In the grimdark future of the ESUS...

[Zerstorendar]

What is ground combat like? I've been slaving over the Wiki when I haven't been busy (lol) with my current 'education', and Zerstorendar being a rather "GRR MANLY RIP AND TEAR" nation, ground combat is right up their alley. So I started wondering how this sort of thing worked with other ESUS members.

I will go into detail later in this thread about the Zerstorendarian approach to ground combat, but for now this article should give you all a general idea of how I roll:

http://wiki.esusalliance.co.uk/index.ph ... t_Infantry

There is no need to remark on the bullshit-athon that is his weapons system (I don't even have an idea what it actually does), or the fact that according to my article there are more Ravagers than I have NS population. That number is based on an idealised population of 10 billion.

Anyway, you should get the idea from the article. My men are superhumans in great powered-armour granting them over-the-top reflexes and all that jazz with decent firepower. They are precision fighters, their combat AI making every single movement they make an exercise in maximum efficiency and application of force.

What about you guys?

[Jordaxia]

Well, it's been a -long- time since I roleplayed, but when I did last, the military of Jordaxia, in the ground department, was pretty conventional for a sci-fi army. Basically it utilised all the vehicles you'd find on the contemporary battlefield, tanks, IFVs, APCs, scout vehicles, etc. The key vehicle that doesn't exist in the real world was my WIP tank, which is basically a necron monolith shaped hull -covered- in weaponry of various sizes. It was, first and foremost an intimidation weapon, and as large as most of the space vehicles I used *but then, they were small* and had a wormhole generation device allowing it to teleport around the battlefield.

Beyond this, most Jordaxian ground vehicles were fast and maneouvrable even at the expense of heavy armour, capable of all-terrain function, as they were all equipped with hoverpads, for example the 'pondskater' MBT which was essentially six pods attached to a central body, with a cannon turret mounted on to it.

the Jordaxian infantryman was equipped with a highly modular rifle called the RUCUS rifle. (stands for 'repeating underslung core urban supremacy) which fired in a variety of modes and was designed to fill every role. It was a railgun with a telescoping barrel, at its shortest length it functioned as a hand-held mortar device, at a moderate length like an assault rifle, and at maximum, like an anti-armour cannon. It fired slugs that were equally as modifiable, with explosive, kinetic, time-delay explosive, Sabot, and UAV. (for this, imagine using the mortar mode to fire a circular shell into the air, and once it reached the altitude required, it unfurled into an aerial reconnaisance drone.) The rifle was aimed by tuning into the users neurite net (a nanite based neural interface) that allowed aiming and usage mode switches by thought.

The infantryman themselves came in 3 flavours. First, are the first generation combat augments. This is when Jordaxian cybernetic augmentation was in its infancy, and tend to be brutish looking fusions of metal and flesh (for illustration, picture gunther herman from Deus ex.... google if you've never played it) and, despite combat efficiency, were phased out quickly as retired soldiers found it near impossible to re-adjust to civilian life following augmentation (the civilians thought them 'too freakish' looking.) Second, are the second generation combt augments. This represents a -considerable- leap forward in technology, as second generation augments look Jordaxian in their entirety, with the exception that they are considerably shorter than the average Jordaxian, measuring in at a mere 8 feet tall. (the average Jordaxian is 11 feet tall, tall inviduals are 13 feet. They otherwise look like incredibly thin humans.) Third are the Talosians. These are humanoid robots. Their key differentiating feature is that they are made out of mechanical components, and can and do redesign themselves to fill any combat role better. A basic Talosian, however, would look somewhat similar to HK-47.


And... that's all I can remember from the top of my head.

[Central Facehuggeria]

Ground combat? Well...

At the top of the scale, you've got the infamous Bolo. Imagine a five hundred meter long capital ship with treads on it. It's got oodles of small (and not so small) guns, but its main claim to fame is the enormous tower at the back. That tower holds four ginormous guns designed to be used against orbiting enemy warships.

It's also got full production capabilities, so a Bolo-equipped legion doesn't have to resupply nearly as much.

Moving down, you've got various gravtanks (cross an A10 with a tank) and drone fighters/bombers/tanks. They aren't all that interesting, seeing as how they're mainly meant to support the armored infantry.

Then you get to the power armor. Notorious primarily for its insane over the topness, CF power armor is reknowned as requiring a nuclear weapon to penetrate. Of course, this is a slight exaggeration. Anti-tank weapons will also get through with repeated hits. It's also capable of powered supersonic flight, though, of course, a dedicated fighter will tear right through it.

On the 'performance enhancing' front, CF power armor nowadays typically doesn't do much of that, actually. Reactions are boosted by the extra hardware in modern power armor (links to the soldier's neural lace), but it doesn't actually provide extra strength any more. This is because it's more like a really tiny mecha, now. The trooper is curled up in the center of the suit and controls everything via the neural link.

