It's a thought, though given the prevalence of drones there probably isn't a niche for a high-end ground reconnaissance unit outside of spec-ops/ Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol. (Though a stealthy, EWS-centric drone carrier could probably get some work done in that regard...)
Zoids Chaotic Century. The Cammand Wolf is a staple of Republican forces and was intended as a command unit alongside the Shield Liger. They needed something that was maneuverble, had decent firepower, and could operate semi-independantly for extended periods if I remember correctly. This was one of the results and it has at least one other heavy duty variant.
I picked it as an example because it's fairly practical as far as zoids go, high speed quadruped with a modest turret on it's back, none of the energy shields of the Ligers or charged particle guns of the Genosaurs. Should be able to make a crude version for this generation of mechs and something closer to it in a generation or two.
I picked it as an example because it's fairly practical as far as zoids go, high speed quadruped with a modest turret on it's back, none of the energy shields of the Ligers or charged particle guns of the Genosaurs. Should be able to make a crude version for this generation of mechs and something closer to it in a generation or two.
In general Zoids, especially those from Chaotic Century, were quite practical in their weapon placements and types. You will find more kinetic weaponry such as ballistics and artillery with them than with other mechs, probably because they are optimized for terrestrial environments. It makes them an interesting point of comparison especially with Gundams who generally are more suited to space combat than they are to terrestrial environments.
[X] [Develop] (Gamble for -1 to +1 Funding) Trying to build this thing without a working cockpit is getting ridiculous. Petition the board and convince them to let us work more closely with the Neural Link department - maybe we can help unblock their issues in building the cockpit and get this project back on track.
[X] [Develop] (Free) Let's settle the Engine question now - between the right drive setup and whatever benefits the cockpit's Neural Link might unlock, we might be able to hit those agility targets without a limb refactor.
[X] [Develop] (-1 Funding) Screw it, let's spend some budget on refactoring our existing setup now. We can address flaws in the recently implemented weapons systems, and the Kinematics team can look at more potential improvements to the skeleton while we're at it.
[X] [Develop] (Free) We're not even close to our Combat Potential, this thing is very vulnerable to fire. Let's decide how we're going to armour this thing and figure out how much weight we're going to allocate to it.
I'd argue it's a more necessary gamble than not--this whole project is banking on the neural link actually working, and the silence is getting unnerving.
I'd argue it's a more necessary gamble than not--this whole project is banking on the neural link actually working, and the silence is getting unnerving.
I don't disagree with you. The last we heard of them is when they grumbled that we didn't pick a bipedal chassis and we need people on the same page otherwise we will have a mech that doesn't work. I just hope the dice doesn't screw us over and decides to take our funding away. We kinda need that.
It's a thought, though given the prevalence of drones there probably isn't a niche for a high-end ground reconnaissance unit outside of spec-ops/ Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol. (Though a stealthy, EWS-centric drone carrier could probably get some work done in that regard...)
Our niche is whatever we want it to be, and there's a reason why everything from selling snow to eskimos to always be expanding are staples of business (even if the reason is kind of nasty). As an example, Recon In Force is still a thing.
We're still early days so I don't think it's a problem yet, but frankly something that happens in both quests and real life far too often is doctrinal stagnation. Getting predictable is an absolutely horrid thing in warfare, and it's boring to know that entire avenues of investigation and alt-tech are cut off before we even begin because some random widget is considered "indispensable".
I voted for the gamble assuming we would lose the funding. If we can get some progress on the cockpit then it will be worth the cost in my mind.
Edit -
I'm quite sure Silversun17 is right here. They did the mecha equivalent of taking a heavy tractor, putting armour on it and welding some guns to it. Mecha Technical if you will. Still potentially dangerous but a far lesser threat then our unit is turning out to be.
I remember it was mentioned at some point that quadripedal mechs can support heavier weapons than bipeds. So a bipedal's "universal" mount might have less types of weapons that it needs to accommodate, and thus maybe be easier to build.
