This is less a technology problem and more a problem with observing infrequently from a great distance. Say you see a building with people milling about. What is it? A community center, a recruiting ground, a hydroponics bay with integrated fusion core, a fabricator, a barracks filled with soldiers?
Slow But Fine (A Historia Quest)
- Thread starter DaLintyGuy
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- post-apocalyptic strategy
Happerry
Bat out of Hell
- Location
- Kanto
That's fair, I probably should just reassign them to the push North directly if I want them to assist in that. (Now edited in.)
That's also fair. What would you think about sending only the air scouts north to get a birds eye view of things over there, while hopefully avoiding any actual fighting? If you switched them over to doing that I'd be willing to vote for your plan, and I kind of really don't want to just leave a known problem area completely unscouted because that kind of mystery is a not fun mystery, and knowing anything about what we might be facing will let us judge what troops we need to throw at it.
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All right. I'll make the adjustments.
Well, makes esne I guess, thoug hisn't their some kind of device that'll let them see at very long distances? Like, oh I dunno, a dieselpunk telescope of pair of binoculars perhaps? Or is the range too large to be feasible, like tens of miles away? And is there any kind listening equipment we could get, that may be used to spy on other...factions? Probably would have something to do with hi-jacking communications.
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- Reader
[X] An Army Marches on it's Stomach
-[X] Civilian
--[X] Decentralized Power 1
-[X] Military Production
--[X] Line Infantry Company (2 Energy)
---[X] Specialization : Sapper
-[X] Military Affairs
--[X] Local Network Cleansing
---[X] Mechanized Line Infantry Company
--[X] Secure Transit: West
---[X] Conscripted Line Infantry Company
--[X] Scout : West
---[X] Communications Cavalry Company.
--[X] Scout : North
---[X] Kami Squadron
--[X] Reserve
---[X] Medium Tank Company
So this will be the first in a series of turns to advanced west to secure assets benefial to production, while regularly scouting the other 3 directions with Kami Squadron.
-[X] Civilian
--[X] Decentralized Power 1
-[X] Military Production
--[X] Line Infantry Company (2 Energy)
---[X] Specialization : Sapper
-[X] Military Affairs
--[X] Local Network Cleansing
---[X] Mechanized Line Infantry Company
--[X] Secure Transit: West
---[X] Conscripted Line Infantry Company
--[X] Scout : West
---[X] Communications Cavalry Company.
--[X] Scout : North
---[X] Kami Squadron
--[X] Reserve
---[X] Medium Tank Company
So this will be the first in a series of turns to advanced west to secure assets benefial to production, while regularly scouting the other 3 directions with Kami Squadron.
Happerry
Bat out of Hell
- Location
- Kanto
[X] An Army Marches on it's Stomach
Telescopic cameras still can't peer through a buildings roof and let you see the insides. Sometimes you can figure stuff out from the looks fairly easily... and sometimes you're left wondering just what the nondescript building with guards is.
Well it's worth a try in some cases, even if it fails. And the sound equipment? Surely they cant have sound-proofed every room....mayvbe.
[X] An Army Marches on it's Stomach
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We are functioning on low tech development right and the facilities were technically developed in a futuristic era, so while we probably don't have listening devices, which would be hard to use effectively in an active airplane anyway do to sound interference from the engine, some facilities very well could have outerwalls with sufficient sound dampening to render such equipment ineffective.
Yasuke was a slave until Oda Nobunaga, curious about his dark skin, freed him and made him a retainer. This was mostly ceremonial until the self proclaimed "demon lord" learned of Yasuke's tactical acumen. Yasuke was offered a squad to lead in any of the divisions in Nobunaga's army. To the surprise of many in the court, he passed over the infamous "triple line" gunmen and venerable cavalry to instead join the untested tank divisions.
Yasuke's star rose as tanks became an increasingly important tool the "demon lord's" plans for unification. Eventually he became one of Nobunaga's most trusted advisors, though he found very few other friends. This was made very apparent when Nobunaga's conquest was halted by base treachery. Fearing death or worse at the hands of his former allies and with no one else to turn to he disappeared into the Japanese countryside until he was finally called upon to serve again.
Yasuke is a fairly even tempered but very proud man and chafes somewhat at once more being ranked a captain. Nonetheless, he's very happy to be serving in a righteous cause once more. He usually finds it easy to get along with anyone he has to work alongside so long as they don't either treat him as an inferior for not being genetically Japanese nor bring up his old master and/or said Master's treacherous brother.
