[Androgeos Exeunt]

Sounds like Derelict...

[colecampbell666]

Explain...

[Mongoose]

But the Colossus was a colossal mistake. Srs. One big, vulnerable target that just screams "SHOOT MEEEEEE"!!

Except that it performed exactly as advertised until it was faced with an opponent it was never designed to defeat.  And had it gone against the opponent it was designed to defeat, it would have wiped the floor with it.

[Androgeos Exeunt]

Explain...

Derelict takes place after the Second Shivan Incursion, at a point where the GTVA seemed incapable of handling the pirate threat. Then there was the problem of resettling the Capellans.

[jkalltheway]

But the Colossus was a colossal mistake. Srs. One big, vulnerable target that just screams "SHOOT MEEEEEE"!!

I think its a bit much to call it a colossal mistake. It was probably created as a show of force. The implied danger of the colossus would keep systems in line, and prevent them from going renegade or falling into anarchy and being pirate controlled. It was a giant expensive piece of furniture that was meant to show off and say "We're Not Weak". In that, it succeeded up until the shivans invaded again.

[Blue Lion]

Kinda sounds like a Death Star

[bastionlover]

But the Colossus was a colossal mistake. Srs. One big, vulnerable target that just screams "SHOOT MEEEEEE"!!

yeah i kinda agree, i think the alliance should focus on high powered beam weaponry on next generation destroyers, instead of one time juggernauts

[Snail]

But the Colossus was a colossal mistake. Srs. One big, vulnerable target that just screams "SHOOT MEEEEEE"!!

Except that it performed exactly as advertised until it was faced with an opponent it was never designed to defeat.  And had it gone against the opponent it was designed to defeat, it would have wiped the floor with it.

Sure, it would have performed well against the Lucifer. But if you ask me, I'd rather have a fleet of Hecates and Orions rather than one stupid flagship. It was an absolute logistical nightmare (Into the Maelstrom - If that was just after ONE combat deployment, I shudder to think how many convoys were needed to supply the Colossus' entire campaign). It was harder to defend than most ships since it was a large target, you'd need an entire support fleet to protect it. Really it was more of a liability than a real asset - It's like walking around with a ten-ton rocket launcher on your back. Sure it packs a lot of firepower but you gotta lug it around with all its ammo.

[louiswuenator]

I think the Colossus was also a symbol of pride.  It showed what the Terrans and Vasudans could do working together.  Its destruction was also symbolic too though...

[Mongoose]

Sure, it would have performed well against the Lucifer. But if you ask me, I'd rather have a fleet of Hecates and Orions rather than one stupid flagship. It was an absolute logistical nightmare (Into the Maelstrom - If that was just after ONE combat deployment, I shudder to think how many convoys were needed to supply the Colossus' entire campaign). It was harder to defend than most ships since it was a large target, you'd need an entire support fleet to protect it. Really it was more of a liability than a real asset - It's like walking around with a ten-ton rocket launcher on your back. Sure it packs a lot of firepower but you gotta lug it around with all its ammo.

I was under the impression that the supply convoys in Into the Maelstrom were intended to be for a long-term full-scale outfitting, much as a modern aircraft carrier would require.  (And even they need constant resupplying while deployed.)  I would guess that its initial deployment in The Sixth Wonder was done before it was fully stocked, due to Command's feeling that it was the appropriate time to unveil and use it.  After that initial test drive, there would be time to properly outfit it and prepare it for the extended campaign to come.

And as for defense...just what are you defending it from?  People have FREDded up missions which pit several capital ships at once against it, far more than we ever see in one place at one time in-game, and it still manages to come out on top, with hull integrity to spare.  Even a few wings of bombers attacking it at once wouldn't do substantially more than dent the armor somewhat, and its copious supply of fighters could presumably handle such an attack with ease.  In all normal circumstances, the Colossus was essentially unassailable; it took the abnormal intervention of a Sathanas (and a Ravana...and a FRED-induced disabling) to finally destroy it. Outside of that, it could essentially do as it pleased.

[General Battuta]

Yeah, I'm curious as to how, exactly, the Colossus managed to get itself disabled. I recall it being mentioned in a briefing, something about a Shivan destroyer...evidence for good Shivan tactics, I guess.

[Snail]

Well kay fine the Colossus wasn't that big a mistake, but I still don't think making another one would be a good idea.

[Mongoose]

Well kay fine the Colossus wasn't that big a mistake, but I still don't think making another one would be a good idea.

I do agree that building another Colossus-esque ship after Capella wouldn't be an efficient use of resources, but from where the GTVA sat during the Reconstruction era, I think it was a reasonably smart decision.  What I'd like to see the GTVA do in the post-Capella era is work on their quick-strike capabilities, focusing on concentrating as much firepower as possible on a single target and then getting the hell out of there before a counterattack.  Something along the lines of a "beam with engines," even as unsophisticated as a beefed-up Mjolnir towed by a freighter, might be a good option for this strategy.  It'd be even better if it could be coupled with the "double-jump" capability that a few other people mentioned earlier.  Figuring out a way to deploy a redundant set of jump drives, or a set of pre-charged capacitors to recharge the existing jump drive in a hurry, would go a long way toward improving survival rates for allied ships.  And the more ships you can keep alive, the more firepower you can target at an opponent like a Sathanas.

And common thought is that was forced into disabling the Colossus because they couldn't get it to behave properly during the course of the mission otherwise; there's actually a series of waypoints for it in the mission file that are never used.  The in-mission dialogue certainly suggests that it should have been physically able to jump out rather than be destroyed.

[colecampbell666]

I think it was smart with the intel they had they didn't want to **** around, they wanted to kill Lucies as soon as they appeared, without any chance of failure.

[Blue Lion]

That's a long time to build one though.

[Pred the Penguin]

And for a long time there were no Shivans.

[DeepSpace9er]

Destroyers should be built less along the design of the Orion and more along the design of the Hecate: non-direct combat platform. Everyone says the Hecate sucks because the Orion easily outguns it with beams. The Hecate holds more fighters, and those fighters and bombers can easily vaporize an Orion (see NTD Vindicator) The last place these destroyers should be is the front line. A Destroyer should never be alone. It should have a 'battlegroup' formation it travels with.

Build more Deimos corvettes and upgraded Aeolus as well as Sobeks. The Colossus should never be built again. It was big, it was expensive, it housed of people, and Alpha 1 killed more ships than the Colossus did in the campaign. Fast, tough, and versatile should be the motto of new ship design. I think the Deimos should keep the Slash beams... they are awesome at taking out turret hardpoints, but maybe have 1 BGreen on it.

Scrap all Fenris and Leviathan cruisers.. they are totally useless and are glorified coffins for the people in them.

Mass produce Helios bombs.

Build a Knossos device.


But maybe the Shivans wont return.. perhaps it was Bosch's intervention that stopped the Juggernaut fleet from raping the GTVA completely. Or it could be that the Shivans do not intend to wipe out humanity. I think this war brought the GTVA off its arrogant pedestal it had sat on when it built the Colossus.

[Snail]

I still think build a Terran Ravana and use it tactically and strategically with redundant subspace drives. Also a lot of fighter capabilities.

[louiswuenator]

I like DS9er's thinking.  Keep the damn destroyers off the front line and always keep them with their escorts!  Losing a destroyer is a horrible expense and loss of life.  Keep them on the defensive.  Use smaller strike craft combined with fighters and bombers to take down enemy ships and installations.

[eliex]

I still think build a Terran Ravana and use it tactically and strategically with redundant subspace drives. Also a lot of fighter capabilities.

How about then building a Terran Sathanas then instead?