Calling the vote, but I do want to point out that right now there aren't any consequences to leaving the AI be. If an action will have consequences for leaving it be, I will lay that out for you.
That said, it looks like New Staff wins the vote by a majority of two.
Rolls to follow.
Adhoc vote count started by Basarin on May 12, 2018 at 4:50 PM, finished with 426 posts and 17 votes.
[X] Plan New Staff Needs Care
-[X] Field Testing - CRX-02C
-[X] Piloting Stress Tests
-[X] Variable Configuration - Refinement
-[X] A Helping Hand - Spies, You Say?
-[X] Dreaming of Robotic Sheep
Adhoc vote count started by Basarin on May 12, 2018 at 4:50 PM, finished with 31 posts and 17 votes.
[X] Plan New Staff Needs Care
-[X] Field Testing - CRX-02C
-[X] Piloting Stress Tests
-[X] Variable Configuration - Refinement
-[X] A Helping Hand - Spies, You Say?
-[X] Dreaming of Robotic Sheep
[X] Plan New Staff Needs Care
-[X] Field Testing - CRX-02C
-[X] Piloting Stress Tests
-[X] Variable Configuration - Refinement
-[X] A Helping Hand - Spies, You Say?
-[X] Dreaming of Robotic Sheep
Honestly the mechanic where multiple actions can be used to boost each other encourages picking similar actions each turn. I was planning on using this turn to focus on robots and then next turn doing all the AI and Supercomputer actions. Also story-wise I think it's fitting that every month we pick a single area that we want to focus on and then proceed to take it way too far.
Honestly the mechanic where multiple actions can be used to boost each other encourages picking similar actions each turn. I was planning on using this turn to focus on robots and then next turn doing all the AI and Supercomputer actions. Also story-wise I think it's fitting that every month we pick a single area that we want to focus on and then proceed to take it way too far.
This is supporting 'Local Area Investigation - Spies?'
Test Roll at Disadvantage (1d6, Threshold of 5-6)
Success!
Successful field deployment of the CRX-02C! (Historic First, even)
Acquisition of New Information
Test Roll (2d6, Threshold of 5-6)
Success!
CRX-02C upgraded to "CR-01 Jackal" chassis!
Minor Super Robot Chassis Unlocked!
Variable Configuration Actions Unlocked!
Test Roll Each Turn at Disadvantage (1d6, Threshold of 5-6; Inexperienced Pilot)
...huh...
...Pilot Traits Revealed!
Followed by interlude: 'Well, you see, what happened was...'
Chance for Breakthrough, Test Roll (2d6, Threshold of 5-6, Bonus applies)
Breakthrough Achieved!
...they will need a new truck, however. And several more Coyotes...they've just had a new idea.
Perhaps, the dice are preparing us for rapid threat escalation. All 'known,' threats seem to be taking time off in that last rumor update in World Report: Highlights. Maybe, all antagonistic factions have a couple of genre-savvy analysts on stand-by who saw something about to go down.
Personally I like having the ability to combine options for greater benefit, so I quite like the current system. I also think that it makes for interesting story telling if we can pick a couple options that all focus on the same research subject and then see how they build off each other.
Also yey good rolls, and now looking at it in hindsight lowering the threshold of success from 5 to 4 for the field testing action wouldn't have really meant much with those rolls. Still sad that we didn't throw down Real Steel style.
Also yey good rolls, and now looking at it in hindsight lowering the threshold of success from 5 to 4 for the field testing action wouldn't have really meant much with those rolls. Still sad that we didn't throw down Real Steel style.
Alright now that I'm no longer the last guy to have posted time for my usual omake!
Ashley stared up at the building with a big grin. So okay, getting transferred to what her then-superior had called a job under a pair of crazies and an old wash-up wasn't the most encouraging thing. Or the idea that she was going to be stuck in some lame backwater somewhere in the boonies where nothing of interest would happen? Yeah, it'd have been a poor day for proving engineering wasn't just a boys-only club.
