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The Black Rose is a very nice fighter! Great job KLM!

Darkmax wrote:very detailed, KLM. You want it out?

I would be honored.

BtW, I just forgot to write in a few ideas, so I am editing
the post. (Changes will be in bold)

Adios
KLM

Ah...another idea goes to the drawing board...then on to the assembly line...

Darkmax wrote:if you can provide me with enough details, why not. More than happy to help out.

But you have to wait cause I need to push something I promised out on the website this weekend. I have put it off due to many distractions recently.

Not a problem. It took me a while to get back to it. But you should be getting the picture and description now. Let me know what you think.

whenever you're ready to launch...

Yup, I'll put the stats for the Queen-class luxury vessel up later on. Since my group hasn't finished the modifications on the Ramantha Queen, I can't put up the stats for the Q-Ship version yet.

Prime Minister, Chamberlain, Grand Poo-Bah, Toady-in-Chief, LOrd-of-All-It-Surveys...a whole line of possible liner classes and grades...

Awww...that's what the 'business expenses' declaration line on the tax forms is for....writing off billion-credit luxury spacecraft as necessary government expenditures....

Dunno...

Better to buy just a single "Air FOrce One" than to pay
every "boss" for buying a luxory yacht. And sometimes
a state have to show a little luxory.

Adios
KLM

KLM wrote:Dunno...

Better to buy just a single "Air FOrce One" than to pay
every "boss" for buying a luxory yacht. And sometimes
a state have to show a little luxory.

Adios
KLM

They do it anyway....Bless Political Corruption...
And, of course, there are lobbyists...and when some of the lobbyists are massive aerospace forms like Naruni Enterprises or General Galaxy....Even if they have to slip it to the politico through five or six middle men as a 'used starship'....

I think you both hit the nail right on the head! I can see every major government in 3G designing their own ships. They might not build them, but they would have enough people supervising the design process to keep people from interferring with it.

For peer review...

WZ-HSI-027 Blackbird High Speed Interceptor
WZTechYards is better known for seeking out and hiring the eccentric talents and ideasmiths that for one reason or other the other aerospace firms of the Three Galaxies have rejected or overlooked...but when WZ was looking to design a new state of the art heavy interceptor to add to their product-lines, they sought out and subcontracted an already well-known and accepted talent for the task.
Vareesahn Amadi is best known for her breathtaking and sophisticated private star yachts, for which customers have been known to pay hundreds of millions of credits and wait over twenty years for a chance to order. It’s unknown what it took WZTechYards to persuade the elite Star Elf to work on a military project, but urban folklore says that it was a dare(facilitated variously, depending on whom one asks, by alcohol, recreational chemicals, and/or sex) between professionals. Another claims that the upper management of WZ commissioned a personal corporate transport to exacting and specific standards that would make it easy after the yacht’s delivery to simply strip out the luxury appointments and convert the design to a fully-rigged milspec vessel.
The resulting vessel shows Amadi’s influence and inspiration from hypersonic atmospheric jets; a long, sleek, airframe with swept-forward wings. A high-powered lucerin-fuel fusion poweplant buried in the hull gives the ship’s systems power to burn...and the Blackbird’s TachaWing VIII class V CG drive eats power at a rate that would strain a conventional powerplant of equivalent mass. Rapid-response holo- and neural-interface controls, with AI assist, in conjunction with a micro-thruster grav-generator network woven throughout the ship’s sleek skin, give the large Blackbird a degree of agility and control-response more familiar to front line fightercraft; another influence of Amadi who also designed star-racers. Extensive use of low sensor-signature materials throughout the Blackbird’s construction, complemented by an Oni-Ryu-designed cloaking system, give the Blackbird a stealth rating comparable to specforce ships and deep recon-craft, and further increase the ability of the ship to be on top of a target before the enemy can take action. Ideally, in a system defense scenario, enemy forces would be caught offguard by the unexpected close-range attacks of defense perimeter interceptors already on active station during the intruders’ approach runs. Dorsal and ventral bays hold a lethal array of long range weapons, while an advanced sensor system allows the crew to find targets for those weapons, and aim them for maximum effect. For an interceptor, the Blackbird has a large crew; eight personnel are needed to effectively manage the ship’s extensive electronics, sensors, and weapons. The large crew also allows the ship to more effectively perform long range patrols, flying on station, under minimal power and low-emission ‘silent running’, the crew taking four-man shifts, until a target vessel enters the Blackbird’s intercept area. The Blackbird, however, retains its luxury yacht ancestry in the design of its crew accommodations; though small, the crew area is ergonomically efficient and well-appointed, with comfortable bunks and folding, space-saving, kitchenette and exercise gear, allowing the crew to remain well-rested and sharp on prolonged deep space patrol missions.
Over twice as long as a CCW Proctor Interceptor, the Blackbird is being marketed as a rapid-response attack craft that can scramble to intercept suspect vessels long before they enter threat range, identify them, and neutralize them(or at least cripple or harry them until more effective firepower can be brought to bear). Amadi apparently designed the craft to be able to take on ships like the TGE Berserker-class corvette, dealing the missile-ships critical blows before they can close to effective cruise-missile launch range. This means that speed and firepower are essential; while the Blackbird does have armor and shields, they are modest in degree, the Blackbird relying primarily on speed and first-strike capability for self-protection.
All this high performance doesn’t come cheap, of course, but despite the high expense per unit, production of the Blackbird has been snapped up by eager buyers. Interestingly, if hardly surprising, a substantial number of Blackbirds have been bought up by security firms in the Paradise Foundation, and Thraxus of Center reportedly has a squadron of these ships in his service. The Free Worlds Council also has a number of these ships, apparently donated to the rebels’ cause by wealthy sympathizers. These FWC-flagged Blackbirds have quickly proven themselves in the hands of ace FWC Air/Space Corps pilots against the TGE Berserker squadrons terrorizing rebel shipping and worlds.
While Vareesahn Amadi has declined to talk about her role in designing a warship, she is reportedly privately proud of her ‘Blackbird’.
Type:WZ-HSI-027 Blackbird
Class:High Speed Interceptor
Crew: 8( Pilot/Captain. co-pilot/EO, engineering officer, 3 gunners/engineering technicians, 2 sensor/EW operators)
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 2,600
Reinforced Crew Compartment 400
Engines(2) 1,000 each
Laser Cannons(2) 400 each
Particle Beam Cannons(2) 400 each
Variable Forcefield* ( 3,000 MDC, 500 each side)

*Shield Refresh Rate is 15% per melee
Height: 45 ft
Width: 210 ft
Length: 225 ft
Weight: 1,500 tons
Cargo: 15 tons of supplies
Powerplant:Advanced Lucerin-Fuelled Nuclear Fusion with 36 year energy life
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 8, Transatmospheric
(Sublight) Mach 13
(Kitsune Value: 50% of light speed. Accelerate/Decelerate at 1.3% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) 5 lightyears per hour
(Underwater) Not possible
Bonuses: +3 to Dodge, +1 to Initiative
Market Cost:350 million credits
Systems of Note:
Standard Starship Systems, plus:
*Stealth Design----The Blackbird enjoys a 15% chance of being detected on long range sensors due to its advanced stealth materials hull. For redundancy, an Oni-designed active stealth system limits enemy sensor range to 2, 500 miles detection distance, and at closer ranges enemy sensors are treated to erroneous readings(typically within the wide range of objects from commerical satellite platforms to mercantile ships). The system also produces 1d4 melee-brief sensor ghosts to furtehr confuse enemy targeting systems.

