Bilgewater Cannon and the Alliance consequences

05/11/2018 12:06Posted by Fauffi
The shells it fires have a caliber of about 3-5 meters. By comparison, the largest caliber artillery ever used on Earth was 0,8 m (the largest mortar was a little under 1 m): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schwerer_Gustav. Upscaling from that shell (7,1 tons), places the shell at around 500-600 tons or 8-10 times a modern main battle tank.

Let's assume it hurls this shell with a muzzle velocity of 2700 m/s (for those intercontinental shots) which gives it an energy requirement of about 2,2 trillion joules or half a kiloton (500 tons of TNT). Putting the power drain at 275 gigawatts. That's about 1% of the entire world's energy consumption. It would take the Hoover Dam about 2,2 minutes to generate that much energy.

No chemical explosive could provide the instantaneous force needed to propel a projectile that large without blowing up the gun itself. Also the velocity attained by the shell is higher than the practical detonation wave speed of any chemical explosive currently known.

The recoil of the gun would be tremendous. The instantaneous energy expenditure is roughly the energy of a 4,0 earthquake. Firing a weapon of that size, constantly pounding that much energy into the ground would quickly shatter the ground underneath. Thus you would need a massive underground dampening system to dissipate the energy to a much larger volume.


No, if the plot of this "sToRy" demands otherwise ;) ...
I always found idea of cannon so large being able to fire so far is utterly ridiculous. Nor do i believe it can fire anywhere at EK nor do i think it has any chance to harm vindicaar or any draenei ship. I believe its sole purpose is to defend orgrimmar.
04/11/2018 19:20Posted by Sylvianna
Well certain abilities and weapons even in game have an "unlimited" range.

So why not that cannon?

Also if it's loaded directly with Azerite, it could actually destroy a whole city... or maybe even a sub-continent...

uh huh
At least, if they destroys the Vindicaar, it would solve the issue as to why Sylvanas wasn't nuked from orbit.
I have an alternative target for Gallywix : Stormwind
Hopefully, Anduin will be in his castle.
Having the Humans without any leader nor capital city would fuel the narrative for years !
Also, it would allow the High King to be either Tyrande (now that they decided to bring the WC3 badass one back) or Greymane (he handled the military for Anduin since Varian death)
I think space laser cannon on vindicaar >>> then mechanical bomb cannon.

05/11/2018 14:21Posted by Veltarn
At least, if they destroys the Vindicaar, it would solve the issue as to why Sylvanas wasn't nuked from orbit.
I have an alternative target for Gallywix : Stormwind
Hopefully, Anduin will be in his castle.
Having the Humans without any leader nor capital city would fuel the narrative for years !
Also, it would allow the High King to be either Tyrande (now that they decided to bring the WC3 badass one back) or Greymane (he handled the military for Anduin since Varian death)

Yay, the horde destroying more alliance stuff, and alliance players accepting it as normal , yay. It's how things should be.
It's almost like this game has a high magic fantasy setting which regularly disregards the laws of physics, especially when it comes to the nonsensical goblin and gnome technology that is so frequently thrown about.

It wouldn't be the first time that goblin explosions work in an impossible fashion.
05/11/2018 14:31Posted by Taxania
It's almost like this game has a high magic fantasy setting which regularly disregards the laws of physics, especially when it comes to the nonsensical goblin and gnome technology that is so frequently thrown about.

It wouldn't be the first time that goblin explosions work in an impossible fashion.


They always had some sense of realism to them at least. Cannon able to fire almost anywhere with what basically would lever anything?

That is too much even for Warcraft without being main key part of story or such. But again they have freaking space ship so who knows what may happen. Yay.
More than realism, they always took care to give goblin and gnomish technology drawbacks. Making the cannon a super weapon that can reliably hit anywhere in the world with devastating force would cross a pretty big line here.
05/11/2018 14:35Posted by Sheselyn
They always had some sense of realism to them at least.

No. The Warcraft setting has always been a high fantasy setting with no regard for realism. Everything is as realistic or unrealistic as the narrative requires. These freaking space ships have existed since the Burning Crusade expansion. It has always been all over the place and it will continue to do so. There's nothing about this big, dumb cannon (that will likely hilariously backfire) that doesn't fit the kitchen sink fantasy of Warcraft and that doesn't thematically fit the explosive nature of goblins.

05/11/2018 14:40Posted by Wimbert
More than realism, they always took care to give goblin and gnomish technology drawbacks. Making the cannon a super weapon that can reliably hit anywhere in the world with devastating force would cross a pretty big line here.

