Well, keep in mind, the entire concept behind this ship layout is to not bother with shields because it was mentioned in the last update that we likely wont have the time nor money to figure out both blasters and shields in-house. It was also mentioned that by outsourcing too much, and just buying stuff to slap onto our design, that company secrets have a greater chance of leaking (if I read that right).
You didnt read that right. If we devlop a blaster cannon then outsource production then we risk our methods leaking.

Right now it would cost us more to build our own sheilds and blasters because we haven't finished devlopment and started production yet. So for this ship we need to buy someone else's guns and opt for armor over sheilds to keep costs down.
 
You didnt read that right. If we devlop a blaster cannon then outsource production then we risk our methods leaking.

Right now it would cost us more to build our own sheilds and blasters because we haven't finished devlopment and started production yet. So for this ship we need to buy someone else's guns and opt for armor over sheilds to keep costs down.
Not to mention that the "standard" market designs are said to be both better and cheaper than our own early systems, since they benefit from more years of design/refinement and mass production to bring the costs down.
 
You didnt read that right. If we devlop a blaster cannon then outsource production then we risk our methods leaking.

Right now it would cost us more to build our own sheilds and blasters because we haven't finished devlopment and started production yet. So for this ship we need to buy someone else's guns and opt for armor over sheilds to keep costs down.

That makes a bit more sense, as far as blaster outsourcing goes, but do keep in mind that buying a stock blaster for our ship will definitely raise the final price of the ship more than making it in house would. Making it in house is more costly for us, but would likely be much cheaper to install onto any design we have than the 5/10 cost we can expect from a marketed Blaster system.

"What about outsourcing? I'm sure we can find some manufacturer down on Temaris who would gladly take up a contract for us. It can't be that hard."

"It wouldn't be that hard to find someone. The real question is if we want to. If an outsider produces our designs, there is a good chance that, sooner or later, some secrets will get leaked. On the other hand, the small quantity we will need might be more pricey when buying stock," Dhin played with her pad, and then the holoprojector changed. Where the two ships had been, a large table showing different calculations appeared. "As you can see, at the moment, it would be cheaper to buy stock than produce ourselves. That's if we don't stumble over a gold mine as Thor did with the drives. Besides that, as the Head of the Research Department, I would like to point out that they are better. Even as basic as they will be, our own blaster and shield designs are still worse than what is considered standard on the market. We can establish some baselines for our own, they are workable, but the performance will be suboptimal. "
Not to mention that the "standard" market designs are said to be both better and cheaper than our own early systems, since they benefit from more years of design/refinement and mass production to bring the costs down.

The threadmark actually seems a bit conflicted about whether or not that is true. It says that it both should be cheaper to get stock than to produce in house, but also says it might actually be more expensive to buy stock due to our inability to buy in bulk.

The Bothan woman cleared her throat before she started to speak. It had a tune that almost made each word out of her mouth sound as if she was hissing with barely contained anger. "We've made some progress in both projects. I expect a basic model for a blaster cannon will be available the next time we meet. It won't be comparable to much on the market, but it will deepen our understanding of such equipment. The shields are more complex by nature, so it is still longer before we finish the first design."

"Do you think any of these will be ready to be installed in the courier?"

"As much as I would like it, I don't think so. Maybe the blaster, but definitely not the shields. And even the blaster is questionable at best, considering that we don't have the production facilities yet. Establishing such could be a timely and costly endeavor."

You nodded at that. Nothing that Dhin had said came as a surprise. Especially as Dhin had the tendency to keep a close look at the bigger picture and not just her department. Which made her just more helpful to have.

From what I can see here, if we really pushed Blaster research it seems plausible that we could get our own in-house model done in time to slap it onto the ship, but we definitely can't do shield... and we don't need them besides. The real question is whether or not we want to go and reach out to Blaster retailers and make deals or if we want to try and push for our in-house ones to be done in time.

Really just a matter of opinion, at this point.
 
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The threadmark actually seems a bit conflicted about whether or not that is true. It says that it both should be cheaper to get stock than to produce in house, but also says it might actually be more expensive to buy stock due to our inability to buy in bulk.
It shouldn't matter if we personally buy in bulk or not from the market, as mass production to bring down costs is already happening on the supply side. A significant portion of the cost to produce new systems is going to be setting up the production lines, buying machinery and tooling. If we buy stock mass produced for other small shipyards or aftermarket additions, it should not matter whether we buy 5 or 50 systems, since the cost to support that is going to be spread among the 500,000 or so systems produced.