*Advanced Piloting Computer(control bonuses reflected above)

*Countermeasure Flare/Chaff Launchers(2)---Two launch systems in the engine pod dispense clouds of thermal decoys and micro-mitter ‘ghost’ pods to confuse enemy sensors in direct combat. These are considered antiquated technology, but are useful nevertheless against lower-end technological systems(such as those available to brigands and pirates).
Range: Close Defense
Damage: None; similar to Triax-style chaff
01-50 Enemy Missile or volley detonates in chaff and threat is neutralized
51-75 Missile/Volley diverts and may pursue/lock on to other targets
76-00 No Effect! Missile(s) still on target!
Will also temporarily blind and impede flying monsters who fly into it.
In space, anything flying at high speed through the cloud will take 2d6 MD +1d6 MD per every 100 miles of speed over 670 MPH.
Reduce APMs/combat bonuses/ speed by half for 1d4 melees
Payload: 12 per launcher, 24 total

Weapons Systems:
1)Particle Beam Cannons(2 )----Mounted in a rear dorsal position is a pair of fixed-foreard-firing medium particle beam cannons.
Range: 3.5 miles in atmosphere, 7 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 7 miles in atmosphere, 7,000 miles in space)
Damage: 2d6x100 MD per single blast
Rate of Fire: Three times per melee
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

2)Laser Cannon(2 )---Mounted below and ahead of the particle beam cannons are two long range laser cannons.
Range:4 miles in atmosphere, 8 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 8 miles in atmosphere, 8,000 miles in space)
Damage: 2d4x100 MD per single blast
Rate of Fire: Four times per melee
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

3) External Weapons Pods(2)----What look like twin oversized cruise missiles attached to the underside of the Blackbird are really twin external weapons pods(similar in concept to the Convair B-57 Hustler bomber’s external fuel/weapons pod). These pods allow for quick refurbishment and reconfiguration of the Blackbird’s heavy weapons fitout. Furthermore, the pods can be ejected to act as remote weapons platforms.
Each pod can carry ONE of the following configurations:
a) Short Range Missiles-----40 each
b) Medium Range Missiles----20 each
c) Long Range Missiles---9 each
d) Cruise Missiles----3 each
e) Decoy Pod(s)---This modified LRM launcher fires up to 10 decoys that imitate the ship’s own sensor and performance signatures, and can be programmed to perform combat maneuvers(each pod has 5 APMs and dodges at +3) and can even, when launched in volley-strength, perform coordinated squadron maneuvers. Decoy pods have an estimated operational lifespan of up to 1 hour(even after their propulsion is used up, they can continue to transmit), and have proven effective at fooling sensor systems (80% chance) at ranges over 2,000 miles.
f) Jammer Pod---This EW module allows the Blackbird to jam communications within a 1,000 mile radius, (hopefully)disrupting fighter squadron coordination and command-directed munitions fire. 80% chance of jamming commerical band and older military communications systems, 50% chance of defeating more modern military systems. 45% chance of being able to jam radar-guided missiles.
g) Heavy Gravity-Rail Gun---Heavy caliber projectile weapon.
Range: 8 miles in atmosphere, 16 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 16 miles in atmosphere, 16,000 miles in space)
Damage: 1d4x100 MD per 20 rd burst
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload: 250 bursts per pod

h) Heavy Laser Cannon---Heavier than the integral hull-mounted lasers, the pod-carriage lasers also wear out faster and are usually removed and completely overhaulled after a firefight; and more often than not completely junked.
Range: 4 miles in atmosphere, 8 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 8 miles in atmosphere, 8,000 miles in space)
Damage: 2d4x100 MD per single blast
Rate of Fire: Four shots per melee
Payload: Effectively Unlimited; most pod-mount laser systems have a 20% chance of overheating and malfunctioning after 300 shots, however, without maintenance.

i) Particle Beam Cannon---Like the pod-mounted lasers, the PBC pod weapons do more damage than the hull-mounted models, but also tend to burn out twice as fast
Range: 3.5 miles in atmosphere, 7 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 7 miles in atmosphere, 7,000 miles in space)
Damage: 3d6x100 MD per single blast
Rate of Fire: 3 shots per melee
Payload: Effectively Unlimited; most pod-mount PBC systems have a 20% chance of overheating and malfunctioning after 150 shots, however, without maintenance.

4)Long Range Missile Launchers(4)---Concealed behind sliding plates along the length of the main hull are four long range missile launchers
Range: Varies by Missile Type
(Kitsune Values: 3,400 miles in atmosphere, 1,800,000 miles in space) Damage:Varies by Missile Type
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1-4
Payload: 36 LRMs, 9 missiles per launcher

5) Mini-Missile Launchers(2, base of wings)---Concealed near the root of the wings are two mini-missile launchers. These launchers spew out salvos of missiles to intercept missiles and fighters.
Range: Varies by Missile Type
(Kitsune Values: 2 miles in atmosphere, 100 miles in space)
Damage:Varies by Missile Type
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1-12
Payload: 144 MMs, 72 missiles per launcher

Variants:
The one known variant of the Blackbird, the Redfire Blackbird, replaces the long range missile bay with a cruise missile pod holding 24 cruise missiles. This version will typically try to close as stealthily as possible with an enemy formation, trying to get inside of it, then fire off a massive volley of cruise missiles at effectively point-blank range.
Supposedly pressure is mounting on WZ to produce a stripped-down ‘civilian model’ of the Blackbird that does away with the weaponry and combat EW, and replaces it with cabin space and luxury appointments, ironically retrofitting the design back into the sort of racing yacht and luxury craft that Vareesahn Amadi is best known for.....If WZ does go this route, the resulting craft is expected to be no less expensive than the military version, and just as eagerly bought.

Very nice DM! Nice pics! Nice interceptor Taalismn!

Darkmax wrote:ok... for those two designs I promised.

