#projectile launch system

[pozer-jacket]

The hardest decision in Cyberpunk 2077 since update 2.0 is between Mantis Blades and Gorilla Arms. Before that, Monowire was the best for its range but now it feels like just a spicy shoelace.

[todays-xkcd]

'At the stroke of midnight, your brother will be hurtling sideways at an altitude of 150 meters' is a regular physics prediction about your nonmagical trebuchet, whereas 'you are cursed to build a brother-launching trebuchet' falls out of the Lagrangian.

Physics vs. Magic [Explained]

Transcript

[Miss Lenhart is standing in front of a whiteboard and pointing to it with a stick. The whiteboard contains two lines of scribbles at the top, two drawings below them featuring a curve on the left and a circle on the right, and below them four additional lines of scribbles with smallest line of scribbles in the lower left corner.] Miss Lenhart: Physics and magic are different in a very deep way.

[Close-up of Miss Lenhart pointing the stick to the left to a depiction of a projectile's motion due to gravity. The path of movement is shown as a dashed line that first heads directly to the right but starts increasingly curving downward. There are five small circles at different points within the path. There are labels "V0" for an arrow pointing right on the left side of the leftmost circle, "F" for an arrow pointing downward below the leftmost circle, and "T0" to "T4" for the five individual circles from left to right.] Miss Lenhart: Physics works by describing the forces that act on a system. Miss Lenhart: To predict outcomes, we progressively apply those forces over time.

[Miss Lenhart is holding the stick down and standing in front of Jill and Hairy sitting at their desks. Jill has her hands on her desk while Hairy has his hands on his lap.] Miss Lenhart: Magic specifies the outcome, but not the intermediate events. Miss Lenhart: "Ere the clock strikes twelve, you are cursed to slay your brother" is magic, not science.

[Same setting as in the third panel, except Miss Lenhart is holding the stick slightly lower and Jill has her other hand on her lap.] Miss Lenhart: ... And that's how we know thermodynamics is magic. Miss Lenhart: Conservation laws are, too. Hairy: What about Lagrangians? Miss Lenhart: Deep magic. Speak not of them here.

[clockworkxsoul]

Never posted this here, so why not now!

Cyberpunk 2077 Au! Vi and Jinx.

Vi has Gorilla Arms and Jinx has a projectile Launch System (for the people who don’t play 2077, this means vi can punch real hard and Jinx can Launch a meißle out of her Arms)

[deutschland-im-krieg]

Focke-Wulf Fw 190A-8/R6 of Stab/JG 26 'Schlageter' having one of its 210mm Rheinmetall-Borsig WGr 21 loaded. Note 300 litre drop tank. The 21 cm launcher 42 developed by Dipl.-Ing. (Masters in Engineering) Rudolf Nebel, who pioneered the German use of wing-mounted offensive rocketry in WW1 for the Luftstreitkräfte (German air force), was a device with five barrels on a firing stand and fired field rockets with a range of up to 7800 metres.

When it became apparent in 1943 that even heavy on-board cannons were not effective enough for fighting USAAF four-engined bombers, Luftwaffe officers investigated the usability of the launcher for installation in fighter aircraft on their own responsibility, which led to the first trial fitting of some Bf 109s, Fw 190s with one launcher tube each and Bf 110s with two launcher tubes under the wing in January 1944. The projectiles could be fired at a distance of up to 1200 metres from the enemy.

The great effectiveness in combating heavy four-engined bombers justified these tests, even if they remained only a makeshift solution, as only two projectiles could be carried at a time, or four in the case of the Bf 110, and as they were not wing-stabilised, they required launch tubes with increased resistance. The propulsion system consisted of 18.4 kg of diglycol solid fuel. The warhead contained 40.8 kg of powder. The first success with the WGr 21 was achieved on 17 August 1943.

Of 376 Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses taking part in the disastrous Schweinfurt and Regensburg raids, 60 (16%) were shot down, partly with Wgr 21. The success was even greater on 14 October 1943, when 60 of 291 B-17 bombers were shot down during the catastrophic attack by the 8th USAAF on Schweinfurt, 17 were lost on the return flight and 131 could not be repaired after the return, a total of 208 losses out of 291, over 71%.

[reflections-of-mobius]

[ @familylightfox || Continued from here!]

Little voices, grand gestures- anything and everything to make the story feel more alive for his children. He made sure each could see each page of the book as he read it, smiling all the while. It was no surprise that Izzy fell asleep first- the younger of his kids, her bedtime was far more set-in-stone than her brother's...though Roman was also limited from time to time.

He silenced a chuckle at the soft snores of the youth, folding the book shut with the silent movement of its spine. Julius trailed after Roman, feeling content and grateful for the two- something he felt each and every night, to be certain, but tonight...somehow, he felt that especially so.

"I would love to, Roman." The youth's code had progressed a bit since his early days, but there were still trademarks of the mobian's own hand in every line he wrote. Julius loved pouring over his son's work- it gave him a glimpse into what Roman had planned for whatever project had caught his eye, each and every time. Though this was more of a test of sorts- a way to see how Roman's teachings were progressing...he could hope the youth passed with flying marks, but it certainly wouldn't be the end of the world if he didn't. "If it doesn't, then we'll simply have to work on it until it does. And if it does...well, there may be a town visit in the near future for you, my boy."

There would be, regardless- but there was nothing wrong with a carrot to offer, even if it was as common as bubblegum at a highway rest stop.

"We should be passing by a nice city soon...I'll have to check Tire's navigation systems, but. It would be a pleasant break from your studies, wouldn't it?" He offered a lighthearted smile. Sure, the kids had to be careful in town- but so did he. It was simply the trade-off.

[]

Tire was rumbling along the road while Julius read to Izzy and Roman- sensors flickering. Something was out there. Not in the ocean, but somewhere- just in the woods, beyond the road. Several Egg Pods were deployed...

And all of them went offline.

A warning was sent out- moments before something launched from the trees. Red and blaring, a burning projectile that Tire had no chance to avoid even if it swerved. That didn't stop it from trying, though.

[]

Several of his children had suddenly gone offline. Julius felt ice slither down his spine.

"---Roman, go get Izz-!"

BANG!!!!

KRACK-A-KWSHHHHHHHHHHHH---

The world suddenly slammed sideways, multiple warnings blaring through Julius' brain as his false eye was overloaded with information. The lights overhead flashed and sparked- before shutting off. He fell straight into the wall.

[mariacallous]

This is dated 12-29-2023, for the record.

It was a nightmare scenario that Ukrainian and Western officials had feared for months. Western officials have watched as Russia stacked up precision-guided munitions to launch targeted attacks on Ukrainian critical infrastructure in the winter while keeping up the pace of strikes on cities using unguided “dumb” bombs. 

And on Friday morning, it became a reality. Russia conducted a hailstorm of strikes across Ukraine, hitting Kyiv, Dnipro, Lviv, Zaporizhzhia, Odesa, and Kharkiv. There were at least 158 drone and missile strikes in all, which damaged hospitals, a shopping mall, and schools, killing at least 31 people and injuring more than 160. 

The numbers are still going up as search and rescue teams pick through the rubble. Russia fired its missiles with so much abandon that the Polish government confirmed one of the Kremlin’s projectiles entered its airspace. In the chaos that engulfed the Kyiv streets, one man tried to stop the fires from spreading by driving his burning car away from his neighbors. 

