Imagine, for a moment, a space station with artificial gravity. It is large. It contains two "tribes", each with their own ideologies, cultural habits, and beliefs. Their beliefs are irreconcilable by diplomatic means, but for safety purposes no powerful weapons of war are available to the tribes. They have only simple melee weapons. However, they have access to very effective simple armor made with modern materials and methods.
ITT we design that armor.
This is awesome because:
1) SCA heavy combat is awesome, but I feel that it could be more awesome without technological/period restrictions
2) If someone designs armor that I could feasibly construct, I will give it a go.
3) It's fun to design armor.
(http://loyalkng.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/avatartoy.jpg)
Not exactly. The goal is to have modern armor without any electronics or projectile weaponry.
For example, what I've got so far:
(http://i518.photobucket.com/albums/u346/heinous_simian/out.jpg)
God dammit sig, I like the way you think.
How advanced is the technology here? Nanotechnology? Cuz I've been reading a Christ-ton of Alastair Reynolds and I am PRIMED for that shit.
My first thought is a retractable mace/morning star. It would fold itself into form upon release and then the filament would feed out of the exit point built into the armor.
Possibly some kind of limited projectile capability.
Something tells me Fred needs to get in on this.
FRED IS BUSY
-What kind of space-station? What specific kind of environment are we talking about here? I can imagine quite a few different kinds.
-What are the physical boundaries between the two tribes?
-How is the social hierarchy structured? Different for each tribe?
-What resources are available to each tribe?
-Is it an oxygen-rich environment?
-How easy would depressurization be?
More on the background:
The station is essentially a ring station with living area roughly 80 mi^2. It is an interstellar ship, and capable of withstanding or avoiding the space debris it is likely to encounter. For radiation shielding, it uses an electromagnetic field generator to deflect the radiation.
There is artificial gravity from the spin of the ring, and the living area is essentially a biodome with a fully sustainable ecosystem of flora and fauna, but tier one predators are rare, humans aside.
The tribes are descended from humans, but the return to tribalism has forced comparatively rapid evolution. In these conditions, where the gravity is weaker and there are few natural predators, and intertribal warfare is common, the humans have evolved into a taller, somewhat more physically powerful subspecies.
These tribes are unaware that they are on this space station, and their language has mutated beyond recognition, although etymologically similar. From hundreds of years ago, when some could still read, come families with names culled from labels on certain things in the ship. For example, the house of Warnung Eskap-Hach is especially noteworthy.
The tribes are very spiritual. One tribe worships a being known as the Watcher, whom some have even met. In truth, he is one of the forerunners of the interstellar ring station project, who periodically downloads himself into a freshly cloned body to observe the tribes. Repeated mind transfers, and thousands of years of bit rot have driven him slightly mad, and he's begun manipulating the tribes for his amusement.
This is where they got the armor. The Watcher was able to track down a few suits of armor, of advanced materials and technologies. These armor were meant to last more or less forever, and were made without electronics or parts that may have expired. However, they are of immense durability and afford the wearer a high degree of protection from nearly any blow. Most weapons are tribal level pot-metal weapons, or hammers, but the Watcher may also have supplied a few useful zealots with shock batons, telescoping morning stars, or what have you.
The only real restriction here is "nothing that could endanger the station's structural integrity, or destabilize the ecosystem. Meaning, nothing that causes fires, poisons the earth, puts big holes in things, or explodes.
Quote from: Alty on February 07, 2010, 03:01:01 AM
-What kind of space-station? What specific kind of environment are we talking about here? I can imagine quite a few different kinds.
-What are the physical boundaries between the two tribes?
-How is the social hierarchy structured? Different for each tribe?
-What resources are available to each tribe?
-Is it an oxygen-rich environment?
-How easy would depressurization be?
1) A ring-station
2) Some forest, a goodly fifteen miles of wilderness, and a few artificial lakes and streams.
3) Neither have advanced political systems, but the hierarchy is fairly flat except for the figureheads in charge.
4) Living supplies, stoneworking, leatherworking, basic metallurgy, little in the way of medicine.
5) No, the oxygen levels are kept at earth levels by the vast robotic maintenance systems under the living area.
6) Not easy with what the tribes have, but not hard with a thermal lance or a poorly placed shape-charge.
Quote from: Horrendous Foreign Love Stoat on February 07, 2010, 06:32:56 AM
yeah. do we need to build in oxy tanks and pressure seals?
Nope, the tribes work on the poor assumption that they live on a proper world with normal atmosphere, and the armor they are given is designed for on-station security, not spacewalks.
I like the idea of contests and challenges in Bring and Brag. It would motivate me to get off my shapely ass and art something once and awhile. I unfortunately don't know the first thing about armor, so I'll have to pass on this one. The idea is great though!
