Bay 12 Games Forum

Saaaaaay~


Are we, perchance, ever going to encounter an NPR composed of bipedal cats with a society centered around individual combat and honor obligations?

Or would that be taking the parallels a bit too far? _nosuchthing

Possibly, but not necessarily the ones you're thinking of!

More seriously, I haven't manipulated the galaxy at all beyond the establishment of the Myriad, so anything could happen. Also, given the state of the Aurora AI establishing an interstellar alliance to help might end up a bit of a waste

It would be kind of cool though.

April 18, 2013: While meditating, Commodore (and senior surviving officer) Hannah Avram is visited by the ghost of Admiral Sheb Bravski. The ghost urges her to stick with the gunboat concept while adapting it to deal with missile armed threats.

In a speech to the UHF, Commodore Avram urges the fleet to take inspiration from the sole bright spot of the battle of Alpha Centauri; the carriers were able to retreat safely. She outlines a new fleet doctrine that will involve carriers ferrying massive fleets of gunboats through jump points, then allowing the gunboats to operate independently. Terming this new strategy as the Bravski Doctrine, she urges the UHF to increase funding in carrier and gunboat production.

A key part of this doctrine is a new gunboat design, using fast firing railguns in an anti-missile capacity.

Horo class Gunboat    800 tons     82 Crew     174 BP      TCS 16  TH 138  EM 0
8625 km/s     Armour 4-7     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 0     PPV 3
Maint Life 8.13 Years     MSP 68    AFR 10%    IFR 0.1%    1YR 2    5YR 27    Max Repair 38 MSP

High Performance Ion Drive (1)    Power 138    Fuel Use 780%    Signature 138    Armour 0    Exp 36%
Fuel Capacity 20,000 Litres    Range 5.8 billion km   (7 days at full power)

10cm Railgun V4/C3 (1x4)    Range 40,000km     TS: 8625 km/s     Power 3-3     RM 4    ROF 5        1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
Fire Control S02 32-8000 (1)    Max Range: 64,000 km   TS: 8000 km/s     84 69 53 37 22 6 0 0 0 0
Miniaturized Fission Cell (3)     Total Power Output 3.1    Armour 0    Exp 12%

Short Range Targeting Sensor (1)     GPS 21     Range 2.3m km    Resolution 1
Sphinx Orbital yards begins preparation to build the Horo class.

Based on the predominant belief that the Alpha Centauri ships are some form of automated vessel, the race is officially referred to as the "AC Automatons". Newsreels begin featuring footage of what appears to be clumsy robots made of boxes and aluminum foil, followed by a message urging young men and women to enlist.

June 29, 2013: Exploration of the two jump points in Lacaille 9352 reveals the systems of Epsilon Eridani and Luyten 726-8. Epsilon Eridani contains an atmospheric rock that could one day be terraformed into a habitable world, and Luyten contains a frozen, hostile world that represents a more difficult terraforming prospect.

July 4, 2013: The latest round of Brazwells are completed, and Sphinx Docks begins work on the first 6 Horo class gunboats.

August 12, 2013: While surveying the Lacaille 9352 system, the Discovery II detects the drive plumes of 6 ships closing at 10,000 km/s. Transmissions from the unidentified ships are identical to those from the alien ships detected in Alpha Centauri. Unfortunately the drives are much smaller, and they are detected at nearly point blank range. The Discovery attempts to flee, but is chased down and destroyed by 11 Strength 5 nuclear detonations.



The ships appear to belong to the AC Automatons race, despite the two systems not sharing a direct connection. This leads to the uncomfortable conclusion that the AC Automatons are a large and widespread race.

Lacaille 9352 has received a full gravitational survey; the fact that those ships were not bothered argues that they alien vessels either have poor sensors or only attack other vessels that move sufficiently close.

January 7, 2014: The first colonists land on Hope, Humanity's first extrasolar colony.

April 22, 2014: Hannah Avram is promoted to Rear Admiral.

July 26, 2014: Two more Cornwallis class carriers are completed, allowing the UHF navy to transport up to 20 gunboats at a time.

