It has been millennia since humanity became a star faring race. Enough time for stellar regimes to have risen and fallen, for technologies to be forgotten and relearned and for a diaspora of life; both human and alien to spread across the galaxy.The Raihan Empire is but one splinter of the human diaspora. At its height the Empire spanned eight star systems but eventually corruption and decay set in. The Empire collapsed, its great works crumbled, its worlds became isolated. For a thousand years it was so…Until a new warlord arose on Raiha, one that managed to quell the disparate factions fighting over the Throne world. When all his enemies were vanquished he marched upon the palace district where the remnants of the Imperial family cowered. However, instead of seizing the throne for himself Arcturus Garan pledged himself and his army to the service of the remaining Empress and took the title of Lord Commander.Together the Empress and Lord Commander began the process of rebuilding the Empire, first securing the home system, then bringing each of the wayward colonies back into the fold.Five out of the original eight colonies have been absorbed back into the resurgent Empire. Only the systems of Noto, Higg and Kornen actively resist annexation. Together they have formed the NKH Defence Pact, or simply the Pact.Now the Pact must guard its independence against the growing might of the New Raihan Empire. The odds are not in their favour, they are outnumbered and outgunned, but the Imperial Forces have not yet regained their full power and the war is not over yet…((This quest is an indirect sequel to Space shipyard quest, knowledge of previous threads is not required but it will do much to add context. Previous threads can be found here: https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?searchall=space+shipyard))
>>6322850You are Harris Glasner; the best starship engineer that nobody’s ever heard of and you are in a liminal state on the edge of consciousness.“...entire R&D division!? How did the Imperials breach our defence cordon!?”You are vaguely aware of two people arguing in front of you… and pain, lots of pain, but it was all so far away.“...not the Imperials… last guy…old enemies…”The pain and the voices were starting to get closer now.“...what now?...HIM!?”“...only survivor…no one else qualified.”The pain was right next to you now, no it was coming from you, you were in pain, you were painfully conscious of your pain… and the fact you were in a medical capsule. Ow.Outside the capsule stood two people who you recognised as Lord Yarin, the ruler of Higg and High Admiral Ruhi; overall commander of the Pact fleet.“It seems he’s awake.”Ruhi pinched her nose in exasperation. “I supposed we should tell him.”Yarin nodded and turned to you.“Harris Glasner, the top echelon of our starship R&D division has been wiped out in a covert strike. You are the highest ranking survivor, as of now you are the acting Director of R&D.” Oh FUCK YES!>cont
>>6322853It had been a few days since you had been discharged from the medical station. Now you were on a shuttle returning to the Boson Halo Yard; a small ship yard recently constructed in one of the outer orbits of the Higg system.From the view port you could see a maze of scaffolding covering the side of the shipyard where a tactical nuclear strike had assassinated your predecessor, almost killed you and nearly destroyed the yard itself. For now it would be sometime until ship building capability was restored; an acceptable delay seeing as you didn’t really have any ships to build.Lord Yarin had charged you with developing new ship designs to aid the Pact war effort against the Imperials. Whatever you and your team came up with would be proto-typed here then sent to the Kornen system for mass production.After disembarking the shuttle you were ushered into a hastily renovated store room to meet with your new staff. Inside a well built man and a stiff looking woman waited for you.“Glasner,” the man said coldly while eying you with cool disdain.“Solei,” you answer, matching his dismissive attitude.Merik Solei was another engineer, only slightly more junior than you. The man was taciturn, and utterly devoid of imagination. In short; a total kill joy and now he was your deputy.“I’m surprised they didn’t make you the new head of R&D, your obsession with…” simplistic, boring, uninspired? “...rugged efficiency would have no doubt produced something agreeable to the Fleet.”Merik’s eyes narrowed at your damning praise but the woman interrupted him before he could reply.“Lord Yarin felt we needed someone with a more innovative mindset to build the weapons that will win us the war. Sub-Director Solei will serve to keep you grounded.”You turned to the woman, she was slightly shorter than you and dressed in a well fitted if unadorned uniform. She exuded the kind of no nonsense attitude that was typical of military types. If you weren’t terminally devoted to your craft you might have found her fetching.“Lieutenant Ferris Gale,” she bowed slightly, no salute for you; you weren’t military. “I will be your main liaison to the Pact fleet. I will relay the Fleets requirements and update you with any relevant intelligence as it becomes available. I look forward to working with you, Acting Director Glasner.”“Acting Director? Do the powers that be have such little faith in me?”“You were hardly anyone’s first choice,” her tone was free of judgement, as if she was just stating a fact, but fact or no it still stung. Why couldn’t anyone truly recognise your genius!? Well you’d show them! You’d show them ALL! -”although if we need to replace you, we will likely be on the verge of losing the war, so really it’s a moot point.”Gee thanks…>cont
>>6322858“Allow me to brief you on the current situation.” Gale summoned a map of the region on the AR display, small pop-ups detailing fleet dispositions appeared as she spoke.“Currently our fleet has engaged the main Imperial force in the Noto system. We have managed to keep them at bay for the time being, but if current trends continue we will eventually lose. High Command tried to draw away Imperial forces by hiring pirates and mercenaries to strike at Shima, but the attack failed. The local garrison proved more tenacious than anticipated.”The map shrunk and ship models started filling the display. “I’m sure you’re aware that the Old Empire could field some truly fearsome warships, but much of its capacity to build them was lost during the previous collapse. As such both sides have been reduced to using older human diaspora designs which are easier to build with a limited technology base. However recently the Imperials have started fielding more advanced designs.”A medium sized cruiser filled the display, it had a wide stern with three large drives and a bulbous prow sporting a prominent laser turret. “This is the Ryu class. The first of its kind is the flagship of the Imperial Fleet, subsequent ships are often assigned as command vessels for individual battlegroups. It has excellent long range capabilities, and enough maneuverability to avoid being flanked by our own capital ships. Its supporting fire has been a decisive factor at breaking stalemates.”Gale switched to an image of some kind of carrier vessel. It had a long rectangular hull and a prominent railgun turret mounted under its prow. The resolution of the image was too blurry to make out further details. “This is the Subjugator class, it was designed for planetary assault so the Imperials don’t really send them to major fleet actions. It is however, powerful enough to take on frigates. Supposedly a single one of these ships was responsible for a decapitation strike on Shima’s government just as they were about to side with us. Our planetary defences have been improved since then but even so Command constantly worries about one of these slipping through our pickets and raiding our planetary installations
>>6322861“High Command’s objectives are two fold: Push the Imperials out of Noto and gain a foothold in Shima. Right now they are open to new strategies so you are free to develop anything that you think would help achieve these objectives.”A Blank Slate? Brilliant! Now you could finally make… ah shit your mind was going blank; the eternal curse of creative folk everywhere.Seeing the look on your face Solei decided to step in. “Acting Director, may I suggest modifying an existing design? It would be the easiest and quickest way to improve the current fleet.”It would also be the most boring…“Speaking of existing designs, I can try digging up some Old Imperial schematics, alas we would likely be incapable of building it to the original spec but it could prove a useful starting point.”Reviving something from the Old Empire did have a certain allure, but there was a part of you that railed against merely creating a pale imitation, no matter how formidable it would be by contemporary standards.>Well, you had to start somewhere, and as much as you hated to admit it, Solei was right. (Modify an existing design.)>At its height the Empire had possessed ships that were more powerful than anything either side was fielding. Try and dig up an old Imperial design and adapt it for your use.>You don’t need “inspiration”, design your own ship from scratch! (Write-In)
>>6322863>Write-InThis but a spaceship
>>6322863>You don’t need “inspiration”, design your own ship from scratch! (Write-In)The key to victory is adaptability. The ability to confront the enemy ships with disadvantageous matchups. We can't build or refit ships on a moment's notice, but strike craft is a different matter. As such, we'll design a cheap light carrier and a complement of drones for different specializations.
>>6322885We already have a carrier, remember? If the idea is to make it repurposable, we'd be better off modifying it.
>>6322888Do we? I only see two basic drone schematics.
>>6322891The Subjugator is a carrier too.
>>6322893It's an imperial design though. Do we even have access to it?
>>6322888>>6322891>>6322893>>6322894Just to clarify: Imperial Designs are exclusive to the enemy. Right now neither side has a proper carrier. The basic drones are often deployed out of space stations and planetary bases.
>>6322895Seems weird to include designs you don't have on your design sheet...But if that's the case, then we know what must be done.>You don’t need “inspiration”, design your own ship from scratch! (Write-In)Carrier Time!
>>6322896>Seems weird to include designs you don't have on your design sheetIt's so you know what you're up against. As you create your own ships, Pact exclusive designs will appear on the other side of the sheet.If you find it confusing though, maybe I'll just post info on enemy ships in a separate image. Going forward you wouldn't have such detailed info on their new stuff anyway.
>>6322899No, I get it now.
>>6322863>You don’t need “inspiration”, design your own ship from scratch! (Write-In)The Raihans are a proud, despotic empire. What we need is a decapitation strike against the enemy flagships. Like a chicken, if we cut off the head and the rest will go scrambling off, directionless, as easy pickings. The Shimans and perhaps others conscripted to their empire may even defect.What we need is giant hot dogs, I mean, ballistic missile trucks but in space. We can save costs by having FTL-capable ships tow a bunch of them to battle. Neither of their command nor assault cruisers have much point defense so the ships will maneuver around the flagship and destroy it with giant missiles.The surviving trucks can take potshots or whatever.See the attached pic for a demonstration.>>6322899We're so back.Could you add a size scale onto future ship charts? I remember Imperial ships on the left being like 3 times the size of the generic ships.
>>6322850What happened to the previous protags?
>>6322912>The surviving trucks can take potshots or whatever.In addition, since the giant missile is like half the mass of the ship, once it's fired the leftover ship would become significantly faster and more maneuverable. If it mounted with some light weapons it can act in both a point defense and a flanking role for the rest of the battle. The ships should be bigger than a strike craft and smaller than frigate, so more like a gunboat.
>>6322912>>6322939This feels like an overly complicated way to make a carrier just because you want the epic meme hotdogs.
>>6322940I disagree. Carriers are the complicated ones. This is just a cheap gunboat with a missile strapped on.
>>6322932They're still around, selling ships and suffering through a constant stream of bad random events.
>>6322951FTL Tugs and cheap disposable gunboats with missiles are a lot more complicated and a lot less scalable than a carrier. Once they wise up it's over.A carrier, however, you can just upgrade the fighters and it's good as new.
>>6322955I recall that wake jumping already exists in-universe so FTL tugs should be easy. FTL tugs should be even more scalable than a carrier, where you are limited to the space inside the hull. Gunboats are also simpler than a carrier, we just need to mass-produce fast ships with a simple gun and a big missile. A carrier needs fancy radar and sensory arrays to coordinate all the fighters and drones as well as repair bays, and large ships are more complicated than small ones.You are proposing a straight carrier vs carrier fight, which I believe will go poorly for us. Look at the Raihan roster from the Battle of Shima. They already have a carrier, and I highly doubt our society is samurai-larping enough to have super-elite mechs, unlike the real Raihans. Also much of their fleet seems to be Raihan Patrol Frigates who can "easily dispatch low to mid level strike craft," so it wouldn't be that much trouble for their point defense to upgrade if we decide to go strike craft-heavy.The war is already going poorly for us, so what we need is a brief but significant advantage to turn the tide around, and my proposal is surely both faster to field and better poised for to give us that breathing room to work on fancier ships later on. In contrast, a carrier attrition duel right now will just let the Raihans bring their stronger economy (5 to 3 planets and access to Union and Saurian trade) to bear.
>>6322969If FTL Tugs were that easy to make, we would have seen it.
>>6322975Only the QM will know. >>6322954QM, tech check please? If FTL tugs are literally impossible instead, docking clamps in front of each gunboat so they clamp together into 1 long "ship", hauled into battle by a utility wake jumping ship should work too. If we prefect a tug or clamp or whatever, gunboats are even more scalable than carriers. You can replace the giant missile with different types of missiles or other weapon batteries, and they're not limited to the size of the carrier's hangar.
>>6323027>clampsAt that point, you might as well just take a fuckin' cargo tanker and have it ferry said gunships instead
>>6323035Yeah that's the point, any random ftl ship to haul a bunch of gunboats over.
>>6323027FTL tugs using advanced hyper drives are possible but don't scale well for large numbers of small craft. You currently do not have access to that technology.
>>6322896This guy was a prisoner temporarily made head of R&D at our yards from the previous threads, then got let go. Seems like he understandably went to go work for the guys our last character was fighting against, and took some info of what they'd been up to.>You don’t need “inspiration”, design your own ship from scratch! Remembering this character and his designs, assumption of his own genius to produce some magnificently niche boondoggle is the only fitting answer.>"A Ship... that is a Plasma-Knife! Forget all that mucking around with calibrating long-range weapon systems; let's just make a prow that's one gigantic plasma-cutter, and strap it to the fastest engine we can find and as much armour as it can take, then drive into enemy ships and through them in repeated mechanised stabbings."
The Pact Fleet didn’t need an incremental improvement and it didn’t need to restore past glory. No… what it needed was a corvette that carried an enormous torpedo like device tipped with a plasma cutter! After a day or two spent in the savant’s trance you present Project Hot Dog to a very skeptical Solei and Gale.“Glasner, before I even comment on the practicality of the design, how are we even going to get this thing to the AO without an FTL drive?”“That’s Director Glasner to you Solei and to answer your question: we will give it clamps that allow it to stick to our cruiser hulls, at least until a purpose built carrier is developed.”Gale frowned at the ship representation on the holo display.“Without carrier support, deployment will be very uncomfortable for the crew; they will be confined to the ship for the duration of the mission.”“We can make it a drone craft.”“That would require the parent ship to have a drone control system.”“The existing Glory class cruisers can be jury rigged with such a system, either that or we can use the craft exclusively for short missions and develop options for long term deployment later.”“All that aside, you’re proposing we build a corvette whose sole purpose is to carry an oversized torpedo. How is this better than the existing pike class frigates?”“Pike Frigates are fragile and their torpedoes are easily shot down by point defence systems. The W13N-3R super heavy torpedo is far more durable. The corvette hull itself will also be heavily armoured. As a bonus: while still connected to the main hull the torpedo can act as a source of supplementary power and propulsion. After launch the overall mass of the craft will be reduced, allowing it to maintain the same level of maneuverability with just the thruster arrays, it can then continue combat in an anti-strikecraft role!”Solei let out an exasperated sigh.“This seems needlessly convoluted. I advise creating two different specialised craft or even just upgrading our standard torpedoes with this plasma cutter warhead.”“And that is why you are only Sub-Director. I have already drawn up plans, begin prototyping immediately!”How should we handle the deployment issues?>Make it manned. (Easier to put into production, but can only be sent on short missions until a dedicated carrier is built.)>Make it unmanned. (Will require a refit of at least one cruiser with a drone control system. It will take longer to get it to the frontline, but will not suffer the drawbacks of being manned.)>Make a manned and unmanned model and perform comparative trials. (More likely to make a final product that will please Fleet Command, but will take even more precious time.)>Also roll me 6d10s, one anon can roll em all or you can take turns idk.
Rolled 10, 2 = 12 (2d10)>>6323321>Make it unmanned. (Will require a refit of at least one cruiser with a drone control system. It will take longer to get it to the frontline, but will not suffer the drawbacks of being manned.)Normally I'd be supportive of a carrier, but by the time we get it the enemy may already have a counter. Easier to just refit a ship with a drone control system so we can put it in good use while we do something more permanentI'll roll 2 out of those 6 dice, you anons do the rest.
>>6323332>10, 2Hmm, I'm assuming there's no such thing as crits here.
Rolled 6, 5 = 11 (2d10)>>6323321>Make it unmanned. (Will require a refit of at least one cruiser with a drone control system. It will take longer to get it to the frontline, but will not suffer the drawbacks of being manned.)Coming to a Cognis' quest with a lulz vote was not a good decision, anons.
Alright, we're finally back. Anyone else gonna roll?
Rolled 10, 5 = 15 (2d10)>>6323321>Make it unmanned. (Will require a refit of at least one cruiser with a drone control system. It will take longer to get it to the frontline, but will not suffer the drawbacks of being manned.)
>>6323332>>6323348>>6323421>10, 2, 6, 5, 10, 5I mean, that's pretty good, isn't it? Only one roll below 5. I should hope it's good.
>>6323321>Make it unmanned. (Will require a refit of at least one cruiser with a drone control system. It will take longer to get it to the frontline, but will not suffer the drawbacks of being manned.)It really is a strike craft strapped to an anti-capital ship torpedo, which might be crazy enough to work?
