#armament configurations

[historyofguns]

The article by Richard Johnson on "The Armory Life" explores the history and significance of the Martin PBM Mariner, a versatile twin-engine flying boat used by the U.S. Navy in World War II and the Korean War. Known for its role in anti-submarine patrols and transporting supplies, the PBM Mariner could carry up to twelve 50-caliber machine guns and substantial bomb loads, significantly contributing to naval warfare. Johnson recounts the harrowing experiences of flight engineers like Herbert “Johnny” Johnson and highlights the aircraft's unique capabilities, such as being able to take off and land on water and utilize Jet-Assisted Take-Off (JATO) canisters. The article also notes the PBM's use in Dumbo missions, rescuing stranded pilots, and its deployment by various Allied countries, emphasizing its pivotal contributions to military operations over decades.

[boinkingbattlemechs]

HGN-732bM "Old Bird's Nest"

Manufactured specifically for Commanding General Melissa Hazen at the direct order of ilClan Ward, the HGN-732bM was designed to be as much a prototype of the HGN-732Ib "ilClan Highlander" as it was a command 'Mech for the newly resurrected Royal Black Watch. Stuffed to the gills with advanced systems for defense, mobility, and communication, as well as a impressive arsenal nearly equal to that of the original HGN-732b, the one-off prototype 'Mech has already come be known as the "Old Bird's Nest", an affectionate nickname referring to Commanding General Hazen's advanced chronological age, and how much time she spends in the Mechbay, personally tinkering with and adjusting the 'Mech to her liking, sometimes even with the help of her personal Mech technicians.

Starting out life as the prototype of the HGN-732Ib, the "Old Bird's Nest" would soon see an almost continuous amount of tinkering and changing by technicians from both the ilClan and the reborn SLDF. When then-Star Captain Hazen was appointed to lead the reborn Royal Black Watch, the 'Mech received a massive overhaul to become perhaps the most well-equipped Command Mech in the Inner Sphere. The upgrades started with a massively expanded and improved communications and sensor array with satellite uplink capacity. To this, the first unit of the experimental Neutron Star CEWS (based on Nova CEWS designs smuggled from the Clan Homeworlds) was linked, along with the DeadEye Superlock 18K Clan-spec Targeting Computer from the exact Hunchback IIC that Hazen used in her Trial of Position in the 3020s - this computer was not upgraded to modern specs by order of Hazen herself, save to add the advanced Variable Range Targeting program in trials for the HGN-732Ib.

The weapons loadout is largely a replication of the old HGN-732b Highlander, though upgraded with modern technology. Mounting a Light Gauss Rifle in place of the standard Gauss of the HGN-732 was a decision by Hazen to gain more range at the expense of sheer damage output. The LRM-20 and SRM-6 remain, though upgraded with Artemis-V FCS. In a curious move that shows Hazen's admitted loveof the past, only one of the ER Large Lasers is a modern-manufactured Clan design - the others being one of the ER Large Lasers mounted on General Aleksandr Kerensky's Atlas II, and another the sole remaining weapon recovered from the irradiated wreck of Colonel Hanni Schmidt's Black Watch Highlander. A highly experimental RISC Advanced Point Defense System provides protection for the 'Mech and its starmates. The use of a Combat Computer helps the 'Mech's 10 Clan double heat sinks keep cool.

Using a prototype Clan-spec Endo-Steel chassis, the "Old Bird's Nest" is covered in 17.5 tons of Valiant Lamellor standard armor, incorporating panels taken from the wreck of General Kerensky's personal Orion. A trio of Clan-spec Pratt & Whitney Jump Jets enable the 'Mech to execute Hazen's trademark extremely accurate "Highlander Burial", and prototype RISC Super Cooled Myomer technology helps the 'Mech keep cool even during movement, while Clantech CASE II protects the Mech from ammunition detonations.

(apologies for a late Fanon Friday poll as well, time got away from me)

Name/Model: Highlander "Old Bird's Nest" HGN-733bM

Technology: Inner Sphere (Mixed)

Technology Rating: F

Tonnage: 90

Role: Sniper

Configuration: Biped BattleMech

Era/Year: Dark Age / 3150

Rules (Current): Experimental (Extinct)

Rules (Era): Experimental

Rules (Year): Experimental (Extinct)

Total Cost: 16,131,760 C-Bills

Battle Value: 2,735

Chassis: Krupp 255 Endo Steel

Power Plant: Shelby/Ford 270

Walking Speed: 32.4 kph

Maximum Speed: 54 kph

Jump Jets: Pratt and Whitney 440s

Jump Capacity: 90 meters

Armor: Valiant Lamellor with CASE II

Armament:

1 Holly "Ballista-20" LRM 20 w/ Artemis V FCS (C)

1 Krupp Sturmfeuer Light Gauss Rifle

1 ExoStar Pinnacle ER Medium Laser (C)

1 Harmon Starclass-ER ER Medium Laser (C)

1 Hegemony R&D Dept. Weapons Division ER Medium Laser (C)

1 Holly SideWinder SRM 6 w/ Artemis V FCS (C)

1 Clan Wolf Watch RISC Advanced Point Defense System

Manufacturer: Skobel Mech Works

Primary Factory: Yakima Proving Ground Maintenance Facility

Communications: Studebaker-T19 with Neutron Star CEWS (counts as Nova CEWS)

Targeting & Tracking: DeadEye Superlock 18K with Advanced Targeting Computer (C)

Equipment Mass

Internal Structure: Endo Steel (C) 4.50

Engine: 270 Fusion 14.50

Walking MP: 3

Running MP: 5

Jumping MP: 3

Heat Sinks (Double): 10 20 0.00

Gyro: Compact 4.50

Cockpit: Standard 3.00

Armor Factor: 279 17.50

Type: Standard

Internal Armor Structure Value Head: 3 9 Center Torso: 29 42 Center Torso (rear): 16 R/L Torso: 19 28 R/L Torso (rear): 10 R/L Arm: 15 30 R/L Leg: 19 38

Weapons and Ammo Location Critical Tonnage

Jump Jet CT 1 2.00

CASE II (C) RT 1 0.50

Communications Equipment (2 tons) (C) RT 2 2.00

3 ER Medium Lasers (C) RT 3 3.00

Jump Jet RT 1 2.00

Light Gauss Rifle (Ammo 16) RT 1 1.00

Targeting Computer (C) RT 3 3.00

CASE II (C) LT 1 0.50

Jump Jet LT 1 2.00

LRM 20 w/ Artemis V FCS (C) LT 4 5.00

LRM 20 (Ammo 12) Artemis V LT 2 2.00

SRM 6 (Ammo 15) Artemis V LT 1 1.00

Light Gauss Rifle RA 5 12.00

RISC Advanced Point Defense System (Ammo 12) RA 1 1.00

Nova CEWS (C) LA 1 1.50

RISC Advanced Point Defense System LA 2 3.00

SRM 6 w/ Artemis V FCS (C) LA 1 1.50

The HGN-732bM "Old Bird's Nest" is subject to the following Design Quirks:

Battle Computer, Combat Computer, Cowl, Cramped Cockpit, Difficult Ejection, Difficult to Maintain, Improved Communications, Improved Sensors, Multi-Trac, Non-Standard Parts, Reinforced Legs, Variable Range Targeting

[oshlet]

Lohan-Scott 'Dope' Light Mech refitted for operations within the rainforests of Sond's Southern Tropics. The lower legs are sheathed in thick, waterproof waders to help keep the muddy water from degrading the leg servos. A translucent covering of a similar material rests atop the head to keep the delicate electronics within out of the worst of the moisture, too.

