An essay on technology and the ways of Stuffz
Some of my thoughts on what could be explanations or whatever for some RPG/Mars Mission in general technologies and races and so on, plus some clarifying on concepts and such.-
-Alien Hives-Drones
Pretty mindless genetically enhanced warriors, they are bred only for combat. Not the same as the general Alien civilian/commander. Comes from the Visser invasion, where a mechanization of Alien forces, robotics and basic AI led to the population of Aliens being low. Actual Aliens in the military were pilots or commanders/officers, and ships and vehicles were used over foot soldiers. Where infantry was needed they used robots. However under the Vissers, many pilots died and ships got destroyed, leading to a shortage of materials as they were all used for vehicles, and the available personnel were needed as pilots. Therefore they started breeding Drones, simply born warriors, pretty incapable of other stuff with integrated armoured exoskeletons. A good idea, but the war was still lost.
These units' disadvantage would be their uselessness after the war, but the Aliens have never been at true peace afterwards and haven't run into that problem. Some of the equipment and the full instructions on how to make both drones and the equipment was saved and brought with the survivors, and they have continued breeding Drones on Mars (Perhaps other colonies/survivors). Although the breeding process is pretty long, it is done in the Hive and the almost complete Drones are sent to Breeding Pits where they can be on "standby" for a long time. The process is completed and they are armed on request, giving a short delay (Training in the game) before they can be deployed, but they can be deployed pretty fast.
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The needed knowledge for combat comes as an instinct to them. The Drones are however incapable of much learning or complex things, such as piloting most craft, which need trained pilots. Some special subtypes of Drones have been made to know how to pilot craft instead, but they're not too good at it. Used in scout craft mainly, or as co-pilots/crew to larger craft such as Motherships. Some are also used as turret operators when proper AI/targeting systems are unavailable. They are also considered superior to "dumb" types of these, and droids, except when an AI can take control.
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One of the oldest types of Phobian structures. Hives have been around since before recorded Phobian history, and are still relevant to build today. Historians believe that the first hives were built thousands of years ago at a time when Phobon was very frequently bombarded by meteors. They were used as underground meteor refuges. There were several hives throughout the world, some would house cities and others would be used as bases. In the Visser invasion, a lot of the hives were interconnected by tunnels so that soldiers and civilians could travel with less risk of being surprise attacked by a Visser patrol. After the exodus to Mars, hives were still used. The biggest one is in the Utopia region, not far from Marsbar City. It is here that the InterPlanetary Leader resides.
Alien Hives are built with a similar engineering technique to beehives, with several hexagons that mesh together. Ones that are exposed to the surface are used as fume releases/air vents, observation windows, and entrances. A few of these entrances are buried just under the solid ground with explosives. As a base defending strategy, sometimes the Aliens will detonate the explosives, exposing the entrance and sending a swarm of vipers or infiltrators through. The hexagonal structure of the hive also allows for expansion, and hives are never considered to have a maximum size. The main hive is still expanding, since the tunnels left behind by metal miners get redesigned for base use. It contains a few crystal mines, several breeding pits and foundries, a large armory/store, a complex of research buildings, dorms and offices for the commanding officers, a monorail system, and a large acid lake for aesthetic/defensive purposes.
[Kudos to Redsnapper39.]
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-Crystal-to-Energy
How the two power generators work:
This is just a concept, but a pretty cool one, and assumes crystals work like that.
So, black is a piston/cylinder setup (Some of the cylinders are in the white part too), the white thing is the main body and is primarily a compressor, both for the water in tubing inside and air that is pumped inside and through the orange tubes (These also have electric cables in them). There are cooling ribs at the back which the water runs through before entering compressor. Underground is a turbine with generator, and more tubing.
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The 6 staffs at the side are inducing power in the center bit, and they are charged via laser which is underground and whose main components are energy crystals. The center bit produces the power and the black part is a transformer that adapts it for the power grid, which it is connected to underground. The cables that connect all the buildings are also underground.
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-Directed Energy Weapons (DEW)
Primarily 3 branches: Blasters, Pulse weapons and Beam weapons.