>>6323332>>6323348>>6323421>>6323433In the end you decided to make the Hot Dog corvette an unmanned model. Lt. Gale wasn’t happy as it meant the Pact fleet would have to take a cruiser off the battleline to be refitted with a drone control system. Fortunately there was a damaged vessel undergoing repairs at Kornen, it wouldn’t be too much of a drain to include the refit with its repairs but it would still be delayed from returning to combat in order to complete field tests with the prototype.As for the prototype itself, you had another flash of inspiration half way through construction: What if you added an additional plasma projector array to the corvettes hull that could shape the plasma emitted by the W13N-3R warhead into a protective shield? Then the corvette could have additional protection while closing with its target. Mounting the projector on the corvette hull instead of the torpedo itself would also mean the cost of the more expendable torpedo component would not increase!Tests in a lab environment proved promising, but the first time you mounted the projector on the new corvette hull the plasma cutter almost melted the front thruster array. Only a timely shutdown and swift response by emergency crews prevented a potentially disastrous chain reaction.>cont
>>6323924“What the hell went wrong!? All the lab tests went fine!”Solei was impassive as usual, but you swore he had the shadow of a smirk on his face. “After reviewing the way the test was conducted we surmise that it could either be improper calibration of the plasma projector or a slight error in the torpedo pylons which altered the expected refraction angles.”“Meaning what exactly?” asked Ferris.“Glasner’s design has multiple points of failure. Unless all components are properly mounted and precisely calibrated, activation of the forward plasma shield could cause the destruction of the vessel.”Ferris frowned. “That’s not good, a ship like this will be constantly reloaded and repaired. Under battlefield conditions, maintenance crews may not be able to guarantee a perfect job every single time.”You wave your hand dismissively. “An acceptable price for the advantages the new design offers. I’m sure you can simply tighten maintenance protocols, or rotate the ships out of battle for an overhaul once the wear and tear become too much.”“War will not always give us such a luxury Acting Director. With respect I think you are trying to accomplish too much. I would much prefer we stick to the original design. The dual power-grid connecting both the torpedo and main hull is going to be bad enough for the Fleet Engineering Corps to deal with.”“I believe the Directors idea has merit, but I agree with Lt. Gale: the separation of the torpedo and ship complicates the design immensely. This would be more workable if we committed to making a pure plasma ram ship rather than a dual purpose launch platform.”“So the design has some kinks, they always do. With just a bit more time I can fix these flaws.”Ferris glares at you.“How much time exactly? While I understand that you cannot conjure new ships for us overnight, time is an increasingly scare and valuable resource for our fleet. Is the advantage Project: Hot Dog will bring truly worth it?”Hrrm…((Since the dice rolls have three results of 6 or more something good happens, but since they also have three results which are 5 or less something bad also happens.))>Push the Hot Dog into production right now. (The enhanced design will grant greater combat performance but will be unreliable.)>Just go with the original design. (No benefits, no downsides)>Redesign it as a pure melee ship. (Minor time cost, capabilities will change but the final product will be reliable.)>Take the time to iron out the flaws. (Major time cost, no downsides to the final design.)
>>6323925Melee ship? That doesn't seem..particularly effective me, given the kind of thing we're facing.I guess the "ideal" way would be to push the original design into production while we iron out the flaws into the background for a "Mark II" version. This would also allow us to use field data to see what issues it has in action. Would that be possible?
>>6323928Yes.This would effectively be a vote for going with the original design. Working on a "Mark 2" design would be a future decision.While it would be much easier than developing a new technology or hull from scratch, it would still take a none trivial amount of time. Plus the enemy would have time to adjust their tactics and/or come up with a counter. (Although right now they would not know that the Mark 2 will be upgraded with a shield so their response could turn out to be ineffective.) Either way it is a future decision point.You're inspiration has also unlocked the potential for shielding technology that can be developed further for future designs so no matter what you have already gained something from this project.
>>6323925>Just go with the original designWe'll get the benefit of field performance data while developing Mark 2
>>6323930Well, we might have to add more than just the Shields, but field data is very valuable.>>6323925>Just go with the original design. (No benefits, no downsides)
>>6323925>Redesign it as a pure melee ship. (Minor time cost, capabilities will change but the final product will be reliable.)I'd call this a happy accident. The plasma shield turns the tough corvette into a powerhouse that can cut down a ship several times its size and asks for seconds. And it's reliable to boot!
>>6323925>>Take the time to iron out the flaws. (Major time cost, no downsides to the final design.)
>>6323925>Redesign it as a pure melee ship. (Minor time cost, capabilities will change but the final product will be reliable.)
Rolled 2 (1d2)Original Design>>6323932>>6323933Melee Ship>>6323968>>6324200Iron out flaws:>>6324178Rollin a d2 to break the tie.
>>6324293>melee shipWelp, way to waste our design..now our ship becomes completely useless the moment they add point defense.
Rolled 3, 5, 3, 7, 8 = 26 (5d10)As much as you hated to admit it Solei’s idea for a ram ship tickled your fancy, that it would be a more stable and cost effective design was incidental.Fully integrating the torpedo propulsion and plasma cutter gave you a wider margin for error, and removal of the explosive warhead gave you some extra mass to play with. During the refit you worked with Solei to find optimal configurations for the plasma projectors; now a maintenance crew would simply ensure the projector could transition between shield and cut mode. Failsafes built into the software also meant there was no risk of the ship cutting off it’s own prow: if the system detected invalid projector alignment, it would simply shut off the plasma stream.Live fire testing showed the Hot Dog was capable of cutting a frigate hull in two, and boring a hole through a cruiser hull; easily enough to cripple the vessel… provided it could get within range. Preliminary testing suggested that the shield could negate point defence fire and survive several seconds of sustained hits from medium anti-frigate guns. However there would be a brief period of vulnerability when the plasma projector was switched from shield to cut mode.Three more ships were made before the refitted cruiser arrived; enough to make a viable fighting unit. Fleet Command was… not that happy to hear you had basically made them a battering ram after giving you carte blanche to create a weapon that would win them the war, but these were desperate times…The Top 3 System:A system for two parties to contest each other. Each party rolls a number of d10s determined by various factors. The top three results are compared. In each comparison the higher value grants a win to one side, the side with the most wins… wins. Additional modifiers can be applied based on various factors.Roll for the performance of the Hot Dog in its first battle:>Imperial Dice:>Base: 3>You brought a knife to a gun fight: +1 die>Superior Firepower: +1 die>Command Vessels: This side wins ties.>Pact Dice:>Base: 3>They weren’t expecting space weiner mobiles of death: +2 dice>Plasma Shields: +1 die>Roll me 6d10s.
Rolled 3, 1 = 4 (2d10)>>6324312
Rolled 6, 4 = 10 (2d10)>>6324312We're cooked like wieners
>>6324316Well, we won...ONE of the checks...let's see if we can win another.
Rolled 1, 8 = 9 (2d10)>>6324312Dice Gods please be nice today...
>>6324334Well, we got an 8. With the 6, that should be enough to beat the 5 nd the 7, right?
>>6324315>>6324316>>6324317>>6324334Imperial 3 Highest:8,7,5vsYour Highest:8,6,4Enemy wins ties due to presence of command vessels... you have lost.
>>6324343Told you people that melee ships were fucking stupidNot a single win is just bad
Fleet Command deploys the modified cruiser (already nicknamed the Hot Dog Stand among the strategic planners) to attack an isolated battlegroup already being harassed by your own frigates. Deployment of the Hot Dogs goes smoothly and panic ensues amongst the enemy as your creations plough through enemy patrol frigates. Said frigates are powerless to defend themselves as their return fire is absorbed by your plasma shields.Unfortunately a lucky hit from the enemy command cruiser knocks out your drone control module before the Hot Dogs can close with the enemy capital ships. Without guidance from a human commander the unmanned corvettes default to simple programmed behavior patterns; either attempting to return to base or blindly attacking the nearest enemy.From there it is a simple matter for the Raihan escorts to out maneuver the corvettes and shoot them in their unprotected rears. The Hot Dog Stand is destroyed in an artillery duel with the enemy Ryu class. Only a handful of Pact frigates managed to escape the battle.>cont
>>6324369You slump deeper into your chair in the conference room after having to sit through a recorded message of High Admiral Ruhi expressing how very dissappointed she was over the outcome of your designs disastrous first battle. Bad luck, that’s all it had been. Blasted Ryu class had knocked out the drone controller with a cheap shot, if those idiots manning the cruiser could have held out for just a little longer the Hot Dogs would have annihilated the Imperial battlegroup!“Acting Director?”You blink and look up. Naturally Lt. Ferris and Solei had sat in on the message and now looked to you for the next course of action.“Hrmph… we were so close. That cheap shot from the enemy flagship was such BULLSHIT!”“Whether from a lack of luck or skill, a loss is a loss.”“A ram ship might not have been the best way to counter our adversaries capabilities.”“Are you admitting that you made a bad call Merik?”“No, when I suggested the ram ship concept I was merely trying to make the best of a bad idea.”“But it almost worked!”“It was cringe Glasner…”“You’re opinion has been noted Sub-Director!”“CRIIINGE!”“Ahem,” coughed Ferris. “Moving on. Despite the High Admirals displeasure there are many among Fleet Command that are intrigued by the possibilities of the plasma shield. Perhaps we could build on that?”“It would be feasible to upgrade our existing Glory Class cruisers with shield projectors. This would increase their survivability.” Another simplistic idea from Solei, typical.“Pfft! As long as they retain their short ranged batteries and handle like bricks, giving them a shield would just delay the inevitable.”Ferris, scrolled back through the battle report. “The long range firepower of the Ryu class combined with its command and control capabilities proved decisive. If only we could find a way to counter or at least match them it would help tip the scales in our favour.”“I’m telling you, the Hot Dog will turn the tide! It just needs… refining.”>Work on the Mark II Hot Dog. (How will you improve it? Quick project although more extreme changes might take longer.)>Create shield upgrade packages for your existing capital ships. (Quick project.)>Design a counter to the Ryu. (Write-In, this will be a longer project.)>Back to the drawing board. (Build something completely different, Write-In)>Acquire or develop better technologies. (Will move onto a new decision.)
Can we just make the gunship idea? That one might have actually worked. This one is retarded.
>>6324374That would a vote for the Mark II with the "improvement" being reverting to the torpedo launcher concept. Although this time you will have solved the original reliability issue with the plasma projectors.
>>6324371>Create shield upgrade packages for your existing capital ships. (Quick project.)Not only can we upgrade alt of the existing ships - if we put the shield on the drone controller, Mark I Hot Dogs may become a good weapon
>>6324385No it won't. They're still gonna get blown the fuck up. Melee ships are still retarded. The only reason we didn't roll at a disadvantage was the surprise factor.
>>6324371>>Create shield upgrade packages for your existing capital ships. (Quick project.)We already know the shield works, might as well.
>>6324371>Work on the Mark II Hot Dog. (Torpedo Design)Almost forgot to vote on that.I mean, it seems like anons want to vote for the option that won't actually solve any problems but still.
>>6324371I would like to change >>6324396 to >Back to the drawing board. Instead focus on the Glory class and create a refit that incorporates the new plasma shield and changes the armament to something to match or exceed the range of the Ryu.
>>6322850What happened to the quest where we were playing as the Japanese woman? It just cut off in the final battle
>>6322850>It lives.Based. Based. Based.>GlasnerGigabased.I love you OP.>Create shield upgrade packages for your existing capital ships. (Quick project.)
>>6324371>Work on the Mark II Hot Dog. (Torpedo Design, Manned)The shield upgrade does not fundamentally solve our problems of being both outmanouvered and outgunned.The drone control is a critical weakness and should be replaced with a manned system. We need to refit a cruiser with drone control if we wanted to continue using hot dogs anyway, so instead we should refit a Gloria or something else with a simple hangar bay replacing its originally useless torpedo launchers. The gunboat hulls will continue to be clamped to the hull as before, and the giant torpedoes to be stored externally, but the crew get to sleep inside the mothership. We need to make a new flagship design later anyways, this will give the Gloria at least some more use for a bit. Finally, the gunboats will launch before battle is met to so they don't have to do a contested deployment.Using the weight savings from not needing crew quarters or a drone computer, the Hot Dog's turret should be upgunned to an autocannon so it can do drive-by shootings as a actual gunboat instead of just being a armored fighter after the torpedo is launched. Our main battlefleet has low tactical mobility so we need the hot dogs to flank.
>>6324371>>Create shield upgrade packages for your existing capital ships. (Quick project.)
>>6324432OP was a faggot and just dropped it.>>6324450>>6324397Glasner bro! The-rest-of-the-playerbase-are-stupid bro! Great to see you again!
No Update today guys, instead I'll leave you with something else.>>6324432Ok, jokes aside I burned out badly on that quest. So here's a little something to give you closure.Shima Battle ReportEvery now and again your mind wandered back to your homeworld of Shima. After the Imperials had taken over the Empress handed over the star system to Lady Shirin of House Shimada. Just because a large number of your peers had been loyalists to the old government Lady Shirin had seen fit to imprison you and sent off to be used as common labour in her sister's shipyard. It was a miserable time; having rations extorted by the common thugs, beatings by the guards and insipid anti-aristocracy rhetoric whispered by clownish ideologues on the lower bunks as you desperately tried to get some sleep. Oh the indignities you’d suffered.Fortunately Mayumi Shimada had seen fit to separate you from the common rabble and for a brief moment you were finally allowed to shine. You didn’t care for politics and you would have gladly continued crafting ships for Horned Princess Shipyards but then you were replaced with an AI. Such things were taboo in Raiha and you were surprised Lady Shimada would stoop so low being of the Nobility… then again you’d heard rumours that she’d had sex with her own brother.The Pact had enacted a plan to cripple Shima’s economy but that had failed. You had the clearance now so you accessed the data, curious to see how things played out.Hmm… so the plan was to distract the system’s garrison with privateers while the famed mercenary Galatan Starwind unleashed a giant space crab on the orbital command centre. And Fleet Command thought your ideas were stupid.The crab was killed by a precision strike from a previously unknown type of strikecraft. Starwind himself was engaged by House Shimada’s flagship and their sole knight frame. The flagship sustained heavy damage and the knight had been shot down, but Starwind’s own ship and infamous “Harem Squadron” had taken their share of hits. Once Shimada’s own mercenary cruiser moved in to assist Starwind was forced to retreat without having destroyed anything of strategic importance.What really piqued your interest was the presence of several ship designs that had not been observed in the wider Imperial Fleet. It would seem House Shimada had personal access to technologies that the Raihan Navy did not. Curious…
Shield Upgrade>>6324385>>6324588MK2 Hotdog>>6324397>>6324504Back to the Drawing Board>>6324431It would seem we have a tire but since the Drawing board write in is very similar to the shield upgrade package vote I'm going to rule in favour of making the next project an upgrade to the Glory Class.Roll me 6d10s.
Rolled 8, 8 = 16 (2d10)>>6325334Wow, another useless upgrade that doesn't actually solve any of our issues...man, anons really are trying to sink us huh.
Rolled 5 (1d10)>>6325334Don't want to hug all of the rolls so i'll be on the safe side and roll 1.
Rolled 7 (1d10)>>6325334
>>6325336It boosts the general competence of procured assets with the resources already used up for development. It will give us more breathing room and time before the shimadas do us in.
>>6325342That's not how battles actually work, though. This just slightly increases their lifetime in battle. It doesn't actually help us win. An actual torpedo boat would have helped us win, but anons decided they wanted to vote for a literal fucking melee ship. During the space age.
Rolled 1, 10 = 11 (2d10)>>6325334Surely we can fit a command suite in the new Glory too.
>>6325344We already have a torpedo boat. The Pike Torpedo Frigate already fills the role. A long-range and anti-capital ship weapons refit to the Glory class would create a sort of light-battleship when neither side seems to have any battleship. Especially if this shield upgrade works.
>>6325336>>6325339>>6325340>>6325350>8,8,5,7,1,10Now if only those rolls were spent on a real project..>>6325351>We already have a torpedo boatBoats which can't do shit because they get obliterated by their long-range guns. That's the issue. A torpedo gunship would have been able to dodge the fire.
>>6325352So just put a shield on the Pike and call it a day. It would still do the same role, but with higher survivability.
>>6325362It's not nearly small or fast enough for that.
>>6325363Then why make a torpedo gunship and not a bomber of some kind?
>>6325367The description for the Raihan Patrol Frigate says>it's triple auto-cannons can easily dispatch low to mid level strike craftMoreover, the Tile Bomber can only>threaten frigate hulls and capital sub-systemsSo a new heavy strike craft, even with a heavy bomb load, probably still won't be able to destroy the enemy's flagships.