The renewed barrages have Ukrainian officials and U.S. experts questioning how long they’ll be able to keep the lights on during winter—or hold territory—especially with the long tail of U.S. military aid running out, unless Congress acts soon. 

Ukrainian officials believe that Russia’s capacity to strike is even greater than what it just showed off: The Kremlin can fire off about 300 Iranian-made suicide drones in one attack on Ukraine and about 150 ballistic missiles in one shot on Kyiv, said Sasha Ustinova, a Ukrainian lawmaker.  

And with the Ukrainian counteroffensive stalled and fresh weapons not flowing until January at the earliest, how resilient will the Ukrainians be? 

“The Ukrainians are heading for a tough winter, for obvious reasons,” Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson said in an interview earlier this month. “But I think that the Ukrainian morale is much, much higher than the Russian morale. What is crucial right now, of course, is that we all will step up support.”

But that morale is now getting tested, as Ukrainians were shaken out of bed by dozens of air raid alerts that lit up their phones. And the aid isn’t coming—at least until the U.S. Congress gets back from recess in the second week of January, and maybe for even longer. 

“Ukraine needs funding now to continue to fight for freedom from such horror in 2024,” Bridget Brink, the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, wrote in a tweet screenshotting the numerous air raid alerts sent to Kyiv residents.

U.S. officials have seen movement across the nearly stagnant front lines slow considerably in recent weeks, a trend that is expected to continue. The weather in Ukraine has hit subzero temperatures and piles of snow have mostly halted forward movement along the 600-mile front, underscoring the prospect of several months of attrition warfare. Ukraine is already making moves to lower the draft age to get more men onto the battlefield.  

Ukraine doesn’t need any silver bullets, experts say. It just needs the regular kind. 

“We’re clearly past the ground counteroffensive now,” said Peter Rough, a senior fellow and director of the Center on Europe and Eurasia at Hudson Institute. “Since it won’t get large numbers of longer-range precision fires, Ukraine probably needs to entrench and defend right now—and absent Congress passing the supplemental, even those defensive lines may not remain stable.” 

Still, Jonson said the Ukrainian military has been getting some access to more long-range strike weapons, which has forced Russian ships and aircraft to move farther away from the front lines. But Ukraine has had to build its military while fending off the invasion: Jonson said that Kyiv is operating about 600 types of Western weapons systems, while ferrying fuel and spare parts across the front line. All that on roads that will be coated with sleet, snow, and ice. 

Even with its limited arsenal of Western-provided long-range weapons like British-made Storm Shadows and the cluster variant of the U.S. Army Tactical Missile System, Ukraine has still made a dent, knocking out a Russian tank landing ship in Crimea on Tuesday. And experts believe that Russia’s fragile logistics system—which was never designed for continuous military operations across Europe’s second-largest country—is a good target.  

“If they had longer-range weapons, they could completely wreck the logistics system,” said Ben Hodges, the former head of U.S. Army Europe. “I think they know this is a real vulnerability for the Russians, particularly in winter.” 

But Ukrainians fear they are already running out of munitions—and time. Though Western-provided air defenses blanket much of Kyiv, they are not enough to defend against far-flung Russian attacks that could dot the country during winter. As much as Ukraine needs more air defenses to blunt attacks like Friday’s firestorm, Ukrainian officials have indicated that the falling temperatures have already shifted their priorities: Attrition warfare means a premium on artillery fire, and Europe is far behind on its target to produce a million artillery shells by March 2024.

“The biggest problem we’re going to run into is when they start shelling us heavily,” Ustinova said. “Because we will not have enough munitions.” 

But Ukraine has been forced to cut military operations as aid has dried up. Ukrainian Brig. Gen. Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, who heads up a group of forces in the southern push, told the BBC this week that Ukraine is facing particularly acute shortages of Soviet-era 122 mm and 152 mm shells, which still make up a large portion of Kyiv’s military arsenal. And if the Ukrainians want to apply forward pressure in spite of the snow, they have to clear entire minefields in front of them, only for the Russians to reseed the deadly explosives from the air. 

The Russian war chest is still heavily stocked. Hanno Pevkur, the Estonian defense minister, said in November that Russia still has about 7,000 to 8,000 tanks in reserve. Meanwhile, Russia has turned its sanctions-battered economy into a war economy. The Kremlin plans to spend 6 percent of GDP on defense next year. And Russian President Vladimir Putin’s deals for drones with Iran and ammunition with North Korea have indicated to Western officials that Russia’s game is quantity, not quality. 

“It doesn’t matter. As long as it fires, as long as it unfortunately kills Ukrainians, it is good for Russians,” Pevkur said. “They are increasing their production, especially ammunition. They don’t care about the quality. They care about the quantity.” 

Western officials believe that there are 300,000 to 400,000 Russian troops on Ukrainian soil, across a swath of occupied territory that is about the size of the contiguous Baltic states. Russian casualties have totaled about that many troops in the 22 months since the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion began. But experts caution that the cannon fodder won’t last forever. It might not have to last that much longer, though.

In November, Russian forces claimed to gain ground around the eastern city of Avdiivka, where Western officials believe the Kremlin is trying to make a pincer move to encircle the town, the site of a major coke fuel and chemical plant. They’ve also set their sights on the important railway junction of Kupyansk. 

“They just keep pushing these guys into a meat grinder to convey the sense that they have endless resources,” Hodges said. “They don’t have endless resources.” 

For now, though, absent Western aid, Russia’s focus on eastern Ukraine could lead Kyiv to cede more ground. 

“That’s very painful for us, because we pay thousands of lives to get every single kilometer,” Ustinova said.  

“They are already taking more territory,” she added. “Look at the map.”

[cyberpunkgame]

#PhantomLiberty brings new unlockable abilities for Gorilla Arms, Mantis Blades, Monowire & Projectile Launch System. Check them out in action! 💥

Huge kudos to Much118x! ❤️‍🔥

twitter.com/Much118x

[stardriveskickstart]

Parahuman Space

While Stardrives is complete, I'm not done with TTRPG writing yet. I've been working on the @para-imperium setting for over a decade now and I'm almost ready to launch a complete RPG based on the Cepheus System derived from Mongoose's Traveller (but more open).

Parahuman Space is a furry setting, yes, of the genetically modified variety. It covers over 2,000 years, but the RPG will be focused on the period after the collapse of the big interstellar empire. When newly independent planets and systems are busy scavenging the wreckage.

Players will primarily be salvage crews venturing into hazardous ruined spaceships and stations. Braving haywire security systems, leaks of corrosive chemicals, and the dreaded Kessler Syndrome to retrieve valuable technology.

In other words, dungeon delving.

At present I am about halfway done drafting the rulebook, drawn heavily from the Cepheus System Reference Document that can be read online here. Once I'm finished and I have interior artists lined up I was hoping to bring it to Kickstarter.

Below is the setting's history, as written for the rulebook.

Timeline:

Most calendars in Parahuman Space are oriented around the launch of the first parahuman-built starship as the start of the exodus from the clade’s system of origin, Sol. On the Georgian calendar the year 0 Post Exodus (PX) would be in the early 22nd century AD. So the Federation would be founded in the 32nd century AD and collapse in the 45th century, or roughly the year 4600 AD.

-40 Before Exodus: Creation of parahumans. -24 BX: Parahumans emancipated and corporations that enslaved them dissolved. -17 BX: Events of The Pride of Parahumans. 0 Post Exodus: First Seedship, the Traveller, launched. 4 PX: Pallas launches second seedship. 10 PX: Earth destroyed by relativistic projectile, origin unknown. 14 PX: Second Pallene seedship is caught by berserker probes that destroyed Sol.  Crew commit suicide first. 45 PX: Traveller lands on a planet orbiting Alpha Centauri A, creatively named "Secland." 48 PX: Vestan ship lands on opposite hemisphere from the Traveller.

