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Post by scarapis on Oct 1, 2017 4:58:29 GMT
The discussion here has diverged pretty far from the initial intent of the posting. The point is/was that the Martian heat rays are not infinitely powerful weapons with infinite range. They have distinct limits. This is particularly important to the Zeppelins due to their inherent flammability. Tactical adaptations could make them survivable enough for utility. There is no disputing that fixed wing aircraft with appropriate ammunition were certain death for Zepps. There is also no disputing that Martians during the Wells' invasion brought aircraft with them (or constructed them) and used them to deliver black dust to human targets. Why they have not used them in the AQMF timeline is an open question at this point. Nonetheless, air-to-air combat is beyond the scope of this thread. It needs it own thread. I always wondered why the game did not give Martian's Flyers, but then realized they were saving the martian flyers for when they introduced the Human flyers. as the saying goes one step at a time, that and I might end up designing my own Martian flyers, not like the ones from the old movie or the cartoon movie, but something more unique. and my 3D kung fu skills are good (ok maybe mediocre)
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Post by scarapis on Sept 30, 2017 13:36:18 GMT
I think that in any game of All Quiet, the zeppelin would be treated like 'off board artillery'. The human player would get some sort of area bombardment during the game. High-flying aircraft bombers would work the same way. It wouldn't be unbalancing, just an option the human player could pay points for. You could have scenarios involving airships, too, I suppose. Problem is they already had plans for the game to introduce fighters (a fancy new bi-plane) and lets face it, Martians can launch rockets across the vastness of space, i'm pretty sure they can come up with their own flyers it is just a matter of finding the resources and materials needed to do so and with no serious aerial engagement by us it has not been a high priority for them.
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Post by scarapis on Sept 30, 2017 3:20:52 GMT
Why not...? Because it takes time to build, equip, crew, and train any new technology. Plus, there are other demands for resources. Add this to bureaucratic inertia and it takes time to adopt. Then too, there is the fact that Zepps can do some things that aeroplanes cannot and vice versa. Each has a place in the spectrum of technology. You don't want to rely on a single technology. Note that the AQMF Martian invasion has only been underway for a few years. We will just have to wait and see where the AQMF storyline goes. Wise (= long lived) Zeppelin crews avoided the vicinity of thunderstorms...nuff said. You do realize to even the playing field the Martians would have to get some flyers which would make Zeppelins slow moving targets for them.
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Post by scarapis on Sept 29, 2017 21:29:53 GMT
That's why tactics must evolve to minimize vulnerability and exploit the strengths. Maintaining ranges above 3000 yards (combination of range and elevation) cuts the likelihood of a critical hit. Adding a bit of high reflectivity foil also works to help survivability without a lot of weight. FWIW: "in 1931 the airship Graf Zeppelin began offering regular scheduled passenger service between Germany and South America which continued until 1937. During its career Graf Zeppelin crossed the South Atlantic 136 times." This is hardly an "airship that explodes if you even look at it sideways." Attention to detail and disciplined operations made this possible. Problem is, then why not have an army of nothing but Zeppelins that drop bombs or whatever down on the tripods, game over. And Hindenburg, nuff said
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Post by scarapis on Sept 29, 2017 13:54:31 GMT
Sadly any lighter-than-airships will have to depend on hydrogen. The only source of helium in quantity was the gas fields in the Texas-Oklahoma panhandle areas and in this time line those aren't going to be developed any time soon. Whats wrong with an airship that blows up if you even look at it sideways
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Post by scarapis on Sept 29, 2017 13:24:43 GMT
But like I said, America never really invested in the Zeppelin we got their smaller cousins the Blimp but even that came later and was only for war spotting (hot air balloon during civil war and Blimps used during WWI) but then again Blimps would not get the height to avoid the beams, meanwhile Germany is not giving up any technology, as far as they are concerned they are playing catch up with the Brits (and in a smaller sense America) and they are on a war footing not with Martians but other Europeans, meanwhile America never invested heavily into Zeppelins and such but once powered flight became an option they went bat crazy for that.
As it goes the game designers I feel did us a disservice by making Germany neutral at best and enemy most likely, yeah they were looking for other groups to field, but the German mechanical expertise could have helped the US come up with all kinds of designs maybe even our own walkers and such. Check out "War of the Worlds: Goliath" if you have not heard of it for an idea of what we could have done with a united Earth instead of a divided one.
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Post by scarapis on Sept 29, 2017 5:44:04 GMT
One Problem at the Time Zeppelins were mostly a German product. and right now they are not giving up any of their technology.
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Post by scarapis on Sept 18, 2017 4:34:36 GMT
Problem is that Documentary is only viewable in the UK.
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Post by scarapis on Sept 9, 2017 14:11:03 GMT
I have to say (and this is with jest) that the first thing that I think of when I think of the wild west is the movie "1000 ways to die in the west!" Sorry, I know thats lowering the bar. Oh that movie is funny, in fact can't wait to see his new show this sunday coming on TV Orville, problem is TV and Movies rarely ever got anything right about how the west was really like. and it wasn't as wild and unruly as people think either. And why not think of Silverado when you think of the wild west?
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Post by scarapis on Sept 9, 2017 5:23:10 GMT
You need to remember that Australia had an army in 1903. Australians fought in the Boxer rebellion, the Boer war and the war in Sudan. Gallipoli wasn't the first battle, it's just the conflict that defined Australia as a nation. Check out the battles that the Aussie light horse were involved in in Palestine, the charge on Beersheeba is an interesting read. Australia wasn't a Wild West type country in the WW1 era, it just had a small population, spread out over large distances. Most of those population centres were in a few major cities, with those living further out being either in farming or mining. The state of Victoria grew very quickly with the finding of gold in the 1800's and was a cultural centre by the 1900's. The problem is at the time the Australian army had very little if any of a standing army, also do you know what the wild west was like? a small population with the majority of the population located in a few major cities and with even fewer out farming or mining? tell me does that sound familiar? hell Wyatt Earp was still alive during WWI
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Post by scarapis on Sept 6, 2017 21:38:08 GMT
I'm a little confused about the Aussie setup in WW 1. Didn't they contribute heavily to the campaign in Turkey? Gallipoli (sp) was a disaster, but, there was a strong Aussie (& New Zealand) presence. I'm sure a lot of the Aussie homeland was a social 'roustabout', but they did put several major units into that failed disaster. only a total of 65,000 Australian and New Zealander troops were used on Gallipoli a small fraction compared to the UK forces involved in that operation (around 345,000) During World War I over 421,809 Australians served in the military with 331,781 serving overseas. most of those recruited at the onset of WWI
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Post by scarapis on Sept 4, 2017 15:02:47 GMT
ok other than the fact that we seem to have ended up talking beer (should have known) i think we all agree the Aussie might have been able to put up a better fight than the fluff says (plus support from other powers in the area?) hope when the second ed comes it might be at least more of a fight if not a on going front Problem is about that time Australia was still in like the Wild West, with farmers, cowboys, Aboriginals (treated little better then slaves) and roustabouts. their army didn't really come into effect until WWII heck even the coastal patrols were not set up yet. to give a better idea check out the movie Australia and imagine that but less.
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Post by scarapis on Sept 2, 2017 14:58:47 GMT
Problem is a lightning gun on a boat would create interesting issues like how to ground it to prevent the whole ship from being zapped and the crew fried.
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Post by scarapis on Sept 2, 2017 14:49:26 GMT
The Aussies survived they all went on walkabout when the martians showed up and are just now coming back, and they found a couple of pet megalania's along the way too along with an armored company of Roos
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