Chapter 12.5: Capital(s)!
But before I go into the new ship designs, I should clarify some things, particularly about my thoughts and choices on my weapons. Let's start with my primary weapons.
While most people may scoff at the idea of using cannons in space, when an enemy vessel has a non-restricted FTL and can pop out of hyperspace at any range, it's best to plan for short range engagements, especially when your enemy's primary vessel of choice is also a fairly short ranged capital ship. As a result, most of my current (already mentioned) ships have some sort of cannons for offensive purposes. Missiles are a perfectly viable weapon (depending on payload), but they are slightly trickier to use, what with travel times in space and point defense systems. As a result, most of my space vessels' primary weapons will be based on cannons. And as I've already shown in my Spearhead frigate, I prefer to use a mix of available weapons technologies when making a ship's weapon complements. The primary reason for this is that I try to future-proof my designs as much as I can, and I'm already planning for future enemies, especially those who are hyper-adaptable or have a defensive bonus against certain weapon types. For example, two hyper-adaptable enemies would be the Replicators from this universe (Stargate) and the Borg from Star Trek. While I hold no illusions that they wouldn't adapt to my weapons eventually, it would happen slower than if I relied on weapons of only one type. As a result of this, I prefer to use a mix of Aeon Oblivion, UEF Gauss, Cybran Proton, and now, thanks to the Goauld, Staff cannons. The inclusion of the Staff cannons might surprise some, but their primary characteristic is plasma based, and while I do have some large plasma cannons in my inventory, Staff cannons have a proven record against Goauld shields. I might eventually mix and match some of the related technologies, and make my own version of a plasma cannon. UEF had a lot of designs for them, I could improve what I've got.
But that's just the cannons. I also have a wide variety of missile designs. Now, what I've got doesn't really stack up to Ancient Drones, but beyond that, most races in this universe simply don't use missiles. I do. And what I do have can be improved.
I've already mentioned one improvement I've made, that allows Cybran Nanodarts to be used reliably as an anti ground weapon, as well as anti-air. I've also upscaled them for bigger launchers. But a missile design based on a Surface-to-Air missile doesn't really help me with an anti-ship missile. So, lets start with a heavier missile, like the ones used by tactical missile launchers. Speaking of which, I should really start calling them cruise missiles. It's just a name change, but it does fit the role.
Anyways, an idea I've had for longer than I've been a Commander was to standardize the bigger missile launchers, make them able to fire similarly-massed self-propelled weapons, and thus open up the capabilities of my bigger units. However, due to the limitations imposed by size restrictions, I'm limited to bigger launchers, like torpedoes, cruise missiles (tactical missiles), and strategic nukes. Some modifications to the missile fabrication suites, and I can pull out cluster missiles filled with micro missiles, torpedoes, or small SAMs. Or, powerful single weapons, like oversized torpedoes or SAMs.
However, those size restrictions only really apply to planet-based units. On every capital ship I design, most missiles are going to start at cruise missiles and go up. And thanks to my upgrade idea, which I think I'll call Variable Missile Launchers, I'll be able to standardize most of them to one size. The exceptions would be dedicated missile boats, of which…I haven't gotten around to designing yet. I probably won't ever design one, not unless or until I get my hands on Ancient Drone missiles.
Now that I've covered the weapons, time to introduce the new ships. I'm implementing 4; a destroyer, a cruiser, a battleship, and a mobile shipyard.
As I I've already mentioned, I already possess a corvette design and a frigate design. Now, admittedly, when it comes to ship types, I'm probably stuck in the Supreme Commander mindset. But that's the tech-tree I have available, and thus, the next biggest ship type (from frigate) is the Destroyer.
I've always interpreted the Destroyer ship type to be the direct fire ships that slug it out with brutal cannons and armor. And where my Spearhead Frigates are meant to gang up on Ha'taks 3-on-1 and win, my Destroyer is ideally meant to go one-on-one and win. As a result, I need a powerful weapon system, and thanks to my newly acquired Hyperspace FTL, the range of that weapon system doesn't really enter into the equation. So, let's give it the Phason Laser off of the Galactic Colossus. In fact, let's put that same laser into a ball turret, so that it can aim in just about any direction. I like ball turrets, can you tell? Carrying on, I need some sort of chassis to carry my Phason Eye of Doom. Ummm, gimme a sec…
Ooh! That'll work. Instead of giving my destroyer 1 Eye of Doom, let's give it two! And thanks to the Inertial Propulsion systems off of the Ha'taks, I don't need to have any sort of classic thrusters or have it be any sort of aero/naval dynamic. So, take two big Eyes of Doom ball turrets, connect them with a rectangular hull spar, cover the hull in armor, shields, and Variable Missile Launcher tubes, and I have my Destroyer. And even better, with this hull arrangement I have an area where both Phasons can focus fire on a single target. The flight characteristics of the ship will be weird (it could fly like a dumbbell, or lead with one turret leading and the other trailing behind), but it will be able to maneuver in whichever way is needed to bring targets into range for the Phasons. Tactically speaking, I'm visualizing the Destroyer as a shotgunner-equivalent, meant to rush up to targets with FTL or sublights, and tear their faces off. I'll call it the "Oculi" Destroyer, as a plural form of Oculus, the Latin word for eye.
