fire alive. I'll try to be worthy.
lot of things that bother me. Increasing outreach (we will take you in and protect you. From Kaiju and cults), Intel stuff both inside and outside of our territory, having a dedicated grouping for dealing with cults and mythos in the smaller scale/persistent sense, along with otherwise some general environmental stuff and maybe having a dedicated group for Cat-0 and under threats//control, maybe something to help mitigate the scale of misfires so units might stay in the fight.
Oh and I really want to see how the medical system is holding up, especially for psyche...and that's without dealing with Jaegers.
Honestly the most pressing concern I have is that while Homeland security is solid and we have a research department for it, I'd like a practical arm that's specifically for rooting out and dealing with the supernatural//unusual.
Some of that borders on a few other player's bailiwicks. @Knight_Disciple is currently handling our anti-magic crusader/Space Marine types, for example, and I believe rooting out heresy is somewhere in his long-term plans. @BadKatt85 is doing our PR/Outreach, I believe. Intelligence gathering and medical stuff are both completely free (unless I'm forgetting something), and are perfectly fine Councilor projects/specialities.
).