Blasters are rapid fire and there are clearly visible "shots", not a continuous beam from the weapon. Examples are most weapons in Star Wars (Clone Blasters) or plasma weapons.
Pulse lasers have varying fire rates and make a continuos connected beam from the weapon to the target for a very short period of time. Examples are the standard Alien Drone weapons as seen in Crystalien Conflict, or XCOM (Enemy Unknown anyway) lasers.
Beam weapons: A sustained continuos beam, the more realistic weapon. Examples can be the USAF Airborne Laser (IRL) or perhaps the Alien Commander weapon (It is many many shots of the regular weapon, but that is game limitations. The intention may be a continuos powerful beam)
Just clarifying because I will keep referring to this to explain weapons and such.
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-Crystal-to-Energy
How the two power generators work:
- Power Plant, Astro
This is just a concept, but a pretty cool one, and assumes crystals work like that.
So, black is a piston/cylinder setup (Some of the cylinders are in the white part too), the white thing is the main body and is primarily a compressor, both for the water in tubing inside and air that is pumped inside and through the orange tubes (These also have electric cables in them). There are cooling ribs at the back which the water runs through before entering compressor. Underground is a turbine with generator, and more tubing.
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- Energy Generator, Alien
The 6 staffs at the side are inducing power in the center bit, and they are charged via laser which is underground and whose main components are energy crystals. The center bit produces the power and the black part is a transformer that adapts it for the power grid, which it is connected to underground. The cables that connect all the buildings are also underground.
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-Directed Energy Weapons (DEW)
Primarily 3 branches: Blasters, Pulse weapons and Beam weapons.
Blasters are rapid fire and there are clearly visible "shots", not a continuous beam from the weapon. Examples are most weapons in Star Wars (Clone Blasters) or plasma weapons.
Pulse lasers have varying fire rates and make a continuos connected beam from the weapon to the target for a very short period of time. Examples are the standard Alien Drone weapons as seen in Crystalien Conflict, or XCOM (Enemy Unknown anyway) lasers.
Beam weapons: A sustained continuos beam, the more realistic weapon. Examples can be the USAF Airborne Laser (IRL) or perhaps the Alien Commander weapon (It is many many shots of the regular weapon, but that is game limitations. The intention may be a continuos powerful beam)
Just clarifying because I will keep referring to this to explain weapons and such.
Railguns are a form of kinetic weapon and subject to the normal classifications for ballistics. What are those you ask? Read this: Modern Battlefield Weapons
Plasma is... well technically it is a delivery method for energy, thereby making it a DEW, but at the same time it physically exists. The types listed above are more of a energy-only weapon, with no physical material involved other than the gun. Plasma is a very hot, very electromagnetically active state of matter, and thereby uses some kind of propulsion (Other kinds of weapons) to hit the target and deliver this heat to them. A conventional weapon uses the solid state of matter to deliver kinetic energy/heat... though the kinetic energy is used to create pressure and break through tissue, creating wounds, and possibly tearing organs, which is more directly fatal. A plasma weapon just burns. A lot.
Laser weapons however are a DEW.
Plasma is... well technically it is a delivery method for energy, thereby making it a DEW, but at the same time it physically exists. The types listed above are more of a energy-only weapon, with no physical material involved other than the gun. Plasma is a very hot, very electromagnetically active state of matter, and thereby uses some kind of propulsion (Other kinds of weapons) to hit the target and deliver this heat to them. A conventional weapon uses the solid state of matter to deliver kinetic energy/heat... though the kinetic energy is used to create pressure and break through tissue, creating wounds, and possibly tearing organs, which is more directly fatal. A plasma weapon just burns. A lot.
Laser weapons however are a DEW.
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Magic
A possible theory about magic, think of it as fanon or not, I am using it to explain how the RPG Universe works at least.