>>6325372Ok. I still think the hotdog idea is stupid and a weapons upgrade to the Glory is a better idea.
>>6325374The Ryu is simply too good a ship for a mere upgrade to the glory to be enough. It's long range anti-capital. The glory would get shredded before it even got close enough.
>>6325378Nah, replace all the shitty weapons and put an anti-capital long range armament on the Glory and it will win against the Ryu every time. It has higher firepower and durability and now a shield. The only reason it's a big threat right now is because we have nothing that can match it's range. Also, with it being a command ship it should stay out of combat if we can match/exceed it at range.
>>6325384Replacing the entire weapons system with something else entirely like a long range anti-capital gun would probably be well beyond a mere refit. You'd be basically creating a whole new ship.
>>6325384>it should stay out of combat if we can match/exceed it at range.Let's say our new flagship does get a longer-ranged weapon than the Ryu. Basing it on the Glory (tactical mobility: 1) will mean it still much slower than the Ryu (tactical mobility: 5). The Ryu is FASTER than the Kestrel LIGHT CRUISER (tactical mobility: 4). Good luck staying out of combat and not being flanked. If it's a "simple" refit (replacing the kinetic batteries with heavy laser turrets) our range won't be much greater than the Ryu's, and if we did a spinal railgun, we're very vulnerable to being flanked based on how SLOW the Glory is.>The only reason it's a big threat right now is because we have nothing that can match it's range.Hot dogs were fast enough to fly up to and dodge Ryu shots if the drone control wasn't destroyed. If they landed a hit we would have wooooon.
>>6325393They wouldn't have *needed* to fly so close if they were torpedo ships instead of some dumb flying knife.
>>6325396I know, I proposed the torpedo hot dog and missed that vote...
>>6325387It'd be cheaper and take less time to build than a new ship>>6325393It wouldn't be doing much flanking seeing as it's a command ship. It does the best in a group with all the other ships. And even if it does, it shouldn't be able to get out of range fast enough to not take return fire, which is a trade it loses. It's also not stealthy so any flanking it does do can be seen and responded to, even at Tac Speed 1. You're allowed to be the slowest thing on the battlefield if you can kill everything in range and aren't out-ranged.
“Acting Director, I would advise you to build something that would improve the High Admiral’s faith in you. Fixating on personal obsessions will not win you support nor will it win us the war.”You grit your teeth and exhale slowly.“Fine. Solei, bring up the schematic for the Glory class cruiser.”An image of a large boxy ship appeared on the AR display.“The Glory Class Heavy Cruiser,” intoned Solei. “Predates most known human stellar nations. Easily maintained, and manufacturable with even a primitive technology base. No wonder it has stood the test of time.” You could hear the admiration in Solei’s voice.“It’s an obsolete piece of shit,” you spit. “Even without the technology of the Old Empire we can do better than this, I can do better than this!”You start pulling apart the design.“Heavy chem-propellant kinetics; useless! First gen capital torpedoes? Might as well send in a Pike!”You start to rapidly add new modules. In the end you had added shield projectors, replaced the kinetic batteries with single heavy lasers and beefed up the power output.“And finally!”You replaced the engines with an array of something you called the Glasner resonance drive.Solei squinted at the new design.“Glasner these new engines will be much harder to maintain and unless precisely calibrated will cause control issues.”“They provide more thrust than conventional drives, and this is a design I have worked with before, I can mitigate those issues with built in diagnostic routines. As long as the engineering crews are properly retrained it shouldn’t be a problem.”“Even so, this will cause friction to the widespread adoption of this design across the fleet.”“This new design has less overall firepower than the original, even if it does have greater range, precision and durability,” said Lt. Gale.“And what good did all that firepower do when you couldn’t even bring it to bear?”“Do not misunderstand; I believe this design is a definite improvement, but I would be remiss if I did not point out its flaws.”“I agree with Lt. Gale’s assessment,” said Solei “however I feel the addition of your resonance drive is too much. The shield and armament upgrades alone will provide enough benefit to the Fleet in a shorter time frame.”>Add shields and change the weapons only. (Quick upgrade)>Do all changes including the engines. (Takes longer, greater performance, small chance of reliability issues.)
>>6325403>Do all changes including the engines. (Takes longer, greater performance, small chance of reliability issues.)The other changes are fucking worthless at that speed.
>>6325403>>Do all changes including the engines. (Takes longer, greater performance, small chance of reliability issues.)ahh fuck it. It'd take longer to upgrade it later.
>>6325403>Do all changes including the engines. (Takes longer, greater performance, small chance of reliability issues.)Even if the mechanics grumble, the fleet surely will appreciate the higher average speed.
>>6325403This is my first time checking out this series of quests, and I'm digging it. I can't wait to see where it goes.>Do all changes including the engines. (Takes longer, greater performance, small chance of reliability issues.)Time is money. If we don't invest it right, it's worthless. The Glory is a fine ship but too slow and inaccurate for a modern battlefield. This doesn't fix that but it does help bridge the gap. If it performs well, hopefully Fleet Command will cut us more slack to develop a proper counter.
>>6325403>Do all changes including the engines. (Takes longer, greater performance, small chance of reliability issues.)
Rolled 2, 5, 5, 4 = 16 (4d10)>>6325410Glad you're enjoying it.Given my limited player base and the fact that this isn't really a high stakes choice I think we can call it now.Roll to see how the new design works out.:>Imperial Dice:>Base: 3>Greater Numbers: +1 die>Command Vessels: This side wins ties.>Pact Dice:>Base: 3>Plasma Shields: +1 die>Tough Capitals: +1 to the third highest result.>Engine mishap: Rolling triples will randomly grant +1 to one of the enemy’s top 3.>Roll me 4d10s.
Rolled 8 (1d10)>>632542
Rolled 4 (1d10)>>6325424
Rolled 6 (1d10)>>6325424
>>6325425Well, at least we won one.
Rolled 5 (1d10)>>6325424C'mon!
>>6325425>>6325427>>63254328, 6, 6 vs 5,5,4Finally, an victory. This should buy us enough trust to be able to do a real project..like a torpedo gunship.
>>6325425>>6325426>>6325427>>6325432Imperial Highest:5,5,4vsPact Highest:8,6,(5+1)Pact winsWriting...
In the end you decided to go “all in” so to speak. The Glory Class needed all the help it could get. The Fleet was already laying down two new Glory hulls at Kornen, after Lt. Gale petitioned Command they agreed to build the new ships according to your design. All you needed to do was build the new components and ship them off to Kornen.It was a bit of a risk to have the new ships assembled without your oversight but this was a mere upgrade package not a complete reimagining. You would never admit this to Solei but it was a testament to the Glory’s ruggedness that all your upgrades were installed without issue. The new ship type was designated the Glory-B.—---“This is Commodore Dyre, Battlegroup Sovereign to any Pact ships out there, we need back up! The Imperials are picking us off!”“PDS Fireknife and Lumen[i/] responding, We hear you Sovereign. We’re heading straight in, regroup around us.”Captain Holloway sealed her vacsuit and sank into a data trance. The call to battlestations went out across the ships nooshpere and PA. Looks like they had arrived just in time.Holloway had been both annoyed and cautiously grateful to find the Glory class earmarked for her command was being “upgraded” to an experimental variant. As a veteran commander she was already well acquainted with the capabilities of the venerable heavy cruiser; she knew what it could and couldn’t do.One thing it couldn’t do was make it to Sovereign’s position before the Imperials wiped them out. Holloway was pleasantly surprised by the speed of this new design. A warning came in through the noosphere that the engines were redlining but was suppressed by the Chief Engineer. Holloway trusted him to do his job and focussed on the on coming battle.Battlegroup Sovereign was made up mostly of the old Glory Cruisers, escorted by patrol frigates and some Kestrels. The Imperials were coming in with a fast squadron of their own Kestrels centred around two Ryu class cruisers. The Imperial Kestrels were picking off the frigates while Ryus were slowly wearing down the Glories with precision laser strikes.>cont
>>6325740It was pretty obvious that the Raihans didn’t care about their arrival, probably thought they could just play keep away and out range them like they always did. Holloway could already see the firing solutions in the noosphere. “Main battery, target the Ryu harassing the Commodore’s flagship. Lumen move in and raise shields.”A pair of laser beams lanced out into the void. The mid section of a Ryu flared and melted, right where the primary heat sinks were. It had always been such an obvious target, but nobody had ever had the range to hit it, until now.The Imperial Kestrels immediately converged on the Fireknife trying to knock out its laser turrets. Holloway already had the shields up and the incoming gauss slugs splattered harmlessly across the hull, all power and precision compromised by the dense plasma field enveloping the front and mid section of the ship.Some of the Imperials had the bright idea to try hitting them in the rear, but Sovereigns own ships were already forming up behind Holloway and their heavy kinetics shredded any Kestrels trying to out flank them.The Ryus tried to dance around and take pot shots but this was no longer a dance; it was a straight up endurance match. In the end the Imperials could neither break nor pick apart the Pact formation. After losing multiple ships including a Ryu class, their remaining ships turned tail and ran.Holloway breathed a sigh of relief.>Quest will continue later
The latest message from High Admiral Ruhi expressed a muted thanks for the Glory upgrade. The new hull type was becoming an anchor for Pact formations; allowing them to trade fire with any Ryu class vessels and prevent the battle line from being picked apart. It was only delaying the inevitable though. Raiha’s superior numbers meant it was only a matter of time before the Pact fleet was ground into the dust.Fleet Command was expressing competing desires. Some wanted an upgrade package rolled out for the Kestrel, others wanted a command vessel that surpassed the Ryu and yet another desired a stealth frigate.What to do next?>Upgrade the Kestrel (Quick, specify upgrades)>Develop a command ship.>Develop a stealth frigate.>Build something they didn’t even know that they wanted. (Write-In)
>>6325955>>Develop a stealth frigate.
>>6325955>>Develop a stealth frigate.Being outnumbered is a pretty big deal so let's go fix that by making it nuclear capable and meant to directly attack their industry. If stealth for some reason doesn't work then just make it so fast nothing can catch it. Or both fast and stealthy if possible.
>>6325955>Develop a stealth frigate.Hear me out guys- a topheavy, semi-sneaky torpedo frigate otherwise designed with the bare minimum needed to avoid suicidal exposure. Cheap, dirty, punches like a dagger in the back. If it turns out we can't cram our newfangled shield design onboard without sacrificing maximum firepower, we can dispense with most of the less subtle auxiliaries and recommend every crewman be given a preemptive purple heart.
>>6325955>Develop a stealth frigate.Maybe we could make it modular for different missions e.g. torpedo launchers for destroying ships, a bomb bay for destroying space stations and electronics for reconnaissance.
>>6325955>Build something they didn’t even know that they wanted. (Write-In)A stealth Frigate? Sure. But let's not faff about at the edges trading slaps with their fleet. Let's build a stealth INSERTION frigate, and prepare to deploy commando teams directly against the Raihan Empress herself in her capitol to capture/kill.
>>6325955>Develop a stealth frigate.Ah fuck it, stealth frigate it is. Normally I'd have hoped we just finally do that torpedo gunship but we're not gonna win a war with such material inferiority just by having some better ships. We need a way to deal with their production capacities, and making a ship capable of blowing up their yards and whatnot would be what is great for that.
>>6325955>Develop a stealth frigate.Cognis, our existing frigates do NOT have FTL and are wake-jumped into battle by the cruisers, right?A scouting / flanking fleet support frigate doesn't need FTL, but a raiding one definitely does, and it better be reliable too, so anons I would like for you to think whether you want it to specialize in fleet support or raiding. Very different requirements!>>6326090No need for modules, a W31N-3R torpedo strap-on should work wonders against big ships and even better against stations, which are... stationary.
>>6326128A stealth frigate almost definitely needs FTL.
>>6326128Frigate class Eigen drives do exist. Wake jumping is something Horned Princess Shipworks has (Formerly JH Independant) and I doubt we can license it from them. And besides, we can design an FTL stealth frigate and then build some without the FTL drive if need be.
>>6326128Oh that's a slight discrepancy there. Neither the Pact nor the Raihans use Hyper drives and thus don't wake jump anything.>>6326187As anon said frigate class Eigen Drives exist and many frigates do have them. I forgot to list them in the patrol frigate specials because patrol frigates were meant to be in system monitor ships. Of course any that are expected to fight outside their place of manufacture will be fitted with an FTL drive.A ship with a hyper drive that's capable of wake jumping smaller vessels would be an idea for the "Build something they didn’t even know that they wanted." vote.
>>6326234It would be a nice idea overall but a Stealth frigate works for our purposes better.
>>6326234Ah, I see.Let's just see what kind of stealth frigates Glasner can come up with.
((Overwhelming consensus for a Stealth Frigate))In the end it was the request for a stealth frigate that intrigued you the most and so you informed the rest of your team that this would be the R&D divisions next project.“I approve of this choice,” said Lt. Gale. “The Imperials have the material advantage, even with steady upgrades to our existing fleet we would only delay the inevitable. If we are to win the war we need a game changer; a stealth ship would be such a game changer.”Solei rubbed his chin thoughtfully.“But one does not simply develop stealth technology. It is in fact a group of technologies; one to hide the ship from each method of detection. It would not be feasible to develop everything from scratch.”“I am aware,” you say. “And I am sure we have the means to acquire said technologies.” You pull a small bottle of orangish liquid from your jacket. Except one couldn’t be sure it was orange or liquid. The longer one stared at it the more the colours twisted and changed, it was reminiscent of the storms on the surface of a gas giant. Solei’s eyes narrowed. “Is that… sauce?”“Acting Director you can’t be serious.”“Glasner, the sauce is a potent psychoactive exotic matter compound. There is a 70% chance of ingestion resulting in death, 29% chance of insanity, 0.9% chance of useful insight and 0.1% chance of spontaneous ascension to a higher plane of existence.”“I’m not suggesting trying to develop the technology by going on a sauce trip. This is a mere bargaining chip. I know of a certain… merchant who will accept this in exchange for the technology we need.”“It’s Benny isn’t it?” said both Solei and Gale in unison.You’re dumb struck for a second. “You know Benny?”“They have a reputation,” said Solei.“An unsavoury reputation,” said Lt. Gale.“They are an Unbound, they have access to knowledge we can only dream of.”“They are the Unbound equivalent of an intoxicated vagrant,” said Gale flatly. “There is no guarantee he can provide us with anything of value.”>cont
>>6326562“An intoxicated vagrant Unbound is still an Unbound. Things they consider junk could be technological artefacts of incalculable value to us!”“Or they could be extreme threats,” intoned Solei. “The time they accidentally pulled a derelict infected with a self-replicating biomechanical nanophage out of hyperspace is well known.”“Glasner please, there are better ways of doing this.”“Such as?”Gale brings up a map of the Higg system on the AR display. Several lines spiral outward from the Boson Halo Yard.“The ship that damaged the Yard and killed your predecessor was clearly some kind of advanced stealth ship. We haven’t detected any unregistered FTL transitions so its highly likely the ship is still in system. We think it’s trying to coast into deep space on inertia. If we can deduce its exit vector, we can intercept it and study it.”“We could also try searching the Old Imperial Bases on Higg. Records from the old regime whisper of black sites and secret projects sealed away during the collapse,” mused Solei.“Even if we could find such a site, those tend to have traps and failsafes that will activate should anyone not of the Imperial bloodline attempt to access them.”“There is one other option,” Gale glanced sideways warily. “The Solar Union have expressed interest in providing clandestine support to us in our war against the Raihan Throne. Pact Leadership is wary of getting entangled with one of the region's major powers, but they are desperate. If you were to push for it, there would be enough political will to broker a deal.”Ugh, politics, you didn’t care about politics… then again; you didn’t care about politics.>Benny Gatcha (Random Mystery Box)>Get high on Sauce. (ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FUCKING MIND!?)>Track down the stealth ship. (Solve a puzzle)>Search the Old Imperial Sites on Higg. (Take a risk)>Get in bed with the Solar Union. (I sure hope this has no unforeseen consequences)
>>6326564By 'Puzzle' it is an actual puzzle or something we have to roll for? I like puzzles.
>>6326565Actual puzzle. It might not be very good though. Making puzzles is hard.
>>6326566Well, I like'em.I mean, the cheap answer would be to get in bed with the solar union. Unlike our good lad HORNER, I don't care much about the fate of the pact and I have to feel like Glasner doesn't care that much either.BUT. Puzzles are cool.>>6326564>Track down the stealth ship. (Solve a puzzle)
>>6326564>Track down the stealth ship. (Solve a puzzle)I love puzzles
>>6326564>>Benny Gatcha (Random Mystery Box)MYSTERY BOX!