Weaponry errs on the side of practical, as is often the case with L-S machinery, and those who use it: A high fire rate, 20mm autocannon in a bullpup configuration for better close-quarters capability is the main armament. Underslung are a pair of boxes holding anti-tank guided missiles. An IR laser sits in the chest-turret for anti-personnel and point-defence duties and a set of 12 grenade tubes sit on the shoulders for additional utility.

While System-11 sticks to its domestic P-men units for patrolling its territory, Lohan-Scott models are the second most popular across Sond, with the Dope being the most widely used - by mercenaries, pirates and rival polities to System-11.

[hra-official]

Have you ever looked at the GMS Anti-Material Rifle and wished it could shoot faster?

Would you like to use an Andromeda-pattern Laser without lugging around a heatsink the size of a car?

Hercynian Refurbished Armaments has the answer for you!

The Steelpunch Heavy Needlebeam is an original design, tested, improved and perfected over the course of half a millennium to defeat armor with no ifs and no buts.

No overheating, no cumbersome manual loading mechanism, no exotic components: Steelpunch is plug-and-play for every mech, vehicle or emplacement, and by having most of its components be compatible with commercial mining lasers, it's trivial to maintan and reapair in the field, not to mention easily configured to feed off any power plant, from cold fusion reactors to handheld batteries.

The Steelpunch Heavy Needlebeam is, like all our items, a thoroughly battle-tested and mercilessly streamlined, optimized design. When you purchase a printing license, you're not just getting a weapon for yourself: you're getting your maintenance crew some piece of mind and your quartermaster a big break.

Licenses come in a basic package at 200 manna, or bundled with the Sting Super heavy Anti-Armor Rifle in the Tank Hunter Weapon Bundle at 350 manna

[is-the-battlemech-cool-or-not]

HGN-732bM "Old Bird's Nest"

BattleMech Technical Readout

Name/Model: Highlander "Old Bird's Nest" HGN-733bM Technology: Inner Sphere (Mixed) Technology Rating: F Tonnage: 90 Role: Sniper Configuration: Biped BattleMech Era/Year: Dark Age / 3150 Rules (Current): Experimental (Extinct) Rules (Era): Experimental Rules (Year): Experimental (Extinct) Total Cost: 16,131,760 C-Bills Battle Value: 2,735

Chassis: Krupp 255 Endo Steel Power Plant: Shelby/Ford 270 Walking Speed: 32.4 kph Maximum Speed: 54 kph Jump Jets: Pratt and Whitney 440s Jump Capacity: 90 meters Armor: Valiant Lamellor with CASE II Armament: 1 Holly "Ballista-20" LRM 20 w/ Artemis V FCS (C) 1 Krupp Sturmfeuer Light Gauss Rifle 1 ExoStar Pinnacle ER Medium Laser (C) 1 Harmon Starclass-ER ER Medium Laser (C) 1 Hegemony R&D Dept. Weapons Division ER Medium Laser (C) 1 Holly SideWinder SRM 6 w/ Artemis V FCS (C) 1 Clan Wolf Watch RISC Advanced Point Defense System Manufacturer: Skobel Mech Works Primary Factory: Yakima Proving Ground Maintenance Facility Communications: Studebaker-T19 with Neutron Star CEWS (counts as Nova CEWS) Targeting & Tracking: DeadEye Superlock 18K with Advanced Targeting Computer (C)

================================================================================================ Overview: Manufactured specifically for Star Captain/Colonel Melissa Hazen at the direct order of ilClan Ward, the HGN-732bM "Melissa" was designed to be as much a prototype of the HGN-732Ib "ilClan Highlander" as it was a command 'Mech for the newly resurrected Royal Black Watch. Stuffed to the gills with advanced systems for defense, mobility, and communication, as well as a impressive arsenal nearly equal to that of the original HGN-732b, the one-off prototype 'Mech has already come be known as the "Old Bird's Nest", an affectionate nickname referring to Star Captain/Colonel Hazen's advanced chronological age, and how much time she spends in the Mechbay, personally tinkering with and adjusting the 'Mech to her liking, sometimes even with the help of her personal Mech technicians.

Capabilities: Starting out life as the prototype of the HGN-732Ib, the "Old Bird's Nest" would soon see an almost continuous amount of tinkering and changing by technicians from both the ilClan and the reborn SLDF. Eventually, when Star Captain Hazen was frocked to the rank of SLDF Colonel to (eventually) lead the reborn Royal Black Watch, the 'Mech received a massive overhaul to become perhaps the most well-equipped Command Mech in the Inner Sphere. The upgrades started with a massively expanded and improved communications and sensor array with satellite uplink capacity. To this, the first unit of the experimental Neutron Star CEWS (based on Nova CEWS designs smuggled from the Clan Homeworlds) was linked, along with the DeadEye Superlock 18K Clan-spec Targeting Computer from the exact Hunchback IIC that Hazen used in her Trial of Position in the 3020s - this computer was not upgraded to modern specs by order of Hazen herself, save to add the advanced Variable Range Targeting program in trials for the HGN-732Ib. The weapons loadout is largely a replication of the old HGN-732b Highlander, though upgraded with modern technology. Mounting a Light Gauss Rifle in place of the standard Gauss of the HGN-732 was a decision by Hazen to gain more range at the expense of sheer damage output. The LRM-20 and SRM-6 remain, though upgraded with Artemis-V FCS. In a curious move that shows Hazen's admitted loveof the past, only one of the ER Large Lasers is a modern-manufactured Clan design - the others being one of the ER Large Lasers mounted on General Aleksandr Kerensky's Atlas II, and another the sole remaining weapon recovered from the irradiated wreck of Colonel Hanni Schmidt's Black Watch Highlander. A highly experimental RISC Advanced Point Defense System provides protection for the 'Mech and its starmates. The use of a Combat Computer helps the 'Mech's 20 Clan double heat sinks keep cool. Using a prototype Clan-spec Endo-Steel chassis, the "Old Bird's Nest" is covered in 17.5 tons of Valiant Lamellor standard armor, incorporating panels taken from the wreck of General Kerensky's personal Orion. A trio of Clan-spec Pratt & Whitney Jump Jets enable the 'Mech to execute Hazen's trademark extremely accurate "Highlander Burial", and prototype RISC Super Cooled Myomer technology helps the 'Mech keep cool even during movement, while Clantech CASE II protects the Mech from ammunition detonations.

Deployment: As the personal 'Mech of Star Captain Hazen, and soon to be the Command 'Mech for the Royal Black Watch, the "Old Bird's Nest" resides solely at the rebuilt Fort Cameron, just outside Unity City, Washington, Cascadian Administrative District, American Administrative Zone.

Variants: None.