Magic is a form of energy, just like kinetic energy or nuclear energy. However, Magic is pretty much indetectable and may not even exist on the same physical plane. The only way to detect and manipulate this strange energy is by being sensitive to it... magicians. While some can only feel it's presence, most are able to manipulate it, and with a great source of energy readily available and easy to form, they can cast fireballs, lightningbolts and all that stuff. If you think about it, every single spell described in fiction (At least the one I know off) can be traced back to energy. Really simple with say fireballs or telekinesis, but how can you do that with healing and mind reading? Well, healing, if you supply energy to the cells, stimulate them and accelerate the whole process a wound should heal, at accelerated pace (Being able to heal at normal pace isn't really that exciting, but easier. But magical healing acts in seconds). Simple enough to do with just energy and the ability to manipulate it, if you think about it. Of course, people don't know this is what they are doing, they are just doing it, but still works the same. Mastering healing magic is also often described as very hard... obviously if you have to precisely manipulate hundreds of cells! And the bigger the wound, the worse... still logical!
Mind reading - At first I thought you couldn't explain this one (Unless souls are canon or something), but actually you can. If you use magic to observe the neurons in the brain, and then somehow read that information, you should be able to read both thoughts and memories. INSANELY hard, but in theory possible. You are not thinking about how every cell in the muscles of your legs is cooperating to contract in a series of motions that let you walk, but you can still walk right? So something like that, but for mind reading. Would take ages to learn, be insanely complex and not every person can learn it, plus reading the mind of very different persons would need some adjustment for each one, if it isn't outright impossible to understand certain minds, but again... that's often how it's described isn't it? Also, the intitial learning process would be a flood of unintelligble meaningless gibberish, which through extensive and hard training can be interpreted as actual things, which again, fits a lot of descriptions of mind reading. You also have to atune for each person as it starts out as gibberish, but slowly you learn to understand that particular person, and subsequent readings are easier. This is not always there, but it's more realistic and fits "magic is a form of energy". As for control, even harder, but if you can learn to manipulate neurons through energy, it should be possible. Very easy to damage the target (Permanently even), but hey it IS possible.
Blocking mind reading is also possible... if you're not thinking of anything, they can't read anything. Duh. Or think about ONLY one particular thing (Which is of no use nor help to the attacker whatsoever) then they can read that... but only that. If the reader can access memories, it becomes a bit harder, but not thinking about them helps. If you do, either they lift it right off your thoughts or you create some sort of brain acticity in the area where the memory is, meaning they know where to look. Maybe thinking very hard about one certain thing can create so much activity it completely overshadows your memories though? And they are unable to differentiate anything in your brain, and only know of that thought.
Similarly, summoning stuff from thin air, E=Mc^2 you know. Every caster would have a LOT of energy at their disposal, but they kind of do... and often making stuff from nothing almost kills the character by draining all their energy. Transfiguring one kind of matter into another would be easier, but that should also work? If you can rearrange the electrons, protons and neutrons around you, you should be able to make most kinds of matter. If you have the ingredients and just cause a chemical reaction it's even easier. Combine all of them for whatever is easiest overall in the particular kind of magic you want to do.
So, doesn't necessarily contradict conservation of mass or energy, unless magic just replenishes from nothing. (Maybe entropy turns into Magic?)
Also, shapeshifting, if you can turn the extra mass into energy and keep it on you as Magic, easy. Or summon extra mass from magic. (Well, not easy, but possible)
As for the Magic reserves (Mana bar in videogames anyone?), every being (Including non magical ones) would have some amount of Magic associated with them, if you think of souls as someotherwordly thing connected to the body, then in a similar fashion, just instead it is energy. Or if you consider souls to exist, a soul would have Magic in it and around it. Only certain persons are able to sense/manipulate this energy though, why they can do this varies wildly. Could be genetic, could be random, could be certain types/arrangements/whatever of the mind, some kind of enlightenment that may be teachable or not, what have you. I think the teachable variant fits MMRPG best, otherwise some players would be at a disadvantage. Unless we go the Warhammer 40k route of having anti-magic people (Blanks).
(Also, accepting this as canon you might be able to say the work is speculative fiction, since this kind of Magic COULD technically exist in real life... there just aren't anybody who is sensitive to/able to manipulate it.)
A possible theory about magic, think of it as fanon or not, I am using it to explain how the RPG Universe works at least.