115 PX: Ship from Ceres arrives at Epsilon Eridani to find a lifeless system. Instead of terraforming the new corporate government opts to build artificial habitats in the asteroid belts and beneath the surfaces of planets.

124 PX: A second Vestan ship discovers a garden world orbiting Tau Ceti. The crew decide to eschew technology after printing enough colonists in fear of Sol’s Destroyers.

150 PX: Sleeper ship carrying 1500 humans from Sol arrives over Secland. After an abortive attempt at invasion the survivors gradually integrate into Pallene society. 500 PX: Cold war between nations on Secland ends with the completion of terraforming.  Biological weapons leave New Pallas the sole nation standing. 950 PX: New Pallas contacts Tau Ceti thanks to the newly developed conversion drive. Triggering political restructuring among the natives resulting in the kingdom of Schwarswelt under King Hideo Fink.

1060 PX: Stable wormholes large enough to move a spaceship through are produced and launched from Proxima Centauri to Tau Ceti and Epsilon Eridani. 1100 PX: Alpha Centauri, Tau Ceti, and Epsilon Eridani form the Federation.

1150 PX: Centauri Grand Mayor Selkd de Argentum assassinated by Cetan partisans and succeeded by his more aggressive sister Lirdrill.

1200 PX: The Federation centralizes power in the office of the Praetor, first held by Lirdrill de Argentum.

1205 PX: The Outworld memetic quarantine and contingency program is established, forcibly relocating ideological dissidents to frontier worlds with limited technology.

1500 PX: After extensive lobbying by Centauran merchant houses and the Eridani Company, Federation Senate votes to allow limited trade with Outworlds, which now compose roughly half of all colonized planets.

1846 PX: Kershkans, the first extant xenosophont species, discovered. 1903 PX: Contact established with Kershkans. 2300 PX: Federal Guard destroys Sol with strangelet bomb, inducing a nova. Evacuation of Core Worlds begins. 2304 PX: Wormhole gates at Alpha Centauri collapsed ahead of the nova's radiation. The capital cut off, the Federation quickly begins to fragment. 2345 PX: The Emissary-Governor of the Tiere System, wracked by tensions between earlier colonists and new refugees, disables all nanotech in the system in an attempt to reassert control. He is lynched by an angry mob within weeks. 2590 PX: The self-proclaimed Imperator Ronkal launches Project Paladin, sending ships with new reactionless drives and augmentation suites to neighboring systems. 2600 PX: A Ronkalli ship reaches the Tiere System, only for interplanetary debris to kill the entire crew. The ship AI forcibly augments a crew of scavengers who come looking.

The Origin of Species:

The first parahumans were engineered from a blend of human and animal genes and bioprinted in corporate labs in high Terran orbit. They were designed to fill roles in asteroid mining that were too complex for robots but too dangerous to risk human life for. It took less than a decade for rebellions and strikes to start.

Fortunately, the parahumans found many allies on Terra and after the revolutionaries on Ceres worked out a treaty to maintain the flow of resources back to Terra they were essentially left to themselves. With their new freedom came disagreements over how to govern themselves. The guilds on Vesta formed a form of anarcho-capitalist feudalism regulated by the cloning guild that held the early parahumans’ sole means of reproduction. But then a Vestan scientist, a silver fox named Argentum, discovered a simple gene therapy to remove the genetic sterility imposed by their creators and their followers formed a breakaway colony on Pallas.

The Vestan guilds could not tolerate this loss of control and war almost broke out between the two asteroids. Luckily they found an alternative means of proving the superiority of their respective systems of governance. A space race. Exploration of other star systems had been proposed many times but there had been little interest with the abundance of resources right there in Sol system. But with the new nanofabricators it was possible for even a small asteroid outpost to construct an Orion-style starship with a small crew and the fabricators to print out an entire new colony, colonists included.

They couldn’t have timed the launch better. Just ten years after the first starship, the Traveller,was launched from Pallas towards Alpha Centauri, it received a frantic message from Sol:

“This is an automated beacon broadcasting what may well be the last message ever sent by the human race. Five years ago, our homeworld, Terra was struck by a 50-ton projectile traveling at 90% of the speed of light. The debris took out most of our habitats in Earth’s orbit, a few million of us survived elsewhere in the solar system. Then the rest of the invasion force arrived. Machines, vast machines kilometers in length that home in on any sources of radio transmissions, and annihilate them. We pray they are not intelligent and are simply weapons fired by a xenophobic alien race. But they’ve almost completed their work, we estimate that there’s only a couple hundred of us left in the system. We’re sending this message in hopes that there is someone out there who can hear it and beware. This universe is more hostile than we thought. They attack radio transmitters, dismantle whatever devices you are listening to this on before they find you.”

In total, five starships were far enough out to heed this warning. The Traveller, a Vestan ship also headed for Alpha Centauri, a second Vestan ship on course for Tau Ceti, a craft launched from Ceres to Epsilon Eridani, and the largest but slowest ship, a sleeper ark from Terra to Alpha Centauri.

Alpha Centauri: Sol’s Nearest Neighbors

Around Alpha Centauri A the Traveller found a Terra-sized rocky planet that had long been scoured of life by stellar storms from the trinary stars nearby. It was determined that this little rock could be reanimated with comparatively little effort and the crew made immediate plans to colonize and terraform the planet which they named “SecLand” (the landing on Pallas being the first land).

Just three years after the Traveller’s arrival, they were followed by their Vestan rival. Considering the horror they’d experienced since Sol’s last transmission they decided to set their differences aside and work together on terraforming SecLand, albeit from opposite hemispheres. This detente was strained at times, but the first real threat to world peace didn’t come until 150 years PX, when the ark carrying the last of unaltered humanity arrived.

By the time the sleeper ark arrived SecLand had a population of several thousand, the ark carried a mere 1500 passengers but over half were soldiers who’d entered stasis with orders to make sure that the first exosolar foothold of humanity was human, not parahuman. Or at least that was the plan, when word of what happened to their homeworld got out there was a mutiny and the victors immediately surrendered to the parahuman colonists, with most passengers integrating into the Republic of New Pallas. These newcomers brought a wide range of skills and knowledge, living knowledge, to a planet whose inhabitants up until then had primarily only known life inside their half-built habitat structures. The humans emigrated nearly equally to both colonies, over the centuries they interbred with the parahumans, with the net result being that many SecLanders have less fur or their facial features are closer to human than many further colonies. Today pure-bred humans, and parahumans (excepting uplifts), are miniscule minorities on SecLand with only a couple million individuals. The average SecLander resembles a blend of at least half a dozen species of Terragen origin.

