Post by kealios on Mar 24, 2011 23:08:58 GMT -5
So I decided to dive in to ship making. After all, its one requirement I have for a game, and even if these designs are crap, I think they'll be alright, and its a chance to show off my modified SSD using the Shipyard Excel file.
Battletech was my first game, a long, LONG time ago. I have names I use for all sorts of things, but never a "race" or nation, so why not? FedSuns it is.
My faction is reasonably balanced in the tech trees. They prefer to use Conventional weapons over Laser weaponry, but havent ignored the best of what their technology allows. Heavy armor is essential; not the heaviest, but most ship designs max out their armor anyway. Shielding is essential as well, and all ships carry heavy shields.
Deployment-wise, Rapid Deployment rules the day at the lower weight classes. The ability to outmaneuver the enemy is key, and as such, the faction has maxed out their Anti-Matter Manipulation for the savings in Delta cost. At mid- to heavier weights, the 20% savings is often enough for one or two more heavy weapon systems. Nice.
The ships I am using are GZG's FSE fleet, the newer designs. I dont own all the ships, so you wont see any carriers or escort carriers or dreadnoughts here, but they'll come eventually. The FSE ships tend to have their guns pointing forward. I didnt really ever play Full Thrust, and dont really know what the ships "really" came equipped with, but what I did here was to look at the model, imagine what the guns are or could be, and not go crazy with designs.
Without a lot of fighters in the skies, you'll notice the heavy presence of autonomous fighter-killer weaponry, the Gatlings. We'll see how it works!
Now, on to the SSDs.
Cygne Scout Ship
A simple but effective Scout, the Cygne prefers to stay cloaked as long as it can in battles. Unable to engage anything larger than Frigates effectively, it uses its automated weapon systems to strip the shields of unsuspecting prey before using its Heavy Autocannon to finish the job.
Other versions have experimented with replacing nearly all the direct-fire weapons with ASGMs for quick and agile long-ranged support, but results have been disappointing at best.
Lemnos Frigate
The lightest of the Federated Suns frigates, the Lemnos functions in a more aggressive role than its smaller cousin, the Cygne. Less stealthy but more maneuverable, armed similarly to the scout version of this class, the Lemnos darts about the outer edges of a fleet engagement where it uses its autonomous weapon systems directly against enemy fighters and stripping shields from larger threats.
Ardennes Light Cruiser
The Ardennes is often referred to as "the Bully". Using its speed and agility, its main purpose in an engagement is to outmaneuver other larger cruisers and board them with its highly trained compliment of Marines. This often cripples larger prey with little to no danger to itself. The nickname is even more apparent as the Ardennes chases down and captures smaller prey with ease, a role its Commanders play with relish.
Marauder Light Frigate
Tipping the scales of the Light Cruiser classification, the Marauder trades the Boarding Marines favored by the Ardennes for a second tube of torpedoes. All conventional weaponry is replaced by their energy weapon equivalents, gaining the Marauder the range it needs to provide escort to heavier ships.
Following Federated Suns doctrine that most spacecraft should be self-sufficient when it comes to fighter defense, the Marauder is more than happy to lend its anti-fighter perimeter to the ships it escorts.
Tourville Heavy Cruiser
The Tourville Rapid Deployment Missile Cruiser prefers to use its agility to outmaneuver similar-sized ships and use its payload of anti-ship missiles from outside the enemy's main arcs of fire. It will often achieve this by closing with the less maneuverable foe, soaking fire with its shields and armor, then jinking away from an over-committed ship, coming about quickly with its missiles before darting away again.
Its weakness being the limited supply of ammunition for its missile tubes, it carries a sole Mag Cannon to warn off smaller ships, and Gatling lasers for fighter defense.
Duquesne Battlecruiser
[Pronounced "Dukane"??] Sitting near the middle of the Battlecruiser classification in weight, the Duquesne Heavy Missile Cruiser is the first entry by the Federated Suns into the Capital Ship arena. Carrying a heavier payload than its lighter cousin, the Tourville, the Duquesne's Bombardment missiles allow it to punish enemy ships or planetary defenses at extreme range. However, Federated Suns doctrine calls for the Battleline Cruiser to lure enemy ships into medium range where its ship-killing missiles are less able to be avoided.
Da Silva Battleship
The heaviest ship fielded by the Federated Suns to date, the Da Silva battleship has little in the way of armament that is limited in ammunition, allowing it to stay in the fight much longer than other ships of its size. Preferring to confront enemy ships head on, the Da Silva also turns in relation to the range of its closest likely target. Staggering the longer-ranged Heavy Disruptors against the more numerous Heavy Autocannons, the Commanders of these powerful ships are rarely without options when wading into a fight.
Like other ships commissioned by the Federated Suns, the Da Silva keeps its fighters safe through judicious use of its autonomous Gatling systems.