Magic is a form of energy, just like kinetic energy or nuclear energy. However, Magic is pretty much indetectable and may not even exist on the same physical plane. The only way to detect and manipulate this strange energy is by being sensitive to it... magicians. While some can only feel it's presence, most are able to manipulate it, and with a great source of energy readily available and easy to form, they can cast fireballs, lightningbolts and all that stuff. If you think about it, every single spell described in fiction (At least the one I know off) can be traced back to energy. Really simple with say fireballs or telekinesis, but how can you do that with healing and mind reading? Well, healing, if you supply energy to the cells, stimulate them and accelerate the whole process a wound should heal, at accelerated pace (Being able to heal at normal pace isn't really that exciting, but easier. But magical healing acts in seconds). Simple enough to do with just energy and the ability to manipulate it, if you think about it. Of course, people don't know this is what they are doing, they are just doing it, but still works the same. Mastering healing magic is also often described as very hard... obviously if you have to precisely manipulate hundreds of cells! And the bigger the wound, the worse... still logical!
Mind reading - At first I thought you couldn't explain this one (Unless souls are canon or something), but actually you can. If you use magic to observe the neurons in the brain, and then somehow read that information, you should be able to read both thoughts and memories. INSANELY hard, but in theory possible. You are not thinking about how every cell in the muscles of your legs is cooperating to contract in a series of motions that let you walk, but you can still walk right? So something like that, but for mind reading. Would take ages to learn, be insanely complex and not every person can learn it, plus reading the mind of very different persons would need some adjustment for each one, if it isn't outright impossible to understand certain minds, but again... that's often how it's described isn't it? Also, the intitial learning process would be a flood of unintelligble meaningless gibberish, which through extensive and hard training can be interpreted as actual things, which again, fits a lot of descriptions of mind reading. You also have to atune for each person as it starts out as gibberish, but slowly you learn to understand that particular person, and subsequent readings are easier. This is not always there, but it's more realistic and fits "magic is a form of energy". As for control, even harder, but if you can learn to manipulate neurons through energy, it should be possible. Very easy to damage the target (Permanently even), but hey it IS possible.
Blocking mind reading is also possible... if you're not thinking of anything, they can't read anything. Duh. Or think about ONLY one particular thing (Which is of no use nor help to the attacker whatsoever) then they can read that... but only that. If the reader can access memories, it becomes a bit harder, but not thinking about them helps. If you do, either they lift it right off your thoughts or you create some sort of brain acticity in the area where the memory is, meaning they know where to look. Maybe thinking very hard about one certain thing can create so much activity it completely overshadows your memories though? And they are unable to differentiate anything in your brain, and only know of that thought.
Similarly, summoning stuff from thin air, E=Mc^2 you know. Every caster would have a LOT of energy at their disposal, but they kind of do... and often making stuff from nothing almost kills the character by draining all their energy. Transfiguring one kind of matter into another would be easier, but that should also work? If you can rearrange the electrons, protons and neutrons around you, you should be able to make most kinds of matter. If you have the ingredients and just cause a chemical reaction it's even easier. Combine all of them for whatever is easiest overall in the particular kind of magic you want to do.
So, doesn't necessarily contradict conservation of mass or energy, unless magic just replenishes from nothing. (Maybe entropy turns into Magic?)
Also, shapeshifting, if you can turn the extra mass into energy and keep it on you as Magic, easy. Or summon extra mass from magic. (Well, not easy, but possible)
As for the Magic reserves (Mana bar in videogames anyone?), every being (Including non magical ones) would have some amount of Magic associated with them, if you think of souls as someotherwordly thing connected to the body, then in a similar fashion, just instead it is energy. Or if you consider souls to exist, a soul would have Magic in it and around it. Only certain persons are able to sense/manipulate this energy though, why they can do this varies wildly. Could be genetic, could be random, could be certain types/arrangements/whatever of the mind, some kind of enlightenment that may be teachable or not, what have you. I think the teachable variant fits MMRPG best, otherwise some players would be at a disadvantage. Unless we go the Warhammer 40k route of having anti-magic people (Blanks).
(Also, accepting this as canon you might be able to say the work is speculative fiction, since this kind of Magic COULD technically exist in real life... there just aren't anybody who is sensitive to/able to manipulate it.)
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The Basics of Science Fiction
Basically you can distinguish three things to make effective sci-fi: Energy from nothing. Ability to manipulate this Energy, easily and without any real thought to it. Faster Than Light Travel.