Indeed. If you look at the weapons list you can see it has 1 medium and 2 light mounts. Our unit has 2 lights but the main gun is a heavy. So we are packing a ~150mm gun while their battlecannon would be more in the 120mm range.
Weapon Mounts:
Medium Carried Mount (Size 4, Universal Mod, Both Hands)
- Typically a Medium-sized Autocannon, Battlecannon, or Rotary Cannon- Backpack Feed for Ammo or Power Cell Light External Mount (Size 2, Universal Mod, Left Torso)
- Stock Configuration: 70mm Rocket Pod Light External Mount (Size 2, Universal Mod, Right Torso)
- Stock Configuration: Light HEL Cannon
Project Knight - Mecha Design Bureau
Turn 12: Year 5 of Project Knight
[X] [Skill] Structural Engineering +2 to +3
[X] [Develop] (Gamble for -1 to +1 Funding) Trying to build this thing without a working cockpit is getting ridiculous. Petition the board and convince them to let us work more closely with the Neural Link department - maybe we can help unblock their issues in building the cockpit and get this project back on track.
Skill Improved: Structural Engineering improved from Trained (+2) to Experienced (+3)
While the Engineering team was reviewing the latest work, you had time to reflect on the state of the project and how best to go about getting success out of this situation. More and more, your mind went back to the topic of the Neural Link technology, the missing cockpit, and how it was holding you back. While it's true that you needed to complete an engine design so that you weren't just running this thing off local cabling, running proper field tests via remote control was nothing like a realistic test of the chassis' capabilities. You needed to get pilots into this thing sooner rather than later.
It wouldn't be easy to convince the Senior Directors, but you needed to get access to the Neural Link project. You had plenty of qualified computer techs, electro-neural engineers, and AI controllers to support this kind of effort - heck, one of your senior tech leads wrote his thesis on safe implementations of brain-computer interfaces. This kind of tech didn't have a great track record when it comes to remote control - simply put, the human brain doesn't adapt particularly well to controlling even a humanoid body, let alone something inhuman. Most of the team had probably seen the blooper compilation from the Scapa Conference Demo.
The point was, this stuff was really hard, and while more cooks in the kitchen wasn't necessarily going to solve any of these problems, you had plenty of talent on the team - maybe all the project needs is a set of fresh eyes?
Project Twilight:
Convincing the board wasn't easy, but you managed to do it - you got access to the top-secret Project Twilight. Getting the necessary security clearances was a hell and a half, and you weren't allowed to take any notes while you were in the place. Orientation was unsurprisingly a bit of a mess, and you got the impression Director Chelling wasn't too happy with you being here to interfere with things.
The first thing you came to realize was that this project was really unlike anything you've ever seen or touched before. Where your experience largely lay in industrial engineering and weapons development, you now found yourself involved in project management for a strange blend of scientists and occultists. A few facts about the Neural Link and its development soon became obvious:
Development of the Neural Link System had stalled for the past few years despite a large number of staff assigned.
The entire project is steeped in Mysticism - even the PhDs in the room seemed completely bought into the idea that we're channeling the unknown and unknowable in order to make this system work. This means that a large staff of Artificers (so-called modern day mages) are deeply involved in every process.
Supposedly, their rituals allow pilots to manifest powers of the veil and possess the mech. Frankly, you can't see how anything they're doing is actually creating tangible effects, but the specialists on the team insist it's essential to the process. When pressed, they have trouble explaining exactly why.
Standard Electro-Neural systems used for Mech controls are insufficient - Neuroscientists on the team have indicated that it is necessary for the synapses to be as structurally similar to those found in the human body as possible. This is a serious nano-engineering problem as we're having trouble building fabricators able to complete the task reliably at this scale.
The current hardware involves the use of an external Neural Interface placed over the head while neural signals are beamed to and from a Brain Computer Implant (BCI) embedded within the pilot's brain.