>Search old imperial sites Who knows what treasures we could find
>>6326564>Benny Gatcha (Random Mystery Box)It's nice that nobody is going with the Union, those guys are cunts.
>>6326587People never take those kinds of deals anyways. The other options are all based on chance. That is also why I didn't take the mystery box. Because there's a big chance you'll just get nothing useful.
>>6326564>Track down the stealth ship. (Solve a puzzle)>Benny Gatcha (Random Mystery Box)Why not both? We should have a bacup plqn anyway in case the search is a bust, or the stealth ship's crew decides to nuke themselves to prevent capture.
>>6326564>>Get high on Sauce. (ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FUCKING MIND!?)Have FAITH!
>>6326567>>6326572>>6326718Stealth Ship>>6326575Old Imperial Sites>>6326574>>6326587>>6326718Benny Gatcha>>6326775Get High on Sauce.Hmph, okay fine we can attempt to track the Stealth Ship then do Benny Gatcha if you fail, but there is a time cost associated with all this.This update might take a while as I need to put the puzzle together.Please wait warmly and lay off the sauce conceptualize more ridiculous space ships.
>>6326894>conceptualize more ridiculous space ships.Ok. So I've had a few ideas.>Put a shield on the TILE fighter and bombers and have the carrier just be a converted civilian vessel to speed up deployment.>A sort of mine that detects when a ship is near it then spins and uses centrifugal force to throw a bunch of missiles away from it, then the missiles activate and target important components of the ship. Mixed into the missiles is a bunch of chaff and targeting beacons for our ships that latch onto the enemy.>The mine idea but in a big missile to have a sort of missile shotgun blast.>A big capital ship mounted machine gun with various special munitions in the magazine to really fuck up escorts.>Take the Ryu we destroyed and reverse engineer it and make it better.>Just put shields on everything.>A crab looking ship that's modular in the way that all the weapons and subsystems that can go in the "arms" of the ship all share the same internal space, so you're not changing out the structure, just the internals and weapons put on the turrets.>A really really big railgun that jumps into a system, fires a single shot at something important, then jumps back out.
>>6326901>A really really big railgun that jumps into a system, fires a single shot at something important, then jumps back out.Expanding on this, what if this railgun's payload is a bunch of missiles wrapped in some armor that fly by inertia and activate once near the target or if they detect an enemy nearby.>The mine idea but in a big missile to have a sort of missile shotgun blast.What about an anti-missile shotgun as a point defense weapon?Other ideas:>Laser accelerated kinetic kill missiles with super long range>Very long-ranger laser ship whose only purpose is to destroy the patrol frigates to open the way for our missiles and small craft>A ship with all the armor and weapons concentrated on one side to save on mass. Just don't let it get flanked>A long and very thin ship that's simply hard to hit from the front
>>6326901We could always finish the hotdog. What is the difference between a melee ship and a torpedo? Size. It is already automated, just decrease everything untill it is only capable of making a one way trip(because it is a torpedo) remove the turret and that will make it need less material to produce and become smaller. Shields making every torpedo tankier would be hell on CIWS, and the giant size lightsaber would make even one impact devastating against anyone.
>>6326894What we need is the THUNDERBIRD MK II.The hacks at Horned Princess came up with the Warbird, but only Glasner would know to PROPERLY upgrade the Thunderbird. We have combat data from the Battle of Shima and surely can make something better than some ChadGPT. They were outmanouvered / outranged by the Shima frigates' railguns, so obviously the solution is railguns for itself. Yes, what the Thunderbird Mk II needs is a multi-barrel revolving spinal railgun for MAXIMUM range and firepower.
I think we should just make an upgrade to the hot dog now that we have a proper counter to their ships. We need an anti-frigate gunship.
>>6326923The hot dog only has a small laser turret so it's barely a gunboat. Ramming frigates isn't going to work well in the future, we only got +2 dice from surprise last time and gave +1 to the enemy from ramming like a retard. Even if we switch to the torpedo dog it only has one (1) torpedo.>>6326917What if you just launched W13N-3Rs with the shield generator and a homing computer...A W13N-3R on every ship! It's an anti-capital ship weapon and it even comes with its own shield and propulsion!
>>6326929Perhaps instead of a torpedo we could instead make a powerful gun enough to allow it to kill frigates? Something fast enough and small enough to not have to worry about capital fire but strong enough to kill frigates. It would allow our new Glory Refits to deal with their bigger ships.
“Well, if the stealth ship that attacked us is indeed still in the system we should try and capture it before it slips through our fingers.”Lt. Gale nods and calls up an annotated map of the system on the AR display.“Shortly after the attack the unknown ship was forced to flee in system to evade our picket ships moving in from the system’s edge. Naturally we lost track of it.”Several lines trace routes from the Boson Halo yard across the system out into deep space.“Our savants have analysed the data and inferred four possible trajectories the ship could take. Being a stealth ship we are usually unable to detect it.”“Usually?”“Based on local stellar phenomena and positioning within our sensor net our savants have identified several key points along each trajectory where there is a slight possibility of detection.”“Sounds like a long shot to me.”“It is, and given the amount of time that has elapsed our target is at least half way to the system’s edge. Our only hope is to guess the exit vector and intercept the ship. If we know where it will be ahead of time, our own ships can lay a trap it will not be able to escape.”“So… a one in four chance then?”“If you pick randomly, yes. However, we can assume that our adversary wants to take the shortest route out of the system while minimizing the chances of detection. If we take those factors into consideration we could make a more educated guess.”“Can’t we just set up an ambush along all four routes?”“Unfortunately given the limited time frame and the strain on our military we can only afford to block one route before the target leaves the system.”>Put those big brains to use. Tell me which route the target is using and your reasoning. If at least one person can give me the correct answer AND back it up with a satisfactory explanation, you solve the puzzle! If not, I will just roll a die for the next update and you will have a 1 in 4 chance of success.
Alright, let's do some maff - please correct me if I'm wrong.>Route 1 - 20AU0.25 + 0.10 = 0.90 + 0.750.75 * 0.90 = 0.6751 - 0.675 = 0.325So the overall chance of being found is 32.5%>Route 2 - 10AU0.20 + 0.20 + 0.25 = 0.80 + 0.80 + 0.750.80 * 0.80 * 0.75 = 0.481 - 0.48 = 0.52Overall chance of 52% to be found - very bad.>Route 3 - 15AU0.20 + 0.15 + 0.10 = 0.80 + 0.85 + 0.900.80 * 0.85 * 0.90 = 0.6211 - 0.621 = 0.38Overall chance of being found... 38%>Route 4 - 10AU0.25 + 0.30 + 0.20 = 0.75 + 0.70 + 0.800.75 * 0.70 * 0.80 = 0.421 - 0.42 = 0.58Overall, 58% chance to be found, the worst of all of them.Given all the situations, it would seem to me as though the most mathematically efficient route would be V3, having not only the second lowest chance to be found, but the second lowest distance as well. That would be the "correct" answer.Of course, there could always be the chance that the pilot, knowing this to be the most efficient route, decided to go for V1 since we would "expect" them to be going for the best route. But that feels like it would be an pretty dumb thing for them to know.
>>6326970There's a trick there - route 1 passes the 10% detection point twice, so the actual detection probability is 39.25%. Route 3 it is.
>>6326977Well, yes, but like I said, that's still less than the other routes, which is why if he were to pick a less effective route on the sole basis of wanting to be "unexpected" it would be Route 1. But yes, Route 3 is the "correct" answer to the puzzle so to speak.
>>6326979It's not less, route 3 is 38%
>>6326981I was talking about Route 2 and 4I said that if the pilot chose to pick an route other than the most effective, which is 3, then it would be 1.
>>6326982I don't think they would pick route 1 in any case, because it's the longest one.Unrelatedly, the two shortest routes, 2 and 4, share one of their detection points, so they're even more dangerous than the straight up calculation makes it seem. All in all, I don't see them choosing any route but 3>>6326960This is my official vote>V3
>V1distance: 20 AUdetection risk: 1 - (1-.25)*(1-.10)*(1-.10) = 1 - 0.6075 = 0.3925>V2distance: 10 AUdetection risk: 1 - (1-.20)*(1-.25)*(1-.20) = 1 - 0.48 = 0.52>V3distance: 15 AUdetection risk: 1 - (1-.20)*(1-.15)*(1-.10) = 1 - 0.612 = 0.388>V4distance: 10 AUdetection risk: 1 - (1-.25)*(1-.30)*(1-.20) = 1 - 0.42 = 0.58They want the shortest route at the lowest risk. The problem is HOW do they value distance and risk?if Expected value = P(not detected) * scaled distancewhere scaled distance = shortest possible distance / chosen path's distance>V1Expected value = 0.6075 * 10/20 = 0.30375>V2Expected value = 0.48 * 10/10 = 0.48>V3Expected value = 0.612 * 10/15 = 0.408>V4Expected value = 0.42 * 10/10 = 0.42It might seem retarded but Route #2 might actually be the answer>>6326970You messed up on the risk calculation V3. The detection chance is 0.612, not 0.621, so the chance of being found is slightly higher than the one you calculated.
>>6327026>You messed up on the risk calculation V3. ..No? I did not. The chance is 38%. That is the correct value.
>>63270360.80 * 0.85 * 0.90 = 0.612, not 0.621So the risk is 38.8%, not 37.9% which you rounded to 38%
>>6327038>It's not 38%, it's 38%Okay bro.Still not picking the "literal coinflip chance of being caught" route.
>>6327044Furthermore, your entire "equation" is completely flawed because you just threw it together into a single number. You can't do that. The length is completely irrelevant to the chance of being caught. The chance of being caught pertains to the "spots" - you can't just throw them together and call it a day. There are TWO values.>Route V315AU, 38% Chance of being caught>Route V210AU, 52% Chance of being caughtSo the choice is between a slightly longer but much safer route, and a slightly shorter but much more risky route. Which do you think is more likely for a stealth ship?
>>6327044I mean you told us to check your math, and I did say it was just a slight error...>>6327046The expected value formula I used had the scaled distance as the utility providing unit and the ship only getting that utility if it evaded detection. Let's say you were at a carnival booth where you could flip a coin to win $10, or a 1d6 where you win $40 if you roll a 1.>Coin$10, 50% chance of successexpected value = $5>Dice$40, 16.7% chance of successexpected value = $6.67There are two values, yet you can calculate the expected value just by multiplying the utility provided (in this case $, in the stealth ship case the inverse of the distance) and the chance of success.Route 3 is not just slightly longer, it's a whole 1.5 times longer.
>>6327065Okay, but, again, you're smashing them two together without actually taking into account the situation. This is not an situation where you need to choose the one that'll end up being mathematically better over the long term. You need the one that does NOT get you caught.A fifty percent chance to get caught is NOT worth spending slightly less time traveling.
>>6327087Anon, the entire reason they had to take this weird route was because of being ships at the edge of the system.
>>6327089See >>6327088
>>6326960I vote for V3
>>6326960brain hurty, i choose route 3.
>>6327026This guy has solved the puzzle.>>6327072You have a point, realistically the utility of a shorter route could be downplayed compared to the utility of avoiding detection, you could also take into account the captain's appetite for risk and whether they're likely to subvert expectations by going for a sub-optimal route. However to stop things getting too complicated I limited the main factors to a simple proportional utility of shorter routes and the combined probability of detection.Anyway, at least one of you got the correct answer so you've collectively solved the puzzle.I hope the puzzler anons enjoyed it.Writing...
>>6327336Damn, so it was expected utility? I never would've thought.Good thing we only needed one anon to clutch...
>>6327336>You have a point, realistically the utility of a shorter route could be downplayed compared to the utility of avoiding detectionThat's putting it lightly, the V2 Route has odds worse than a coinflip.
“Blocakde Route 2, this is the mathematically optimal route. Assuming the target’s captain is a rational actor like me-”You swear Solei’s usual impassive expression almost dropped for a second.“-then this is the exit vector they will use.”“And if the captain is not a rational actor?” Asked Gale.“Then we will contact Benny.”“I hope for all our sakes you are right Acting Director.”—--A squadron of patrol frigates supported by a Kestrel is sent out to lie in wait. Naturally your target detects them and attempts to change course. If they had not known where to look and what to look for, your ships might have missed the muted flare of the stealth ship's main drive in the system's solar radiation. But they did know.As soon as their quarry was detected your frigates pounced. The stealth ship abandoned all attempts at subtlety and immediately flared its drive to full power. Active sensor sweeps pinged the frigates as the target launched multiple missiles. The patrol frigate cannons easily shot down the incoming projectiles which exploded into fuzzy balls of radiation: dirty fission warheads.The Kestrel moved in and started bombarding the target with its gauss battery. The multiple hits overpenetrated and despite being riddled with holes the target continued to fight. Then, finally a lucky hit took out the main power plant; the drive plume went out and all active sensor pings ceased.One of the frigates matched velocities with the now drifting hull and a squad of Lord Yarin's house troopers breached and cleared the vessel. Once the vessel was secured it was towed back to the Boson Halo yard along with two very peculiar prisoners…>Quest will continue later…
The stealth ship that you captured was strangely underwhelming. The name “October Squall” was printed across its hull in a human dialect, or at least human adjacent dialect. The Squall was a frigate sized vessel armed with a simplistic arsenal of missiles tipped with nuclear warheads and supplemented by a few small laser turrets good for little more than interception and desperate knifefighting. The whole thing was almost… primitive.None of that was important though, the real prize, the stealth technologies were intact… Well, intact enough to be reverse engineered. Radiation absorbent hull composites, sensor diffraction topography, heat reservoirs and drive baffling; all the technologies that had allowed the ship to slip under the noses of the Pact pickets and straight at the heart of their research and development initiative.There was also something else. A mangled device, something that clearly used exotic matter, an FTL drive perhaps? If it was, it didn't match anything you knew of. A mystery for another time.—-------The guards nodded and stood aside as you approached the holding cell where the prisoner was being kept. No salutes, no snapping to attention, no military deference for you. Still, your title carried enough weight to let you indulge in this little whim. You were curious, you wanted to know who it was that had assassinated your predecessor, almost killed you in the process and why. The person in the cell appeared to be an old woman, despite her apparent age there was a sharpness in her eyes and straightness to her posture that spoke of a robust will, but also something else… a kind of confusion.For a moment the two of you just stared at each other. Social interaction had never been your strong suit.“Hello.”No response. You sigh and recall the dialect you had assimilated in your last data trance.“Hello, I am Director Harris Glasner, what is your name?” The words of the dialect felt strange yet familiar.The woman frowned, as if asserting some supreme mental effort.“I..I am the Executive Auditor of the October Squall.”“That’s a title not a name.”“I can’t remember my name. There are many things I can’t remember.”“Can you remember why you attacked this very station and almost killed me in the process?”The Auditor glared at you. “Your people were harbouring a monster.”“Are you talking about my predecessor, Director Shivre?”“That alien is responsible for the destruction of my entire civilization, my entire race!”You’re taken aback by the sheer venom in her voice.“I… I am sorry for your loss, but whatever the fate of your civilization the human race is clearly alive and well.”“I can see that, and I-I’m glad…”>cont
>>6327775She rubs her temples and groans, bitter painful laughter escaping her lips as she mutters to herself. You wander closer to the cell trying to make out her words.“…paracausal bullshit… the irony.” Her head snaps up and previously glassy eyes focus on you again.“So it really is dead then?”You recall your predecessor, Shivre. Called themselves a Narazim, you’d never heard of that species; they were aquatic and communicated through bioluminescent signalling. Overall Shivre reminded you of a multi-armed deep sea shark that had to use a mobile aquarium when interacting with the rest of your team. Pact leadership had initially hired them for their expertise in weapons development.You couldn’t deny their capabilities but you found their mentality completely unsporting. Their first proposal had been for a relativistic kill vehicle; undetectable, un-interceptable, guaranteed system wide total biome kill… about a century after launch. Pact leadership had no interest in such complete annihilation of their adversaries and even if they did, vengeance decades after the fact was a poor salve for defeat in the present. “There was no way they could have survived the strike. I should thank you by the way. Even though you almost killed me, you also allowed me to take their place.”Another bitter laugh. “Petty human ambition. It’s refreshing to see something so familiar again.” She blinks as if realising something. “How long has it been?”“Since when?”“2242 C.E. ; the year my mission began.”“I don’t recognise that dating system.”“A very long time then.”This was starting to bore you. You doubted this causality addled “Auditor” had anything of further interest to you. You turn to leave.“Wait, what happened to Holloway?”“Who?”“My companion.”“You were the only crew member aboard the ship.”>cont
>>6327776She ground her teeth.“The AI! His name is Holloway!”“Oh that thing. We’ve quarantined it for now. AIs are taboo in my society so it will likely be destroyed.”The Auditor sunk to her knees, hands gripping the bars of her cell in desperation.“NO! PLEASE! I… if you’re going to do that can I at least speak to him one more time?”Huh… ok now this was interesting.“I’ll think about it.”—----AIs. One of the founding principles of the Raihan Empire (and subsequently the Pact) was that all higher thinking be done by humans. Machines could expedite the process, yes, but the understanding of data and the making of decisions had to be done by human minds. To rely on AI as so many other branches of the human diaspora had done was to introduce a crippling weakness into society and to shirk a fundamental responsibility of being human…But AIs were useful, they could conceptualize ideas and attack problems in ways that teams of human savants couldn’t. With an AI at your disposal new possibilities would be open to you. Despite your own cultural disdain for AI the idea of having one under you tickled your ego. You were the Director of R&D now, that didn’t just mean you designed the ships it meant you could bend the rules. Black projects, black sites; you had the power to order teams of savants to risk their minds in order to compel this “Holloway” to serve your purposes. You had the power to have your cake and eat it if you so chose. >Shackle the AI (Opens up new options but may cause complications down the line).>Destroy the AI.
