Well, it's got a lot more tactical flexibility compared to the Halley and I think that once our modules are considered the 'cost savings' will be quite a bit more considerable. It can thus be in more places and doing more patrolling/defending than the Halley ever could, something that will be of considerable use to Starfleet.
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KlavoHunter
THOU SHALT WORSHIP NO GODS ABOVE ENTERPRISE!
Being a maneuverable tactical-focused cruiser that can fight Klingons better than the Orb can, and it probably has a higher emergency warp so it's a better response vessel.
Sure, we'll share some overlap by both having gobs of shuttles, and engineering/cargo ability, but there's definitely room for both in the fleet. I do think the Orb will have a longer lifespan than the Newton, however.
Iridium Flare
Cyborg Commando
- Location
- AC-130 Gunship circling overhead
[X] Shuttledeck [8 Engineering, 32 Type-F Shuttlecraft]
The cost savings isn't going to be as big as it would have been if we'd gone with the prototype shields, but even so, I don't think it's going to be minor.
More to the point, though, the Newton is going to be better in a fight. Anywhere you want a bunch of shuttles and extra firepower - setting up spy-sats, minelaying, minesweeping, etc, lots of combat duties where you don't need the cargo and manufacturing capabilities of the Halley (possibly because you've already got a Halley in the fleet), a Newton is going to cost less and do more.
- Location
- west
Don't we already have ships in production that would do what the newton does cheaper, but with fewer shuttles?
Orb convoys with the supply routes, builds FOBs, and is the milk cow for larger offenses.
Newton joins smaller raid with heavier ships as the support ship to extend the time they can stay away from base, patrols, and does fast response.
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If you want to get kinda meta with it (like how one Japanese battleship is still around as a floating pier) I could see a bunch of Newton shuttle pods bolted onto a middle part around a developed world and serving as an orbital shuttle park.
- Location
- Newer England
[X] Shuttledeck [8 Engineering, 32 Type-F Shuttlecraft]
We've already got an entire freighter's worth of cargo space with the explicit justification that the rest of the ship can be specialized away from cargo. Go for the Engineering score and the Shuttle Swarms.
We've already got an entire freighter's worth of cargo space with the explicit justification that the rest of the ship can be specialized away from cargo. Go for the Engineering score and the Shuttle Swarms.
As far as I am aware there is no Newton like design currently in production, the closest you'd get to it is the upcoming long ranged cruiser SanFran are also designing.
Should probably ask and see how that's coming along, if we want to do any tender duties.
Goldenlima
Statistical Anomaly
[X] Shuttledeck [8 Engineering, 32 Type-F Shuttlecraft]
- Location
- USA
My fellow ORB appreciators. I have a bold, some might say raving mad suggestion.
We name the ship, the UFS Orb. With sister ships UFS Globe, UFS Sphere, and UFS Ball.
We name the ship, the UFS Orb. With sister ships UFS Globe, UFS Sphere, and UFS Ball.
- Location
- Actually pretty lost
We name the series the Planet class, and name the ships after planets. Future Orbships can be Star class, Moon class, etc.
My brother in Christ, if the 32 shuttle option gives us 8 engineering score, and the 16 shuttle option gives 4, then the 32 shuttle option is superior for engineering purposes.
Full stop, unless you think QM is straight up lying to us there is no possibility in which the loading bay is better for engineering than the shuttle bay.
KlavoHunter
THOU SHALT WORSHIP NO GODS ABOVE ENTERPRISE!
USS Ponderosa as first of class, and then after her sister ship Redwood launches we start asking the Vulcans, Andorians, and Tellarites if they've got any tree names they want to throw into the ring. 😎
Evidently moving cargo doesn't count as an engineering purpose, then.
Back when we were designing the Kea, we had this vote:
Are you prepared to make the claim that the various Science Lab picks would be more effective for sensors, cartography, and biosciences than the specialized options at their specialization, just because the lab has a higher Science score?
Art: Mirror Universe Ships [3]
- Location
- USA
So is this where you reveal that the joke is that the 'mirror' universe just puts the secondary hull on top and the nacelles on the bottom?Okay, really, last one,
[X] Shuttledeck [8 Engineering, 32 Type-F Shuttlecraft]
I think we have enough cargo space.
I think we have enough cargo space.
- Location
- west
I don't think there's much if any difference besides aesthetics.
KlavoHunter
THOU SHALT WORSHIP NO GODS ABOVE ENTERPRISE!
Honestly, it reminds me slightly of a Klingon cruiser, with the 'neck' structure horizontally connecting the saucer and secondary hull... a mass-production killer to fight stronger alien empires, or to suppress even a well-armed revolt against Terran rule!Okay, really, last one,
It really doesn't have room for much beyond guns, though, so I imagine it's short-legged in terms of supplies. Which is, of course, one good way to keep the captains of these war hounds on the leash...
The point was that in some of the response scenarios being presented where the 32 shuttle might have an advantage the engineering rating wasn't what needed to be considered. It was the overall utility of a loading bay and that some of those cases would see the 16 shuttle option perform better. Putting down more emergency equipment and supplies quickly or places where the bottleneck was getting material on and off enough shuttles etc.
Yes 32 has a higher engineering score full stop. However in the time sensitive situations under discussion there were aspects that could make the 16 more effective. The discussion wasn't that the designers were idiots, it was that the priorities and existing hardware could create complications. Having a standard cargo pod for cost and convenience and accepting the limitations that imposes is just one possibility. We make similar judgments anytime we look at prototype tech.
Mechanis
Confirmed Extremely Screwed
- Location
- Absconding with Alacrity
It's actually pretty decently sized. That bridge is a cool 20 meters in diameter for example. It's "short ranged" only insofar as they're very much running what Scotty would call an "overcomplicated, overpowered, overtuned, and over-engineered hash" to compensate for being technically behind the prime timeline in several areas, so they basically all have "fuel hog" as a trait. (well, that and being stuffed full of Weapons and Weapon Accessories anyway)
Yes, and we are ALSO being judged on our cargo score as cargo is part of the tender requirement, and the loading bay gives more total score. If you want to be score focused the loading bay is worth 2 more points than the shuttle bay. 4+6 is 2 bigger than 8.
Only the Cygnus which is vastly outdated in terms of technology. It's got pretty much everything but shields entirely out of date at current, phasers, torps, nacelles, structure and impulse are all at least one if not more generations out of date, and it's got a fairly coverage gap with medium maneuverability and lackluster defenses. In short, the Klingons would eat it alive in a fight. There's a reason people were hoping we could make a replacement before the next big explorer, because in any war against any polity we could consider a peer or superior they'd get Stingray'd. And unlike the Miranda which seemingly had endless room for retrofits and refits into the new a shinier tech, the Cygnus lacks such, and will fall to the wayside like a skydiver falls out of a plane.