Approved Tech M1-01 Powered Armor

[Popo]

Image Source​

Intent: To create a top notch suit of power armor that will hopefully set the standard for future powered armor designs.
Development Thread:

• Iron Within, Iron Without - Design
• Hutts... In SPAAAAAACE! - Phrik

Manufacturer: Tenloss Corporation
Model: Tenloss M1-01 Powered Armor
Affiliation: Tenloss Corporation, Open Market
Modularity: Internal components and armor plating cannot be altered, but helmet computer systems and bolt-on weapons can be altered or added by specialized individuals.
Production: Limited (standard variant), Semi-unique (Phrik variant - Phrik variant is for Player Characters Only)
Material: Quadranium Steel, Phrik (semi-unique variants), Alusteel, Durasteel, Thermal Gel, Armorweave, titanium, fissionable substances, and other power suit construction materials.
Classification: Multipurpose
Weight: 400kg
Quality: 10
Special Features:

• LIghtsaber resistant (Semi-unique variants)
• Highly durable
• Energy resistant
• Kinetic resistant
• Reliable
• EMP/Ion hardened
• Capable of lifting heavy weights
• Functionally endless power supply

Special Features (helmet):

• Vision Scope Array (thermal, infrared, nightvision, etc)
• Head's Up Display
• Pineal Eye Sensor
• Internal Overlay Display
• Rangefinder
• Targeting Array (50 target maximum)
• Motion Tracker (can be synched with Rangefinder and Targeting Array for rudimentary target prediction)
• Encrypted, Internal Commlink
• Broadband Antennae
• On-board Battle Computer (Control on board weapons verbally or through HUD)
• Holorecorder
• Audiorecorder
• Oxygen recycler (4 hour air supply)
• Identification Chip
• External infrared directional lights
• External comms
• External audio sensors
• Externally mounted variable powered light

Weapons:

• 1x EX-M2 (right arm)
• 1x Flamethrower (left arm)
• 1x Missile Launcher (shoulder)
• 2x Powered Gauntlets (each hand)

Description:

We make tanks and ships and weapons and armor and we are well known for our commitment to quality and design. We fill niche roles that no other corporation fills and lead the pack in common areas with revolutionary designs and excellent quality. Today, however, we branch out into a new role, one that few have taken the challenge in designing and one that we will, after today, dominate throughout the galaxy.

Powered Armor.

What you see before you is the M1-01 Powered Armor, code-named 'Paladin'. As you can see, it as a four hundred kilo, armor plated monster capable of decimating entire units of troops and taking down enemy vehicles and installations with relative ease. What you see is a suit that will revolutionize warfare. What you don't see is how it will do so.

The skeleton is quadranium steel and highly resistant to damage and stress. It is reinforced by a Quadranium-Titanium allow and powered by EMP/Ion hardened servos and electronics. This layer is anchored to and supported by struts of the same material with which to bolt the armor plating and life support modules without risking structural strength in the design.

You'll see the hands are designed similar to Mandalorian Crushgaunts, but envelope far more. Crushgaunts are limited in two ways, namely by only enhancing grip strength and by being made of beskar and therefore hard to get. Those nutty Mandos don't like sharing their magic metal, so we made do with what we have. What we have is a powered gauntlet that grips like a crushgaunt, but can rip and shred and tear where a 'Gaunt can only crush. Troops armed with this suit can literally peel apart many kinds enemy installations and vehicles if they so desire, though obviously the heavier the defenses the longer this will take.

The suit is also capable of lifting a large amount of weight if need be, about a tonne using the arms alone. The suit itself can lift two tonnes safely using the entire strength of the suit with the weight spread throughout. Keep in mind these are the safe numbers. The suit can exceed that, but it's not designed to do so and we're not responsible for injuries or deaths from reckless soldiers overstressing the frame and servos.

Fortunately, they won't have to worry about that too much with the suit's weapon systems. Mounted into the right gauntlet is a railgun of Tenloss design. Dual barreled and rapid fire, the weapon features a recoil system built into the arm to manage the nasty amount of kinetic energy transfer. Why we have that is because this thing will shred inch thick starship grade durasteel like no tomorrow. The ammo hopper is simple and basic, pushing the ammunition into the breech even in zero gravity.

