How far are we taking realism?

[Sean_ODuibher]

Well, I'm obviously pretty new here and just getting into the swing of things with my character on the YSS Genei. Even still, I'm already really, really impressed with the level of detail expressed throughout the works on this site. The sheer amount of thought that has obviously gone into the considerations of the technical workings of every single weapon, vehicle, and device present here is astounding. However, I do have a number of questions about SARP's dedication to modeling reality. I get that keeping the site viable for enjoyable role playing is the first objective, of course.

1) What exactly is the role of the various types of power armor/mecha in space? I understand it in a basic sense, that being rather obvious, but the reference material I've found makes it very unclear as to how armor is actually deployed/employed. Boarding parties make sense, but a lot of the weapons and systems seem designed for shipkilling.

2) How much do we stress Newtonian mechanics? I've looked at the maneuvering statistics, including the various speed limitations. Is there ever consideration for acceleration limitations? If so, what are the implications that have been established for powered armor? Essentially, if we're behaving in a Newtonian world, then a manned armor unit is definitely not going to be the most efficient weapon, even in combating other powered armors. Weapons like missiles should be at least four times more effective (that's not arbitrary, its based on the delta-v requirements for any given mission in space).

3) Is there a coherent tactical and strategic operating procedure, in this case particularly for the Star Army of Yamatai? The page on tactics is filled with a ton of individually valid points, but they do not form a cohesive whole, and many are contradictory to the ship- and weapon-building goals for Yamatai overall. I've endeavored to work up an analysis of the strategic and tactical requirements for cohesive SAoY-wide integration to complete the stated objectives for the next in game year (expansion, colonization, etc.). It is mainly a way for me to work through the concepts myself, but I'll be glad to post it when I finish it if anyone else is interested. But at present, there seem to be some ideas, like with the Yuuko-class U-boat wolfpack concept, but I haven't heard anything definitive.

At any rate, partial answers are totally welcome to any of these questions. I know I've asked a lot, and would be happy to split these into separate topics if that will help. In addition, I'll clarify my questions, concerns, and points if any of you feel you need more to answer my questions. Again, thanks, and I'm glad to be here.

 

[Wes]

1) What exactly is the role of the various types of power armor/mecha in space? I understand it in a basic sense, that being rather obvious, but the reference material I've found makes it very unclear as to how armor is actually deployed/employed. Boarding parties make sense, but a lot of the weapons and systems seem designed for shipkilling.

Each type of armor has a particular role--most are either for planetary use (infantry) for for use in space. For the most part, power armor is ineffective against ships and primarily used against other power armor.

2) How much do we stress Newtonian mechanics? I've looked at the maneuvering statistics, including the various speed limitations. Is there ever consideration for acceleration limitations? If so, what are the implications that have been established for powered armor? Essentially, if we're behaving in a Newtonian world, then a manned armor unit is definitely not going to be the most efficient weapon, even in combating other powered armors. Weapons like missiles should be at least four times more effective (that's not arbitrary, its based on the delta-v requirements for any given mission in space).

We've gone with speed standards as a matter of convenience, really. I think that the trend for using power armor to fight in space is decreasing in favor of torpedoes (ship launched and on torpedo bombers).

3) Is there a coherent tactical and strategic operating procedure, in this case particularly for the Star Army of Yamatai? The page on tactics is filled with a ton of individually valid points, but they do not form a cohesive whole, and many are contradictory to the ship- and weapon-building goals for Yamatai overall. I've endeavored to work up an analysis of the strategic and tactical requirements for cohesive SAoY-wide integration to complete the stated objectives for the next in game year (expansion, colonization, etc.). It is mainly a way for me to work through the concepts myself, but I'll be glad to post it when I finish it if anyone else is interested. But at present, there seem to be some ideas, like with the Yuuko-class U-boat wolfpack concept, but I haven't heard anything definitive.

I updated the page last night with what I think is a helpful, honest look at the way the Star Army works:

https://wiki.stararmy.com/doku.php?id=stararmy:tactics

 

[MoonMan]

1) What exactly is the role of the various types of power armor/mecha in space? I understand it in a basic sense, that being rather obvious, but the reference material I've found makes it very unclear as to how armor is actually deployed/employed. Boarding parties make sense, but a lot of the weapons and systems seem designed for shipkilling.

This differs from nation to nation, but it's generally accepted that mecha and powered armorsuits are used to fight other mecha and powered armorsuits. Although the weapons might seem like they could destroy a starship all on their own, we try to keep things on a more sensible level. It would take a sizable force of men to defeat a dedicated warship, even with the most advanced infantry weapons.

Starships, most of the time, have thousands of dedicated point-defense guns with a specific role of blowing always pesky gnats like power armor and mecha. So a majority of mecha and power armor combat is seen either on the ground or inside of ships themselves during boarding action.

2) How much do we stress Newtonian mechanics? I've looked at the maneuvering statistics, including the various speed limitations. Is there ever consideration for acceleration limitations? If so, what are the implications that have been established for powered armor? Essentially, if we're behaving in a Newtonian world, then a manned armor unit is definitely not going to be the most efficient weapon, even in combating other powered armors. Weapons like missiles should be at least four times more effective (that's not arbitrary, its based on the delta-v requirements for any given mission in space).

From what I've seen, we seem to follow a mix between keeping it real and the Rule of Cool...which states that suspension of belief can be used if the article in question has some really good roleplay potential.

Although I'm not the best person to ask about our starship parameters, I think it's widely believed that acceleration isn't that big a factor for anything Faster-than-Light since...to my knowledge anyway...they have near instantaneous acceleration. This might factor more into the slower-than-light drives, although I haven't run across an instance where it meant life or death yet.

This is the reason we actually *have* powered armor and the like; it's safe to say that a vast majority don't find it very fun dropping bombs from above while sitting in big, starship chairs. They want to be mixed up in the action, guns-a-blazin'. That's most likely why you don't see as much unmanned anti-infantry things as you would in a more realistic setting; it's just not that fun.

3) Is there a coherent tactical and strategic operating procedure, in this case particularly for the Star Army of Yamatai? The page on tactics is filled with a ton of individually valid points, but they do not form a cohesive whole, and many are contradictory to the ship- and weapon-building goals for Yamatai overall. I've endeavored to work up an analysis of the strategic and tactical requirements for cohesive SAoY-wide integration to complete the stated objectives for the next in game year (expansion, colonization, etc.). It is mainly a way for me to work through the concepts myself, but I'll be glad to post it when I finish it if anyone else is interested. But at present, there seem to be some ideas, like with the Yuuko-class U-boat wolfpack concept, but I haven't heard anything definitive.

Well, that's Yamatai territory. Although I do have a Yamataian character myself, I'm still a Nepleslian GM and must admit I don't know everything about our friendly neighbors. Wes would be the best person to talk to in order to get a more in-depth analysis.



Welcome to Star Army, by the way.