November 12, 2014: Scientists on Earth develop a stronger particle beam. Though too large to mount on a gunboat, it may be useful if production of capital ships is resumed at a later date. Work begins on an improved power plant that could make the gunboat designs more efficient.

January 27, 2015: Scientists develop plans for a marine battalion as well as faster shipyard construction rates. Work begins on improving the civilian economy as well as developing longer range fire controls for beam weapons.

September 12, 2015: Two more carriers finish construction, bringing the total up to 6. Some naval officers begin to whisper that it is time to take the fight back to the Alpha Centauri system, or even Lacaille. Others think those systems should be used for now and the carriers used for escorting survey fleets in other systems.

January 1, 2016: The navy has recovered from the fiasco in Alpha Centauri, and may soon have the opportunity to exact revenge. Additionally, the planet Hope's population has risen to 4 million and is ripe for industrial expansion.

On the other hand, exploration has fallen behind; Earth is pinned on two sides by the AC Automatons, and sending out unescorted exploration groups has proven tragic in the past. Many think it is time for the navy to act.

UHF Status

That's mostly the reason I went with a missile armed fighters, beam fighters are not very effective at the current tech level. Particle beams are a particularly bad choice, since they're all about range and fighters don't have room for a good fire control

Falcon class Heavy Fighter    415 tons     16 Crew     76.5 BP      TCS 8.3  TH 41  EM 0
4939 km/s     Armour 1-4     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 0     PPV 5
Maint Life 0 Years     MSP 0    AFR 83%    IFR 1.2%    1YR 13    5YR 202    Max Repair 32 MSP

FTR Ion Engine (1)    Power 41.4    Fuel Use 7800%    Signature 41.4    Armour 0    Exp 60%
Fuel Capacity 5,000 Litres    Range 0.3 billion km   (15 hours at full power)

Particle Beam-2 (1)    Range 64,000km     TS: 4939 km/s     Power 5-3    ROF 10        2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
Fire Control S01 32-4000 (FTR) (1)    Max Range: 64,000 km   TS: 16000 km/s     84 69 53 37 22 6 0 0 0 0
Miniaturized Fission Cell (3)     Total Power Output 3.1    Armour 0    Exp 12%
Plasma cannons would be slightly more practical

Falcon class Heavy Fighter    335 tons     13 Crew     48.5 BP      TCS 6.7  TH 41  EM 0
6119 km/s     Armour 1-4     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 0     PPV 4
Maint Life 0 Years     MSP 0    AFR 67%    IFR 0.9%    1YR 5    5YR 75    Max Repair 14 MSP

FTR Ion Engine (1)    Power 41.4    Fuel Use 7800%    Signature 41.4    Armour 0    Exp 60%
Fuel Capacity 5,000 Litres    Range 0.3 billion km   (15 hours at full power)

Light Plasma Cannon (1)    Range 32,000km     TS: 6119 km/s     Power 6-3     RM 1    ROF 10        6 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Fire Control S00.5 16-4000 (FTR) (1)    Max Range: 32,000 km   TS: 16000 km/s     69 37 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Miniaturized Fission Cell (3)     Total Power Output 3.1    Armour 0    Exp 12%
But really the only efficient fighter beam weapon at this tech would be a laser

Falcon class Heavy Fighter    210 tons     6 Crew     47.5 BP      TCS 4.2  TH 41  EM 0
9761 km/s     Armour 1-3     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 0     PPV 2
Maint Life 0 Years     MSP 0    AFR 42%    IFR 0.6%    1YR 4    5YR 54    Max Repair 20 MSP

FTR Ion Engine (1)    Power 41.4    Fuel Use 7800%    Signature 41.4    Armour 0    Exp 60%
Fuel Capacity 5,000 Litres    Range 0.5 billion km   (15 hours at full power)

10cm C1 Ultraviolet Laser (1)    Range 32,000km     TS: 9761 km/s     Power 3-1     RM 4    ROF 15        3 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Fire Control S00.5 16-4000 (FTR) (1)    Max Range: 32,000 km   TS: 16000 km/s     69 37 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Miniaturized Fission Cell (1)     Total Power Output 1.03    Armour 0    Exp 12%
And... just discovered that the falcon missile design had a bridge on it. Opps!

