Group Design Challenge: WarShip Arms Race

[Alsadius]

I can't justify anything over 28 - that's too generous. Let's say 25 LY/jump if you want to keep them above a star. 30 LY/jump is possible, but they'll be deep space stations, meaning you have no local infrastructure support, no hyper limit to hide inside, and no ability to power yourself with solar panels. A typical station can survive that, but it'll impose a heavier logistics load than most. (And on the up side, if your engine dies you won't fall into the star the way so many recharge stations did in the SW era)

[Lagrange]

I can't justify anything over 28 - that's too generous. Let's say 25 LY/jump if you want to keep them above a star. 30 LY/jump is possible, but they'll be deep space stations, meaning you have no local infrastructure support, no hyper limit to hide inside, and no ability to power yourself with solar panels. A typical station can survive that, but it'll impose a heavier logistics load than most. (And on the up side, if your engine dies you won't fall into the star the way so many recharge stations did in the SW era)

The logistics load doesn't seem like a problem for now given the dedication of a Mother to servicing these stations and a vast cargo hold.  We'll go with the deep black stations where necessary for a decade and see if the merchants can become comfortable with the profit margins they create.

W.r.t. hyper limits, can a Kutai (with a small NCSS) find an Oort cloud-like object for the stations?  I understand these are reasonably common and it would prevent misjump accidents from taking out a station if it's just inside the hyper limit of some minor planetoid / large comet.

[marcussmythe]

Anchor near a rogue planet?

Just skimming wikipedia, there are estimates of between .25 and 2 Jupiter sized rogues per star.

And theres a 2012 article in the Stanford Reporter suggesting up to 100,000 rogues per actual star. (Though by my poor understanding, this estimate assums that the dark matter is rogues)

But yeah, depending on facts not in evidence IRL, there may be plenty of gravitic anchors... and resources... out in the black.

And, Ill admit, I find frozen rogue worlds, sailing through space, strangely romantic.

[Alsadius]

Tidal force is stated as the cause of jump limits, and tidal force is proportional to M/(R^3). The Sun's jump radius is just over 1.58 billion km, so an Earth-sized anchor (which weighs ~1/333,000 of the Sun's mass) would have a limit of (1/333,000)^(1/3) of the Sun's, or about 1/69 as large. That's about 23 million km, which is probably plenty for your purposes. For something the size of Ceres, it's about 1.2 million km, which is getting small-ish - a typical attacker could get to the anchor's orbit in about 4 hours, even at an easy 1g burn, or just over six hours if they want to stop when they get there.

Something Ceres-sized is likely to be in the desired volume, but finding it is difficult and would require serious survey efforts. Something larger is rarer, but also easier to find if it does exist. So I'll say that you can probably find some kind of anchor for most of your stations that are truly in the black, but they'll be very much a mixed bag, and some will be pretty useless.

[Lagrange]

All of these seem entirely fine.   In fact, the Siesta stations will adopt a policy of being only 10 minutes inside of a hyper limit at 1G (~= half hour at .1G).  The point of these stations is being easy to get to, and we only keep the buffer to avoid navigational accidents and support human level reaction times in case of need. 

Related to your estimates, SO page 133 lists a typical Kuiper belt object as have a proximity limit at 10000 km with a transit time of .56 hours. 

[Lagrange]

I made adjustments to designs based on the discussion above.

--The Rager ASF dropped an AC/5 for 2 SRM-6s. (It doesn't matter to the game, but it's plausibly a worthwhile tradeoff.)
--The TDF is apparently organized around 30 man platoons http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Taurian_Defense_Force so I added some quarters to the Taurus I.
--I adjusted the Taurus I to have 108 variably used Smallcraft bays, 12 always-smallcraft bays and 72 always-ASF bays after realizing that ASF support is probably important if  the Taurus I is tasked with ground combat mission support.
--I added a design for the 'Skyfall combat dropshuttle' which supports 100 tons of vehicles, 10 tons of cargo, some significant armor, and a small array of MGs for combat.
--I added some detail about how the Taurus I supports 2 regiments of ground forces.
--I added 3 NL/55s to each Siesta.  Given the deep space mission profile it seems important to have a capital scale weapon as well as capital scale armor.
--I adjusted the budget in various ways to pay for everything.
--I marked which stations are 'deep' vs. merely 'black'.

In addition, I found the exact formula for a spherical cap here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spherical_cap.  Using the formula, 28.06 light years is the linear distance such that the spherical cap contains a volume equivalent to the average volume/star within the 5 parsec neighborhood of Sol https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_nearest_stars_and_brown_dwarfs while at 25 light years the cap contains about 6.4 times as much volume.  I'm fine sticking with 25 on the theory that the stellar medium has significant density variations if that's what you prefer, but 28 also seems pretty reasonable.  28 would leave two of the stations deep black.

[Smegish]

I added the Tick II as a separate entry in the Master Sheet. I originally left it as just a part of the Taurus I, but though having it separate would be better in case you build spares.

[Lagrange]

I added the Tick II as a separate entry in the Master Sheet. I originally left it as just a part of the Taurus I, but though having it separate would be better in case you build spares.

Thanks.   It ended up not being relevant this round.  Maybe in later rounds....

We should try to reconcile budgets, partly to make sure I'm doing things right.  Things I see:
1) I think you dropped the 4 older Tick's maintenance.
2) The total budget is 13B, 1B larger.
3) The Independence is entirely mothballed (0% maintenance).
4) I have research at 130M.
5) I was using the 'ship refit' rules for the block II designs rather than an entirely new design, which is half price.  (Did I get that right?)
6) The Taurus I block II is 346M, not 330M (life support is expensive...)

[Smegish]

Thanks.   It ended up not being relevant this round.  Maybe in later rounds....

We should try to reconcile budgets, partly to make sure I'm doing things right.  Things I see:
1) I think you dropped the 4 older Tick's maintenance.
2) The total budget is 13B, 1B larger.
3) The Independence is entirely mothballed (0% maintenance).
4) I have research at 130M.
5) I was using the 'ship refit' rules for the block II designs rather than an entirely new design, which is half price.  (Did I get that right?)
6) The Taurus I block II is 346M, not 330M (life support is expensive...)

1) to 4) - That budget would be for last turn, tbh I haven't worried about doing a turn by turn budget on the Master Sheet, I trust your math.

5) You would be correct, the sheet just doesn't identify between refits and new production. Again I trust the math on your budget.

6) Whoops, my mistake. This has been fixed.

[Lagrange]

1) to 4) - That budget would be for last turn, tbh I haven't worried about doing a turn by turn budget on the Master Sheet, I trust your math.

5) You would be correct, the sheet just doesn't identify between refits and new production. Again I trust the math on your budget.

6) Whoops, my mistake. This has been fixed.

Sounds good. 

You might want to update the TC as not an NPC on the first page.

[Alsadius]

The Rim Worlds Republic feels that its mobile forces are sufficient for the moment. Efforts for the next decade will be focused on infrastructure and fixed defences. The secondary shipyard at Finmark is being upgraded to be able to produce ships of the same scale as the Vittoria, and a new defensive station will be built to protect the important planets of Finmark and Apollo.

