Reign of Steel -- The "Changes in War" Theory

[johndallman]

Originally Posted by Ashtagon

Does RoS have effective hover-robots? Would they be grav, helicopter, or gasbag-based?

There are tiny helicopter-bots, so larger ones should be no problem and gasbags are obviously possible. RoS doesn't have anti-gravity: its technology is not fully realistic, but not that radical.

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by Johnny1A.2

This is a two-edged vibrosword, though, as Vietnam itself exemplifies. One of the things that went badly wrong for American forces there was the tendency for the high command, or even the White House, to make tactical decisions that belonged at the division, battalion, or even company level.

The fact that a given technology permits doing dumb things doesn't mean that it will actually be used in that way. In practice, it's not likely that the Zonemind will instantly be informed about every little skirmish, but they do have advanced C3 capabilies against opponents who generally will not.

[Ashtagon]

Originally Posted by johndallman

There are tiny helicopter-bots, so larger ones should be no problem and gasbags are obviously possible. RoS doesn't have anti-gravity: its technology is not fully realistic, but not that radical.

In that case, I would propose specialised comms-bots. These would be primarily gasbag lift, with weak horizontal propulsion systems. They would have ducted fans as back-up systems to ensure they could perform emergency landings in the event of a gasbag rupture. These selfsame ducted fans might also perform the routine horizontal thrust application.

They would be unarmed. Most of the internal volume would contain dedicated comms systems. With one covering every 25x25 mile square, you would have tenfold redundancy in your coverage, ensuring that it would be nearly impossible to instantly take down this datanet coverage.

[Tallor]

Originally Posted by Ashtagon

Even without GPS, a chain of robots, some possibly in low flight/hover positions, could achieve much the same result, at least for any areas of tactical interest. At an altitude of 5000 feet, the horizon is about 86 miles. At that range, you could have triple redundancy without too much difficulty.

Does RoS have effective hover-robots? Would they be grav, helicopter, or gasbag-based?

Probably gasbag, since others would be a bit expensive.

[Tallor]

Originally Posted by Ashtagon

In that case, I would propose specialised comms-bots. These would be primarily gasbag lift, with weak horizontal propulsion systems. They would have ducted fans as back-up systems to ensure they could perform emergency landings in the event of a gasbag rupture. These selfsame ducted fans might also perform the routine horizontal thrust application.

They would be unarmed. Most of the internal volume would contain dedicated comms systems. With one covering every 25x25 mile square, you would have tenfold redundancy in your coverage, ensuring that it would be nearly impossible to instantly take down this datanet coverage.

I imagine taking out (or capturing) one of these gasbag spy-blimps would be a huge boon for survivors. o:

[RyanW]

Originally Posted by Anthony

The fact that a given technology permits doing dumb things doesn't mean that it will actually be used in that way. In practice, it's not likely that the Zonemind will instantly be informed about every little skirmish, but they do have advanced C3 capabilies against opponents who generally will not.

When the fight breaks out, the local boss-bot is almost certainly notified. If it is easily handled, a summary gets put into the daily report up-chain. Otherwise, it goes to a regional boss-bot for more instructions/support. That trend continues all the way up to the central citadel, if necessary. Most skirmishes with humans are probably well beneath the pay-grade of anything remotely looking like a Zone Mind, unless it is the one handling the requisitions for ammunition and replacement razor wire.