5896 replies to this topic

[Kothra]

OOC: Oh, I was thinking a squad was 100, not 10 (that was what your profile for them said and what I was thinking of when I said that, but had forgetten until just now).

Yeah ignore my superderp, please.

But wait: that wouldn't explain having 150 of those squads costing 3 IP. That would cost 15 IP.

Edited by Kothra: Sweetroll Thief, Apr 17 2012 - 10:25 PM.

[Xomeron]

OOC: So it would. Cutting support to all but eighty Boa Transports, which frees up 26 IP.

Justification for my problems; being strongly Socialist, Astaria has a somewhat inefficient bureaucracy.

Edited by cardworkMagician, Apr 17 2012 - 10:39 PM.

[Lloyd: the White Wolf]

OOC: ...I have a capitalist country and I still have hugely inefficient bureaucracy. I literally hide my biggest secrets at the bottom of the bureaucracy, plus classification. And even then, I don't have a GSA.

IC: The proposals of Astaria were met with suspicion in Aquileon. How, the common consensus was, does Astaria expect us to simply about-face after all the accusations they've thrown at us, all the hate they have for us? And how do they expect their citizens to do the same, if they don't have doublethink?

This last term was from a recently-published book by an Aquileonese author of dystopian novels.

[Ymper Trymon]

OOC: I still need a timeframe for my research on Gauss rifles that was announced on page 21. Small-scale designs (think anti-infantry rifles), using pre-existing magnetic research, 40 IP for research.

[Xomeron]

OOC: Aquilonians have WILLIAM GIBSON?

We're all doomed.

IC:

The Astarians truly had no reply to the Aquilonians, but to spread their hands and half-smile, half-frown.

[Lloyd: the White Wolf]

OOC: I'd love to help you, Rover, but I don't have the lists that Koth uses to determine length of development. I will say, however, that once you do get the time, you can deduct the amount of time lapsed between finding out the time and your announcement of starting the project. If I had to guess, however, I'd say "How on earth are you powering them?"

@ Xom: I was referring to George Orwell.

IC: The cousin of a knowing shrug was not considered to be an ample answer to their doubts, and thus Aquileon did not respond to the Astarian requests.

[Ymper Trymon]

OOC: The Gauss rifle project is sort of a stepping-stone thing at this point, actually - proof-of-concept rather than practical for battlefield applications. When magnetic weapons are put into use, they'll likely be powered by the Hydrogen fuel cells the Varangians are developing.

[Xomeron]

OOC: I'm guessing they'll always be heavy weapons, probably with a power backpack, right? Guess it's fluffier than a missile launcher.

[Ymper Trymon]

OOC: For man-portable versions, yes. The key point of magnetically-driven kinetic weapons is penetration power - armor designed to shrug off a grenade might not be so good at taking all of that force in an area the size of a bottlecap.

Of course, these aren't run-and-gun sort of weapons - they're "set up a tripod a good distance from the enemy, make sure you're on stable footing, and then convert them into salsa" weapons.

[Lloyd: the White Wolf]

OOC: Yours, I'd expect, would be something like the Maxim of gauss guns, since you're not only dealing with the power source and the coordination of the accelerator rings, but also keeping it cool to avoid warping. Not as much as a railgun, of course (which is why you can avoid warping instead of slowing it), but there's still some involved, I'd expect.

[Ymper Trymon]

OOC: Yes, friction alone would make keeping the barrel cool a pain.

Hmm... if only we had some magical MacGuffin material that conveniently fell to the sky and was absolutely brilliant at keeping things cool.

I'm still debating whether to use the bloody rocks. On the one hand, I dislike them. On the other hand, I have no in-game reason to not use them.

[Lloyd: the White Wolf]

OOC: Raaaaadiatiiiiionnnn.

I'm debating on whether I should let Humva deal with the results of Xom's moonshot when he gets back, or slap something together myself. I'm leaning toward letting him do it, since he and Koth don't share any of their documents with me.

[Kothra]

OOC: I don't have any sort of special charts for anything. And considering that Humva has a better feel for how long researh should take (at least as far as I know), I just leave that stuff to him. :/

[Ymper Trymon]

OOC: So now it is time for tactical thumb-twiddling.

[Xomeron]

OOC: Loliunno I'm just building a Navy...

Koth, what would it take to equip my entire army with the same Bolters my Red Dragoons use?

[Judge Alex Humva]

OOC
Status update on the virus; my computers have been purged of it, but now some network switches have gone bad, probably from last week's massive storms. So until my dad gets replacements for those, again, don't expect much out of me. Oh, and being the end of the semester school is a pain and all, but not that much.

As for Rover, man portable Gauss rifles... give it one month.

As for the results of the moonshot, I'll get something done real fast.