The Scutum retains the same anti-fighter emphasis as the Vittoria, but it diversifies its weapons load somewhat by using AR-10 launchers. While the standard missile load does focus on Barracudas, the station also has the ability to launch substantial numbers of ship-killer missiles if needed. The Terran "pit stop" model of fighter bays to reload planet-based fighter squadrons has also been adopted, to give the planet-based fighter squadrons a faster method of reloading and refueling during orbital combat.

Code: [Select]

Class/Model/Name: Scutum
Tech: Inner Sphere
Ship Cost: $400,587,025.00
Magazine Cost: $18,216,400.00
BV2: 29,796

Mass: 120,000
K-F Drive System: None
Power Plant: Station-Keeping Drive
Safe Thrust: 0
Maximum Thrust: 0
Armor Type: Standard
Armament:
120 Machine Gun (IS)
96 AC 5
16 Naval Laser 55
64 Capital Launcher AR-10

Class/Model/Name: Scutum
Mass: 120,000

Equipment: Mass
Drive: 1,440
Thrust
Safe: 0.1
Maximum: 0.1
Controls: 120
K-F Hyperdrive: None (0 Integrity) 0
Jump Sail: (0 Integrity) 0
Structural Integrity: 1 1,200
Total Heat Sinks: 2736 Single 2,638
Fuel & Fuel Pumps: 2500 points 510
Fire Control Computers: 6,872
Armor: 368 pts Standard 460
Fore: 80
Fore-Left/Right: 70/70
Aft-Left/Right: 55/55
Aft: 38

Dropship Capacity: 0
Grav Decks:
Small: 2 100
Medium: 0
Large: 0
Escape Pods: 25 175
Life Boats: 25 175

Crew And Passengers:
32 Officers in 1st Class Quarters 320
37 Crew in 2nd Class Quarters 259
116 Gunners and Others in 2nd Class Quarters 812
108 Bay Personnel in 2nd Class Quarters 756
28 Marines in 2nd Class Quarters 196

# Weapons Loc Heat Damage Range Mass
20 Machine Gun (IS) Nose 40 (4-C) Short-PDS 10
20 Machine Gun (IS) Aft 40 (4-C) Short-PDS 10
20 Machine Gun (IS) FR 40 (4-C) Short-PDS 10
20 Machine Gun (IS) FL 40 (4-C) Short-PDS 10
20 Machine Gun (IS) AR 40 (4-C) Short-PDS 10
20 Machine Gun (IS) AL 40 (4-C) Short-PDS 10
16 AC 5 Nose 16 80 (8-C) Medium 128
16 AC 5 Aft 16 80 (8-C) Medium 128
16 AC 5 FR 16 80 (8-C) Medium 128
16 AC 5 FL 16 80 (8-C) Medium 128
16 AC 5 AR 16 80 (8-C) Medium 128
16 AC 5 AL 16 80 (8-C) Medium 128
16 Naval Laser 55 Nose 1360 880 (88-C) Extreme-C 17,600
16 Capital Launcher AR-10 FR 320 640 (64-C) Extreme-C 4,000
16 Capital Launcher AR-10 FL 320 640 (64-C) Extreme-C 4,000
16 Capital Launcher AR-10 AR 320 640 (64-C) Extreme-C 4,000
16 Capital Launcher AR-10 AL 320 640 (64-C) Extreme-C 4,000

Ammo Rounds Mass
Machine Gun (IS) Ammo 12000 60.00
AC 5 Ammo 9584 479.20
Capital Launcher Barracuda Ammo 640 19,200.00
Capital Launcher Killer Whale Ammo 320 16,000.00
Capital Launcher White Shark Ammo 320 12,800.00

Number Equipment and Bays Mass Doors
15,000 Cargo, Standard 15,000 2
12 Bay Small Craft 2,400 2
24 Bay Fighter 3,600 6
BUDGET: $28,000m
Maintenance (@100%): $8,549m
Shipyard (Finmark 1>2): $10,000m
Scutum R&D: $401m
16x Scutum: $6,416m
192x small craft: $1,920m
Research: $714m

---

The United Hindu Commonwealth remains dedicated to peaceful co-existence secured by powerful self-defence capability. While they are still eschewing black-water navy construction, they've redoubled their efforts to defend their space. The single Pratham station at each jump point of Panpour has been reinforced to four stations each, and substantial investments in support craft have been made for local system defence.

BUDGET: $25,000m
Maintenance(@150%): $8,231m
6x Pratham: $3,030m
2x DropShip: $600m
180x small craft: $1,800m
2100x fighter: $10,500m
Research: $839m

[Lagrange]

A simple rules question: Is the cost of a refit the price difference (as stated in the arms race master spreedsheet)?  Or is it the absolute value of the price difference (as might make more sense when viewing this as work done)?  Or something else when a refit is cheaper than the original?

[Alsadius]

The price difference, minimum zero. I figure that if you're stripping NAC/40s off to replace them with cargo space, you can re-use or re-sell the guns to recoup some of the costs. (This is also why doing a refit requires paying R&D costs - I figure that'll keep people honest, so I don't need to worry too much about abuses of refit rules.)

---

Langdon Echohawk had taken control of the Terran Hegemony, but his task now was to keep that control. Unlike James McKenna 80 years prior, the government he overthrew was relatively functional, and respected(if not always liked) by most of the populace. To bring the population around, Echohawk reduced taxes, increased spending on prominent infrastructure programs, and pandered shamelessly to as many groups as he could. While more economically savvy citizens worried about the giant deficits he was running, most preferred the cash in hand to abstract budgetary debates.

Keeping the military on-side was a more difficult challenge, if only because they had the ability to do unto him as he had done unto others. The problem he faced was, at root, that Brian Cameron's proposed changes were mostly logical, and he'd used opposition to them as his path to power. Since he couldn't simply turn around and implement his own casus belli, he needed to get creative.

The Army's opposition to Cameron's naval changes had centred on the reduced cargo-carrying capacity of the fleet ships, and so he decided to pacify them with two new designs. The Potemkin was a heavily armoured assault transport, designed to carry a whole division into combat and provide it with logistical and bombardment support. The ship is incredibly expensive, due to the decision to give it fully twice as many DropShip collars as any other ship in service, but the cost was secondary in Echohawk's mind to the need to prove that he was taking the Army's concerns seriously.

