Greetings Vagabond!
We are excited to see that you made it back in one piece from your latest adventure. As always, we are happy that our paths have once again crossed.
For today’s training, we will go over each Wasp class in detail. It is of the utmost importance that you, as an adventurer and Vagabond, know the vehicles you’ll have at your disposal, which class to use for each situation and how to take care of these essential engines. By the end of this drill, you’ll know the basics of piloting each Wasp class, their pros and cons, how to plan your voyages depending on vehicle, the history behind each class and the foundations of fueling and maintenance.
However wonderous and beautiful Tycos may be, don’t let yourself be fooled: It is also a place with dangers and challenges behind every corner. Flexibility and agility are thus two of the most important skills you must have to successfully survive and thrive on this alien planet.
Even though your survival is heavily dependent on these innate skills, a great way to increase your odds is by sheer knowledge. A Vagabond does not only succeed by facing threatening situations, they also need to know how to use the tools at their disposal to de-escalate and handle these situations just as quick.
As you probably know by now, Tycos consists of islands of various shapes and sizes that float in the air at different altitudes. Resources are essential for survival but often scarce and hard to come by. Solely gathering resources is often not enough, since you also need to modify and combine them to make vital tools and gadgets. Being stranded on a barren island is in other words one of the worst case scenarios here on Tycos. By educating you on the main ways of transportation across the planet, we hope to diminish that probability to as low a percentage as possible.
The vehicles we are referring to are called Wasps. Wasps come in four different classes, Utility, Cargo, Scout and Fighter and we’ll go over all of these in detail in a moment.
Wasp Anatomy
The core principle behind the structure and composition of each Wasp class is essentially the same. Their core parts can be divided into three main categories: The hull, engine and the hovers.
The hull defines a Wasp’s exterior shape and appearance and acts as its main movement energy absorber. The hull also works as a safeguard and bumper for the engine. Just like a car, the engine creates power, that is used for making the Wasp go forward and backward. The engine also powers the hovers, which provide lift and allows the Wasp to stay stationary in the air.
In addition to these parts, the Wasps also have general features that are common to each class. All types of Wasps have landing legs, floodlights, a strong horn and positioning lights for navigation and making yourself visible to other pilots in the night.
Fuel
Similar to the vehicles on planet Earth, machines on Tycos also need fueling in order to work. Fossil fuels are most common on Earth, but don’t exist at Tycos, which has resulted in alternative solutions. While the scientific process of the floating islands is not yet explained, it is generally assumed that there is a correlation between the floating islands and hydrogen, or hydrogenogenesis, as it is called, in particular.
Hydrogenogenesis is a natural phenomenon to Tycos. It is a process resulting in the production of hydrogen. The process takes place within the soil, and involves the generation, containment and sometimes release of hydrogen gas from the soil’s minerals and organic matter. Due to this continuous process, there is an abundance of hydrogen at Tycos and earlier generations managed to utilize this plethora to sustain machines and vehicles.
All different Wasp classes therefore have engines that transmute hydrogen to kinetic energy. Both Wasps as well as Cloud Cruisers can only make use of liquid hydrogen. Hydrogen liquifies at temperatures below -253°C (-423°F) and is highly compressed and stored in specially designed containers to prevent evaporation. The amount of liquid hydrogen in the Wasp’s tank thus determines how far you can fly. Hydrogen can be found on the majority of islands around the world, but that requires that you actually reach them. Keeping close watch on your Wasp’s hydrogen levels is vital for your continuity as a pilot.
To be able to harvest hydrogen out in nature, it needs to be in a solidified form. Hydrogen is solidified through molecules being closely packed together under extremely high pressure, resulting in a hydrogen crystal. Crystals are most common close to hydrogen geysers. By using a hydrogen refinery, you are able to convert the crystals into liquid hydrogen. In other words, make sure to never leave without a hydrogen refinery!
Maintenance
Fuel isn’t the only thing your Wasp needs to be fully functionable. For example, by colliding into things or not landing correctly, your Wasp will take damage. A damaged Wasp does not function properly and can result in increased fuel consumption, impaired speed or steering difficulties. You can avoid this by using your welder tool to repair parts of your Wasp. That is, if you have the right resources and materials to do so.
Unfortunately, cleaning is not something you will escape just because you are a Vagabond on Tycos instead of a pilot on Earth. By using your Wasp, it will get dirty. Your vehicle will get dirtier faster if you continuously keep bumping into terrain. Cleaning it is fairly simple: all you need is a water hose (and water, of course!). Dirt does not affect the functionality of the Wasp, but due to the scarcity of these vehicles as well as a respected Vagabond, we expect you to keep it in top condition.