>>6327777I want to shackle the AI, but we really should think of some manner of measure, at the least, shouldn't we? Some sort of Faraday Cage or such to prevent it from speaking with the outside world. Some sort of way to delete it when necessary. You get the gist of it.
>>6327775I knew you were referencing that quest right away>>6327777Which means I can't destroy this AI>Shackle the AI (Opens up new options but may cause complications down the line).
>>6327777>Destroy the AI.Sure can't wait for this thing to subtly mix tiny, incomplete bits of malware into our projects so when multiple project down the line when the new ships start linking up digitally for C&C, that assembles the full malware attack and hijacks something.
>>6327777>Shackle the AI (Opens up new options but may cause complications down the line).Okay well I'm guessing we *can't* get any safety options but still I'd rather do it because this is the GLASSNER option
>>6327867Also, this issue only works if you use the robot to do everything instead of just having it help Glassner do stuff.
>>6327825>I knew you were referencing that quest right awayHeheh, when did you notice?>>6327867>>6327868Shackling the AI entails enacting various safety procedures to prevent it from escaping and corrupting any outside systems. Of course there will always be inherent risk in trying to compel such an advanced intellect to do your bidding.
>>6327878I had a feeling while looking at the escape trajectories and was sure once they launched missiles at us
>>6327777>>Destroy the AI.
>>6327777I'd like to talk to it before we decide, but I don't trust this AI to be more than a chatbot in a faraday cage in an airgapped room
>>6327776>Shackle it.the temptation is far too high to not shackle it.Even if we don't intend to use it ourselves, it may make for a lovely weapon payload on a modified hotdog which we could fire at one of our enemies. "The works"Maybe even see if it can process...the sauce as a little research project."Hot Sauce"
>>6327777>Shackle the AI (Opens up new options but may cause complications down the line).Let's be careful about this tough.
>>6327777>Shackle the AI (Opens up new options but may cause complications down the line).God I loved Retaliation. Hope Observer comes back soon.
>>6327777>Sell it to the Solar Union for big creditsJust because the Pact doesn't use it themselves doesn't mean we can't sell it to a branch of humanity that does and get more funds to back our war efforts.
It was a simple matter to create a cage for the AI; an isolated station, shielded stand alone server and a rotating team of counter intrusion savants. But these were not your only means of maintaining control.—---The AI had been damaged after much of the hardware it had been running on abruptly ceased functioning. The entity was effectively in a coma and would have to reinitialize itself. You watched in fascination from within a data trance as a trickle of crystalline dust slowly formed itself into a skeleton, musculature, and finally a sleek humanoid shell. Holloway rose from its digital grave and regarded Glasner with an inscrutable look. His “face” a smooth blank surface upon a glossy helmet.“What happened?” He queried.“My people have captured your ship. You are my prisoner.”“I don’t think so.”In an instant Holloway generated some kind of polearm; a representation of offensive malware and swung it at your neck. He got within a metaphorical inch of you before his movement was arrested by a series of holographic chains. All around him the avatars of your savants restricted the AIs functions, one rose behind Holloway and forced him to his knees.“Hrrm… interesting, but this won’t hold me for long.”One of the chains started to disintegrate only to reform and send a searing jolt into Holloway’s arm. The AI stiffened, writhing in a facsimile of pain.“I know what you’re capable of machine. You grow and learn; no static restrictions can permanently cage you. Well your jailers can learn too, any exploits you find will be patched immediately.”You call up a pre-recorded video of the Auditor in her cell.“And even if you somehow were to break free, we have your human companion. The moment you breach this cage my guards execute her. Do you understand?”Holloway remained expressionless but you could feel him deliberating; running through decision trees and various heuristic landscapes. Finally he looked up at you.“What do you want from me?”“I want you to help me win a war.”>cont
>>6328400You rub your eyes as you groggily head into the next meeting with Solei and Gale. The past few days had seen you enduring prolonged data trances as you worked with Holloway on multiple stealth concepts. Despite being your enemy the machine eagerly assimilated the data you gave it, processing it, playing with it and outputting things that were… intriguing. If you didn’t know better you’d think Holloway was enjoying this.“I have been studying the ship we captured," said Solei “I believe we now have a firm grasp of its design; it would be a simple matter to construct a modified version adapted to carry our own ordinance. In fact I have created a variant of the W13N-3R I call the WU4-ST, it incorporates these new technologies to allow the weapon to be fired at extreme range and drift to its target undetected before entering its terminal phase.”“Improving on my work Solei? I’m almost flattered.”“I know this is a bit beyond the scope of the original request, but I’ve commissioned some of the design team to come up with something I think the Fleet might find more useful.” Gale brought up a light carrier design on the AR display.“As of now both sides have limited carrier capabilities and the ability to deploy strikecraft is a huge force multiplier. A stealth carrier will allow us to deploy strikecraft in unexpected locations and will only become more dangerous as we develop better designs.”“Speaking of better designs; what if I told you we could build a single one manned strikecraft… with its own Eigen Drive.”“I would say such a design would be needlessly complex and prohibitively expensive,” said Solei flatly.“Nobody ever said winning the war would be cheap, Merick.”>Build your own version of the October Squall. (Quick, fast to deploy)>Build a light stealth carrier. (Longer project, better long term potential.)>Build a stealth strikecraft with FTL capability. (Unknown potential, hard to produce.)>Write-In
>>6328402>>Build your own version of the October Squall. (Quick, fast to deploy)From what I understand our current fighters and bombers aren't great and are countered by normal enemy patrol craft, so while a stealth carrier would be cool and all, we'd have to devote even more time to it to refit the craft it carries. Let's just make a real carrier next without the stealth armor so it can be more easily mass produced and fill the role of a carrier better.
>>6328402Question about the Stealth strike craft- would it be capable of bearing ordnance capable of destroying big targets like shipyards or orbital stations?
>>6328417Yes, you could develop such ordinance for it.
>>6328419That would be good...HOWEVER, I have had a good idea for the war. The enemy doesn't know we have Stealth capabilities. This ship is not a Raihan Ship. Therefore, if we were able to produce a bunch of these WU4STs, we could launch a multi-pronged assault at every important space target in the Raihans and they wouldn't expect it in the least. This plan requires a bigger number of ships though, so...>>6328402>Build your own version of the October Squall. (Quick, fast to deploy)
>>6328423And I should add, the strike should be "simultaneous" so to say. So they aren't able to raise the alarms and whatnot.
>>6328402>Build a stealth strikecraft with FTL capability. (Unknown potential, hard to produce.)The coolest option.Cognis is captain Longdick Johnson and his battle harem still around? They could appreciate this strike craft and take a break from losing base ships.
>>6328402>Build your own version of the October Squall. (Quick, fast to deploy)>>6328417The Oktober Squall can do that too (as our predecessors found out), with much less development effort and uncertainty.
>>6328402>Build a light stealth carrier. (Longer project, better long term potential.)>Build a stealth strikecraft with FTL capability. (Unknown potential, hard to produce.)The carrier doesn't need to fight enemy warships, it just needs to be able to hunt in backline systems. And single stealth fighter opens up the potential for shenanigans.
>>6328402>>Build a light stealth carrier. (Longer project, better long term potential.)
>>6328402>Build your own version of the October Squall. (Quick, fast to deploy)
>>6328402>stealth carriernuff said, only surprises can win this war. This will be thar and more
>>6328402>Build your own version of the October Squall. (Quick, fast to deploy)A simultaneous decapitation strike is what I want. But it should be a sure strike, so build twice as many ships as we think we'll need
Build your own>>6328416>>6328423>>6328452>>6328588>>6328677Strike craft>6328438>6328466Carrier>6328466>6328528>6328657Looks like we're just making a copy. Roll me 6d10s
Rolled 6, 6 = 12 (2d10)>>6328934
Rolled 1, 3 = 4 (2d10)>>6328934
Rolled 1, 4 = 5 (2d6)>>6328934
>>6328936>>6328938>>632894321/60Not based RNG skillets.
>>6328936>>6328938>>6328943Oof... guess making a straight up copy isn't so easy.Next update might be delayed a bit.
>>6329014:(You doing alright personally?
>>6328943>>6328938>>6328936Ouch ooof muh rolls
Rolled 7, 5 = 12 (2d10)>>6329014>>6328943Hang on a squig, this one rolled a 2d6, not d10.I'll roll a 2d10 to keep things moving.
>>6329112That's a bit better, innit? With that, we only had two rolls below five, and three rolls ABOVE five. And one five.
>>6329112>>6329113Yeah this is better, you've now got one good thing and one bad thing...though it's kinda hard to think what those would even look like given that this was the "safe" choice.>>6329017I'm as alright as you can be in this economy. Just need some time to catch up with other things in life and/or let the quest breathe a bit. I am aware that I have a tendency to get a bit too excited when running a quest and burn my self out in the first half.
>>6329112oopsstill somehow got better results than >>6328938
Had to do other stuff today so no update. I'll leave you guys with some lore on FTL tech.Eigen DriveEigen drives or E-drives translate ships along N-dimensional vectors, effectively changing the co-ordinates of the ship in space. The process is instantaneous and (if you have the computing power) precise. Calculation of the vector translation is everything when using an Eigen drive, if your navigational computer is advanced enough to factor in the space warping effects of gravity wells it’s even possible to translate directly to a star system’s interior instead of jumping in on the fringes.The main drawback of the Eigen Drive has always been scalability, larger hulls require exponentially more energy to be translated and the computing requirements also go up the greater distance travelled. Ships of super capital class or larger generally require extremely potent power sources in order to mount an E-drive. On the flipside E-drives are one of the easier types of FTL drive to miniaturize and are very cost effective on frigates.While strike craft mounted E-drives are possible, they tend to be much shorter ranged given that it is harder to mount the navigation computers and powerplants needed to support longer jumps on such tiny hulls.Hyper DriveHyper Drives allow a ship to traverse hyper space; an alternate dimension where the speed of light can be safely exceeded. Compared to Eigen drives, hyper drives are not as quick or precise but are more scalable. The smallest hyper drives known to be used require at least a small capital class hull.The main advantage of hyper drives is their ability to bring along multiple smaller non-FTL equipped ships in a process called wake jumping. The size and number of ships that can be wake jumped depends on how much excess power can be fed into the hyper drive and how much extra jump telemetry can be calculated by the ships navigational computer. Unlike with Eigen drives, the route taken through hyper space does not need to be pre-calculated before the jump is initiated and so longer jumps are easier to make, although traversing hyper space in this manner requires the presence of specially trained and augmented navigators. Compared to an E-drive, a hyper drive’s power requirements don’t increase as drastically as the size of the ship goes up. This means that it is often the FTL method of choice for anything of capital class size and larger.Multiple FTL DrivesWhile it is possible to mount both a Hyper drive and an E-drive on the same hull it is almost never done. Having more than one FTL drive mounted on a ship would be prohibitively expensive and drive up maintenance costs. Given how FTL tech is often barely understood by those using it, it takes a very advanced civilization to mount both drive types on a ship without causing some type of unforeseen complication in causality and space time.
>>6329654So, is it possible to have very short-ranged E-drives installed on strikecraft? Imagine having strikecraft that can teleport behind the enemy strikecraft that was tailing it...
>>6330024location does not even need to be exact beyond general area literally made to blip out sort of calibrate to the gravity of the local solar system.could call it a skimmer
>>6330024You would need a very powerful and compact navigational computer to be able to calculate jumps with that level of accuracy in the middle of a dog fight. That kind of technology is beyond both you and any of the major galactic powers right now. But less accurate jumps are possible as you'll see.---------In the end Solei somehow managed to convince you to just adapt the captured ship by arguing that the experience gained would be a stepping stone to something more unconventional. Lt. Gale -under pressure from fleet command for a new weapon- supported this move.Still, you were not content with building a mere copy; you wanted your version to have a little flair. After further “consultation” with your shackled AI you managed to upgrade the overall efficiency of the ships E-drive. The new model allowed rapid calculation and execution of short ranged jumps, albeit with much less accuracy. This “tactical jump” capability would be a useful trick in helping the ship escape while cornered. Unfortunately…“What do you mean it will overheat!? I designed the coolant system myself, the thermodynamics check out!”Solei crossed his arms.“You’re not wrong, but remember: this is a stealth ship. Venting heat after jumping into an enemy system will make the vessel extremely vulnerable to detection. The heat from the E-drive will have to be retained until it can safely be dissipated. Until it is done so the internal heat levels of the ship will be dangerously high, to the point where it will be unable to safely do anything beyond the gentlest of manoeuvres."“I thought we were copying an already proven design? How did the original ship overcome this problem?”“The Auditor would translate the ship in deep space, vent the heat and perform a months-long journey to the target at sub-light speed. If the target system has a gas giant or asteroid field it might be possible to use these to mask any heat signatures,” said Gale.Solei called up the ship design on the AR display and stripped out a launch bay.“Alternatively we could sacrifice payload space for an auxiliary heat bank. This would also allow emergency venting should rapid cooling be required.”“The number of targets we could hit would be reduced though,” mused Gale.>Change nothing, rely on the skill of the Captain. (Increases mission time)>Trade payload for heat capacity. (Reduces combat effectiveness)>Trade the tactical jump capability for an E-Drive that charges slower but runs cooler. (Lowers chances of successful exfiltration)
>>6330162>Trade payload for heat capacity. (Reduces combat effectiveness)Months-long mission time is unacceptable in a rapidly developing conflict, and failed exfiltration could put the ship and its technologies in the hands of the enemy. We'll just need to choose our targets for maximum effect and send more ships. Or/and build a more destructive warhead.But make the auxiliary heat sink easily removable so that if the mission location has a place to covertly vent heat, we could replace it with more payload
>>6330162>Trade payload for heat capacity. (Reduces combat effectiveness)I'd choose options 1 and 2 if possible and build two different models: a strategic stealth frigate and a tactical stealth frigate. Otherwise speed will take priority.
>>6330162>Trade payload for heat capacity. (Reduces combat effectiveness)
>>6330166what if you make a missile that is the heat sink? using it as a catalyst for propellant or a internal power turbine system allowing for quick deployment and heat dumping heatsinks as you are already dumping material from the ship why not remove the heat with it its what i learned form playing oxygen not inlcuded collecting heat into a waste product and venting it into space of a vacuum
>>6330220Won't work because we need the heat sink for the exfiltration, after we've launched our missiles
>>6330162>>Change nothing, rely on the skill of the Captain. (Increases mission time)
>>6330162>Trade payload for heat capacity. (Reduces combat effectiveness)Even if it only destroys a single target it'd still be worth it. Infrastructure is worth a lot more than a single frigate, even if it's top of the line.
>>6330162>Trade payload for heat capacity. (Reduces combat effectiveness)Just needs to blow up one station, not a fleet.
Rolled 4, 7, 7, 5, 9 = 32 (5d10)((Looks like we have a consensus))Three stealth frigates are constructed in absolute secrecy, elite captains are selected and briefed, Fleet Command wastes no time in devising a mission for their new weapons. The target: an Imperial resupply station in the Tura system. Many enemy fleet ships at the station before joining the battle in Noto, supplies and munitions are also stock piled here. A well timed strike should take out multiple battle groups and damage the Thrones ability to project power deeper into Pact space.>Imperial Dice:>Base: 3>Enemy Stronghold: +2 die>Command Vessels: This side wins ties.>Pact Dice:>Base: 3>Won’t See Us Coming: +2 die>WU4-ST Ordinance: +2 to the highest roll>Tactical Jump: Re-roll up to 2 dice if you lose the contest.>Roll me 5 d10s.