If possible, as a favor, get us a Sky Marshal named Hannah Avram.






 

Oh good, someone who will get what I based the Myriad off of

Are there any carrier officers left?

Also I'm thinking Sebo for a name, that was the first contact with them after all!

We had a seriously shortage of senior officers *before* they all got killed. I may need to build more military academies, or at least start manually promoting officers to fill the ranks.

March 22, 2012: After some discussion, it is decided that communication should be attempted with the aliens. Scientists begin transmitting a signal to the vessel, and receive an untranslatable answer in return.



Early results are not encouraging.

April 27, 2012, Scientists develop a new engine design suitable for fighter type craft. New projects are launched to develop stronger particle beam weapons and also a unit of ground forces specialized in zero-g boarding maneuvers.

Attempts to communicate with the aliens continue, though they have yet to show much promise.

July 2, 2012: The Gravsurvey task force discovers the system of Ross 128 beyond the Hope system. Ross 128 contains an Oxygen/nitrogen world with a pleasant temperature and low (though livable) gravity; unfortunately the atmosphere is too thin to be breathable. It appears to be an ideal candidate for future terraforming.

July 23, 2012: The last deposits of Mercassium and Gallicite are exhausted on Earth, providing further evidence that Mankind must quickly expand off the homeworld.

August 29, 2012: Scientists attempting to communicate with the Alpha Centauri aliens believe their task to be impossible. They claim that the signal being transmitted contains no sign of intelligence, instead being some strangely modulated carrier signal or machine communications.

The UHF is in agreement that the situation cannot be allowed to continue; Alpha Centauri is adjacent to the homeworld and contains a valuable near-habitable planet. Additionally, if the ship detected is simply an automated craft there is the possibility it could be captured and prove a valuable source of information.

As soon as the first two Cornwallis class carriers are completed the UHF navy will journey into the Alpha Centauri system in force and challenge the alien craft.

December 13, 2012: The Outreach completes work on a two way jump gate at the Hope Gate, allowing unrestricted passage between the two systems. It is decided to not build further jump gates until a system can be fully surveyed.

Production begins on the infrastructure required to establish a colony on Hope.

March 27, 2013: Construction on the first two Cornwallis class light carriers completes, and they join up with the first fleet in order to launch an expedition into Alpha Centauri

First Fleet consists of:

CVL Cornwallis and CVL Washington, each carrying 4 GB Brazwell and 1 CC Rodney
CL Clausewitz, Jomini, Maurice, Musashi, Nelson, and Sun Tzu
PS Napoleon and Bonaparte
GEV Discovery, as its thermal sensors have proven valuable in locating the alien ship's drive plume at long distance

Meanwhile, Second Fleet will guard the jump point in case the confrontation proves unsuccessful. Second fleet consists of 4 CC Rodney and 28 GB Brazwell

April 3, 2013: First Fleet jumps into the Alpha Centauri system. The decision is made that the slow, fragile carriers will remain at the jump point; at the first sign of trouble they can flee back to Sol and the support of Second Fleet. Their onboard gunboat squadrons have the range to reach the last reported position of the Sebo contact with the rest of the fleet.

The rest of the fleet activates their sensors and begins moving in-system.

April 17, 2013: The Discovery's thermal sensors detect the Sebo, still in orbit of Alpha Centauri A-I.  As the fleet approaches, a second contact, designated the Mamba, is discovered with a much smaller signature of 1100.

At a distance of approximately 6 million km, both the Sebo and the Mamba engage active sensors and begin approaching first fleet at over 7000 km/s. This is more than twice the fleet's best speed.

The fleet detects 6 incoming 7.5 ton contacts, which intelligence believes to be missiles. The alien ships are declared hostile and the fleet braces for impact.

The fleet opens fire on the approaching missiles. Though the weapons are not designed to hit such small targets, the fleet is well trained and 4 of the six missiles are destroyed. The remaining 2 impact the Sun-Tzu, and two strength 4 nuclear explosions are absorbed by the ship's armor



A second salvo of missiles are detected; The fleet commanders decide that the best option is to try to weather the storm; Given the size of each missile, the enemy cannot be carrying an unlimited number. Two of the missiles make it through the fleet's fire and impact the Nelson.

