Zarkonnen's post about how 'slicing the world elevation wise' would make for a pretty cool dystopian setting gave me an idea that i think would be awesome for Airships:
High altitude modules and backwall as well as new effects for crew and ships (because status effects are coming, right?).
The premise is that the world height during battle gets an extra half added to it which becomes the 'high altitude zone'; The high altitude zone differs from normal airspace because it is permanently foggy and any ships that aren't equipped for the area will have their crew suffocate from the lack of oxygen. (or just be really cold and sickly)
To compensate for this however, there is an expensive new backwall:
Pressurized wall (note to self add concept image)
And a new type of suspendium generator:
Supercharged crystal (note to self read above)
Pressurized walls and supercharged crystals are extremely weak against attacks and the latter can explode like an ammunition store, to make things worse if any of the former is destroyed or a ship is not entirely covered with pressurized backwall then the crew of that ship will constantly take damage over time inside of the high altitude zone.
This creates a huge trade-off: You can either go the normal route and build your tough airships, OR you can make specialized super-high altitude ships that are as weak as tinfoil (requiring only one backwall to break to kill all the crew, meaning it can easily be captured after battle) but are almost unhittable and unrammable inside of the High Altitude Zone. (provided that only your ships are up there...)
This also makes for better "high risk high reward" play, if you can get your airships up there and functional then you are very likely to succeed, but if they get damaged they are pretty useless and could easily be captured.
+1 But, i think there should be a special airlock 1x1 module that you can use to stop air from being suck out of the ship. Basically the airlock module will close off whichever side is exposed to a decompressed module to stop crew and air from getting past.
The idea is rather redundant, because there is already "high risk high reward" gameplay when choosing to build light airships with a high service ceiling over heavy ones.
I find that high service ceiling airships right now aren't very useful, even with the high altitude they still get hit pretty easily, all the enemy needs is a crows nest or a telescope to cope with the accuracy loss and in the end you've only sacrificed all of your defensive capability to put your ships up there..
-Edit-
OK i'm not going to lie to prove my point, so after a bunch of testing 700m is actually pretty hard to hit with non augmented flak or rifles, i'd still really like a 'low air pressure' mechanic, though.
-Edit2- On a side-note I think the bombs need a bit of an (accuracy) re balance since they lose effectiveness against large buildings at around 200m even with 'aim' orders; IMO they should still be able to reliably hit stationary things from any range (since buildings and bomber airships both don't move and they are directly above one another when attacking, wth are the two airsailors in the bomb bays doing to be so inaccurate anyways?).
The idea of advanced pressurized airships battling it out at heights unheard of before really appeals to me. (If you ever got to play Windforge and made pressurized hulls to combat poison gas whilst fighting enemies you know where i'm coming from with this. Managing low atmosphere or poison gas is really fun for some reason.)
I guess if a door is designed to be fireproof chances are it is also airtight, i'm thinking the types of doors on modern warships (so the fire doors could just be reinforced doors or something).
Respirators are for stopping dust and other types of particles in the air around you; What any high altitude air sailors need would be a personal/portable oxygen system to make up for the lack of oxygen:
Ok, but how overpowered would it be? Having the capability to essentially make your crew immune to the lack of air for any amount of time sort of deludes the fun/worry of your ship springing a leak.
Its not hard to have oxygen tanks, I mean, sure if you went back in time to when stuff was forged and hand shaped instead of machined you could still make most of the mechanical stuff we have, it would just be bulky and heavy to retain the same strength.
Ok, maybe the gas masks aren't pressurized. This means if a section of a ship is depressurized then crew only have about 20 seconds to not start suffocating (happy? that balances oxygen supplies AND makes them fit the age).
Dude i knew little to nothing about the subject and was simply inquiring that compressed air might be out of their grasp. So, i ask why are you irritated?
Yeah, 20 seconds sound good.
Air Lord, Engineering Corps
Zarkonnen's post about how 'slicing the world elevation wise' would make for a pretty cool dystopian setting gave me an idea that i think would be awesome for Airships:
High altitude modules and backwall as well as new effects for crew and ships (because status effects are coming, right?).
The premise is that the world height during battle gets an extra half added to it which becomes the 'high altitude zone'; The high altitude zone differs from normal airspace because it is permanently foggy and any ships that aren't equipped for the area will have their crew suffocate from the lack of oxygen. (or just be really cold and sickly)
To compensate for this however, there is an expensive new backwall:
Pressurized wall (note to self add concept image)
And a new type of suspendium generator:
Supercharged crystal (note to self read above)
Pressurized walls and supercharged crystals are extremely weak against attacks and the latter can explode like an ammunition store, to make things worse if any of the former is destroyed or a ship is not entirely covered with pressurized backwall then the crew of that ship will constantly take damage over time inside of the high altitude zone.