Wasp Highway
You’ve probably seen the big rings hovering in the skies, that’s what’s left of what once was the Wasp highways. The rings themselves are called Wasp highway gates, and when placed in a line they make up an entire Wasp highway. These highways were built by a civilization called PACE, and were often placed in between islands for a faster transfer time. They offered a temporarily speed boost to Wasps passing through them, allowing pilots to travel to different islands quicker without using more fuel, similar to jet streams, but allowing more power.
Ever since PACE’s expansion came to a quick halt, the highways have been out of use. It seems as though when their society collapsed, the knowledge of powering the highway gates somehow got lost in the chaos. Now, what’s left of them are these big, hovering circles in the skies. We have tried to power them up ourselves, but we haven’t figured out how to turn on the controls just yet…
Wasp Classes
All Wasp classes come from PACE. You might have noticed that the earlier Wasp generations look a bit chunky and heavy, and they are! But there is an explanation for this. You see, during the earliest PACE settlements, the inhabitants of Tycos did not have any airborne vehicles. Knowing the nature of Tycos, it is obvious that this was a problem for the early settlers. To solve this problem, PACE made use of car parts to allow them to travel between islands in a flexible way.
As previously stated, there are four different classes of Wasps: Utility, Cargo, Scout and Fighter. To describe the Wasp in Earthly terms, it is an agile, small vessel that zips through the sky like a mixture between an aircraft and a helicopter. All Wasps come in three generations, each version more efficient, but harder to craft than the previous. The earliest generations were constructed by using repurposed car parts, but as their settlements adapted more to the planet, they were able to construct more purpose-built versions. All classes and generations are highly customizable, allowing you to choose which color, pattern and extra attachables you’d like to add to your Wasp. Once you find or build your first Wasp, it is up to you to make it personal, so that your fellow Vagabonds can recognize you easily.
Utility Wasp
The Utility Wasp is the oldest Wasp class, as it was created by PACE pioneers. The early researchers realized that they needed an initial vehicle to explore the first ever parts of Tycos. This also explains why the Utility both holds the space for, and has the ability to power a small camp. It is built to be a reliable vehicle for unpredictable voyages.
The first generation is especially wonky and crude, as it had to be assembled quickly from leftover material and equipment found around the earliest PACE settlements.
The Utility Wasp is very versatile and is therefore the go-to vehicle for us Vagabonds. It can be used for scrap hunting, small expeditions and also holds a temporary camp that can deploy a series of different intractable modules.
The Utility Wasp requires quite a bit of planning and maintenance as it consumes a lot of fuel and unfortunately doesn’t have a very big fuel tank. It is far from the fastest Wasp and not very agile. But what the Utility lacks in mechanics, it makes up for in support functions. Apart from allowing you to set up camp wherever you see fit, it also has an electricity output and a built-in charge cable for you to power your tools and equipment. The Utility is in other words the perfect fit for the flexible, curious and close-to-nature Vagabond lifestyle. We’ll go into more detail regarding your camp and tools at hand in a future drill.
Cargo Wasp
The Cargo Wasps were invented to perform heavy duty lifting tasks to help with moving crude construction materials between islands and to operate the Cloud Cruiser efficiently. The majority of all Cargo Wasps has long been in the hands of PACE, as they’ve been one of the backbone vehicles for their expansive colonization. Even though PACE nowadays is far past its glory days, we’re not sure what has happened to the Cargo Wasps. We have managed to get our hands on some, but currently there are only a few working Cargo Wasps in our possession. These Wasps are notoriously difficult to maintain. Cannibalization of parts is often the only solution to keep them running, and the large rotor is especially complicated and cumbersome to repair.
The Cargo Wasp is the slowest of all Wasp classes. It is not recommended to operate at high speed as its maneuverability is compromised. As long as you have patience and time, the Wasp will allow you to precisely hoist and position large pieces of cargo.
These Wasps are costly to run. Not only due to their complicated maintenance, but also due to their fuel consumption. Because of their weight at about 4000 kilos, they need regular refueling. This issue has been improved for the newer generations as their engines are stronger, but they are still one of the classes with the highest fuel consumption. However, they can take a fair bit of damage as they have a sturdy frame. But please, do not take this as an invitation to pilot these vessels in a ruthless way. We have enough issues with repairing them as it is.
This class has two distinct features: A vertical hoist and multiple inventories.