A third salvo is picked up by the fleet's sensors, but this one consists of 16 size 12.5 ton missiles It is believed that this might be a salvo from the larger of the two contacts. Ten of the new missiles impact the Sun-Tzu with strength 5 explosions, doing heavy damage.

Missiles continue to impact the fleet, and a new type of salvo is picked up; 62 2.5 ton missiles. It is theorized that these might be intended to destroy smaller targets such as fighters, but are being pressed into service against the fleet. The new missiles prove almost impossible to intercept, and 60 strength 1 explosions destroy the Sun Tzu.



The situation looks grim indeed for the human fleet; the order is given to begin pulling back towards the jump point. However, the Nelson loses four of her five engines to another salvo and must reduce speed to 750 km/s. Then a second volley of small missiles destroys the Musashi.



Successive volleys of missiles continue to impact the fleet, destroying ship after ship. Then the enemy vessels enter active sensor range, and the fleet sensors are able to identify the vessels. The Mamba is 7,750 tons while the Sebo is a massive 23,250 tons; the two ships very nearly outmass the entire First Fleet, and appear to have far superior technology.

Missiles continue to come in, destroying all of the fleet's capital ships. Freed of the need to protect their slower companions, the Brazwell and Rodney class take off for the jump point at their max speed of 8,625 km/s, faster than the approaching enemy vessels. Unfortunately, the 2.5 ton missiles prove to be extremely fast, and repeatedly pound the retreating gunboats. The last one is destroyed after retreating barely half a million kilometers.

Emergency beacons from the life pods begin vanishing as the aliens either destroy or, possibly even worse, capture them.

April 18, 2013: After confirming all lifepod beacons have disappeared, the Cornwallis and Washington jump back into the Sol System. The first fleet has been completely destroyed without inflicting a blow on their enemies; for now it is hoped that the Second fleet will be enough to hold the jump point if the enemy tries to pursue.

The best that can be done now is to learn a lesson from the defeat. The missile weapons used by the aliens were extremely powerful; though copying the weapons are beyond Humanity's abilities, that could be compensated for with a multi-stage delivery system. The following design has been proposed

Javelin ASM
Missile Size: 4 MSP  (0.2 HS)     Warhead: 4    Armour: 0     Manoeuvre Rating: 10
Speed: 27000 km/s    Endurance: 28 minutes   Range: 45.0m km
Cost Per Missile: 2.96
Chance to Hit: 1k km/s 270%   3k km/s 90%   5k km/s 54%   10k km/s 27%
Materials Required:    1x Tritanium   0.16x Uridium   1.55x Gallicite   Fuel x1500
Falcon class Fighter-bomber    200 tons     5 Crew     41.5 BP      TCS 4  TH 41  EM 0
10250 km/s     Armour 1-3     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 0     PPV 1
Maint Life 0 Years     MSP 0    AFR 40%    IFR 0.6%    1YR 2    5YR 34    Max Repair 10 MSP
Magazine 4   

FTR Ion Engine (1)    Power 41.4    Fuel Use 7800%    Signature 41.4    Armour 0    Exp 60%
Fuel Capacity 5,000 Litres    Range 0.6 billion km   (15 hours at full power)

Missile Launcher (25% Reduction) (1)    Missile Size 4    Rate of Fire 3000
Missile Target Painter (1)     Range 41.0m km    Resolution 140
Operating out of a Cornwallis or similar class carrier, 20 Falcons could carry the Javelin missiles to within 40 million km of the target before launching a devastating long range strike.

