Closed Let the Mindy Stealth- Minimize/negate heat output

[Ametheliana]

Alright, my first suggestion!!

The Mindy 4 can stealth in most ways but one glaring disadvantage is that it can be picked up on heat sensors. I suggest we allow the mindy 4 to stealth its heat signature under certain conditions.

Conditions that a mindy can stealth its heat signature:
1) if it has not teleported in the last 10 minutes
2) if weapons have not fired in 5 minutes
3) if aether plasma engines have not been active in the last 5 minutes

: D

 

[Andrew]

I read the above just now when I woke up, suddenly what was a suggestion for an improvement/alternative for the Mindy has become a place to defend another armor. The way I see it is this, there is room for both of these armors in the Star Army.

The Mindy is always going to be a multi-role platform, it was designed to be modular and to perform a wide variety of mission types. Meanwhile, something like the TARSA is a highly specialized armor that is designed to fit a niche. Naturally, the niche armor is going to have a superior standing in its area of specialization, while the Mindy is always going to be that swap-in, swap-out multi-role equipment. Something like a TARSA is s mission-specific piece of equipment, but it doesn't have the availability of the Mindy so it is going to appear on specialized or larger ship classes. Smaller ships due to their limits of storage and space are probably going to keep stocking the Mindy. So I think the entire premise of this turning into defending one design over the other is moot....therefore as someone who has been entrusted with the stewardship of Yamatai, I'm going to point out that this suggestion should remain in the realm of suggestions for stealth variant and stealth accessories for the Mindy.

@Ametheliana @SirSkully

 

[Fred]

You can blame your Star Army - See what you have missed e-mail for me showing up.
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I'm just going to write the first thing that occured to me when I read this thread's title, as reading it really didn't dissuage my initial impression:

Isn't the kind of stealth the Mindy (and nekos) used called thermoptic stealth? Wasn't it tweaked to thwart Mishhuvurthyar targeting sensor, whom where very reliant on using infrared in their targeting (or so I gathered from reading their ships/pods).

I don't think an adjustment to LAMIA-style stealth is untoward. I'd just like it to play well with what was previously established. Maybe Mishhu used infrared because it was able to catch Mindy armors, who'se thermoptic stealth was really only of use when being very low activity. As long as it makes sense, I'm mostly okay with it.

I'm unfamilliar with the TARSA, so I won't hazard an opinion on it. Going cold at it, my impression is that a stealth suit better than the Mindy at hiding a higher energy output - would be to actually be thicker skin to have better heat shielding (the Mindy is so very thin), and have ways of stifling said heat emissions for a longer amount of time. That would permit the stealthy-alternative a larger range of options when being discrete. It also would have the hazard of gradually cooking the armor's content until the heat is released.

 

[Ametheliana]

@Fred it would be an update that came in YE 43, not something that was always available. We could even say enemies such as the Mishhu that were able to target the Mindy via thermooptics were reasons for wanting to make this update, ICly. But I don't think it was ever tweaked to be able to stealth heat. Maybe it was but the 4 didn't receive that tweak?

 

[Fred]

If I recall an obscure reference correctly, it was ill-adviced that the Mindy teleporter be used through stealth/sensor blocked areas since it could scramble you on arrival or you'd teleport into something and be dead.

If you're looking for the rationale of "Why did the Mark 4 not have it before, and why could it have it now", it could simply be that R&D chose not to give the Mindy IV the full-featured stealth capabilities to increase the teleporter's efficacity. It could be that the teleporter tech has been refined enough since then to afford the Mindy IV a stronger stealth package.

Considering the availability of thermoptic camouflage on unarmored nekos and past Mindy models, I struggle to see why the Mindy IV would need an exclusive variant for it. Just implement said change, alter the letter at the end of the model number, and done.

Wes had a concern over it being overpowered... but this really isn't a new precedent in armor stealth. Nothing is being broken except the oversight that the Mindy IV should have probably already added this. Also, I actually think Ametheliana's listed caveats make sense and concretize how a Mindy IV can run silent.

Andrew evidently believes the Mindy IV is such a workhorse in a navy of small vessels with limited cargo room that they'd go for something multi-purpose, reinforcing my assertion that a special variant is not needed. His proposal is a nice peace offering to SirSkully, but thermoptic stealth is... just so trivial to Yamatai. Making it a modular add-on feels like it would just untrivialize it... which feels wierd to me.

I get the distress SirSkully could have over this, but experience tells me this is normal. The TARSA wouldn't be the first niche suit of armor. Jake and I both made the Sylph and the Harpy; both were niche unpowered models to the Mindy, and they only worked when the GM wanted to showcase them. Otherwise, they fell to the wayside really hard. The Daisy probably should have shared the safe fate, though it didn't, which is something I'm at a loss to explain even today. I'm not unsympathetic about the TARSA, but this predicament was bound to happen.

I've made most of my arguments. It's up to the steward to make his ruling (which I feel he already has, and I intend to respect that... but at the same time I was tagged, and I can be transparent with my opinion without meaning to be a dissenting voice).

 

[raz]

I don’t really think the TARSA is relevant to the suggestion at hand whatsoever. The original submission was purpose built for Rangers and Wes had to come in and tell the submitter that he couldn’t make it exclusive to the Rangers. It’s not really a factor worth discussing.

From an in-character developmental standpoint, we still do need a stealth Mindy. They are likely in constant development despite no Star Army-wide release. The SAINT page itself features Khasidel’s m2-1i as an “in development” picture beside the R&D subheading, and @Rizzo has a stealth Mindy refit page in WIP. Maybe getting Rizzo’s article to completion would satisfy this thread’s suggestion.

 

[demibear]

The Daisy is in the process of having a slow death.

 

[Andrew]

Ke-M2-i "Shadow Mindy" Refit on Star Army Space Roleplay I think this is the article @raz is pointing at.

I don’t really think the TARSA is relevant to the suggestion at hand whatsoever. The original submission was purpose built for Rangers and Wes had to come in and tell the submitter that he couldn’t make it exclusive to the Rangers. It’s not really a factor worth discussing.

From an in-character developmental standpoint, we still do need a stealth Mindy. They are likely in constant development despite no Star Army-wide release. The SAINT page itself features Khasidel’s m2-1i as an “in development” picture beside the R&D subheading, and @Rizzo has a stealth Mindy refit page in WIP. Maybe getting Rizzo’s article to completion would satisfy this thread’s suggestion.

 

[raz]

I think the major reason that was stalled was because it unnecessarily reduced the shielding and defensible capabilities. It’s still a good skeleton upon which to build, though, given Wes’s outlines in this thread.

 

[Ametheliana]

Honestly, enough people upvoted and then enough people downvoted for me to see this suggestion is not something SARP is ready for/ wants at this time. I guess we'll have to keep saying a downside of the Mindy is the thermal signature without anyone ever writing that as a way enemies see Mindy in RP.

 

[Wes]

I'll give this a few days and see what the votes say.

It's only been posted as an idea since yesterday.

 

[Wes]

It looks like we were unable to get a consensus on this suggestion so I'm closing it.

I do plan on making some tweaks to the Mindy, though.