Introduction to SH Design Competitions

[Sturgeon]

Since we have a lot of first timers competing in the new Texas MBT competition (which I recommend you check out, if you haven't already), I wanted to welcome you to SH's semi-bi-quadrennial design competition! I also wanted to introduce you to what we do here, point out some resources, and direct you to past competitions so that you can get a better frame of reference for the degree of presentation and technical competitiveness that is expected in these things.

First, some resources.

We'll start from the back end, with what the ideal submission looks like. If all the vehicles designed in SH competitions were competing against each other for sheer quality, the winner by far would be the XM-2239 Norman, by NLM. The length, degree of embellishment, detail, and quality of the proposal are all as close to pitch-perfect as I expect anyone here to get. The Norman proposal's level of detail when compared to other contest entrants elsewhere on the Internet is pretty obvious, but it also doesn't waste the judge's time with extraneous fluff, being a highly concise and readable proposal overall. I learned this the hard way, with my submissions to the same competition; to quote LoooSeR: "Writing a War and Peace is not needed for short description of your submissions." Some fluff to frame and elaborate on your design is appropriate, but the degree of narrative contained in my five part submission from the 2239 competition is so excessive that even I find them difficult to read, today. Regardless, I highly recommend anyone interested in SH design competitions read that thread.

On the other side of things, the 2250 California competition illustrated some underlying problems with the way SH competitions had been held previously. Although the 2239 competition was extremely competitive and successful, the forum leadership effectively learned the lesson (incorrectly) that "more complexity makes a healthier environment" and decided to push competitors even further with the 2250 competition, with more detailed and stringent requirements to really challenge their abilities. However, this resulted in the competitors being overloaded by the complexity and detail of the requirements, and while every competitor did their best to conform to these requirements, several simply were unable to finish. This has resulted in subsequent competitions being scaled back in complexity, and for example the Sioux Scout Rifle Caliber minicomp that ended up extremely successful and fun for all the participants was very simple and bare-bones and involved the refinement of only specific disciplines. Another thing we learned is that SHitters tend to have highly specific interests. The Texas Truck competition struggled to gain interest in the first, and then with the departing of one of the design teams due to petty bullshit from the admin personal disagreements, never managed to build steam again. Its reinvention as an MBT competition, on the other hand, immediately generated fresh interest, so what can you do?



SH has provided a number of resources for its competitors to improve and refine their competition entrants. Several of these are pinned in this subforum:

Competition Rules

How we do it

Design a [Thing}: Don't Get Left Behind!

Estimating the Performance of Tank Guns

Design Contest Supplement: Typical Weights in a Modern Tank

 

In addition, there are extensive resources available at DTIC, and a number of SH members, such as @Sturgeon, @Collimatrix, @LoooSeR, or @N-L-M can direct you toward even more resources. I recommend calling upon as many tools and guides as possible to achieve a high fidelity.

 

In the OP of the Texas thread, there are some sheets specific to that competition. The primary threat of the Texas competition is what the Lone Free State calls the "4"/54", which is to say the Norman's 105mm gun. From a performance perspective, this is basically equivalent to the 100mm D-10T, or the 105mm L7. Calculators to allow estimation of protection against this and equivalent weapons firing HVAP are available here and here. A calculator allowing estimation of protection against simple 6" shaped charges (Panzerfausts, RPGs) is available here.