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[evictedSaint]

The Saint sounds like a trap.

How about you shut your whore mouth

[Kadzar]

DESIGN
1 - ASAF-F43 Interceptor: Chiefwaffles
1 - Direct Application Frost Towers: Andres
3 - Berserker Array: helmacon, FallacyofUrist, Kadzar

[andrea]

 To survive being shot from a cannon without magical inertia dampers, the soldier acceleration must be limited. And since it only accelerates in the length of the barrel, it means that its velocity will be VERY low, resulting in basically no range especially with enemy wind control.

At least, if you want to go that route, why not just build a jetpack for our soldiers? it doesn't have the limit of only accelerating the soldiers for a small length, unlike the cannon. Rather, it can keep accelerating over a longer time, providing range without killing the soldier. If we spend an expense credit on magegems, it will probably be merely expensive.
Actualy, I will work on the proposal.

Aerial mobility unit
Blastballs allow us to increase the range of our shells, but a single big explosion has proved to not be the most efficient way to deal with the problem. Rather, they would work far better with a continuous rather than impulsive effect. Therefore much like the wall of flame or channeled fog we modify our traditional blastball to achieve a constant force applied on the point of summoning.
The first application of this new spell is in an add-on to our combat armor: a Crystal box positioned in the back of the combat suit, in the shape of a backpack. This box contains mostly A or AA magegems (as our designers see fit. Target cost is VE) and circuits that summon the continued blast spell on concave plates on the sides  of the soldiers, near his Center of Mass. Those plates, are on a swivel mount and while normally they are blocked in position, the soldier can unlock them and move them to gain limited control during powered flights. This device will allow unprecedented mobility to our troops: jumping higher than a building, charging faster than a speeding bullets, impacting the enemies stronger than a locomotive ( and surprisingly, we actually can make the last 2 comparisons in this modern age). An AAA battery powers a small light in the visor , signaling the charge level of the aerial mobility unit (AMU). An AAA Aethergem is included and linked to the magegem array, so that over time it can be recharged.


Here, soldiers can fly, but at useful ranges without being killed by cannon.

[Draignean]

The Saint sounds like a trap.

How about you shut your whore mouth

A whore's mouth isn't particularly useful when shut. Just sayin'.

DESIGN
1 - ASAF-F43 Interceptor: Chiefwaffles
1 - Direct Application Frost Towers: Andres
4 - Berserker Array: helmacon, FallacyofUrist, Kadzar, Draignean
1 - Aerial Mobility Unit: Andrea

I like it. I even have a revision for it.

Skyjacker Armor
A specifically designed improvement one the variant armor used by berserkers, Skyjacker armor incorporates a pair of aethergem charging assemblies in the back, and magegems circuitry designed to create relatively weak blastballs on both palms and both feet. While this is nowhere near sufficient to enable something resembling flight, it is quite capable of allowing a berserker to make sudden adjustments in direction and velocity after being fired from a cannon. When on solid ground, the suit's feet allow the user to make sudden and astonishing leaps (which can be further modified using the palm gems). If properly anchored, the palm gems can also be used to make devastating open handed strikes, even without a weapon.

Granted, it takes a while for a Skyjacker's armor to recharge, but their missions are usually swift and brutal.

And, for certain individuals...

Hellcat Division
Due to their enhanced ability to withstand G-forces, an all-female unit of Elite Skyjackers has been created. Their distinctively feline
 variant armor is similar to the above, though sacrificing some amount of direct armor in favor of higher agility and aerial speed. Peerless in hand-to-hand combat, they are trained as a rapid blitz force- to either lay in ambush on the ground and vault skyward to handle small, low flying vessels, or to be launched via cannon barrage and use their armor gliders and blast charges to make focused assaults on airships.


EDIT: Sorry Andrea, updating yours into the votebox..

[andrea]

Ok, I ran some math on the physics of the Berserker array

an human generally can only sustain 5 positive g (49 m/s^2). Modern fighter pilots can pull 9 g (88 m/s^2), with specialized equipment of several kinds and specific training, both of which we don't have. I ran numbers for both situation anyway, in case you want to add proper g-suits to the proposals.

