Uniform Updates for the Star Army of Yamatai

[Wes]

I'm actually missing the old rank badge pins a bit lately. I was thinking about how to resolve this, and I think I've come up with a solution: Use the Type 35 top in two levels of formality.

• Class A Uniform: Type 35 Duty Uniform with rank pin and medal ribbons worn. Dress shoes and dress slacks only. Formal wear.
  
• Class B Uniform: Type 35 Duty Uniform without rank pin or ribbons. Can be worn with the light blue cargo pants like the Type 22 (Old school original male uniform) and boots. Everyday/office wear.

Thoughts?

 

[DocTomoe]

Ahem, a sensible solution, why don't you issue yarvex pantyhose or stockings?

 

[Wes]

So I was looking through fictional uniforms on DeviantArt and I came across the old Star Army Field Uniform art we commissioned back in 2010. The uniform was done any with a while back because the Star Army basically didn't use light (read: non-power amor) infantry. Our soldiers would be either wearing their DAISY armor to be combat-ready or hanging around the ship/camp in their green coveralls or working blues. There was no regular situation where the field uniform was needed.

But a lot of people were upset that it was removed from the Star Army's list, and does seem like a waste of good art. So I was thinking that maybe it should come back, if we could find a reason for that. So I'm asking what you guys can come up with.

Also need feedback for:

• Splitting the Type 35 into an (Fancy) and B (Everyday) configuration.
• Tracksuits and other exercise uniform updates

Other Star Army uniform stuff on my brain:

• Legion-specific uniforms
• Sweater uniform to bring back a Type 30 look, which a lot of people liked
• Star Army Ushankas
• Uesu Fleet's uniforms

 

[Nashoba]

I still think the Star Army Field Uniform has a place especially with the Legions in garrison situations. An outpost base could use these for their sentries without having to power up aether powered armor which can be detected.

As for ships, they could be used for the same reasons. A recon team that wishes to avoid using high energy signature equipment.

Exercise uniforms could use some love.

I would need some more information on the Type 35 Formal vs Type 35 Duty, the concept has merit but I want more specifics.

So the sweater would look like the under layer of the Type 30 and characters could opt to attach panels via velcro or such?

 

[Lamb]

The idea of Uesu Fleet uniforms is of interest to me. I like the concept of the Uesu Fleet, and every time I play an older Yamataian character, I try to have them remember the Emperor or the plague or anything at all. We have a really cool history that's rarely ever explored because so much of it is muddled with stuff from another era, when Star Army fooled with multiverse nonsense and all. I really like Yamatai's "Rings of the Master" style backstory with old gods that turned out to be machines. I also really like the idea of the Emperor Who Left; and I've often thought of how his remaining servants would remember him.

One of my fantasies for a chapter of some Yamataian plot has always been the discovery of a small ship that had gotten catastrophically seperated from Uesu's fleet, a crew exploring this vessel and uncovering some buried pieces of history, trying to figure out what happened to this ship and perhaps also get some clues as to where Uesu's Fleet was headed at the time. I think there could be some real ghost ship vibes going on, as well as some cool moments for characters to learn something about their nation's history. Alas, I have no other chapter ideas for such a plot and my ambitions towards Yamataian plots are more towards things like starting a YNP plot that would take place in Kyoto, on the streets of the utopian metropolis itself where one is more likely to encounter a statue of Uesu than a remnant from his fleet.

Anyhow, pointless digression aside-- I often think of the Uesu Fleet's uniforms as well. What are you imagining, Wes? I've always imagined something closer to a traditional Norse huntsman's attire with some Japanese flair-- brought up to modern times with a little symmetry and the occasional zipper. As we all know, zippers are the hallmark of modern fashion. Just a quick jot of what I mean, thanks to MSPaint.

I've also considered that maybe the pants might be a hakama or straight up knee-length skirt, but that doesn't work into boots very well. So I thought some pleated white slacks could go with WWII-era Japanese Navy type stuff. I'm not an artist, so I don't think this renders more than a basic idea; but maybe you can tell me if this is the kind of thing you were imagining, or if maybe you had something more contemporary in mine (ala oldschool bodysuit uniform with some changes to make it look dated).