IC [The Moon]

While doing their studies, the astronauts there no doubt were puzzled when their radioactivity sensors went off. Tracing it to the source, a quick rubbing of moon dust revealed a purplish crystal. If the astronauts were exposed to the horrors of space, it would of had a slimy feel. All the same, these trained military personal and scientists should of been able to figure it out. It was one of the rarest materials found on their world.

They had discovered a source of uranium.

OOC
There's your month three event, folks.

And before someone says "HEY HUMVA THE MOON DOESN'T HAVE URANIUM", I am well aware. And refrigerator rocks break thermodynamics. A Wizard/Aliens Did It.

[Xomeron]

IC:

The Uranium was sampled, and a small portion taken back to Astaria for testing, but little was made of this discovery; Uranium-based reactions had long been considered too dirty for use, and the same fell to the weapons whose theoretical properties were well known. The discovery was not publicly announced, but the Astarians made little of it.

[Judge Alex Humva]

OOC
Meanwhile

IC [Standast]

With the SLBM count reaching two missiles, the Stan military contractors continued to build the Aquileon wares while the Stans contemplated their military position. They decided to begin planning of numerous military defense projects, to be conducted when the budget was freed up from the moon missions. As well, they began negotiating with the Kisere over some technology they wanted for military projects.

OOC
Project Crystal given 5 IP, ETA April 22nd.
Project Reaper given 10 IP, ETA May 3rd.
Project Shield given research focus, no IP as of yet.

Edited by Gaius Alex Humvus Augustus, Apr 19 2012 - 11:08 AM.

[Xomeron]

OOC: How much IP would it take to develop a practical Magnetometric Detection System, if I happened to trade for Rover's magnetic research?

[Judge Alex Humva]

OOC
I need more than that; are we talking a handheld thingy or a nation wide thingy? Specify your thingy.

(Is now addicted to thingy)

[Ymper Trymon]

OOC: Alright, that puts the Gauss project at May 3rd, as it started on the 12th, and I'm counting a month as 4 weeks.

[Judge Alex Humva]

OOC
I guess I should clarify; a month doesn't mean four weeks. A month means 'you start on April 2nd, and you get it May 2nd'. Of course, I'm not quite sure how well that works all things considered, but we'll overcome that obstacle if it ever seriously disrupts the game.

Also, something to put out there for the industry stuff; Stan SLBM production is now auto built. So long as there's IP, one batch will keep coming until I order a stop.

Edited by Gaius Alex Humvus Augustus, Apr 19 2012 - 03:35 PM.

[Ymper Trymon]

OOC: That strikes me as profoundly stupid, as it gives months an arbitrary and inconsistent value.

Welp, moved to May frickin' 12th, more than 5 weeks after the start-time.

[Silvan Haven]

IC: A company finally got clearance to export another product. There had been some red tape due to the fact that it was used heavily by the military as well as civilians. Glow sticks were sent to the various branches that the company had in other countries as part of the line of outdoors equipment that they were running.
Another device came out of the weapon development branch of the military due to some disturbing rumors that had reached the ears of the leaders of Fillion.

OOC: Weapon Name: Hurricane
Weapon Description: A round ball several feet in diameter with nozzles sticking out in different directions. It is used to counter air born chemical or biological weapons. When activated, it sucks in large amounts of air and sends it through a filter that picks out the agents and stores them in a tank.
Weapon Cost:

They hate the idea of chem/bio warfare.

Edited by Silvan Haven, Apr 19 2012 - 05:30 PM.

[Kothra]

IC(Kiserre/Colonisation): A sufficient number of voluntary colonists had been collected from across the homeland and was loaded up on to boats to be shipped over to Europa. The government did not yet have very many intercontinental jets aside from the military Hiryuu airlifters, which would be used to bring excess supplies that could not be supplied in Murelle.

---

The ships stopped at the island of Murelle, then went on further west. A piece of land was measured from the small bay on the southeast coast to a sea in the northwest. A city was establish inland, close to Murelle, and troops stantioned in Murelle were put to work building a road from Murelle-Europa to the new colony of Kinochiiki.

---

(Kiserre/General/Manufacturing): The Conseil de Ministres had decided that the signifigant budget surplus would go to further expansion of the military, particularly the navy.

(Building two more Yoshikirizame frigates, two Aozame fast attack craft, three units of Ajisashi marine helicopters

OOC: Upped my own carrier cost to 220, though I'll need to check to see if I nee to change it further.

And now I only have 42 free IP lol.

[Silvan Haven]

IC: The military was being reformed to an extent to allow for more specialized groups of troops. The ranks were combed through for candidates for the new groups.

[Xomeron]

OOC: Alex, basically, I'm trying to equip my entire army with the Red Dragoons' "Bolter" Gyrojet Rifle.