For centuries the two colonies lived in relative peace, New Pallas breeding like rabbits while the Vestans cloned new citizens in bulk. But when the terraforming of SecLand had reached the point where colonists could breathe the atmosphere tensions re-established themselves between the two old enemies. With terraforming nearing completion some wondered what use New Pallas could have for the Vestans, on both continents. To that end the Vestans began to covertly build weapons in their Arcologies while New Pallas shifted their orbital satellites slightly. It all came to a head when the Vestans concealed a lethal virus in food shipments sent from their farms to the cities of New Pallas, thousands died in the months that followed. By the time the New Pallas government realized what had been done every Vestan arcology had unveiled surface-to-orbit mass drivers that could shoot down their enemy’s satellites. Even then, many arcologies were leveled by orbital strikes. Then the land battles began. The cybernetically augmented citizen-soldiers of New Pallas facing off against the bioprinted legions of the Vestans. The fighting raged on for months, then abruptly, it ceased less than a year after the war had begun. You see, the Vestans had underestimated New Pallas’s skill with biotechnology, crafting a virus that could be deadly to all the diverse inhabitants of the Republic had been difficult, but a dirty little secret of many 21st century regimes were the techniques to engineer a virus that had disastrous effects when it interacted with a specific gene or genes. And the Society for the Preservation of Parahuman Species had only used a couple genotypes for their army, and even fewer for their ruling priest-scientists. Once the virus had been grown any Vestan unit that came into contact with the enemy was dead within a week, in a month the ruling class had been reduced to a few paranoid individuals who had sealed themselves in hermetic bunkers. Specialized by repeated cloning into an effective caste system, and their soldier castes suddenly extinct, the surviving Vestan arcologies found themselves helpless against New Pallas occupation forces.

The medical advances achieved fighting the bioweapons led to the development of leukosynths, symbiotic microbots that could fight off nearly all microbes and repair the body at an accelerated rate. Even fighting off the advances of aging. When this “immortality” was proven to the public they clamored for the government to subsidize their deployment to the masses. Within the century 90% of New Pallas’ population enjoyed the benefits of leukosynths.

Among this chaos a new power emerged in the Pallene cities and settlements. Families all over the planet started giving birth to silver fox kits, reminiscent of their colony’s nearly-deified founder, Argentum. Some religious leaders saw this as a sign and exalted these silver foxes, propelling many into high positions in politics. The cynical suggested that the parents had modified their children’s genes in-utero, but after the plagues many people were desperate and willing to believe anything. Most of them were actually descendants of Argentum’s, but their progeny numbered in the hundreds of thousands by that point anyways.

An unintentional side effect of this bit of social engineering was a renewed interest in their origins out in the depths of space. And despite the terrors they knew awaited them they couldn’t help but wonder if any other colony ships had made it…

Epsilon Eridani

Ceres, the largest asteroid in Sol’s asteroid belt, was the main off-world base of operations for the corporation that created the first parahumans. During the revolution parahumans took over the local branch offices and largely continued to operate along the same lines. Their participation in the exosolar space race was almost an afterthought, an attempt at remaining relevant compared to the other two major asteroid civilizations in Sol system.

Upon arrival in the Epsilon Eridani system they found even fewer viable prospects for terraforming than those in Alpha Centauri. Instead, they opted to construct enclosed habitats in the system’s asteroid belts and under the surface of the larger rocky planets. Like on Ceres the colonists retained the corporate style of government that had served their forebears fairly well.

After about a century of this arrangement dissatisfaction among the lower ranking employees spread towards the shareholding class. A bloody revolution followed, after which the revolutionaries distributed the seized shares in the Eridani Company equally among the employees, granting everyone a vote in company elections and a share of the profits. Roughly a generation later a group of managers started buying up shares from others.

The third such regime made contact with a probe from New Pallas, trade began almost immediately.

Tau Ceti

The second Vestan colony ship took over a century to reach its destination, the star Tau Ceti. Along the way two generations of crew were decanted from the ship’s bioprinters to replace their predecessors. While the final crew were genetically identical to those who had set out from Vesta their commitment to the ideology of the Society for the Preservation of Parahuman Species had wavered, and with the news of Terra’s destruction some suggested that perhaps the best way to avoid sharing that world’s fate would be to lose their advanced technology.

That would require them to give up cloning as a means of reproduction, however they were unwilling to allow reckless crossing of genelines so they added genetic markers to prevent different phenotypes from interbreeding. Fortunately, unlike the other colony ships they discovered a lush world that wasn’t too hostile to Terran life which they named Schwarzwelt after the dark colors of the local chlorophyll analogue. They then settled each “species” into different “clans” in different regions of the planet. The clans grew in population rapidly, bumping up against the borders designated at founding in less than a century. War broke out.

Clans rallied behind charismatic warrior-nobles and weaker clans swore oaths of fealty to stronger ones to save their own skins. These wars continued until contact with the first probe from the Centauri system, realizing that there was another civilization out there and that they were capable of interstellar travel the clan heads held a council to decide what to do about it. The majority ruled that they needed a single man to represent their world when the outsiders came in person, they elected King Hideo Fink of the feline clan as the official ruler of Tau Ceti.

Birth of the Federation

While the first manned starships with conversion drives were still traveling to their neighbors, scientists at a research base orbiting Proxima Centauri, the small red dwarf star that barely qualified as the third star of the Alpha Centauri system, made a breakthrough. Using a newly discovered form of exotic matter a wormhole could be pulled from the quantum foam of the universe and held open indefinitely. Once they successfully sent a laser through a pinprick-sized wormhole from Proxima to Secland, the New Pallas senate approved funding for the production of wormholes large enough to send materials through.

A very expensive experiment proved that wormholes larger in diameter than a micrometer could be catastrophically destabilized by proximity to large gravity wells. It was decided that no traversable wormhole could be placed closer to a star than the Oort Cloud, but even then the potential for shortening an interstellar voyage from decades to months was too exciting. Proxima Centauri was enclosed in a small Dyson sphere dedicated solely to producing the exotic matter for wormholes and just over a century after contact the first interstellar traversable wormhole between Proxima Centauri and Tau Ceti was ready, Epsilon Eridani followed suit. Commerce and communication between the three systems exploded, and conflict with them.

While interstellar war didn’t break out, there were many in both Tau Ceti and Epsilon Eridani who suspected that New Pallas intended to invade them through their wormholes. Before long both planetary governments were dealing with armed insurrections. New Pallas was all too glad to provide advanced weaponry and vehicles, especially on Schwarzwelt where the military was decentralized and entire clans or houses were rebelling. Eventually Pallene troops and warships were stationed in the two systems to defend Pallene interests.

Seeing tensions rise Grand Mayor Selkd de Argentum came up with an ingenious solution, an interstellar government composed of representatives from all three star systems, as well as any new systems that would be colonized in the future. That way, everyone could theoretically have a say in interstellar politics. While visiting Schwarzwelt in 1150 to promote his vision, Selkd was assassinated by a sniper.

Selkd was succeeded by his sister, Lirdrill, who ordered the sniper’s family estates leveled by orbital bombardment as an example to the others. The ruling houses of other clans that had rebelled were rounded up and stripped of their noble ranks, then imprisoned in stasis banks. She continued her brother’s vision of a united parahuman government, but centralized around Alpha Centauri and the office of the Praetor, which would be held by her house.

Wormholes took a lot of time and resources to set up while probes were reporting back dozens of exoplanets that were inhabitable or easily terraformed, so the senate on New Pallas had been debating whether to launch colony fleets before or after traversable wormholes arrived at the potential colonies. As Lirdrill solidified the Federation, she made an executive decision. Wormholes would be spaced anywhere from 20 to 50 light-years apart, depending on resources and stellar density, and the stars between them would be reachable only by ships traveling at 80% of the speed of light or slower. Since leukosynths and cryo-stasis had become mature technologies by then the decades of travel were deemed acceptable.