A powerful AI-driven computer core works to interpret the feed between the brain, motor controls, and sensors and signals received from outside the mech, forming one half of the 'possession' process.
The other half of the 'possession' process appears to be some sort of occult ritual engraved into the cockpit by the Artificers.
Given the above, you definitely have areas where you might be able to make an impact and assist with a breakthrough - especially if you're able to bring some of your own qualified people in to make a difference. You begin scheduling meetings with the teams and get to work.
Leadership: 1d20+1+2 = 18 vs. 11 (minor success)
As you break down the issues the Mech is encountering, you find many inefficiencies in the process. It seems like the entire project was scaled up to its current size with little warning, and most of the leadership staff involved were not inexperienced in projects of this scale. Director Chelling wasn't going to like it, but you weren't going to let something like that stop you. After a month of investigation, you had proposed a long list of process and organizational changes that would go a long way to improving the way the team was working.
However, project management alone wasn't going to solve Twilight's issues. Through your work so far, you had discovered several unsolved issues with the Neural Link generally:
[Pilot Rejection Syndrome] The largest and key problem that the Neural Link is encountering is a neuro-degenerative condition known as Pilot Rejection Syndrome. The majority of test pilots enlisted to test this system find controlling the limbs to be exceptionally difficult even when utilising a two-limbed test bed. Initial onset of symptoms is nearly immediate, inducing chronic migraines, extreme nausea, erratic mood swings, and loss of impulse control. Progression of the disease results in memory loss, hallucinations, psychosis, and loss of motor control. We believe further progression of the disease will lead to death, but thankfully all patients so far have been cured thanks to experimental nanite treatments - but reportedly the resulting memory loss and neural repairs lead to noticeable changes in personality. The cause is not fully understood.
[Synaptic Overload] Even those test pilots who prove to be compatible and do not suffer from Pilot Rejection Syndrome often report experiencing intense feedback from the BCI during intense movements. This can manifest as acute nerve pain, loss of feeling in the extremities, and in extreme cases, nausea and faintness. Thankfully, there's no long-lasting consequences, but it can knock a pilot out for a day or two.
[Synchronization Lag] We're getting noticeable latency between the pilot's intended actions and the actuators' response. This might be a natural consequence of the unrefined and inconsistent engineering of the Electro-Neural systems, or it could be a delay in transmitting to and from the BCI, or in the worst case scenario, something could be going terribly wrong with our methodology and the whole thing will require a rework.
While your team's specialists weren't in any way qualified to observe the Artificer's side of this work, you were sure you'd be able to make some meaningful progress on the engineering side. Given that most of the problems seemed to be in or around the BCI, it couldn't hurt to have another opinion, so you went through the effort to bring in your best technicians and have a look.
Frankly speaking, your Electro-Neural Engineers were completely stumped - any attempts at trying to contribute to the conversation just seemed to be getting in the way. That shouldn't be too surprising, considering that Project Twilight was already staffed with some of the best neuroscientists available, and their own techs had spent years developing this tech. It wasn't the sort of stuff that an amateur could come in and instantly resolve.
Your appreciation for rigorous scientific method did have some results: the experiments so far showed that alterations to the materials used in the construction of the Neural Link and Electro-Neural Pathways of the test bed had shown different outcomes in pilots - the current setup was the most stable we had found and resulted in the lowest rate of Pilot Rejection Syndrome and Synaptic Overload - albeit at a cost in greater Synchronization Lag. Your team started searching for exotic materials or any commonalities between what you've tried so far, but wasn't pulling up any obvious leads…
Finally, you had something of a breakthrough. Where your team's engineering experience had previously failed you, it was the computer techs who were able to step up. One of your senior engineers had cooked up an isolated analysis module that was busy extrapolating data and running simulations - what it found was a small, nearly indiscernible commonality in cases of Pilot Rejection Syndrome and Neural Overload. Pilots whose heads were larger or smaller than average were statistically more likely to experience this system shock. Upon further investigation, the team found that there were two common elements in these cases - loose headsets and unusually thick skulls. Particularly interesting was that the reverse also saw a decrease in cases - headsets which were too tight and those who had particularly thin and brittle skulls were less likely to experience rejection.