Except...It turns out that 'lame backwater' was actually her hometown! And these so-called crazies were working on nothing less THEN BUILDING A SUPER ROBOT!!!
Okay maybe they were still crazy, the whole constantly chewing up vehicles certainly was something she raised an eyebrow at...As was the fact that the base was apparently in the old flattened Morrison University...But then again, SUPER ROBOT!!!
And best of all? Would totally be getting to show up outta the blue and impress Lucy with with her sweet new job! Last they talked Lucy was just going to become a librarian and waste her mind sorting dusty old books like the neeeerd she was.
*ding*
"Aaand that's that! You now have clearance to the Research Insitute formerly known as Morrison University! Engineer Ashley Lankenson, a pleasure to have you working with us!"
"Thanks, and I'm going to have a great time if it's true this is the place to be to work on SUPER ROBOTS!!!"
"...Yep! Though if I didn't know better I'd say you were one of Sam's, yelling like that!"
"Well come-on, I'm not about to let the boys have all the fun of building one of the defenders of humanity! Which way to the work- OMIGAWD!"
THAT CAR JUST TURNED INTO A ROBOT! THIS IS THE PLACE THIS IS THE PLACE THIS IS AWESOME!!!! GOTTA GET A CLOSER LOOK AT-
The thing shuddered, and then it's leg unexpectedly gave out as it fell over to the side with a massive crash.
...Okay so still work to do! That's fiiiine, it'll be fine.
*later in the evening*
Okay sooo turns out the CRX is a wild beast to work on. Makes sense coming from the mind of a dude who certainly likes to live up to his name! But then again, she did arrive late to the party so it stands to reason there wasn't much room for a woman's touch on the thing. But those man-machine interfaces that were supposedly coming...Those would definitely need it, if for no other-
Wait that brown hair-LUCY!?!
"LUCY!?!"
The woman in question spun around and...Oh, that's not Lucy. Not unless she aged an extra 20 years.
"Ashley! I hadn't contemplated the possiblity of your arrival!"
WAH! WHEN'D SHE GET HERE!?!
"LUCY!?! What-how!?"
"As entertaining as it might be to watch you try to reconcile your memories to the superior reality before you, yes, I'm here, and not just as a visitor, in some respects we're here for the same goal. To aid in progressing humanity's evolution to a glorious future beyond even the wildest dreams of today!"
"Whoa...You actually got out of your books and started putting your brain to use! About time girl!"
"Indeed, in more ways then you might think, even."
"...What's that supposed to-oh I know that look. You're not gonna tell me. Not even if...I call in THAT!?"
"Uhh, I er, was thinking that you'd forget about that...So, the Truth and Dare is?"
"The Truth, is what precisely are you talking about with that more ways then you might think. The Dare...Heh. I'll give you a month to work up to it. 2 Miles!"
"I'm taking the miles."
"Oooh now I REALLY wanna know! What's your secret!"
"That is information that's staying right in my crainium and out of your audio receptors!"
"I'll figure it out eventually neeeerd!"
...Sooo that's Ashley! And hopefully the way the two play off each other makes sense/they don't mix and sound similar. Any critique in how they're characterized? In general?
...Sooo that's Ashley! And hopefully the way the two play off each other makes sense/they don't mix and sound similar. Any critique in how they're characterized? In general?
From your past writings, Lucy is methodical and irritable. Ashley is somewhat hyper and in love with the job. Punctuation aside, they're enjoyable enough reads!
Oh, that is going to remain an option until you choose to take it. Quest-wise, I leave it there so you always have the option to get the bonus. In-universe? Wilde wants his goddamned robot cage match/destructo-derby, and is never going to stop petitioning for it until Devin caves in.
He's a simple man that way, really.
EDIT: As an aside, the early early prototype of what will become the Jackal is something I wanted to provide some kind of image of. But most settings or art didn't quite have what I was looking for. Wilde and Henry were really just slapping stuff together until it worked, so the second prototype (which is going through field testing from your choices) looks something like this:
The Coyote patrol truck is more analogous to an updated Humvee, not the one-seater buggy that you see above. But again, this was as close as I could get given what I was going for with such an early prototype.