This creates a huge trade-off: You can either go the normal route and build your tough airships, OR you can make specialized super-high altitude ships that are as weak as tinfoil (requiring only one backwall to break to kill all the crew, meaning it can easily be captured after battle) but are almost unhittable and unrammable inside of the High Altitude Zone. (provided that only your ships are up there...)
This also makes for better "high risk high reward" play, if you can get your airships up there and functional then you are very likely to succeed, but if they get damaged they are pretty useless and could easily be captured.
Thoughts guys?
Air Admiral
+1 But, i think there should be a special airlock 1x1 module that you can use to stop air from being suck out of the ship. Basically the airlock module will close off whichever side is exposed to a decompressed module to stop crew and air from getting past.
Air Lord, Engineering Corps
Like fire doors but for air?
Commodore
The idea is rather redundant, because there is already "high risk high reward" gameplay when choosing to build light airships with a high service ceiling over heavy ones.
Air Lord, Engineering Corps
I find that high service ceiling airships right now aren't very useful, even with the high altitude they still get hit pretty easily, all the enemy needs is a crows nest or a telescope to cope with the accuracy loss and in the end you've only sacrificed all of your defensive capability to put your ships up there..
-Edit- OK i'm not going to lie to prove my point, so after a bunch of testing 700m is actually pretty hard to hit with non augmented flak or rifles, i'd still really like a 'low air pressure' mechanic, though.
-Edit2- On a side-note I think the bombs need a bit of an (accuracy) re balance since they lose effectiveness against large buildings at around 200m even with 'aim' orders; IMO they should still be able to reliably hit stationary things from any range (since buildings and bomber airships both don't move and they are directly above one another when attacking, wth are the two airsailors in the bomb bays doing to be so inaccurate anyways?).
The idea of advanced pressurized airships battling it out at heights unheard of before really appeals to me. (If you ever got to play Windforge and made pressurized hulls to combat poison gas whilst fighting enemies you know where i'm coming from with this. Managing low atmosphere or poison gas is really fun for some reason.)
Air Admiral
Well, yeah. Pretty much exactly like fire doors except it does not slow down the air leak. It prevents it.
I really like the idea of their being a cloud lair however, which has a distinct lack of oxygen and will kill the crew on un-pressurized ships.
Air Lord, Engineering Corps
That was my main idea for posting this, it could also have been
.
Commander, Engineering Corps
maybe fireproof doors could be used for airlocks. and maybe a modul which gives your crew Respirators(if this is the right word)
Air Lord, Engineering Corps
I guess if a door is designed to be fireproof chances are it is also airtight, i'm thinking the types of doors on modern warships (so the fire doors could just be reinforced doors or something).
Respirators are for stopping dust and other types of particles in the air around you; What any high altitude air sailors need would be a personal/portable oxygen system to make up for the lack of oxygen:
Air Admiral
Might be a little too high tech.
Air Lord, Engineering Corps
Compressed air in a can and plastic tubing is not that high tech.
Air Admiral
Yea, but do they have the tech to compress the air?
Air Lord, Engineering Corps
1650, Otto von Guericke devised an air pump consisting of a single piston and cylinder.
Air Admiral
Ok, but how overpowered would it be? Having the capability to essentially make your crew immune to the lack of air for any amount of time sort of deludes the fun/worry of your ship springing a leak.
Air Admiral
Actually, hold that thought, what i should really be asking is, do they have the tech in the airships universe?
Commander, Engineering Corps
Its not hard to have oxygen tanks, I mean, sure if you went back in time to when stuff was forged and hand shaped instead of machined you could still make most of the mechanical stuff we have, it would just be bulky and heavy to retain the same strength.
Air Admiral
The airships universe does not advance tech wise the same way ours does.
Air Lord, Engineering Corps
Ok, maybe the gas masks aren't pressurized. This means if a section of a ship is depressurized then crew only have about 20 seconds to not start suffocating (happy? that balances oxygen supplies AND makes them fit the age).
Air Admiral
Dude i knew little to nothing about the subject and was simply inquiring that compressed air might be out of their grasp. So, i ask why are you irritated?
Yeah, 20 seconds sound good.
Air Lord, Engineering Corps
Yeah that bit did unintentionally make me sound like a pissed off person (sorry, i meant no offence)..
Back on topic, can't airsailors just hold their breath for 20 seconds which removes the air tank altogether?
Air Admiral
Meh, they would most likely not anticipate a hull breach.