Author Topic: Post-FS2 fleet doctrine/New ship concepts  (Read 3981 times)

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Offline Mito [PL]

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Re: Post-FS2 fleet doctrine/New ship concepts
What should be done with outdated vessels? Well, I think that's obvious, just sell them half-free to any kind of local defence groups or qualified people so you have at least slightly more firepower. Not to mention such people would probably be able to act as local militia, extinguishing any outlaw factions before they make any trouble so the GTVA doesn't need to care - keeping Shivans out is their job. Just like in Switzerland: every sane adult male has got an assault rifle in his home. Just imagine. I'd also expect that while these vessels would be quite far below what the tech military has got, their owners would probably take care of and improve upon them to a level when they're quite formidable.
Huh, this thingy would have a nice niche for an interesting story: GTVA military being the "big guns", taking care of Shivans, while the civilian population would have that interesting kind of space Wild West. That one making some interesting mercenary scenarios which could go alongside some GTVA's pilots' life.

Other idea. Want some cheap kamikaze ships and you want them NOW? Get some outdated fighters, slap an autopilot on them, fill them up with explosives and it should work.
How do you kill a hydra?

You starve it to death.

 

Offline karajorma

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Re: Post-FS2 fleet doctrine/New ship concepts
There's absolutely no proof that any kind of local defence groups even exist, let alone could afford to by outdated vessels. For all we know the GTVA could be the only military force allowed in their space, and they might want to keep it that way.
Karajorma's Freespace FAQ. It's almost like asking me yourself.

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Re: Post-FS2 fleet doctrine/New ship concepts
Having a militia is quite a risky thing- you might think about people who defend their family and property against crime (mostly when they consider their government incompetent to do that); but you should remember that, say, Somalia is actually ruled by militias, which ended being pretty much the opposite. I actually had the idea that GTVA might sell the GTEP Hermes when it gets phased out, for it seems harmless and brings some money. Then Pirates started use it as a fast, maneuverable transport - ideal for capturing civilian ships.

Also I had thought how GTVA might finance their construction efforts, with GTVA being caught between day-to-day politics and the knowledge that the Shivans could throw another Sath armada against them any time; so on could expect that the GTVA uses every resource it can get.

Quote
After the second Shivan Incursion, the GTVA faced 2 major objectives: the most significant was to find a new home for the 250 million refugees from Capella, and as a second issue, the fleet had - atleast in parts - to be reconstructed. It took 4 years to build enough houses, and during that time, many of the refugees often lived in the ships that had transported them. Of all systems affected, it was Epsilon Pegasi and Adhara that were hit hardest. After Capella, they were cut off from main trafic roads, and EP had taken heavy damage from the NTF. Unlike Polaris, they also had no booming fleet yard, which lead to a fast declining population. Many oppositional voices have accused the GTVA of becoming a more and more centralistic organisation that neglects its border systems and views them only as places of megascale mining activities - what is actually untrue since GTVA chooses mining sites after their cost-effectiveness, and mining also takes place within the major systems. However, the new constitution of 2369, that was created to prevent further uprisings such as the NTF or the Hammer of Light severly limited the autonomy of local goverments. The new course was underlined by the fact that the Capellan refugees were not distributed evenly but along the previous population count. While it accelerated their reintegration, the larger, developed systems grew further while the smallers became marginalised, especialy in the parlament.

The Future War Doctrine - often rather called Total War Doctrine - plays an important role in post-Capella society; while it has helped to strengthen the fleet, there are also criticts that say that certain actions such as turning transportation into a public enterprise were executed without proper planing. Others point out that the huge investments into the military (19% of the entire GDP are produced within the military) has paradoxicly led to a decline in public safety - the spending for local police forces for example was cut with the argument that they could be replaced by military pilots (as training), local politics - especialy those of minor systems - rejected such ideas, claiming that their own civil police was part of their autonomy. This contradiction led to an astonishing increase of criminality in some systems, especialy the minor ones, where the economy remained in stagnation with most of the investments going to the larger systems. As a result of the political tensions around this issue, projects such as turning cargo traffic into a public service as well were postponed for an undifined amount of time.

By massivly increasing taxes and reshaping the entire GTVA economy along military necesities, the government was able to increase the industrial base with a speed of 10% per year since around 2370, now being almost 7 times as big as before the Capella incident - theoraticly allowing the creation of a Colossus-sized warship every 3 years instead of the 20 years the original took to complete.

 
Re: Post-FS2 fleet doctrine/New ship concepts
Thanks fellas :)
The best I can do is pass on my models and let anyone take over this as I know it's gonna be a long time (like years) before I can get anything completed and in game. Yeah I know why not do it yourself? Well I have never completed any UV Mapping and consider how complex it is, I simply do not have the time to expend on the learning curve. Furthermore, I dont even have Freespace 2 up and running at the moment. So....why not pass along what I got that might be Freespace worthy?