Energy from nothing: Power Reactors they are normally called. Some kind of thing that just makes power. Sometimes there's a handwave (Normally includes the word "antimatter", not that that means much), most often there is not. Note that it is a Power Reactor too, it doesn't make electricity, it just makes Power. Whatever the heck that is. Examples: The "Reactor" block in Starmade, or in Space Engineers (OK that one needs fuel, but still.), and not sure about Star Wars, but they certainly generate Power there, and not electricity. That's important for the next entry, since you have some kind of cable carrying this Power
and thus a Power system.
The Ability to manipulate energy: Originally just covered propulsion, but then I added a 4th entry, energy weapons, and realized that they are actually the same thing: They manipulate energy into whatever form fits you. Whether that be propulsion from the engines, or destructive firepower from weapons. The engine energy is often shiny blue, the weapons are red/blue/green blaster types. These systems run of the aforementioned Power system. Electricity can't really create that kind of shiny effects, at least not efficiently, and even though electricity is the easiest form of energy humanity has found and is able to use, this doesn't apply at all in a Sci-fi setting. There you can just bend energy however you want it, or pump it raw through cables in your ship, and into the machines that create whatever effect you need at the moment. Weapons, tractor beams, engines, shields, whatever really. Star Wars is basically the most obvious example, and very clearly run off this. But Starmade does it too... and you don't even have to run the cables.
Faster Than Light Travel: OK, if you can manipulate the Power you make from nothing as above, you could probably easily make FTL with the above points, but it is so central to sci-fi that it deserves a separate mention. Comes in all flavors and tastes, whatever fits you! No need for the realistic Alcubierre drive, when you can just "jump" to wherever you want to go. If that doesn't work, you can "Warp"! Or engage Warp Speed, which is more realistic, and I think if an Alcubierre drive ever works 1c will just be called Warp 1. 2c=Warp 2 and so forth, or some other exponential system, whatever. Still not satisfied? There are still Wormholes. Or Portals, which are just more blatantly Magic.
Does the RPG fit in all this? Of course it does. The Energy from nothing is Crystals (Or rather, the Reactors that run off these crystals), the Energy Manipulation would be how the Alien ships hover, how the propulsion works (Never really explained, they just fly. Which is a sign of what I just explained being in place... for the sake of the RPG you could say that Astros use normal fuel while Aliens have mastered this propulsion, and use it in all their vehicles, this is a researchable tech, with improvements to efficiency) and how some of the weapons work. The Astro fighter gun comes to mind. FTL is there, of course, because otherwise the Universe of the RPG would be very boring.
FTL Method - Portals
My own personal spin on the good old FTL, Portals. You create a portal in one location, go through it and end up in another. Yes, it is kind of like in the videogame Portal, but on a bigger scale. Also, I came up with the idea before even knowing what Portal was.
It runs of Magic, directly. Magitek can obviously create Portals though, and because you have more power available at any moment, you can make proper capital ship sized portals. You create one right in front off you, which tears open a hole in reality (via Magic) to the other side, whatever the destination is. There another Portal opens, and if you go through you end up on the other side. Opening a Portal takes a large amount of energy, and keeping it open does too. So ships go through, then immediately let it collapse behind them. They can be quite unstable too, but generally don't cause any issues as long as the concentration is properly maintained and you don't keep the portal open for too long. (The Magitek machine used to create portals in a ship is dedicated to the portalling so concentration is not an issue, however they are so much larger they still become unstable quite quickly, especially if you run out of energy) Frames can be used to stabilize them, and so you may have pretty much permanent portals between two places if you do the proper construction first, and do the necessary maintenance. (Basically a whole space station built in and around the frame) This technology is also more advanced, so you need to research it separately and a couple of technology levels later.
I propose it as the Alien FTL method, as I know Astros have their Space-folding. (Whatever that means)
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-Vehicles, types of and Infantry
A definition entry, of personal use, like with weapons above. (Or helping people understand, that is good too)
To me, you have the four core forces: Infantry, Ground Vehicles, Aircraft and Spacecraft.