Meanwhile, even if we assume that our in house system is equal in all aspects and make an even larger batch of 500 units, it's still going to be a higher per-unit cost since fewer units have to shoulder the same amount to cost to set up the production line.

From what I can see here, if we really pushed Blaster research it seems plausible that we could get our own in-house model done in time to slap it onto the ship, but we definitely can't do shield... and we don't need them besides. The real question is whether or not we want to go and reach out to Blaster retailers and make deals or if we want to try and push for our in-house ones to be done in time.

Really just a matter of opinion, at this point.
We may not need shields, but that doesn't mean we can dismiss them out of hand. They are a viable alternative to the special armor, that also may reduce long term costs and make our ship more attractive to buyers.

If a ship gets shot at and a shield absorbs it: the ship is safe and can continue it's journey and further trips with no problems. If a ship gets shot at and armor absorbs it: the ship is safe and can continue it's journery, but whoever is operating it is going to have to shell our for repairs since that section of the armor is now damaged and will not protect the ship anymore.
 
We may not need shields, but that doesn't mean we can dismiss them out of hand. They are a viable alternative to the special armor, that also may reduce long term costs and make our ship more attractive to buyers.

If a ship gets shot at and a shield absorbs it: the ship is safe and can continue it's journey and further trips with no problems. If a ship gets shot at and armor absorbs it: the ship is safe and can continue it's journery, but whoever is operating it is going to have to shell our for repairs since that section of the armor is now damaged and will not protect the ship anymore.

To be clear, I am not dismissing shields as useless. They are firmly a great addition to any ship, but they are likely to be expensive in both compartment space and in cost and we already have confirmation that light freighter shields are pretty bad regardless.

I just don't think investing our time and resources into getting shields for this design is worthwhile, when simply upgrading to special armor is easier and cheaper all-around. After all, if you're a courier who is getting into fights (and getting hit) frequently enough that repairing armor becomes the usual for you... you probably should be going different routes. We would also likely have to remove the second engine if we wanted to slap shields on (assuming they are similarly sized as other components), which would make it much harder for us to hit our targets.

As for repairs though, I have some ideas for that now that we have so much space and cost leftover. We could potentially look into getting an astromech for our design that could take over repairs, piloting, and course charting duties. I'm not sure where we would have to go looking to get some of those, but they're a thing and would likely fit well with the current approach to building the ship.

Right now we can eat a 5 cost market blaster easy. We can afford to take our time and do it right with our in house guns.

I'm inclined to agree, it's something of a pain but the ship is already way under cost while likely to meet most if not all of the requests of our client. We can afford to splurge on a more common blaster.

Funnily enough, this current design also kind of fits the description of a starfighter. Lots of light freighters also double as starfighters when necessary, and ours would be really easy to convert to that role.
 
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Funnily enough, this current design also kind of fits the description of a starfighter. Lots of light freighters also double as starfighters when necessary, and ours would be really easy to convert to that role.
Drop the cargo bay for a 5 sc sheild Gen and take advantage of the cheap cost and roomy hull to pack in the guns.

Instant heavy fighter or high mobility gunship.

Edit: and that's if we stay within the targets for this contact. A military model could get away with converting the cargo into a troop bay and adding sheilds.
 
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Drop the cargo bay for a 5 sc sheild Gen and take advantage of the cheap cost and roomy hull to pack in the guns.

Instant heavy fighter or high mobility gunship.

Edit: and that's if we stay within the targets for this contact. A military model could get away with converting the cargo into a troop bay and adding sheilds.

Heck, a military model could probably slap on double armor layer and a shield gen. If we can get a good deal on an above average blaster I bet we could get a foot in the door to making that possible.
 
[X] Aurek Design

Not sure how a updated model works but that'd be my preference. Get something that'll win the contract then make a couple of variants for sale to different markets. As we get better at making or sourcing components we release a "new" model. Might be on a 5-10 year timescale for the new model.
 
Wait, guys i was just rereading the updates.Naboo is happening right the frik now.

We might end up rolling the military model out right after this.
 
Wait, guys i was just rereading the updates.Naboo is happening right the frik now.

We might end up rolling the military model out right after this.