Ramantha Queen

Black Rose


I think you might want some things changed.

Very nice, I especially like the the engine section of the Rose.


Even if they are classify the Rose as Yellow Rose

However... Well, in my mental picture, the fuselage was
much thinner, to the point that the cockpit actually bulges
out.
Another thing is the wing... I thought of just two, smaller
horizontal stabilisers, jutting out from the nose.


Anyway, had I been a goverment-issued expert, I would
take a batch of them as they are

Adios
KLM

Darkmax wrote:Taalismn, perhaps the Star Elf designer was "bribed" into it....

"Design us an aesthetically pleasing vessel, and we'll built you a medium ship of your own design, at our cost."


Or.... perhaps... they had seduced her with some overly handsome guy.....

Consider it part of Company Lore....

Sounds like a good name for the ship!

Blackbird: a tail point-defense turret seems to be missing
from the concept. Of course, later variants might come out,
after the TGE fighters find out and exploit that weakness.

Adios
KLM

I will buy three wings of 'em.

Adios
KLM

Fierce Fang

This fighter was thought to be the standard fighter of the
dreaded Invincible Guardsmen of the TGE, and then being
fielded as a new line of starfighters, to counter newer,
faster craft.

Well, this is close to the truth, but as recent salvaging and
a few captured Fierce Fangs were analysed, they proved
to be a downgraded version... of something. Clearly, modules
were missing, so experts suggest the IG version to be
equipped by phase (promethean) and maybe techo-wizardry
systems. Guessing about psionic modules are also floating
around.

Fortunately for the FWC, the Fierce Fang is a mundane
foe. It has four "horn" wings, instead of the single pair
of the original Flying Fang, yet they are form a rather flat
"X", so the craft has a very similar profile to the ancestor.
The most important difference (and still difficult to spot
under "normal" combat circumstances) is that the new
version has 4 engines in a row.

Weapory was upgraded too. Probably the heritage from
the Invincible Guardsmen, and the fact, that they counted
Cosmo Knights as potential foes, the craft is equipped
with two powerfull CG canons. Experts insist, that those
are the knock-offs of the Wulfen Hunter destroyers'
secondary guns.
The secondary weaponry is a batch of mini-missiles,
hidden between the wings, and with capability for
a 180 degree field of fire horizontally (and about 30
degree vertically), making it a backup dogfight, and
more importantly, a point defense system.

This means that the starfighter lacks longer range
weaponry, but this appearant weakness is countered
by the crafts' enhanced speed, and tactics, using
them with Flying Fangs.

This feature also suggest, that the IG uses some
king of stealth to into gunpoint range without
drawing attention.

Finally, the craft has a small FTL drive, mainly
for intersystem rapid deployment.

As of currently, every TGE Smasher carrier
at least two pairs of them onboard.

Model Type: FF-328
Class: Aerospace interceptor
Crew: one or two, kreeghor only
MDC:
- Horn Wings (4) 120 @
- CG canon (2) 250 @*
- Mini missile launchers (2) 100@ *
- Main body 550
- Pilot's compartment/Escape pod 250
- Variable force field 6*300 (1800 total)

*shielded by the wings, ie. called shot at -5

** Destroying the horn-wings affects atmospheric
manouverability as per Flying Fang.

Speed:
Flying: M 4 in atmosphere
M8 cruising in space with two engines,
M16 when all four engines are on, but only for
about 2 hours (overheat)
FTL: 1 ly/h for 10 minutes, then a 30 min. of recharging needed

Performance: +2 to dogfight, +2 to strike with canons, +4
to dodge, +15% for manouvering.
Cyberlink (standard) adds +2 to initiative, and +4 action per
melee, useable only for manouvering (ie.: Dodge)
Using a co-pilot also adds +1 to dogfight, dodge and initiative

Size: same size as the Flying Fang, but weight is
more than doubled, 22300 kg fully loaded.
Power system: 2 years without refuelling, AM. Reactor
lifespan is expected to reach 60 years, with refuelling.
Market cost: 80 million, used only. Non TGE possession
of this craft means execution (if caught).

Weapons:
CG canons, 2, fixed forward
Range: 12,9 km is space, 4 km in atmosphere
Damage: 3d6*10 per single burst, d4*100 per double
bursts
Payload: 1000 single or 500 dual bursts, use a single
ammo compartment
RoF: each single or dual burst counts as one action

Mini-missile turrets:
Range, Damage: as per missile
Payload: 2*24
RoF: 4 per action per launcher maximum
(both can fire on targets in about a 30 degree
cone forward and backward).

Adios
KLM

Zounds!
Proving again that the TGE is still FULL of nasty surprises...

Darkmax wrote:Here's a slightly modified Black Rose

Black Rose 1

Black Rose 2

Black Rose 3

Looks like the Colonial Viper's long lost big bad Three Galaxies cousin!

Darkmax wrote:ok... I will not promise it will look like those awesome pictures in the books, but I'll render to the best of my aesthetical ability....

And Taalismn, you are right.... I thought it looked like the Viper too, after getting it's belly tucked!.... strange days.....

AND gotten an extra engine block bolted on....

Trying to think stats already and what those transparent flanges over the engine thrusters could be...maybe some sort of emission baffling system? Making this a stealthy speedster? Or maybe make them part of some exotic drive system...maybe the ship can 'pulse' its drive and then redirect some of the extra drive radiation to power x-ray-laser style beams...the flanges are J!NG command malleable crystal that can reconfigure to incorporate forcefield 'lenses'....

taalismn wrote:

Darkmax wrote:ok... I will not promise it will look like those awesome pictures in the books, but I'll render to the best of my aesthetical ability....

And Taalismn, you are right.... I thought it looked like the Viper too, after getting it's belly tucked!.... strange days.....

AND gotten an extra engine block bolted on....

Trying to think stats already and what those transparent flanges over the engine thrusters could be...maybe some sort of emission baffling system?

As I wrote it on the 9th of May, in this very forum....

...they are a unified CG propulsion/shield system.



Adios
KLM

Apologies KLM, my forgetful heart!
Well, at least now I have an idea for future systemry that can be applied to otehr stuff....

Ramantha Queen...I'm thinking mid-sized starliner? Those two larger domes look like they could be swimming pool decks/arborteums/solariums...and some of the side features could be docking ports and hangars for excursion craft/lifeboats/shuttlecraft....

Secondary functions----BIG private yacht(for the obscenely rich---gruesomely rich buy GeeTees), mobile corporate headquarters, hospital ship....

taalismn wrote:Ramantha Queen...I'm thinking mid-sized starliner? Those two larger domes look like they could be swimming pool decks/arborteums/solariums...and some of the side features could be docking ports and hangars for excursion craft/lifeboats/shuttlecraft....