The left gauntlet is a flamethrower, allowing troopers to engage light infantry without expending their railgun ammunition. It has a forty meter range and can be very, very nasty in close quarters. Swarming a soldier in this armor is akin to a death sentence already. That flamethrower makes it overkill.

Moving on, the helmet features some of the most advanced systems on the market. Notice how there's no visor or neck? There's no need for one with this design. The trooper inside sees things through a panoramic one hundred and sixty degree 'visor' projected inside the helmet. Assailants trying to strike the gap between helmet and torso don't have a target, meaning there'll be no decapitations from most nasty melee weapons.

Mounted on the shoulder you'll see a small missile pod. Those are optional, but recommended. They give the suit a way to engage heavier armor their railguns can't penetrate and their gauntlets can't reach. Toss in the jump jets built into the armor itself and this suit can move quickly across the battlefield to engage targets or reinforce the line where needed.

How is this all powered? Easy. We went low-tech. Forget power cells that run out in a few hours or fusion bottles that require a constant supply of fuel. For this, we used a small fission power plant. May sound scary, but it's perfectly safe in many ways. Plus, the power pack lasts for a long, long time. Functionally, in any combat area or mission, this suit will not run out of power.

Lastly, we have the armor plating. Matrix plating means that this thing shrugs off many kinetic and energy rounds with ease, though it isn't a good idea to take a proton cannon to the face. The suit only transfers so much. The main thing here, though, is that it protects the user extremely well and will keep soldiers combat effective that much longer.


And here you thought that last one was the end of it. I have one more aspect that makes sure this suit is the top of the line. Troopers wear a pressurized undersuit underneath the powered armor itself. The idea is to make the suit itself more comfortable, but the suit itself is also fairly durable and protective. Made of armorweave and other fabrics, the suit can stop spalling and occasional, lucky penetrations from enemy weapons and lightsabers. Top it off with basic radiation shielding and biological sensors so unit leaders and officers can monitor their troopers' vital signs and the suit gives the last tools to properly regulate and manage their troops in the field.

One final word, here. We also have a very, very limited availability variant. This suit is plated in phrik and is available only on demand, meaning custom ordered and even then only by those who can actually afford it with preference given to those groups with supply contracts for the standard variant. This suit is lightsaber resistant, which means Force users will need to explore other means to disable a suit, in which time the soldiers can often shred or torch said Force user before they can so much as focus.

Any questions?

~ Popo's debrief on the M1-01 Powered Armor prior to full production​

​

OVERALL STRENGTHS:

• Resistant to kinetic damage
• Resistant to energy/thermal damage
• Resistant to EMP/Ion damage
• Lightsaber resistant (semi-unique version)
• Jump Capable
• Durable and reliable
• Can lift 1 tonne with arms
• Can lift 2 tonnes with overall suit
• Long-lasting/Functionally endless power supply

WEAPON STRENGTHS:

• Flamethrower - 40m effective range
• Flamethrower - 60m maximum range
• Flamethrower - Internal, solid fuel source
• Flamethrower - 1 minute maximum full burn
• Railgun - Recoil suppression
• Railgun - 10,000 round ammunition capacity
• Railgun - Capable of shredding most light and many medium vehicle armor types
• Railgun - Capable of shredding most infantry and many heavy infantry armor types
• Powered Gauntlets - Capable of devastating crushing strength
• Powered Gauntlets - Capable of ripping apart many types of materials with various levels of ability.
• Missile Launcher - Bolted on addition capable of combating heavier vehicles (standard heavy missile launcher)

OVERALL WEAKNESSES:

• Kinetic Resistance has limits for pilot (injury or death to wearer possible beyond certain limits)
• Kinetic Resistance has limits for machinery (severe impacts or constant heavy jarring can cause equipment malfunction or failure)
• EMP/Ion Resistance has limits (Sufficiently powerful electrical attacks can and will fry systems to varying degrees dependent on attack strength)
• Absolutely no ability to defend against many Force abilities that can bypass armor.
• Jump capable, but not flight capable.
• Expensive. REALLY expensive.
• Lifting weight can be exceeded at the risk of injury, maiming, or death of the wearer due to stress damage of the suit's frame.
• Lifting weight is static, meaning it does not augment existing strength (i.e. wookiees will pick up 1 tonne with the arms, same as Fabula, same as a normal human)
• Power supply can potentially irradiate wearer, suit, and/or surrounding area if damaged and/or breached.
• The armor's joints are more susceptible to damage than other areas of the suit.