Add in shields, medicomps, teleporters, point defense packages, and ECM, and you've got a Facehuggerian powersuit.

Also: Chainsaws. Chainsaw bayonets, chainsaw gloves, chainsaw tentacles, grenades which explode sending dozens of tiny chainsaw drones after nearby targets...

Speaking of chainsaw bayonets, the Multirifle is the standard Facehuggerian arm, equipped with a quad-repeating powergun, universal energy weapon, d-gun, underslung grenade launcher, and chain bayonet. All CF troops either carry one, or can spot-fab one in the field, depending on what sort of powersuit they've got on. This in addition to any built in firepower like nuclear missile racks, heavy powerguns, etc etc.

I do have a legion who doesn't use ranged weapons at all. They use nothing but teleporters and chainsaws, for that personal feeling.

[Capsule Corporation]

Wow... taken as far as natural and drug-assisted resistance training can take someone. There are still obvious factors that make it impossible to turn any willing candidate into an uberelite... willpower, spirit, loyalty, how they deal under pressure, factors like that make someone individually weak. So a flaw in the system would be that everyone is treated the same, and forced into a uniform type of soldier, and lose their identity. Their repressed identities and personality traits will come forth under the pressure of a losing battle, causing a really hard fall, really fast.

(Plus, who needs ground troops? *bombs* *lasers* *glass* j/k )

[Telros]

Well, I went with an approach I knew well, and added bits from other universes I have read and played. I was heavily influenced by Warhammer, and Killzone. I have a heavy use of infantry and vehicles in my army, with support for close combat, and lots of destruction. We commonly bombard the shit out of planets, cities, and anything the enemy may have and then hunt them down. After all, we don't play nice in war. If you attack us, we don't stop coming until your entire race is gone, or it is no longer to our benefit to continue the conflict.

They wear power armor and are heavily augmented genetically. Fast, strong, enduring, all that kinds of stuff. The Marines are the front-line units of my Dominion, and are rather strong. They have strong power armor, with energy shielding, and wield a variety of weapons. From energy/kinetic rifles (modular as it can switch between both with a simple flick of a button), to sonic grenades that use sound to vaporize anything that is in their radius, they can deal out the damage. Then, there is my elite. The War Bringers are my version of space marines. They are around the same size, wear large powersuits and are ridiculously powerful. They can rip normal soldiers in half with a punch, and have all their stats (strength, speed, endurance, etc), boosted exponentially when compared to Marines. They too have shielding, stronger even, and wield their weaponry with greater skill, and ability. They aree immensely skilled, and are often deployed in small Chapters, another use of WH, and can rip apart most conventional armies. They wield the same modular weaponry, and grenades, and are very powerful. If one imagines a Space Marine, they pretty much have the War Bringers. Also, they have stronger versions of themselves with their Warleaders, my version of a Primarch, but without the powers.

As for vehicles, they have things ranging from heavy tank, to light scout, to immense walker, to OH SHI- juggernauts of tanks. As I said, they are vehicle and infantry heavy. They have fighter support and try to have orbital support when possible, but they usually use that to ferry supplies, materials and troops to the surface, and to blow up shit. That's about it. Of course, within the Marines and War Bringers, there are snipers, commandos, etc etc, but this is the ground combat arena.

[Zerstorendar]

I feel compelled to compare Ravagers to CF Power-Armoured Infantry.

Alright, so since CF's troops have always been the baseline for how powerful my Ravagers are, I look at it this way:

1- I have less firepower than a CF power armour, my kinetic/energy weaponry is a bit smaller and fires more slowly. A-enhanced precision is the name of the game for my troops, but we are considerably less killy.
2- I daresay my troops would be more formidable close-combat fighters, smaller but just as choppy and probably much faster. Not that that is very relevant in ESUS-level warfare.
3- Again, my men are obviously heavily enhanced but that only helps a little to even the field when your suits are so LOLHUEGSTALINCRUSH.
4- Point defence packages are something I lack, though I do have shields, very powerful medical equipment, scrambling systems, teleporters, etc.
5- I have shields and my armour is made of something really hard that I haven't decided yet, but there is no contest between whose soldiers are more protected.

So I say a CF soldier would blow one of mine to pieces. More than one, even. But since I have MOAR Ravagers (theoretically), I walk away from this analysis with a satisfied look on my face despite no real conclusion.

Good day.

[Trailers]

Scrambling systems won't stop carpet-nuking.

[Arizona Nova]

(Plus, who needs ground troops? *bombs* *lasers* *glass* j/k )

The stars belong to the people who have an actual ground force, as opposed to a legion of red shirts.

[Zerstorendar]

Unless you want to live in space, ground troops are actually quite useful : >

[Arizona Nova]

Quite, I'm agreeing with you.