Even then, there was some trouble finding enough volunteers to fill the colony ships that were being built. After a few suggestions of using rebels as indentured labor the Memetic Quarantine and Contingency program was established. The thousands of rebels held in stasis were to be shipped off to marginally inhabitable “Outworlds” light-decades from the nearest wormhole, and to make sure they didn’t draw too much attention, without any technology more advanced than the most basic steam engines. It was hoped that eventually they’d become “civilized” and submit to the Federation, or die off.

But, there was a secondary purpose to the program. The machines that had destroyed Terra were still out there, and if the Destroyers were to notice the Federation growing under their noses, perhaps they’d overlook those small Outworlds without radio.

The Traders

With the vast distances between most inhabited systems trade opportunities were limited. Most star systems had enough raw materials locally that shipping them from another star without a wormhole was simply not cost-effective. While nanofabrication meant that most manufactured goods could be produced in a small warehouse, if not a garage. For the first few centuries of expansion the only goods that were worth shipping interstellar were in the form of digital data, and most of that could be handled by laser transmissions, and the occasional courier.

Just over two centuries after the Federation was established, a courier ship operated by a branch of House Argentum decided to stop off at an Outworld. The captain decided to land a shuttle near one city-state established by the unwilling colonists to see what they were up to.

The locals were wowed by the great flying machine and the crew, having forgotten their origins already. They offered tribute to the visiting immortals, foodstuffs, sculptures, and textiles. The crew decided to take some of the tributes with them, leaving some inconsequential trinkets of Federation technology which were quickly replaced by their on-board fabricators.

When the courier next made port at a Federation starbase they showed off the unique goods they’d acquired, many of which were purchased at exorbitant prices by bored oligarchs. The Outworld’s inhabitants were rapidly diverging culturally from their forebears, far faster than the leukosynth-using worlds of the Federation. Those simple couriers had found something valuable to the nearly post-scarcity Federation, novelty.

Many houses and companies commissioned their own Outworld trade freighters while the senate debated whether it was even legal to trade with the “barbarians.” Eventually it was determined that trade would be allowed; but no weapons, vehicles, communications, or nanotechnology were to be given to Outworlders. Small starships with industrial nanofabricators would set up shop over Outworlds for years at a time, fabbing trinkets made from space-age alloys and exchanging them for cloth made with alien fibers. Many of these traders became fabulously wealthy during the next few centuries as the Federation expanded outwards and established more and more Outworlds.

It was fun while it lasted.

The Return of the Destroyers

The Destroyers responsible for Terra’s demise had made occasional appearances in the next two millennia. Zeroing in on sources of radio transmissions with relativistic projectiles followed by hunter-seeker probes that would scour the surrounding system of life. But it seemed they hadn’t noticed, or didn’t care about the Federation at large.

Then astronomers in the Federal core noticed something. Sol, Terra’s sun, was dimming. A few disposable probes sent back horrific images, a Dyson sphere, and it was almost complete. With the energy of Sol the Destroyers could incinerate the core worlds at the speed of light! A secret panel of the senate met with the Praetor to decide what to do about this unthinkable prospect.

The Federal Guard’s fleets were assembled at Proxima Centauri and dispatched for Sol. Never before had Federation technology been tested against the Destroyers, and no one wanted to underestimate them, so the fleet was loaded with the most advanced weaponry they could muster.

It wasn’t enough.

Quantum ansible transmissions reported massive ships that maneuvered without visible reactions and accelerated to impossible speeds in seconds. The Federal Guard was slaughtered in short order, but before they died one ship managed to launch an experimental superweapon at Sol itself.

A strangelet bomb, filled with the same strange matter that converted baryonic matter into antimatter in conversion drives, with catalysts for self-replication. They spread across the star in a matter of days, triggering a series of detonations that tore the star and the incomplete Dyson sphere apart.

When word came that they had a potential nova carrying strangelets in their neighborhood the Federation’s elites abandoned the core worlds en masse. Fleeing through the wormholes at top speed. As the secret mission to Sol and its destructive results leaked everyone who could afford a ship followed suit, departing for distant worlds that they hoped could bring salvation.

Then, just before the nova’s wavefront reached Proxima, the wormhole network was collapsed to prevent it from spreading to the far colonies.

The Collapse

Every star system that had a direct link to the wormhole network found itself swarmed by refugees from the Core. The remnants of the Federal Guard struggled to maintain order as refugees clashed with natives. Many refugee fleets were forced to leave for other systems that were less sparsely populated, a few even attempted to invade Outworlds. Other fleets became nomads, passing through inhabited systems without slowing down and trading for or extorting supplies as they passed.

As unrest reached critical levels many governors activated failsafe programs embedded in every Federation citizen’s leukosynth implants, rendering the star system’s entire population mortal. Most such governors were torn apart by angry mobs. On other worlds the population voluntarily gave up advanced technology in hopes of hiding from the Destroyers.

Three hundred years later the dust has mostly settled. Few star systems are politically united, with individual planets and megastructures using everything from wooden carts to gravity-manipulating starships. The Federation is ancient history, and its technology treasure waiting to be discovered.

[theurbanmechcomesforthee]

GALLEONS GRAVEYARD TARCOMP PATCH NOTES

-Added integration for the mod Slightly Better Multi-Trac (thank you StarLeagueSunSpider on MecHub, which is still recieving patches after like 25+ years which is Insane to me)

-Added fix for Highlander weapon stabilization not taking jump-jet velocity into account

-Reverted the Variable Range Targeting software to a prior version due to driver crashes (thank you for nothing, [company name i wont say here for legal reasons])

-Optimized the launch code. Again.

-Put various features to launch delayed until other programs are fully launched. This should minimize lag. I hope.

-Added a settings menu for software startup prioritization (thank you LesbianBow on MecHub once again, you are a lifesaver)

-Updated localization files.

KNOWN BUGS:

-Recently added a bug that shuts down the Tarcomp when an Executioner is targeted (Which is funny, but I'd like to know Why)

-Tarcomp is known to sometimes switch a friendly IFF to an enemy when an HPG pulse is fired nearby. I don't know why this happens and I almost don't want to know.

-Issue arises with projectile simulation spawning too many targeting lines. This results in a memory leak.

-Variable range targeting will sometimes complain now that the driver version is out of date. Ignore that if you can.

-Switching to Short range targeting with the VRT system will sometimes cause you to become "left handed", swapping your left and right hands to calculate for weapon stability.

-C3 network integration sometimes causes the computer to spawn an unaligned-faction T-posing Archer on the corner of the map. The software team is calling him HAL.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Adrian Carrasquillo at The Bulwark:

WHEN JOURNALIST RYANNE MENA TOOK TO THE STREETS of Los Angeles Friday to cover the protests against ICE, she figured she knew what to expect. As a Southern California News Group reporter whose beat includes crime, public safety, and (recently) immigration, Mena had covered her share of protests. She’d never been shot before, however. But as she was covering it all from outside the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles, that’s precisely what happened. A protester threw a desk chair at an entrance to the detention center, prompting agents to launch a fusillade of pepper balls and rubber bullets. Mena was hit with a pepper ball projectile on her upper-left thigh, leaving a nasty bruise and the dark realization that this would be unlike any protest she’d covered before. The next day brought further affirmation, as federal agents shot Mena again, this time with a rubber bullet that hit her on the right side of her head an inch above her ear. She and another journalist who was hit were then both tear-gassed by men Mena said were Homeland Security Investigations agents responding to protests in Paramount, California, after the ICE raid targeting the area around a Home Depot sparked the weekend’s protests. She posted photos to Instagram documenting her and her colleague’s injuries.

