Fiction Primer: Lines of Communication
Communications in the field are a critical part of operating mechs, from coordinating with allies to receiving reports on the terrain from scouts. Yet the different machines of the worlds of the Precipice use wildly varied systems for transmitting and receiving information.
From a gameplay standpoint, communications are an important part of the game’s long-term vision. While Open Alpha v1.1 has minimal implementation of this, the ability to coordinate allied units or address enemies is important. After all, debating moral philosophy or personal ideals with one’s foe between blows is classic storytelling device in many mecha works!
In this fiction primer, we discuss the communications systems of the mechs of Arbelos, Swarmworld Arcturus, and Harness, and give a small hint about the modes of signaling used in the next Precipice world that we’ll soon be revealing…
Radio (Arbelos)
The conversation was cut off suddenly by a warning whine. Auglez’s eyes flitted across the dash of her hauler from dial to dial. The accelerometer was flicking wildly. Strange notes chimed from the radio, shifting seamlessly into words in a language she did not understand. She looked to Riston, who was also watching intently. He looked surprised. And then slowly, the dials returned to normal values.
“What was that?” Riston asked.
Is this surprise for my benefit? Or does he truly not know? Auglez wondered. Then she spoke. “It’s the Drop. This far from the edge of the crater, sometimes there’s… interference.”
Riston reached back into the cab and grabbed the liaison’s charts, turning them with an air of confusion. He seemed to be trying to read them, but Auglez doubted he was having much success. “Borread did say something about ‘deep probability zones,’ I think. Is this where we are?”
From Arbelos Chapter 3: Reverberation by Max Brooke
Much like in our own world, the machines of Arbelos use radio waves to transmit and receive information on the battlefield. This technology saw rapid adoption during the Shroud War, enabling both trak units and their armored foes to coordinate despite the visual obscurement created by biophagic weapons. Even cutting-edge M-Traks use fundamentally the same technology for communications, with incremental improvements over time.
When operating in the Icano Disaster Area, however, radios are not always to be trusted. Broadcasts with no clear point of origin often interfere with common frequencies, sputtering out static bursts at seemingly random intervals or playing haunting songs in languages nobody can identify. The Varallen Irregulars and others who travel the Disaster Area are well aware of these phenomena, even if they do not grasp the full truth of the Precipice.
Radio (again), Lasers, and Instinct (Swarmworld Arcturus)
“Now,” Deniz continued, “let’s see if we can get these two someplace where they can smash each other without getting water in their internals. ASTERA has a research vehicle a few klicks up-petal from here.” He gestured out to sea. “They’ve got bays large enough for Zilant and Komodo.” Deniz fished into a pouch of his suit and took out a headset. “Since he doesn’t have communications equipment installed yet, this will let us keep in touch. It’s fairly short range, but it’ll do.”
“Nobody’s going to install anything on him. In him. Whatever,” Maris said.
“If he doesn’t like you enough to let you give him a name, he probably isn’t going to let you decide if he gets mods, either,” Deniz pointed out. He extended the headset a little further toward her. “Our techs will stick strictly to assessment and repair, you have my word. Like taking your dog to a vet.”
Maris only knew what a dog was somewhat abstractly, but she thought she understood what Deniz meant. She took the headset and fixed it to her ear.
From Swarmworld Arcturus 3: Komodo by Brandon Perdue
As the descendants of an Earth not unlike our own, the humans who inhabit the Arcturus Swarmworld use many familiar technologies. The majority of short-range comms, including the ones installed in mechafauna, are radios. Ships and larger stations also employ communications lasers, allowing for large bursts of dense information, but these are generally too bulky and power-intensive for use on mechafauna.
Of course, perhaps the most important communication in Swarmworld Arcturus is that between pilots and their mechafauna. The pilot communicates through the controls, and the mechafaunus responds through its actions and, sometimes, an ineffable feeling the pilot may have of its intentions. This communication is largely instinctual and intuitive, a language of hunches and subtle signs rather than spoken syntax.
Speaking Trumpets (Harness)
…he saw the brass speaking trumpet mounted in front of his loom, jutting toward him. He craned his neck forward, grabbing it with his mouth. He blew an ugly, hooting blast across the plaza.
“Premontans,” He blurted into the horn, swiveling to face the crowd. “I’m grateful so many of you came. So many that you filled this plaza. So many you downed all the First Citizen’s gifts. Which I know is no easy thing.” He paused. He saw recognition in faces from the front rows, and heard a few ragged laughs, so at least some could hear him.
“So, it seems it’s time for us all to leave. Will you make a little way for me first? I will be right behind you.” He wondered if his words had carried far enough at first. But a loud murmuring rose and he was relieved to see nodding, even toward the back of the crowd.
He turned back to the other side. “Soldiers of the Guard. Your captains are over there, behind me. And Premonta’s banner will want an escort.”
After a pause, the soldiers raised their spears, and began filing back toward the scaffolding.
Orlondo exhaled quietly.
From Harness Chapter 2: Raised Up by Michael Gernes
The bearer of a great harness stands high above the people below, encased in a frame of timber and armor of steel. The speaking trumpets attach to tubes that lead from the cavity in the torso to the the head of the great harness. This allows the pilot to address those on the ground and make themself heard, their voice booming out from the sound-amplifying tubes.
Getting information to a harness-bearer is its own challenge. While they can hear another harness-bearer’s booming calls well enough and can see out using the shaped lenses that reflect views down to them, a harness-bearer must often rely on visual signals to receive information at any significant distance.
Communication Tubes and Signal Lamps (???)
So far, all major worlds of the Precipice that have been revealed focus on single-pilot mechs. But the forthcoming world’s machines require not just clear lines of communication out, but also within. Instead of a single pilot, these machines feature teams communicating via internal speaking trumpets and tubes. And to coordinate with other members of their convoy at a distance, they signal with powerful lamps and other visual systems. We’ll reveal more of these great machines and the crews who steer them into the uncharted domain of the Precipice in the coming weeks!