Notable MechWarriors: Melissa "Mysty"/"The Old Bird" Hazen: One of the oldest and oddest MechWarriors in human history, Melissa Hazen was decanted, along with her 15 sibmates in 2990. As a Trueborn product of the Clan Coyote/Genecaste "Totem Warrior" program, she was part of an effort to create human-animal hybrid warriors - both to improve upon Clan phenotypes, and to embody the spirits of the totem animals of their respective Clans. After a successful career in an enormously popular holodrama, and after attaining three kills in her highly belated Trial of Position, Hazen, along with the others in the "Totem Sixteen" were sent on a scouting mission to the Inner Sphere. Joining up with the now-famous mercenary outfit, Fursona's Fusiliers, Hazen served with the unit for decades from the year 3025 onwards. Briefly taking extended leave to assist her Clan during Operation REVIVAL, Hazen returned to the Fusiliers to fight against the Word of Blake Jihad, and then as a mercenary for the Republic of the Sphere. During and after the ilClan Trial, Hazen and the others of the Sixteen fought on the side of Republic, but were spared by order of the new ilKhan. Biologically only in her late twenties thanks to the efforts of Project Totem Warrior, as well as later medical aid by the Terran Belters (on whose work the original project was based), Hazen has over over one hundred and fifty years of combat experience against virtually every foe in the Inner Sphere and Clan Homeworlds. This experience will soon be brought to the core of the revived Star League Defense Force, under which Hazen is slated to run the new incarnation of the Gunslinger program, as well as command the resurrected Royal Black Watch Regiment.

================================================================================================

Equipment Mass

Internal Structure: Endo Steel (C) 4.50 Engine: 270 Fusion 14.50 Walking MP: 3 Running MP: 5 Jumping MP: 3 Heat Sinks (Double): 10 20 0.00 Gyro: Compact 4.50 Cockpit: Standard 3.00 Armor Factor: 279 17.50 Type: Standard Internal Armor Structure Value Head: 3 9 Center Torso: 29 42 Center Torso (rear): 16 R/L Torso: 19 28 R/L Torso (rear): 10 R/L Arm: 15 30 R/L Leg: 19 38

================================================================================================

Weapons and Ammo Location Critical Tonnage

Jump Jet CT 1 2.00 CASE II (C) RT 1 0.50 Communications Equipment (2 tons) (C) RT 2 2.00 3 ER Medium Lasers (C) RT 3 3.00 Jump Jet RT 1 2.00 Light Gauss Rifle (Ammo 16) RT 1 1.00 Targeting Computer (C) RT 3 3.00 CASE II (C) LT 1 0.50 Jump Jet LT 1 2.00 LRM 20 w/ Artemis V FCS (C) LT 4 5.00 LRM 20 (Ammo 12) Artemis V LT 2 2.00 SRM 6 (Ammo 15) Artemis V LT 1 1.00 Light Gauss Rifle RA 5 12.00 RISC Advanced Point Defense System (Ammo 12) RA 1 1.00 Nova CEWS (C) LA 1 1.50 RISC Advanced Point Defense System LA 2 3.00 SRM 6 w/ Artemis V FCS (C) LA 1 1.50

================================================================================================

Alpha Strike Statistics

Point Value (PV): 63 TP: BM, SZ: 4, TMM: 1, MV: 6"j Damage: (S) 5 / (M) 5 / (L) 3, OV: 1 Armor (A): 9, Structure (S): 7 Specials: CASEII, ECM, IF1, MHQ3, NOVA, PRB, RAMS, RCN

Quirks: The HGN-732bM "Old Bird's Nest" variant is subject to the following Design Quirks:

Battle Computer

Combat Computer

Cowl

Cramped Cockpit

Difficult Ejection

Difficult to Maintain

Improved Communications

Improved Sensors

Multi-Trac

Non-Standard Parts

Reinforced Legs

Variable Range Targeting

[black-aengel-07]

Scythe Model: Arrowhead

An interceptor-fighter craft known for its speed and unique style of combat that had made it the bane of all Imperial attempts at air superiority. The Arrowhead Model is specialized for Aeronautics combat, while its much larger and heavily armed variant, the Viper, is specifically constructed as an orbital fighter.

General Design:

Shaped like a leaf, the Arrowhead is quite small for an aircraft, not even nine meters long, with a width of three meters, its small profile makes it a challenge to target, especially when its right up in your face about its deadly intentions. Yet its proportions hide a surprisingly sturdy frame, on top of having a passive sensor mask that makes it very challenging for standard targeting equipment to get a lock on it or detect their approach until they are almost on top of its target.

Propulsion and Manoeuvrability:

The Arrowhead Scythe is propelled by six thruster engines at its caudal side that are not too dissimilar to the design of the plasma thrusters on void ships, if only with a much smaller profile. Furthermore, it is aided by grav-plates to remain suspended in the air without the need of wings to support its flight. However, these are not the most outstanding features of this craft, those would have to be the Gyroscopes.

Mechanicum adepts are still in heated debates as to the inner workings of recovered pieces of the Gyroscopes, as they have been dubbed, from dead Arrowhead craft. But what they all agree upon its that they are the singular most fundamental piece in the Arrowhead’s near physics defying agility.

Named after the device they most closely resemble in appearance; it is theorized they emit some form of gravitational anchor point that allows the craft to always be relative in their positioning to the closest primary gravitational well.

This is how the Arrowhead is able to remain in stable flight and turn without the need of any form of wings, as well as perform manoeuvres that would otherwise kill an organic pilot within. For instance, by simply rotating both Gyroscopes inside the Arrowhead in the same direction along a horizontal plane, the craft immediately spins on its axis without changing direction, allowing it to suddenly turn around on a pursuing target and light it up with its main armament before reconfiguring its trajectory back into a stable flight configuration.

For this reason alone, the Arrowhead has earned the righteous ire and fear of all Imperial pilots who have ever faced them in battle and survived to tell the tale.

Weaponry:

Arrowheads are a significant threat to face in combat, made all the deadlier by their arsenal.

Primary Weapon: Arrowheads maintain their weapons locked beneath their plating when in cruising mode or whenever they are performing their most famous attack. Depending on the Sub-Model of the Arrowhead, one could either expect forward facing twin linked las-cannons with surprisingly high rates of fire or a missile volley, ranging up to ten fire-and-forget missiles before the craft needs to fabricate replacements.

Secondary Weapon: Arrowhead Scythes all tend to be fitted with a secondary weapon on its underside, usually geared for smaller targets like infantry. These weapons tend to vary greatly from direct energy weapons like Laser Beamers and Volkites, or kinetic weapons such as RCGs.

Power Field Blade Wreathe: The most famous weapon of the Arrowhead, even if it’s the one with least range, if only due to the sheer gal of the Men of Iron to create a fighter craft specialized for melee.

Given its sturdy design and high manoeuvrability, the Arrowhead is designed to ram against enemy aircraft to immediately achieve a kill or shatter formations, forcing a chaotic dogfight where the Arrowhead holds the advantage or is actively forcing enemy craft to focus on it while other aircraft deal the finishing blow.

This final armament converts the Scythe into a flying Power Blade capable of slicing clean through a Lightning Strike Craft without hardly loosing speed, and given its agility, entering close quarters combat with these crafts is always a deadly dance where one wrong move could result in a swift end by the reaper’s blade.

[usafphantom2]

Tap photos ☝️

though only around 300 saw combat. Like most late war Luftwaffe projects, the aircraft would ultimately make little difference against overwhelming Allied air superiority.

The Me 262 possessed several features that would be used in postwar jet fighters, such as swept wings, heavy nose armament and full span wing slats. Its chief advantage lay in speed - it was over 100 mph faster than the P-51 Mustang - so hit and run attacks were often employed against Allied bomber formations. The Me 262’s engines, however, needed careful throttle control to avoid stalling, making fast acceleration and deceleration difficult. It was particularly vulnerable on takeoff and landing, a fact that Allied fighters took full advantage of.

Fighter versions of the Me 262 mounted 4x30mm cannon and, later, 24 R4M rockets on underwing racks. A hit from any of these would usually be enough to down a bomber, though pilots had little time to aim as they flashed through Allied formations. The type is believed to have shot down up to 500 Allied aircraft for 100 losses, an indication that it may have posed far more problems had it been available sooner.