“It’s very violent, and it seems intentional,” Mena told The Bulwark. The Trump administration, she added, “is using Los Angeles as an example.” Mena has her reasons to believe this. As she noted, Los Angeles “has a longstanding history of large protests going back to the civil rights era.” The city is also filled with immigrants. “Everyone knows someone who isn’t authorized to be in this country, so this hits home for Angelos because immigrants are the lifeblood of our city.” Far from the musings of just one reporter on the ground, Mena’s comments reflect an emerging consensus of those pushing back on the Trump administration in this most precarious moment: L.A. was chosen for a reason; the White House wanted this to be their staging ground.

The first reason for this belief is historical: Los Angeles has for decades been a frequent site of major civil rights–related protests, from the 1968 East L.A. walkouts, when thousands of Chicano students protested inequality and prejudice in the public education system; to the riots in 1992 over the acquittal of police officers involved in the beating of Rodney King; to historic protest marches in 2006 for immigration reform. The second point has to do with demographics. In covering that rollout so far, I’ve often written about Louisiana’s detention centers, which have come to be known for human rights abuses and for making detainees inaccessible to their lawyers and families. In such deep-red states, there’s also a sense among undocumented people that they are clearly, vastly outnumbered—and also with fewer allies. In that context, it makes sense to try to evade any kind of public scrutiny, to keep your head down and your profile low to try to keep your family together. But Los Angeles? It’s almost half Latino; immigrants really are, as Mena said, the lifeblood of the city and the state. In L.A., nearly half a million people live in mixed-status families. Paramount—where agents sought out day laborers outside Home Depot after Stephen Miller suggested more Home Depot raids were needed—is 82 percent Latino, according to census figures. Once reports spread of the ICE offensive, it was only a matter of time before people took to the streets to defend their families, friends, and neighbors.

THAT’S THE HISTORICAL AND DEMOGRAPHIC CONTEXT through which to view these protests. There is a similarly important political context too. We are long past the phase of “mass deportation” in which bad actors or those with scary rap sheets are the main focus. Real, hard-working people—taken from the L.A. garment district or in front of a Home Depot while trying to find work—are being targeted. Americans were promised a crackdown on criminals and are instead watching masked people destroy families. Some were pleased to hear this. But others either did not believe Trump when he said he would do this or did believe him and opposed him—and it’s many of those people who now are rising up to say no.

Los Angeles, California, a heavily Latino (primarily Mexican-American) city with a history of pro-immigrant protests, is where the Trump Regime staged their ICE raids with the intent to frighten the residents of the city and install tyrannical rule.

[namedr]

PROJECTILE LAUNCHER

[rockyp77mk3]

British Troops familiarize themselves with a PIAT at a firing range in Tunisia - February 19, 1943.

The PIAT, or “Projector, Infantry, Anti Tank” was a British man-portable anti-tank weapon designed in 1942. The PIAT utilized the “spigot mortar system” that launched a 2.5 pound shaped charge bomb using a cartridge in the tail of the projectile. It had an effective range of 115 yards in the direct fire anti-tank role.

First used during the Tunisian campaign in 1943, the PIAT remained in use with British and Commonwealth forces until the early 1950s.

The PIAT was known for its powerful recoil and difficulty in cocking the weapon.

[satoshi-mochida]

Street Fighter 6 DLC character Elena ‘Gameplay’ trailer, screenshots - Gematsu

Capcom has released the gameplay trailer for Street Fighter 6 downloadable content character Elena, who is due out on June 5 alongside the launch of its Switch 2 version and Years 1-2 Fighters Edition.

Here are the latest details:

As a returning fan favorite of the series, players’ spirits will rise for Elena as she brings her unique moveset inspired by capoeira, a Brazilian martial art and dance form that blends martial arts, dance, music and acrobatics combined with the modern touches of Street Fighter 6 mechanics. Elena also brings a brand new stage, Reniala Remains, which showcases the plains of Africa at night as wildlife roam in the background, all lit by the glowing moon above. Players will need to keep up with Elena as she dances across all three game modes including World Tour, Fighting Ground, and Battle Hub.

The pure-spirited Elena showcases her kicker moves with two colorful Outfits. Outfit 1 is themed around her newest look, creating a fresh yet familiar style that emphasizes both her grace and physique, while Outfit 2 is an ode to her iconic look in Street Fighter III: New Generation and Ultra Street Fighter IV. Outfit 2 can be acquired by maxing out your bond with her in World Tour or via Fighter Coins.

As seen in the trailer, Elena’s moveset uses her long legs and unpredictable movements to keep her prey in check, including:

-Rhino Horn – A series of quick, forward-moving kicks that send the opponent flying back

-Scratch Wheel – Known as Elena’s “dragon-punch,” this move is useful for anti-airs or for keeping opponents away

-Lynx Song – Where things get wild, Elena spins forward close to the ground while invincible to projectiles and can then use four different techniques out of it, such as Leopard Snap, Harvest Circle, Mallet Smash or Lynx Whirl.

Leopard Snap – A long-reaching attack useful for closing distances

Harvest Circle -: A kick that launches opponents in the air and maintains invincibility to projectiles

Mallet Smash – An overhead kick that can buffalow-profile

Lynx Whirl – Elena performs an additional spin to extend Lynx Song. If the aforementioned Leopard Snap, Harvest Circle, or Mallet Smash are performed after Lynx Whirl, their properties are “boosted!”

-Spinning Scythe – As seen in previous iterations, perform a series of spinning kicks that can be canceled and followed up with Leopard Snap, Harvest Circle, Mallet Smash, and Lynx Whirl, to keep up the pressure on her opponents

-Moon Glider – An evasive technique where Elena steps back before performing a vertical spinning kick that sends the opponent in the air

-Meteor Volley – Elena’s Level 1 Super Art that operates as an effective anti-air move and also allows for a follow-up attack.

-Revival Dance – Elena’s Level 2 Super Art where she launches forward with a flurry of kicks and is invincible to all attacks on start-up. If you hold the down button, rather than dealing extra damage, Elena will do her trademark healing!

-Song of the Grasslands – Elena’s Level 3 Super Art brings the power of nature to the fight as she delivers kicks with the power of the skies and plains!

Finally, a major balance patch will come to Street Fighter 6 when Elena launches, introducing changes for all of the previous 25 characters along with some broader system changes as well. Keep an eye out for the detailed patch notes as we head toward Elena’s launch!

Street Fighter 6 is available now for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, PlayStation 4, and PC vis Steam.

Watch the trailer below. View a new set of screenshots at the gallery.

DLC Character Elena Gameplay Trailer

English

Japanese

[marvelshifter111]

🧸 here again!

I’d love a kinetic ability list please!

Thank you !

- 🧸

Sorry it took me some time ❤️

Kinetic beings

- Elemental, energy, mechanical and cosmic beings

Elemental beings

Born of nature's raw power, elemental creatures are living embodiments of fire, water, earth, and air. Fire spirits blaze with passion, leaving trails of ash; water elementals flow gracefully, nurturing life or unleashing floods; earth golems embody strength and resilience, shaping landscapes; and air sylphs dance invisibly, whispering through storms.

Elementokinesis - The power to manipulate elements, such as earth, water, air, fire, electricity, heat, cold, light, shadow, energy etc.

Elemental psychology - User with this ability either is or can transform into an elemental; a creature with a natural affinity towards elements fire, water, lightning, wind, earth.

