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[Xantalos]

Go check out ... ah hell, go check out one of the fleshpits and envision if I could do something like that. Then go examine the hole the fleshbeast crawled out of and try to determine what limbs and/or grasping appendages, if any, it used to tunnel, or if it just oozed out of the ground.

Does this facility produce decompensators?

[Sean Mirrsen]

Anton Chernozorov

Any news on the finalized "Spektr VLW"/"Raduga VHL" (FEL Rifle/Heavy FEL) stats from the Council?

[Radio Controlled]

Anton Chernozorov

Any news on the finalized "Spektr VLW"/"Raduga VHL" (FEL Rifle/Heavy FEL) stats from the Council?

((We haven't worked out exactly how to handle the overcharge thing, have we?


For the record, me and PW worked out in dj chat what my turn entailed. Right now, ARESTEVE is building a system of high-yield mines and laser turrets at the FTL jump point. Ready in 2 weeks.))

We worked out in dj chat what ARESTEVE would start building for the jump point defense: mines and laser turrets. Confirm start of construction?


Secondly, you know those Hammer cannons? What could be the upper limit on the speed of such a projectile be if we upgraded it? And could it be made so the projectile can make course corrections mid-flight (with rocket boosters or automanips)? Idea here is to build them throughout the system use them as long-range guided missiles to continually pelt whatever UWM ships make it through our initial defenses. Could this work?

Thirdly, what would ARESTEVE suggest we build around Hep for space defense?

[Sean Mirrsen]

((I think the last post on the matter was mine, proposing the "screw the overcharge delay, just make the gun auto-shutdown after the second shot if it isn't cooled off" method. Would that be better or worse than the other proposals?))

[PyroDesu]

During the year-long break in hostilities, Maurice renews his scientific assault on a way to temporarily boost regeneration in a human (without genemodifications or any other permanent changes), likely with either tweaked stem cells (natural or functionally identical synthetic) or short-living, self-devouring organical agents equivalent to Mesk's.

We'll say you find a new substance that can heal minor to moderate injuries. It costs 5 per "can"

This stuff. A small can of it, though - enough for a mild injury, or to jump-start the healing (scarring) process of moderate to severe wounds.

As far as the Sword and your prime are concerned? Not much, other than they're in another system entirely and there were three missions being run simultaneously.

And no, we're not producing any - might have some in stock. And, because I think you're going to ask, I'm not going to let you just have one. And before you ask why, it would set a bad precedent - I don't want people thinking they can come here instead of doing a mission for free equipment.

((You're skipping a step with Syv's gun, PW. You know, getting it approved for prototyping? Just letting it get posted like that takes me out of the loop, in which case, why have me?

And yeah, Nik isn't on Heph because he wasn't here during selection. And he may or may not want to come, anyways - he is the Doctor's student, as I recall. If he does, he'll have to contact Simus about it, she'll not ask him. Might put out a general announcement with the supply ship, I dunno.))

[Xantalos]

Does this facility produce decompensators?

((Sorry to poke this up, but I didn't know if you missed it or not.))

[PyroDesu]

Does this facility produce decompensators?

((Sorry to poke this up, but I didn't know if you missed it or not.))

((Look at the second part of my message to Xan.))

[Xantalos]

((Ah, I saw that before the edit.))

Well, if I know my old self, it involved a lot of collateral damage.
Don't worry about me attempting to get a free decompensator - I was asking for the purposes of making another copy before I leave. If you have a Will decompensator in stock, I would be grateful for it being installed temporarily so when I create it there are no ... side effects.

[Radio Controlled]

In the case of a forced shutdown after charged shots, it's more like having an assault rifle with a 40mm underbarrel grenade launcher, that refuses to fire bullets unless there is a grenade loaded. First and foremost, a weapon must be able to fire.

((And if every bullet has a 50% chance of firing backward and exploding in the shooter's ody unless there's a grenade loaded, wouldn't it then make sense to force the loading of that grenade? Because you just know somewhere, someone wil forget the grenade thing otherwise and get himself stupidly killed (remember we'll be shipping to backwater planets to supply civilian rebels. Good luck getting them to memorize the manual.

I personally feel we should add enough limitations on that overcharge, to ensure firing it has a cost (but offset by it having high power. Otherwise, since firefights are often so short, it'll be an overcharge every other shot.

