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NMX - Planetary Anti-Starship Battery

Contrary to the other submission Nashoba just put out, I've absolutely no problem with planet-based defenses.

This one looks pretty good, and I can clearly picture nice RP opportunities that could crop up regarding planets with such installations on them.

*thumbs up* Good stuff, man. :)
 
I personally think it is a bit excessive, considering the defense platform is technically stronger than the planet it would be attached to, which makes little sense considering it is made out of durandium and concrete.

Additionally, no power source is listed.
 
Doc, the reason no power source is listed, is because there is no Official listing of what the NMX use for power. I presume it would be Aether, but need to get that ruling from Wes.
 
I strongly suggest changing the main weapon to a laser from a plasma cannon. While a laser can cut through an atmosphere with little problem (you'll see a massive beam, but not much heat in comparison. It also isn't really hurt by having to fight gravity.) A plasma ball such as the one described will end up generating a massive pressure wave like a nuke going off on the facility every time it is fired.

Unless of course the idea is to torch everything around the weapon when it fires which is very much a possibility with NMX equipment.
 
Plasma Weapons Do Not Work like that in SARP, Uso.

Plasma bolts in SARP are generally contained by a magnetic field, And a pressure wave is to be expected from huge artillery.

As well, lasers suffer from the Inverse Square Law, and have horrible range in atmosphere.


Just as well, Doc, It makes sense that a planetary defense bunker will be more resistant to damage.
 
Superheated plasma is still superheated.

The magnetic containment thing works much better in space where there is no other electrical source to disrupt it. In a planet's atmosphere it will leak and superheated plasma that is no longer contained magnetically will end up expanding very fast and depending on the amount you'll either end up with hand grenade or mini-nuke.

In addition to this problem a magnetic field does nothing to stop heat and light from escaping the plasma. Even if you did have perfect containment the heat and light is still going to get out and superheat the air around the contained plasma ball. This superheated air is going to act just like the nuclear wind from an a-bomb, creating a damaging pressure wave.

Lasers also don't suffer from the Inverse Square Law. They do suffer from blooming which isn't an issue an an atmosphere when using adaptive optics (technology we have today). The rule of thumb here is that if technology is sufficient for a space based laser to hit ground targets it is considerably easier for a ground based laser to hit targets in space.

As for pressure waves being created by huge artillery, that isn't necessarily the case. The pressure wave from artillery is mainly from the explosive charge that propels the projectile going off. As such rail guns have considerably less of a shock wave as they use electromagnetism to propel their projectile. The only shock wave will come from the projectile itself passing through the atmosphere. Lasers will also have virtually no shock wave as they will only superheat the air directly in their path, with a resulting thunderbolt like sound at these power levels.
 
Uso,
The warhead in this case is contained in a force field, not a magnetic field. Which means that the containment force field would be tuned to keep those factors you mentioned from leaking.
 
Okay, how about this....

A force field (shaped like a tube) extends from the end of each cannon to space, a partial vacuum is present inside this tube.

This force field has the dual roles of first protecting the surrounding area as well as guiding the plasma projectile towards the target.

The partial vacuum present in the tube will help isolate the plasma's magnetic containment from other electrical sources disrupting it as well as negating any presser wave from occurring.
 
Forcefields in this setting are transparent. Even if it was jet black thermal energy would still conduct through which would in turn cause the pressure wave regardless of the configuration of the field.
 
I have to agree with Uso on the awkwardness of plasma versus a laser-style weapon. Plasma is really more like a flamethrower than anything else in SARP, from the incarnations it previously had.

So, a big laser might be contextually better. However, I'm personally fine either way - I don't care nearly as much for the specifics and would much prefer just focus on the intent.
 
Fred said:
I have to agree with Uso on the awkwardness of plasma versus a laser-style weapon. Plasma is really more like a flamethrower than anything else in SARP, from the incarnations it previously had.

So, a big laser might be contextually better. However, I'm personally fine either way - I don't care nearly as much for the specifics and would much prefer just focus on the intent.
Click to expand...


Fred, remember, a Laser would have most of its energy drained by the atmosphere.
 
Fred, remember, a Laser would have most of its energy drained by the atmosphere.
Click to expand...

Actually that is entirely untrue. We can bounce a laser off the moon and receive it on earth now so punching through the atmosphere isn't going to be very difficult for a weapon level laser. Adaptive optics can compensate for the distortion of the atmosphere and at the power levels we are talking about (enough energy to send a ball of plasma into space) the atmosphere is going to take away very little energy from the beam.

So a Laser is contextually much better.
 
I recall Zakalwe once mentioned to me that laser-style weapons were susceptible to something called 'atmospheric blooming', which made them less reliable when used in a planet's atmosphere... but it didn't sound like a major drawback.
 
A Weapon grade laser is different from a laser meant for measuring.

It isn't a matter of breaking through the atmosphere, its a matter of doing enough damage to something to be useful.


I, personally, say that this thing should just use really big Railguns.
 
Or, we can get past the scientific debate (and be cheap) and make this cannon use something different (And unknown to PCkind) entirely. I mean, the energy source is completely different (Possibly), so why can't the weapons be?
 
Okay first off to have a laser that can fry a ship would do as much damage as a plasma cannon.

As you know a laser is intensely focused light and a anti-ship grade laser would have to be horrendously powerful.

The light leaving the cannon after it fires must first pass through the atmosphere of the planet it is on.

This would cause the laser to pass on its thermal energy to the surrounding air causing the 'atmospheric blooming' Zakalwe mentioned.

‘Atmospheric blooming’ is where the thermal energy of the laser temporally turns the atmosphere in its path into a plasma, defeating the whole purpose of using a laser instead of a plasma.
 
All of which is solved, today, by using adaptive optics. This technique involves firing a small laser to calculate the distortion caused by the atmosphere. The second killing laser is then distorted in such a way that the atmosphere refocuses the beam instead of causing it to bloom.

Unlike a plasma cannon a laser would retain more of its energy when passing through the atmosphere, would not destroy the area around the launch site, and would generally be more effective than a plasma cannon in every way.

Though this is detracting from the 'plasma ball destroying everything around its launcher' thing.
 
Well the Repeller is not going to have lasers. Does not have the desired effect.

I have updated the plasma cannon, the charges are now contained within a force-field reinforced Yamataium casing. Thus ending the discussion of what the weapon should be.

Also since the NMX seem to be using standard Yamatai tech, I have added note saying that the Repeller has its own Aether Generator.
 
Well, no one has had any other complaints or insights thus far, and it is a decently solid submission.

Approved.
 
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