Infantry is subdivided into all sorts of roles and forces, with variable regiments and such, all from (NOTE: Non-exhaustive list, just an example) "standard" riflemen (The most basic grunts for combat against other infantry really, Aliens for instance don't have rifles), medics, anti-tank, anti-aircraft (Most launchers will cover both though), Special Ops, Shock troopers, paratroopers (Airdropped, not necessarily any parachutes in use), engineers and Power Armor troops as Heavy Infantry. (Maybe make an analog to Knights vs. the average militia in medieval warfare?)
On Power Armor, you have many types of that. There is the Nanosuit type, as found on the main character in Crysis (See here) for Special Forces, the Exoskeletons as found IRL (Example) for carrying loads and generally supporting the average infantry (Or civilian! The most common civilian/work version is this), Power Armor as seen in Fallout (Here) for being issued to all infantry, replacing normal combat armor, Halo style MJOLNIR armor (Here) for Special Forces and certain extremely powerful units that can support general combat (Oh and Space Marine Armor from Warhammer would be the same), and finally the bigger suits, much closer to 'Mechs, the difference would be the cockpit. The Armor kind is "worn", where you move your legs and arms to have the much bigger extensions that are the armor follow, in a 'Mech you use vehicle controls (Joystick, pedals, control panels, HUD, HMD, that stuff). Examples of these would be: Warhammer Mech which is used as own body, the walker thing from Avatar (Movie), The Halo CYCLOPS, and the Starcraft SCV. They operate as extensions to the body, which is the important part.
-I will be calling them, in order as listed and explained above: Nanosuits, Powered Skeletons/Exoskeletons, Powered Suits and Power Armor.
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(Nanosuits are more like actual insect exoskeletons, but the 2nd type kind of looks like/is shaped like a skeleton, and is worn outside so..)
(Nanosuits are skintight and augment pretty much everything, important that they are not bulky and only IMPROVE the wearer. Infantry could in fact be wearing both that and normal combat gear over it. You are not supposed to ever take it off, if it isn't so integrated into your body it is impossible. The other supersoldier armor variants, the Powered Suits, are combat gear, and generally supplied with other augments (Genes, specially grown and raised from childhood, bionics and other artificial additions, like chips in the brain) The armor tops it off for combat, providing some strength and all the resilience. Nanosuits make the user a supersoldier through only the suit, the suit makes pretty much any guy a supersoldier rather than assist the already super soldier (Though it can very well introduce nanites that remain even after removing the suit))
(Nanosuits are skintight and augment pretty much everything, important that they are not bulky and only IMPROVE the wearer. Infantry could in fact be wearing both that and normal combat gear over it. You are not supposed to ever take it off, if it isn't so integrated into your body it is impossible. The other supersoldier armor variants, the Powered Suits, are combat gear, and generally supplied with other augments (Genes, specially grown and raised from childhood, bionics and other artificial additions, like chips in the brain) The armor tops it off for combat, providing some strength and all the resilience. Nanosuits make the user a supersoldier through only the suit, the suit makes pretty much any guy a supersoldier rather than assist the already super soldier (Though it can very well introduce nanites that remain even after removing the suit))
(Halo and general combat armor fall under the same, Halo is the more advanced, costly non mass-produceable version, generally needing special programs to train the user, probably making them a supersoldier in the process. The other is... well, powered versions of combat armor. It protects you and does all normal armor does, but has a cool HUD, some uplink stuff, orders and such, and probably acts like the exoskeleton on top of that (If it isn't simply armor built onto/added onto such an exoskeleton, which is likely, and realistic. This is what is being built IRL!) The midway point would be Zone Troopers from C&C, elite/heavy support infantry which have special programs and are expensive, but still deployed on a large scale)
(Power Armor is the used term as a suit is something you wear (Like clothes I mean), while armor is bigger and bulkier.. and in fact, a tank/APC/IFV is referred to as armor. (Tanks are almost always called armor really, it's much rarer with APCs, but it exists) So hence, they are a form of armor in both senses of the word. And definitively powered.)