Same deal as with the vehicle mode. The driver's compartment folds down like it does here, but it would be a full-on cockpit that fully encases the pilot(s), and not just a pseudo-power armor. There would also be a "head" unit that emerges on the top, but it's not a humanoid face yet; it's more like a camera dome or "fact sphere" that you would see on a Knightmare Frame.
It's after you prove this works in field testing that you'll see something more akin to Yuusha/Brave transforming mecha. Heck, even the police chief in J-Decker had to start with something like this in his younger days! Back then, you were given crap like this and you were grateful! None of this fancy schamncy transforming and combining crap!
Here you go. I'll post the turn results tomorrow. Time to get some "They Are Billions" time in before bed.
And as one note: I'm not too sure how well the action sequences came across in this. I'm always looking for feedback on how to improve on writing, so do let me know!
2145, 10 June, A.D. 2070 Commandant's Office
"Explain."
You and Sasaki are seated at your desk. You are leaning forward with both hands clasped in front of your face, obscuring a confused look about your face.
Sasaki is not faring much better than you. In fact, her face is as close to 'confused' as it ever gets (Which is never). "Over the last month, as you approved, I set Lieutenant Callaghan on a training regimen. As his previous occupation is that of a radar technical officer, I felt it would be prudent to conduct familiarization training on different types of vehicles."
You nod slowly. "Right. I remember signing off on that order." There is an awkward pause for a few moments, which stubbornly stretches out as you both consider how to even continue this conversation. "...so how did that-?"
"-I am getting to that, Sir," Sasaki sighs. "For the most part, I limited him to vehicle simulators. This was due to the lack of the actual equipment on hand, and because it would be quicker to bring him up to speed. I placed a particular emphasis on the Coyote patrol truck, given that is where we have seen the most success."
"That's all well and good, but-"
"-Sir, please. There is more."
The way she speaks just makes you press your head against your fists in frustration. "This has something to do with Wilde, doesn't it?"
0859, 10 June, A.D. 2070
Training Simulators, EUDF Barracks
Richard slumped against the seat in frustration again. The bright red letters proclaiming "YOU CRASHED" flash again across the screen. "Oh, come on," he complained. "Respectfully, Ma'am, this course is ridiculous!"
"I will not disagree with you," Captain Sasaki replied coolly. "But if you are expecting real world conditions to be as agreeable as a standard practice track, you are poorly naive."
"Ma'am, that was freaking two kaijus stomping through San Fran in the middle of rush hour and an earthquake!"
"All three of which are facts of life in that part of the world. What is your point?"
Richard just stared at her. Captain Sasaki stared back calmly.
"The Commandant has high hopes for you, Lieutenant," she said as she turned to walk away. "So it falls to us to make sure you do not disappoint him. Report back in two days after you have practiced, and we will try again."
Richard just smacked his face against the steering wheel mockup inside the training pod. "Oh for Pete's sake," he grumbled as he rested his forehead against the wheel. "This is impossible."
"Having some problems?" a voice asked from outside of the pod.
Looking out to his left, he saw the grinning face of Lieutenant Wilde. For some inexplicable reason, he was wearing what looked like a fedora, and the beginnings of a dusty-yellow beard was all but blaring defiance against grooming regulations the EUDF held dear.
"Oh, hey man," Richard said glumly. "I'm never going to get the damned hang of this thing."
"Ah, man, don't be like that!" Wilde said. The grin never left his face, and Richard was starting to think he overheard the majority of the exchange. "Y'know, I've got something pretty similar to this. But it's a heck of a lot more useful than the regular Coyote."
"...wait. That thing's actually ready?" Richard just blinked as he fully sat up in the seat and looked at him.
"Been ready for a little bit," he said with a shrug. "And we have a few test models that we gave over to the other pilots. They're putting them through their paces right now."
