Design our ship - Size

[sunnyside]

First off I've never really understood why people have the poll first and then the discussion. Unless you can reset the poll or something the discussion is sort of meaningless.

Anyway I went with small. The reason being that I think starfleet has it's combat bases covered with the sov and defiant. Particularily the defiant. Ton for Ton I don't think you can't beat those things. A Sov might be able to beat a defiant. But 10 of them? No. Though on the other hand due to replication I don't think starfleet pays by the ton, in fact I imagine the defiant is deliberatly small to gain manuverability and make it harder to hit (and boy does a lot miss those things).

Anyway starfleet actually has a lot of ships. However with the ever growing distances that need to be traveled to expand warp speed is increasingly needed. It can also be usefull for combat as I plan to discuss later.

Anyway what I'd propose is a smaller ship based off of the speed of an Intrepid class. However while the Intrepid class seems to focused on having redundant systems(dual nav deflectors) and weapons for all around protection from small vessels this one would be more about winning the "pissing matches" seen in all to many first contacts. We're looking for optimal damage in one "shot". It would seem this might be the idea behind the huge type X and the burst launcher of the Galaxy.

For relations where we're trying to keep it nice geometry would be used to allow for a long long array. This may well result in a greater chance of the weapon going offline and lower overall output. But when you're trying to convince someone not to mess with you or to knock out a specific system it would deliver.

A similar philsophy would hold for the torp systems. Maybe a type 4 burst. Or maybe something more extreme (like 24 torps in a burst with a 15 second reload time). Again the idea is to express that this is what one shot is like from us, you'd better start negotiating fast. Even if perhaps overall strength as DITL calculates it would be lower.


Now for the military aspect. I would invision these things operating as wolfpacks. Using their high warp to engage enemy formations, unloading, and then making a run for it. Ideally crippling a ship in the first group volley.

In a fleet action a smaller ship isn't going to get the time to really take advantage of an overall higher rate of fire if they're in the thick of things. Might as well unload what you can in the initial seconds of contact. That is to say that over a 15 second period there could be configurations that will put out more total fire. But if the ship only lasts for 5 seconds those last ten seconds don't matter.

[Teaos]

First off I've never really understood why people have the poll first and then the discussion. Unless you can reset the poll or something the discussion is sort of meaningless.

If you read my first post and look at the poll you'll realise you can change your vote.

I'm not sure if a small sized ship could support a type X phaser or massive torpedo fire power even if it did strip down anything else. The power requirements might just be to large for a ship that size.

Also there is the fact that the Federation is really big and these ships are going to be pretty far away from planets. Crew comfort and storage also has to be taken into accout.

[sunnyside]

First off I've never really understood why people have the poll first and then the discussion. Unless you can reset the poll or something the discussion is sort of meaningless.

If you read my first post and look at the poll you'll realise you can change your vote.

I'm not sure if a small sized ship could support a type X phaser or massive torpedo fire power even if it did strip down anything else. The power requirements might just be to large for a ship that size.

Also there is the fact that the Federation is really big and these ships are going to be pretty far away from planets. Crew comfort and storage also has to be taken into accout.

First I didn't know the software could do that. I need every other forum I"m on to talk to the Kennedy's about whatever they did here. Awsome.

Anyway the key thing to what I'm talking about is not an overall uparming of the ship. Just a reconfiguring.

Alright so the intrepid class has 5(at DITL) standard photon torpedo launchers. For a ship like this say that instead you could instead carry 9 second class torp launchers presuming one can make them reasonably smaller like the little add on launchers of the Sov. This actually reduces the overall ship strength and number of photorps that can be put out in a given time. However on the initial volly the Intrepid puts out 3 torps forward while this would fire six. Then if possible extrend the principle to even smaller launchers or a burst launcher that can perhapse do nine in the first volly, but with an even longer reload time.

Same idea with the phasers. One could have the same or lesser overall output in a long strip, gaining the extra disadvantages of it being vulnerable to being disabled, and adding design constraints. However in the classic case where the captains are talking and decide to trade a single shot to show off it would hit with a lot more ooomph.

[stitch626]

I picked medium.
Also, where is the fifth launcher on the Intrepid?

[sunnyside]

I picked medium.
Also, where is the fifth launcher on the Intrepid?

It doesn't really have one I don't think. Just some bad FX one day has a torp launching from the underside of the forward deflector dish from what is generally considered the forward tractor beam emitter. But it was on screen and so the DITL guys counted it.

What ya gonna do?

[mlsnoopy]

Voted small. Kinda like the smaller ships bop, bugs, defiant, ...........
And the moment we go small, you have to specilize the ship. And I have a bad fealing that with a medium or large hulls people will try to put to much weapons on.

[Teaos]

And I have a bad fealing that with a medium or large hulls people will try to put to much weapons on.

With Seafort, Rochey and Deep here thats kinda a given.

[Sionnach Glic]

Damn skippy.

[Mikey]

Not necessarily my own opinion- I believe we'd have to see what role we're filling - but the inevitable question will be, "What do you mean, 'too much?'"

[Graham Kennedy]

When you can't actually see the hull anymore because of all the torpedo launchers and phaser arrays, that's just about enough.

[Captain Seafort]

When you can't actually see the hull anymore because of all the torpedo launchers and phaser arrays, that's just about enough.

Hmm, it depends. That would certainly indicate sufficient launchers/emitters, but there's no point in having them unless you've got enough power/ammunition.

[Mikey]

So basically, we're looking for a flying magazine?

[Sionnach Glic]

Pfft, screw ammo, fire the guns themselves.

[Captain Picard's Hair]

Anyone inside this ship would have to wear radiation suits or be cooked. Shall we do away with a crew? Those Starfleet suits and their morals only impede the path to destruction, anyway.

[mlsnoopy]

When you can't actually see the hull anymore because of all the torpedo launchers and phaser arrays, that's just about enough.

Exatcly.

So basically, we're looking for a flying magazine?

Something reasonable. But that should be left for the equipment/weapons thread.

Anyone good with 3D tools or photoshop. It would be interesting to see the ship at the end.