 

[Wes]

Since Uesu departed in YE 30, I figure the uniforms his section of the Star Army would be based on the original (YE 22) Star Army of Yamatai uniforms, but taking their own diverging path. I was thinking that I'd like them to be a sort of a more teal color than the Yamatai flag color the current Star Army uniforms use. Also his fleets were basically crewed entirely by Nekovalkyrja, so we should expect to see something like the classic skin-tight bodysuits they all wore.

Inspirations:

Futuristic look, heavy front zipper, maybe a pattern of some sort. Tactical accessories worn over it.

 

[Aendri]

I'm a big fan of the bodysuits, I'm all for bringing them back for Uesu. He always seemed like the type to stick to the traditional uniform style, if nothing else.

 

[Rizzo]

Non powered combat armor would be good if war broke out the navy could use it for ground ops that restrict the use of power armor, like tight quarters.
I'm also a fan of the bodysuit uniforms but not Samus style. It is still a military uniform, of course. I think the STARS chick under Samus would be much more functional for combat and would offer better protection where it's needed.

 

[Aendri]

The bodysuits aren't meant for protection. They're a leftover from a time before the legions, when all non-ship combat in the Star Army was done in PAs. It's meant to be skintight for usage in tight maintenance corridors, and engineering areas where having nothing sticking out but the absolute minimum is a positive. It's also a relevant piece of how power armor inserts used to work, where you were supposed to be naked to get in the armor, meaning the less stuff you had to deal with to get nekkid fast, the better. Plus, sexy, futuristic looking bodysuits are just awesome.

 

[Soresu]

The only protective portions of the bodysuits were the colored panels. Which had some sort of anti-energy weapon based coating, it'd help weather a shot if you were lucky and or appeased the GM gods. Or weave or whatever. The rest of it was more or less straight uniform.

 

[Wes]

They're a leftover from a time before the legions, when all non-ship combat in the Star Army was done in PAs.

Just for clarification purposes, we do still use power armor for basically all infantry combat, and all Legion soldiers are issued a set of DAISY M6 power armor to wear.

The only protective portions of the bodysuits were the colored panels. Which had some sort of anti-energy weapon based coating, it'd help weather a shot if you were lucky and or appeased the GM gods. Or weave or whatever. The rest of it was more or less straight uniform.

Normal Star Army uniforms don't have this feature. It was only standard on the Type 30A Female uniform, the sleeveless one with the shiny boobs.

I would need some more information on the Type 35 Formal vs Type 35 Duty, the concept has merit but I want more specifics.

So the sweater would look like the under layer of the Type 30 and characters could opt to attach panels via velcro or such?

I'm not sure what else there is to say about the Type Type 35A and Type 35B, than what I already posted:

I'm actually missing the old rank badge pins a bit lately. I was thinking about how to resolve this, and I think I've come up with a solution: Use the Type 35 top in two levels of formality.

• Class A Uniform: Type 35 Duty Uniform with rank pin and medal ribbons worn. Dress shoes and dress slacks only. Formal wear.
  
• Class B Uniform: Type 35 Duty Uniform without rank pin or ribbons. Can be worn with the light blue cargo pants like the Type 22 (Old school original male uniform) and with boots. Everyday/office wear.

Still not sure about the sweater design.

 

[Lamb]

As for Uesu uniforms, I'm not entirely surprised by the whole bodysuit thing, I only thought that maybe the uniforms might be different because there was some kinda 'Elite Royal Guard' crap going on. As for how the bodysuit might've evolved differently-- I think we should take into account that Uesu's Fleet is a purely spacefaring one. I.E. very little to no planetary occupation. These people live aboard the ships.

With this in mind, I think the natural evolution of the uniform would be to make it more functional than anything else. There's no need to look snappy because everyone you see is everyone you know; so there's no hiding your nature. These people have probably seen each other in every state of attire. I think a bodysuit would probably be trimmed down in its already small parts list. Where there was once a belt with holsters and such, there is now a dedicated pouch built right onto the suit where those things go. I think they would also add a sealing system to the neck so some quick headgear could be donned in case of a short-term depressurization. I also imagine that the array of fleet pins and insignias would be boiled down to just one or two patches-- though I think one patch would really be enough.

I mean, we don't need to know what fleet you're in. You're in Uesu's Fleet. The only fleet. For all you know, your entire people have died out and you are a member of the last remaining populace. We don't need to know whether you're in the Legion, or if you're a Marine, or if you're a sailor. Because you're just a sailor no matter how you pitch it. You could just have one uniform patch that lists name, rank, and occupation before calling it quits. This streamlines things AND saves resources.