As a fighter-bomber, the Me 262 could carry two bombs on undernose racks, while retaining two cannon. It proved ill-suited to the role, lacking an effective bombsight and having poor downward visibility, and though regular missions were flown from late 1944 they achieved little. In addition, a number of aircraft were lost to Allied flak, particularly in attacks on airfields. Other Me 262 variants included a small number of reconnaissance aircraft fitted with cameras and some radar-equipped 2-seaters used as night fighters on an experimental basis.

Pictured:

1) Messerschmitt 262 V3 prototype takes off under jet power for the first time at Leipheim, 18th July 1942. Note the original conventional undercarriage and an Me 321 glider in the background.

📷 thisdayinaviation.com

2) Flown to U.S. forces at Frankfurt by a Messerschmitt test pilot on 30th March 1945, this aircraft was unpainted due to bomb damage at its assembly plant. It crashed the following year during testing in the United States.

📷 defensemedianetwork.com

3) Two seat night fighter equipped with Neptun radar, captured at Schleswig in May 1945. It’s unclear how many combat sorties were undertaken by night fighter Me 262s, though some sources claim several RAF Mosquitoes were shot down. The ‘FE’ serial number on the rear fuselage was applied to aircraft selected for evaluation in the U.S.

📷 defensemedianetwork.com

4) One outlandish Me 262 variant mounted a 50mm cannon in the nose for use as a bomber destroyer. Two prototypes conducted flight testing, but this configuration was never used in combat. The aircraft pictured here, captured at Lechfeld, crashed while being flown to Cherbourg for shipment to the United States.

📷 key.aero

[cursedalthoughts]

Priority Research 7 Predictions - Ironblood

Screw it. Time to speculate who the mandatory Ironblood PR is going to be.

As always, these are just the possible options, alongside speculation about their rarity - either PR (Priority Research/SSR) or DR (Decivise Research/UR), and maybe some vague idea about what their skills could be in Azur Lane.

The Ironblood have, perhaps unsurprisingly, a lot of options; just like the Northern Parliament.

KMS Mecklenburg

Fuck it. Let's start strong.

Mecklenburg is, essentially, a battlecruiser. She shares her hull with both Preussen and Großer Kurfürst, however, the main difference with both of those ships (Preussen having eight 457mm guns and G.K having twelve 406mm or 420mm guns (depending on your setup)), is that Mecklenburg has sixteen 305mm guns. With a 26 second reload. And an anomalously high (for a German battleship) main gun accuracy.

This thing is a ludicrously effective cruiser hunter. She has fast shells with an almost pin-point accuracy.

Mecklenburg also has two quadruple torpedo launchers, one per side, on top of the standard highly efficient secondary gun layout comprising of 128mm gun turrets that enjoy German 1/4 HE penetration rules. Oh, also, she's faster than both Preussen and G.K (both doing 30 knots), at a top speed of 32.5 knots.

Yeah, Mecklenburg is easy DR material.

KMS Schröder

Schröder is a personal favorite of mine. You can think of her as a "mini-Prinz Rupprecht".

As a supercruiser, Schröder has eight 305mm main guns in dual turrets. She has no torpedo armament to speak of. Her gimmick(s) lay on the fact that Schröder is one of the best secondary gun cruisers in the game, rivaling both Napoli and Michelangelo (which We'll Get To in the Sardegnan post). A total of 5 dual 128mm gun turrets per side as well as a total of 3 triple 150mm gun turrets (the same ones Nürnberg has in total), and a maximum range of 12km; Schröder has very fun secondary guns.

On top of that, she gets access to a very high base speed of 32.5 knots and a speed boost consumable that boosts her speed by 15% for 3 minutes. Schröder is great at flanking as she can relocate from one side of the map to the other in a relatively short time.

Honestly, she works as either a PR or a DR; but I would prefer her being a DR.

KMS Manfred von Richthofen and KMS Max Immelmann

I'm putting them together as equally likely DR candidates for a simple reason: the only thing that differs is their air complement.

To simplify Richthofen; she's a bigger August von Parseval. Both are carrier conversions of the H-39 battleship design (so, Friederich der Große sisterships).

Max Immelmann only has access to torpedo bombers and skip bombers - the same kind of bombers found on the Soviet aircraft carrier line (so, Chkalov).

Richthofen is a standard research ship and Immelmann is a premium ship. Immelmann was over-hyped by the community as a much superior carrier to Richthofen (the entire tech tree line of German CVs is impressively bad), but she's mediocre at best. Honestly, the funniest thing you can do with both carriers is a full secondary gun build; but Graf Zeppelin is much better at that at Tier 8 than these two at Tier 10.

However, Azur Lane has a track record of taking mediocre-at-best warships and turning them into very good PRs; so if any of the two gets chosen, I have hopes.

KMS Z42

From my cursory two-minute-long Google search, it seems Z42 in this configuration was never planned - or that there was never a Z42 to begin with, I can't find concrete info on that (again, after looking at it for two minutes. I'm sure there is actual info somewhere).

Z42 is a surprisingly good little ship. Her torpedoes are rubbish, but they're not the star of the show. Z42 utilizes German 105mm secondary guns as her main guns - here they are on the sides of Bismarck:

These funny little guns share the standard German 1/4 penetration rules for their HE, meaning that despite the smaller caliber they deal a considerable amount of damage. On top of that, they get access to AP; a thing that doesn't exist when they're in secondary gun form, and this AP does very funny damage against anything broadside.

She's PR material, just like Felix Schultz, but she could be a very good mini-Roon in terms of gameplay and abilities in Azur Lane.

KMS Wiesbaden

To me, this is the 'fuck it we ball' option. Wiesbaden is still in testing, she isn't in the game yet; but I believe she might release very soon.

Wiesbaden is a T8 light cruiser equipped with 6 dual 128mm gun turrets. That's right, she's a German Atlanta!

While Atlanta and Flint have a 4.8 second and 5.1 second reload respectively, Wiesbaden "enjoys" a 6 second reload on her main guns. However, that is compensated greatly by the fact that as all other HE guns from Germany, she has - you guessed it - 1/4 pen on HE shells, as well as six torpedo tubes per side with an 8.5km range. Oh, and a smoke screen generator. Like a destroyer.

Undoubtedly, Wiesbaden would be a PR in rarity.

KMS Preussen

Finally, the Roon-to-Hindenburg analogue of Friederich der Große. Preussen is an enlarged Friederich der Große, a made-up modification of the H-42 design with 457mm main guns. The real H-42 design isn't present in World of Warships; however, H-43 is the Superbattleship Hannover. But that's besides the point.

Preussen is a bigger FdG, so why her? We already have FdG and she's already a DR. This option is more based on vibes than anything else, as Hindenburg is a bigger, better Roon. Preussen could be the same: imagine a battleship that can equip two main guns instead of just one. Also, it's been a few years since PR2. PR7 is as far away from PR2 as PR6 was from PR1, and Roon was a PR1 shipgirl.

I don't know. She's more of a random guess. G.K is more likely, but I'd prefer Mecklenburg over G.K personally.

[ktbofficial]

Greetings, this is @hra-official with our proposal for a burn-based weapons system. I must apologize for the convoluted setup, but since the omninode we're transmitting from is still registered under Landmark Colonial, we are unable to display our signature in this message.