Yasuke's star rose as tanks became an increasingly important tool the "demon lord's" plans for unification. Eventually he became one of Nobunaga's most trusted advisors, though he found very few other friends. This was made very apparent when Nobunaga's conquest was halted by base treachery. Fearing death or worse at the hands of his former allies and with no one else to turn to he disappeared into the Japanese countryside until he was finally called upon to serve again.
Yasuke is a fairly even tempered but very proud man and chafes somewhat at once more being ranked a captain. Nonetheless, he's very happy to be serving in a righteous cause once more. He usually finds it easy to get along with anyone he has to work alongside so long as they don't either treat him as an inferior for not being genetically Japanese nor bring up his old master and/or said Master's treacherous brother.
Vote tally says it's a unanimous three votes, so I'll get working on that come Saturday.
Though with how this is going... Well, far be it from me to do something people dislike. Should I switch to running a BattleTech Design Bureau game instead?
Though with how this is going... Well, far be it from me to do something people dislike. Should I switch to running a BattleTech Design Bureau game instead?
Nah, I don't think that's the problem. From what I've seen, some quests just need to pick up steam. It may be that I'm wrong, but *shrugs* doesn't seem so.
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This is the case some times. A friend of mines quest started off with relatively few voters and now it's picked up severely once it cleared the 50k mark. Some people want some meat to the story before they get invested.
Could also be the approach holiday. Some people will be focused on that and neglecting usual hobies.
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See @DaLintyGuy ? It just takes time, and so far nobody has spoken out against your quest.
So, the vote you actually X-ed is different than what you said you'dchange it to. Which is the one you want as the "official" version?
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- Reader
Hey Randy....I hate to correct you but.....people march on their feet.
Being pedantic is my stick. Get your own.
More pertinantly, having a starving army is worse than having no army.
The Starting Hand 1.1
[X] An Army Marches on it's Stomach
-[X] Civilian
--[X] Decentralized Power 1
-[X] Military Production
--[X] Line Infantry Company (2 Energy)
---[X] Specialization : Sapper
-[X] Military Affairs
--[X] Local Network Cleansing
---[X] Mechanized Line Infantry Company
--[X] Secure Transit: West
---[X] Conscripted Line Infantry Company
--[X] Scout : West
---[X] Communications Cavalry Company.
--[X] Scout : North
---[X] Kami Squadron
--[X] Reserve
---[X] Medium Tank Company
-[X] Civilian
--[X] Decentralized Power 1
-[X] Military Production
--[X] Line Infantry Company (2 Energy)
---[X] Specialization : Sapper
-[X] Military Affairs
--[X] Local Network Cleansing
---[X] Mechanized Line Infantry Company
--[X] Secure Transit: West
---[X] Conscripted Line Infantry Company
--[X] Scout : West
---[X] Communications Cavalry Company.
--[X] Scout : North
---[X] Kami Squadron
--[X] Reserve
---[X] Medium Tank Company
--[X] Local Network Cleansing
---[X] Mechanized Line Infantry Company
Part of why the Gehenna Nature Preserve Refugee and Community Center had grown as large as it had was by absorbing smaller communities in the face of an ever harsher world. The men of the 2nd Infantry Company were unfamiliar with the people of the current era, product as they were of unthinkable technology and ancient society, but could well understand the desire for safety and food security. Both items coming neatly together as an example of mammalian megafauna was slowly cycled over a fire by a dozen hopeful cooks.
With the degrading quality of the seasons as the orbital mirrors decayed, food was a vital and moderately difficult resource to acquire for the refugees of the Central Arcology. While the aggressive fauna took the spotlight in the rumor mills (of which the new soldiers were both featured heavily in and deeply involved in furthering) it was more deadly to lose one's crop to the new herbivores the various biology preserves were turning out as the moderating influence of the scientists faltered and withdrew.
In between sweeps of the road network (itself a patchwork, comprising a handful of heavy transit lines and dirt or gravel roads) to allow successful harvests to be shared with those less fortunate Hiyomata Ankira had acceded to the requests of the camps they stopped at, detaching elements of his command to work alongside the local Home Guard members in watching over the fields. Leading to the impromptu feast when an AT gun a driver hadn't wanted to draw along on patrol had been used to fell the large beast with a single blow rather than having the Home Guard fire into the air to scare it off again.
So he had recalled most of the company to join the festivities, celebrating their good work, long hours on the road, and playing nice with the natives.