WEAPON WEAKNESSES:

• Flamethrower - Short ranged weapon
• Flamethrower - Requires atmosphere
• Flamethrower - Limited ammunition
• Flamethrower - Ineffective against most sealed and/or energy resistant armor types
• Railgun - Susceptible to electrical damage
• Railgun - Lessened effect/ineffective against heavy vehicle armor
• Railgun - Lessened effect/ineffective against heavy infantry armor (i.e. restricted materials)
• Railgun - Limited to kinetic damage
• Railgun - 150 rounds/minute
• Powered Gauntlets - Lessened effect/ineffective against heavier vehicle/installation armor
• Powered Gauntlets - Lessened effect/ineffective against rare/restricted material armor
• Powered Gauntlets - Melee weapon only
• Missile Launcher - Direct fire only, susceptible to anti-missile systems.

 

[Netherworld]

<p>RESEARCH REVIEW<br /> <br />Star Wars Canon:<br />Pending initial review<br /> <br />Starwars Chaos: <br />Pending initial review<br /> <br />WITHOUT DEV THREADS<br />Pending initial review<br /><br />WITH DEV THREADS<br />Pending Initial review<br /><br />SUGGESTIONS<br />Pending Inital review</p>

 

[Netherworld]

[member="Popo"]

So, since I believe in giving people a chance to fix their subs, I'm not going to outright deny this monstrosity for being all kinds of overpowered.
Instead, I'm going to outline a few (note: many) issues in this sub, and we're going to try and make this less game-breaking.

Let's start at the beginning; the dev threads.
In Iron Within, Iron Without, there's this:

Disruptors tended to do the most damage, but didn't actually break anything in half. They mostly just pockmarked the bones and frame with some deep scars.

• Not how disruptors work. They pulverize matter on the atomic level, they don't leave dents. Anything short of beskar (and even that is debatable) gets turned into a puff of smoke by those.

Getting it there would be a problem, but once its there, the suit can hold up two metric tonnes.

• Not mentioned even once within the sub.

To add to that, you dev the flamethrower and the railgun right there in the armor dev thread, with each having exactly one post devoted to them, respectively.
The whole description of the helmet and its tech is lacking utterly from the sub, as are a number of other features mentioned in the dev thread.


I get that the description of the sub itself is a sales pitch, but this is absolutely over-the-top.

can literally peel apart enemy installations and vehicles if they so desire.

this thing will shred inch thick starship grade durasteel like no tomorrow.

Don't even get me started on the power source. Miniaturized nuclear fission plant? Crammed into a battlefield power armor suit? Not a chance.

All in all, this reads like a completely unbalanced game-breaker. I spy exactly zero weaknesses in this design, from EMP hardening to layer-upon-layer of lightsaber-, thermal-, kinetic-, radiation-, environmental-, and whathaveyou-resistance. I cannot in good conscience let this suit of armor anywhere near any PvP battlefield without a thorough rework of its design. With limited production, people will be running about in these in no time, and even with fair players, there is no way to use this but to abuse it. The way you have it at the moment, it's impervious to 99% of damage, and short of targeting it from orbit with starship-grade weaponry, this thing will shrug it off and bounce happily along.

Address the major issues pointed out above, and tone this down as a whole. Considerably. Otherwise, this is getting denied.

 

[Popo]

[member="Netherworld"]
You'll have to forgive me, I'm at work and on my phone so I can't go into huge detail on responses lol

Yes/no on disruptor tech. Yes, it does vaporize the target, but when all energy is expended it leaves a crater or 'dent'. Poor elaboration on my part.

As for the rest, again, my fault. I rushed the submission and didn't think to include the weaknesses inherent in the design as ruled by physics.