Elemental energy manipulation - Users can create, shape and manipulate elemental energy.

Elemental boundary - The users possesses the ability to separate any and all elements from anything and everything else.

Elemental generation - The user can generate various elements such as earth, water, air, fire, electricity etc.

Environmental manipulation - Altering the environment (water creatures creating floods, earth creatures shaping terrain).

Elemental blast - The user can release elements/energy over a specific target area causing great damage and/or delivering great shock waves of pure force.

Energy beings

Vibrating with raw energy, these beings are in constant motion, their forms flickering between light and matter. Their presence crackles with intensity, and they can harness ambient energy to obliterate obstacles or illuminate the darkest spaces.

Energy mimicry - The user is made up of or can transform their body completely into energy. A user's transformed form is anatomically identical to their normal form, aside of being made of energy

Energy teleportation - The user can stimulate teleportation via energy.

Energy independence - The user has an independence from energy, having no need to eat, drink, sleep

Invulnerability - The user possesses complete invulnerability to all forms of physical damage or harm, encompassing any and all damage types or magnitudes with being incapable of experiencing physical pain.

Intangibility - The user can move through solid objects and ignore most physical effects in their way

Invisibility - Users can render themselves unseen by the naked eye and become invisible in the visible spectrum.

Energy manipulation

Mechanical beings

Created by ingenious minds or ancient magic, mechanical creatures are marvels of artifice. Their intricate gears and circuits hum with purpose as they execute tasks with machine-like precision. Some serve as loyal guardians, others as relentless hunters, their metal frames impervious to most harm.

Adaptive reconfiguration - Reassemble their body into different shapes or forms (e.g., weapons, shields, tools).

Energy sfficiency - Draw power from any available energy source (sunlight, electricity, magic) to remain operational.

Self-repair - Automatically repair damaged parts using nearby materials or nanotechnology.

Data integration - Interface with machines or networks to gather information or manipulate systems.

Overclock mode - Temporarily enhance speed, strength, or precision by pushing their systems to maximum capacity.

Projectile launching - Fire mechanical parts or energy-based projectiles at targets.

Magnetic manipulation - The user can manipulate magnetism and magnetic fields.

Cosmic beings

Born in the cradle of stars, cosmic creatures are beings of celestial majesty and awe-inspiring power. Their forms shimmer with the light of distant galaxies, and their presence warps reality itself. Gravity bends to their will, and time itself falters in their presence.

Cosmic awareness - User is aware of and knows absolutely everything that happens on a universal scale including planets being destroyed, mortal threats and dangers, knowledge about the cosmos

Cosmic conversion - The user can absorb cosmic energy and convert it to other forms.

Cosmic embodiment - The user becomes a physical manifestation or personification of cosmic forces.

Cosmic warping - Users can use cosmic force/energy to warp/manipulate reality to various degrees.

Cosmic constructs - The user can turn cosmic energy into different forms and objects, ranging from simple shapes and images, to functional items

Gravity control

Cosmic manipulation

Names | Masterlist

This took hours to make, and I'm pretty sure this is one of the longest things i made

And i konda doubt people are gonna look at it, so if you did, thank you

Have a cookie 🍪

[tyrranux64]

I Did Nothing Productive All Day...

If I had the money to fund my own fighting game....well, this wouldn't be my first pick but screw it I'm in a funk and I need something to fiddle with. If I were able to do this I'd like it to be a 2D fighter in a similar graphics engine to Dragon Ball FighterZ and Guilty Gear Strive. Technically a four button fighter (Light, Medium, Heavy, Dash) but with a fifth "Contract" button which would.....uhhh.....I dunno do some kind of faustian bargain mechanic attack, like the Infinity Stones from MVCInfinite but with even more broken utility and a health cost to balance it? Or fuck it, just have it be the tag attack button for a 2v2 mode. Dash would be a medium strength lunge attack going up to 10 feet.

Actually y'know what? Easy EX Moves at 6% of your health! Just hitting this button (and a single directional input) gives you easy access to otherwise hard to trigger EX Moves when you need it but at the cost of some health. Thing is that spent health is now treated as Provisional Damage, you'd be able to get it back if you manage to perform that same EX Move (and successfully hit with it) using the intended but difficult Meter Burn button input. Of course if you get hit before you do this you lose that spent health permanently. The "Contract" button would stop working the moment you hit 5% of a given round.

I'd have the combo system be KI 2013 to a T, as such it would have a combo breaker system that's actually worth a damn to the point you wouldn't really need a comeback mechanic, having a damage decay to prevent TOD Combo bullshit. Supers would be real time and implement a meter system like KI, two stocks max, at least one of a character's supers would require both bars. I'd of course have a regular NRS style method to use EX Moves, needing at least 50% of a single bar to use. If a comeback mechanic must be implemented I'd have it be a Fatal Blow that does up to 60% damage in one go but then disables your access to EX Moves, Supers and even the "Contract" button. _______________________________________________________ [LAUNCH ROSTER; At best this would more than likely be an indy project, expectations for a big roster would have to be significantly tempered. At best I could see it launching with a minimum of 8.]

FRISK (Was banished to Hell by cultists, now fights to escape this waking nightmare.) A pretty straight forward stance character, changing up normals by switching between the fast but weak Knife, the medium stat Baseball Bat and the strong but slow Axe. Specials and Supers would be the same across all three stances, even having 3 unique specials that allow for instant switching during combos. Would have an exclusive Spot Dodge like Videl, one that can be EX'ed leading into a counter attack. Finally, a secret 10 second super mode that sees Frisk suddenly gaining powers similar to Sans, replacing the spot dodge with an Ultra Instinct dodge and giving brief access to Ermac style command grabs.

CHARLIE (Seek to claim Frisk's soul in a bid to protect them from the rest of Hell.) We have SF6 Manon at home. A decent array of command grabs that see Charlie forcing the opponent into brief spurts of ballroom dancing or ballot. Would also have some short range fire zoning that go about mid range, more for applying pressure than outright projectile spamming. Would also have a "sticky grenade" mechanic similar to KI 2013 Cinder, costing some meter to plant a will-o-wisp (max of 1) that can be detonated to break through the opponent's block.

PAPYRUS (A defective Revenant that has befriended Frisk, the first real friend that he even had.) A character prone to "falling to pieces" much like Nadia Fortune and MK1 Havik, using detachable limbs as both bludgeoning objects and makeshift boomerang weapons. In addition he'd have access to magic "bone traps" that come off like variations of Terry Bogard's Power Wave and Shang Tsung's Ground Skull. Would even have a "Blue Attack" super that momentarily disables the opponent's ability to jump for at least 8 seconds.

VAGGIE (Charlie's wife, helping the princess in her efforts to save Frisk.) Pretty much a greatest hits compilation of Kitana, Mileena and Jade. To this end I'd have her adopt the use of a three sickle blade throwing glaive as both a melee weapon and boomerang projectile, saving her spear for hard hitting specials and supers.

UNDYNE (Hell Knight servant of Lilith Morningstar sent to acquire Frisk before anyone else.) A small vicious collection of command parries in merfolk form, even having the ability to reflect the opponent's projectiles right back to them. Would have a pretty straight forward spear toss and a few takes on MK1 Shang Tsung's Bed of Spikes. Would have an "Undying" mechanic similar to KI 2013 T.J.Combo's Last Breath.