Now we're getting somewhere.
Unfortunately, not everyone on Project Twilight was appreciative of your findings. It seemed the occultist faction of the department were deeply distrustful of AI systems - even a benign algorithm like this. They were reluctant to allow AI systems to make optimizations - fearful that it would disrupt the carefully calculated actions of the Artificers and thus break their carefully constructed rituals. If it interfered too deeply, they warned that the ritual would fail to pull back the veil. Frankly, you were getting frustrated with how closed-minded they were being of the whole process.
Thankfully, for a change, Director Chelling agreed - the AI systems your team deployed had made the first real bit of progress in six months, and they couldn't afford to let caution stop them from trying. Even after several of the Artificers quit, he ordered the rest to work in conjunction with your technicians to build a new Neural Link prototype. The two of you would work together closely to keep the balance between the teams and teach them to work together, rather than apart…
It's riddled with problems, barely hacked together, and you haven't even started the process of transitioning it to a quadrapod yet. Sync Lag is terrible and pilots report the usage as terribly disorienting.
But…it's close. Really damn close.
We're talking by far the lowest rates of Pilot Rejection Syndrome and Synaptic Overload you've seen, and confidence that if we continue to refine our methods, we'll bring it down to an acceptable washout rate. Much to the chagrin of the old school Artificers, your team's AI system is also incredibly quick to start decoding their Arcane rites to speed up the design process, and even starts suggesting optimizations to their work. Some of them are fascinated and embrace the potential they see unfolding before their eyes - others are horrified and strongly protest against future use of such systems for this type of work, fearing what might happen if Machines learned how to unlock the veil by themselves.
Regardless of their opinions, though, you're getting closer to a working Neural Link - and thus a working cockpit. It's taken longer than you would've liked, but you're pretty sure they'll be able to refine this into something working within a year or so, allowing you to head back to your department and resume work on the Engines.
Director Chelling is impressed with your team's capabilities, and admits he was too skeptical of your assistance at the start. You agree to get lunch sometime, then head back to make your report to the Senior Directors.
They're pleased with your results - many of the individuals on that team can be hard to work with, but you didn't let that faze you, and you found a way to get a result. If you keep this up, there'll probably be a promotion in your future. How does 'Senior Director' sound?
Well, better focus on finishing the Crawler project first, you muse. If you don't do your job properly and the mech's a flop, you can kiss your promotion prospects goodbye...
Project Funding Assessment:
As a result of your rolls, you will neither gain nor lose funding from your involvement in Project Twilight. You sped up the development of the Neural Link but at the cost of some of your own team's momentum. This means you still have 2 points of Funding to spend between development phases.
Unlocked:Artificer Team
Once Project Twilight is complete, you may be able to turn to them for the development of exotic materials and technologies that physical engineering alone could never replicate - once developed, they can give your mechs a bit of an edge.
"Artificers (sometimes known as Arcanists) are the oldest tradition of metaphysical practitioners. They tend to be very secretive, working in small communities and passing their knowledge down from chosen apprentice to chosen apprentice. They are able to access the powers of the veil safely and reliably by utilizing the physical properties of elements and meta-elements in combination to produce profound effects on the real world. Many refer to their inventions as 'Magitech' but most reject that label, insisting their work is just another form of science. To a true scientist or engineer, of course, their ways are steeped in occult tradition and lack the rigorous methodology required to be called that."