The length of the barrel is also needed. I examined the cased of X = 5m and X= 10m

I will consider t0=0 and x0=0, meaning that all distances and times are calculated from the firing time and from the loading position.

for an uniformly accelerated motion, which is what we want, we can calculate the velocity at the end of the acceleration period by writing

1.1)v=v0+a*t;
considering that it starts at rest, it reduces to
1.2)v=a*t.

Now we need to know the time it takes for the soldier to reach the end of the barrel.
2.1)x=0.5a*t^2+v0*t+x0
which with our assumptions becomes
2.2)x=0.5a*t^2
from which
3)t=sqrt(2x/a)

Now merging (3) with (1.2) we get
v=a*sqrt(2X/a)

I solved it for all the 4 combinations of acceleration and length

a=5g, X= 5m  >>> v=22 m/s
a=5g, X=10m >>> v=31 m/s
a=9g, X=5m   >>> v=29 m/s
a=9g, X=10m >>> v=42 m/s

For reference, the low end for black powder muskets is 120 m/s and musket balls are much denser and more aerodynamic than humans.
The paper referenced by wikipedia provides an useful chart of the drop of a projectile in reference to the distance. You will note that the slowest round considered is more than 5 times faster than our hypotetical soldier and better suited for air travel.  And it drops 450 feet per 300 feet travelled. (sorry for imperials, the paper uses that).
now of course our soldier is not launched in an horizontal trajectory, but our performance can be assumed to be far worse. the best thing you can hope to hit with a berserker array is our own troops right ahead of the cannon.

So I beg, I plead you to listen to the math. If you want to go ahead with this idea of flying soldiers, just modifying the blastball is not a solution. You will need magical inertial dampers included in the design to allow FAR  higher acceleration ( which will not be trivial) or you will need to switch to something more in the style of rocket propulsion, like a jetpack.

[Draignean]

Ok, I ran some math on the physics of the Berserker array

an human generally can only sustain 5 positive g (49 m/s^2). Modern fighter pilots can pull 9 g (88 m/s^2), with specialized equipment of several kinds and specific training, both of which we don't have. I ran numbers for both situation anyway, in case you want to add proper g-suits to the proposals.

The length of the barrel is also needed. I examined the cased of X = 5m and X= 10m

I will consider t0=0 and x0=0, meaning that all distances and times are calculated from the firing time and from the loading position.

for an uniformly accelerated motion, which is what we want, we can calculate the velocity at the end of the acceleration period by writing

1.1)v=v0+a*t;
considering that it starts at rest, it reduces to
1.2)v=a*t.

Now we need to know the time it takes for the soldier to reach the end of the barrel.
2.1)x=0.5a*t^2+v0*t+x0
which with our assumptions becomes
2.2)x=0.5a*t^2
from which
3)t=sqrt(2x/a)

Now merging (3) with (1.2) we get
v=a*sqrt(2X*a)

I solved it for all the 4 combinations of acceleration and length

a=5g, X= 5m  >>> v=22 m/s
a=5g, X=10m >>> v=31 m/s
a=9g, X=5m   >>> v=29 m/s
a=9g, X=10m >>> v=42 m/s

For reference, the low end for black powder muskets is 120 m/s and musket balls are much denser and more aerodynamic than humans.
The paper referenced by wikipedia provides an useful chart of the drop of a projectile in reference to the distance. You will note that the slowest round considered is more than 5 times faster than our hypotetical soldier and better suited for air travel.  And it drops 450 feet per 300 feet travelled. (sorry for imperials, the paper uses that).
now of course our soldier is not launched in an horizontal trajectory, but our performance can be assumed to be far worse. the best thing you can hope to hit with a berserker array is our own troops right ahead of the cannon.

So I beg, I plead you to listen to the math. If you want to go ahead with this idea of flying soldiers, just modifying the blastball is not a solution. You will need magical inertial dampers included in the design to allow FAR  higher acceleration ( which will not be trivial) or you will need to switch to something more in the style of rocket propulsion, like a jetpack.

Good points, though your G numbers are quite low. A human has been proven to be able to survive G-forces slightly in excess of 45g for brief (1-2 seconds) periods of time. That brings our muzzle velocity to somewhere between 945 and 1350, if your numbers are correct. Add in the fact that the modified suits are designed to be outfitted with gliding gear, and the range becomes rather extraordinary. WARNING: Went back over the math, this is hilariously wrong at the moment.