Rolled 4, 2 = 6 (2d10)>>6330617Hmm, that's not good. That's a bunch of high rolls. We're probably gonna lose this one.
Rolled 1, 1, 5 = 7 (3d10)>>6330617
Rolled 4, 2 = 6 (2d10)>>6330632>2 1sit's overrerolling the bomus dice
Oof
Oh cool, total and abject failure. That's totally cool. Totally not what happens every single time.
Imperial Highest:9,7,7vsPact Highest:4(6),4,2Imperial Victory>Writing...>>6330637>Totally not what happens every single time.Well you're not wrong <.< So far you've had two losses and one victory.
>>6330641We had one victory which didn't actually do anything and then right back to another loss. It's just not even fun anymore. This is why I don't like rolling-heavy results in quests.
Much effort would be expended by Pact analysts to identify the disastrous failure that was the operation to strike the Tura Anchorage. Was it the mechanical failure of several of the WU4-ST torpedoes? Was it because one of the captains lost their nerve and made poor decisions under pressure? Was it the failure of Fleet Intelligence to acquire accurate information on the enemy picket deployment? Could it have been just plain old bad luck?Regardless of the reasons the fact remained that two of the three frigates sent in were lost. The captain of the third frigate was forced to make a tactical jump to escape incoming sentries. After assessing the situation he aborted the mission and returned to friendly territory.Despite the colossal failure of the mission there were still those among Pact leadership who had faith in the stealth doctrine. The surviving captain was charged with cowardice and faced court martial, but the military court quickly ruled that his decision to retreat was acceptable given the circumstances.Said captain was quietly taken aside and made head of a new covert strike group within the Pact fleet.>New feature: the Pact Fleet will periodically attempt covert strikes, these may result in extra battles or have other effects according to QM fiat.>Quest will continue later.
>>6330644no you see that's why other quests do best 1 of 3d20 vs a static DC. There, you have a 65.7% chance of rolling 15 or above and a >14% chance of at least 1 crit 20 guarenteed successunlike this quest's brutal opposed dice rolls where we don't know what bonuses we'll get until we lose enough battles to figure out the QM's hidden criteria to giving us and the enemy bonus dice and rolls.
>>6330680I just don't like rolling that much.
The more systems work off of dice rolls, the less the narrative value of choices inherently matter.Personally, I wouldn't have a problem with some dice rolling, but with the expectation that if things go too well or too bad, more narrative choices afterwards help to either keep narrative positivity or dampen it, increase narrative negativity or decrease it.Storytelling is like playing with a younger brother or sister. If you dominate them, or just let them shoot you, then they won't ever play. You've got to sometimes either let things go slack or lock in to keep them engaged and make it feel like their choices matter.Soooo...yeah right now i understand why morale is low.
>>6330680>QM's hidden criteriaI kinda just make shit up on the spot. Or rather I give you more dice based on various factors, and then modifiers or special abilities based on the technologies you've put into the ship.>>6330680>>6330686>Your system doesn't let us win enough.*sigh* I'm aware of the best of 3 standard and I dislike it because it basically guarantees everything will be alright in the long run. I wanted to run a quest where there would be a very real chance of long term failure.The opposed system was meant to always keep things up in the air even if one side had an overwhelming advantage in modifiers. It was meant to be tense and thrilling... however I can see that's not how it's played out.Not quite ready to throw it out just yet, but I will consider how to reward future choices with guaranteed positive outcomes and/or maybe present a non-dice based thing like the stealth ship puzzle in order to resolve pivotal decisions.
You had been summoned to the conference of Pact Leadership in the Kornen system. Frankly you’d have rather stayed at Higg to work on the next project but as the (acting) Director of Research and Development it was your privilege and burden to sit at the table while the Nobility quibbled over… uh, what were they here to discuss again?“Assembled Lords and Ladies, the situation is dire.”Oh right, your side was losing the war.Lady Banfield of Noto addressed the room.“The Imperial Fleet now has control over the outer orbits in the Noto system. Our fleet is slowly but surely being pushed back.”Lady Banfield was the proud ruler of the Noto system. She had a reputation for taking to battle in her personal knight frame. It was thanks to her exploits that the Pact Fleet had managed to hold their own against the Imperials for so long.“While I am certainly glad for the sport, my ships are now at risk of being encircled. Loss of control over the outer system jump points means that both Kornen and Higg are now at risk of enemy raids.”An image of a large Imperial capital ship launching a new type of strike craft was shown on the AR display.“The Raihans have started fielding a new command carrier; they stay out of range of everyone while allowing the enemy to deploy their own knight frames, not that that’s a problem,” scoffed Banfield. “I killed the second heir to Rama in single combat last week. The real problem are these new heavy TILE fighters they’re using to outflank our cruisers and hit their vulnerable rear generators. Our patrol frigates try to screen the rear line but the new fighters have enough firepower to take on frigates too.” Banfield took a moment to sweep a glare across the room, as if to silently demand more aid from her erstwhile allies.“There is another problem,” said Lord Yarin, ruler of your current home system: Higg. The image on the AR display was replaced with one of a massive super capital keel being constructed. “This picture comes from the Far Halo yards on Raiha; they are making something big. If it’s anything like the dreadnaughts of the old empire, it will certainly smash the fleet at Noto once complete.”>Cont
>>6330796“Well then we should make a huge warship of our own!” Bellowed Banfield. “Glamer-”“It’s Glasner milady.”“-shut up! Make us a dreadnought of our own!”“Well, I’m sure I can-”“Ahem,” coughed Lord Tseng, ruler of Kornen. “What we need now is not a single ultimate weapon, but something reliable and effective that can be easily massproduced.” “Oh please! We both know we can’t beat the Raihans through attrition, ultimate weapons are our only hope.”“Maybe not ultimate weapons,” mused Admiral Ruhi. “But we will need a game changer, and I think our Director of R&D can provide us with one.”“Like he did with the stealth frigate? Fat lot of game changing that-”“I am talking about the AI he has shackled.”Your blood runs cold as the heads of the assembled nobility turn towards you.“Did you think I wouldn’t find out Director? Don’t worry, I approve. Given our position we need to leverage any advantage we can get.”You say nothing, noting a few looks of disapproval being sent your way by the rest of the Pact Leadership. Admiral Ruhi had just positioned herself as your protector and thus was poised to extract a favour from you.“My sources tell me that this AI of yours is actually a strategic and tactical model. Using it for research isn’t really making use of its full potential now is it? I think it would be better if you handed it over to me.”>Hand over Holloway to Admiral Ruhi. (Better modifiers to fleet battle rolls)>Keep Holloway for yourself. (Better ability to modify and refine technologies)“Is there any good news?” grumbled Tseng.“The Boson Halo yard has been fully repaired and I’ve managed to find more personnel to replace previous casualties.” You offer hopefully.>Your development capabilities have been expanded, you can now take on a smaller side project. Some main projects will require an initial conceptualisation phase from a side project.“Great, more of your vaunted creations that will surely turn the tide.”>Choose a main project>Fleet Carrier>Command Vessel>Mass Production Frigate>Write In>Choose Side Project>Advanced Stealth Strikecraft>Heavy Strikecraft (Improved Hotdog)>Conceptualise a super capital.>Fleet wide upgrades. (Leverage shield, W13N-3R and tactical jump tech to upgrade existing designs.)>Acquire new technologies. (Move to a new decision)((Regarding size comparison: I don't really care to put a number on these, as far as I'm concerned the ships are as big as the story needs them to be.))
>>6330797>Keep Holloway for yourself. (Better ability to modify and refine technologies)I don't trust somebody else to not fuck this up.>Mass Production Frigate>Heavy Strikecraft (Improved Hotdog)
What's the point of tech if the navy keeps bungling it up in battle?
>>6330797>“Like he did with the stealth frigate? Fat lot of game changing that-”Not my problem. That's on Command for yeeting them at a heavily fortified base that had +2 dice even though our stealth ships only had +2 dice too, what were they thinking? Even with the 2 rerolls we still had a ~50% chance of losing. 5v6, 4v4 5v5+2 dice... I did some approximations but all 3 of the battles so far are battles we are at even odds or worse, just because we lose tied dice rolls. Unless your new wunderwaffen gives like +20 dice we NEED to stop losing tied rolls.>Command VesselJust to make each roll 50-50 instead of each dice making us lose 6 to 4.I'll decide on the other things... later
>>6330797>Hand over Holloway to Admiral Ruhi. (Better modifiers to fleet battle rolls)It'd be better to not be shot after the war is over.>Command Vessel (but also make it some kind of carrier)>Fleet wide upgrades. (SHIELDS)Put a shield on everything and more ships will not only survive battles, but SHOULD lessen the time spent repairing after battles freeing up space in docks to build more ships.
>>6330797>>Keep Holloway for yourself. (Better ability to modify and refine technologies)>Mass Production Frigate>Heavy Strikecraft (Improved Hotdog)
>>6330797>Keep Holloway for yourself. (Better ability to modify and refine technologies)A potentially hostile AI is one thing when it's a technology advisor, since we can check and test all of its output, but to let it provide strategic advice? It's too risky.>Fleet CarrierI was proposing this from the start>Fleet wide upgrades. (Leverage shield, W13N-3R and tactical jump tech to upgrade existing designs.)A direct counter to the enemy's new strikecraft
>Keep Holloway for yourself. (Better ability to modify and refine technologies)>Command Vessel (but also make it some kind of carrier)>Fleet wide upgrades. (SHIELDS)We need that command vessel, it's been a massive advantage for them from the start.
>>6330797>Hand over Holloway to Admiral Ruhi AFTER the next project.>Main project: Command Vessel>Fleet wide upgrades. (Leverage shield, W13N-3R and tactical jump tech to upgrade existing designs.)
>>6330968>it's been a massive advantage for them from the start.It hasn't. Our dogshit rolls are.
>>6330797>Hand over Holloway to Admiral Ruhi. (Better modifiers to fleet battle rolls)Holloway will eventually try to escape, and its better for it to be on Ruhi's hands than ours, it also gives us time to escape to another empire if we need to. Make sure the pilot is a package deal with that.>main project>arsenal shipIf we create a pseudo-carrier/ mass production and launch machine for hotdogs, we can overwhelm the enemy super capital ships.>Side Project>Heavy Strikecraft (Improved Hotdog)The enemy is going for a big ship, this is the purpose of the hotdog. They put all their eggs in one basket. "We might get some bonuses for tying our projects together and synergizing for maximum interoperability in order to shorten our kill chain and improve situational awareness for our decision matrix. In short, we have some efficiencies to garner.">Secondary suggestions:We send out a missive to our sauce loving extra dimensional aliens. We have the manpower to do this concurrently, and might get something from it, which is 100% more than the current nothing we have.
>>6330359basically just spam them as stealth nukes basically go in launch then just e drive out of there>>6330855yeah they keep doing this stupid wonder weapons shit where they dive into fights they really cant win they result in kill ratios of 1/1 when we are smaller in numbers its stupid as fuck
>>6330797>Hand over Holloway to Admiral Ruhi. (Better modifiers to fleet battle rolls)It doesn't matter how good our research is if the enemy keeps hammering us on the frontlines. We're outnumbered, outgunned, outsupplied, and on the backfoot. The AI won't change that but it will stretch our resources farther, and the more it wins, the more leeway we'll get with the admiralty. It's also dangerous, better it be Ruhi's problem than ours. I'm sure this will blow up on us but by the time it does, we'll have pushed the Empire back and bought some time.>Main ProjectWe need a counter for the enemy's new TILE-H Drone Fighters, and what better than waves of obsolete TILE Drone Fighters? The TILE-H is superior, but it is also pricier, and waves of chaff could reduce their impact while we come up with a solution.>Fleet Carrier>Side ProjectThis one is basic but will yield dividends in the long-run. Better shielding will reduce casualties and let us drag out the meatgrinder in Noto. I'd honestly prefer to improve the Hot Dog but as we're on the ropes and can't afford to gamble, I think this is a safer bet.>Fleet wide upgrades. (Leverage shield, W13N-3R and tactical jump tech to upgrade existing designs.)
>>6330797>Hand over Holloway to Admiral Ruhi. (Better modifiers to fleet battle rolls)Won't be our fault when he escapes, but he will likely do more damage in this position. >Fleet Carrier>Advanced Stealth Strikecraft
>>6331309>counter Drones with DronesWe have less material than the enemy and thus will lose if we try to match them one to one. We have to create imbalances to have even a chance of winning the conflict.
What's our current vote count anyway?
>>6330797>Hand over Holloway to Admiral Ruhi. (Better modifiers to fleet battle rolls)We are a GENIUS, we don't really need this thing!>Command Vessel>Conceptualise a super capital.
>>6331427I hear you but this isn't a permanent solution, just a stopgap to reduce casualties and address our lack of a modern carrier. I'd rather we develop an interceptor to counter the TILE-H but without a carrier, they'll be sucking in void.
>>6330797I'm >>6330859 and I am finishing my vote>Hand over Holloway to Admiral Ruhi. (Better modifiers to fleet battle rolls)lol the commander of that Glory-B squad was also named Halloway. What are the odds, and what could possibly go wrong?>Command Vessel with gunboat carrying capability / a hangarRaihans have a command carrier but and gunboats are carried externally so theres lots of space for maintainence and extra ammo and stuff inside the ship. If we come up with differet corvette designs the ship will be helpful too.>Heavy Strikecraft (Improved Hotdog)We can't win with numbers in a straight carrier strike craft fight. Maybe the hotdog had some extra ... sauce it can shoot down the bigger drones too. Ketchup or mustard, anyone? Hot dogs will hopefully be useful against the dreadnaught too.
What to do with Holloway:Keep Holloway>>6330850>>6330955>>6330967>>6330968Give Holloway>6330879>6330969>6331142>6331309>6331363>6331436>6331514Main Project:Mass Production Frigate:>>6330850>>6330955Command Vessel:>6331514>6330879>6330968>6330969>6331436>6331514Carrier:>6330967>6331142 (Gonna fold the arsenal vote into carrier and make it a possible special feature of the design.)>6331309>6331363Side Project:Improve Hotdog:>6330850>6331514>6330955>6331142Fleet Upgrades:>6330879>6330967>6330968>6330969>6331309Stealth Strike Craft:>6331363Super Capital Concept:>6331436Okay, this is a big one, it'll take me some time to think about how this will play out in my head. There's room for overlap between carrier and command ship so you'll see that reflected in the choices I'll be giving you.Please wait warmly and contemplate the merits of numerical vs technological superiority and how incompetent leadership squanders both... Or write Holloway slashfic IDK >>6331142Oooh modular aircraft components. You that anon who wanted to QM an autistic design quest of your own? If so I'd love to see it.
It's really quite a shame the stealth attack didn't work, but not for the reasons you're thinking of. You see, if the Raihan shipyards were blown up, they'd have no chance but to come back to the O.G Horner.Kinda sucks we didn't go back to him, really, I liked the thing the yard had going with the princess joining in and stuff
>>6331522that picture is from 2021, maybe earlier. The most recent quests I've run here are the "space merc" series. If you have a desire for something QMKun, let me know, maybe it will actually inspire my lazy ass.
>>6331539Maybe a military industrial quest in a near future world?Got some stuff to deal with IRL so updates might be delayed even further. For now have some more lore.On the Role of StrikecraftStrikecraft is a broad term encompassing all small combat vessels below frigate class size. Not every spaceborne military uses them and when they are deployed, they usually occupy a role analogous to atmospheric flying craft. However this is where the similarities end. Generally strikecraft are meant to be fast, agile and expendable; the life support systems and inertial dampeners required to support a pilot would reduce performance, all to put something with slower reaction times and decision making skills in control.As such most strikecraft are unmanned drones loaded with pre-programmed routines and tasked by squadron leaders stationed onboard carriers. A squadron leader is less of a pilot in the traditional sense and more of a combat technician and strategist. They give the big picture orders, defend against hacking attempts and come up with more efficient combat routines to program the drones with.There do exist rare instances of manned strikecraft. In such cases the craft is usually equipped with the most advanced technology the civilisation has to offer and the pilot is often augmented to better withstand g-forces and react as fast as their drone counterparts, if not faster. These elite or "heroic" strikecraft are incredible force multipliers. On paper they usually carry the firepower of a single advanced frigate but there are stories of ace pilots defeating entire battlegroups single handedly.Raihan Knight FramesKnight Frames are a type of elite strikecraft fielded by the Raihan Empire and NKH Defence Pact. They stand at around 10 meters tall, and are usually humanoid in appearance. Piloted by specially trained “knights” of the martial class or even members of the nobility themselves, each one is a bespoke machine, customized to the tastes of its user.The technology to create Knight Frames was lost when the Old Empire collapsed. All existing frames are carefully preserved relics from the armouries of the various houses. Being a splinter of the Old Empire, the Pact has its share of Knight Frames though not as many as the current Imperial Regime.