How about this: for an overcharged shot, one must charge it up for a turn. After firing a charged shot, one must wait 2 turns before charging up again. However, one can still shoot the weapon normally during those two turns. Does that sound reasonable to you?))

[Sean Mirrsen]

((It works mechanically, but doesn't make sense in-universe. The reason you can't charge it up to overcharge power and keep firing it continuously is that it won't handle the heat. Charging up to fire and keeping firing between charge-ups makes sense for a gauss rifle, but not here.

If you don't want every second shot to be an overcharge, just make it so it cannot be fired at all on the following turn, with at least two turns between overcharges. The idea is that the overcharge maxes out its heat capacity. If it's at maximum heat, it must cool down at least a little before it can handle even normal firing, and cool down completely before it can overcharge again.

I.e. you can open the fight with a charged shot, then spend a cooldown turn taking cover, then fire normally, then a charged shot, then cooldown, then more normal firing.

In my opinion the requirement for 2 idle turns makes more sense, at least that way you can slip a charged shot into the middle of regular firing, but can't do it again until you've let the gun rest for 2 turns. I can see how keeping track of the 2 turns might be a problem though.))

[Radio Controlled]

((It works mechanically, but doesn't make sense in-universe. The reason you can't charge it up to overcharge power and keep firing it continuously is that it won't handle the heat. Charging up to fire and keeping firing between charge-ups makes sense for a gauss rifle, but not here.

If you don't want every second shot to be an overcharge, just make it so it cannot be fired at all on the following turn, with at least two turns between overcharges. The idea is that the overcharge maxes out its heat capacity. If it's at maximum heat, it must cool down at least a little before it can handle even normal firing, and cool down completely before it can overcharge again.

I.e. you can open the fight with a charged shot, then spend a cooldown turn taking cover, then fire normally, then a charged shot, then cooldown, then more normal firing.

In my opinion the requirement for 2 idle turns makes more sense, at least that way you can slip a charged shot into the middle of regular firing, but can't do it again until you've let the gun rest for 2 turns. I can see how keeping track of the 2 turns might be a problem though.))

In the case of a forced shutdown after charged shots, it's more like having an assault rifle with a 40mm underbarrel grenade launcher, that refuses to fire bullets unless there is a grenade loaded. First and foremost, a weapon must be able to fire. It can shut down to prevent excessive overheating (i.e. after the second consecutive shot), but forcing a cooldown will be very bad if you suddenly have a target you need the charged shot on, and it's not the last enemy standing.

Now Sean, aren't you saying things opposite to what you said before? I previously proposed having a no-shot cooldown after charged shot, but you didn't want that. Or was that about locking down the weapon? You should be clear about whether it's 'no shoot because weapon is locked down' and 'no shoot because it isn't ready/cool yet, but you can if you really want, have fun with your melted gun'.

And yeah, having a 1 turn no-shooting cooldown and then a second one-turn no overcharge but yes regular shooting cooldown seems too complicated. And besides, if the regular shooting doesn't produce a lot of heat, we can handwave such things and say the overcharge makes it just warm enough to let regular firing continue. Honestly, explaining it away is the easiest part I think.

So, this then: 1 turn to charge, 2 turns after that no firing whatsoever, then you can again fire normally or charge up again?


Syv, I take it you'll want to write up your own armory entry? If yes, please keep it as short as possible, you can always put extra information on the weapon's own page.

[syvarris]

1.Armory description?  Here ya go.  Also, damage stats

Spoiler: Armory entry (click to show/hide)

   4|SS Testament LSW
Ammo:Tank with 180 shards worth of fluid.  Extra tanks cost 1 token.  Can use a PSL tank, which contains 810 shards worth of fluid and costs 4 tokens.
Stat Requirement: Strength 4.  Strength 8 if you use a PSL tank with it.
Range: Melee:-2 Short:+2 Medium:0 Long:-1 Extreme:N/A
Description:In effect, this is just a greatly miniaturized Piezoelectric Shard Launcher, with an added automatic function.  While it doesn't have the raw power of a gauss rifle's 20mm slug, it's still fully capable of killing a man with one shard, and even armored troops will fall easily to volley fire.  And if that's not enough, it can release a withering hail of automatic fire, to carve through almost any opposition short of a battlesuit.