Secondary functions----BIG private yacht(for the obscenely rich---gruesomely rich buy GeeTees), mobile corporate headquarters, hospital ship....

Yup. All of the above. The two larger domes are a dance/dining hall for the smaller dome and the arboretum for the larger one. I'm putting together my notes for the class description. Then I'll have the basis for my group's custom Q-Ship model we are putting together.

The Queen

The Queen class Luxury Liner has been plying the spaceways of the three Galaxies for more than 600 years. Once one of the shining stars in luxury travel, she was eclipsed by the amenities and space offered by many of the larger vessels that came onto the market centuries after her debut. The last major version of the Queen (the 18th) to be produced was the R-line nearly 300 years ago. This line of Queens featured all of the systems that have come to be expected as standard on all Three Galaxies ships of today. In her heyday, a couple hundred Queens gave luxury cruises wherever their charters took them. Now, a couple dozen are all that are left in active service anywhere. Their modular nature and spacious staterooms keep these few ships alive as private charter ships and hospital ships.
As a cruise ship, the Queen offers 200 state rooms spread out over 5 passenger decks. There are 10 dining rooms and 20 rooms dedicated to various forms of entertainment, from movies and theater to various sports activities. The two main attractions of the Queen class are the domed main dining hall and arboretum. The domed main dining hall can accommodate up to 200 passengers at a time for dining under the stars. Besides bearing plants and trees from all over the galaxies, the massive arboretum also does duty as part of the air recycling system and as part of the hydroponics facility. The arboretum also has its own independent power generator and small thrusters so that in case of emergency, it can seal itself off from the rest of the ship and act as an emergency life support boat for the passengers and crew. Engineering takes up the last two decks on the bottom of the ship. Besides the drives, reactors, and life support systems, the engineering decks also have four fully stocked machine shops: two dedicated to ship's needs, one dedicated to shuttlecraft repairs, and one for solving passenger needs, including a small nanofactory for smaller electronic items.
As a charter vessel, the Queen can carry up to 200 additional passengers with no strain on her systems. In the case of a planetary emergency, the Queen can be outfitted as a hospital ship, with her normal fully operational Body Doc supplemented by up to 3 additional Body Docs. She can also carry and care for up to 1000 total patients for up to 3 months.

Type: Queen-class Luxury Liner
Class: Luxury Liner
Crew: 400 passengers, 200 crew
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 20,000
Bridge Dome 1,000
Main Dining Hall Dome 2,000
Arboretum Dome 5,000
Hangar Bays (2) 1000 each
Main Airlock Entryways (4) 500 each
Rear Drive Section 5,000
Auxiliary Drives (2) 2,000 each
Main Turrets (2) 500 each
Retracting Point Defense Turrets (20) 150 each
Standard Forcefield * 10,000 total
Dining Hall Forcefield * 2,000 total
Arboretum Forcefield ** 4,000 total

* Standard Forcefields regenerate at 10% per melee
** If the Arboretum has to be separated from the ship, it does not generate enough power to power the shields.

Height: 310 ft
Width: 460 ft
Length: 690 ft
Weight: 60,000 tons fully loaded
Cargo: 45,000 tons. Enough for full luxury cruise fare for the passengers for up to 6 months. Charter cruises can last for up to 2 years if necessary, while medical supplies for 1000 will last for up to 3 months.
Powerplant: Antimatter w/ 50 year energy life

Speed:
Atmosphere: Hover to Mach 1; Can land and float in water, with its waterline being the same as its midline ridge.
Manuever Drive: Mach 6. The Arboretum dome can move a maximum of 100 mph and cannot enter or manuever in an atmosphere.
FTL: CG-Drive 4 light years per hour
Market Cost: 750 Million credits

Systems of Note: All Standard Starship Systems.
Weapons Systems:
1) Particle Beam Cannons (2): The main weapons of the Queen-class are these two double-barreled particle cannon turrets. One is mounted just forward of the bridge, while the second is mounted right above the main engine. The turrets can rotate a full 360 degrees and swing out 90 degrees. They are primarily used to scare away potential pirates and destroy threats that can't be destroyed by the point defense lasers.
Range: 7 miles in atmosphere, 14 miles in space
Damage: 1d6x100 MD per shot, 2d6x100 MD per double-barreled blast
Rate of Fire: Three times per melee per barrel
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

2) Point Defense Laser Turrets (20): Double-barreled point defense laser turrets are mounted around the ridge of the main body and equidistant around each of the armoglass domes.
Range: 6,000 ft in atmosphere, 3 miles in space
Damage: 1d6x10 MD per single barrel burst, 2d6x10 MD for a double-barreled blast
Rate of Fire: As H2H
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

3) Auxiliary Craft: The Queen-class has two large landing bays towards the forward end of the ship. Each bay can accommodate up to two 100-foot length or smaller shuttlecraft/yachts, or for flights into less savory areas, 3 fighters each. Due to the modular nature of their internal cargo areas, on trips when they are carrying less than their normal load of supplies, Queens can carry up to 14 additional fighters in storage mode. They would not be available for launch until they are readied and moved into the shuttlebays. A process that can take up to 5 minutes for each fighter.

4) Cargo Holds: The Queen-class has two massive cargo hold decks that run the entire length and width of the ship. Each deck is 50 feet high and is what allows this ship to carry almost twice its weight in cargo, supplies, and luxury items. These decks are also fully modular, allowing the crew to setup individual environments, if necessary, for particular cargo.

Variants:
It has been rumored that the Ramantha Queen, one of the last of these ships still being used for cruises, is being modified into a Q-ship for especially dangerous cargo runs. Two hidden fighter bays are said to have been cut into the rear portion of the cargo decks, increasing its fighter capacity from 6 to 12 fighters. This is rumored to have cut her cargo space by a third. She is also rumored to be carrying several additional warship cannons in popup turrets, as well as having replaced her standard shield with a warship variable forcefield.

devillin wrote:The Queen.

Oh, VERY nice.....

Saving to hardcopy now to add to the folder of new ships(and those I DEFINITELY have to book trips on should I ever have to travel extras-solar...).

The fleet grows....

TRABANT-class escort corvette

During the last TGE-CCW conflict the CAF command suddenly
realised, that while they have quite a number of ships, yet they
are getting more and more tasks to be done. And as the war
progressess, they will have caualties (ie. less ships), and more
tasks.
To aggrevate the matters, the TGE dispatched a significant number
of fast attack craft (mainly Berserkers) with the express purpose
of harassing or even severing shipping in CCW territory.

The CAF usually produced high-value assets, which is a sound
decision, since these units tend to accomplish missions with
less casualties (a recognised weakness by TGE analysts), but
take more time to construct. Also, since these ships are more
durable in peacetime, a lesser production facility is enough.