The Captain leaned away from the half hearted game of cards the soldiers were teaching the civilians and looked at the sound of an approaching halftrack grinding gravel beneath it's treads. The community leaders watched with undisguised curiosity as a sergeant approached, saluted, and extended a written communique for Ankira's perusal.
"What's that about?" One of the civvies asked with a gesture at the paper Ankira was shoving into a pocket.
"Nothing much." He replied offhandedly, and furrowed his brows when the assembled civilians shrugged and left it at that. Another cultural difference between his men of War and those they had to protect.
At least now they had some ideas about where their local rivals were operating out of.
[Local convoys and stopover points established. Actions to locate and engage rival factions in the area now available.]
--[X] Secure Transit: West
---[X] Conscripted Line Infantry Company
Dirt and plants flew as the Levied Legion and their civilian auxiliaries forged a new route to the Exploitation Region to the West. As might be expected, the pre-Collapse network of magnetic levitation surfaces did not directly link the Preserve and the Agricultural Region that monopolized the Wellspring. Instead the great shipments of organic compounds created in the Agricultural Region would go to the Central Arcology for use by the many people that once called it home and on to distribution to the many secondary sites frequented by those who resided within its surface. An efficiency increasing measure during the previous age but one that left Gehenna Preserve's Japanese Defense Force without easy access to the resources of the Wellspring. Growth vats meant to turn out entire animals, algae hydroponics to cheaply produce polymer precursors that could be included in warmachines as well as turned into chemical fuels, as well as aeroponic chambers to simply grow food for a growing population.
Of course, such a prize would embolden and tempt all on its own. Something the 1st Infantry Company (a term used somewhat loosely by the young men that made up the double strength formation) when a squad on security duty hauled back a curious prize: a canid with oversized ears, a set of teeth reminiscent of a shark, and fur distinctly resembling that of forest camouflage patterns. The discovery of an active and functional engram implant clarified matters.
Another set of survivors had made the decision to activate an Entech commander to either take or keep what they needed to survive the destabilizing climactic system. And they did not appreciate another military making preparations to be able to maintain operations in their territory.
The field doctors attached to the self named Legion quickly became accustomed to treating the distinctive gouges left by the quickly and accurately named "Biters" made by this "Chimeric Commander", left on Regular and Home Guard alike. Harassing attacks were largely, albeit not completely, blunted by simple precautions such as moving in groups and always keeping rifle, bayonet,and sword at hand. Without a way to break the increasingly jumpy armed cordon where the work was being done, and without human intelligence guiding every action, work was slowed but not stopped. A possibly critical issue if an operation was ongoing but manageable for mere preparations.
[A number of mild to moderate injuries, a few gruesome deaths among the 1st Infantry. A bargain for victory. Morale status changed to Shaken.]
[Hostile faction detected. Current designation: Chimeric Commander. Theme: includes biopunk.]
[Slowed work will cause a small malus to be applied for a portion of the next turn for operations in the Wellspring Region]
--[X] Scout : West
---[X] Communications Cavalry Company.
While the infantry do their work of dying in place to preserve more valuable assets the Cavalry was also in its element. Hard riding and far ranging, the once verdant flood plains gave little to no resistance to the passage of the mounted troops.
While the Collapse had hit the region harder than most as energy and materials were cannibalized in order to get even one more ton of food and organics to the arcologies, the local receiving stations and transshipment hubs still held a few solenoids carrying a charge. Incompatible with the massive rail convoys and their insatiable thirst for power the smaller harvesters and haulers had sometimes been left idle during the scramble to buy as much time as possible during the Collapse before starvation set in among the arcologies. Perhaps early on, in expectation of a quick return after the service interruption was resolved? Whatever the cause it was a source of easy energy to power vital systems back home.
To the surprise of the mounted troopers they were not the only ones active on the plains. Among the tracts of fallow land was a splotch of perfect green tended by vat-grown organisms of unknown types. Wide and low set worker types cutting down plants whole with oversized claws while watched by a handful of quadrupeds with dorsal claw arms and pronounced jaws.
A handful of warning shots served to discourage any approach by the locals and the troopers returned with their load of power cells replacing food and water on their pack animals.
[Point of Interest discovered: Plains Reservoir. Allows for the irrigation of many fields and growing houses utilizing soil substrate. A cheap alternative to hydroponics and one that comes already prepared with a climate mitigation factor.]