 

[Gunsight1]

I personally really miss the Type 30 30B sweater uniforms. Those were the main one in use when I came in and Ive always liked them since I first saw them. Have been bummed since they were taken out of use. The 35 is nice, but the 30 30B is better to me.

As for using the badges and pins again, yes, please. They are really cool and it's a shame that we have them and that they are not part of the current uniform. Ive always been a fan of fancy fancy military uniforms. (going through the Hornblower TV miniseries right now and just remembering how much I love the Royal Navy uniforms from the late 1700's to mid 1800's!)

Lamb, that uniform concept you posted above is so sweet! If Uesu is gonna use a body suit for regular duty, maybe this could be a dress/formal uniform?

 

[Nashoba]

@Wes

Your post said

Splitting the Type 35 into an (Fancy) and B (Everyday) configuration.

So I want to know what you consider "Fancy" because if it just means wearing the black coat. That's not fancy.

For a fancy uniform, I would like to see a longer version of the jacket. Something that medals could be worn on and the Rank Pins could be worn on the collar or the epaulets.

 

[Wes]

I am simply proposing a formal and informal way to wear the same Type 35 jacket we already have. As for a different jacket, that would make it a whole new uniform, wouldn't it?

The black coat would not be affected by having two modes of the duty uniform.

 

[Nashoba]

A long coat for 'fancy' or 'formal' would be a variant. Type 35 Formal, vs Type 35 Duty. Most militaries have a distinct Dress Uniform which is different from the Duty uniform.

 

[CadetNewb]

In regards to the Field Uniform, there's always a use for them, even if it may not be obvious at a first glance.

It would be in some situation where they wouldn't be wearing the Duty Uniform, a Jumpsuit or the Power Armor. This would most likely be something considered 'nation building' - where they're patrolling the streets and working with the locals (either their own or someone else's) and constant use of PA everywhere simply isn't practical. A power armored soldier and a young woman who's face you can see send two very different messages. That's just one example though. Alternatively, they can also be base guards, protecting against not PA, but any unlawfuls or infiltrators that simply wouldn't be able to penetrate that far with PA. Military Police is also another good example of where they can be used. A Neko disables the option to specifically metabolize alcohol and gets rowdy. Who you gonna call? The one to respond is unlikely to have been sitting in their PA, waiting for something like this. And definitely not someone in a bodysuit considering everyone has sidearms.

Talking about the Uesu uniforms, a bodysuit would be the way to go - I disagree on pouches being integrated since it takes away modularity though. The arrangement of colored panels would be the biggest visible change, and it'd make more sense if they also came with some EVA ability. Some provision where the neck/collar could seal with a helmet real quick to prevent them from dying of exposure.

And gunsight brings up a different but well known matter entirely - the Type 30 Duty Uniform was simply the best we had.

 

[Wes]

Okay, here's the Type 35A (Fancy) uniform:

Notice:

1. Rank pin is back
2. Medal ribbons are worn.
3. New authorized location for foreign award pins

The Type 35B would be the same as above, but with nothing worn on the chest, and boots and cargo pants authorized.

 

[Gunsight1]

Other than having pins on it, looks like the exact same uniformbas before, i would do something to make it stand out more as a dress uniform, longer, fancy trim, elaborate epaulettes maybe.

I think the rank pin should go back in the center at like it was before on the old uniforms, looks odd on the side.

Also, Hanako needs to buy a bigger hat

 

[Wes]

Other than having pins on it, looks like the exact same uniformbas before, i would do something to make it stand out more as a dress uniform, longer, fancy trim, elaborate epaulettes maybe.

That's because it is the same uniform. The whole point of this is that I'm trying not to create a new uniform to replace the existing duty uniform. I want to use what we already have, just in a slightly different way. So the uniform hasn't changed, it's just now there are two modes of wearing it (fancy and everyday).

I think the rank pin should go back in the center at like it was before on the old uniforms, looks odd on the side.

Except for the Type 30 uniforms, it's always been on the side since the Star Army was created. Since the Type 35 is a revamp of Star Army's original uniforms, it follows that rank badge pins should be back where they started. Also it looked weird in the center when I tried that at the same time as the medals.