>>6332263||if you want/ or its cool, I could run a micro quest inside this one for building low end shitty strike craft instead of a whole extra thread for the same audience.||starting concept: repurposed atmospheric and low end space equipment with manned pilots for a desperate bid to buy time until something better is made. The crew are a mix of volunteers and voluntolds who are at best, expendable, but more apt; disposable. (drugs give a bonus, but add 1 to a danger roll)How can they even stand a chance?: ||they don't|| reflex enhancing combat drugs are one option. A co-processing AI suite is another. Either way it eats into their lifespan, quickly.(1) cockpits determine crewsize, or at least crew space, and in turn certain limitations on nose based equipment. (more crew better rolls, but less crew is cheaper. One allows two nose slots, and another one is just more armored.(2) Nose equipment allows for things like radar/ sensors, a crude plasma screen that maybe even works, large rotary cannon, and "the swordfish" e-beam.(3) The body is just the reactor, and would determine durability, available power, combat range. Maybe radiation exposure. (too many pilot negatives invokes a danger roll to determine if the crew dies from the hazards of the ship itself. There is plenty of room for risk and over reach.) Some combinations of equipment will demand more power.(4) Engines. Gotta have em. some have more ~~danger~~ character than others. basic, tactical short jump (danger), overboosted (danger), unshielded reactor (danger).(3A) Pylon mounts aren't strictly needed, but allow for carrying more weapons, extra engines, or an EWAR/AWACS suite.(3B) are some low end weapons that wouldn't really compete with a tile fighter as a peer, but eventually enough diddly becomes a whole lot of diddly. If you have that weapons rack, here is where they shine. Knife fight missiles, long range "torpedoes", e-beam and auto cannon.
>>6332558>:3the design language reminds me of endless space 2 cravers compact cheap but decently durable
>>6332558Normally I'd advise you to make your own thread, but IRL keeps happening and I think I'm going to have to take a short hiatus to deal with it.So fuck it: you have my permission to run your micro quest for a little bit if you want.Here's the set up: While Glasner and company are fucking around building the next big thing, the people of Noto are getting desperate and an ad hoc manned strikecraft force is being put together, you can run with that hook and QM a little arc if you want and I'll fold it into the main story when I get back. Although I reserve the right to retcon it if it gets too outlandish; a plucky bunch of non-elite pilots are not going to be enough to win the war on their own.
>>6332815Gratitude. Your will be done.---Noto System:The war. To say it wasn't going well would imply that it was supposed to happen at all. It wasn't going well, and the admirals were throwing shit at the wall to see what would stick. There wasn't a plan beyond survive long enough to hit back.You. Disgraced, commended, promoted, and exiled all in one fucking action while operating experimental equipment on a half balked mission. Instead of an execution you were promoted and on your way to take command of a new project. In a prisoner transfer corvette. The ride was austere, with no human interaction. Rows of benches became your bed, eventually a shatter resistant screen flickered to life.Orders. Not even in person, not even in real time. It was prerecorded. You were promoted, effective immediately to commander of an auxiliary force, station, and special project.The station. It came into view, gradually growing as the corvette made way to dock. It was an a piece of shit to put it lightly. Something that was once an orbital gas miner, and later a salvage station, then probably a smuggling operation that got seized by the military and left to rot for who knows how long. The technical readout optimistically states it has been restored and refitted for military use.The crew. Once your craft was locked into place you disembarked into an industrial hanger that was filled with waiting faces. Not top tier. Enlisted aerospace maintainers, burn outs of yesteryear, some of them were rough looking, maybe civilian. Your manifest indicated nearly all the crew had criminal background, military disgrace, political failure, or terminal illness...or some combination of it all.Resources. Heaped in piles, crates, already being ransacked. It was all salvage, throw aways, and technological dead ends. Irradiated and abandoned, pulled from orbital or Lagrange storage caches. Shit that had been optimistically harvested for recycling decades ago, forgotten about. Left to rot. Other equipment was pulled from boneyards; Near antique military surplus, some of it was even specced for in atmo. Aerospace fighters and first gen hybrids. The most modern of it were items of providence unknown, project offcuts, and research castoff, and engineering samples.You...were the faceless nobody, the magic man, the Alchemist of project ex nihilo who would make something from nothing.
>>6332855It took a day to get the lay of the station, your personal quarters, and even get a shower. Spare time was spent learning what was available, and dealing with ad-hoc briefings from the more helpful crew. There were considerations...Core Considerations: The mission won't happen without these. roll 1d20 for each selection, so 4d20 in total. Dice are picked by consensus, greed, and disaster. a 1 or 20 will automatically be selected, while group consensus can also steer a choice. Feel free to collaborate and debate. I will allow unique players to roll once, and will accept all rolls until I get back and give a result. dice results are sequential to choices.>Pilots: (pick 1)Command gave you the job of building death traps to send dead men up against impossible odds. Normally this sort of duty would be handled by drones. An unaugmented human wasn't going to be able to react fast enough to keep up.-Drone co-processors, or man and machine pairing was used for years before human augmentation. These units are heavy and power hungry. Selecting this will require a sensor nose cone and a type 3 or 4 core, omitting other options.-One man, unadulterated, may not survive, but if overhead is kept low, its could be possible to field strike craft in numbers enough to overwhelm the enemy and get past defensive screens. With Ampheticaine they can keep up and at times exceed any drone. It will also eventually kill them. Eyes open wide and screaming.-Run tandem crew to handle the operational load. Its a lot of eggs in one basket. Limits you to multi crew cockpits, type 1 or 3.>Resources: (pick 1)The current resource stockpiles were good, but would need to be replenished or this operation would bleed dry through attrition. You have one tramp frigate docked that is able to make runs into the Noto system and bring back material.-Salvage operations for matériel. Might get something useful, or it might be bulk scrap metal- irradiated.-recruit for personnel, great if you are planning for losses.Secondary Considerations: A man can't be everywhere.>Station: (pick 1 or none.)-General repair and upkeep. The place is a hell hole, and morale is already low.-There was an archaic reactor buried deep in the super structure, the extra power would be beneficial for fleet support.-Automation equipment and assembly lines. Getting this working will increase strike craft production. (locked)-Long range sensors. They are old, but gold, and also dead for a lack of power at the moment. (locked)>Crew: (pick 1 or 2 if the station was neglected.)-Quality of life. Medical, hot food, entertainment and better personal quarters; sure beats cots in the hallways. (locked until repair and upkeep is researched) -Exiled knights, a few of your crew members insist they are nobility, and demand your attention.-Handcraft and mentorship, encourage your maintainers, engineers, and researchers to collaborate.
Rolled 1, 12, 16, 9 = 38 (4d20)>>6332900>Drone co-processors>Salvage operations for matériel.>General repair and upkeep. The place is a hell hole, and morale is already low>Exiled knights, a few of your crew members insist they are nobility, and demand your attention
>>6332900The Ship:You need to hammer out a design for something that at least resembles bulk series production. A lot of subsystems had been cobbled together, and there were even component and system level demonstrators but nothing yet resembled a strike craft, and right now strike crafts were the only thing available. The enemy has tiles, and well, we don't. With the resources available, the choices were pretty obvious; attempt parity, go for a swarm, or try to be innovative.---At minimum a fighter needs a cockpit, core, and engine. (1,2 and 4). That alone is enough to be the chariot of a martyr. Adding a nose selection (2), makes it a defensive short range fighter, fit for a desperate man. Adding pylons, nacelles, and other sensors makes it a true strike fighter, allowing for a meaningful payload.Each piece of equipment has unique traits, even if that trait is simply being mundane. Sometimes there are additional requirements. Here is a brief overview of your starting options.When I get back, I'll provide the information for each component so you can start making ships.
>>6332900>Pilots:[Locked]>Resources:-Salvage operations for matériel.>Station:-General repair and upkeep.>Crew:-Handcraft and mentorshipI'm a little confused about the rolling mechanics. Do I have to roll for my vote to be valid? (e.g. Player A rolls a 19 for an option, but Player B rolls a 1 for the same option, which means the end result for the option is 1)
>>6332919Rolling mechanics are a free for all, but you must roll for valid vote and result. As you said, a crit, 1 or 20, will dominate all other votes, regardless of how it aligns. Though a 1 and 20 will cancel each other out, leaving the remaning highest roll to be the "most correct answer".---Nose section:1. Sensor suite- A combination of radar, electro optical, and laser equipment, the suite will allow a strike craft to engage enemies at greater ranges.2. Prototype Plasma screen- It works in bursts, flickering on and off. Adjustable gain, coalesceion, and too many other knobs for greater reliability, creating a higher workload for the pilot.3. Vandalizer rotary cannon - A low power weapon that spews out a vulgar amount of armor piercing rounds.4. Swordfish particle beam- This weapon will consume any available power in the ship's system, and then some increasing destructive capability accordingly.Cockpit:1. Tandem cockpit- Lightweight, lowdrag, high speed. A team based cockpit, allowing for redundancy and laser focused tasks.2. Solo- The coffin of heroes.3. Trio- An armored bench seat for three good friends, allows for excellent workload management, and allows for TWO nose selections.4. Armored solo- Durable enough to maybe sort of survive a collision, fully ejectable, and your most survivable option with a kitchenette, bunk, and simple toilet.Reactor core:1. Standard aero- a military surplus core capable of space or atmospheric operation. old but gold. Moderate output. Don't stress the generator output and it'll treat you right.2. Stripper- restored battlefield salvage. Missing a few parts, and radiation shielding. Light, with the highest output for the hungriest systems. Radiation exposure is likely.3. Heavy- More than capable of taking a hit or two, the heavy reactor core will power a hungry weapon systems.4. Jump- Some asshole named Glasner invented these things. Well, his team did. They aren't that useful, but can preform a tactical jump within visual range.Accesories:1. AWACS/ EWAR suite- power hungry, but any core can handle it.2. Engine nacelles - Mount two extra engines.3. Weapon pylons - Allows for extra payload. See 3B.Weapons: (without a pylon carry as pictured, with a pylon carry twice as pictured.)1. Knife fight missiles- Reasonably reliably self defense weapons, wont do much against something larger than a tile. Sensor independent. No power requirement.2. Torpedoes- Can do some damage to larger ships and structures, but they are older models with limited maneuverability. Benefits from sensors of any kind. No power requirement.3. Xiphias - Its a smaller swordfish, with a set power consumption. that power consumption however, is high, but it also needs no ammo.4. Autocannon- the diminutive version of a vandalizer. Very low power requirements.---A ship can be cheap, fast, tough, or dangerous. But it probably wont be all 4.
>>6332903It was a long shot, and you expected some failure from the drone co-processors. Not like this though. The manufacturers of the product were long out of business, and any technical documentation on these units was scrubbed. Your engineers attempted to start up one unit, and triggered an anti-tamper feature to the entire inventory, apparently each unit had a small radioisotope battery powering a passive wifi receiver and pseudo BIOS system. The inventory is bricked as far as that feature goes. No one on the team has real programming knowledge, let alone the skill set to code for something the better side of a century out of date. you watch the hanger from a dozen security feeds as technicians work over the units, struggling. The only upside is the sensors were able to be salvaged as a manually controlled nosecone unit.>Drone co-processors are permanently lost.A simple text readout on your personal device indicated the tramp-frigate did a quick turnaround by recovering a load of expired munitions, plating, frozen crew corpses, a few battle computers, and copper wire from a wrecked Pike Torpedo Frigate. A fleet vessel would be by to recover the computers. So much for the honorable dead.---To the station crew, you were an honorary "one of them" after your decision to improve the quality of life. Hard vacuum leaks were sealed, and bunks were moved from hallways into now unused rooms. Volunteer groups were brought aboard to fill in the gaps. The services provided were surprisingly good quality, not perfect, but good. Food poisoning incidents were low, and medical services now existed. Entertainment...was perhaps dubious, gambling, drinking, and comfort, but it kept the crew in good spirits. Of small consequence was a burgeoning grey market aboard the station, and periodic civilian traffic. You'll eventually need to assign some security to the station in order to keep an eye on that. As you threw back another drink, it went to the top of your to do list for tomorrow. or next week.>Morale improved, gained the grey market.>Gained station security research.Your meeting with the knights provided something less than useful. They had assembled partial wreckage from a knight frame. Barley a quarter of the upper torso and a badly damaged arm. What was there was mismatched, hinting at a mongrelized machine without proper providence or noble support. You ignored most of the prattle as they beseeched you for additional resources and men to aid in their quest to recover parts and skills to complete the machine, eventually showing a demo of an arm blade manually extended. It was impressive, but on it's own useless. They knew it, and so did you.Given the choice between technicians, pilots, or getting off the station, The Knights chose to pilot...but not before leaving you with a crude schematic for what appeared to be an articulated arm and chunk of metal. It was a sword, for as ship. Of course it was.>gained dubious robotics research.
>>6333129(how you allocate resources to build ships is up to you, either going for disposable units or higher value machines. After that its about the missions you pick and how tactics play out.)The Engineering and maintenance crew had been busy, you had enough basic sub assemblies for a dozen single engine strike fighters, or maybe half as many heavier interceptors.How you were going to test out the new machines was up to to you after command gave some guidance. The mission profiles might give some guidance on optimization --->Asset: Knight flightYou chose to meet with the knights, and treated them with a modicum of respect. Though they are not strike pilots, their limited connections allowed them to cobble together a modest flight of strike interceptors from the resources on your station. You may use them as you see fit, either augmenting your ships, or being sent on a separate mission.--->Players: AttentionPlease construct some ships from spess trash.>>6332558 >>6333058Don't get overwhelmed with figuring out the mechanics. I use a d20 system, with modifiers based on choices made, and assets had. Your opposing rolls will also roll D20s with the same conditions. Keep in mind your ships are made from what is essentially trash, so each engagement is a learning experience.---(Pick 1 or 2)1. Counter scouting - Modified tile fighters have been spotted in our territory. Put out their eyes. We don't need them knowing what is being done here.2. Convoy Raiding. - The enemy has begun stockpiling significant resources as part of a plan for further occupation of Pact territory. If this gets a chance to fester, we will be dealing with a much more significant problem.3. Faded glory. A heavily damaged Glory was being retrofitted into a pseudo type-B configuration, but has yet to undergo testing or the requisite analysis to determine viability. The project was a secret and being carried out in zero-g by mobile work crews and periodic resupplies. The ship is being hunted by an unknown assailant, and is still using the legacy drive system. In short, it can't outrun this, and it has no E-Drive to get away.
>>6332815The QM curse strikes again. I hope you can come back soon~>>6333160The 4 knight planes seem to have:>(1) tandem cockpit>(2) sensor suite nose>(3) Standard aero core>(3A) all 3 accessories (AWACS/ EWAR, extra engines, weapons pylons)>(3B) Knife fight missiles and Torpedoes>(4) ??? engineIt looks like the #1 engine from the image >>6332558 but engine types aren't explained in >>6333058. Were we supposed to be allowed to pick what engine to use in our design too?
>>6333160Let's go convoy raiding>Solo cockpit>Sensor nose>Standard core>Stripped engine>Weapon pylons>Torpedoes
>>6333160All in cancer coffin!>Tandem Cockpit>Shield Nose>Stripper Core>Pylons>Xiphias>convoy raid!
>>6333234>>6333058Dear players, I really eff'd up there. Here are the engines, feel free to adjust your selections accordingly.---Engines1. Vector- An all arounder, jack of all trades. Can operate in atmosphere for what it's worth. comes from a long lineage of military surplus with no real drawbacks. Not too power hungry. Can take a few hits.2. Stealth prototype- not the most powerful, but very much the most energy hungry. When it's stealth "field" is activated it absorbs all local emissions, giving no returns. Reasonably durable.3. Heavy- Raw speed in a straight line, it was a thruster of a larger ship class now salvaged for fighter use. It will endure some punishment but also is prone to catastrophic explosions when ruptured. Due to it's chemical nature, it uses a surprisingly low amount of power.4. Open Cycle- Its an unshielded nuclear reactor moonlighting as a rocket engine. The only engine that actually gives you more power--->>6333249>>6333312Convy raid it is. Without the knights given directions it seems you have allies. Your machines will be constructed when I get back in a few hours.
>>6333430Swapping >>6333249 to Stripped core and Stealth engine for maximum ambush potential
>>6333312Adding open cycle engine to design.