This said, the CAF suddenly was in the position that they
either have to pull back ships from the frontline (risking
defeat) or leave cargo ships undefended (again, risking
defeat).

There was a three-fanged reaction for the matter. The
Wolfen fleet dispatched a large number of Hunters (in packs
of 4 to 12) into TGE territory - thought for their own
reasons they concentrated on the fellow brethen in the
TGE. The Noro fleet started to hunt down first the supply
ships of the intruders (Berserkers are very dangerous,
but only while they have their cruise missiles... Which they
spit out rather fast), then the culprits themselves.

It was the Human Alliance, which High Command - realising
the need - quietly abandoned the "low loss" policy, and fielded
the Trabant.
They are actually modified Super Cans - a little flatter, with sloped
sides. Then they received and engine block welded to the back
and a small conning tower (housing a crew of four).
Combat systems included a shield system, 6 medium range
missile launchers and four P-beams.

Later versions came with a crew of six, a small PA contingent
of 8 Silverhawk and even a single GR-1000 turret.

The concept was not bad to begin with. The ship technically
could counter the cruise missile volleys from the Berserkers
and at the same time was able to punish the attacker, if
they came too close - both with their swarms of missiles.

However, this required precise timing, launching missiles
a few second earlier or later meant a wasted salvo (and the
corvette had limited ammo) or simply, a cruise missile swarm
NOT stopped - ie. a lost ship.

The TGE forces eagerly engaged these little ships, and racking
up a kill ration of 1:10 to the grief of the Trabants, in the early
period. However, every crewmember, who survived an attack
were promoted to their own Trabant's captain's seat, and the
little bastards came out in thousands. In this regard, they were
similar to the T-34 or the M4 Sherman. They were inferior
to their foes, but were there, in sufficient numbers.

Some 30 thousands were produced. They were applauded as
the everyday heroes of the navy. They died often, but gave time
to the cargo ships to escape. Their reported kills were accepted
(publicly) without a doubt, so they - on paper - racked up
a kill ratio in the later stage of the battle of 1:1, and a 1:2,7 in
all time.
However... The TGE dispatched 1200 Berserkers, and when they
were withdrawn, they suffered about 80% loss, and a large percent
of this were the result of Noro (and later, combined Scimitar-Proctor)
Hunter-killer groups. 5000 Trabants were KIA, another 7000
were scrapped due heavy damage.

As post-war analysis and intelligence revealed, the TGE almost
succeded in breaking the shipping, the only thing they needed
were (depending on situations) the dispatchment of a further
3-600 Berserkers and maybe a hundred Smasher cruisers,
which they could well afford at the time.
However, the TGE was victorious in a few large engagements,
and shifted to the strategy of killing CAF fleet. Plus the whole
convoy-attack operation was the brainchild of a Silhouette
Invincible Guardsman, who was a victim of inter-empire
backstabbing (in that case, literally).

After the war, Trabants were quietly dismissed from service,
most of them were scrapped, thought a few are still in IDF
service.

Statistical date is given for the most numerous variant.

Model Type: EMB-90
Class: Light missile escort vessel
Crew: 6 - pilot, copilot/commander, 4 gunners. A single
pilot can fly the ship, and - at vastly reduced efficiency -
use all systems. However, the 4 gunners were also tasked
with engineering jobs.

MDC by location:
Main body: 1600 MDC
Engine block: 1000 MDC
Tower/bridge: 500 MDC
Missile launchers (6) : 150 @
P-Beams (4): 100 @
Airlocks (6): 2*75 @
Escape pod (1): 100
Variable force field: 6*300, (600 per side maximum)

Speed:
1,5M in atmosphere
7M in space
FTL: 3,5 ly/h
+1 to initiative, apply only space fighter combat: basic bonuses

Height: 8 meter without bridge, 12,2 m with bridge, sensor
antennae add a further 3 meters.
Width: 18,3 m
Length: 40 meters for the "box" main body, 12 meters for the
engine block, and the two forward sensor rods add a further 4 meters,
when extracted.
Weight: 350 tons fully loaded
Cargo: 80 tons, but every PA (plus pilot, plus bunks, rations, etc)
takes up 10 tons, so usually it is 20 tons and 6 Silverhawks and
their crew.
Power system: Nuclear, with a 10 years of life (some variants were
produced with a 2 year lifespan!)
Market cost: 15 millions without the missile systems, 30 million
for a fully armed corvette in good condition, PAs not included.

Weapon systems:
6 medium range missile launcher racks, reloadable only via
EVA. Fortunately, Trabants could reload each other too,
it takes a full melee to manouver into position, and then
reload can be done - 2 launchers per melee.
Payload: 64 missiles
ROF: in salvoes of maximum 8 missile, 1 salvo per
melee action (thought multiple launchers can be
operated by a single gunner, therefore launching 48
missiles as maximum in one salvo).

4 P-beam canons:
Identical to the CAF assault shuttles' P-beams.

--------------------------
Adios
KLM

Again two inspired works.

And again, somewhat different from what I envisioned

And for the record, the "original".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trabant

Well, not exactly, since there was at least SMS Trabant,
a torpedo boat of the Austro-Hungarian Navy.

Adios
KLM

A repost/re-thread, but since we have a starship named for a car, it sorta fits...