The hoist can be described as a large magnet. It is attached to the under carriage of the Cargo Wasp rotor, enabling airlifting of large objects such as large pieces of scrap or Wasps in need of towing. Its cable length can be extended or retracted, and the magnet can be engaged or disengaged. The hoist consumes power when it is used.
The Cargo Wasp also has six large inventory slots for you to fill with valuable resources found around Tycos. Its large cargo compartment gives you more time to scavenge, as you don’t have to use as much resources to transport the cargo back and forth.
This training contains a lot of information, and even though we expect a lot from our Vagabonds, we also know that you probably won’t remember every single detail at once. If there is anything you definitely should remember about the Cargo Wasp, it is to be slow and precise, to make use of its inventory and lifting capabilities and to carefully plan its usage and voyages.
Scout Wasp
The scout is a fast and lightweight speeder that can be used for fast travel and exploration. Early on, PACE realized they needed a fast and cheap surveillance vehicle. The design philosophy was “bikes in the sky” which refers to traditional bikes' ability to go virtually anywhere with little effort. With lessons learned from the design of the Cargo Wasp, they are much simpler and require little maintenance. However, with simplicity comes vulnerability, and many Scout Wasps have been destroyed in accidents and minor collisions. Nowadays, PACE uses Scout Wasps as a consumable and have a huge scrap pile of broken and dented Scouts, nicknamed “Mount Scout”.
This class is the fastest of all Wasp classes and is essentially designed for exploration and quick transportation. They weigh approximately 1600 kilos and thus have very low fuel consumption. They have a built-in scanner that can detect animals and items within a specified direction. To further give an overview of a designated island, they also have the ability to scan certain remnants for further research and site info. Scouts also have a Geiger counter, to increase the chances of finding nuclear reactor cores.
Often being used in narrow spaces, such as caves, the Scout Wasp is equipped with strong floodlights and different vision modes, allowing you to view your surroundings properly. In case you find a point of interest, make sure to drop a beacon to let your fellow Vagabonds know where you are.
Even though the Scout Wasp is incredibly useful when exploring the terrain, we try to use them as little as possible. Due to their fragility, we only have a few Scouts left in our possession. Our rule of thumb is to only use a Scout if it is absolutely necessary to do so. Make sure that you are a skilled pilot before you get behind the controls: We can’t afford to loose any more Scouts.
Fighter Wasp
Much like the Scout, the Fighter Wasp is a high speed and very agile vessel. Even though it can’t quite reach the same levels of speed as the Scout, its acceleration power is unmatched by any other class. It has a high fuel consumption but is much more resilient than the fragile Scout.
The Fighter was developed as PACE expanded. More islands needed to be settled and their inhabitants needed to traverse into more dangerous skies. As a result of multiple attacks by aggressive wildlife, the Fighter Wasp was constructed. We believe that leadership also intended to use this vehicle as a display of force.
To this day, we have lost many allied Vagabonds to the Fighter Wasps. We still haven’t managed to get any in our possession as they are extremely rare: Due to their late development, they require many kinds of specialized materials.
As we don’t have any Fighter Wasps at our disposal, we cannot guarantee that we know all their features with certainty. What we have seen is that they are equipped with both a flare dispenser as well as a stunner turret. The flare dispenser is somewhat harmless, as it seems to function as a temporary light source and distraction during attacks. The stunner turret is however opposing a large threat, as it can fire multiple stunner projectiles at once. Even though the stun itself isn’t lethal, it paralyzes the electric components or organic matter of its target, causing the targeted object to quickly come to a halt. We probably don’t need to go into further detail as to what happens when a Wasp becomes immobilized in air. We have tried to shoot them down with our hand held stunners from ground, but the Fighter Wasps have the ability to barrel roll, making them notably difficult to hit. The Fighter Wasps are truly a thorn in the side, but fortunately there are only a handful being used.
Well done, Vagabond
Every Wasp class has its own strength and weaknesses, essentially all depending on what type of situation you find yourself in. As your practical training begins, you’ll start of with a Utility Wasp, like all Vagabonds before you. Once you’ve mastered this stubborn but sturdy vehicle, we can discuss moving onto more complex classes and generations.
This concludes today’s training, and as always, we’re grateful for your time and patience. We’re very pleased to see your hard work and determination, and we truly believe you have the potential to become a successful Vagabond. We hope to see you at our quarters again soon. Until then, keep the blue side up.
Well, what are you waiting for? Put on your gear and get out there!
// Apog Labs