Code: [Select]

Class/Model/Name: Potemkin
Tech: Inner Sphere
Ship Cost: $19,869,128,004.00
Magazine Cost: $61,360,000.00
BV2: 60,797

Mass: 1,400,000
K-F Drive System: Compact
Power Plant: Maneuvering Drive
Safe Thrust: 2
Maximum Thrust: 3
Armor Type: Standard
Armament:
160 Machine Gun (IS)
96 LRM 20 (IS)
16 Naval AC 10
8 Naval Laser 55
4 Naval PPC Heavy

Class/Model/Name: Potemkin
Mass: 1,400,000

Equipment: Mass
Drive: 168,000
Thrust
Safe: 2.0
Maximum: 3.0
Controls: 3,500
K-F Hyperdrive: Compact (28 Integrity) 633,500
Jump Sail: (6 Integrity) 100
Structural Integrity: 120 168,000
Total Heat Sinks: 1768 Single 1,144
Fuel & Fuel Pumps: 6000 points 2,448
Fire Control Computers: 5,384
Armor: 1416 pts Standard 3,360
Fore: 220
Fore-Left/Right: 250/250
Aft-Left/Right: 250/250
Aft: 196

Dropship Capacity: 12 12,000
Grav Decks:
Small: 0
Medium: 6 600
Large: 0
Escape Pods: 1300 9,100
Life Boats: 1300 9,100

Crew And Passengers:
67 Officers in 2nd Class Quarters 469
258 Crew in Steerage Quarters 1,290
71 Gunners and Others in Steerage Quarters 355
3840 Bay Personnel 0 (included below)
480 2nd Class Passengers 3,360
16000 Steerage Passengers 80,000

# Weapons Loc Heat Damage Range Mass
20 Machine Gun (IS) Nose 40 (4-C) Short-PDS 10
20 Machine Gun (IS) RBS 40 (4-C) Short-PDS 10
20 Machine Gun (IS) Aft 40 (4-C) Short-PDS 10
20 Machine Gun (IS) LBS 40 (4-C) Short-PDS 10
20 Machine Gun (IS) FR 40 (4-C) Short-PDS 10
20 Machine Gun (IS) FL 40 (4-C) Short-PDS 10
20 Machine Gun (IS) AR 40 (4-C) Short-PDS 10
20 Machine Gun (IS) AL 40 (4-C) Short-PDS 10
12 LRM 20 (IS) Nose 72 144 (14.4-C) Long 120
12 LRM 20 (IS) RBS 72 144 (14.4-C) Long 120
12 LRM 20 (IS) Aft 72 144 (14.4-C) Long 120
12 LRM 20 (IS) LBS 72 144 (14.4-C) Long 120
12 LRM 20 (IS) FR 72 144 (14.4-C) Long 120
12 LRM 20 (IS) FL 72 144 (14.4-C) Long 120
12 LRM 20 (IS) AR 72 144 (14.4-C) Long 120
12 LRM 20 (IS) AL 72 144 (14.4-C) Long 120
4 Naval AC 10 FR 120 400 (40-C) Long-C 8,000
4 Naval AC 10 FL 120 400 (40-C) Long-C 8,000
4 Naval AC 10 AR 120 400 (40-C) Long-C 8,000
4 Naval AC 10 AL 120 400 (40-C) Long-C 8,000
4 Naval Laser 55 RBS 340 220 (22-C) Extreme-C 4,400
4 Naval Laser 55 LBS 340 220 (22-C) Extreme-C 4,400
4 Naval PPC Heavy Nose 900 600 (60-C) Extreme-C 12,000

Ammo Rounds Mass
Machine Gun (IS) Ammo 32000 160.00
LRM 20 (IS) Ammo 8400 1,400.00
Naval AC 10 Ammo 3200 640.00

Bay 1: (4 doors) - cargo, including fresh food and fuel
150,000 Cargo, Standard 150,000
8,700 Cargo, Refrigerated 10,000
18,200 Cargo, Liquid 20,000

Bay 2: (12 doors)
120 Bay Small Craft 24,000
120 Bay Fighter 18,000

Bay 3: (6 doors) - drop facilities for orbital insertion
200 Bay Vehicle Heavy 20,000
50 Bay Conventional Infantry (IS), Foot 250
The Charon is a dedicated military transport, intended for rapid replenishment of underway forces, both ground and space. Boasting far less passenger capacity than a Potemkin(a regiment, instead of a division), but nearly the same cargo capacity, the Charon is also designed with gigantic fuel reserves to allow for fast recharging of her jump drive, or even high-speed 3g burns to a planet in situations where resupply is urgent.

Code: [Select]

Class/Model/Name: Charon
Tech: Inner Sphere
Ship Cost: $8,349,438,004.00
Magazine Cost: $24,120,000.00
BV2: 16,632

Mass: 700,000
K-F Drive System: Compact
Power Plant: Maneuvering Drive
Safe Thrust: 4
Maximum Thrust: 6
Armor Type: Standard
Armament:
240 Machine Gun (IS)
80 LRM 20 (IS)

Class/Model/Name: Charon
Mass: 700,000

Equipment: Mass
Drive: 168,000
Thrust
Safe: 4.0
Maximum: 6.0
Controls: 1,750
K-F Hyperdrive: Compact (15 Integrity) 316,750
Jump Sail: (5 Integrity) 65
Structural Integrity: 60 42,000
Total Heat Sinks: 624 Single 0
Fuel & Fuel Pumps: 32000 points 13,056
Fire Control Computers: 184
Armor: 372 pts Standard 840
Fore: 72
Fore-Left/Right: 50/50
Aft-Left/Right: 50/50
Aft: 100

Dropship Capacity: 2 2,000
Grav Decks:
Small: 0
Medium: 2 200
Large: 0
Escape Pods: 140 980
Life Boats: 140 980

Crew And Passengers:
40 Officers in 2nd Class Quarters 280
145 Crew in Steerage Quarters 725
54 Gunners and Others in Steerage Quarters 270
300 Bay Personnel in Steerage Quarters (see below)
16 1st Class Passengers 160
60 2nd Class Passengers 420
1500 Steerage Passengers 7,500 (including bay personnel)

# Weapons Loc Heat Damage Range Mass
30 Machine Gun (IS) Nose 60 (6-C) Short-PDS 15
30 Machine Gun (IS) RBS 60 (6-C) Short-PDS 15
30 Machine Gun (IS) Aft 60 (6-C) Short-PDS 15
30 Machine Gun (IS) LBS 60 (6-C) Short-PDS 15
30 Machine Gun (IS) FR 60 (6-C) Short-PDS 15
30 Machine Gun (IS) FL 60 (6-C) Short-PDS 15
30 Machine Gun (IS) AR 60 (6-C) Short-PDS 15
30 Machine Gun (IS) AL 60 (6-C) Short-PDS 15
10 LRM 20 (IS) Nose 60 120 (12-C) Long 100
10 LRM 20 (IS) RBS 60 120 (12-C) Long 100
10 LRM 20 (IS) Aft 60 120 (12-C) Long 100
10 LRM 20 (IS) LBS 60 120 (12-C) Long 100
10 LRM 20 (IS) FR 60 120 (12-C) Long 100
10 LRM 20 (IS) FL 60 120 (12-C) Long 100
10 LRM 20 (IS) AR 60 120 (12-C) Long 100
10 LRM 20 (IS) AL 60 120 (12-C) Long 100

Ammo Rounds Mass
Machine Gun (IS) Ammo 24000 120.00
LRM 20 (IS) Ammo 4800 800.00

Number Equipment and Bays Mass Doors
100,000 Cargo, Standard 100,000 4
18,200 Cargo, Liquid 20,000 3
8,700 Cargo, Refrigerated 10,000 2
60 Bay Small Craft 12,000 6
The discovery of an anti-fighter weapon system substantially better than the venerable AC/5 led to refits of some old ships. While Echohawk did not wish to bring the whole fleet in for refit simultaneously, the Black Lion, Lola, and Quixote classes were selected for staggered updates.