For reference, this rifle fires a two-stage projectile. The first stage is powered by a small smokeless powder charge(what we call gunpowder, though it's not actually gunpowder at all...) the second is a very small rocket engine. While slower, larger, and heavier than bullets, this carries a much more deadly round. A small explosive charge that detonates a fraction of a second after penetrating what it hits, conveying all of the explosive force to the target rather than wasting 80% or so on hitting nothing.

Also, would you allow Thorium reactors?

[Lloyd: the White Wolf]

OOC: Radioactive elements in general are not on Strith-Earth, although once you get Thorium I don't see why not.

IC: As growth in the home islands increased, it forced Aquileonese citizens to find new homes. Many enterprising people took their relatives and belongings to venture out onto the Europan continent. They established a new colony at the grid square designated I-16, their futures full of hope.

Meanwhile, the newest prize of the Aquileon Navy, a submarine christened the Krazny Oktobyr, slid out of the sub pen for the first time and took to the water. The event was highly classified, but still, many in the military were pleased to know of its presence.

Edited by Lloyd: the White Wolf, Apr 19 2012 - 07:58 PM.

[Judge Alex Humva]

OOC
Ok, let's see if I can get to everything.

Rover: Yeah, actually thinking of it, it is rather arbitrary. Go ahead and stick to four weeks. From hence forth, new mechanic; months are defined as four weeks. Everyone in process of a month long project, don't change it, you're grandfathered in. Only month long projects after this are effected. Minus Rover.

Xom~Erm. Weird, but it works. These things sound complicated, so... erm... I want to give upkeep but I'm not particularly sure how to handle it... Blah. Take your battalion count, round upwards to the nearest ten. For each ten reformed batallions, you pay one IP. If that sounds like too much, do tell, it's just the best I've got at the moment.

As for thorium... you can use it to your hearts content, once you get it. Keep your eyes out about July-ish; we get a lot more radioactive then. Until then, you only get uranium from the moon.

[Alien Conspiracy]

OOC: ACK! Sorry about being so inactive guys, but a lot of stuff has been going on and I just haven't kept up with it. Hopefully this will help make up for the stuff I missed...

IC: At the palace in Tsin'Vidali...

"... Sir I must object to this outrageous proposition of yours! It makes no sense, especially in this time of crisis!"

"I don't care Gretli!" Itzli roared as he stormed into the throne room. "They had it in the movies, why can't we have it in real life?

The keep sighed. Quite frankly he was growing tired of his ruler's complete ignorance. Unfortunately, he was his ruler, so he couldn't object. "Milord... It was a MOVIE. It was fiction! Not the truth! Why must you insist on having this anti-gravity nonsense in the first place?!"

"Because..." the emperor began, pausing a moment as though he were contemplating a witty answer. "Because... I just do! So there!"

The keeper grumbled beneath his breath, watching as Itzli climbed to his throne, plopping himself defiantly down onto the golden-laced seat. "Our resources are stretched far enough as it is with the ###### war! Which, if I recall correctly, you're supposed to be fighting in!"

"I don't care!"

"But how are we supposed to- we don't even know where to begin! It's FICTIONAL SCIENCE milord!"

"Then I suggest you get those egg-heads started on finding a way to make it work!"

The keeper grumbled, seeing no way in beating sense into the childish ruler. "Fine... I'll go tell our valuable scientists to turn away from researching more useful tech and delve into your anti-gravity dream... milord."

"See? Now was that so hard? Get to it Gretli! I want one of those Solar Cruisers by the turn of the century!"

Gretli grumbled in disbelief, turning and leaving the emperor alone. A wise decision, if he did say so himself.

RESEARCH BEGUN: Anti-gravity

Time till completion: NEVER

OOC: Also production report coming soon, I promise.

Edited by Alien Conspiracy, Apr 19 2012 - 08:05 PM.

[Xomeron]

OOC: That sounds good. With 260 Battalions, that'll cost 26 IP.

Also how much to invent a magnetic scanner?(the sort the Navy uses to detect submarines)

Edited by cardworkMagician, Apr 19 2012 - 08:04 PM.

[Judge Alex Humva]

OOC
And now I got informed by Lloyd you ripped it straight from WH40K. So yeah. Explain to me how it'll work with soldiers that aren't superhumanly strong and eight foot.

As for your magnet thing... Prof. Wiki isn't saying anything, so if you'd be so kind as to link me something that explains it, that'd be cool.

(or I could google it. But I'm lazy today)

[Xomeron]

OOC: The Bolters in 40k are usually a .75 cal armor piercing round, if you're thinking Spess Mehreehns. This one is a much much smaller round. Although 40k has human-sized ones too, if that means anything.