I also suck at robots or anything remotely resembling drawing.
But I am for anything to further the scientific community.
So I present my entry, the Geek-Bot
(http://img704.imageshack.us/img704/6601/geekbot.png)
Lacking on the creativity :(
I think the sort of outfit police use in riot situations, complete with the lightweight shields, would be pretty kickass in this sort of situation.
Just saw this. I'll dream something up at work.
Sig, the real secret here isn't going to be design, but materials.
Any restrictions?
I think the restriction "Simple melee weapons", and the fact that it's a space station with artificial gravity give us a few hints to the upper limits. Here are the deductions / assumptions I'm drawing from that:
1. This space station has a serious hull. The kind of thing you could slam repeatedly with a sledge and not risk structural damage, decompression, etc. The forces brought to bear by a handgun, of scifi weaponry would be BAD, as they could burn out walls or portions of the station too easily, but cutting / bludgeoning devices are unlikely or NOT going to be a problem.
(Question on this part; some "simple" melee weapons. I'd guess this means no small seige weapons, masive leaf - spring crossbows, or the like. Not a necessary question to answer, but more my own curiosity about the setting.
2. Resources, as far as metals, plastics, and organic compounds modern and ancient of all decriptions are readily available in most quantities and configurations. (The mechanism of HOW does not need to be justitifed, supposing Star Trek style replicator machines)
(Question on this part, I'm guessing ONLY modernly known materials. Ex: no admantium chastisy belts, unobtanium sword catching guantlets, etc.)
3. Even though surrounded by high tech, none of said high tech can be brought to bear for arms / armoring, or even indirect warfare. (No ripping out artifical gravity generators to make repulsive armor, forcefields, increasing teh gravity in enemy territory to 5 G's, etc.)
4. Anything that theatens station operation, structural integrity or life support is forbidden seriously, or confiscated by some force outside the two tribes. (Substances can abound for engineering pursuits, such as making said armor, but anything too badass is immediately zapeed out of play by Big Brother. So no orange juice napalm, paraffin bombs, or rolling 5 foot boulders of contact explosive and nails down the halls at each other.)
Sig, if any of these are incorrect, or counter to your own ideas of the setting, just let me know.
The idea is that whoever made the space station also made this armor, so it should probably be made of high tech materials but not require knowledges to operate. Whatever materials are used should be real materials and not made up. It is not infeasible to say, for example, that this armor uses piezoelectrics to power muscle wire systems that assist the wearer's strength. It's really unlikely, but feasible in theory. Think hard sci-fi, not soft.
Quote from: Doktor Howl on February 22, 2010, 03:33:29 PM
Sig, the real secret here isn't going to be design, but materials.
Any restrictions?
As I say. It has to exist, or at least be known to be possible in theory. You can make it out of platinum if you want, it just wouldn't work too well.
So basically idealized, mass production hand - to - hand armor? Tricky question, but I'd have a few elements regardless. Here's the "off the top of my head" list.
Hard coverage: Solid, continuous pieces of Steel / titanium / whatever, padded and strapped in place. This is for covering your "One shot kill" areas, places that, if hit, will disable the fighter, even if for a few moments.
Head (This means FACE too.)
Throat
Groin
Sternum / chest, wrapping around to kidneys
Top of the shoulder to the neck
Elbows (except into the crook of the arm)
Knees (except at the back)
Shins
Toe / instep / heel / achilles tendon
Wrist + hand as possible
Forearms (along the ulna from teh point of the elbow, radial nerve on top of the radius at the elbow)
Upper leg (at least along the front of the femur, hard plates for femoral nerve pressure points.
Articulated plate coverage: (nested curved peices, overlapping plates, interlaced / interconnected lamellar. For covering vitals that are otherwise pretty much impossible to cover without making movement, (geting up of the ground, picking up fallen weapons, bending, etc.)
Back of the neck
Lower torso
wrist + hand as possible
Cut / puncture Resistant coverage: Kevlar, silk, chainmail (small welded rings of stainless steel or like)
Some places on a human body you just CAN'T armor well. This is for such areas, with extra layers and reinsforcesment, as well as under everything else.
Modular / optional plates / padding: Not everyone can work well strapped into an invulnerable tank, and depending on personal preference, skill, or role, or situation, more or less armor is often called for.
Extended length hard torso shell
Solid groin
flexible skirting, hanging solid plates or interlaces plates for groin.
solid shell forearm, upper arm, upper leg, lower leg.
Solid boots
Solid shoulder pauldrons.
Facegrills of steel mesh, clear plastic, free hanging chain, perforated metal, etc. (interchangeable / customizable as preference or mission dictates)