The Black Lion was a well-regarded ship by the fleet overall, despite its losses at Kentares. The main gun battery of the design would remain unchanged, though the missiles would be removed in favour of fighter bays to more efficiently use the ship's cargo bay. The light weapons were also replaced with more modern equivalents.
64x AC/5 -> 64x LRM-20
64x AC/2 -> 64x MG
12x Killer Whale -> 72x Fighter
Cost: $7,043m -> $7,033m

The Lola was a good design on paper, but it was deemed to have sacrificed too much in the way of crew accommodations, which made it nearly impossible to operate outside the support of a larger fleet. Crew accommodations would be improved, grav decks added, defensive systems updated, and the fighter and small craft wings increased substantially.
2nd Class/Steerage -> 1st Class/2nd Class accommodations
32x LL -> 64x LRM-20 (Note that I actually treated them as AC/5s in combat, even though the canon design is anachronistic)
Point defence: Nil -> 64x MG
Grav decks: Nil -> 2x 250m
2x small craft -> 12x small craft
6x fighter -> 72x fighter
Armor: 284 -> 302
Cargo: 115k -> 101k
Cost: $6,632m -> $6,724k

The Quixote was the primary missile ship of the Hegemony's heavy fleets, but the complex array of missile tubes had proved unable to cope with the rapidly shifting battlefields experienced in practice. To deal with this, all launchers were replaced with AR-10 launchers, to allow for better shifting of the ship's fire. The already substantial missile magazines of the ship were expanded even further, with room for 1200 tons of missiles for each launcher. A modern point defence battery was also added.
24x Barracuda, 24x White Shark, 18x Killer Whale -> 66x AR-10
20 missiles per launcher -> 30 missiles per launcher(10 of each type)
Point defence: Nil -> 64x LRM-20, 64x MG
Cargo: 176k -> 134k
Cost: $11,766m -> $11,843m

---

BUDGET: $770,000m
Maintenance(@100%): $252,106m
Repairs: $34,000m
R&D (Potemkin, Charon, Black Lion II, Lola II, Quixote II): $41,021m
Conversion costs(24x Black Lion II, 23x Lola II, 40x Quixote II): $5,196m
6x Potemkin: $119,232m
6x Charon: $50,094m
43x Ancile: $21,801m
16x Vincent: $102,064m
331x DropShip: $99,300m
1673x small craft: $16,730m
4950x fighter: $24,750m
Research: $3,706m

---

The doctrine of the Terran navy is not changing in the broad strokes, but there are some new differences in emphasis due to the plethora of new designs.

Black Lion II battlecruisers will still be used in the same fashion as they were previously. The comparatively minor changes do not warrant any serious difference in doctrine from the Black Lion I, aside from a new need for fighter group training.

The increased habitability and self-defence capacity of the Lola II allows for longer-ranged deployment of fast ships in situations where speed is necessary. The primary Lola/Cruiser wings will remain attached to the three main fleets, but they will be trained for long-range operations in addition to their historical role as a "cavalry" force for heavier units.

Quixote II missile cruisers are expected to be deployed somewhat more aggressively for anti-fighter work than their Quixote I predecessors, due to their substantially increased anti-fighter weaponry. Despite their comparatively slow speed, the ideal deployment has them near the Vincent-class escorts, to serve as protection for heavier units. However, they are expected to remain behind the support craft anti-missile screen if enemy fighters are expected to appear in force.

Potemkin-class assault transports will always be deployed with the three "heavy" fleets if any serious opposition is possible, to ensure these valuable and heavily-loaded ships are properly defended. First Fleet, based at Terra, will have the bulk of these units(four of the initial six), as only Terra has the ground forces necessary to load multiple Potemkins without entirely stripping the planet of defenders, and the Terran troops are considered to be the most loyal to Echohawk's new government.

Charon-class fast transports are deployed more widely, with one attached to each of the three "heavy" fleets and one to each of the three "fast" fleets, to allow for any necessary resupply or small-unit movements.

[Jester Motley]

[Edited:  Changes from previous post are underlined.]

CC Turn 6:

I believe the master spreadsheet is incorrect.  It shows 2 Quzhujian and 0 Qinru Zhe active, when I believe it should be 2 and 1 respectively.  (I'm not repairing the damaged Quzhjian, otherwise it would be 3 and 1 respectively)  Fixed _my_ spreadsheet, should be 1 and -1 active.  Fixing the -1 below.

Budget: $96,000M
Surplus(previous turn): $291M
Repair:  $9000M   (Damaged Quzhujian was scrapped, not repaired)
Spent $87,291M
Surplus this turn:  $297M
---
Total maintenance paid: $21,503M
Fighters: 150%
Small Craft: 150%
DS: 120%
JS: 120%
Qinru Zhe: 120%
Quzhujian: 120%
Bringer of Beer: 120%
Bringer of Shots: 120%
Wife's Wrath: 120%
Rapid Ventiliation: 120%  (New Ship design below)

Doctrine Change:
Due to last decade's major campaigns, training and maintenance was raised across the board to 120% for all but ASF and SC.  Fighters remain at 150% while Small Craft, due to their increased use and reliance for fleet defense, anti-missile rolls, and ASF support were brought up to parity with ASF to 150%.   (150% ASF/SC, 120% everything else)

Research:  $50M

Construction:
Fighters:  1731     Total: 5000
SC:             44      Total: 1267
DS:             17      Total:    88
JS:               0       Total:     3
Chongzhi:    -        Total:    27
Qinru Zhe:   1        Total:      0  (lost 4, due to my sheet error had only 3, paid difference, call it 'massive damage to ship in one battle, spent money to repair it, then lost it completely in next battle, repairs equal to cost of ship?  Fluff, but it makes the accounting work)
Quzhujian:   -        Total:      1  (lost 1, scrapped 1)
Br. Beer:      -         Total:     1
WifeWrath:  2        Total:    10 (lost 1)
Br. Shots:    1        Total:    12
Ventilation:  2        Total:      2

Yard Upgrades:
None.

Commemorative Statues:  $5M
  To honor the victorious and the fallen, the Navy has commissioned several statues and art works to be spread around the Confed.

New Ship classes:
Heavy Cruiser/Cruiser Hunter:

Kuàisù tōngfēng (Rapid Ventilation/Fast Zephyr)

Class/Model/Name:   Rapid Ventilation/Fast Zephyr (Kuàisù tōngfēng)
Tech:    Inner Sphere
Ship Cost:   $8,840,382,000.00
Magazine Cost:   $233,464,000.00
BV2:   96,042
   
Mass:   1,000,000
K-F Drive System:   Compact
Power Plant:   Maneuvering Drive
Safe Thrust:   4
Maximum Thrust:   6
Armor Type:   Standard
Armament:   
22   Naval Laser 55
60   Capital Launcher Barracuda
160   AC 2
16   Naval AC 40

Class/Model/Name:   Rapid Ventilation/Fast Zephyr (Kuàisù tōngfēng)      
Mass:   1,000,000      
         
Equipment:         Mass
Drive:         240,000
Thrust         
Safe:   4.0      
Maximum:   6.0      
Controls:         2,500
K-F Hyperdrive:   Compact (21 Integrity)      452,500
Jump Sail:    (5 Integrity)      80
Structural Integrity:   145      145,000
Total Heat Sinks:   4837 Single      4,100
Fuel & Fuel Pumps:   5875 points      2,397
Fire Control Computers:         2,828
Armor:   1250 pts Standard      2,900
Fore:   220      
Fore-Left/Right:   205/205      
Aft-Left/Right:   205/205      
Aft:   210      
         
