Small Dropships vs Small Craft

[Cryhavok101]

At 200 tons max, small craft can do several things, most of which a dropship that is under 500 tons can do as well, but one of those things that it can do that a dropship weighing between 201 and 499 tons can't do is 'fit in a small craft bay'. Instead such small dropships require a docking collar. Docking callars are often better used for larger dropships on the other hand.

So my question is this:

What would cause you to design and build a dropship that weighs between 201 and 499 tons? What would it's purpose be, and what can it do that wouldn't be done better by either a small craft or a larger dropship?

My own line of reasoning is in putting it in an assault role, where it is carrying heavier firepower than a small craft or ASF, but is still small enough that warships have trouble targeting it. I am not convinced that that would be worth while though, when you can carry vastly larger numbers of small craft or fighters, and use your docking hard points for something else. What would make them worthwhile? Or do you think it is purely a flavor thing? No the best idea, but do it anyway, just for the fluff?

Also if I ever seem to be missing something that they might be able to do, please point it out to me!

[Daryk]

My thought for a while now has been to allow the two categories to overlap.  When I find the link to where I posted those house rules, I'll edit it in here.

EDIT: That didn't take as long as I feared.  The discussion is the last part of this post.

[Cryhavok101]

On this subject I am less interested in house rules and more interested in canon universe reasons. (though I'll still check out your link)

[Daryk]

In universe, I can't think of a good reason, hence my house rules.

[Liam's Ghost]

I think they might have a niche as purely interplanetary craft (as in not intended to travel out of system often).

By default, smaller is cheaper and easier to build, so there's room for a boat able to do tramp jobs hauling cargo just a bit too big to be carried by a shuttle but too small to really be worth chartering a more typical freighter (which is probably involved in the more lucrative interstellar trade).

I could also see them hauling specialized good to different points on planet where a surface ship would take weeks or so and a small craft or support aircraft couldn't haul the load.

And hear me out on this, but noise ordnances. Real world aircraft are painfully loud. big Dropships have to be exponentially worse,  so you might expect that the biggest ships have restricted landing zones well away from the "good" parts of the planet and rely on planetary distribution networks to get their cargo where it's going. "Premium delivery" might in turn involve small dropships able to land at ports closer to the big metropolitan centers without violating any ordnances.

So, you know, they're for when you want your private yacht in two business days without having to assemble it.

[Cryhavok101]

Does anyone know off hand if there is any equipment that can go on a dropship but not a small craft? Or that functions better on a dropship for some reason?

If no one knows off hand, I'll be looking into it tomorrow.

[Cryhavok101]

I think they might have a niche as purely interplanetary craft (as in not intended to travel out of system often).

By default, smaller is cheaper and easier to build, so there's room for a boat able to do tramp jobs hauling cargo just a bit too big to be carried by a shuttle but too small to really be worth chartering a more typical freighter (which is probably involved in the more lucrative interstellar trade).

I could also see them hauling specialized good to different points on planet where a surface ship would take weeks or so and a small craft or support aircraft couldn't haul the load.

And hear me out on this, but noise ordnances. Real world aircraft are painfully loud. big Dropships have to be exponentially worse,  so you might expect that the biggest ships have restricted landing zones well away from the "good" parts of the planet and rely on planetary distribution networks to get their cargo where it's going. "Premium delivery" might in turn involve small dropships able to land at ports closer to the big metropolitan centers without violating any ordnances.

So, you know, they're for when you want your private yacht in two business days without having to assemble it.

Those are interesting points. It also occurred to me that a 400 ton dropship could carry a single super heavy vehicle bay, where a small craft could not. A mech bay is not well suited to a small craft either. You could build a 1 mech/vehicle transport that way. I am not sure anyone would want to, but you could.

The main reason I am asking about this is for my Yamato Project (If anyone reading this doesn't know what that is, the first post in the link in my signature explains). One of the last units I have left to convert is a 250 ton submersible cargo hauler (Seahorse, TRO Vehicle Annex revised, pg 174). Just slightly too big to convert to a small craft without making it smaller, and small enough that I am struggling to decide what I want it's purpose to be as an aerospace unit.