To quote Prof. Wiki,

A magnetometer is a measuring instrument used to measure the strength or direction of magnetic fields. Some countries, such as the USA,Canada and Australia classify the more sensitive magnetometers as military technology, and control their distribution.

Head down to 1.5 to see "Military"

Also check out "Magnetic Anomaly Detectors"

Edited by cardworkMagician, Apr 19 2012 - 08:17 PM.

[Judge Alex Humva]

OOC
Ok, cool, go ahead with the rifles.

As for the magnetics... erm, I give it fifty IP for two weeks, assuming you get stuff from Rover. Otherwise, three weeks.

Now, to delve into the conspiracy plot, which has been oh so sorely neglected.

IC [Aquileon]

The Aquileon police forces had found a case that was baffling their detectives. A Stan immigrate, a young woman in her mid twenties, had gone on a crime streak. The death count numbered four so far, with hundreds of thousands of Stan credits worth of possessions stolen. All motives seemed to point towards her seeking vengeance on some unruly neighbors, but it wasn't the motives but the methods that were puzzling. All victims had seemingly died in their sleep, in what would seem to be a stressful nightmare.

So the Aquileon Special Investigations were called in. They did, however, realize that they could use some foreign help in this matter, calling up the Stan equivalent, the Unexplained Cases Division. A bland name, but it worked.

[Standast]

The office was a a blend between messy and organized; to anyone who walked in it seemed like things were everywhere, in disarray, but in actuality there was method to the madness. Agent Benson was sitting in his chair as his partner, Agent Wilson, walked in, holding a folder.

"A case?" Benson asked.

"Two tickets to Aquileon; we've been called in by their foreign Special Investigations to assist in a case." He opened the folder, tossing a plastic card to Benson. "We've got a Dreamweaver, from what it looks like. Obvious murder, but the victims died in their sleep, untouched. They've got the woman responsible in custody, but they can't prove anything yet. We're getting the honors of helping them out in figuring out what's going on."

"I hear Aquileon's nice this time of year; shouldn't be too much trouble."

"Yeah, yeah, and you get to hang out with foreign women. Let's get moving."

Edited by Gaius Alex Humvus Augustus, Apr 19 2012 - 09:08 PM.

[Lloyd: the White Wolf]

IC: [Aquileon International Airport]

A white sedan was waiting on the tarmac as the two Stan investigators descended from the plane. A driver opened the side door for them and they slid in. The passenger-side seat was taken by another man in a black suit. His hair was black and he had a rakish grin. "Stan UCD, I presume?" he held out a hand and shook with them. "I've heard a bit about you. I'm Anatoly Ivanovich, with Special Investigations. "You've read the files, I presume. Anything you can tell us?"

[Judge Alex Humva]

IC [Aquileon]

"We've encountered the sort before." Benson began.

"The UCD, he means, not us, specifically." Wilson cut off.

"Schematics. Anywho, relatively speaking, it's not that uncommon in Standast. Our theory on these sorts of strange events is natural predominance in an art you've focused on. Pyrokinetics working around fire and whatnot. Stans have always been closely connected to their dreams, so it only makes sense."

"Problem is," Wilson continued, "that's relatively speaking. These things don't happen every day, so honestly our 'theories' are about as good as your guesses. We can, however, say that this woman is dangerous, if that hadn't been figured out already. Where's she being held?"

[Lloyd: the White Wolf]

IC: "We've got her in a holding cell out on one of the inner islets." Anatoly replied. "We should be at the port soon, if traffic doesn't clog. We've been able to reconstruct what happened at a few of the scenes, so we think we know her effective range. No one' allowed to sleep inside of it. Special Containment Procedures, of course."

~+~

Soon, they reached the port, where a speedboat was waiting to take them to the island.

[Judge Alex Humva]

IC [Aquileon]

On the way there, Benson began discussing the case further.

"I'm afraid the full files weren't sent over; we'll need access to the workups on the crime scenes, any eye witness accounts, the like. The more we know, the better. As well, I'd suggest alternating guard shifts. If she can lull people to sleep -and really, you don't have to be superhuman to do that-, it'll be bad. Give the guards a shot of caffeine and keep 'em fresh. And, of course, we'll need to talk to the woman herself. The motives seem to be revenge, but that doesn't explain why she stole so much."

[Lloyd: the White Wolf]

IC: Anatoly nodded. "Typical Foundation...censoring everything. Anyway, we'll get it once we get to the facility." He said. He spoke into a radio, forwarding the Stan investigators' recommendations to the facility.

~+~

it was an hour trip to the island, where they were put through extensive security checks. One of them was taken to retrieve the records, while the other was sent to view the prisoner.

[Toast of Awesomeness]

OOC: Superpowers exist now?