Dropship Capacity:   0      0
Grav Decks:         
Small:         0
Medium:         0
Large:         0
Escape Pods:   200      1,400
Life Boats:   100      700
         
Crew And Passengers:         
63   Officers in 1st Class Quarters      630
182   Crew in 2nd Class Quarters      1,274
131   Gunners and Others in 2nd Class Quarters      917
60   Bay Personnel      0
   1st Class Passengers      0
   2nd Class Passengers      0
   Steerage Passengers      0

#   Weapons   Loc   Heat   Damage   Range   Mass
6   Naval Laser 55   Nose   510   330 (33-C)   Extreme-C   6,600
8   Capital Launcher Barracuda   Nose   80   160 (16-C)   Extreme-C   720
20   AC 2   Nose   20   40 (4-C)   Long   120
3   Naval Laser 55   FR   255   165 (16.5-C)   Extreme-C   3,300
3   Naval AC 40   FR   405   1200 (120-C)   Medium-C   13,500
8   Capital Launcher Barracuda   FR   80   160 (16-C)   Extreme-C   720
20   AC 2   FR   20   40 (4-C)   Long   120
3   Naval Laser 55   RBS   255   165 (16.5-C)   Extreme-C   3,300
3   Naval AC 40   RBS   405   1200 (120-C)   Medium-C   13,500
8   Capital Launcher Barracuda   RBS   80   160 (16-C)   Extreme-C   720
20   AC 2   RBS   20   40 (4-C)   Long   120
2   Naval AC 40   AR   270   800 (80-C)   Medium-C   9,000
8   Capital Launcher Barracuda   AR   80   160 (16-C)   Extreme-C   720
20   AC 2   AR   20   40 (4-C)   Long   120
3   Naval Laser 55   FL   255   165 (16.5-C)   Extreme-C   3,300
3   Naval AC 40   FL   405   1200 (120-C)   Medium-C   13,500
8   Capital Launcher Barracuda   FL   80   160 (16-C)   Extreme-C   720
20   AC 2   FL   20   40 (4-C)   Long   120
3   Naval Laser 55   LBS   255   165 (16.5-C)   Extreme-C   3,300
3   Naval AC 40   LBS   405   1200 (120-C)   Medium-C   13,500
8   Capital Launcher Barracuda   LBS   80   160 (16-C)   Extreme-C   720
20   AC 2   LBS   20   40 (4-C)   Long   120
2   Naval AC 40   AL   270   800 (80-C)   Medium-C   9,000
8   Capital Launcher Barracuda   AL   80   160 (16-C)   Extreme-C   720
20   AC 2   AL   20   40 (4-C)   Long   120
4   Naval Laser 55   Aft   340   220 (22-C)   Extreme-C   4,400
4   Capital Launcher Barracuda   Aft   40   80 (8-C)   Extreme-C   360
20   AC 2   Aft   20   40 (4-C)   Long   120

Ammo   Rounds   Mass
Capital Launcher Barracuda Ammo   350   10,500.00
Naval AC 40 Ammo   1600   1,920.00
AC 2 Ammo   12000   266.67

Number   Equipment and Bays   Mass   Doors
25,000   Cargo, Standard   25,000   2
12   Bay Small Craft   2,400   8
   NCSS Small   100   2

Fluffy time---

[Intro music, fast paced-martial horns and drums]
This is MSCBNBCNN WarDesk Earthside, bringing you the latest breaking news from around the universe!  I'm Daniel Parrot-Eagle.

And I'm Alice Cho Vanderlund.

Tonight, on WarDesk we have news from the Capellan Confed.  They revealed their latest warship design with great pomp and fan service.  Massing in at nearly a million tons...

Um, Daniel, I believe the phrase is Fan Fare.

Ah, right you are, Alice.  Um...  Where was I...  Ah... yes, the new ship, the Kow-eye tonguefang...

Kuàisù tōngfēng, Daniel.

Ah, yes, thank you Alice.  The Kuasak...  The Rapid Ventilation is s-

That can't be right, Daniel.

But... it says that right here on my holo-prompt.  The Kua... Ton...  whatever translates to Rapid Ventilation. 

No, that should be Speedy or Fast Wind, like a Zephyr.  The Confed uses an older dialect of Canto-

Well, Alice, I'm going with what our expert translation software says.  The Capellan Confed has said that the Rapid Ventillation masses at 1Mton, and while the actual specifications are tightly held secrets, our analysts are saying that from the information given and the recordings they've reviewed, she appears to be a gunship.  Our analysts are split, nearly half and half, some speculating that she's to be a new raider class, pointing to the large and long range laser mounts seen on her chase armament.  The other camp is saying she's a main warship, with the obviously heavy autocannon she mounts.

Only time will tell, Daniel.  This has been Alice Cho Vunderland-

And Daniel Parrot-Eagle-

Bringing you all the news, that's fit to view.

[outro-music]

Annnnd we're clear!  Good show, wrap it, can it, transmit it!

What a bad name to give a ship, Rapid Ventilation!

Well, Daniel, if you must know, in some of our modern Terran dialects, tōngfēng means to...  break wind.

So...  you mean that could have translated to Rapid Breaking Wind?

...  *sigh*  Yes.

Bwahahahahaha!

---

[truetanker]

Wow a Cappelan Fart joke!  :o

Nice ship, it's surly gassy... the speed I mean!

TT

[Jester Motley]

True story, I was running various names through translation, and decided to see how bad they were mangled so I reversed the translation.  Fast Zephyr comes back as Rapid Ventilation (have to use the chinese characters, iirc).  I laughed hard at that one, cause I thought it was either the worst, or best name for a gun ship.  Depending on your perspective.  Then, in one of my trials to come up with a good name, I got Passing West Wind back, and... well, the joke wrote itself.  :)  I'm also a Schlock fan, so that didn't help.

[Smegish]

CC Turn 6:

I believe the master spreadsheet is incorrect.  It shows 2 Quzhujian and 0 Qinru Zhe active, when I believe it should be 2 and 1 respectively.  (I'm not repairing the damaged Quzhjian, otherwise it would be 3 and 1 respectively)

Actually gong back through the posts I noticed an inconsistency in your turns. End of Turn 3 you had 1x Qinru Zhe and 3 Quzhujian, and on turn 4 you built 2 Qinru Zhes and no Quzhujians, and yet somehow had 5 Qinrus and 4 Quzhujians...

Then last turn you lost 4 Qinru Zhe's when you apparently hadn't built 4, plus 1 Quzhujian destroyed and another crippled, along with the Wrath.

This leaves you with -1 Qinru Zhe (somehow), 2 Quzhujian active and 1 crippled, which you have said you are not fixing.

[Jester Motley]

For some reason my spreadsheet didn't mark off the losses for Turn 3.

I'm at -1 Qinru Zhe, but re-reviewing I'm at 1 Quzhujian @100%, and 1 Quzhijian in need of repairs.
Quzhujian were built turn 1 and turn 2, 2 each turn, for 4 total.
Turn 2, I lost 1, and turn 5 I lost 1, and had one damaged.   -1, 1 and 1.  And since I'm not repairing, that leaves me with only 1 Quzhijian left.