ANGEL DUST (A porn star that needs that 666 Trillion bounty on Frisk's head for..."freedom"...) Pretty much a hyper sexualized version of VS Series Spiderman but with the added flourish of a pair of Chicago Typewriters. Would have the most easy to spam projectiles but with an ammo count mechanic to keep track off, projectiles fired cannot do chip damage to blocking opponents.

FLOWEY (A mysterious entity who has a vested interest in Frisk and those that pursue them.) Smallest character bar none reaching up to Frisk's leg in height. Would pretty much be Smash Bros Piranha Plant with the added utility of vine whipping attacks and "Friendliness Pellets" that can be guided in diagonal trick shots. Would also have a hidden 10 second "Omega Flowey" super mode that transforms them into a hideous monstrosity fastened to the ceiling.

ALASTOR (Seeking to control Charlie, he too goes after Frisk to use them as deal making leverage.) We have MK1 Quan-Chi at home, also a bit of MKX Shinnok. _______________________________________________________ [ARCADE MODE BOSSES]

ADAM (Seeks to use Frisk's soul to complete the "Seven Hearts Ceremony" which will give him dominion over both Heaven and Hell.) Proverbial Goro of the game. We have SC6 Azwel at home. His ego leaves him prone to taunting the player leaving him open to attack for brief moments. Is able to recover health but this also leaves him open to attack.

ASRIEL THE GOD OF HYPERDEATH (In desperation Adam makes a deal with Flowey, dooming the first man to become the new vessel for the very eldritch deity that those cultists worship. There is no Adam anymore, only Asriel Dreemurr.) Final Boss. Pretty much what would happen if GG Justice, MVC1 Onslaught and MVC3 Dark Phoenix hate fucked in a hateful threeway, producing an extremely hateful baby best described as Borderline SNK Boss Syndrome. Would be an absolute mistake to make them playable. _______________________________________________________ [ADDITIONAL ROSTER; Hopefully I'd be able to give these extra characters as free updates.]

ALPHYS (Quit her job at Vox Industries in protest of him using HER tech to try and kill a child! As such she befriends Frisk.) Pilots a mech that would make Tron Bonne jealous. Said mech having a similar fram to GG Potemkin, boasting a host of built in weapons and tricks similar to MVC1 War Machine and Injustice Lex Luthor.

CHERRI BOMB (Angel Dust's ride or die best friend, helping him to acquire that 666 Trillion Bounty.) Pretty much what would happen if Cyrax's infamous Bomb was hit with gamma radiation and mutated into a whole move set onto itself. Normals involve extensive use of a crowbar.

SUSIE (Yet another in an ever increasing lists of demons pining for that 666 Trillion Bounty.) A towering beast with a battle axe, a few rudimentary magic spells and enough mass to and muscle to turn SF3 Hugo into a chew toy.

HUSK (The Radio Demon's slave sent to hinder Charlie and Vaggie at every turn possible.) Basically what would happen if VS. Series Wolverine suddenly grew wings giving him air combo supremacy. Might have access to a "Booze" mechanic that gives him brief bursts of strength and aggression at the cost of sluggish controls.

BURGERPANTS (A disgruntled fast food employee that sees the 666 Trillion bounty as a retirement fund there for the taking.) Has gone completely postal, using the pump action shotgun he got his hands on as both melee weapon and projectile launching device, even uses it to do blast propelled air dashes and double jumps. Has a whole back pack of other severe abuses of the second amendment.

STOLAS (An old friend of the Morningstar family, was asked to keep tabs on Charlie making sure she doesn't go rogue.) We have Smash Bros Ganondorf at home (albeit significantly faster). Borrows a few tricks from the KI 2013 Hisako playbook. Many of his more devastating moves emulate Dracula from the Castlevania series.

METTATON EX (Seeks the 666 Trillion bounty to revitalize his currently floundering fast food chain.) Jojo Poses, Jojo Poses Everywhere. Majority of normals would have heavy emphasis on kicking much like Eddie Gordo and Han Juri, saving his robotic arms for the Heavy button and certain hook shot specials. Would also get a 10 second "Mettaton NEO" super mode gaining air dashes and more hard hitting projectile spam.

LUCIFER (The King of Hell, forced to step onto the streets upon hearing news that his daughter Charlie is "misbehaving"...) Borderline MVC3 Vergil tempered by joke character quirks, would probably be the first to get banned from tournament play. _______________________________________________________ [POSSIBLE GUEST CHARACTERS; Where the real money is made. Would not be even remotely possible to offer these as free updates. Also I'd just bunch them all into a single slot similar to how the DLC was handled in MK9, requiring you to hit down additional times to cycle through the available characters.]

V1 (Ultrakill) (Frisk activated this "forbidden robot" to escape the V's, not fully knowing just what it was they unleashed....) An absolute monster twisting the very concept of the "shoto fighter" into a display of violence and brutality that would make even Akuma wince. I would also have V1 utilize a nasty command grab or two that drains blood from the opponent to heal itself.

POMNI (Amazing Digital Circus) (A client of the Hazbin Hotel, has become fiercely loyal to Charlie for being given house and home.) If DBF Ginyu was shorter and had crippling anxiety, summoning Ratha, Zooble and Jax for an array of MK1 Kameo style assists. On her own she would have "game glitches" that let her teleport relentlessly.

PEPPINO (Pizza Tower) (Papyrus ordered a pizza for Frisk, now this madman is hellbent on delivering said pizza in 30 minutes or less.) Would be grapple and rushdown god devoid of projectiles and other such extraneous abilities, human combat in its most purest form.

ROXY THE WOLF (FNAF Security Breach) (A pizzaria animatronic that Papyrus reprogrammed to hinder the Radio Demon.) We have GG Ino at home. Would also have a "Damaged State" mechanic gaining new more monstrous specials the more damage she takes during the match.

JUDGEMENT (Helltaker) (One of the feared Furies sent to quell the sudden escalation of chaos.) We have MKX Takeda at home REVENGEANCE!!! Would have masochist abilities to hurt herself gaining drastic boosts in strength and speed for brief moments (losing her ability to do combos for the duration).

SPAWN (Allies himself with Frisk out of pure spite for both the Overlords of Hell and the Morningstar Family.) Look I know the legal hoops and budget draining fees it would take to get this guy but just let me dream dammit! I'd have him be the best that MK11 Spawn had to offer with all the bad fat trimmed out, given a good helping of SF4 Oni to give him an added sense of "last person to fuck with".

[ninjacat1515]

Bloodcraft: Dragons

Dragons dwell in Overworld and the End. In Overworld they prefer to stick to remote and sparsely populated areas, and are rarely seen by humans. They are highly intelligent and want little to do with humans or Villagers. Some have agreements with Illagers and have even fought alongside them from time to time.

Shed dragon skin is a popular armor to use for its resistance to heat and projectiles. Dragon skin butchered right off of one is the most effective but also the most difficult to obtain. A dragon dying of natural causes isn't willingly surrendered for use by the others unless a major trade is conducted either.

Most dragons range from 40-60ft in length and have a more efficient way of breathing that's similar to a bird, as well as massive hearts. They launch into the air using all four legs, and while not the swiftest creatures in the sky they can reach high altitudes.

Dragons can thrive in a desert even when summer is at its most brutal and their immune systems benefit from strong sun exposure. The ones who live in the End enjoy similar benefits from the Void itself, or from the flowing purple and blue lava that heats the dimension.

The End also produces larger specimens due to them being in such close proximity to the Void, and a particularly fabled lineage of beasts here can surpass 100ft or more.