[Blue Lion]

Doesn't it end right about when the NTF starts? Could it be a result of some kind of pressure put on the shipyards and not a problem with the ship itself?

[louiswuenator]

Yeah, it couldn't have been about combat performance.

[Droid803]

Thing is, I don't think RNI shipyards at Laramis are anywhere near the NTF systems...

[Blue Lion]

They could have cut production to move resources elsewhere. Maybe that shipyard makes something else that command wanted more.

I dunno, it's never really stated. But is it ever stated they stopped making them because they sucked?

[louiswuenator]

Perhaps it was the shenanigans of a rival manufacturer.

[Blue Lion]

The reason I ask, if someone decided to do a post Capella campaign and deal with new Aeolus cruisers, would they have to say why they were started again? Or could they imply that production stopped for some other reason?

[colecampbell666]

That already happened, I think it was Derelict that stated it.

[Blue Lion]

That already happened, I think it was Derelict that stated it.

I kinda meant more canon sources 

[Goober5000]

Canonically, we don't know.  All the tech room says is that production ended in 2365 (two years before the NTF rebellion) with no reason given.  Lots of people have assumed that they were too expensive, but that's never stated anywhere.

Personally, I assume that the tech room entry was written before the NTF rebellion began, as the Aeolus would have been highly useful to both sides in FS2.  (Not to mention that something like 18 of them appear in canon missions.)  With this in mind, here's the tech room entry I wrote for Scroll:

The GTC Aeolus, originally seen as an extravagant peacetime expense when it was designed during the Terran Reconstruction, decisively proved its worth in the Neo-Terran Rebellion and the Second Shivan Incursion. Aeolus-class cruisers are used throughout the alliance to guard slow-moving convoys against fighter and bomber wings. They also serve effectively as escort cruisers complementing larger warships such as the Deimos.

[Blue Lion]

Then it just appears to be expensive. Doesn't it also mention only 24 being made? Or did I make that up.

[BlueFlames]

I hesitate to jump on the "expense" bandwagon so quickly.  Recall from the Deimos' tech room description that cruisers (Terran cruisers anyway) as a group were being phased out in favor of corvettes.  It could be that the Aeolus came along late to the cruiser game, just before fleet doctrine changed.

[esarai]

The current scheme of fleet-building works okay for conventional warfare (in FS terms), but since the Sathanas tactics of the shivans are definitely not on with the Terran-Vasudan standards for waging war, and it would kill our available resources to build our own Sathanas-like fleet, I suggest deviating from the norms. Rebuild fleets half with standard vessels and half with a new class of vessel: The Strike Cruiser/Corvette/Destroyer. Normal size but with fewer guns and less armor in favor of more speed, maneuverability and heavy weapons. Imagine replacing the front of a Deimos with a beam cannon. The ships would not be made for prolonged engagement and would rely on fighter cover for defense, but they would be capable of striking from long ranges and for massive damage. 2-3 corvette-sized ships could take down a Ravana or a Demon, 4 could declaw a Sathanas. In terms of stopping Shivan invasions like this, they would prove an invaluable, cost-effective asset.

They get in, hit their target, and get out, giving the "standard" vessels their window of opportunity.

[bastionlover]

if i had the opportunity,

i wouldnt mass produce the colossus, i personally think its a one time jugger,

maybe a new type of juggernaut which is comparable to the sathanas, armed with LRBgreens and a new slash beam with the power of the BFgreen,

the juggernaut will be assisted by a new generation of destroyers,

and then deimos class corvettes will then assist the destroyers, where a new generation of light bombers will compliment heavy bombers, etc etc...

[colecampbell666]

The reason I ask, if someone decided to do a post Capella campaign and deal with new Aeolus cruisers, would they have to say why they were started again? Or could they imply that production stopped for some other reason?

That already happened, I think it was Derelict that stated it.

That already happened, I think it was Derelict that stated it.

I kinda meant more canon sources 

Kinda hard to tell. You asked about someone doing a post-Capella campaign, which would not be canon.

[IceFire]

Given the kind of damage sustained by the Alliance after Capella and the resulting disruption to the normal flow of commerce and trade plus millions or billions of refugees and displaced due to the NTF and Shivan conflicts you would probably have several years where the GTVA will be somewhat weaker than it was prior to the conflict.

My feeling is that the Alliance would continue and manage to rebuild but it would be close to the brink for a while.  Lots of opportunists would try and take advantage of the situation.  So likely the GTVA fleet would sustain a number of other losses before a true revival could take place.

What I think would happen would be that Fenris and Leviathan classes of ships...even the Orions would become rare.  Anything from the Great War would disappear.  Some of the newer designs would persist. Special use types like the Pegasus, Erinyes and Ares would remain limited production/experimental.  There would probably be quite a few other experimental types.  They wouldn't disappear but they would be like the F-22s today which are the cream of the crop but expensive and production would end.

In the ensuing peace time the military capacity would decrease and more average and cheaper types would be out there.  Technology and R&D would continue and there would be lots of the latest tech prototypes ready for another Shivan incursion but not fleet wide.

Thats how I generally see things Terran side.  The Vasudans are a different bag....their social patterns seem to be quite different based on the limited fiction that is available.  They would probably continue to produce large quantities of the types that were new in FreeSpace 2 and continually add improvements.

[louiswuenator]

But what if the shivans return?  The Alliance could barely contain an outbreak in one system, resorting to collapsing nodes in order to seal the them off as a last resort.  I think military spending would continue, (perhaps less obviously) because you can bet your bottom dollar that there are people (and aliens) in the highest echelon who's sole purpose is ensuring the survival of the our combined races if the shivans ever return - a possibility that can't be discounted.

[DIO]

One of the first things they need to do is to replace all the useless blob laser with flaks, AA beams and missile launchers...

[colecampbell666]

But what if the shivans return?  The Alliance could barely contain an outbreak in one system, resorting to collapsing nodes in order to seal the them off as a last resort.  I think military spending would continue, (perhaps less obviously) because you can bet your bottom dollar that there are people (and aliens) in the highest echelon who's sole purpose is ensuring the survival of the our combined races if the shivans ever return - a possibility that can't be discounted.

Yeah, look at the Colossus. That definitely wasn't small-time R&D spending.

[Snail]

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

[colecampbell666]

I know, I'm just pointing out that they're  not going to go into hibernation. The Great War had a much greater effect, and look at how they overcame that.