Spoiler: Detailed Damage Data (click to show/hide)

((This could possibly be incorrect somewhere.  If Radio intended something different, I'll edit this post.))

Single shot:
Unarmored: Single shot penetrates into the body, severely damages localized area when it explodes.  Lethal if it hits vitals, like the head or heart.
Light armor (Longcoat):Can penetrate, but actual damage is limited somewhat.  Unlikely to kill in a single shot, unless you get very lucky.
Heavier armor (Milnoplate):Strictly speaking, capable of penetrating with a really good shot, but even then does minimal damage.  Many shots required to kill, or even really damage.

3-Volley:
Unarmored:Much more powerful than single shot.  Hitting anywhere near vitals will likely be lethal, hitting limbs will likely completely cripple that limb.
Light armor (Longcoat):Decently effective.  Reliably penetrates, but does less damage than a single-shot against an unarmored person.  Still likely lethal if you hit vitals.
Heavier armor (Milnoplate):Capable of penetrating if lucky, but still does little damage.

9-Volley:
Unarmored:Damage is more comparable to a gauss rifle- could blow the person's chest open, or a limb off.  Very likely to be lethal, even on near-misses.
Light armor (Longcoat): Somewhat less effective than against unarmored foes, but still likely lethal.
Heavier armor (Milnoplate): Likely penetrates, although damage likely isn't lethal.  You've hurt them, but only a very good shot will kill them.

Automatic (Assuming you continually fire, instead of bursting):
Unarmored:You'll probably tear them to pieces.  Interestingly, due to the delayed explosion, limbs might go flying off then detonate into further pieces.  Fun.
Light armor (Longcoat):You probably won't separate any pieces, but you'll quite thoroughly pulverize their body.
Heavier armor (Milnoplate):While any individual shot is unlikely to hurt them, the armor won't take a long period of extended abuse.  Thirty to forty rounds will probably start to ruin the armor, and seriously injure the user.

2.Wonderful things have happened yesterday- The biochemical forge and second fleshpit were finished!  First, I'd like to order the expansion of the new fleshpit to begin (thirty days as always?), and the construction of yet another one, geared for robosods, to begin.  That would mean we have two continually expanding pits, and one new construction.  Is this okay?

3.Is there an upper limit to how many fleshpits we can have, or how deep they can be?  Perhaps limits on how much of the base material we can produce and continue to supply them?

4.Request Simus to allow me to assign a construction crew to the new fleshpit.

5.Look at what the biochemical forge does- I know it makes brains, but what are it's limits? 

6.You said that we could create sod brains faster with the forge- how many fully trained brains can we make per day?  Alternatively, how long does it to make a batch of how many?

@Pyro

Well, to be fair, I have asked quite a number of times for you to approve prototyping, and you've never responded.  Most of them were before the nerf, but still.

Anyways, I did say 'if Simus doesn't object' there- do you object to the weapon?  If not, then the gun goes through prototyping, and is presumably finished by the time the shuttle launches.  If so, it doesn't.  Simple enough.

Also, I asked above for Simus' permission to assign a construction crew to another fleshpit.  That okay?

@Radio

Wrote the armory entry up myself.  Did the damage too, because I don't think PW really understood it.  If you wanna change either, go right ahead and I'll edit this post.  I'm still vaugely worried that people are going to be getting [CON:6+1] and managing to unload the entire tank in one turn, but little can be done for that, I suppose.

I tried to keep the Testament's armory entry concise- I compared it's length to the PSL, and it's only slightly longer.  Seems fair, considering it has more firing options than that.

[Radio Controlled]

I think the armory post is good, except for a few details.

For example, this line: "The only weapon ever designed that was deemed so effective and cheap, god himself feared it!" Sounds like the kind of thing a protagonist would say just before massive hubris caught up with him and murdered his family with a toothpick to punish him for just for that sentence.

I'd remove it, is what I'm saying.

And if that's not enough, it can release a withering hail of automatic fire, to carve through almost any opposition.

"...That's not a heavily armored vehicle".
Would add that personally, to give idea of upper power limit.