My ships, WIP:
About the SSD, Im pretty happy with how it turned out. The only thing that doesnt populate nicely are the fighters. I think they'll be easy enough to figure out, though.
Battletech was my first game, a long, LONG time ago. I have names I use for all sorts of things, but never a "race" or nation, so why not? FedSuns it is.
My faction is reasonably balanced in the tech trees. They prefer to use Conventional weapons over Laser weaponry, but havent ignored the best of what their technology allows. Heavy armor is essential; not the heaviest, but most ship designs max out their armor anyway. Shielding is essential as well, and all ships carry heavy shields.
Deployment-wise, Rapid Deployment rules the day at the lower weight classes. The ability to outmaneuver the enemy is key, and as such, the faction has maxed out their Anti-Matter Manipulation for the savings in Delta cost. At mid- to heavier weights, the 20% savings is often enough for one or two more heavy weapon systems. Nice.
The ships I am using are GZG's FSE fleet, the newer designs. I dont own all the ships, so you wont see any carriers or escort carriers or dreadnoughts here, but they'll come eventually. The FSE ships tend to have their guns pointing forward. I didnt really ever play Full Thrust, and dont really know what the ships "really" came equipped with, but what I did here was to look at the model, imagine what the guns are or could be, and not go crazy with designs.
Without a lot of fighters in the skies, you'll notice the heavy presence of autonomous fighter-killer weaponry, the Gatlings. We'll see how it works!
Now, on to the SSDs.
Cygne Scout Ship
A simple but effective Scout, the Cygne prefers to stay cloaked as long as it can in battles. Unable to engage anything larger than Frigates effectively, it uses its automated weapon systems to strip the shields of unsuspecting prey before using its Heavy Autocannon to finish the job.
Other versions have experimented with replacing nearly all the direct-fire weapons with ASGMs for quick and agile long-ranged support, but results have been disappointing at best.
Lemnos Frigate
The lightest of the Federated Suns frigates, the Lemnos functions in a more aggressive role than its smaller cousin, the Cygne. Less stealthy but more maneuverable, armed similarly to the scout version of this class, the Lemnos darts about the outer edges of a fleet engagement where it uses its autonomous weapon systems directly against enemy fighters and stripping shields from larger threats.
Ardennes Light Cruiser
The Ardennes is often referred to as "the Bully". Using its speed and agility, its main purpose in an engagement is to outmaneuver other larger cruisers and board them with its highly trained compliment of Marines. This often cripples larger prey with little to no danger to itself. The nickname is even more apparent as the Ardennes chases down and captures smaller prey with ease, a role its Commanders play with relish.
Marauder Light Frigate
Tipping the scales of the Light Cruiser classification, the Marauder trades the Boarding Marines favored by the Ardennes for a second tube of torpedoes. All conventional weaponry is replaced by their energy weapon equivalents, gaining the Marauder the range it needs to provide escort to heavier ships.
Following Federated Suns doctrine that most spacecraft should be self-sufficient when it comes to fighter defense, the Marauder is more than happy to lend its anti-fighter perimeter to the ships it escorts.
Tourville Heavy Cruiser
The Tourville Rapid Deployment Missile Cruiser prefers to use its agility to outmaneuver similar-sized ships and use its payload of anti-ship missiles from outside the enemy's main arcs of fire. It will often achieve this by closing with the less maneuverable foe, soaking fire with its shields and armor, then jinking away from an over-committed ship, coming about quickly with its missiles before darting away again.
Its weakness being the limited supply of ammunition for its missile tubes, it carries a sole Mag Cannon to warn off smaller ships, and Gatling lasers for fighter defense.
Duquesne Battlecruiser
[Pronounced "Dukane"??] Sitting near the middle of the Battlecruiser classification in weight, the Duquesne Heavy Missile Cruiser is the first entry by the Federated Suns into the Capital Ship arena. Carrying a heavier payload than its lighter cousin, the Tourville, the Duquesne's Bombardment missiles allow it to punish enemy ships or planetary defenses at extreme range. However, Federated Suns doctrine calls for the Battleline Cruiser to lure enemy ships into medium range where its ship-killing missiles are less able to be avoided.
Da Silva Battleship
The heaviest ship fielded by the Federated Suns to date, the Da Silva battleship has little in the way of armament that is limited in ammunition, allowing it to stay in the fight much longer than other ships of its size. Preferring to confront enemy ships head on, the Da Silva also turns in relation to the range of its closest likely target. Staggering the longer-ranged Heavy Disruptors against the more numerous Heavy Autocannons, the Commanders of these powerful ships are rarely without options when wading into a fight.
Like other ships commissioned by the Federated Suns, the Da Silva keeps its fighters safe through judicious use of its autonomous Gatling systems.
My ships, WIP:
About the SSD, Im pretty happy with how it turned out. The only thing that doesnt populate nicely are the fighters. I think they'll be easy enough to figure out, though.