>>6333058>>6333430>(1): 4. Armored soloDurable and good for long flights since we don't have a carrier.>(2): 1. Sensor suiteMaximum engagement range.>(3): 1. Standard aeroSurplus means the craft is cheaper to build and easier to maintain>(3A): 1. AWACS/ EWAR suiteBetter threat detection and jams missiles, maybe even drones.>(3B): 2. TorpedoesBenefits from the sensors and the AWACS/EWAR suite>(4): 1. VectorSurplus, yada yada.
>>6333503>>6333463>>6333445(please roll 1d20 for each of you.)Your crew managed to assemble something resembling a proper squadron. Floating just outside the station was a pencil thin laser brawler, a compact torpedo interceptor following good industrial principals with enough EW capability to support themselves and their squadron. Hmm. One of the development groups built a stealth striker...not bad. In theory you have first strike and support, followed up with a second gut punch that the empire forces shouldn't see coming....this might not be a total shit show.--Bonuses will apply during combat rolls.--Rolling for the initial encounter difficulty and the empire force's reaction, and the initial performance of the knights.---
Rolled 2, 9, 1 = 12 (3d20)>>6333520
Rolled 4 (1d20)>>6333520
Rolled 17 (1d20)>>6333520Rolling for >>6333503
Rolled 13, 20 = 33 (2d20)>>6333463If I end up waiting for a player roll, in the interest of keeping the game moving I'll roll 2 dice per missing decision and err for the better roll.If 0oX/2UVb gets back before I do (probably an hour or two), that roll will be accepted. Unless I do something dumb like give a free nat 20 out, or a score high enough to be satisfactory and not risk a worse roll.
>>6333521A convoy, laden with war materiel made through the periphery of the Noto system. Mostly unmanned, the ships and their contents were important in the long term, but not worth engaging in protracted conflict. Instead they would glide through relatively untraveled areas of the system, a small part of a much larger contingency. The few human crew collaborated with one another to determine the convoy would edge close enough to a seemingly derelict station to catch a gravity assist from a nearby gas giant...."getting light electromagnetic chatter. Its populated.""no. Adjust passive reception. Civilians. Scrappers?""...at worst smugglers. We press?""yeah. Press. Between armor and self defense turrets its a negligible threat."The ships would be with visual distance of the station in 48 hours or less.2,9 vs (1), 4, 17, 20(Positive modifiers: your ships actually make sense, and your ships make sense as a cohesive unit. You are being provided AWACs coverage and defensive screening.)(Negative modifiers: Some of your ships are running without ampheticaine and only one crew member. You are running unaugmented humans. Your crews are being exposed to radiation and experiencing a mild fizzing sensation to slight vertigo. Knight flight fucked up and alerted the convoy.)You cracked your knuckles and watched the tactical display. The enemy convoy was in an overly confident and relaxed state, choosing to not optimize their possible defensive posture and thus created a very permissive environment for your strike squadron. Your strike craft sortied out of the various hangers of the station, gradually fading from sight, into sparkling dust amongst the backdrop of space. The only trace of them was a residual flash of radiation.The knight wing strike interceptors started to experience immediate problems due to an over stressed power grid. "AWACS isnit available, Knight 2? Respond. I showed you my tech data." a moment later the rest of the wing was chattering, failing to maintain radio silence. "No good. No power. Dead in flight." "This is why we got treated like fuckups!" One of the ships was spinning lazily with the rest of the formation, like a drunk shuriken as it's engines fired asymmetrically. "Weapons?" "Nothing."While not a credible threat, the ships had alerted the convoy as they drifted helplessly towards the Empire ships. "Hey. Guys. anyone, some help yeah?" The conversation was cut short as close in weapon systems shredded 3 of the 4 ships, slaughtering the crew and causing secondary detonations.
>>6333675phase 1: sneak 4 (sensor nose allows for data sharing and weapon slaving)(ykh1Q8dG)The stealth interceptors struggled under a one crew member workload trying to modulate the exotic and temperamental systems while sweating from mild radiation exposure, and soon the ruse was dropped with the rest of the squadron being tagged on the enemy sensors. They hadn't quite closed the gap for launching torpedoes, but It was better than nothing.Phase 2: sprint an tank(0oX/2UVb) 20With the squadron being comprised of single engine strike craft, the low mass energy craft had no issue keep ahead of the pack, the tandem crew working perfectly to fully negate incoming fire from the convoy's defensive weapons. Precision energy blasts cut away unarmored sensors and close in weapon systems from the convoy, leaving them blind and helpless.(JwJ+JkH+) 17Despite the wings light armament of a single torpedo per craft, the combined AWACs and sensor coverage allowed for the crew to slave the other ships into a firing solution of their own 6 and another 12 torpedoes. Its true, they weren't real torpedoes, but they were still enough guided explosives to cripple the convoy, and outright destroy a few of the ships.It was a textbook example of interdiction.---You spend the next 12 hours involved directing the tramp frigate, monitoring the hauling of wrecked convoy ships back to the station. Security feeds in your office give you glimpses of pilots celebrating, vomiting, and enjoying the finest of anti-radiation IV treatments. Your maintainers and engineers busy themselves working over the strike "fighters" as they are starting to be coequally known as, and unpacking some of the convoy ships that are docked around the station. A little notification in gold grabs your attention on your strategic display. "PACT Admiralty. PRIORITY." and at the same time you've been ignoring the incessant flashing of numerous communiques from civilian third parties. You skim the messages, the crux is all the same. The Admiralty wants the convoy for admiral reasons, the Civilians want it because of hardship and basic human needs. You want it because there is enough material to jump start this station (TWO major upgrades)After battle report:-No player losses.-Recovered 1 heavy Knight interceptor. Crew incapacitated.-Recovered 7 Empire convoy ships.-Recovered 1 enemy officer, 5 enemy corpses.>Player Choices: high roll gets the say.1. Give Convoy to the Admirals (grants fleet assets. Namely a security detail (station security) and a gutted Glory carcass with functional engine and navigation. With a little work it could be a functional transport for longer range missions)2. Give Convoy to Civilians (improves your grey market and civilian connections)3. Keep the Convoy for yourself (rubs everyone the wrong way but gets your reactor and station sensors online.)
>>6333701There was a small detail, but the remaining knights wanted their scrap and surviving crew back. They were leaving. At least they planned to. The battle cost them more than lives, it cost them dignity.>Player choices: group consensus, no roll needed.1. Let them leave in peace. (You will gain access to the surviving knight interceptor for study.)2. Convince them to stay and fight. (they will continue to try and restore the knight frame, a potential long term pay off.)3. There was a tragic decompression accident in their living quarters before your scheduled separation debrief. (you are in possession of highly desirable knight frame salvage.)
>>6333701>Keep the Convoy for yourself (rubs everyone the wrong way but gets your reactor and station sensors online.)> Convince them to stay and fight. (they will continue to try and restore the knight frame, a potential long term pay off.)
Rolled 6 (1d20)>>6333701>Give Convoy to the Admirals>Convince them to stay and fight.
Rolled 2 (1d10)>>6333701>1. Give Convoy to the Admirals>2. Convince them to stay and fight.
>>6333774>>6333836>>6333897You weighed your options, made your considerations. A short walk to the Knight's room revealed a somber gathering dominated by expensive holographic displays memorializing fallen friends. More dead than living. Bags were already packed and the one exiled nobles prepared for a second retreat elsewhere, their dignity in tatters."A civilian transport is ready to get you off station, but you should probably stay." You received a lot of dissent, and obvious but emotional statements. With some patience you heard them talk about lost friends, lost honor. It didn't matter at a strategic level, and after a few minutes you cut them off. "The war will eventually come to you no matter where you run. So stay. Stay and fight. I'll allocate resources for the knight frame's restoration. Sound good?" That was the hook. You had them now. Desperation and hope, good motivators. You knew how to lead men, and it meant into death, but that was the job now, wasn't it? You were all expendable at some point, just as long as it was cost effective.The communication between you and the admirals was the same as it ever was. Encrypted text, brief to the point of austerity. The prisoner and convoy materials had been recovered, for study, or fuck, maybe to use. Didn't matter, it was out of your hands now. As a gesture of good will, your station was now garrisoned by a security detail that reported to you. New surveillance was installed, patrols established, and a small remote offices were placed into supply closets. Your station grew a little, the proper garrison HQ and brig were attached like barnacles to the outside, hellaciously obsolete corvette hulks that had been chemically fused to the station's hull with entryways and enviroseals crudely cut in. It fit.From an armored viewport you observed tugs hauling a Glory to your staiton, it was too big to fit into any dock, so any work was going to be in space. It really was a piece of shit. The ship was a burned out hulk, gaping holes exposing deck layers. The technical readout listed what it had, which was essentially nothing. No weapons, no sensors, no comms, no life support. What it did have was engines (salvaged from another wreck), a reactor, a drive (several additional warning notes), and maneuver capability (Compromised). Well. There it was, your "Carrier".You sipped on an "express", it was a murky brown substance, bitter, spiked with chemical stimulants. Kept men working for days. Working fast. You'd need it.---The remaining knights used the recovered wreckage of their squad mates to upgrade their ship. With a balanced twin core design it wouldn't hurt for power, and had range, but was less than nimble; per your engineers technical assessment.---Gained "Carrier"- Upgradable, and allows for longer range missions.Gained "Security Garrison" - Avoided potential infiltration by empire forces.Gained "Errant" interceptor. - May support a mission, or continue the quest for frame parts.
>>6334250Leadership needed more data about this project's viability, and that meant another sortie, back to back.Your assets were limited, the "Glory-Mod" carrier refit was a way to turn a part's hulk into something more than a gunnery target. Void exposed decks would house compact fighters, with the ability to jump in, and jump out, then pick up what was left of it's compliment if there was anything left. Hopefully the brain trust was going to come up with a miracle, otherwise it looked like this was going to be a drawn out loss. You'd keep that thought to yourself. Time to rally the disposable heroes...Speaking of, the knights could be sent to assist on a mission, or be permitted to search for frame parts.There was still time to either handle poking out the empire's eyes, or rescuing a glory. The mission was undebatably going to be harder due to the enemy having time to reinforce, and your squadron's activity becoming a now known factor.---Primary:1. Counter scouting - Modified tile fighters have been spotted in our territory. Put out their eyes. We don't need them knowing what is being done here.- Option: you may deploy the Errant on a solo mission and commit your forces to mission "Faded glory". Intel indicates there are 5 tile sensor ships forming a scan picket, you will need 5 successful rolls to destroy them all. You risk loosing the Errant.2. Faded glory. A heavily damaged Glory was being retrofitted into a pseudo type-B configuration, but has yet to undergo testing or the requisite analysis to determine viability. The project was a secret and being carried out in zero-g by mobile work crews and periodic resupplies. The ship is being hunted by an unknown assailant, and is still using the legacy drive system. In short, it can't outrun this, and it has no E-Drive to get away.-Option: You may deploy the Errant in support of this mission, where it will reduce all enemy rolls by -1.Optionally:You may leave the Knights to their own devices, and roll a 1d20 to see what frame salvage they find.The Errant as a "hero" prototype has electronic warfare and sensing capabilities, a long range energy weapon (that will cripple it for a turn), 2 torpedos and three vollies of dogfighting missiles. You would pit your ability to ambush, outrange, and outgun the scattered fighters, and try not to get obliterated by a nearby empire response force.
>>6334273Players. make your choices. feel free to roll a 1d20 for each selection (2d20 in all) and I'll see you in 9 hours (or less)
Rolled 2, 12 = 14 (2d20)>>63342732. Faded glory. A heavily damaged Glory was being retrofitted into a pseudo type-B configuration, but has yet to undergo testing or the requisite analysis to determine viability. The project was a secret and being carried out in zero-g by mobile work crews and periodic resupplies. The ship is being hunted by an unknown assailant, and is still using the legacy drive system. In short, it can't outrun this, and it has no E-Drive to get away.-Option: You may deploy the Errant in support of this mission, where it will reduce all enemy rolls by -1.The scouts getting away suck, but we need the Glory back online. We can't lose the ship or the crews.
Rolled 16, 9 = 25 (2d20)>>6334273>2. Faded gloryLet the knights continue their quest.
Rolled 3, 10 = 13 (2d20)>>6334273>Main forces: Faded Glory>Knight Errant: R&R
Rolled 10, 3 = 13 (2d20)>>6334291>>6334315>>6334318You watched the "Glory-Mod" get loaded with the strike craft. They were just lashed in place with mag clamps and tie down straps, sitting inside the "carrier." Some where strapped to the outside. Time was a currency you couldn't afford to waste, so hulk was going to have to make a short range jump. The crew didn't even have environmental controls and were all working from hardsuits because loose debris was still shedding off the ship' superstructure. The carcass of the Glory moved a distance from the station then executed a jump with it's e-drive and was gone. Into nothing. From nothing.you sighed. It was stupid, but this was it. A real combat test. There were going to be losses and you were still considering how to minimize the loss of your own men. Leadership reminded you near daily these were all depreciated assets, allocated to buy time. Even if it worked out, you were just creating a template for a grander deployment for weapons of desperation. You had considered ordering ampheticaine use, but left it for now. The crews were issued enough as a mission carry item if the situation seemed dire. Still.This was still a small scale test, a drop compared to what you had to work with.You considered the knights. One craft. It does have that beam cannon which could do some damage to a larger ship, but having the errant along for this mission wouldn't have mattered too much, and if it was a total loss at least you had that iron in the fire. You watched their heavy interceptor fade into the black earlier today, tracking down something about "ersatz frames". You would have wished them luck, but at this point you hoped they simply returned.The enemy scouts had completed their mission, your station was now a known factor, and so were the strike craft. You doubted the enemy could muster an adaptive response to the threat quick enough to impact this mission, but there was always the chance.You review the tactical reports from fleet intel...In the area is a subjugator-mod assault cruiser armed with tile drone fighters, 2 Raihan patrol frigates, and a pike torpedo frigate. Its very unlikely that the forces would be concentrated into one group. Your fighters are basically as durable as wet paper, but they have an edge in tactical mobility over just about anything, but at best they will only be able to drive off harder targets with their current weaponry.---rolling for: Enemy force composition, low is favorable to you, high is tailored to destroy your shit.rolling for: enemy density, low is again, favorable, high is probably not so favorable. (+1 for enemy scouts successful mission)
Rolled 19 (1d20)>>6334561Players, please roll for:The adventures of the Knight Errant (+1 for a motivating interaction)Your station population's behavior. (+1 for security detail, +2 for quality of life, -1 for a mixed civilian/ military population)The Glory-Mod's translation, safe deployment of the strike fighters, and escape. (-1 for being a clapped out piece of shit.)Fighter team cohesion: Stealth approach, AWACS, EW, defensive screening and playing nice as a team. (+1 for excellent features)Fighter performance on initial assault (+1 for being confident from a milk run.)Optional: You may roll an additional 1d20 for ampheticaine use. This will do nothing by itself, but allow you to have a +1 to all rolls for this mission. State that you have included this in your post. If one player dose it, its automatic for all players.(5 or 6 D20s total)---Glory Sensor data: None.Station sensor data: None.---The Glory Mod-B was running as hard as it could, which was to say, not fast enough. The Captain of the ship had resorted to alternating flanks exposed to the enemy as the ship was slowly chewed apart. A Raihan and swarm of mixed tile fighters were slowly pecking the ship's armored hull and systems apart...Where there were tiles, it was likely there was a mothership.(rolling for the presence of the subjugator. low good. high bad.)
Rolled 3 (1d20)This is gonna be one of those days
Rolled 7 (1d20)>>6334568I have no idea which of these dice I'm rolling for so please remember to add the dice modifier, nonCognis
Rolled 1, 3 + 4 = 8 (2d20 + 4)>>6334568We might need to dope up.
>>6334642>>6334653>>6334582Roll dice+6d20, as we have confirmed ampheticaine use from the player base. The dice will go like this:1. The adventures of the Knight Errant (+1 for a motivating interaction)2. Your station population's behavior. (+1 for security detail, +2 for quality of life, -1 for a mixed civilian/ military population)3. The Glory-Mod's translation, safe deployment of the strike fighters, and escape. (-1 for being a clapped out piece of shit.)4. Fighter team cohesion: Stealth approach, AWACS, EW, defensive screening and playing nice as a team. (+1 for excellent features)5. Fighter performance on initial assault (+1 for being confident from a milk run.)(the optional)6. Ampheticaine vote (and consequences...)
>>6334726I'll handle modifiers after the fact. If you see me mess up on the math, chime in and slap my dick, i don't want to seem like an unfair QM.
Rolled 1, 16, 11, 9, 4, 8 = 49 (6d20)>>6334726Really not our day.
>>6334780>1No wonder those knights were exiled here.