I'm not averse to the jetpack, but a cannon isn't a jet. You don't need to withstand the acceleration for anywhere near the same amount of time, or nearly as regularly. For reference, I'd recommend the 1950s rocket sled experiments.

EDIT: Also, either I'm using your final equation wrong, or you've got a fairly decent error in it. One moment... diagnosing...

Right, so you gave it a multiply when you meant divide. Which made my numbers look really optimistic (I was a bit surprised by the speed). Recalculating...

Velocity range for a soldier should be  [441*sqrt(10/441), 441*sqrt(20/441)], or [66, 92 m/s]

Well fuck. If your equations are right, I'm absolutely convinced.

[FallacyofUrist]

Also, we are wizards. If we must, we can fudge physics a bit using the awesomeness of the cannon.

[andrea]

@Draignean, even with your number of gs, which is chest to back, not head to feet (which greatly increases acceleration resistance but makes a much poorer aerodynamic shape and larger barrel size and worse control out of barrel) the muzzle velocities are 66 m/S and 93 m/s , respectively for the 5m and 10 m cannons.
And in all this the soldier must retain full consciousness when it exits, because if he moves much he risks tumbling. Which will make him unable to do anything except die in the fall.

Sure, maybe we can do some magic to make it work.

BUT ADD IT TO THE DESIGN!

[FallacyofUrist]

We can revise a special shell that fits a man inside and possibly uses our +6 fireball experience to add velocity.

[Draignean]

@Draignean, even with your number of gs, which is chest to back, not head to feet (which greatly increases acceleration resistance but makes a much poorer aerodynamic shape and larger barrel size and worse control out of barrel) the muzzle velocities are 66 m/S and 93 m/s , respectively for the 5m and 10 m cannons.
And in all this the soldier must retain full consciousness when it exits, because if he moves much he risks tumbling. Which will make him unable to do anything except die in the fall.

Sure, maybe we can do some magic to make it work.

BUT ADD IT TO THE DESIGN!

Yeah, I redid the math and found the same (see my edit). In my defense you messed up the final equation by putting in a multiplication sign where a division should have been, so 'optimistic' would be an understatement for its results.

Switching my vote to jetpack.

DESIGN
1 - ASAF-F43 Interceptor: Chiefwaffles
1 - Direct Application Frost Towers: Andres
3 - Berserker Array: helmacon, FallacyofUrist, Kadzar
2 - Aerial Mobility Unit: Andrea, Draignean

[andrea]

oooops, you are right. I used the correct formula, but I posted it with a typo, sorry  I fixed it now.

I also edited my proposal to give a mean of control to the soldier and to align thrust with center of mass for less spinning.
Feedback on it would be very welcome.

[FallacyofUrist]

Bloody physics always getting in the way of awesome.

Well, as discussed in Discord, the Berserker Array may have some velocity and safety issues.

I'll put forwards an alternative idea, though I'm not shifting my vote just yet.

SA-1: Railed Man Cannon:
We've developed a rather large cannon especially designed to fire the strangest projectile of all, men. This is an utterly brilliant idea, but one with some safety and velocity issues.

Safety issue one: this won't be pleasant for any man fired. Heck, men are nowhere near as durable as shells.
Safety issue two: and it won't be pleasant upon impact, either.

Solution: A special variant crystal suit, designed to be especially aerodynamic and resistant to an explosion from underneath. The idea is the suit allows a fired man to fly through the air at a further distance than normal, survive the acceleration and explosive force, and after landing on an enemy sky ship, jump off and fly down to safety. Our Crystalworks should manage this easy.

Velocity issue: The suit handles the aerodynamics well enough, but reaching sufficient velocity may be a bit difficult. This is handled by a modification to the suit and the cannon. The cannon's insides are equipped with rails, which correspond to little attached wheels on the suit. Instead of using a single explosion, we apply several smaller explosions which, in total, add up to far more velocity applied than the single explosion we normally use, at many points on each rail. This also makes it safer, using a more gradual acceleration as opposed to one big acceleration.

Here, have a diagram.

X=cannon walls, M = man, E = explosion.

A normal cannon would work like this.

XXXXXXXXX
EM
XXXXXXXXX

This won't get the man inside very far, and will be quite a jolt.

The Man Cannon would work like this.