Am I still missing something?  I went back and re-read all of my turns, but I've twice missed something even while doing that.  There's a reason I built my personal spreadsheet with turn history.  (And then screwed it up...)

I will redo this turn, and take out the price of the phantom Qinru Zhe, to square things away.  And fix my spreadsheet.  Not sure why it quit subtract losses when carrying forward the last turn's results.

[Smegish]

Yes sorry, 1 Quzhijian active and 1 crippled... my stuff up there.

[Lagrange]

This is an addendum for the TC turn.

Shannon Bream's study of ASF tactics creates a new battle strategy applicable against opponents at a known or suspected destination.

Shannon's Ghost Fighters

• Jump into a relatively random point in a system 2700M km from plausible opponents.  This is far enough that the emergence signature will not be observed, even with a large NCSS.
• Accelerate the Taurus inbound at 0.5g for slightly less than 12 days (details vary by the system) building up velocity for a fast flyby of the target. 
• At T-379 minutes, launch all ASF with capital missiles.
• The ASF coast, but the Taurus I accelerates away from the ASF for 85 minutes, then decelerate for 85 minutes on the same vector.  At this point, the Taurus I is 130K km away on a parallel course to the ASF.  130K km is far enough that the Taurus I is undetectable via radar (even with a large NCSS).
• Go radio silent at T-100 minutes.   This is >30M km from the target, so prior comms are unlikely to be intercepted (even with a large NCSS).
• Go radar silent at T-10 minutes.  This is >3M km from the target so prior radar is unlikely to be intercepted (even with a large NCSS).
• ASF Turn on radar at T-1 minutes.
• At T-0 minutes, ASF fire capital missiles on a target while closing then turn off radar.
• At T+10 minutes turn on radar.
• At T+100 minutes resume comms.
• At T+210 minutes the Taurus I accelerates toward the ASF for 85 minutes then decelerates on the same vector for 85 minutes.
• For the next 50 minutes, collect ASF.
• Decelerate outbound to rest taking care to add a significant pre-agreed on orthogonal vector so a clever opponent can't just follow the path.
• A jumpship jumps to the Taurus I.

According to Shannon's calculations, opponents will have less than a minute of warning when the ASF radar comes up and the ASF move into radar range, likely significantly impairing defense.  Furthermore the great velocity of the capital missiles on impact should dramatically magnify their damage potential.  The total time spent in the ASFs is about 13 hours, comfortably less than the 24 hours of life support available to ASF pilots.  If no targets are in the expected location, that's ok as the tactic can be used 10+ times before running out of fuel. 

Lena is impressed by the ghost fighters and orders flight testing.

(OOC, this is a "fast" high speed engagement as per SO pages 75-85 implying a +2 to hit modifier and damage from missiles is multiplied by 4 so a Killer Whale does 16 capital damage and a Barracuda does 8.)

(FYI, I also noticed a bug in the Tick II design and in fixing it I made a very minor change---it now has 120 MGs in a single arc.  This raised the cost to 235M so I adjusted the budget to handle it.)

[marcussmythe]

Speaking of high speed engagements:

One of the designs Im flirting with is a 4/6 (maybe 5/8!) wrecking ball...  very heavy front armor, big ole NAC cluster on the nose, anti-shipping missiles on flanks, intended to use its speed (and large fuel reserves) to force a high speed engagement, and outperform slower ships in that engagement by being optimized for it.

Im just not sure about the geometry, detection ranges, etc as to how possible it is... and amusingly, it would be terribly vulnerable to the fleet Ive already built...  charging into a fighter swarms single huge missile salvo is probably not a great plan.

[Lagrange]

Speaking of high speed engagements:

One of the designs Im flirting with is a 4/6 (maybe 5/8!) wrecking ball...  very heavy front armor, big ole NAC cluster on the nose, anti-shipping missiles on flanks, intended to use its speed (and large fuel reserves) to force a high speed engagement, and outperform slower ships in that engagement by being optimized for it.

Im just not sure about the geometry, detection ranges, etc as to how possible it is... and amusingly, it would be terribly vulnerable to the fleet Ive already built...  charging into a fighter swarms single huge missile salvo is probably not a great plan.

There is an 'advanced sensors' section in SO pages 117-119 which gives specific ranges for each sensor.  There are modified by the naval comm scanner suites in TO page 333.

[Jester Motley]

I fixed my sheet, made turn corrections in my turn post.  Turns out, pulling the wrong column from the previous sheet will give you wrong results.  Who knew?  I'm shocked, I tell ya, shocked.

[DOC_Agren]

I fixed my sheet, made turn corrections in my turn post.  Turns out, pulling the wrong column from the previous sheet will give you wrong results.  Who knew?  I'm shocked, I tell ya, shocked.

Sounds like a typical government worker   8)

[Lagrange]

Alsadius, does waiting for the last player slow you down significantly?  Or can you work around that by getting most of the turn ready in parallel?

[Smegish]

Haven't seen Maingunnery post in here in a few weeks, which is concerning.

To keep us entertained and talking in the meantime, I give you the Ship Comparison Chart, updated to 2400. I have also included AAA damage and Point Defense guns, counting AC/2s as half a PD each.

Class I Ships Sorted by Speed:

Station Keeping
Taurus I Mk2 (TC) (2400)  66 Throw Weight, 0 AAA, 728 PD, 315 Armour, 1/120/72, 4 Under Refit, 1 Under Construction

2/3
Independence (TC) (2350) 73 Throw Weight, 64 AAA, 16 PD, 218 Armour, 1/4/12, 1 Mothballed
Beer (CC) (2360)  0 Throw Weight 160 AAA, 40 PD, 122 Armour, Transport, 2/10/0, 1 Built
Scapha (MH) (2360)  40 Throw Weight, 220 AAA, 112 PD 132 Armour, Armed Transport, 0/10/20, 7 Built
Scapha II (MH) (2370)  0 Throw Weight, 220 AAA, 112 PD 110 Armour, Transport, 2/30/40, 2 Built

3/5
Trojan (DC) (2360)  96 Throw Weight, 360 AAA, 32 PD 48 Armour, 0/12/12 Q-Ship, 3 Built
Trojan II (MH) (2390) 94 Throw Weight, 480 AAA, 96 PD 48 Armour, 1/10/10 Q-Ship, 2 Built
Shots (CC) (2370) 0 Throw Weight, 160 AAA, 40 PD 162 Armour, 0/10/250 Escort Carrier, 11 Built, 1 Under Construction
Tate (DC) (2390) 212 Throw Weight, 600 AAA, 120 PD, 208 Armour, 0/12/36 Corvette, 6 Built, 6 Under Construction

4/6
Kutai(DC/TC/MH) (2350) 124 Throw Weight, 240 AAA, 32 PD, 120 Armour, 2/12/36 Corvette, 6 Built
Heimdaller-II (LC) (2370) 80 Throw Weight, 800 AAA, 160 PD 174 Armour 0/20/80 Escort Carrier, 9 Built
Vincent (TH) (2390) 88 Throw Weight, 448 AAA, 112 PD, 172 Armour, 2/6/72 Corvette, 30 Built, 16 Under Construction