I'm at work for the moment, but I'll edit as soon as I get home. Should balance things appropriately.

 

[Netherworld]

[member="Popo"]

Np, drop me a tag when it's done.

 

[Popo]

[member="Netherworld"]

Gonna go down the list a bit as I edit and add things in the submission.

Firstly, disruptor tech was already briefly mentioned and explained. Also, I never used the word 'dent' at any point to describe the damage. Figured I'd point that out. Pockmarking is standard for energy damage or even burn/melting damage on metal. Deep scarring covers that aspect as well since if the shot doesn't penetrate fully through the material, it would leave deep burns/marks/holes where it partially pierced the material and stopped short. Also, disruptors do disintegrate targets, but according to the wookiee page, they only disintegrate biological targets. Some specific weapons describe more damage towards materials or even bypassing most types of shields, but against physical non-biological objects some leeway can be perceived and even expected. As far as the weapons capable of blowing up vehicles in a single hit (namely the ion disruptor mentioned in the main wookiee page) it can be assumed that such weapons had not been used against the frame as the dev thread and the blogs from which the thread was created clearly state that only Tenloss weapons were used. Tenloss tends to produce the most disruptor weapons canonically that I've seen (I'm possibly wrong, I haven't researched each individual weapon's manufacturer), which means that the disruptor weapons used were the DXR-6, DXR-6b, and the DX-2.

And just to cover my bases, I had the same tech shoot the skeleton with some Tenloss weapons. Disruptors tended to do the most damage, but didn't actually break anything in half. They mostly just pockmarked the bones and frame with some deep scars. Regular small arms didn't do much, blasters just scorched the metal.

I added the lifting strength and the like into the submission, including that the suit can only lift 1 tonne with its arms alone and that the 2 tonnes lift capability is with the entire suit's strength. I've also included these are the safe limits for the suit's lifting capability and that exceeding these limits can cause suit failure, injury, or death.

As for the weapons built into the suit, I hate to point it out but you are incorrect as there are two posts per weapon system, each around 250ish words in length. Really not trying to nitpick, but I can see the concern with only four posts dedicated to the weapon systems. I'm more than happy to expand on those in the submission, however, to explain their drawbacks and strengths and have already done so.

Technically, the helmet systems are almost entirely derived from the systems found on a standard and canon Mandalorian helmet (the link is for Mandalorian Armor, specifically the Legends tab. It links to the design area where the helmet section can be found by the image of Boba Fett). After using the design for years with my Mandalorian main character, I've found that only minor additions are ever needed as the standard canon version is almost entirely effective in all combat theaters and situations. I only expanded on things like vision modes, computer details, and the like. I did add the visual and audio recorders and a few other parts, but for the most part it's just a more detailed explanation of the canon item. I did, however, edit in a list of the various items inside the helmet.

As for the over the top lines from the sales pitch, the ripping and tearing abilities of the gauntlets have been edited in the submission, clarifying that you can't just walk up and shred apart something like, say, a fortress doorway in a single go. That would take time and effort, it's not just a one shot type deal. The heavier/more durable the installation, the more time and effort you'll need to deal with it. This goes for things like beskar and phrik as well which, while this suit can't bend the plates and whatnot, it could possibly shear the bolts and screws or mountings holding the plates to something given time as most people don't consider bolts or mountings made of said restricted materials in construction design. TL;DR: you could feasibly pull off beskar plates from a wall or door, but good luck. You'll be there a long while and by then someone will have hit you with something the suit can't shrug off.

As for the starship-grade durasteel, there are already weapons that can penetrate that type of material at that thickness. As well, not many people use only an inch of that type of material and, essentially, it'd only really be effective against light vehicles and the like as well as infantry and heavy infantry. Also, shields can be a problem for the weapon as well. All of this and more edited into the submission.