Project Requirements & Ratings:
Basic Requirements:
❌ Combat Potential: average D or higher
✅ Logistical Values: average D or higher
✅ Material Affordability: C or higher
✅ Build & Repair Speeds: D or higher
✅ Ease of Maintenance: D or higher
Customer Requirements:
Kingdom of Kadiri:
✅ Build & Repair Speeds: C- or higher
✅ Ease of Maintenance: C- or higher
Bethnar Republic:
✅ Tech Simplicity C+ or lower
✅ Material Affordability B- or higher
✅ Ease of Maintenance C- or higher
Sahel Alliance:
✅ Skeletal Agility E- or higher
✅ Heat Management C- or higher
Sagittarian Colonial Coalition:
✅ Weapon Hardpoints C- or higher
❌ Power Control C- or higher
❌ Armour Plating C- or higher
Amazon Republic:
❌ Skeletal Agility: C- or higher
✅ Ease of Maintenance: C- or higher
✅ Build & Repair Speeds: C- or higher
❌ Tech Simplicity: C- or higher
Tech Specs & Ratings:
Dimensions:
Max Height: 4.21m Length: 7.41m (8.46m with weapons) Breadth: ~2.96m
Tonnage:
Max Tonnage: 71 tons Chassis Weight: 38 tons (base estimates for cockpit and engine included) Usable Tonnage: 17.5 tons (no weapons, subsystems, or external armour plates equipped)
Technical Specifications:
Weapon Mounts:
Heavy Embedded Mount (Size 6, Simple Mod, ICT)
- 152mm Battle Cannon (5 tons)
Light Auto Turret Mount (Size 2, Simple Mod, FCT)
- Point Defence System (1.5 tons)
- 12mm Heavy Machine Gun (0.5 ton)
- 40mm Grenade Launcher (0.5 ton)
Light External Mount (Size 2, Integrated, RCT)
- Combat Drone Dock (2 tons)
Skeletal Design (E+)
D | S-EFF Structural Efficiency
E+ | S-DUR - Skeletal Durability
E | S-AGI - Skeletal Agility
D+ | S-STB - Skeletal Stability
F+ | S-ACT - Actuator Precision
Combat Potential (E+)
C- | C-WPN - Weapons Hardpoints
F+ | C-ARM - Armour Plating
F | C-PTP - Pilot Protection
E+ | C-PTJ - Joint Protection
D | C-PTC - Component Protection
Weapon Effectiveness (C-)
C- | W-PEN - Armour Penetration
C- | W-DMG - Damage Output
C- | W-RNG - Effective Range
C- | W-ROF - Rate of Fire
D+ | W-CTR - Weapons Control
Power and Drive Effectiveness (C-)
D | P-PWC - Power Control
C- | P-LMB - Limb Drive Speed
B- | P-HTM - Heat Management
Logistical Values (B)
B- | L-CST - Material Affordability
D+ | L-TCH - Tech Simplicity
A | L-BNR - Build & Repair Speeds
B+ | L-EOM - Ease of Maintenance
New Vote: How did you and Project Twilight solve the Neural Link problem? Approval Voting is in effect. Top result wins.
[Neural Helmet (Partial Possession)]
This is a refinement of the Neural Link headgear we were previously using, but with the features somewhat dialled back and refined for efficiency. For the most part, traditional controls are used to maneuver the mech, but the pilot can share the Mech's sensors, issue mental commands, and share some degree of their coordination, reflexes, and balance with the mech. The simplicity of the system makes the cockpit more resilient, since it's noninvasive and the sturdy helmet offers extra head protection.
[+1] Skeletal Stability, [+1] Pilot Protection
[Cybernetic Plug Implant (Partial Possession)]
The most invasive method of connecting the pilot to the Electro-Neural system. A cybernetic spinal port is installed directly into the body of the pilot, enabling them to plug the mech directly into their BCI. This works similarly to the Neural Helmet in practice, requiring traditional controls enhanced by the pilot's own body, with lowered latency and greater sensitivity.
[+1] Actuator Precision, [+1] Power Control
[Neural Harness (Full Possession)]
A natural advancement of the Neural Helmet. This is a full body harness designed to both restrain and protect the pilot while connecting to multiple BCI implants located across the body. By reading multiple implants and translating their signals into controls for the mech, you get a reliable and non-intrusive way of achieving Full Possession of the mech and thus the greatest degree of control - but it is also physically fatiguing for the pilot.