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Oh, and since I am using an RTS sort of system anyway, (Infantry would be classified as such and trained from one (set of) building(s), all here fits anyway so...) might as well include Drones into the Infantry. No not the Alien riflemen/grunt infantry described above, they obviously fit, I mean the real life flying little things. With guns. Obviously could be hovering, shaped oddly, what have you. Already used by military for recon, but they have meh results with guns, which is not a problem in fiction, luckily. The Alien Viper could be one, if it wasn't manned, making it a cool variation of a jetpack instead. As for the Drones of "Predator" kind, the IRL one, they are basically mini-planes with missiles or powerful recon tools. They are classified as air-force, because duh... they're mini-planes. A hovering long range missile platform... dunno. Might as well be a Drone I guess. Or a form of mobile base defense. If it's more a vehicle, but it can hover high up and launch missiles away from the front-lines, it's still a vehicle, with unconventional propulsion.
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-Ground Vehicles
Many types here too eh. Let's see... 'Mechs, Walkers, APCs, Tanks, IFVs, command and control vehicles, miscellaneous specialized attack stuff, aka SAMs and other AA pretty much, Transport, various support vehicles, artillery (Including MLRS) and civilian normal vehicles.
'Mechs, or Mecha (No not only Mech, that only means mechanical. Mecha is the big stuff) is the proper term I guess. But I like 'Mech, shortened from Battlemech I think it is (Not sure, I've seen it used a lot and like it, so). Stands out nicely and all that. Sometimes called Walkers, sometimes they're... a LOT of stuff. Gundam is what really codified the Mecha, and a lot has been copied from there apparently, but for what I consider 'Mechs, have some examples:Avatar,Juggernaut,Titan,Wolverine,and Metal Gear (REX). They fill a lot of roles... but yeah, humanoid (generally, most importantly bipedal), pretty big, and operate like vehicles. As for why have 'Mechs and not other vehicles... yeah there's a reason 'Mechs don't exist IRL. There are no real advantages to them. (They look cool? Not enough for actual military use. Well, they use a lot of power that doesn't exist IRL. But that's how SciFi exists, you have energy from nothing! Energy Crystals for example. And then maybe they become about as viable as normal vehicles?)
Now Walkers, why would that be different? Well, for instance the above mentioned Juggernaut is called a Walker in-universe. But to clarify, personally I will simplify things by using the term for 'Mechs that are not bipedal and don't look very human. For example,the mighty Mammoth Mk. II,iconic AT-ATsor evenAT-TEs. I am not very good at describing, but you can pretty much see what they have in common. Super-tanks really.
APCs, Armored Personnel Carriers. They are armored, normally have an auto-cannon (30mm or so) as main armament, and drive troops into battle. Many, many variations exist. Dropships are flying versions of these honestly.
Tanks... you should know what a tank is.
IFVs, Infantry Fighting Vehicles. They are like APCs, but they kill infantry instead of carry it as main purpose. It still carries troops (Normally), but that is no longer what they are built for (If carrying is secondary to weapons, then it's IFV. If that's the main purpose, it's an APC or a truck, but APCs are armoured. It's another vehicle entirely if it happens to carry infantry even though it's, say a tank. It's still a tank in that case). They can attack other vehicles or aircraft, or have some special building-clearing weapons (Shrapnel? I dunno what they use nowadays) but that would be variations of a vehicle that was built as infantry fighting normally. Otherwise it would not have a special label... just the designation and the weapon it uses (Say 10mm AT grenade launcher XY??) If I understand that part of military correctly anyway.
A more correct definition is APCs bring troops to the front, retreat and possibly (rarely) support with their guns from a couple hundred meters back. Marching to the front lines is sloooow, even from a truck that brings you sort of close, and trucks can't survive the front lines. Hence they made APCs. IFVs are the newest addition, they stay at the front lines and do not retreat, unless there's tanks. They're not THAT durable.
Command and control, drone remote control stations with the trailer that you control the aircraft from, some general's command post made mobile, satellite dishes, mobile radar stations, that stuff.