Now, to the business at hand: there are two primary challenges with integrating a burn-based weapon system in the assets of Baronic United Command:

As we all know, such a weapon will frequently be used against forces equipped with Harrison Armory mechanized frames. Despite the many flaws of their design ethos, such frames are almost universally well equipeed to manage excess heat and are often hardened against incendiary weapons.

Given that a large portion of RKF chassis are optimized for melee or close-quarters combat, creating hazardous terrain on a front line is liable to be especially hazardous for BUC Kurassiers

The solution? Chemical burn.

As luck would have it, the Hercynian Hive Worm naturally secretes a powerful acid which rapidly corrodes metal and even stone, but is harmless to it's own living tissue. Hercynian Refurbished Armaments has just completed the tests of the first prototypes of a chemical projector capable of harnessing it.

[ID: several images follow. The first is a diagram of a nozzle connected to two nested tanks. The second through seventh are several photos of a Genghis Mk.1 being hosed by a sprayer like the one described by the diagram; they show the mech activating it's autocooler and explosive vents while rust-coloured smoke and brownish sludge leak from it's seams. As of the sixth images it's arms dangle limply at it's sides. In the seventh, armour plates are starting to come off]

As you can see, projector itself is compact enough to be attached to a main mount, although larger hardpoints my be used to supply it with bigger tanks.

The reason the tanks are nested is twofold: firstly, to prevent corrosion of the parent vehicle if they should be pierced; and seondly, to modulate the viscosity and corrosiveness of the payload.

This is needed for it's application in an anti-infantry role: mixed with the correct amount of neutralizing agent, the acid becomes fluid enough to be sprayed in a wide cone, capable of penetrating soft cover and coat a wide area. The partial neutralization of the acid also prevents it from causing burns on living tissues, while still retaining enough efficacy to render infantry-portable weapons and hardsuits ineffective.

In this configuration, the weapon is less-than-lethal while remaining capable of rendering infantry combat-ineffective, meaning that - unlike a flamethrower - using it has a very low risk of killing civilians caught in the crossfire, so long as they are promptly given medical attention.

Excellent. The use of a jungle predator's acid is, in the view of the Jungle Warfare Commission, a slashing moment of brilliance - the nested tanks a further triumph.

We have two questions for you:

Is the projected acid of equivalent weight to a conventional flamethrower's fuel?

Is it easily synthesized by a printer or bioreplicating cloning machine?

Aside from these, this looks to be quite good. We will conduct comparative trials of this weapon system against the one proposed by Revved-and-Ready, and shall return with a decision.

Thank you for your time.

[captain-price-unofficially]

The Italian Paolo Thaon Di Revel-class OPV Giovanni Delle Bande Nere during her launch. She is in "Full" configuration, equipped with 16 A-50 VLS and a good ASW armament.

[agbpaints]

I wanted to Post about another interesting design I found while combing thru lists of Ghost Bear/Dominion mechs that doesn't seem to get a lot of love. The Arcas.

Originally built by Clan Ghost Bear at the start of the 3060's, the Arcas was intended to mark in a new age for the Clan in the Inner Sphere. As a second line battlemech, the Arcas is a more sculpted and less utilitarian design than a lot of the invasion era omnis befitting it's lack of configurability. And boy am I glad they did that because they decided to make the thing look like a big angry viking in furs and lamellar. A portent of things to come what with Ghost Bear's eventual melding with the culturally similar Rasalhague.

Despite being a second liner, the Arcas uses a supremely expensive clan XL power plant, though it puts this to good use paired with its jump jets to propel it up to a pretty spookily fast 5/8/5 movement profile. Offensively, it packs a pair of Clan-spec ER large lasers for long range engagements, two medium pulse lasers for medium range, and a trio of streak-4 SRM packs for close in work. With 15 double heat sinks it can run and fire its energy weapons while staying neutral, while the Streaks' missile locks mean you'll only seriously spike the heat up close when you're putting a lot of warheads on foreheads. This relatively light armament for a clan heavy (or as I, a primarily IS pilot say, an extremely, enthusiastically acceptable bonanza of high quality dakka) comes as a cost for protection- the Arcas has 13.5 tons of standard armor, making it nearly as durable as the 10 ton-heavier madcat and twice as well armored as the similarly weighted and engined Hellbringer.

All this combined makes for a very good heavy cav mech- a good Arcas pilot can start a beat down at range and continue to ramp up the pressure as she closes headlong at the opponent, safely protected by her speed and armor. It does pay hellishly for this, Clan XLs are worth slightly less than sending a 4k copy of the Bee Movie to every great house capitol by way of HPG network. 14.77 million C-bills makes this thing an almost perfect 10 on the urbanmech price index, and for 2484 BV I could bring a pretty darn solid pair of medium mechs to a fight. But it's also a heavy mech that moves like a medium and wasn't designed by someone whose brain was 93% nasally-imbibed glue, so if I can buy/borrow/steal one I'll take it.

The Arcas comes in 2 non-standard flavors, both have some merit so we'll go thru them quickly

The Arcas 2 is an energy boat sniper build that trades the large lasers and missiles for a pair of ERPPCs and a few extra heat sinks. It can handle the heat off the headchoppers fine and only really needs to start making descisions when it brings those MPLs into play. Effective, but a PPC's mech is generally to find a place to sit and stand there making shots so that massive engine is wasted. Next.

The Arcas 3 goes back to being interesting. It yet again strips the ER larges and two of the missile systems, this time in favor of a heavy large laser, a targeting computer to handle the accuracy problems, and 7 improved jump jets. While the damage on this variant is lower than that of the Standard or Model 2 5/8/7 is an absolutely disgusting movement profile, the heat management allows for jumping alphas where you're worried about building *any* heat as opposed to hitting move/GS penalties, and the improved accuracy on the pulse lasers will make this thing an absolute pain to fight. It's also almost 200 BV cheaper than the Standard, leaving you move room in a list for other bullshit.

[killer-orca-cosplay]

To: STCOM Sealth Puget From: COMGEN Melissa Hazen Sealth, trothkin, the Skobel engineers have finally finished the fitting out of your machine. The upgrades are... substantial. Look them over. And then, if you would, join me and some others for a night out, quiaff? I wish to get to know you better. We will be fighting alongside each other, after all.