Network Omni News: Rimmrunner’s Notes:
Dateline: 6/21008/466989
*’Stellacommutta’-----That’s spacer pop-slang for a class of small craft rarely larger than a Class 3 Cargo Can, seating at most six sentients, carrying at tops a ton of cargo, with FTL capability of 5 light years an hour or better(better than most military craft), and a cost less than that of a tramp freighter. Also ‘arm-jumper’, ‘space-bug’, and ‘wagejet’.
Sound like your kinda ship? Small, fast, and cheap? Before you run out to buy one, better know the rest of the story. Stellacommuttas are the bottom-list limited occupancy ships meant for wage-drones whose expertise means they have to be several places around the Big Three pretty much at once, but who aren’t paid enough to afford a real ship with all the trimmings. Yep, this is the surface-hovercar econobox on hyperdrive. Their whole purpose is to move a few people to places fast and reliably...nothing more and little less.
Most stellacommuttas are small, modest affairs---saucer or cylinder-shaped hulls with no more of an armor index of 800(most fall into the 400-600 class), basic life support cabin, and eighty percent of the mass given over to drive systems....particularly the faster than light drive system, because the conventional space propul is downright weak....Life support’s nearly bare minimal....basic cabin, rad-shield, atmo recycling, and not much else....there just ain’t ROOM....sure, you can stretch out and sleep if you’re desperate, but a few days of that will have you crinkled up like a T’zee. Cargo capacity’s also bare bones...hardly enough room to swing a tree-leapoid.
The drive, though, will push the whole affair pretty damn fast...adn if 5 lights ain’t enough, most stellacommuttas have Gateway beacons and wormhole pass-flashers...some have even more exotic drives like mini-folders, all intended to move the thing FAST at FTL.
Sounds like a perfect scoutship or courier, right? What can be wrong with something that goes that fast? Well. lemme count the ways this thing can go wrong....
You gotta be suspicious of anything that sells for 40 million or less. To start with, those big fast engines? They’re old brute force technology...fast as hell, but so freakin’ finicky, nobody most messes with them anymore....a stellacommutta’s light-jumpers are so delicate that travelling near gravity sheer, plasma storms, leylines, or even a heavy cruiser’s FTL grav wake at a dozen AUs will knock them silly and likely dump the ship back into normal space...just about any big space/time/gravity anomaly will play merry havoc with a stellacommutta’s drives...That restricts them to well-surveyed spacelanes and travel paths...no going ‘offroad’ into the uncharted regions unless you have backup.
That nixes them as scouts.
The drives are so itchy that carrying certain cargos will drive them off kilter and upset the navcomps.....Anti-matter’s a no-no, certain magical artifacts, space/time displacer coils, certain types of phase-tech....and even natural teleporter races like dragons and floopers complain that flying on a stellacommuttas are like going through a crash...over and over...and over....
That nixes them as couriers.
Furthermore, the drives are noisy...and by that I mean they kick up such a gravitic racket that military sensors can pick them up at twice the range of other drives...like a blazing torch saying ‘here I am!!!”.
That nixes them as smugglers.
And that performance is related to throw-weight...the usable mass that engine;s supposed to carry around....stellacommuttas can only acheive such high speeds by carrying bare minimum of mass...that means no big mass-hogging life support systems. And most builders of stallecommuttas sacrifice all sorts of things, like life support amenities, armor(forget about weaponry!), advanced communications, sophisticated navigation systems, and all that good stuff. Stellacommuttas are expected to get places fast, so crew can’t expect capacity to go more than a week without a rest stop and grocery restocking...and if you’re stranded far from civilization, forget about quick response with the comgear on most of the class....that’s cut out too.
All power goes to the engines, with precious little available for anything else...forget about shields or weaponry...and even then the fusion plants on most stellacommuttas are taxed for those long intergalactic jumps....Most can’t go more than 200 lights at a jumpm without having to spend a few hours sucking supplemental power into batteries from a handy service satellite or spacedock. To further cut expenses, a lot of manufacturers cut out advanced navigation systems too...many stellacommuttas have to download travel coords from traffic control at the point of origin, and get another set from the other end to get back.....some can’t even fly without remote telemetry from local space control!
Needless to say, if the manufacturers cut power and nav capacity, the peripeherals are also going to suffer.....Stellacommuttas typically have mediocre in-atmo performance, the agility of a brick, and zilch dodge ability. Sensors are bare miminal to get the ship to avoid obstacles, land, and take off again.
There’s a lot that needs improvement, and darn little space and capacity to do it with....variations of stellacommutta exist, and spaceport-kitbashes are out there, that add light armor, extra power, a weapon or two, better avionics, improved engines, and more life suppirt space,....most committ monry to upgrading the safety systems with hyperspace distress beacons and stasis focrefeild capsules... and some of them are actually quite useful...but most operators figure, why bother? For the cost of buffing up a stellacommutta into something useful, one can buy a better ship and have enough left over for snacks. Most buyers and operators figure that at the cheap cost of a stellacommutta, they save enough to get another after the 15-20 year estimated lifespan of these things. Disposable ships...
Seasoned adventurers and spacers wouldn’t be caught dead flying one of these things....it’s safer and easier getting a berth on a starbus, cattlepod, or tramp-hauler...but stellacommuttas are still immensely popular out there. Upper crust aristos won’t touch ‘em because for all their speed, stellacommuttas lack style. Business and the military won’t use them because they’re so unrelaible on anything other than well-pioneered routes and territories. Who buys them? Usually upper middle-class professionals who need to get around to various job-sites. They’re distressingly popular, despite their shortcomings, with families, who want the thrill of interstellar travel...and juvie-holos like ‘Sazzy the Starbug’ make them out to be the underdog little starships that can do anything with a little luck, pluck, and a lot of prayer. Finally, folks with no other resources aside from hiring somebody else to fly them, or go public stellar-transit, buy these things, figuring it’s at least giving them some self-determination, and better than nothing.
And, in spite of everything else, there’s people who grow attached to the bittle buggers...folks who pour millions of credits into keeping these planned obselesence stellar gulf-jumpers to keep them going beyond their time, because they’ve grown attached to their starships....these folks lavish attention on their ships, accord them kin-status, and wouldn’t trade them away for something better...because in their minds, there is NOTHING better. Pathetic? No, these people tedn to know their ships better than a lot of the rest of us, keep mechanics busy, and actually manage to elevate the humble little stellacommutta to something more than basic intergalactic transport.
So various manufacturers keep churning out stellacommuttas, people keep buying them, and the Three Galaxies keep on turning....

Darkmax wrote:Gosh... I hope I won't get warn for spamming with this third post....

Here's something I made inspired from the recent bulk of commissions.

I call this interceptor Slipstream
.

Duly noted when I get around to stating it....

Now why does it take Steve Crowley and his crew over two years(and counting) to write up a new Terran Trade authority book with computer graphics barely better than what we've seen on these threads, and a lot less text..I'm still waiting for 'Capital Ships'.....and we churn out a dozen a week?

Face it...we're good...one slows down, another picks up...tagteam fleet construction....

Darkmax wrote:ok... The 2-seater version of the stellacommutta

Max. That is too smooth a picture for the Stellacommutta. Sorry man, for a picture that cool, it's got to be a snazzy two-person shuttle. Kind of like something you would see parked in the landing bay of a Queen or Empress class Luxury Cruiser. That's the kind of shuttlecraft Thraxus takes for a spin.

Oh, here is one thing:
Starships in space operas have windows
(glass cockpits, etc.) This means that
they must have some searchlights too...

Adios
KLM

gadrin wrote:
I tend to think in terms of an auto-pop-up turret for sensors, so they can hide during planetary re-entry.

That, or sensor domes. Or local force fields.

Adios
KLM

For peer review...