6/9
Phalanx(FWL) (2350) 48 Throw Weight, 120 AAA, 118 PD, 70 Armour, 0/6/18 Corvette, 5 Built

Class 2 Ships Sorted by Speed

3/5:
Fubuki (DC) (2350) 629 Throw Weight, 320 AAA, 32 PD, 317 Armour, 2/12/36 Destroyer, 3 Built
Minekaze (DC) (2370) 730 Throw Weight, 160 AAA, 48 PD, 506 Armour, 0/12/36 Destroyer, 9 Built
Wife's Wrath (CC) (2370) 586 Throw Weight, 180 AAA, 45 PD, 604 Armour, 0/12/64 Destroyer, 8 Built, 2 under construction

4/6:
Cruiser (TH) (2325) 546 Throw Weight, 0 AAA, 0 PD, 348 Armour, 2/6/0 Light Cruiser, 27 Built
Quzhujian (CC) (2350) 424 Throw Weight, 160 AAA, 80 PD, 552 Armour, 0/6/48 Destroyer, 1 Built
Vittoria (RWR) (2370) 300 Throw Weight, 400 AAA, 160 PD, 533 Armour, 0/2/0 Destroyer, 6 Built
Robinson (FS) (2370) 372 Throw Weight, 135 AAA, 47 PD, 552 Armour, 2/3/12 Light Cruiser, 7 Built

5/8:
Albion (FS) (2350) 200 Throw Weight, 320 AAA, 39 PD, 570 Armour, 2/0/6 Raider, 7 Built
Qinru Zhe (CC) (2350) 208 Throw Weight, 240 AAA, 60 PD, 356 Armour, 2/2/0 Raider, 0 Built

Class 3 Ships Sorted by Speed

2/3
Tyr (LC) (2360) 1336 Throw Weight, 0 AAA, 80 PD, 590 Armor, 0/6/20 Cruiser, 9 Built
Walkure (LC) (2370) 160 Throw Weight, 1600 AAA, 320 PD, 528 Armor, 0/24/720 Carrier, 9 Built
Aegis (TH) (2371) 1260 Throw Weight, 0 AAA, 0 PD, 586 Armour, 4/10/18 Cruiser, 9 Built

3/5
Heracles (FWL) (2350) 680 Throw Weight, 240 AAA, 48 PD, 594 Armor, 2/12/72 Cruiser, 19 Built
Atago (DC) (2360) 858 Throw Weight, 240 AAA, 24 PD, 840 Armor, 2/12/72 Cruiser, 9 Built
Akagi (DC) (2400) 240 Throw Weight, 800 AAA, 120 PD, 760 Armour, 2/12/180 Carrier, 3 Under Construction
Essex (TH) (2351) 219 Throw Weight, 0 AAA, 0 PD, 150 Armour, 0/12/0 Destroyer, 20 Built
Black Lion II (TH) (2400) 640 Throw Weight, 1280 AAA, 64 PD, 480 Armour, 0/6/72 Battlecruiser, 24 Under Refit

4/6
Charon (TH) (2400) 0 Throw Weight, 1600 AAA, 240 PD, 372 Armour, 2/60/0 Collier, 6 Under Construction
Lola II (TH) (2400) 237 Throw Weight, 1280 AAA, 64 PD, 302 Armour, 0/12/12 Destroyer, 23 Under Refit

5/8
Kentares IV (FS) (2390), 176 Throw Weight, 160 AAA, 64 PD, 330 Armour, 0/25/200 Carrier, 2 Built

Class 4 Ships Sorted by Speed

2/3
Quixote II (TH) (2400) 417 Throw Weight, 1280 AAA, 64 PD, 516 Armour, 6/6/12 Missile Frigate, 40 Under Refit

3/5
Crucis (FS) (2370) 1268 Damage, 145 AAA, 43 PD, 1290 Armor 3/12/36 Battleship, 5 Built

4/6
Galahad (FS) (2350) 988 Damage, 110 AAA, 48 PD, 1092 Armor 3/3/12 Heavy Cruiser, 2 Built
Rapid Ventilation (CC) (2400) 881 Throw Weight, 320 AAA, 80 PD, 1250 Armour  0/12/0 Heavy Cruiser, 2 Under Construction

Class 6 Ships Sorted By Speed

2/3
Monsoon (TH) (2368) 852 Throw Weight, 0 AAA, 0 PD, 997 Armour, 6/6/18 Battleship, 16 Built
Potemkin (TH) (2400) 264 Throw Weight, 1920 AAA, 160 PD, 1416 Armour, 12/120/120 Assault Transport, 6 Under Construction

[Kiviar]

Federated Suns Turn 6
2390-2400


Looking Forward

The Federated Suns Navy spent the majority of the 2490s repairing the damage done to it in both the battle of Kentares IV and Novaya Zemyla. While the nation had not lost many warships in either battle, the attrition on small craft, dropships and, most notably the Navy's heavy cruisers had reached critical levels when nearly 2/3 of the Navy's escorts and a further Galahad-class heavy Cruiser were lost to the Confederation in '99.

The next 10 years saw a substantial increase in development and research in to smaller craft which had proven so lackluster at Novaya Zemyla and restarting the production lines of the reliable Galahad in the face of new and larger warship designs.

New Units

Rainbow-class escort dropship

In late 2398 Galactic Gear, a popular New Avalon spacecraft magazine, and television program launched a design challenge named "The Next Great Spaceship", where amateur draftsmen from across the world were asked to produce "A spacecraft which would revolutionize its field". The contest ran for six months and received entries from nearly every corner of Federated Suns space, which ran the gamut from traditional racing yachts to science-fiction fueled transforming robotic aerospace fighters. The winner was a rather utilitarian but no less brilliantly designed parasite warship called the Rainbow, designed by Western Avalon University engineering student Robert De la Croix on a dare by his classmates.

The Rainbow was built from the ground up as a jack of all trades mini-warship. It was capable of fleet and convoy escort, solo system patrol and long-range picket duty. Called a pocket-corvette by many its main armament of 4 Barracuda missile launchers, a full squadron of aerospace fighters, and sizable a array of 16 class 5 autocannons and 46 point-defence machine guns meant it could engage both other dropships and fighters effectively at nearly any range.

However the true brilliance of the Rainbow was that it could be manufactured from standardized parts, nearly anywhere in the Federated Suns where there was traditional construction equipment and a large ferrocrete pad. It was this that drew the attention of the FPFN's procurement board in 2399 when nearly 2/3 of all the Navy's escorts were destroyed in the battle of  Novaya Zemyla. The paperwork signing over the rights to produce the now called Rainbow-class Escort Dropship to Orange Star Shipyards of New Avalon was done in the university cafeteria and Robert de La Croix became the galaxy's youngest professional shipwright.