Specialized attack stuff, well some tank hull with AA guns, or AA missiles, or a specially built vehicle for holding AA missiles, maybe a tank that changes the turret for AT missile racks. A wide association of stuff that isn't a tank (They can be tank variations though, as long as the turret is a completely different thing, not switching the cannon out for an auto-cannon or something like that), a variation of an IFV or APC. As long as it has weapons and is specialized for an attack/defense role... (And doesn't fit any of the other entries)
Transport: supply vehicles, trucks and humvees/jeeps/similar stuff (They may be armed, but I don't think they classify as APCs. And there are plenty of unarmed variants) and such. They can haul base defenses on a trailer to position them (Or on the main thing if its a big truck), food, water, medical supplies, ammo, or troops even. Probably longer ranges and away from the front-lines. Oh and engineering/building supplies, if you need that on a base. Logistics vehicles really. Self-defense weapons may be mounted, if they don't have escorts. Hit-and-run and hitting supplies is a VERY common and VERY effective tactic of warfare.
Artillery, self-propelled artillery is the "proper" vehicle variation, though I guess fixed guns could fit somewhat too. They would be hauled into position by the above transports. MLRS are core to the category, but the giant things that carry ICBMs (And set up as launch platforms) fit best here too. And other extreme range missiles, even ASAT stuff, as long as it is mobile and can setup and fire pretty much from anywhere, it probably goes best here.
Civvie vehicles, well, cars. You probably have one (Or parents do). Alien races may use something else, but they probably have transport, which would fit here (Unless everyone uses public transport, but doesn't really have anything to do being described here)
Hovertanks, treaded tanks and wheeled tanks are all still just tanks. Varying propulsion methods don't mean anything. A hover MLRS fits under Artillery.
Hovertanks, treaded tanks and wheeled tanks are all still just tanks. Varying propulsion methods don't mean anything. A hover MLRS fits under Artillery.
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-Job Tree
There is nowhere better to put this, and this is after all my personal interpretation. So, how jobs upgrade and branch off into specialized roles:
I tried to fit the correct numbers, but of some jobs/roles there are just too many.
At the top the highest roles are, then straight down the middle is the "main branch" of jobs that upgrade by going up. To the sides are jobs that branch off and have different (But related) roles.
Actually good for a visualization of command hierarchy.
My formatting is flawed. On 1600x900 resolution (The size of my monitor) it should be good. Otherwise, it's a mess. Sorry!
-As for all the ugly dashes, wikifoundry hates indents. Yep.
High Command
Interplanetary Leader
Supreme Leader
Vice IPL
Second-in-command
-Ambassador--Ambassador--Ambassador--Ambassador----------------------------------------Planetary Leaders------Planetary Leaders-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Economic Manager
-----------------------Advisors.---------------------------------------Command Planets. Pre-interplanetary phase, they are simply higher up than Commanders and command them.--------------------------------Manages Economy.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Commander----Commander----Commander----Commander-------
Minor Command/Officers
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Sub-Commanders---Sub-Commanders---Sub-Commanders---Sub-Commanders---
--------------------------------------------Platoon Leaders---Platoon Leaders---Platoon Leaders---Platoon Leaders---Platoon Leaders---Platoon Leaders---Platoon Leaders---Platoon Leaders
Squad Leaders-Squad Leaders-Squad Leaders-Squad Leaders-Squad Leaders-Squad Leaders-Squad Leaders-Squad Leaders-Squad Leaders-Squad Leaders-Squad Leaders-Squad Leaders-Squad Leaders-
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Research
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Technocrat
----------------------------------------------------------------------Science! leader. Has a voice in command, tends to have a separate advisor or command role as well. Can be considered a type of officer.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Scientists
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Main researchers. Some command over Lab Assistants. Not an officer. Invent technology.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Lab Assistant------------------------------------Researcher--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Aid Scientists and the Technocrat. Help build and design.
Basic Aliens that conduct research and make Science! They make inventions possible.
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Side note on research team: To understand how it works, let me make an example. Technocrat orders warp technology be made. A Scientist comes up with the Alcubierre drive idea. They then piece together basic required techs and functionality. Researchers research the required technologies and make it practically possible (Antimatter, Exotic Matter, Materials, Space Travel, Magentism, any such). Lab Assistants then piece together and design an actual warp drive unit that works on the discovered technology. (They design an actual containment field for the exotic matter for example, and gathering methods)
Espionage
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