WZ-MZ-77 Jammer Atmospheric Superiority Fighter
(aka ‘FlipFlop’, ‘SpinDart’)
The Jammer is another in WZ’s series of atmospheric defense craft for planetary militias looking for some airborne teeth, without having to shell out for an expensive starfighter.
The Jammer has, on initial inspection, a fairly conventional swept-wing delta configuration with ‘x’ tail fin arrangement at the wings’ trailing edge. The ‘Jammer’ earned the name ‘Flip-Flop’ because both its ventral and dorsal sides are identical; the ship is bilaterally symmetrical along its horizontal plane. The ship can fly as effectively on its ‘back’ as normally(both sets of tail fins fold against the hull to allow for landing and hangaring in low-ceilinged bunkers). Further complicating things is the fact that the pilot sits in a gimballed seat in the cockpit, that remains level even as the ship spins and barrel-rolls around him, allowing him to remain undisoriented even as his ship rolls through equilibrium-busting dogfighting maneuvers. This gimbal system caused countless problems during development, but WZ has managed to perfect it and effectively fool-proof it. While some pilots dislike not going through the same motions as their ships(and thus ‘identifying’ with its actions), other pilots laud the stability and ease of handling of the Jammer, as the seat system allows them to spend more of their attention on flying and fighting, and not establishing ‘up and down’.
The Jammer carries twin rapid-fire rail guns for gunfighting, a pair of shorter-ranged plasma cannons for close-in dogfighting and ground attack, and two missile pays firing medium-range missiles. The only real complaint raised about the Jammer’s diverse weapons fitout is the limited number of missiles available; in a protracted combat, once its long range missile armament is fired away, the Jammer is forced to either retire from the combat zone to re-arm, or close to gun-range.
While modestly armored, the Jammer relies heavily on a sophisticated sensor jamming system to protect it from ranged weaponry...Thus, its name ‘Jammer’. The electronic cloaking also includes energy disipation field generators....not a full-out forcfield, but an EM field capable of scrambling missile guidance systems, prematurely triggering proximity-fuzed warheads, and deflecting(or at least dispersing) particle beams and ion weaponry. The downside of all this electronic protection, as opposed to stealth, is that the active emissions can alert a properly equipped opponent to the presence, if not the exact location, of the ‘Jammer’. Wise squadron commanders, therefore, often plan their attacks in coordination with long-duration regional blanket-jamming and sensor-decoys to degrade an enemy’s alertness and mask the approach of his own fighters.
“Jammers” have sold to a number of small star-nations and emergent cultures in need of planetary defense hardware that can stand up to invading starfighters and starships. The Free Worlds Council has bought thousands of ‘Jammers’ for use in defending liberated worlds, allowing them to re-allocate more sophisticated ships and equipment to offensive operations against the TransGalactic Empire, without worry that they’re stripping those worlds of their defenses.
Jammers won acclaim most recently in the invasion of Harwinton IV, when forces of the Dadalane Jihad assaulted the Duchy of Harwinton-Sachs. Though Jihadist cruisers had managed to obliterate several major cities and defense bases with orbital bombardment, several dozen squadrons of militia fighters, Jammers among them, managed to survive at remote airbases. Taking advantage of high cloud cover(made more severe by smoke from nuked cities and burning forests), and masking their movements with both their own ECM and various surface decoy transmitters, the air national guard units went undetected by orbital sensors. When the Dadalane Jihad forces sent down ground troops to take possession of the planet, their landing ships were jumped in the thick cloud cover by the Jammers. With their orbital fire support unable to spot the defenders optically through the high cloud, and radar sensors useless, the assualt forces were butchered, with only a single ship making it back to orbit. After several attempts to spot the bases the fighters were operating from and destroy them from orbit, the Jihad carriers were forced to abandon Harwinton IV by the approach of a Sachs-clan cruiser squadron, but not before the Dadalanes lost most of their remaining troops and dropships in a second, and equally disastrous, landing attempt.

Type:WZ-MZ-77 Jammer
Class:Atmospheric Superiority Fighter
Crew: 1
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 400
Crew Compartment/Cockpit 120
Wings(2) 180 each
Plasma Cannons(2) 90 each
Autocannons(2) 90 each
Missile Launcher 100
Height: 45 ft(15 m)
Width: 99 ft(33m)
Length: 63 ft(21 m)
Weight: 9 tons
Cargo: Small space behind pilot’s seat for a survival pack and sidearm.
Powerplant: Nuclear Fusion w/ 15 year energy life
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 4.2, maximum altitude 81,000 ft(27,000 m)
(Sublight) Not possible; cannot fly in space
(FTL)Not possible; cannot fly in space
(Underwater)Not possible
Bonuses: +2 to Dodge
Market Cost: 19 million credits
Systems of Note:
Standard Starfighter Systems, plus;

*Jamming Systems---An automated low-end A.I.-managed, but powerful EW suite that effectively blanket-jams enemy communications and command-directed munitions with 80% effectiveness, Civilian-band communications are 98% jammed, while military communications bands suffer 80% degradation in effectiveness. Radar systems are similarly degraded....they can pick up the emissions, but cannot pinpoint the exact location of the source within the area of disruption. Area of effect: 60 mile radius.

*ECM Suite----- The Jammer has a powerful ECM suite for confusing sensor-guided weapons; -8 to strike

*Particle Scrambler Shield---Though the Jammer lacks a proper forcefield, its avionics modules generate a powerful particle dispersion field that HALVES the damage from ion- and particle-beam weapons.

*Hardened Systems---While almost all modern military equipment is hardened against EMP and similar energy disruptions, the Jammer takes it further with redundant circuitry, surge ‘sponges’, and multi-layered passive defenses, so even weapons designed to specifically disrupt military power grids and equipment(such as the Triax Lightning Blaster) will NOT have any effect aside from basic damage. Even magica disruption spells or power drains will have little effect(the Jammer has a +3 to save versus such attacks). Incidentally, this also means that System Failure’s Bugs CANNOT infest or drain the Jammer’s systems.

Weapons Systems:
1)Plasma Cannons(2)---These are short-ranged, but powerful, energy weapons for close-in dogfighting and strafing.
Range: 3,000 ft in atmosphere
Damage: 2d4x10 MD per burst; 4d4x10 MD per double simultaneous burst(counts as one attack).
Rate of Fire: EPCHH
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

2) Grav Rail Guns(2x2)---Double-barreled Gravity-Rail Guns. These long range projectile cannon give the Jammer a good, solid, kinetic punch, but suffer from limited payload.
Range: 10,000 ft in atmosphere
Damage: 2d6x10 MD per 40-rd burst.
Rate of Fire: EPCHH
Payload: 200 bursts per gun

3) Medium Range Missile Launchers(2)---The Jammer carries six medium range missiles that are pushed free of their launchers from behind the cockpit, before igniting their thrusters and zooming off to intercept their targets.
Range:Varies by Missile Type
Damage:Varies by Missile Type
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1-3
Payload: 6 total, 3 in each launch bay