I'll post this weekend what I have.

Thanks for the interest :)
Got Shivans? The SOC Ezechiel is the schnitzel! Don't leave base without it.

  
Re: Post-FS2 fleet doctrine/New ship concepts
ok, I posted in the Modeling forum The GVF Khepri Mk. II and the GVF Shu Mk. V.

Got Shivans? The SOC Ezechiel is the schnitzel! Don't leave base without it.

 
Re: Post-FS2 fleet doctrine/New ship concepts
Now you've got to write 2 tech descriptions for both and post them here :D

 
Re: Post-FS2 fleet doctrine/New ship concepts
Ahh yes...and why not? :)

The GVF Shu Mk V is the latest version of the Vasudan Fleet Interceptor class Starfighter.  From the beginning, the Mark I was rushed into service as it's development was deemed satisfactory for the requirements at the time of Fleet introductory due to the urgent need at the time. The GVF Shu Mk. II was the end result of completing the development which the current engine configuration was the end result. The Mark II quickly replace the Mark I in front line service and most of the Mark I's were either stationed on second line ships or regulated to training roles. Due to the complex difference between the Mark I and Mark II,s None of the Mark I's were able to be upgraded to the later standard as it would cost too much.

With the Mark II's meeting the initial requirements for a fast Fleet Interceptor exceptionally well, there was still some short comings in it's design. One was the reactor power plant's, while reliable, was high on maintenance due to it's
compact design and high power output  to weight ratio.  Second was the weakness in the area where the outer left and right engines meet the top frame. Under extreme hard maneuvering for a prolonged period, the wear and tear in this area caused cracks and resulted in some accidents and operational losses until it was discovered and reinforcement plates were installed to correct this weakness.
The designer of the GVF Shu went back and while keeping the overall shape, actually nearly redesigned the main hull to once and for all correct the past problems and also leave room for future expansion and upgrades. The Mark III and Mark IV were the development versions and none saw actual front line service as too few were made. The Mark III's was primarily the power plant development vehicles  while the Mark IV's were the hull advancement, power plant integration and computer advancement ships. A total of 23 ships of both Mark III and IV's were made.

GVF Shu Mark V
With the progression of the power plant reactors, the hull maturation and computer advancements, the Mark V was the end result of this long development cycle. The hull was larger and longer than the Mark II to house the advance Power reactor and as such, the maintenance cycles were dramatically reduced. Maximum Power output was 1/3 more than the Mark II and normal sustained power output was also 1/3 more. Outer three engines were 16% more efficient in power consumption throughout the  power band of the outer engines. The central engine was the most improved as it's entirely new design. Power output was increased by 11%, Power efficiency was increased by a whopping 32% over the Mark II.  As with any Fleet Interceptor, speed and range are paramount and the Mark V exceeds the Mark II in this regard. Speed is up by 11%, range has increased by 17% due to the efficiency of the engine power draw being less than the Mark II.

Well, that's what I got off the top of my head while developing the GVF Shu Mark V.

The GVF Khepri Mark II is what I would call a heavy fighter/bomber type.  As you can see, it's quite large, has a long range and can carry quite a bit of a payload. Consider it like you would the GTF Hercules series.

It's late and I'll complete this tomorrow. My apologies. :)

 
Got Shivans? The SOC Ezechiel is the schnitzel! Don't leave base without it.

 
Re: Post-FS2 fleet doctrine/New ship concepts
While this is more speculative, I'd really like to see the SSM in BP explored further: what better way to avoid a Shivan alpha strike than by being halfway across the system? For added fun, this even gives the GTVA something to do with outdated spaceframes: even in retail, Anubis + bombs = crude SSM.

I'm not sure how well this would work as an actual campaign concept, however.

 
Re: Post-FS2 fleet doctrine/New ship concepts
Yeah I think this might be a bit boring gameplay-wise... or not.

Kie99 had the idea to use remote controlled bombers loaded with Helios(es?) as shielded SSMs. I had the idea to make a tertiary weapon/custom ship using a weapon-like model (with shields) mounted on the player ship using the rearm dock. The player configures the arrival location near the target, pushes a button, watches how the weapon undocks and flies away... upon rearival the player must pilot that thing into the target and blows it off. This is somewhat similar to what TopAce made for LCW.

 
Re: Post-FS2 fleet doctrine/New ship concepts
I've actually got a script for letting the player switch between different ships.... Y'know what, I'm going to throw together a POC.

 
Re: Post-FS2 fleet doctrine/New ship concepts
That I'd like to see. :) (I would've experimented with the Respawn system I made).

If you want to drive things over the top, you could use the Amazon VII (Robo-GTFr Chronos), load the cargo container with Helios-warhead (you don't need the engines), and have explode near (or, if possible inside) the target. That would instakill a superjuggernaut...