BattleMech Technical Readout Name/Model: Orca 'Sealth' OC-1Xb Designer: Frogblast Source(s): Custom Mordel.Net Units Technology: Inner Sphere (Mixed) Technology Rating: F Tonnage: 200 Role: Sniper Configuration: Superheavy Biped BattleMech Era/Year: Dark Age / 3150 Rules (Current): Experimental (Extinct) Rules (Era): Experimental Rules (Year): Experimental (Extinct) Total Cost: 107,450,500 C-Bills Battle Value: 4,435 Chassis: Skobel Endo-Composite Endo-Composite Power Plant: Skobel SH-4K 400 XL Walking Speed: 21.6 kph Maximum Speed: 32.4 kph Jump Jets: None Jump Capacity: None Armor: Skobel SH-FF Plate Ferro-Fibrous with CASE II Armament: 2 ExoStar Balefire (Clantech) ER PPCs (C) 1 Rheinmetall PzH 3050 Long Tom Artillery Cannon (C) 1 Baal Defense Hellstorm 40CX LRM 20 w/ Artemis V FCS (C) 1 ExoStar Pinnacle (Clantech) ER Large Laser (C) 1 Krupp Sturmfeuer Light Gauss Rifle 1 Baal Defense Quad-Aught 6400 SRM 6 w/ Artemis V FCS (C) 1 Baal Defense Inferno Shield 2000CX Laser Anti-Missile System (C) 1 Baal Defense Silverfang 120X Small X-Pulse Laser Manufacturer: Skobel MechWorks Primary Factory: Yakima Proving Grounds, Terra Communications: GarbleTalker X with Nova CEWS Targeting & Tracking: Nokia 33100 with Advanced Targeting Computer ================================================================================================ Equipment Mass Internal Structure: Endo-Composite (C) 30.00 Engine: 400 XL (C) 26.50 Walking MP: 2 Running MP: 3 Jumping MP: 0 Heat Sinks (Double): 20 40 10.00 Gyro: Superheavy 8.00 Cockpit: Superheavy 4.00 Armor Factor: 600 31.50 Type: Ferro-Fibrous (C) Internal Armor Structure Value Head: 4 12 Center Torso: 60 96 Center Torso (rear): 24 R/L Torso: 42 68 R/L Torso (rear): 16 R/L Arm: 33 66 R/L Leg: 42 84 ================================================================================================ Weapons and Ammo Location Critical Tonnage Nova CEWS (C) H 1 1.50 SRM 6 w/ Artemis V FCS (C) CT 1 1.50 Small X-Pulse Laser CT 1 1.00 Targeting Computer (C) CT 6 6.00 CASE II (C) RT 1 0.50 Communications Equipment (4 tons) (C) RT 2 4.00 ER PPC w/ Capacitor (C) RT 2 7.00 Laser Anti-Missile System (C) RT 1 1.00 Long Tom Artillery Cannon (Ammo 30) (C) RT 3 6.00 CASE II (C) LT 1 0.50 ER PPC w/ Capacitor (C) LT 2 7.00 LRM 20 w/ Artemis V FCS (C) LT 2 5.00 LRM 20 (Ammo 18) (C) LT 2 3.00 Light Gauss Rifle (Ammo 32) LT 1 2.00 SRM 6 (Ammo 30) Artemis V LT 1 2.00 Long Tom Artillery Cannon (C) RA 8 20.00 CASE II (C) LA 1 0.50 ER Large Laser w/ Insulator (C) LA 2 4.50 Light Gauss Rifle LA 3 12.00 Note: Equipped with RISC Heat Sink Override Kit ================================================================================================ Alpha Strike Statistics Point Value (PV): 94 TP: BM, SZ: 4, TMM: 0, MV: 4" Damage: (S) 4 / (M) 4 / (L) 3, OV: 4 Armor (A): 20, Structure (S): 10 Specials: AMS, ARTLTC-1, CASEII, ECM, IF1, LG, MHQ5, NOVA, OVL, PRB, RCN The OC-1Xb Orca 'Sealth' is subject to the following Design Quirks: Accurate Weapon (Long Tom Cannon) Combat Computer Distracting Fast Reload (Long Tom Cannon) Improved Cooling Jacket (ER Large Laser) Improved Communications Improved Sensors Improved Targeting (Long) Multi-Trac

A Long Tom attached to a Battlemech? Most intriguing...I do believe Tolkitai will get much use out of that.

It also pleases me to see the all important small laser for close-in support. If there is one thing I have learned, it is never to underestimate what one single laser in the right place can do. This steed will serve us well. My thanks. ...in truth I would not say no to a meal. I have been having the oddest craving for salmon sushi recently.

[oshlet]

A less dramatic federation overhaul of a Zeon mobile suit: The MS-06-EFF FrankenZak. The only changes are a new head and shoulder-plates, of a similar pattern to the FrankenGouf. The bulky head units are built for data collection, the better to send information to Federation High Command to aid in domestic mobile suit development and production.

The machine's armament is a prototype 90mm rifle, in bullpup configuration, contrasting the Zeon's own design. It also features a pair of under-slung missile launchers to further improve anti-mobile-suit capabilities.

[demifiendrsa]

Metaphor: ReFantazio details ‘Fast & Squad’ battle system, party formation, gauntlet runner, facilities, more

■ Fast & Squad: An Evolution of Command Battles

Fast & Squad

The “Fast & Squad” battle system allows players to fight in dungeons in a way that has not been possible in turn-based battles to date.

Players can switch between real time action that directly attacks the enemy when navigating in the dungeon, “Fast,” and the turn base command battle, “Squad.”

Fae Sight

Fae Sight is an ability used by the protagonist’s partner, the fairy Gallica. It can detect its surroundings and understand the danger level of enemies.

It allows you to understand the strength of the monsters that await you in dangerous dungeons, allowing you to choose the way you fight.

Fast

“Fast” is an effective way to fight a lower-ranked enemy you have already fought previously.

On the field, you can also use the lock-on function, dash, and evade. If you wipe out enemies with “Fast” while watching out for their attacks, you will be able to comfortably proceed with your dungeon exploration.

In addition, since the “Fast” attack style depends on the Archetypes equipped by the player, finding a specific “Fast” fighting style that suits you will also be important in navigating the dungeons.

Squad

Enemies indicated in yellow or red through Gallica’s Fae Sight are monsters that pose a danger to the protagonist. Strong enemies cannot be defeated through “Fast” battle, so it is effective to shift to the “Squad” command battle.

Also, continuing to attack in “Fast” battle allows you to stun the enemy and start a command battle with an advantage.

Command Battle

In this game, command battles can be fought by configuring a party of up to four people.

The number of members in your party increases to seven as the story progresses, making it possible to create a variety of party configurations that fully utilize each character’s individuality.

While fighting in turn-based mode usually involves selecting actions from multiple commands, in this game, commands can be selected with the touch of a button, allowing the battle to proceed at a faster pace.

During command battles, the protagonists can transform into awakened Archetypes. Each Archetype has its own special skills, and equipping Archetypes with skills that strike the enemy’s weaknesses allows you to get the advantage in battle.

At the same time, each Archetype is unique and has various strengths and weaknesses, advantages and disadvantages.

In command battles, party configuration is the key to dungeon exploration. Furthermore, during command battles, players can make various choices, such as handing over their turn to the next member, switching between front and back rows, and switching party members. Players are required to assess the battle situation and use a variety of tactics to fight.

In addition, the difficulty level of battles in this game is intentionally made to be high, designed to emphasize the tension of deliberating and selecting commands to earn a great sense of accomplishment that comes with victory.

■ Dungeon Infested with Powerful Woes

A Labyrinth That Lures Travelers to Their Death

On your journey to claiming the throne as the protagonist, you will face numerous perilous dungeons.

Dungeons are filled with powerful enemies and numerous obstacles that stand in your way. However, valuable treasures and powerful armaments make it worth the challenge.

There are two types of dungeons in this work: “main dungeons,” which you’ll traverse as part of the main storyline and “side dungeons,” which appear in side quests and other challenges.

■ Awaken the Archetype, Heroic Images Residing in your Heart, and Fight!

What is an Archetype?

The protagonist faces their own fears, forming bonds with their supportive followers to awaken the power of heroic images, Archetypes, by building a relationship of trust.

By awakening Archetypes, the protagonists can transform into Archetypes during command battles if they have them equipped.

Archetypes are diverse, each with different abilities and personalities. There are a variety of archetypes, from the basic Seeker, who is an all-rounder in battle, the Mage, who strikes weaknesses with offensive magic, to the Thief, who can plunder resources. Players will have to decide which Archetypes to awaken and how to configure their members to create a stronger party.

■ Party & Archetypes Formation

Party Configuration

The protagonist party members are rich in unique characteristics.