I see where you're coming from on the power source. I really do. My counterpoints on the item are actually pretty simple. First, miniature/micronized things are canon to star wars. I think I once saw a starfighter using a fission engine of some kind at one point. A small fission 'battery' of some kind isn't too farfetched, really. Second, while I derped and forgot to fully flesh out the submission on many things, it's also a weakness unique to the design of the suit and... Well, unique to most everything else I can think of that's passed through the factory, really. Radiation is a thing IRL and in Star War. A breached power plant on this suit will cause problems for everyone and can easily irradiate friendly troops and cause a lot of problems for the suit wearer (who is now more or less sealed inside) and those around them (who have now become their own nightlights). I've included this as well into the submission.


Alright, now on to how this thing is actually pretty weak. First and foremost, physics are a thing. Thermal gel can only stop so much kinetic energy and many modern weapons even today hit with forces greater than atmospheric reentry. Just because the suit is very good against kinetic strikes doesn't mean the individual inside is safe. The suit could theoretically take a straight shot from a tank or maybe a rocket launcher, but the trooper inside the suit can't. Things like concussions, internal bleeding, ruptured organs, and many very dangerous, crippling, or outright lethal things can and will happen to someone in this suit who doesn't dodge things like high explosives.

The suit is not Force resistant, just lightsaber resistant. Yes, the frame is durable and the like, but flinging the poor schmuck across the battlefield is still a thing. Same with crushing internal organs or even doing the Darth Vader choke thing. It's got no Force Null resin inside, so while the lightsaber may get a chuckle from someone in the suit, grabbing their short-hairs with the Force is gonna get their attention really quickly.

Keeping in line with the trend here, even if the trooper is okay, the computer systems and machinery may not be. [member="Fabula Caromed"] love taps you on the noggin? You may just walk away with a concussion, but there's a chance your on board battle computer is in worse shape. The concussive blast of a bomb flings you into a wall? You may be able to get up and keep going, but that railgun on your arm might not be able to.

Also, EMP/Ion hardening is just that; hardening. Any sufficiently powerful electrical discharge will overpower even the best hardening possible. Even just strapping a bunch of ion grenades together with tape and sticking it on the suit's chest could possibly fry something long enough to have someone fling the poor schmuck into the distance or line up a shot with some heavy weapons.

You're seeing it as some sort of juggernaught of doom and game breaking, when in actuality it's really not lol Think of it like a Main Battle Tank; really really scary and really really tough, but ultimately pretty fragile when you think on it. You might not be vaporizing the thing in one go, but it doesn't take a whole lot to knock something like this out of the fight temporarily or even permanently.

Overall, however, I'm more than happy to discuss further concerns and edits if needed or desired.

 

[Netherworld]

[member="Popo"]

I gave this a good, long, hard read. I really, really did.

My conclusion? Most of those weaknesses that you listed to balance out the many strengths are, well... not really weaknesses at all.

Jump capable, but not flight capable.
Expensive. REALLY expensive.

Powered Gauntlets - Melee weapon only

... just to name a few. Yes, crushgaunts (or powered gauntlets) are a melee weapon. They are designed as such. That doesn't make it a weakness of any sort.
The above is just a glaring example. Most of them are like this, and honestly it feels like trying too hard to come up with downsides to something that has virtually none.

Power supply can potentially irradiate wearer, suit, and/or surrounding area if damaged and/or breached.

This one is a category whole on its own. I read the dev thread, and while you omit this "details" from the submission for some reason, you describe in the dev how there's a number of failsafes against this. [x] [x] [x] [x]
The two descriptions seem to clash in their described effects. In your dev, a breach comes across as highly unlikely (protected as it is by phrik plating and another layer of armor just for the fission plant), and even in the event that it somehow happens, the worst case scenario is that their surroundings get irradiated.

All in all, I do not feel the edited submission meets my final request:

tone this down as a whole. Considerably.

As I've said, the weaknesses are mostly very marginal, if they can be considered weaknesses at all. The thing is definitely not weak in any sense of the word. To spare us all a pile of reports for abuse of a quality 10 limited production power armor that's nearly impervious to most common forms of damage... this is denied.

If you wish, you can always Second chance the submission here.

 

[Allyson Locke]

Second Chance approved. [member="Popo"]

[member="Draco Vereen"] [member="Ordo"] - one of you pick this up.