As the events in Alpha Centauri proved, there is also a need to defend our ships against missile attacks. Though the weapons of the first fleet were not well suited to the task, they did prove themselves well against larger missiles. With some modifications these capabilities could be improved further:

Aegis class Frigate    4,000 tons     311 Crew     656 BP      TCS 80  TH 300  EM 0
3750 km/s     Armour 3-22     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 4     PPV 30.91
Maint Life 4.51 Years     MSP 410    AFR 32%    IFR 0.4%    1YR 33    5YR 490    Max Repair 179 MSP

Military Ion Drive (5)    Power 60    Fuel Use 60%    Signature 60    Armour 0    Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 50,000 Litres    Range 37.5 billion km   (115 days at full power)

Quad Advanced Coil Gun Turret (1x12)    Range 30,000km     TS: 16000 km/s     Power 0-0     RM 3    ROF 5        1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Point Defense Fire Control (1)    Max Range: 128,000 km   TS: 16000 km/s     92 84 77 69 61 53 45 37 30 22

Short Range Targeting Sensor (1)     GPS 21     Range 2.3m km    Resolution 1
Officers are welcome to submit additional suggestions. Additional, Alpha Centauri Aliens does not flow off the tongue well; we need to decide on a name for the propaganda campaigns.

January 1, 2010: After getting a close look at the new Nelson class, several high ranking officers felt that "battlecruiser" was entirely too grandiose a designation. They have been redesignated as a "Light" Cruiser.

In a grand speech about the need of humanity to expand outward into the stars, The UHF renames the system of Wolf 359 to "Hope"

March 29, 2010: A fifth Liberty freighter is completed. Realizing that the current state of the budget means that the UHF will not be able to purchase civilian minerals forever, freighters begin moving automated mines to Mimas.

April 4, 2010: Scientists develop a (more stable) ceramic armor. Not only will this help better protect military vessels, but the stronger material can be used to create lighter civilian hulls as well.

August 13, 2010: Expansion of the Drake yards finish, and designs are laid down for a ship to carry the ever more numerous gunboats

Cornwallis class Light Carrier    8,000 tons     500 Crew     1009 BP      TCS 160  TH 300  EM 0
1875 km/s    JR 3-50     Armour 1-35     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 9     PPV 0
Maint Life 5.38 Years     MSP 709    AFR 56%    IFR 0.8%    1YR 41    5YR 615    Max Repair 256 MSP
Hangar Deck Capacity 4000 tons     

J8000(3-50) Military Jump Drive     Max Ship Size 8000 tons    Distance 50k km     Squadron Size 3
Military Ion Drive (5)    Power 60    Fuel Use 60%    Signature 60    Armour 0    Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 170,000 Litres    Range 63.8 billion km   (393 days at full power)
Fragile and slow, the Cornwallis is a clumsy first attempt at a carrier, but is the best that can be accomplished with current engineering. Capable of carrying a squadron of 5 gunboats, it will ideally stay far away from the fighting while its parasite ships do the work. It is also capable of using its jump drive to bring other military vessels through a jump point.

September 13, 2010: Scientists develop a new design for a longer range particle beam. A new project is launched to develop a powerful, miniaturized engine suitable for extremely small military vessels similar to aerospace fighters used on Earth.

October 30, 2010: Earth completes construction of a new facility for producing advanced ground weapons and training troops in their use. A significant portion of the budget is still going to fund ground armies, and with the Myriad still out there disbanding them would be political suicide. By upgrading them to use modern technology it is hoped the UHF can at least get a worthwhile force out of the budget expenditure.

The 1st Low tech infantry immediately begins training into Mobile Infantry.

November 8, 2010: The Newton vessels return after completing their survey of Alpha Centauri. The system appears to dead end, with no jump points other than the one connecting it to Sol.

November 13, 2010: The inhabitants of Mars complain that there are not enough domed habitats, and that they are packed in like sardines. The planet's current population is 8.9 million; rather than divert industry to solve the problem transport flights are temporarily suspended until the civilian population can build more domes. Civilian freight lines have been making a tidy profit shipping supplies to Mars, and it already accounts for 4% of the UHF's yearly tax income.

November 28, 2010: Phoenix shipyard completes construction of an Outreach class Gate Construction ship. The ship departs to great fanfare and begins building a jump gate on the Hope jump point.