The Archetypes possessed by the party members and the combination of Archetypes will greatly change the strategy in Turn Based battles.

Archetype Configuration

When a party member awakens a new Archetype, said Archetype will be available to swap with other Archetypes. By analyzing the dungeon you’re headed to and the enemies that dwell there, equip party members with appropriate Archetypes that fit the situation, allowing you to face even stronger foes.

■ Bonding with Followers Will Be Your Source of Strength

Form Bonds, Earn Supporters

The protagonist will meet and befriend various people over his journey. As he continues to deepen these bonds, these followers will become his strongest supporters. Interaction with these followers is also an important part of the journey, as the strengthening of these bonds can lead to Archetype awakenings as well as the acquisition of various other abilities.

Followers’ Stories

Interacting with followers will unlock their side stories and allows for a deeper storytelling experience.

Each follower has their own unique story and background, and following their stories in addition to the main story is part of the appeal of this game. It’s up to the player to decide which followers to prioritize interacting with. The way the journey is spent will greatly influence party development and the story experience.

■ The “Gauntlet Runner,” a Leg of the Journey

No one can safely travel the dangerous area between large areas, referred to as wastelands, as bandits and monsters roam there.

A “gauntlet runner” is a large armored vehicle designed to move safely through such a wilderness. It is a vehicle with a self-propelled mechanism powered by magic, or a “mobile base”, if you will. The protagonists will travel around the country in their gauntlet runner to gain support.

Spending Time in the Gauntlet Runner

While on the road in your gauntlet runner, you can take various actions in the vehicle, as if it were a campervan. You may cook, read a book, talk with your friends, or take a nap if there is nothing to do. Inside the vehicle, the protagonists can use multiple areas such as the war room, kitchen, lounge, and other facilities, and by stepping out onto the deck, they can experience the vastness of the world they are traveling through in their gauntlet runner, making the journey a travel experience on itself.

The variety of activities and events that occur with gauntlet runners is a unique feature of this game.

■ Places to Visit Along Your Journey

The Old Castle Town Martira

Martira, Old Castle Town, is a pastoral town that is a complete shift from the Royal Capital.

This town is famous for its local cuisine using a specific type of larvae, served to entertain tourists.

At first glance, the town appears peaceful, but the surrounding desert is home to a monster called the “Giant Sandworm”, instilling fear among the residents, not to mention a certain incident that is also endangering them.

The protagonists will be confronted with the events taking place in this town.

■ Events at the Places of Stay: Various Facilities in Town

Recruitment Centre and Bounties

In each town the protagonists visit, there is a facility called the “Recruitment Centre,” where requests such as defeating monsters threatening the town are posted.

There are chances of obtaining valuable items as well as bounty rewards by completing the requests. However, be warned that these requests will be dangerous, so it will be important to be careful in which ones to accept.

Tavern and Informant

Each of the towns the protagonists visit has a tavern, a place where the people of the town relax.

The protagonists will probably stop by the tavern for a meal during their stay in various areas.

In these taverns, there are also informants who sell a variety of information. The information available ranges from local specialties to information on the demons that haunt the area.

Although information can be expensive at times, it is important to use the informants to find out enemy traits in preparation of dungeon exploration and use this information to form a more effective party.

Weapon and Former Shops

In addition to acquiring them in dungeons, equipment for party members can also be obtained at weapon and armor shops in town.

In addition to buying and selling armor, you can also have unidentifiable loots from the dungeon appraised. It will be a must-stop shop before and after exploring dangerous dungeons.

Inn

You can relax after a tiring trip at inns. It is a good place to check if there is anything left to do in the day’s activities and to think about future travel plans.

In this game, it is a place where you can choose to end the day and welcome the next.

■ Events at the Places of Stay: Quests

Complete Quests, Help Those in Need

The protagonists must “conquer the main quest within their designated period of stay” in each region, but side quests will be key in making that happen. Side quests are requests from people you meet on your journey to hunt, explore, investigate, and earn various rewards for completing them. You’ll encounter strong enemies as part of some these quests, while others offer rare equipment. Among the abundant side quests, players are free to choose which ones to take on first.

To complete the main quest by the deadline, utilizing side quests will be an important option in strengthening the party.

■ Field Map

Town Map

Opening the map allows you to check the places you have visited previously.

The map shows the player’s location, and the player can instantly move to their desired spot by selecting a registered location within the town their currently in. This function allows for convenient traveling around large cities and their various facilities.

A Journey Around the World

In order to save the cursed prince thought dead, the protagonists decides to partake in the “Royal Tournament”. To become the king, they need to be the most popular in the country, and in order to win the trust of the people of the country over powerful rivals, the protagonist embarks on a journey around the world.

The time limit to decide for the next king is about six months. Will the protagonists be able to gather the trust of the people in the given time? And what can they accomplish in that period?

Realistic Daily Life on the Road

In this game, the concept of “dates” exists so that players can enjoy a realistic experience of daily life while traveling. In today’s world, travel often has a fixed itinerary, such as three days and two nights. Similarly, players can enjoy spending time at each place of stay in this game as if it were a modern person’s travel experience.

During the journey, the protagonists will visit a variety of places, including bustling, developed cities like the Royal Capital, pastoral towns, and waterfront cities. And at each place of stay, various encounters and incidents await: the people who live there, unique facilities, local specialties, and sometimes monsters that threaten the locals.

What to do, when to do it, and where to go within a limited period—the choice is entirely up to the player. The “realistic sensation” of travel unique to this work can be enjoyed to the fullest.

■ Places Along the Journey

Royal Capital Grand Trad

The capital of the Kingdom of Euchronia, which is where this game takes place.

A city where many people come and go and where various Tribes live. The well-maintained streets and bustling markets give an impression of splendor.

On the other hand, there is an execution site in the backstreets of the town, and people with nowhere to go cower by the side of the road.

In the world of this game, the gap between rich and poor and discrimination are widespread. Even here in the Royal Capital, various problems have arisen, and it seems that more than just a few people are living with anxiety.

■ Challenges for the ATLUS’ 35th Anniversary

A Commemorative Work as the Culmination of ATLUS

ATLUS is a consumer game company that was founded in 1986 to plan and develop home video games.

The Persona series, the flagship title of the company, has sold more than 22 million copies worldwide (as of March 5, 2024), and has gained the support of many users both in Japan and overseas. And in 2024, ATLUS will celebrate the 35th anniversary of the launch of its own brand.

ATLUS has been involved in several games that take place in the modern age, such as Shin Megami Tensei and Persona, providing players with a unique setting and experience.

With gaining worldwide support from Persona 5, ATLUS now takes on the “fantasy RPG” genre.

This game is a “fantasy drama” that could not be fully depicted within the framework of a modern story. This commemorative work is not simply a nostalgic return to our roots—rather, it is the culmination of ATLUS as a commemorative piece of work, taking our policy of “originality and empathy” and presenting it to players in this “fantasy RPG” genre form. “If you stand still in fear, you will not be able to move forward.” The scenario and gameplay are built around such a message.

Metaphor: ReFantazio will be created and delivered with the same mindset as the previous titles up to Persona 5: a unique experience that will satisfy curiosity.

■ Accomplished Creators Gather

The previous title, Persona 5, sold more than 6.4 million units worldwide.

A completely new fantasy RPG from proven creators who have won accolades at numerous game awards.