XXXEXEXEXEXEXEXEXEXEXEXE
XEM
XXXEXEXEXEXEXEXEXEXEXEXE

Firstly, we make it much larger than normal. This will lead to aiming and setup issues, but we have breech loading and the men fired can adjust.

The explosions are smaller than the big explosion used in the first diagram, but added together, they reach much higher velocity over a longer period of time, keeping our fired man from dying horribly. I reiterate, when the fired man passes each E, it goes off, adding velocity. This requires quite a bit of coordination, but we have mathmagics and circuitry and blast ball experience which should do the trick.

The implications of this are enormous. We can fire forces behind enemy lines. We can fire forces directly onto enemy ships. We can fire troops into the air and have them come back around on our territory and report what they saw. The ultimate in scouting. The ultimate in troop transportation. The ultimate in awesome. Vote for the Railed Man Cannon now, if you think it would be better than the Berserker Array. Glory to Arstotzka.

DESIGN
1 - ASAF-F43 Interceptor: Chiefwaffles
1 - Direct Application Frost Towers: Andres
3 - Berserker Array: helmacon, FallacyofUrist, Kadzar
2 - Aerial Mobility Unit: Andrea, Draignean
0 - SA-1: Railed Man Cannon:

If it doesn't pass, the Berserker Array is my second choice, which is why I'm keeping my vote there for the moment.

[Draignean]

Bloody physics always getting in the way of awesome.

Well, as discussed in Discord, the Berserker Array may have some velocity and safety issues.

I'll put forwards an alternative idea, though I'm not shifting my vote just yet.

SA-1: Railed Man Cannon:
...

Here's the thing with the rails and extend system; the average acceleration is still fatally high.

Let's twist Andrea's equation around a bit, and set x to a hilariously large number that comes out a root well. Let's 50.

v=a*sqrt(2(50)/a) -->  v=a*sqrt(100/a) ---> v = 10*a/sqrt(a) ---> v = 10*sqrt(a)

Hmm, is that right? One moment... Yep, that checks out. So, assuming we have a meter long gun, how much avg acceleration do we need to reach musket level 120m/s?

120 = 10*sqrt(a)
120^2 =100*a
120^2/100 = a
a = 144
144/9.8 =  14g. Okay, that's reasonable, but the range on that is... lackluster at best. Unless you're trying to hit a target 300 yards away, we need something a bit more peppy. Lets aim for a range of 3 miles, a far cry from conventional artillery. Lets aim (at the leats) to match the Long Tom in terms of muzzle velocity. On the one hand, its range was 13 miles, on the other, it fired an aerodynamic 100lb projectile, not a man in full battle armor. Its muzzle velocity was 850, so...

850 = 10*sqrt(a)
850^2/100 = a
a = 7225
g = 7225/9.8 = 737g

Huh. Sploit. Can we do half that?

425^2/100 =a
a = 1806
g ~= 180
Yeah, still no.

So, even using a 50 meter long barrel, dozens of blast gems, and a needlessly complex apparatus, you'll still squash the soldier into jelly if you go too much faster than an antiquated black powder rifle.

A word on G-suits. They don't actually protect you all that much from G-forces. They force blood into your brain to prevent you from losing consciousness, but they aren't that big a help in preventing all the complex tubes and wires inside your body from tearing apart. It's neat, and I do love the idea of shooting infantry at people, but the forces involved here are ridiculous.

Also, the idea about the crystal works making g-suits made out of crystal is the kind of thing that makes me die a little inside. The crystal works shouldn't be able to do that. Crystal shouldn't be able to do that, period.

 

[VoidSlayer]

We already have things that can fly, no need to reinvent the wheel.  And they do not use constant magic so regular soldiers can use them.

War Falcons

We have used our knowledge of summoning and life manipulation to alter the existing falcons we use into much larger variants, closer to giant eagles.  While maintaining the ability to fly and having sharp beaks and talons, the more impressive feat is they can carry a single solider with weapons in a leather harness on their back. 

The soldiers will be armed with a crystal weapons for boarding or more commonly a rifle or anti magic bow for taking out enemy ships.  Once the transformation and mind manipulation training are done on the war falcon they are completely mundane, needing no further magic and being unaffected by anti magic effects.

[Draignean]

Can we put giant jetpacks on the War Falcons?