4)Flare/Chaff Launchers(2)---Flare and chaff launchers are old-fashioned and archaic by modern Galactic standards, but in the rush to counter high-end sesnor systems, modern designs often fall victim to the simpler ‘old’ stuff...So WZ saw fit to equip the Jammer with some old-fashioned, and still effective, countermeasure launchers.
Range: Close Defense
Damage: None; similar to Triax-style chaff
01-50 Enemy Missile or volley detonates in chaff and threat is neutralized
51-75 Missile/Volley diverts and may pursue/lock on to other targets
76-00 No Effect! Missile(s) still on target!
Will also temporarily blind and impede flying monsters who fly into it.
Reduce APMs/combat bonuses/ speed by half for 1d4 melees
Payload: 18 per launcher, 36 total


Variants:
The only real variant of the Jammer to appear to date attempts to remedy the small ammunition supply by removing the jamming gear and electronics bays to make room for an addition twelve MRMs(total 18). The freed-up power that would go to the extensive electronics suite instead goes to an additional pair of laser cannons mounted on either side of the cockpit. While the WZ-MZ-77C has proven to be able to hold its own in straight-out aerial combat, it has not proven popular with pilots, who prefer stealth and countermeasures to the extra firepower.

Jammer:
Good stats, however, for 52 bucks one can get
a real starfighter (Scorpion: 30 mill, Flying Fang:55 mill,
and the Kittani transformable robofighter is a measly 8 million).

I would say 20 million is more reasonable.

Adios
KLM

Darkmax wrote:Ah... but starfighters don't all usually work well in an atmosphere.

It depends on the type. The Scorpion is a brick, all right,
but the Flying Fang is supposed to be a good atmospheric
fighter.

And so on.

Mind you, most major users plan to use those adrenaline
boosters both in garrisons and on carriers (actually down to
frigates).

It is more economical (and wars are won more by logistics,
than by tactics) to have a single type on carriers, for both
vacuum and atmosperic operations.
Same for garrisons, except that on ground bases weight
and volume limitations (always a problem on starships)
are less demanding.

So, using an "air only" fighter is only a viable option,
if they are much cheaper than "real" fighters.

Adios
KLM

I lost you on this one...

Explain please.


Adios
KLM

KLM wrote:Jammer:
Good stats, however, for 52 bucks one can get
a real starfighter (Scorpion: 30 mill, Flying Fang:55 mill,
and the Kittani transformable robofighter is a measly 8 million).

I would say 20 million is more reasonable.

Adios
KLM

Ah, thanks...I was using the Naruni Aerospace Plane for comparison and forgot the Rifts Earth mark-up!

Maybe 19 million for good measure?
18 million and I'm cuttin' me own throat at the price!

Those are some great ships and those were some killer pics Dm.

Darkmax wrote:ok... You have starfighters that'll go anywhere, but most starfighters are in orbit. A aero-fighter would be more adapted to fighting in an atmosphere compared to the starfighter.

You wouldn't want to throw all your eggs in a small range of baskets.

Take it the other way. You have a basket, with a given size.
That is your carrier vessel (be it a frigate or a Packmaster).

You have a finite, given number of "fighter slots" (the eggs) you are able
to carry - now, if you split those into vacuum-only and air-only
fighters... Kinda like you have a carrier with a squadron of
F-14s, one of A-6s OR you have 2 squadrons of F-18s...
In the latter case, you can send 24 craft on a CAP or on a strike.
In the former, 12 on CAP, 12 on strike...
------------------------

Another thingy I like to prove wrong, that starfighters
have to be bad atmospheric craft.

Well, they are armored. In case of armor, you must have
the maximum thickness with the minimum area, since you
can only carry a given amount of weight in armor. That
means that your ship is very close to aerodynamic.

Second, they have the thrust to break orbit.

Got my point?

-----------------
Of course, starfighters are much more expensive than
aerofighters, so that leaves a hefty niche for the latter.

Adios
KLM

Mind you, this argument is only valid in the
technical setting of the 3Galaxies.

In other settings, like Aliens Unlimited, technological
possibilities differ - ie. a transatmospheric starfighter
is disadvantaged to true vacuum starfighters and maybe
even to aero-only fighters too.

Adios
KLM

Here's a fun way to work up some quick designs...take wet navy ship stats, use them for crew complement and size data(give or take a few dozen feet and few hundred tons)....substitute 'point defense lasers/rail guns' for 'light AA guns', grav-railguns and laser batteries for '5-18 inch guns', 'torpedo tubes' become 'LRM launchers' or 'cruise missile batteries'....light, cheap, low-end warships....

I've been finding time to create somethings at work in dull moments of organizing 400 plus pages of numbers. I had to organize over 170,000 number taken from a machine at work. Gosh it was boring!!!!

taalismn wrote:Here's a fun way to work up some quick designs...take wet navy ship stats, use them for crew complement and size data(give or take a few dozen feet and few hundred tons)....substitute 'point defense lasers/rail guns' for 'light AA guns', grav-railguns and laser batteries for '5-18 inch guns', 'torpedo tubes' become 'LRM launchers' or 'cruise missile batteries'....light, cheap, low-end warships....

I would say, use the crew compliment of a similar tonnage submarine,
or even cut that number.

Wet navy ships are not usually filled up with oxigen tanks,
hydroponics, etc., plus 3 galactic ships are probably much
more automatised.

However, the basic crew needs of the big ships (Protector,
Packmaster and Doombringer) are way off. Kinda like every
crewmember have the equivalent of a city block - alone...

Adios
KLM

But they're probably the best (terrestrial)analogy of a spacecraft, since older surface warships(before NBC protection became an issue) don;'t have to worry about providing a self-contained air supply for their crew...
However, to make the analogy closer to a gun- and missile-equipped spacecraft, you have to look at Japanese I-class heavy supermarines that had aircraft, and the British and French 'submarine cruisers' that had heavy gun armaments for surface dueling(based on the late WWI German U-Boats that mounted as much artillery as a patrol boat, for saving money on torpedos and still being able to shoot up merchantmen).

devillin wrote:

Darkmax wrote:ok... The 2-seater version of the stellacommutta

Max. That is too smooth a picture for the Stellacommutta. Sorry man, for a picture that cool, it's got to be a snazzy two-person shuttle. Kind of like something you would see parked in the landing bay of a Queen or Empress class Luxury Cruiser. That's the kind of shuttlecraft Thraxus takes for a spin.

Hey, I based the Stellacommuntta idea on my own Honda Civic...after having SUVs and Lexuses cit past me all day on the highway, I wanna one day open up the throttle, step on the anti-deterium, blast by those roadhogs, and take the weekend off in a little place of mine by the Horsehead Nebula....

Sometimes inspiration comes a lot closer to home...