With jump gates promising to open up the galaxy to human exploitation, it is believed that the current rate of geological survey is too slow. While more of the Discovery class could be built, Rear Admiral Sheb Bravski suggests a cheaper alternative

Opportunity class Geosurvey Ship    800 tons     71 Crew     197 BP      TCS 16  TH 138  EM 0
8625 km/s     Armour 1-7     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/1     Damage Control Rating 0     PPV 0
Maint Life 5.68 Years     MSP 77    AFR 10%    IFR 0.1%    1YR 4    5YR 61    Max Repair 100 MSP

High Performance Ion Drive (1)    Power 138    Fuel Use 780%    Signature 138    Armour 0    Exp 36%
Fuel Capacity 150,000 Litres    Range 43.3 billion km   (58 days at full power)

Geological Survey Sensors (1)   1 Survey Points Per Hour
Loaded onto one of the new carriers, the Opportunity could prospect a system at high speed while its mothership watches over the system. A gravitational varient is also proposed, but is not currently required. Manticore Orbital Docks begins preparation work to build the Opportunity, but until the first carrier is ready none will be needed.

The UHF begins work on additional naval shipyards. All current yards are involved with the carriers or gunboat ships, and it is felt that a more versatile naval fleet is required, if only to escort the carriers.

June 16, 2011: Workers on Earth finish construction of two new naval shipyards. Wyvern and Griffon orbital docks begin expanding their capacity with an eye towards designing cruisers or larger vessels to escort the planned carriers.

September 16, 2011: With the completion of a new round of Brazwell class gunboats, the UHF fleet now features 20 of the ships; they are rapidly becoming Earth's dominant military force.

October 11, 2011: Scientists develop technology to speed up the modification of shipyards. They will continue the research in hopes of finding ways to speed up ship construction.

November 26, 2011: Two Nelson class complete construction, and their vacated slipways are immediately put to use constructing the first two Cornwallis class light carriers.

February 7, 2012: The Geological survey of Hope and Gravitational survey of Lacaille 9352 are both finished simultaneously. The Gravysurvey task force will explore the jump point linking off the Hope system, while the Geosurvey group will begin searching Alpha Centauri for mineral deposits.

March 7, 2012: GEV Discovery detects a massive drive plume near the planet of Alpha Centauri A-1. It immediately reverses coruse and begins heading for the jump point, though not on a direct vector in case there is an attempt to follow it back.



With a thermal signature of 3300, the drive plume is approximately 5 times the size of that left by a Liberty class freighter and 11 times that of a Nelson class Light Cruiser. The first fleet, consisting of 6 Nelson and 2 Napoleon class warships, is ordered to move to the Alpha Centauri jump point and guard it.

March 22, 2012: Both Discovery class vessels successfully jump back to the Sol System. The alien contact never reacted to the survey ships' presence, and may not even have spotted the small vessels.

There is immediate debate over how to handle the contact. Many wonder if it may be a ship of the still mysterious Myriad race; several suggest that the system should be quarantined lest we reveal our presence. However, Alpha Centauri is adjacent to Earth, and contains the second most habitable planet yet discovered. Others suggest that contact be made with the ship in hopes of finding an ally against the Myriad. A third faction believes that the Navy should proceed into the system and challenge the alien ship, though this would require waiting for a jump-drive equipped carrier to finish.

Alpha Centauri A-1 has only a trace atmosphere and no other signals were detected, so it seems unlikely to be the homeworld of the race in question.


-------------------------------

Well, what shall be done? For those proposing a military solution, the currently available ships are:

2 PS Napoleon
6 CL Nelson
25 GB Brazwell (5 under construction)
6 CC Rodney
0 CVL Cornwallis (2 under construction)

At first I was shocked that you were building BCs less than a decade in, when it takes me 30 years to progress up to CAs, but then I realized that they were about the size of my early frigates.


But yeah, extraterrestrial mining colonies gogogo. Also, plant a seed on Mars to encourage civilian development.

"Battle" is relative. So is "Cruiser" 

I actually have a list of class standards I'm using, but it's not by weight but by design philosophy. Weight tends to scale over time and it doesn't really make sense to start with just frigates and Corvettes then end up with a fleet of all battleships and dreadnaughts.

You can change the minimum command rank for a class in the DAC/Rank Info tab of the class design window.

I learn something new every time I play this game.