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How should the GTVA proceed with cruisers post-Capella?

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CT27:
My last thread in the general area of "how should the GTVA military rebuild after Capella?" dealt with frigate-sized ships.  This time I'd like to ask about cruisers.

What should the GTVA fleet do in regard to cruisers after Capella?


Ideally, I'd say two things:
-Start up Aeolus production again to have a good escort cruiser (I say ideally because I know the Aeolus was expensive)
-Look at a successor to the Leviathan (this would be a cruiser slightly more geared towards offensive missions and anti-cap duty...although I don't know if it would need to be as powerful as the Lilith in this area)

Shivan Hunter:
Seconding Aeolus production, since high cost is now less of a factor - post-Capella GTVA should be pouring money into military R&D and manufacturing out of sheer existential panic.

I like the idea of increased subspace maneuverability leading to more Ravana/Lilith-like tactics (a la Serkr Team from BP). The old Hyperion (which has a new model in Scroll! ;7) is good for this, since it looks like it's basically a couple massive beam cannons strapped to a subspace drive. The Aeolus could take on the anti-fighter flyswatter role, or a different spaceframe could pick up the slack in that department.

Random thoughts:

In general, Post-FS1 GTVA developed ships to combat the threat Shivans posed in FS1 (the Colossus in particular is billed as a Lucifer-killer). Post-FS2 GTVA should make the same mistake (as we silly organics do) and design its fleet doctrine to counter the Sathanas. This means a lot of focus on defanging heavy beam turrets and subsystems, and possibly even larger-scale beam platforms like the Mjolnir built for quickly locking down an area.

Beam tech evolves significantly. FS2 beam tech is based solely on what little analysis we could do of the Lucifer's beams, unless you want to retcon the rest of FS1 Shivans having them as well. In FS2 we got a much better look at Shivan beam cannons, including the Sath's which outclass the Lucifer's beams by a lot.

wuu:

--- Quote from: Shivan Hunter on June 17, 2024, 10:13:44 pm ---post-Capella GTVA should be pouring money into military R&D and manufacturing out of sheer existential panic !!!

--- End quote ---

Using GTSG Mjolnir and building a cruiser around it but I think a Corvette makes more sense.
with its reactor core, you could use it as an auxiliary power when not in use to boost either engine, weapons, sensor, navi, well the sub-systems are built to handle the extra juice.

Shivan Hunter:
I see a bit of a different evolution of the Mjolnir idea.

I have a few questions about Mjolnirs: since Mjolnirs can operate independently, shouldn't a ship that's just a cheap spaceframe with Mjolnirs strapped to it be devastating on the battlefield? Why can the Mjolnir, a sub-cruiser-size cannon, outclass destroyers in firepower? Why did the Colossus's heatsinks struggle so much, when Mjolnirs can output similar firepower with seemingly no such issues?

My headcanon/skul-gun: Mjolnirs are disposable, one-time-use beam platforms not meant for extended engagements. This is also why they're so lightly armored. They don't have a power generator that can sustain beam fire indefinitely - they have a battery that can support maybe a couple dozen shots. By the time it's done firing, the battery is empty, the heatsinks are fried, the beam cannon's innards are starting to melt, and the Mjolnir is a useless hunk of metal, but hopefully it's done its job. You wouldn't want this on a warship, but keep several of these in reserve to blockade a node on demand (also works well if your setting includes BP/BtA-style non-Newtonian node drift).

This is good only in situations where the dire need to lock down a node outweighs the prohibitive cost of disposable beam cannons. This is the calculus in "The King's Gambit". Normally, a fleet can break a blockade but will sustain heavy losses - usually not worth it. The NTF tries anyway since their goal is the Knossos portal. The GTVA counters with Mjolnirs, which works, taking down pretty much the entire NTF fleet, for the cost of a few Mjolnirs. (fine with Bosch: the fleet was only ever a meatshield for the Iceni anyway).

The post-Capella evolution of this idea is basically a remote subspace strike, but with beamz. Strap a cheap subspace drive to the Mjolnir "ships", jump them in, have them get off a few devastating beam shots before they explode. Maybe make it so fighters have to paint the target with a TAG strike (good gameplay opportunities here for both attackers and defenders).

Better beam tech might mean this idea converges with Lilith/Ravana tactics - no need for disposable beam cannons if you can actually make one that lasts, after all. Also consider asymmetric warfare: These Mjolnir ships, if they existed, would be a prime theft target for pirates, rebels and other malcontents.

wuu:

--- Quote from: Shivan Hunter on June 19, 2024, 02:14:10 pm ---Ideally, I'd say two things:
-Start up Aeolus production again to have a good escort cruiser (I say ideally because I know the Aeolus was expensive)
-Look at a successor to the Leviathan (this would be a cruiser slightly more geared towards offensive missions and anti-cap duty...although I don't know if it would need to be as powerful as the Lilith in this area)

--- End quote ---

Post-Capella tricky question if I look at it from a universe perspective they would ramp up production for the Aeolus, Fenris?, and Leviathan but I think the ships are out of production anyway.

I think you can Spin the Canon that would support GTVA was already working on something else that was more cost-effective a good excuse for a new cruiser or GTVA was already retooling the cruiser production lines for the new cruisers (Terran, Vasudan, and GTVA Version) and a Low rate initial production (lrip) Prototypes.
All of this was already in the making when the NTF rebellion happened and the second Shivan incursion.
Because enough mothballed cruisers in reserve.

For the cruiser itself why not a GTVA cruiser inspired by the Anubis fighter and Aten, Aeolus cruiser with a better bite
for the GTVA Fleets and System Fleets to be mass-producible in any system and can carry the Meson Bomb, Mjolnir, or cargo for a better survival chance.

This is GalEmp's GVC Mekhet I think fits the bill of how it could look, but none of the mentioned blub represents the actual intended purpose!

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