[New faction detected. Current designation: Alien Commander. Theme: Starcraft Zerg.]
[Salvage gained: +3 Energy]
--[X] Scout : North
---[X] Kami Squadron
When you debrief your pilots they are shaken, and understandably so. For some inconsiderate Commander has dragons flying about the arcology spires and are presumed to be the cause of one of your scout planes not returning to the barn.
In terms of useful data there are at least two major factions in the Central Arcology. One is whoever made and maintains the artificial megafauna of course, while the other uses colorful nonhuman soldiers seen patrolling among the lower levels. More interesting are the random armed bands with improvised and stolen weapons, and some remaining corporate security bots holding onto their last orders in defiance of the power outage around them..
[From above, the circumstances inside the Central Arcology are best described as "complicated". Multiple Entech factions, desperate survivors, pre-Collapse security are all active. And that's just what you can see.]
[No Points of Interest identified; next ground scouting action will identify 2 PoI instead of 1 because of gathered intelligence.]
--[X] Reserve
---[X] Medium Tank Company
There is a distinct lack of heavy metal moving this season. A combination of an unwillingness to spend the limited supply of primarily ethanol fuel as well as a lack of targets needing the attention of an armored fist. That isn't to say your crews are entirely idle of course. Gunnery practice is the name of the game and the thudding of machine gun and cannon is a regular sound every time a new lot of ammunition is delivered.
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"I have... Concerns." The woman in front of you admits, fidgeting slightly and glancing at the pair of light duty 1st Infantry troopers guarding the door off to the side of your desk. "About the priorities shown by our armed force."
"That is unfortunate." You reply neutrally, clasping your hands over your abdomen. "I will do what I can to alleviate the weight on your mind."
"The route to Central remains dangerous for those trying to escape it's confines." The camp coordinator explains after only a single false start. "Why have we not moved to clear the area?"
"My role is to serve our people." It is an uncomfortable truth, but still true. "Just as importantly we do not know what it is that is occurring. It could just be a growing settlement."
"Then why haven't we heard of it from those that did pass through?" She presses.
"That is the core: we do not know." You nod. "Meanwhile we know that a long period of winter-" It was actually spring by the reckoning of the scientists that built the world's ecosystem, but with the errors growing in the orbital mirrors temperatures could vary wildly with little warning. A few days of scorching heat as multiple arrays combined their energy, a few days of frost and snow when none were pointed your way... "-will destroy entire harvests and mandate our limited resources turn to producing nutrient blocks rather than the simple power sources being handed out now." You level a firm look across your desk, covered as it is in reports and the occasional study results of some piece of technology or other. In your position as Entech it is your remit to make these sort of priority calls and your visitor knows it.
[3rd Infantry Company worked up. "Sapper" Specialization applied: better able to destroy terrain features and quickly make temporary fortifications.]
[Decentralized Power I 1/2: personal power generation is being handed out. Strategic consequences minimal, but quality of life is set to increase and dependence on central power availability set to decrease.]
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Well this went smashing, didn't it? Thank heaven for rumormills. The plant thing is definitley something of interest, but I think a more pressing matter we need to focus on is the invitation Ankira recieved. Those who extend it don't look to be without manners at the very least, so I have some hopes for diplomacy. Hope the card game'll be finished.
Ouch, now this was a blow. The Legion could use some scouts or a similar company right about now, seeing as the main reason to their casualties was a lack of information. Interesting to see how the Bipunk faction does things, and it certainly does them well. I wonder how those growth vats differ from ours....
Bah, of course the cavalry do well. A good choice to put them there, I'd say. Materials there and the foundations for agriculture I see, and we salvaged a nice amount. I do worry about what's already there though...those vats producing the canids won't be the last we see.
"Everything's on fire and people are dying!"
Yeah we definitely don't want to get involved with that mess of a battle, unless we ally with one of the sides? Nah, better for us to keep to ourselves.
Poor tanks. The pilots are for sure missing out on the exciting things. Why not send them over to the conscrpts to spice up their lives, and get some target practice in?
And the last part gives us more lore and information. The fortifications and semi-terraforming is good ta me, and with that, I think we need to put more focus on making toeholds in each direction (barring North for obvious reasons) and fortify the m to the best we can, eventually growing in size.
Technically the message was a report from other elements of 2nd Company describing the traces they found of foreign activity. Tracks, HUMINT, etc. Though the B1s haven't been overtly aggressive and the motorists have declined contact with your patrols.