I am getting some ideas from what you said. If anyone thinks of any more, please let me know.

[sillybrit]

Does anyone know off hand if there is any equipment that can go on a dropship but not a small craft? Or that functions better on a dropship for some reason?

DropShips get Large Craft sensors and electronic warfare systems, which are both greatly superior to the Small Craft versions.

Among the equipment that can be fitted to DropShips but not Small Craft:
- Sub-capital weapons, but such designs would be really limited.
- Naval C3. Use a sub-500t DropShip as a spotter against enemy WarShips and hope that the targeting penalty helps you stay alive.

[Jellico]

If there was a tonnage gap between 200 and 500 tons there would be a call for a unit type to fill it.

[JenniferinaMAD]

Yeah, I agree with Jellico. The main reason for that part of the dropship weight range seems to be because it's theoretically possible, not for any useful reason.

Just like you can build a 900kg battle armour suit if you really want to. It's flat out inferior to a 1,000kg one, but no actual construction reason stops you.

As to what you might be able to do with a tiny dropship:
Cargo runs for smaller (but not too small) amounts of perishable goods? Ie. you can't wait for a bigger DS to fill up, but a small craft would require more trips than you have jump ships for?
Carry a small craft so you have two exploration vehicles for one docking collar on your scout jump ship? (or is that too heavy? Maybe a recon craft in an ASF bay instead?)
More room/bigger size for rich bastard rivalries?

[ANS Kamas P81]

Just like you can build a 900kg battle armour suit if you really want to. It's flat out inferior to a 1,000kg one, but no actual construction reason stops you.

Hilarity promptly ensues in the RPG when all my traps are pressure-sensitive to 1000kg and not 900, permitting all MY battlearmor to move around freely.

Hey, it's a legit fluff rule!

[Cryhavok101]

DropShips get Large Craft sensors and electronic warfare systems, which are both greatly superior to the Small Craft versions.

Among the equipment that can be fitted to DropShips but not Small Craft:
- Sub-capital weapons, but such designs would be really limited.
- Naval C3. Use a sub-500t DropShip as a spotter against enemy WarShips and hope that the targeting penalty helps you stay alive.

Thanks, my own search didn't come up with much more than that either.

[Frabby]

Hilarity promptly ensues in the RPG when all my traps are pressure-sensitive to 1000kg and not 900, permitting all MY battlearmor to move around freely.

Hey, it's a legit fluff rule!

Vibrabombs have been an early staple of BattleTech since CityTech.
That said, what happens if my 1000kg suit has used up 0.1 tons of ammo?  >:D

[Karasu]

When I first read the opening post, I thought you meant that you could put a Small Craft Bay into a Small Craft but not a small dropship, which had me really confused for a while.

Having a better understanding of the question now, It's possibly worth remembering that Jumpships weren't so rare at the height of the Star League, so having a "Personal Yacht" that needs a docking ring could be reasonable.

[Challenger]

Some sort of flying torpedo boat?

Make it just under 500t, fill the nose (and wings) with RL20's and you've got a nasty little wasp with an evil one time punch. One won't bring down a warship, but a squadrons worth just might.

You can build the same sort of thing as a small craft, but the dropship version should have greater loiter time and suvivability. (Maybe even some tonnage left over for some guns as well)

Challenger

[kato]

It also occurred to me that a 400 ton dropship could carry a single super heavy vehicle bay, where a small craft could not.

Done that as a buoy tender for large satellites, mostly with satellites monitoring the jump points (in fluff for Terra) in mind, as well as a design that'd drop singular superheavy mining vehicles on asteroids.

my own search didn't come up with much more than that either.

Don't forget the naval tug adapter. A small craft with a naval tug adapter can only push around other small craft; a small dropship with a naval tug adapter can push anything.