"Well, okay," Callaghan said slowly, "But what's that got to do with me?"
"One: we still have one left over, and we figured we'd go and help out the patrols find those spies. Two: you're frustrated as all hell, and we figured you could use a break." The grin somehow seemed to widen. "Wanna try it?"
Richard thought it over for the grand total of five seconds. "When?" "...were you aware that Wilde and Henry were going out with the patrols?" you ask reasonably.
"I was aware, yes," Sasaki admits. "But as it was in the interest of field testing the CRX model, I felt it would be acceptable to allow it."
"But not that Callaghan was out there with them," you press.
"No, I was unaware of that," she scowls.
"Alright." You set that aside for now. You're not here to grill Sasaki. Not with how strangely well things turned out. It was much like piecing together the chain of events that caused a train wreck to happen right in front of you, only for the train to spit out entire crates of stamped gold bullion. You didn't question your luck in that it happened, you were just morbidly curious at that point.
"So...then go over the part where the patrol encountered the spies."
Sasaki nods briskly, now on more comfortable ground. "The patrol was able to time their routes to overlap and surround the spies. I instructed them to make sure that this time they had no simple means of simply evading questioning."
"But as I understand it," you say as you look over the after action report, "they were entrenched and reportedly hostile?"
"Our Soldiers encountered them near the 'campsite,'" Sasaki says calmly. She speaks of the battle no more urgently than discussing inventory reports. "There were a total of five personnel on foot, all equipped with varying models of small arms and with a case of disposable rocket launchers. I identified the equipment as black market gear, which very likely originates from Westphalian dealers."
"And their 'truck'?" you ask mildly.
1130, 10 June, A.D. 2070
Campus Outskirts
Richard couldn't stop the massive grin that was probably on his face. Whatever Wilde and Henry had done with this Coyote was just so incredibly responsive.
"Toldja," Wilde said next to him in the passenger's seat. He sounded (admittedly deservedly) smug.
Henry was much more to the point. "Just keep a steady hand on the lever, Sir," he said. "Just remember to think of it as settings for different ground. You start feeling it shake too badly or you see rough ground ahead-"
"-pull it to the right setting, got it," Richard said confidently. Gently shifting the steering wheel with one hand, the other slowly adjusted the lever as instructed as he weaved the modded Coyote through sparse woodland. "How come Captain Sasaki didn't have me training on this? This is fantastic!"
"Probably because no one made a simulator of it yet," Wilde shrugged. "Also, Major Devin specifically asked us for an easier UI for this one. Our first one was just the steering wheel and other bits."
Richard winced. "That sounds horribly complicated."
"No worse than the flight stick version he tried," Henry muttered.
"Hey! I added a second one after that one, okay?"
Before Richard could ask about that one, he noticed at the corner of his eye one of the radio frequencies crackling. "Hey, Adam, check the radio for me," he said.
Frowning, Wilde switched the frequency until it came out much more clearly.
"-are responding with small arms fire," a voice said in quick but tense words. "I say again, suspicious personnel confirmed as hostile, and-"
"Rockets incoming!" another voice cut in. Any additional words were cut out from a loud explosion blaring through the speakers. Thankfully, the frequency itself did not cut out, indicating that someone there was still alive.
"...looks like they found them," Henry commented calmly. He and Wilde shared a look between them. "Think we should run him through configuring?"
"No time like the present!" Wilde said with a grin. Manipulating the map interface on the passenger's dashboard, he pulled up a new set of coordinates. "Turn left here and keep going."
"Wait, what?" Even as he turned left, Richard was bemused. "We're headed over there!?"
"Can you think of a better way to show the Captain you've got the chops?"
"...yes?"
"Too bad! We're doing it this way!" "...so they redirected towards the firefight."
"I see." You really don't. What they did was utterly reckless, suicidal...and highly successful.
You really have no idea how you're supposed to feel about this.
"Do you have any idea why any of them did this?" you ask gently.