Then why hasn't it been used yet? Besides, we've got no confirmation that it'll actually work properly or not suffer some hilarious drawback as this sort of engineering always does.

It's just another plot device that'll be used and discarded at Blizzard's whim like the Vindicaar and Jaina's magical boat of wonders, I'm not sure why there's suddenly so much backlash against it.
05/11/2018 14:42Posted by Taxania
No. The Warcraft setting has always been a high fantasy setting with no regard for realism. Everything is as realistic or unrealistic as the narrative requires. These freaking space ships have existed since the Burning Crusade expansion. It has always been all over the place and it will continue to do so. There's nothing about this big, dumb cannon (that will likely hilariously backfire) that doesn't fit the kitchen sink fantasy of Warcraft and that doesn't thematically fit the explosive nature of goblins.


All of the gnome and goblin technology was usually shown on rather small scale compared to this, and space ships were not present at all. The fact they existed did not mean anything as they did not play any role in what was story at that point of time.
Considering regular Horde catapults, made out of cheap wood, are capable of launching azerite bombs hundreds of kilometers away and hit their target precisely, I'm assuming the Bilgewater Cannon can reach Argus and beyond. Maybe even the Void Lords can be hit? Who knows...

And, seeing as how it's Blizzard's tradition to utterly !@#$ting on the Alliance every step of the way, I'm guessing another major Alliance settlement will be blown up. Not any capital, since that would be a tad-bit too much. I'm thinking maybe Westfall will be 2/3 destroyed? Duskwood? Menethill Harbor as well? Probably Wildhammer Stronghold in Shadowmoon Valley will be blown-up too. For the lolz, why not?

Goblin engineering knows no bounds.
05/11/2018 14:42Posted by Taxania
Then why hasn't it been used yet? Besides, we've got no confirmation that it'll actually work properly or not suffer some hilarious drawback as this sort of engineering always does.

...that was my point. It wouldn't fit the way they used technology in the past, if they were able to use it without drawbacks. So, if it is used it will probably have some major ones and won't be nearly as powerful as the goblins advertise.
05/11/2018 14:52Posted by Anthropea
Menethill Harbor as well?


That's overkill. Menethil Harbor was already semi-destroyed by the Cataclysm. Give that town a break!
Though I would love the cannon and praise it into heavens if it actually destroyed Stormwind and Anduin.

It would be first cannon nominated for US president.
05/11/2018 15:10Posted by Arctur
That's overkill. Menethil Harbor was already semi-destroyed by the Cataclysm. Give that town a break!


Much like putting a limping, diseased hound to sleep, am I right?

#HordeLogic #NothingWrong
05/11/2018 15:00Posted by Wimbert
...that was my point. It wouldn't fit the way they used technology in the past, if they were able to use it without drawbacks. So, if it is used it will probably have some major ones and won't be nearly as powerful as the goblins advertise.

So we've got no reason to expect that it will be this super-powerful war-ending mega-weapon that the Horde totally doesn't deserve that some blue-background posters are complaining that it will be. Based on the precedent offered by goblin technology and how Blizzard tends to handle its narrative, it's probably not going to be a massive game-changer. All we know is that the cannon will be firing.

Although I doubt that this will stop some blue-background posters from complaining that the Vindicaar isn't being used as a super-powerful war-ending mega-weapon that the Alliance totally deserves.
Easy.

Because of morally grey reasons it will be shot at Orphanage in Stormwind.

But this time alliance is prepared. Hook's, sorry Jainas Jolly Roger will appear over the City and with combined power Anduin and Jaina will redirect the slug towards Sylvanas. In same time Sauerfang appears and uses [Honorable Strike] Ability on the wounded Warchief to free the Horde (again).

Afterwards Alduin forgives Hordes not so nice behaviour the very last time. The new Peacechief Baine promises not to burn any trees anymore. Now, the both factions try to figure out how to fill the Void.
05/11/2018 15:12Posted by Sheselyn
Though I would love the cannon and praise it into heavens if it actually destroyed Stormwind and Anduin.

It would be first cannon nominated for US president.


You know that the remaining Kaldorei civilians are in Stormwind City, right?
05/11/2018 15:16Posted by Arctur
You know that the remaining Kaldorei civilians are in Stormwind City, right?


I don't care about them to same extent as i care about this utterly garbage character like anduin finally being removed from the spotlight.
As long as John J. Keeshan and Shandris Feathermoon are still alive and ripe, I'm hopeful for the future. Screw all the rest, those 2 lovebirds can plant the seeds of a whole new race. Just make Keeshan immortal somehow, pump him full of testosterone and let nature do it's thing.

Before you know it, there will be little Keeshans running around the place. Ah, so lovely.