Ammo:Tank with 180 shards worth of fluid.  Extra tanks cost 1 token.  Can use a PSL tank, which contains 810 shards worth of fluid.

I'd mention that the psl tank costs 4 tokens somewhere in there.

Oh , and maybe remove "ss" feom the name and add "designed by..." At rhe end, like with the other player-designed weapons (I like armory entries to be as uniform as possible).

[Sean Mirrsen]

Now Sean, aren't you saying things opposite to what you said before? I previously proposed having a no-shot cooldown after charged shot, but you didn't want that. Or was that about locking down the weapon? You should be clear about whether it's 'no shoot because weapon is locked down' and 'no shoot because it isn't ready/cool yet, but you can if you really want, have fun with your melted gun'.

And yeah, having a 1 turn no-shooting cooldown and then a second one-turn no overcharge but yes regular shooting cooldown seems too complicated. And besides, if the regular shooting doesn't produce a lot of heat, we can handwave such things and say the overcharge makes it just warm enough to let regular firing continue. Honestly, explaining it away is the easiest part I think.

So, this then: 1 turn to charge, 2 turns after that no firing whatsoever, then you can again fire normally or charge up again?

((I've been gradually changing what I think will be fitting for the weapon. Don't have the time to fish out the string of quotes right now.

I think that a turn of pre-charge is a fairly big limitation for a laser, even without a cooldown. In order for continuous overcharge firing to be even remotely viable, it needs to do twice the damage of a regular turn's worth of shooting, since you don't have a magazine you're extending the damage potential of, so the only way you benefit from an overcharge is an on-the-spot increase in firepower. In other words, if you're in a firefight and you're using the overcharge, the resulting shot better be worth the turn you're spending not firing at the target.

On the other hand, the charge-up time makes sense. It also allows the user to get his aiming cap on (i.e. a CON bonus) while the gun is charging.

This is kinda the reason why I wanted a sort of a duality. Either wait a turn to fire the charged shot safely, or try to time it just right and risk an extra chance of failing.

If you really think the charge-up is necessary to keep it balanced, then it better be worth at least two turns of firing in terms of power. Also, the cooldown afterwards would have to be only 1 turn. Charge, fire, wait, charge, fire, wait. One overcharge every 3 turns, you're committed to the sequence once you declare the charging (i.e. no skipping the firing bit), and there are no side-effects. It limits the tactical usefulness quite a bit, but if it's gotta be, let it be so. It'd still be neat to have the option to skip the cooldown if you really have to.))

[syvarris]

@Radio

Awww.  Do I have to remove the first sentence?  I want to brag that it's the only Tinker weapon deemed so overpowered that Piecewise literally just had the stats rewritten without an in-game justification.  Oh well, I removed it anyways.  Do you have a suggestion for a semi-tongue in cheek opening description like almost every other armory weapon?

Also, I'm keeping the SS- I know it's different to the other armory weapons, but it makes sense to me.  Like how a P90 is technically an FN P90, or how a MP5 is an H&K MP5, or how the (pistol) P90 is a Ruger P90, or how a Vector is a KRISS Vector, or how a 10/22 is a Ruger 10/22...

I like it better, okay?

@Sean

I really think three turns total for the overcharge is way too much, unless it's something like triple power.  You're losing three turns of regular shooting, so it's useless against groups, and against something big it's still useless if it's x2 or less.  The only use it would have is alpha strike capability, which needs you to be aware that you'll be fighting the turn before you fight.  That's... not really very common in ER.

I'd suggest no turn required to charge beforehand, and two turns of no-shoot afterwards.  Give it something huge, like 2.5x or 3x power.  Maybe more.  Sure, it's big, but you can't shoot again for that period, and you have to spend it all on one target.  Justify the lack of a charge time as something like the PSL's volley- you just hold down the trigger for three seconds or so and when it's ready, it just fires.  You'd have to hold the sights on a target for that period even if you were manually timing it.

Alternatively, having a turn of charge up, no turn of no-shoot afterwards, and 2.5x power would be good.  It makes it more open and versatile, but sacrifices overall capability.  It's slightly better than standard firing in most situations, but also carries a bigger risk- maybe a guy that you could've shot on the first turn shoots you on the second turn before you can fire.  And again, you can only really spend it on one target.