 

[Popo]

[member="Draco Vereen"] [member="Ordo"]
Not sure which of you guys will pick it up, probably Ordo. Anyways, I've altered the submission a little and split the suit into two variants. One with phrik plating available on a semi-unique level, one without phrik plating available on a limited production level. That way, it can still function as heavy powered armor and can be assigned to rare-level units or individuals if so desired, but the top notch items with phrik can easily be limited to PC characters only. It's a little more self regulating.

I'll wait to see what other edits the FJ asks for before tinkering further so that way everyone is on the same page and there is no confusion.

 

[Ordo]

[member="Popo"]

To make this work I'm going to start by asking for a little leg work. First, you're going to have to give this beast more credibility.
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Portable_fusion_generatorlinking things like this can help that. I would like you to consider a thorough look at a glaring weakness. We both know this can and will be abused in PvP as is. I'd like you to consider what you would say if an overzealous young writer used this against you and what kind of weaknesses you would look for to beat it. That's what we need. I want to get this approved for you but we need to work out how together.

 

[Popo]

[member="Ordo"]

Alrighty. Finally off work and can start tossing things up.

First off, precedences. The One Sith made Phrik plated Powered Armor a while back with approximately the same amount of posts, albeit all in one thread. A quick breakdown shows it is phrik plated, EMP resistant (it'll slow down when affected but otherwise seems to be fine according to the submission), 5x strength enhancement, integrated weapon systems, and a plethora of other bonuses. It has a few distinct weaknesses, mainly that it's large, heavy, has a few small areas of no phrik plating, and is produced few in number reflected by it's limited production status.

The next precedence is a suit of armor made by Armatech utilizing Beskar plating. It is powered armor and features lightsaber resistant plating, strength enhancement, EMP/Ion resistance, integrated weapon systems, and jump/limited flight capabilities as well as a shield generator built into the suit. The listed weaknesses are some system conflicts when certain systems are used at the same time and a limited ammunition capacity. The armor is listed at minor production.

Now, that all said, the one thing that is different between both precedence submissions and my own is that the weapons and equipment is often submitted and added on to sort of 'tech-stack' the submission. Each piece has it's own balance, strengths, and weaknesses. If you'd like I am more than happy to submit sections of the suit separately to the factory if so desired, I'd just need an idea on what would need submitting for balancing separately.


As for the second half of your post, there's a lot you can feasibly do to defeat this suit of armor. Anti-tank weapons, for example, can disable the pilot or even damage/destroy the suit. Sufficient strength EMPs and Ion attacks can damage or shut down systems or, if powerful enough, the entire suit. A Force User using their Space Wizard Powers could hurl the armor away relying on the kinetic impact to do damage to the internals of the suit or to the pilot. Likewise, abilities like Force Choke, Spear of Midnight Black, etc. can entirely bypass the armor and affect the pilot inside without problems.

If you think of it as, say, a T-90 and you're basic infantry it's not a question of if you can destroy the T-90 in one go, but if you can disable it to negate its effectiveness or pin it in place long enough for something that can deal with the problem to come up and eliminate it. That said, if you have the proper equipment like AT weapons handy, you can disable and damage the suits beyond functioning or injure, incapacitate, or kill the pilot wearing the suit through indirect means.

Hopefully that helps out some

 

[Ordo]

[member="Popo"]

Give me a day or so to review the other tech and their devs. In the meantime consider submitting the armor alone with weapons packages in following subs. Kind of like selling a core game and a line of add one later. Anyway, 24 hours or less and you'll have a response.

 

[Popo]

[member="Ordo"]
Actually I'll be nerfing the railgun somewhat as I sat down with the math and realized it was pretty broken lolol

 

[Ordo]

[member="Popo"]

Can we add, and i know this seems like common sense but bear with me, That joints are less armored and can be damaged? Do this and I think it will be ready.

 

[Popo]

[member="Ordo"]
Tossed it in under weaknesses

 

[Ordo]

[member="Popo"]

I'll put my neck out on this and say pending secondary.

 

[Allyson Locke]

[member="Popo"] I'm on my way to work soon, I do want to go over this so we have no issues ^_^ <3

 

[Allyson Locke]

Approved.