[+1] Skeletal Agility, [+1] Skeletal Stability, [+1] Actuator Precision
Pilots suffer a penalty to Endurance tests against Fatigue.
[Cybernetic Immersion Tank (Full Possession)]
The ultimate combination of the systems above - this requires the pilot to wear a life support helmet and skintight Neural Harness before being fully immersed in a sensory deprivation tank. All this tech comes at a premium, but it shows results - the combination of direct connection to the implant, tracking via a neural harness, and the sensory deprivation seem to allow for the most complete form of Full Possession so far - so much so that test pilots experience some disorientation upon returning to their own bodies. Additionally, all this complexity increases the chance of the pilot being disabled by cockpit damage.
[+2] Skeletal Agility, [+2] Skeletal Stability, [+2] Actuator Precision, [+1] Power Control
[-1] Heat Management, [-1] Pilot Protection, [-1] Tech Simplicity
[Heavy] This will use 1 ton from your remaining usable tonnage.
[Bulky] This cockpit is almost twice the size of other cockpit types.
No physical backup controls.
[Magitech Crown (Partial Possession)]
This one comes from the occultists, and it's effective - but also maybe a little restrictive. They've built some kind of crown-like neural helmet that they say is superior in performance to the previous neural helmets in every way. The downside? It doesn't respond at all to pilots who haven't already seen beyond the veil, meaning prospective buyers' pool of pilots would be greatly reduced to just those who are empowered in some way.
[+1] Skeletal Agility, [+1] Skeletal Stability, [+1] Actuator Precision, [+1] Pilot Protection, [+1] Power Control
[Magitech] Only Empowered Pilots may use this system (as few as 1/50 people display any level of aptitude for accessing the veil).
Sorry for the overnight wait; it took longer than I expected to massage the various magitechnobabble to the place I wanted it, and it ended up being a lot more words than I expected!
As much as I would love the Crown, I think that is only for a real Ace Pilot-type mech. That's what you put in your Gundam or your Royal Guard variant, not a machine we want to sell in bulk. I think the Immersion Tank is off the table since we need to keep our tech cheap, leaving us with only the first 3 options. Of those, the Cybernetic Plug and the Neural Harness are the two that increase the stats we want. I just wonder how bad the fatigue issue is on the harness.
So that's why they were going nowhere. They let the loonies in and were refusing to use all their tools. I understand that some spirituality is involved but we are making a physical system here so we should be falling back upon the system's we know to make up for what we don't.
As for choices we either choose the least invasive means or go all in with everything we have learned. Half measures will not suffice and the crown reminds me of the master crown which is a complete nope.
Just noticed the slight discrepancy in naming between detail notes and the voting options - Cybernetic Immersion Tank is the name on the vote so you might want to use that - I'll try and remember to make sure your vote gets tallied with the rest if you don't, though!
Did they test using animals to control the mech's limbs, focusing the ritual on them rather than the human? Because I'm wondering now if, rather than a pilot, we need a rider and mount. Use something that has been trained to accept a human ridding it as the control (donkey/mule/horse?), and leave the weapons and secondary systems up to the human in the cockpit. Use traditional horse controls to direct them in the direction they want to go. System would also limit their sensory input, so weapons fire by the mecha could be dampened/removed to prevent panicking.
Here me out guys, I really want the Cybernetic Immersion Tank to win. The heat management cost we can take without endangering our requirements, the Tech Simplicity we can restore with later choices, and the pilot protection can be corrected by armor and where we choose to place the tank. Arguably the most important aspect of a mech is the cockpit so we aught to put our best foot there and continue to develop it further over the generations. This option also improves Skeletal Agility by +2 and Power Control by +1 which are areas we seriously need to improve stat.