The other SupCom ship type (of this tech level) is the Cruiser. In the games, Cruisers have a variety of weapons other than direct fire cannons, from tactical missiles to anti-air to tactical missile defenses. Now, since most of my ships already have CIWS systems to handle strike craft or ordinance, and my VMLs already cover the cruise missile role, I was honestly considering not implementing a Cruiser design. However, it then occurred to me that Cruisers are also support units. So, let's make it a science ship or a mage-type, one that specializes in buffing my forces and debuffing my enemies. Let's start with a rectangular hull like my Fleet Command Carriers. Add in a ton of sensors (both Goauld and Omni), an almost insane amount of computing power for target analysis purposes, and powerful communications systems to coordinate with allied units. I'd put in ECM, but most of my current ECM techniques don't work on Goauld sensors. If I get access to holographic or solid-light projectors, I could spoof them. For weapons, each side will have 3 mid-strength dual-cannon turrets (gauss, omni, proton) for a total of 12. At the front and back of each side, put a laser CIWS, for a total of 8. It also has a repair suite on each side for some repair work. But as much weapons as the thing has, it is not meant for front-line work, just to defend itself. It's primary purpose is acquiring targets and analyzing them for weaknesses to exploit, and then to share that info with the rest of its fleet elements. I'll name it the "Prophet" Cruiser.
Now, it's time to make a battleship. It needs to be armored out the wazoo, carry hard hitting weapons, and ideally be effective at long range. And while I just mentioned that long range isn't really a valid strategy in Stargate, long-range bombardment is still valid on stationary targets. Let's take an 8-sided tube for a hull/chassis, and put an aperture at the front with a receding barrier, or maybe even an iris like the SGC's. In that aperture is an over-sized version of a CZAR's Quantum Beam Generator. That'll be the primary cause of pain for enemies if they get in close, or if they have a lot of hull strength that needs to be chewed through. It could also be used for surface precision attacks. The "secondary" weapons, and the ones meant for long range bombardment are 5 high-power dual-barreled turrets on every side, with the first and last being Gauss cannons, and the middle three being Proton-Oblivion-Staff in that order. The idea is that if/when I start using variable warhead shells, I can have two gauss's working. Oh, and 8 sides with 5 turrets each is 40 turrets. However, this design doesn't use any missile launchers, to prevent any of the weapons from interfering with each other.
To complement the Quantum Beam Generator, I'm using the Inertia Propulsion system to allow for lateral movement, allowing for the battleship to keep the QBG on target without having to realign the hull. In addition to the propulsion systems, I put a serious amount of armor on the chassis, and reinforce that with a dual-shield system, with one barrier being an area shield, and the other being a hull-hugging barrier. The idea is that if the outer fails, the inner can stay up long enough for the outer to recharge and take over, which in turn allows the inner to recharge. Oh, and of course add in a hyperdrive.
Tactically speaking, a battleship is going to be performing long-range strikes when it can, or get in the middle of an engagement and hit targets hard with every available weapon. I've engineered it to take on at least 5 Ha'taks at minimum, but personally expect it to take on at least 8 and win. And because of the big-ass central beam laser, I'll call it a "Cyclops" Battleship. As a side note, at one point I was thinking of calling it a Zeus or a Jupiter after the lightning slinging god, but I'd rather avoid any implied connections to the Goauld. Plus, I'm pretty sure there's a Planetary Annihilation Titan with that name, and I'd rather avoid the confusion if/when I go there.
And lastly, my shipyard. To clarify, the mobile shipyard that I intend to have going around with my fleets, expanding them as needed, and/or replacing my losses. Now, Supreme Commander did indeed have a version of this in the Aeon Tempest Experimental Battleship, but that only built up to T2 units and a T3 engineer. In this case, I'm taking the concept more from Homeworld 2, in that this thing will be able to build any capital ship up to and including itself. Well, kinda.
Unlike my other ship designs which are mostly shape-based, the shipyard is going to be a multi-part ship made up of identical parts. This design will usually consist of four separate struts. When it isn't building a ship, the four struts collapse together to reduce their target profile. When they are building a long-term project, the struts separate far enough to encompass the project, then seal the sides with flash-fabricated hull sections. This allows for ship construction to progress while the mobile shipyard is moving, and can still occur during Hyperspace travel. If it's a short term project that can be accomplished quickly, the struts skip putting up the hull sections, and focus on building the project. The struts each have their own dedicated shield generators. If the worst happens, each strut can actually build a copy of themselves. The normal operation is 4 struts, but if needed, more struts can be added to theoretically any amount. Each strut has an integrated Resource Allocation System, though they are meant to work with Econ Ships, or work off a planetary resource network. Lastly, I'm naming it "Volcano", because Vulcan is the Roman god of the forge, and the term Volcano comes from his name.
Hmm. I said I was only making 4 designs, but I guess I should throw together an Econ ship since I just mentioned one. The good news is that it wouldn't take much. Let's go with a classic. Let's take an arrowhead hull a la the Star Destroyer from Star Wars, then add 4 globes around the hull, each containing a Paragon Resource Generator. Put heavy armor around the globes, install a multi-layered shield system, and let's stick a cloak/stealth system on to make it less likely to be found. Put in a Resource Network broadcasting unit so it can transmit resources, and 4 integrated wormhole generators so that it can link up with planets if its ever idling. That's basically it, cause I don't really need to make it too fancy, at least until I get other defensive systems. It basically looks like a
Immobilizer 418 from Star Wars, just without the conning tower. I'll call it a "Cornucopia" Econ Ship.
Well, that's my list of new assets. Let's queue up some build orders for at least a fleet's worth of ships. Oh, and a couple of Space Q-Gates to start expanding my C&C coverage of the galaxy. I'll probably start by expanding in between Portuno and Wheaties.
I wonder what I should do next? I've got a couple of options. Decisions, decisions…
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Author's Notes: So, yeah, here's the end of chapter 12. Sorry for the wait. I actually had the first 4 ships already designed for a while and sitting on my computer, though the 5th kinda just sprung into being while I was typing this up.
So, yeah. I've got a couple ways I can go from here, and even I don't know what will be next, I haven't rolled for it yet. Tok'a, Tollan, the (non-Anubis) Goauld with the tech that makes me drool, maybe even something else. Who knows?