Director: Katsura Hashino (Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne, Persona 3, Persona 4, Persona 5)

Character Designer: Shigenori Soejima (Persona 3, Persona 4, Persona 5)

Composer: Shoji Meguro (Persona 3, Persona 4, Persona 5)

Pedigree

Persona is a JRPG series in which players experience familiar events such as school life, friendship, and romance in a modern Japanese town, while simultaneously confronting ocular incidents such as mysterious rumors and urban legends. The story is about a group of boys and girls who meet and grow up after awakening their Personas (the “other self” that lies dormant inside them and appears in the form of an “inherited god or demon”) and defying numerous difficulties.

This series has sold a total of 22 million copies worldwide. Of these, Persona 3, Persona 4, and Persona 5 were directed by Katsura Hashino, with Shigenori Soejima as the character designer and Shoji Meguro as the composer. Persona 5, the latest in the numbered series, has been the biggest hit in the series, selling more than 6.4 million copies worldwide and receiving worldwide acclaim.

Renowned Artists Join

In addition to the creators of the Persona series and other popular ATLUS titles, leading artists are participating in this work, providing a unique art and sound experience for you to experience.

Concept Artist: Kazuma Koda (NieR: Automata)

Gauntlet Runner Deign: Ikuto Yamashita (Neon Genesis Evangelion)

Metaphor: ReFantazio is available now for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, and PC (Microsoft Store, Steam).

[is-the-battlemech-cool-or-not]

Status of Project HAGELSCHAUER

@karriethemechtech Yakima Proving Grounds reports that Project HAGELSCHAUER is complete. Gewitter's Clantech refit and general upgrade is complete. Skobel MechWorks sent over the new TRO for you to review, as you are the Black Watch's Chief MechTech now. See here:

BattleMech Technical Readout Name/Model: Atlas "Gewitter" AS7-K3-Tb Technology: Inner Sphere (Mixed) Technology Rating: F Tonnage: 100 Role: Sniper Configuration: Biped BattleMech Era/Year: Dark Age / 3150 Rules (Current): Experimental (Extinct) Rules (Era): Experimental Rules (Year): Experimental (Extinct) Total Cost: 35,416,333 C-Bills Battle Value: 2,509 Chassis: Foundation Type 10X-E Endo Steel Power Plant: Vlar ClanTech 400 XL Walking Speed: 43.2 kph Maximum Speed: 64.8 kph Jump Jets: Northrup 12000 Jump Capacity: 90 meters Armor: Durallex Ferro-Fibrous with CASE II Ferro-Fibrous with CASE II Armament: 2 ExoStar Pinnacle (Clantech) ER Large Lasers (C) 1 Krupp Sturmfeuer Light Gauss Rifle 1 Holly SRM 4 w/ Artemis IV FCS (C) Manufacturer: Defiance Industries, Skobel MechWorks Primary Factory: Hesperus II (DI), Yakima Proving Grounds, Terra (SMW) Communications: Clan-enhanced Angst Discom with Nova CEWS Targeting & Tracking: Clan-enhanced Angst Accuracy with Advanced Targeting Computer ================================================================================================ Equipment Mass Internal Structure: Endo Steel (C) 5.00 Engine: 400 XL (C) 26.50 Walking MP: 4 Running MP: 6 Jumping MP: 3 Heat Sinks (Double): 10 20 0.00 Gyro: Compact 6.00 Cockpit: Standard 3.00 Armor Factor: 307 16.00 Type: Ferro-Fibrous (C) Internal Armor Structure Value Head: 3 9 Center Torso: 31 50 Center Torso (rear): 12 R/L Torso: 21 34 R/L Torso (rear): 8 R/L Arm: 17 34 R/L Leg: 21 42 ================================================================================================ Weapons and Ammo Location Critical Tonnage Nova CEWS (C) H 1 1.50 Jump Jet CT 1 2.00 CASE II (C) RT 1 0.50 Jump Jet RT 1 2.00 Light Gauss Rifle (Ammo 32) RT 2 2.00 SRM 4 (Ammo 25) Artemis IV RT 1 1.00 CASE II (C) LT 1 0.50 Jump Jet LT 1 2.00 Light Gauss Rifle LT 5 12.00 SRM 4 w/ Artemis IV FCS (C) LT 1 1.00 Communications Equipment (3 tons) (C) RA 3 3.00 ER Large Laser (C) RA 1 4.00 ER Large Laser (C) LA 1 4.00 Targeting Computer (C) LA 4 4.00 Note: Equipped with RISC Heat Sink Override Kit & RISC Super-Cooled Myomer ================================================================================================ Alpha Strike Statistics Point Value (PV): 55 TP: BM, SZ: 4, TMM: 1, MV: 8"/6"j Damage: (S) 3 / (M) 3 / (L) 3, OV: 1 Armor (A): 10, Structure (S): 5 Specials: CASEII, ECM, MHQ4, NOVA, OVL, PRB, RCN The Atlas AS7-K3-Tb "Gewitter" is subject to the following Design Quirks: Accurate Weapon (Light Gauss Rifle) Battlefists Combat Computer Command 'Mech Difficult to Maintain Distracting Improved Communications Improved Sensors Multi-Trac Stablized Weapon (Light Gauss Rifle) Variable Range Targeting

What do you think, Karrie?

[opercot]

THE CULT OF MAKUTA MORTRAX

Hello again to y'all, first, happy holydays to all of you, second, i finally have some new stuff to show here (well, "new stuff" for some :v), i flesh out more one of the factions of a story of Bionicle i'm writting. Without further stuff to say, hope y'all like them

Starting from the bottom of their ranks, to the big boss, we have:

FOLLOWER OF MORTRAX

First of, we have the normal follower of Mortrax. They only saw that the only way to survive in the island that Mortrax controls, it's to be with them, but that can vary to follower to another. A friend help me out with their color squeme long time ago.

MODULAR ANDROID

Second in the chain, goes with the Modular Android. Created by Mortrax are fully mechanical,and it can change it's configuration, to their lower parts, to it's armament. I made almost all robots normal lego bricks, to make it more of a difference to a Bionicle, i felt that it would be easer to see the difference.

DRONE MC 82-99

Another of the creations of Mortrax, is the Drone MC 82-99, that can detach all of it's armament to fly at high speeds. It was based in the VF-19 from Macross Plus, and a MQ-9A Reaper Britanic drone. The name comes from the musician "MACROSS 82-99" that my friend told me.

MECHA-CULTIST

One of the more curious henchmen of Mortrax, is the Mecha-Cultist, that it's more of a cyborg version of a cultist (you can see their brain in the back of it). It's based on Robo-Cain from Robocop 2.

RAHK-VA COMBO

Other one it's the Combo of a Rahkshi, with a Vahki, mostly it's use by Mortrax when they feel that something it's going a bit out of hand in a territory. This was made before, because i like the color yellow, but i saw i could fit it a bit in the story.

MAKUTA MORTRAX

At last, Makuta Mortrax, the ruler of one of the islands. They prefer to use more of a beastly from. Uses their mechanical genious, instead of Rahkshi and powers. The true is, they one of the weaker Makuta, but compared to a Matoran, they are crazy strong, so they have an iron grip in the island. Based on Fenrakk, and has more of a figure of a weird dog and cat.

.Well, that would be all for the moment, i hope i can get more Bionicles in the future, my uni and work were really heavy, but i'm done with them for the moment, so i have a bit of a free time. Hope y'all have a great year, adn see you next time.

As a bonus, ima trow one of my first mocs i did in my life. I remember doing it in 2022 i think, really early for me, i think i improved a lot in a short time :v

Well, see ya later y'all