Winter Intersession - the Game goes on...

I'm taking advantage of the period between the two sessions for now.  I've started working on the beginning/training missions/point of our intrepid player having to make his/her first in game choice.

So I've started by adding a few new ships to the mix.  Found a bunch of nice top down view graphics, and adapted them to our use.

For the here and now these are the 'canon' images I've added - these should be considered source files in that the in game images have been altered:

First is a background for our training mission:

 

This image is a cut out from the full size below:

 

I wanted something modern and very different from the rest of the game.  But I noticed the transitions were choppy - then I really looked at the image.  It's lighter at the bottom than the top, and of course the small craters or whatever they are don't match up.  So I found another desert type background that is a lot more even:

 

 

I also added a whiteboard:

 

This helps keep the intro-training text in an uncluttered environment.

 

As for ships, I've added  three - first is a training drone:

 

This gives our pilot something to test his/her new prototype GAU-6 20mm Vulcan Rail cannon against.

 

Next is the Zeppelin that may or may not make an appearance later:

 

 

And a steam punk boss of all bosses zeppelin which may make its debut later in the game:

 

From the looks of this bad boy our hero may have just met his/her match.  Kind of excited to see what happens...

 

 

Okay - now in keeping with a tech discussion with our Tom Resource writer - my original question was how do we keep a slightly future tech airframe full of gas and bullets in the time frame of 1917?

 

So I took some liberties.  Our pilot has two X type technologies on board - a Warshawski generator (okay - kudos to the Honorverse BUT Warshawskys has been a huge auto parts seller in Chicago for a very long time...) and the GAU-6 20mm Vulcan Rail cannon.  The current gen Vulcan is a GAU-4 - I added the electric Rail gun so means no cartridge case, propellant etc. to worry about. In other words we are just carrying the things that go out the barrel - nothing else.  The rail gun supplies the motive power.   In a pinch add ball bearings - heck even just washers and out they go at an astonishing speed.  Tom Swift can eat his electric rifle!

 

What's a Warshawski generator you ask?  Slyly I answer - it's the typical Sci-Fi X device that allows this discussion to move forward.  Gives us the ability to take slightly future tech and have it run in 1917 without trying to figure out how we are going to get JP8 or any other type of AvGas for our jet driver.  It's when our plane driver is asked to test full military power that things get - well, interesting shall we say?