Captain Sasaki frowns in thought, before sighing. She'd come to some kind of conclusion. "Wilde and Henry are not difficult to consider: they were supremely confident that their prototype was up to the challenge. Their confidence was not misplaced, but the fact remains. As for Callaghan...I fear I was too harsh on him too early." She sighs. "I felt he needed to acclimate to operating new equipment early, but perhaps all I did was frustrate him. In turn, he likely felt a need to prove himself."
You grunt in vague agreement as you look over the report again, even if you already know what it says. "Well, I wouldn't count out your methods just yet. It clearly worked to some extent."
Sasaki just shakes her head in disbelief. "I think in English they refer to this as a…'perfect storm,' or something along those lines?" she questions.
"They also refer to it as a cluster," you remark dryly. "Thankfully it all landed on them and not us." Excerpt from Debrief
Encounter with suspected spy cell
949th Truck Company
"...upon contact with the suspects, 3rd Platoon attempted to initiate questioning. The suspects reacted violently, and before an approach could be made, the platoon was struck with small arms fire. Going to ground, 3rd Platoon requested for support and were immediately bombarded with disposable rocket fire. Some of the Coyotes were knocked out with rocket fire."
...
"We suspected that the truck was some kind of guntruck at that point, since it had some kind of tarp covering it all. But what looked like a <expletive> robot tank torso popped out of the tarp and started firing at us with cannons. We only had small arms, so yeah, we called for backup."
"What did you see after that?"
"I saw one of our Coyotes turn into a robot. Everything else after that, I was just, 'okay, why not?'" 1141, 10 June, A.D. 2070
'Campsite'
"Careful with the sticks!" Wilde shouted as Richard struggled with the perspective and control change.
"Brake and pedals are the feet, the sticks are the arms!" Henry shouted as well.
"Would've been nice to know two minutes ago!!" Richard said through gritted teeth as the CRX stumbled and tripped around the wreckage. Yet the hasty instructions Henry shouted were already processing through Richard's brain as his brain just shut out all unnecessary input.
Okay. Okay, I can do this. Gently nudging the sticks, Richard forced the CRX into a ducking motion. Later he would wonder how the hell he made it work at a time when he should have been panicking, but his brain just trusted that the combination of moves he was making would be a facsimile of ducking. It helped that the motion evaded an incoming salvo from the guntruck, all the while ignoring the small arms pattering against it like rain.
If the sticks are the arms, these buttons are...the hands? Nudging the sticks again, the CRX's arms grabbed hold of one of the sundered trucks' roof and ripped it off of the frame, unwittingly freeing several Soldiers trapped inside. Richard ignored them as he held the impromptu shield in front of the CRX, immediately deflecting a glancing blow from the truck...tank...thing's cannon.
...okay, here we go. "Chaaaaaarge!"
For the first time he could he remember, a part of Richard's brain took in the delicious sight of a horribly confused Wilde. "What?" You say nothing as you watch the video log from one of the surviving Coyotes. You see the CRX stumble somewhat, likely due to Callaghan's unfamiliarity with the mode. What piques your interest, however, is just how quickly Callaghan adjusted. Sam had mentioned something about the man being able to abstract things and just run with it, but that applied mainly to psychic machinery. Apparently it was not so limited.
Callaghan surprises you again as he literally charges the gun truck using a Coyote's roof as a shield, and literally shield-bashing into the thing before deciding to punch the gun-torso. The movements are clumsy, they are unrefined. They are also decidedly effective, particularly when the CRX rips off one of the cannon arms and flings it aside.
The driver of the truck had guts, you admit. He attempted to force the CRX away by driving forward into the CRX...only for the CRX's free punching arm to simply smash into the engine block, ripping out essential parts on its way out.
The fight ended remarkably quickly after that, particularly as the CRX then resorted to using its 'shield' to continuously smash in the head of the turret.
"...was anything recovered?" you ask calmly.
"The CRX itself was damaged, and will require a refit," Sasaki says, just as calmly as you. "We were able to recover documents and laptops from the spies."
