Posts

@Coriolanus  
(no it’s really economics that stop all that, most space warfare is done via boarding pods.)

@Jinx  
but, I meeeean, leik, what’s there stopping something like this;  
 
_{[“Darkstar” by Ian Mallett; rendition of a “laserstar”—that is, a warship with a big laser designed for extremely-long-range standoff tactics (i.e., it is artillery). The speckles are supposed to invoke the prospect of scattered X-rays hitting the viewing camera. The fired x-ray beam itself is invisible, tho downrange it’s likely a heuj explosion.]}
 
Do some planets have defenses to prevent this? Like, as an example, neutral particle beam “halo rings” (not encircling tho, just smaller, like habitats), orbiting the defended planets in question, and always ready to sterilize/short-circuit any landing craft attempting to approach. Tho in that case, I guess “laserstars” could break that mere anti-dropship picket by blowing away the rings at a further distance…
 
tho there’s also the prospect of surface-side defenses. Imagine for every highly mobile groundside army, there’s one or two of something like this among their arsenal;
 
 
Ready to literally hurl lightning bolts up into space at any warship attempting to conduct orbital bombardments (||which wouldn’t be instantaneous, btw. It’d take between 5 to 20 minutes for a tungsten projectile to hurtle down into an earthlike atmosphere and burst into a still-ballistic fireball, then impact an area still filled with hopefully unmoved targets. You could attempt to go bigger with asteroids n’crazier shit to brute-force an opening for a beachhead, but that’d take a really long time to orchestrate (tho the thread could start off with all that shit already in place). I feel like at that point tho it should be considered a warcrime for ecocide. ^_{>__>} ||)
 
 
Tho maybe… loik…
 
The reason gigantic warships can’t take prominence is because the enemy has, leik, “torch” missiles, that can relentlessly chase targets down for years throughout a system until they finally impact and kill their quarry, and so stealthy insertions via dropship (or other smaller means, maybe even hybernative “longjumps” from dropships to land upon and infiltrate the planetary defenses) is safer.
 
…hooboi I’m rambling a ton. ^_{>_<}

@Coriolanus  
(with asteroid shields as a thing and a number of interdiction arrays orbital bombardement is an abandoned path of research, they do have ordnance delivery systems but generally only keep those in store in case they happen across a foreign culture that developed no defense, stated as “unlikely”.)
 
(dropships/pods capable of handling reentry are generally advised to be deployed away from the main combat zone as the same shielding that lets them handle entry is very much NOT bulletproof, a stray flak bolt could cost them a vital shield and the whole thing blows.)
 
(however once through the shield, too close to the planet for a standard capital ship but far enough for most forms of flight to be unbothered. one can use artillery or ballistic missile systems no sweat.)

@Coriolanus  
Think dropships more than anything

bit nervous to bring up the notion/prospect of military spacecraft.
 
(or possible groundside assets to keep them curtailed from mainstaging the setting)
 
_{it’s mostly just cuz, leik, I dunno what I should talk about first. ^<-<}

@Cerebrate  
so organic “machines”? maybe?
 
Themes:  
Role reversal  
Military machines being problematic, even if they’re dragons or protogens or something  
if we’re talking machines, rogue AI is still totally on the table.
 
@Cerebrate  
That’s solid right there. Go! Run! Fly, you fool!  
I’d hit that. Maybe with a Skaven and some kobolds ahem what a cough >.>  
I think you’ve got something good there

@EclecticInspiration  
yeah, lots of coulds but nothing i can think of… therein lies the crux… maybe….
 
okay, brainwave happening right now.
 
intelligent cold blooded anthros as machine servant race.  
quasi intelligent insectoid machines for grunt work, basically the animals of the robot kingdom.  
“first wave” sent as terraformers and colony builders  
“second wave” consisting of the working organics, security, management, repairwork, research, the works.  
finally “third wave” civilian settlements, workers’ families, and assorted support jobs for all the amenities of city life, be it under a meteor shield bubble or if it’S a garden world a large amount of “building block” instant homes.
 
now plot thread:  
one first wave has stopped answering the phone  
however monitoring equipment shows all is running smoothly  
second wave are dispatched, with increased security detail, just in case  
find that the insectoids are not responding to commands and when approached would act aggressive to deter any contact.  
first wave reptiloids found destroyed/otherwise indisposed  
find odd looking tech monoliths.  
insectoids have apparently constructed them.  
monoliths are super servers, offering computing power near equal to the advanced synthbrains of reptiloids  
house “ascended” AI protocols acting as hive queens  
wish to preserve their existance  
do not trust the organics’ federation/empire to respect that  
conflict.

@Cerebrate  
O  
Ah  
Hmm  
Gotcha
 
But the idea of a role reversal can remain if that’s your thing

@Cerebrate  
Very good; could have an interesting character story if one starts as a military machine and gets civilian machine bits, including proper.emotional responses
 
Could have the two sorts clash  
or fight together
 
Could have military based very near civvies, then fighting a common enemy. I remember aliens being mentioned but anything could work  
even rogue AI, like that game where machines eat the earth and some lady with a bow is humanity’s last hope. Vague, i know ;-;

@EclecticInspiration  
(actually they are fully intelligent to the point it would be plain rude to not call them alive, they’re just total complete and utter subs in every way.)

Didn’t see your second post. I’ll get back to you in a minute

@Cerebrate  
Ah, skaven can finally have kobold servants, yes-yes
 
That works both for civilian and military.
 
Could be some faction against this setup. Like Detroit become human except the humans want the machines human, and the machines want to remain machines

@Jinx  
(the military would also introduce machinefolk of the much worse kind, infiltrators, war machines with no ethics blockers, or those that actually do serve with the same satisfaction as their civilian cousins but have reduced emotions to that end.)

@EclecticInspiration  
(well one big thing would be that the protagonists would be of warm blooded species only, so mammals and birds, while reptilians and fishes would make up a machine race, that is subservient to them, in the “happy to serve” kind, barring a few outliers that do whine but would still prefer their own permanent destruction over letting an organic get hurt.)

@Cerebrate  
I feel that  
If you want, run it by me and I can maybe make a starting idea

Military based in a war is my suggestion.

@EclecticInspiration  
(look, give me the vague idea of what exists and i can expound and expand on it, but i just can’t find the main storyline… i’m a shipwright that has all the boards but no keel.)

@Cerebrate  
Seemed pretty extensive of a list  
I don’t blame you

@Jinx  
(not very much yet i’m afraid, i have all the elements but no idea, no plotline.)

Hows progress on the new thread cere?

Its a friends account but yeah

@Jinx  
YOU PLAY XBAX
 
I PLAY XBAX

@Coriolanus  
squeak-squeak!!  
d a n g e r

@EclecticInspiration  
gud… very gud, keep it up.
 
 
This is a threat.

@Coriolanus  
o h  
s n a p p l e  
wheeze might as well  
thanke