Yeah, that's kind of what I figure too. Our ship might just flat out be used to try and bypass the blockade as well, if we do go with the 'no shields' option it would be almost ideal for flying under the radar to bring supplies quickly.

The wartime upgrades would be considerably more extensive, and a tiny bit more expensive... but we could probably manage them.
 
Yeah, that's kind of what I figure too. Our ship might just flat out be used to try and bypass the blockade as well, if we do go with the 'no shields' option it would be almost ideal for flying under the radar to bring supplies quickly.

The wartime upgrades would be considerably more extensive, and a tiny bit more expensive... but we could probably manage them.
We are so under budget I bet we could keep the combat model price under 40.

Edit: on second thought maybe not. Mil spec weapons are likely gonna cost a fair chunk more then blaster cannons.
 
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So I found a pair of pics for our ship

First one would we would have to say its the military version


This one is a bit more star wars in look and I can see easy ways to convert it into a gunboat/heavy torpedo bomber.


I've been looking into the 3d modeling side of that to see if I can drum up anything that would serve as a good baseline for a ship design, and its... well, a work in progress to say the least—but I think I'm actually making headway there. I don't know if the QM will accept submission for the designs or anything like that, but I still think it might be cool to see a representation of our ships for designing purposes.
 
(I'd also like to know if the +5 Armor it mentions counts as a bonus as well, but I'm unsure there)
No bonus for the rolls, but for the narrative.

I wonder if we can find a component by Temaris Durasteel or one of their competitors that serves as a middle ground between the special plating and the normal plating, something that only takes up compartment space so we can slap it onto the courier to make it even tougher. We likely have the room for it.
You could go around and ask for that via a Production Department action. Simply add a Write-In next turn.

that company secrets have a greater chance of leaking (if I read that right)
A good chance, but not with the first blaster. That one is shit, if it is leaked it will be more embarrassing than anything. Your blaster and shield at the moment are very basic.

will definitely raise the final price of the ship more than making it in house would
In-house has the problem that you would need to built a production line. Stock might cost for example 5 as would in-house BUT you need to establish before a production line - which will cost Budget. The same goes for an outsourcing partner. Frankly, your blaster in development won't be good enough at the moment to justify the effort.

What year is it again? We can slap that out fast after naboo.
Next turn Episode 1 begins.

I like that design, the others look good too. I actually was looking trough the Hardspace: Shipbreaker wiki for some inspiration.

I've been looking into the 3d modeling side of that to see if I can drum up anything that would serve as a good baseline for a ship design, and its... well, a work in progress to say the least—but I think I'm actually making headway there. I don't know if the QM will accept submission for the designs or anything like that, but I still think it might be cool to see a representation of our ships for designing purposes.
I love player contribution. Go for it!
 
I like that design, the others look good too. I actually was looking trough the Hardspace: Shipbreaker wiki for some inspiration.
The one you quoted is becoming my favorite because the desgin makes it feel like it's fast and maneuverable.

If we use it we could call the ship's descended from this the ZT series.

ZT-courier, ZT-gunboat, ZT-shuttle (for the passenger model)

Edit: It's even got folding wings to make landing and docking easier.
 
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In-house has the problem that you would need to built a production line. Stock might cost for example 5 as would in-house BUT you need to establish before a production line - which will cost Budget. The same goes for an outsourcing partner. Frankly, your blaster in development won't be good enough at the moment to justify the effort.

Wait so in-house is just as expensive to slap on our designs as stock? Wouldn't we have to pay licensing fees/market price to use stock in our designs? I assumed that would just be more expensive, for markup reasons.

I love player contribution. Go for it!

Will do, I actually have the basic model (or at least one of the potential ones) done already in Blender along with some texturing and the like. It's not quite where I want it texture-wise though, and needs a little refining all-around.

I'll probably post the draft version of it sometime tomorrow.
 
Wait so in-house is just as expensive to slap on our designs as stock? Wouldn't we have to pay licensing fees/market price to use stock in our designs? I assumed that would just be more expensive, for markup reasons.
The part itself would cost around the same amount in a design. But you will need to set up everything from the ground. That will take a number of turns, just to add a part that isn't performing in the same category then what the market offers. At the moment the market is the better option. In the future that might change, it's just a question if you wish to build everything yourself and set up the needed industries behind it. As you're fairly small on the grand scale of thinks it is a high risk.

The more industries you've the less budget you get to do the design thinks. You need to balance.
 
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