"And the spies themselves?"
Sasaki again looks uncomfortable. "All expired." You raise an eyebrow. "The medical personnel on station found traces of cyanide in their bloodstream. Whoever dispatched them clearly gave them means of killing themselves to evade capture."
You frown. "Fanatics...Westphalians?"
"Of the more militant ones, more likely," she says. "I should have something by the end of the month."
"Please do." You look at the freeze frame image of the CRX's fist smashing into the 'torso' of the gun truck's robotic turret body. "And offer my commendations to the three of them." You pause. "After I throw them out of a window."
1LT Callaghan successfully field tests CRX-02C, results will combine with official field tests
1LT Callaghan Skill Revealed: Intuitive Piloting [May Re-Roll one failed Combat Test Roll]
Spy documents obtained!
Major Devin is furious/pleased/doesn't know anymore
Wow. THAT'S A THING. In case I don't cover it in more detail, the duo's reactions:
Ashley: OMIGAWD OMIGAWD OMIGAWD THAT'S AWESOME!
Lucy: A conclusion with nothing but finality as to the probability of me exceeding the lieutenant...
Too bad they committed suicide before we could interrogate them but at least we got documents. Having demonstrable evidence that our work is combat effective should also get some of the EUDF critics to back off.
It's not a perfect fit; the Coyote is really something I see as the 2070s' version of a patrol truck. The image I posted is very much a one-seater buggy.
It's not really what I was going for, but barring finding an artist and commissioning art, it's as close as I'm going to get. :\
Yea that's a perfect storm and a clusterfuck at the same time. I do have a complaint about the Simulations set up by Captain Sasaki. She should have been setting up the simulations with increasing levels of difficulty. Not throwing him off the ass end into a simulation with two Kaiju. Or maybe she did and you haven't written about it in which case I apologize. But the way you wrote the story comes across as if you started the Pilot on Hard instead of easy.
Sasaki again looks uncomfortable. "All expired." You raise an eyebrow. "The medical personnel on station found traces of cyanide in their bloodstream. Whoever dispatched them clearly gave them means of killing themselves to evade capture."
You frown. "Fanatics...Westphalians?"
"Of the more militant ones, more likely," she says. "I should have something by the end of the month."
Yea that's a perfect storm and a clusterfuck at the same time. I do have a complaint about the Simulations set up by Captain Sasaki. She should have been setting up the simulations with increasing levels of difficulty. Not throwing him off the ass end into a simulation with two Kaiju. Or maybe she did and you haven't written about it in which case I apologize. But the way you wrote the story comes across as if you started the Pilot on Hard instead of easy.
You and Sasaki are seated at your desk. You are leaning forward with both hands clasped in front of your face, obscuring a confused look about your face.
Getting there, almost a Gendo pose, but not yet. Needs more obscuring glasses. And sleeping with majority of the women. But in this forum this is forbidden unless the protagonist is a woman, I suppose.
That new lewd quest demonstrated that.
We suspected that the truck was some kind of guntruck at that point, since it had some kind of tarp covering it all. But what looked like a <expletive> robot tank torso popped out of the tarp and started firing at us with cannons. We only had small arms, so yeah, we called for backup."
Nudging the sticks again, the CRX's arms grabbed hold of one of the sundered trucks' roof and ripped it off of the frame, unwittingly freeing several Soldiers trapped inside.
I like how you keep capitalizing the word "soldiers" for some reason. Are they Advanced WArs' units? Also, why would the fanatic spies bother to make prisoners?
Sam had mentioned something about the man being able to abstract things and just run with it, but that applied mainly to psychic machinery. Apparently it was not so limited.
The driver of the truck had guts, you admit. He attempted to force the CRX away by driving forward into the CRX...only for the CRX's free punching arm to simply smash into the engine block, ripping out essential parts on its way out.
Chaos makes no sense. They show competence and suddenly they don't. They also don't make questions, although I wonder how they managed to not to go ballistic for so long.