Code: [Select]

Rainbow Dropship
IS TW non-box set
5000 tons 
BV: 7,640
Cost: 252,000,000 C-bills

Movement: 4/6
Heat Sinks: 94

Structural Integrity: 20
Armor: 1370 (Ferro-Aluminum)
                        Armor
-----------------------------
Nose                      412
Left Side                 342
Right Side                342
Aft                       274

Armament                   Number
---------------------------------
Capital Launcher Baracuda       4
AC/5                           18
Machine Gun(IS)                46

Weapon                         Loc  Heat
----------------------------------------
AC Bay                         NOS     4
Point Defense Bay              NOS     0
Capital Missile Bay             RS    20
AC Bay                          RS     4
AC Bay (R)                      RS     2
Point Defense Bay               RS     0
Point Defense Bay (R)           RS     0
Capital Missile Bay             LS    20
AC Bay                          LS     4
AC Bay (R)                      LS     2
Point Defense Bay               LS     0
Point Defense Bay (R)           LS     0
AC Bay                         AFT     2
Point Defense Bay              AFT     0

Ammo                           Loc Shots
----------------------------------------
AC/5 Ammo                      NOS   160
Machine Gun Ammo               NOS  1600
Barracuda Ammo                  RS    20
AC/5 Ammo                       RS   160
AC/5 Ammo                       RS    80
Machine Gun Ammo                RS  1200
Machine Gun Ammo                RS  1600
Barracuda Ammo                  LS    20
AC/5 Ammo                       LS   160
AC/5 Ammo                       LS    80
Machine Gun Ammo                LS  1200
Machine Gun Ammo                LS  1600
AC/5 Ammo                      AFT   160
Machine Gun Ammo               AFT  1600


Aerospace Fighter (2 doors) - 6 units (4 recovery open)
Cargo Space (1 door) - 365 tons


Cyclone Heavy Aerospace Fighter

While Novaya Zemyla had been another victory for the Federated Suns Navy, it had also been another learning experience. In the Capellan's first strike nearly 10% of the nation's aerospace fighters were destroyed or damaged beyond repair. It was a bitter pill to swallow, but through years of neglect and complacency had left the Fleet Air Arm hopelessly behind in both size and capability of its fighters.

To rectify this the Navy turned to Avro-Galactic to produce a heavy aerospace interceptor which incorporated the latest technology, and could defeat any contemporary fighter.

Avro-Galactic answered this challenge with gusto and within a year of receiving the project a new superfighter was tearing through the skies of Avalon city rattling windows and causing persnickety citizens to annoy to their local representatives with complaints.

The Cyclone was everything the Navy could have wanted, fast, agile, and armed to the teeth with a heavy armament of 2 class 5 autocannons, 16 newly developed SRM tubes and a staggaring 6 machine guns. To cap it off the Cyclone was also capable of a bone crushing 4.5g of acceleration, allowing it to not only outfight but also outrun nearly any contemporary spacecraft.

Code: [Select]


Cyclone Aero
IS TW non-box set
80 tons 
BV: 1,210
Cost: 4,802,653 C-bills

Movement: 6/9
Engine: 320
Heat Sinks: 13

Structural Integrity: 8
Armor: 241 (Ferro-Aluminum)
                        Armor
-----------------------------
Nose                       73
Left Wing                  60
Right Wing                 60
Aft                        48


Weapon                         Loc  Heat
----------------------------------------
Machine Gun                    NOS     0
Machine Gun                    NOS     0
SRM 4                          NOS     3
SRM 6                          RWG     4
AC/5                           RWG     1
SRM 6                          LWG     4
AC/5                           LWG     1
Machine Gun                    AFT     0
Machine Gun                    AFT     0
Machine Gun                    NOS     0
Machine Gun                    NOS     0

Ammo                           Loc Shots
----------------------------------------
SRM 4 Ammo                     NOS    25
SRM 6 Ammo                     RWG    15
AC/5 Ammo                      RWG    20
SRM 6 Ammo                     LWG    15
AC/5 Ammo                      LWG    20
Machine Gun Ammo               AFT   200


Turn

Administration
Budget - 101
Upkeep - 24.3
Unspent - 14.7

R&D
None

Construction

Shipyards
Upgrade Delevan 3-4

Ships
2x Galahad - 21.6

Stations
None

Misc
32 x Lt Dropship - 9.6
50 x Small Craft - 0.5
250 x Fighter - 1.2

Research & Other
Repairs - 9
116x Research - 0.116

[Lagrange]

Minor corrections (to Smegish's post):

Taurus I Mk 2 has a move of about 0.7/1 and has 315 armour.  It has 1/120/72 for dropcollar/smallcraft/fighter bays, but a docking collar means something quite different on a space station than a warship, so I'd suggest discounting that.  Also, 4 are being refitted and 1 is under construction.  And, if we regard the Tick as integral, it adds 120 MGs.

MGs can also be used against ASF if they should happen to wander particularly close, right?

Independence is TC, not TH.

Kutai is TC, not TH.

3/5 is 3/4.5

5/8 is 5/7.5

Also, it's interesting to compute totals as they do illustrate different styles.  I added up each category for each nation, computed a grand total, then computed the fraction for each nation, then computed the average fraction for each nation, then divided by the average fraction to create this table.

Code: [Select]

Throw AAA PD Armor Drop SC Fighter
TC 0.08 0.08 2.73 0.27 0.41 2.94 0.49
MH 0.17 1.05 2.04 0.48 0.78 1.75 0.73
DC 1.27 1.02 0.99 1.11 0.68 1.05 0.88
CC 0.91 0.52 0.61 1.14 0.06 0.91 2.85
TH 1.00 1.38 0.85 0.83 1.26 0.85 0.83
FWL 1.28 0.57 0.76 1.20 1.20 0.84 1.14
RWR 0.95 1.43 2.63 1.77 0.00 0.21 0.00
FS 1.31 0.52 0.56 1.87 1.65 0.47 0.60
LC 0.66 1.14 1.22 0.57 0.00 0.70 2.73
From this we can see:
TC is heavy on PD and SC.  The small craft are really fighters unless the navy is supporting land forces.
MH is heavy on PD, and SC.
DC is pretty near average in all categories.
CC is heavy on Fighters.
TH is heavy on AAA and Dropships.
RWR is heavy on AAA, PD, and Armor.
FS is heavy on Throw, Armor, and Dropships.
LC is particularly heavy on Fighters.
Several nations basically don't believe in Dropships.

[Smegish]

Corrections made, though I did not include the MG damage into AAA, because the effective range is too short to be useful unless that ASF is trying to kamikaze.

[Alsadius]

MGs can be used against ASF, but it doesn't happen much in practice. Excluding them from AAA makes sense to me. Same reason nobody has used SRMs for PD work as of yet - they're fighter weapons, not WarShip weapons, because you need a speed/agility advantage to make good use of them offensively.

Alsadius, does waiting for the last player slow you down significantly?  Or can you work around that by getting most of the turn ready in parallel?

Most of it doesn't require me to wait. Kiviar sent me the numbers for his turn last week, so I don't really need to wait for his post. And unfortunately, Maingunnery is departing. His original message was tentative, so I wanted to hold off to see if he returned, but I haven't heard from him since then, so I'm assuming he's gone. It's a shame, but c'est la vie.

---

The Free Worlds League is primarily working to increase their shipyard capacity for the moment, though they are also making good some of the losses they took at Antipolo.

BUDGET: $105B
Maintenance(@100%): $24,350m
Repairs: $3,200m
Shipyards(Atreus 5>6): $60,000m
8x Eros: $4,760m
30x DropShip: $9,000m
67x small craft: $670m
910x fighter: $4,500m
Research: $854m