OOTS #1073 - The Discussion Thread

[pendell]

Awesome! Love the update!


I gotta admit, I'm really beginning to appreciate our Giantess. It sees a shame she's probably going to get killed at the end of this. I respect her commitment to her mission and her brutal, sarcastic rejoinders. It's a pity we can't recruit her, but I think the only way would be temporarily via Suggestion or something like.

As far as what Andi's doing, if I recall my basic flight mechanics the four forces that act on an aircraft or airship are lift, thrust, gravity, and drag. The bits that get you moving up are lift and thrust. "Lift" comes on an aircraft when the thrust pushes the wind against the wings, generating lift. On an airship, you also get lift from the gas bladder.

I think what Andi's trying to do is increase the thrust, which will increase the flow of air. If there's some lifting body like a wing for the air to interact with, it will indeed generate more lift.

Thing is, I don't see any obvious lifting body that would interact with the air in that fashion. As others have pointed out, it looks like almost all of the lift on the Mechane comes from the gas in the bladder, not from wings.

Maybe they can angle the propellers to provide lift as well as thrust, a la a VTOL airframe?

Also, WRT Kevin Stormast's comments, I think we can excuse the lack of tag out et al as due to the storytelling mechanics. Rich has a limited number of panels to tell his story and I suspect he doesn't have a strong background in onboard ship repair himself. So I'll accept that Andi knows what she's doing and consider the lack of tag out unnecessary detail that Rich either didn't know about, or chose to omit in order not to disrupt the story flow.


Respectfully,

Brian P.

[Darth Paul]

... I think we can excuse the lack of tag out et al as due to the storytelling mechanics. Rich has a limited number of panels to tell his story and I suspect he doesn't have a strong background in onboard ship repair himself. So I'll accept that Andi knows what she's doing and consider the lack of tag out unnecessary detail that Rich either didn't know about, or chose to omit in order not to disrupt the story flow.


Respectfully,

Brian P.

Weird... just the other night we played the Star Wars RPG and one player tried to use lock-out/tag-out as a reason why another couldn't possibly start our freighter and take off while his (the first player's) character was working on the engines. I pointed out that, since there's No OSHA Compliance in the galaxy of Star Wars (don't believe me? look at the Death Star sets), then it follows nobody knows how to lock-out/tag-out engines either... so up up and away the ship went.

[Werbaer]

Speculation:

They found a route through the mountains. Don't forget this is the Mechane we're taliking about.

First, think of the narrative (*). How lame would it be if, after defeating the toughest warriors and killing or evading the clerics, they would have to move back? Face all the regular giants again, and a have a second fight against the remaining clerics? Finding a new uncharted route in their hour of need makes for a much better story.

Second, this is not a charted route because it's too high for regular airships. The mechane can climb higher than most other ships, and even then was just barely able to pass the ridge.

(*) edit to add: I'm not talking about the OotS story narrative (although my reasoning would still hold for that one). I'm talking about the fact that the Mechane is a device with the specific ability to create an interesting narrative, like arriving in the nick of time.

[Peelee]

Weird... just the other night we played the Star Wars RPG and one player tried to use lock-out/tag-out as a reason why another couldn't possibly start our freighter and take off while his (the first player's) character was working on the engines. I pointed out that, since there's No OSHA Compliance in the galaxy of Star Wars (don't believe me? look at the Death Star sets), then it follows nobody knows how to lock-out/tag-out engines either... so up up and away the ship went.

That doesn't really follow though. Just because something is not mandated doesn't mean it does not exist.

[factotum]

That doesn't really follow though. Just because something is not mandated doesn't mean it does not exist.

Also, there are reasons other than safety why you'd want the ability to lock an engine down from starting up--for example, to stop a group of opportunistic PCs from stealing your ship?

[Peelee]

Also, there are reasons other than safety why you'd want the ability to lock an engine down from starting up--for example, to stop a group of opportunistic PCs from stealing your ship?

Yeah, I should have probably started with that one.

[halfeye]

What happened to the giant's axe in the second-to-last panel? It looks damaged, but it was whole all the way through the rest of the fight.

Edit: Ah, it looks like the giant's boot ruff was put in as a layer on top of the axe.

Yeah, and it's still bugging me three days later.

Frosty for new Order member!

Wait, but then Bandana couldn't join.

They could both join.

I ship it. (joking)

...dangit now I actually ship it.

This has been a brief glimpse into the workings of my brain.

I love that.

I just thought about this, but if the airship is powered by helium, cutting the balloon at the bottom is pretty much the least efficient way to get the air out of it.

I know, right?

Helium is a gas, it's not air, in the sense that to breathe it (pure) is not to live.

[KorvinStarmast]

Elan is feeling the frustration of being a healer in any RPG :-D

Heh, having played no few clerics, that's a good one.

The most likely scenario is that whatever method enables the Mechane to leave this valley (replenished helium, Andi working some sort of Mechane Mechanic Magic, portage, throwing things overboard) will be facilitated by having more helium ... snip ... I think that Elan fixing the hole in the balloon is probably a good idea.

Yeah.

dialogue ending in ...
G: Lean in, sister.
B: Say, how would you like to be part of an egalitarian crew that's tryin' to stop the end of the world?

Nicely done.

personally I'd say using a second (or even higher) spell slot to turn a deadly high speed crash into a slower more easily survivable one (at least from an NPC perspective, PCs aren't likely to die regardless) is clever, not wasteful.

Indeed: for want of a nail a kingdom was lost ...

But aren't propellers for propulsion, by definition? If they're for the lift, shouldn't they be called rotors?

This point was raised some dozens of strips ago during a forum discussion, and the in-world nomenclature was not agreed upon. Then you've got the Osprey that has proprotors ...

I can live with "its rule of cool, move on already." as an explanation.

With ya.

So presumably Andi is figuring out how to bypass all safeties and blow too much fuel into the engines, to give the main propellers added temporary boost.

That depends upon whether or not the Sprague clutch continues to function.

As far as what Andi's doing, if I recall my basic flight mechanics the four forces that act on an aircraft or airship are lift, thrust, gravity, and drag. ... snip ... Maybe they can angle the propellers to provide lift as well as thrust, a la a VTOL airframe?

Also, WRT Kevin Stormast's comments, I think we can excuse the lack of tag out et al as due to the storytelling mechanics.

The four bit you have right, the "don't work on energized equipment" was worth pointing out since Kwesi now becomes the one who prevented the accident.