In the strict sense, the Legion is already reasonably well suited for scouting purposes. That just wasn't their assigned mission.
Cavalry are well suited to mobile operations, yes. Infantry probably would have had a fight with the locals and gotten less salvage due to covering less ground.
The arcology is a pressure cooker due to... A number of factors, some obvious, some mentioned, some hidden.
I mean, your tanks are your premier offensive unit. Would definitely send a message to deploy them against someone...
Oh, the terraforming had long been completed. It's just that moving the planet into a better orbit was deemed as "not werf" by the Powers That Be and so went with the simpler, faster, and more elegant solution of an array of orbital mirrors. But without the power to operate their correction systems and the command center...
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Excellent. Establishing ourself as the singular power in primary area is important.
Hmm. We'll have to use our tanks to stack any engagement in our favour. Good thing we have that feild hospital or I imagine we'd have a larger number of deaths.
Interesting first opponents. I look forward to facing them.
Jackpot. We've got 5 energy. Should we grab a light tank battlalion with a medium walker officer? Should we specialize?
Maybe we produce fighter aircraft for escorting our Kami squadron? should we specialize? If yes, Long range or CQC?
Or maybe we produce a trench warfare infantry unit with heavy weapons company support for indirect fire from behind defensive lines, and improve our conscripts unit with the exoskeleton infantry support to give them the ability to fight off more deadly vat beasts and better equiped infamtry units.
Bloody dragons. I knew the north would be no picnic but thats way worst than anything I projected. I hate to imagine whats on the ground. Definetly need a tank escort for our land scouting mission in the north.
I'm taking this as in in favor of an exoskeleton infantry support improvement. That said, I think we probably had fewer than 5 deaths. It would have been higher, but we had that feild hospital to keep the severe but not fatal injuries from becoming fatal.
We need some fighters for the dragons and tank for whatever is waiting on the ground, sapper infantry for setting up sturdy outposts.
Hmm. So short term I can assign the legion to ground scouting to make it safe to account for a ramping up in difficulty by the chimera and possibly alien commander. Longterm I should probably add exoskeleton support to cavalry when it comes time to scout north. Hmm.
Maybe spend our 5 energy with 2 exoskeleton support upgrades split between conscripts and cavalry to support there work in the west, while the sending the legion to scout north and our tanks and sapper infantry to secure north transit.
We could save the last point of energy or give one of our units an super heavy autocannon upgrade.
Can we please have the option to send miss nosey north with the legion scouts so she can see what she's asking our troops to get into?
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Fundamentally I am using this as an example to show the culture clash that demanded the use of engrams in the first place. You are looking at the needs of your position, she (as an elected official for her people) is acting off of both the enhanced empathy ingrained in modern Humanity as well as the reasonable fear of whatever it is coming south.
So, no, that is not an actual option nor is it necessary to get the results you want.
Ah I see I see. Well, we just need to make sure we keep an eye on things there. Maybe even a whole hand.
Mhm, I see, I see. I still worry about them though, because those vats had to have come from somewhere. Though the spawn from them aren't really too much trouble. I sense some more combat oriented things in their future. And wow, the clavary really are the premier scouts. They get in, they get things done, adn that's that. Certainly a part of the forces we should think to invest in.
Haha...haha...if I wasn't a brick in terms of reading in between the lines, I might be able to identify some of them.
Mhm, and the message is "Stay and die, fight and die, leave and don't die." though honestly, I don't wnat to portray any active hostility as of now, as it's only the beginning.
I agree with you on the point about exo-skeletons, but they cost a pretty penny and we need to make sure it's a worthwhile investment to the army. It seems like one to me, however it's always good to try and look at it from different angles. Thank God for the hospital, because I know for sure an outbreak of rabies would be horrendous.
Bleh, that melting pot of blood and war is best avoided until we have more information. And we should be logical in our placement of tanks, because I think they're our strongest unit in terms of home defense and overall. Sending them their is like sending them to slaughter. Sure, they'll out up a fight, maybe even a good one, but in the end they'll get crushed. Or that's how I see it anyway.
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Yeah....I feel that'd be a bad idea. I mean, she's at least allowed to ask questions and make opinions. As her superior, it's our job to help her see the bigger picture and to shy away from heavily biased views and untrue, pre-concieved notions.)
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The Agricultural Region has many, many locations such things "could" have been made at. It's in the name y'see, even if whole creatures were a decidedly secondary concern to mass producing organic precursors for shipping to the arcologies.