Airship Components: R&D Contest (NA) - Discussion Thread

[Rowde]

Top Secret
For Your Eyes Only

Character name: Willig Rowde
World name: Coeurl
In-game Item: Scarf of Wondrous Wit

Component name: Smart Bomb Booster Rockets (SBBR) Mk.III

Working together with my Kobold friends of the 789th Order, we have developed these multi-purpose rocket attachments for airships. In a pinch they can be used for an instant burst of speed during evasive maneuvers, or they can be used to quickly propel an airship to maximum acceleration to get somewhere in a hurry.



While creating his magnum opus, my friend Pickman Gi Gu invented a Smart Bomb Detonator Switch. This device allows for the simultaneous detonation of multiple Smart Bombs at a single time. Gi Gu also conducted the initial field test of what we would later call the SBBR Mk.I by strapping a single Smart Bomb to his own back and detonating it to propel himself forward at an incredible speed.



Acolyte Bo Ga supplied us with additional Smart Bombs for further experiments. We manufactured a hollow cone-shaped casing from a titanium alloy to contain the Smart Bombs and focus their blast. The pointed end is solid, and the larger end is open. The Smart Bombs are packed tightly into the casing and a mythrite screen is affixed over them to hold them in place. The assembled unit is then clamped onto a holding plate (which would be affixed to the stern of an airship). We called these units SBBR Mk.IIs.



Next we conducted field tests by attaching a single SBBR Mk.II to Magitek Armor. This allowed us to determine an adequate scale and ratio for the SBBR Mk.IIIs, which are for accelerating airships. I piloted the Magitek Armor for the SBBR Mk.II field tests and can personally attest that it is quite an exhilarating experience.

The SBBR Mk.IIIs are larger than SBBR Mk.IIs, but still small enough to be handled by a small group of individuals. It's recommended that at least four SBBR Mk.III units be fired in unison to provide a stable boost. (Two units attached to the starboard stern and two units attached to port stern) In addition, since the entire casing is held in place by a holding plate, an empty SBBR Mk.III casing can be replaced with a loaded SBBR Mk.III unit while in flight if multiple boosts will be necessary in short intervals.

Empty SBBR Mk.III casings can be reloaded with fresh Smart Bombs and used again. So multiple loaded SBBR Mk.IIIs can be kept in reserve, or a supply of Smart Bombs to reload empty casings with, or both. This allows the crew more flexibility with allowances depending on the size of their airship and intention of their voyage.

End Report

[Pison]

So here's a funny little story.

In the contest entry, I sort of rushed to get my entry in there. Didn't see the line about the 500 character limit, so I decided to come into the discussion thread to apologize for it. Wound up re-clicking on the entry thread, posting it in there. Which is my bad.

And then I put my entry into several word count websites, minus the text at the top detailing my character name, prize, etc. and found out it was 496 words. Meaning it was alright as an entry.

But I still posted my apology on the entry thread; sorry 'bout that. I'd delete it if I could. D:

[Lago]

Character name: Lago Aletheia
World name: Adamantoise
In-game Item: Scarf of Wondrous Wit

Component name: Goddess Figurehead

If there's anything a truly respectable sky pirate ship can't be missing, it's the image of a beautiful woman gracing the prow. Getting a group of artisans to cooperate on a work of art in the workshop would be a daunting task, though! Luckily I knew just where to find one already made that we could use.

The first task would be to dislodge it from its base. Nothing a few volleys of magitek cannon fire can't take care of.



From there it was a simple task to lash the statue to our manacutters and haul it home. Biggs and Wedge's corrupted crystal engines put in good work, but it was the motivational power of cake that really did the heavy lifting!



Hmm... I just hope nothing terrible happens because we moved that statue...



On that day, the world was changed forever...

[Shivarria]

-Character name: Shivarria Furybourne
-World name: Midgardsormer
-The name of the component you are suggesting: Command Relay Module
-Three (3) images of how you obtained the component: Below
-Explanation as to why the Community Team needs the component and how you procured the item in 500 words or less: Below
-In-game item prize that you would like to receive from the list: Scarf of Wondrous Wit

It was a quiet, sunny afternoon outside the study window when the help first arrived with our most challenging commission yet: An organization known as 'Community Team' was in need of airship enhancements which would aid in effective execution of their mission. Details beyond that were sparse; it seemed they were in need of inspiration, as much as fabrication. Just as well - any outfit could pound rivets and shape mythril. 'Community Team' had clearly come to us for our realm-renowned ability to produce novel solutions to practical problems.

After considerable research - and more than a few long nights in the Free Company think tank (literally a tank of sorts; we do our best thinking in the tub) - we concluded that effective and efficient communication is vital to 'Community Team' operations. So it was that our commission found us in Azys Lla, reverse-engineering the ancient audio-transmission technologies of the Allegan Empire, which we soon discovered played a key roll in the force-fields protecting the zone. Here, one of our research craft can be seen receiving short-wave signals from an array of the massive sonic resonators that reinforce the shield.

It is difficult to say whether gaining an understanding of the tech we were working with was the greater challenge, or if adapting it to our purpose holds that distinction. For integration aboard an airship, the equipment had to be considerably reduced in both volume and weight. Fortunately, given that the device is only intended to transmit information remotely - and not to power a barrier which surrounds a sizable airborne atoll - we were eventually able to compress it into a much more mobile form, seen here, already installed aboard a luxurious airborne yacht;

For the benefit of 'Community Team', Garlea's Most Wanted proudly presents: The Command Relay Module!

[Beckett]

Hi, thank you for running such a fun contest, but now that the winners have been announced I noticed someone missing.

It looks like everyone who entered and followed the contest rules (and several who didn't) were announced as winners, except for one. As far as I can see, Kesari Soulfury is the only entrant who both followed the rules and didn't win. Was this an oversight, or did she actually break the rules in some way?

[Rowde]

Thanks again to the Community Team for another fun event. It's a shame more ppl didn't enter. I noticed that this contest could have had up to 100 winners... but only roughly 55 entries.

I had a brief chat with someone over at lodestone who didn't know about the contest and though that it hadn't been advertised at all. I linked them to the original news post though... Perhaps it got lost in the shuffle, or perhaps there could be a little more exposure for these contests?


A couple of random questions regarding prizes:
1) Are there any plans to add additional prizes in the future? I'd love to keep participating in these events, but I now have all 4 usual prize options...
2) I was surprised to discover that the Scarf of Wondrous Wit can be stored in the Armoire. However, the Bluebird Earring, Ahriman Choker and Mandragora Choker cannot. Why is that?

[Grekumah]

Hello Beckett,

We’re glad you enjoyed the contest!

In regards to Kesari’s entry, this was indeed an oversight during our internal region checks. They’ve been added to the list of winners, and a delivery moogle has been dispatched to deliver their prize as we speak! Thank you very much for alerting us to this.