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If we had the Miranda brief we'd have chosen normal shields and stretching to hit 240k would be a wonderful target to me. Weaker shields for a workhorse (at 48 vs the Excalibur's 36) would have been awesome. But targeting 240k for our new generation of capable generalist heavy cruiser is underwhelming to me when a lot of people were excited about putting out a 300k+ design. 400k (100 shields) would have been a stretch but even 300k (75 shields) would be exciting. It'd have double the shielding we put in the Excalibur. It could eat D7's all day every day with only a few dings for us to buff out while having the space for a ton of utility for emergency response.
However this ends up it'll be a significant improvement over the Kea tactically and strategically. It's good. What it likely won't do is let us showcase what our tech advantage in thrusters really lets us achieve before we make a gold plated explorer. At that point it'll have been like 40+ years since we started showing our ships could dance so a relatively nimble explorer won't blow as many people's minds. Our opponents will also have had time to adjust their designs to compensate for our ships being very maneuverable. Still, it's completely workable and additional capable combatants are always welcome.
It's just not the excitement I hoped for when we had the chance to design a Heavy Line Cruiser that could launch as the UFS Federation.
However this ends up it'll be a significant improvement over the Kea tactically and strategically. It's good. What it likely won't do is let us showcase what our tech advantage in thrusters really lets us achieve before we make a gold plated explorer. At that point it'll have been like 40+ years since we started showing our ships could dance so a relatively nimble explorer won't blow as many people's minds. Our opponents will also have had time to adjust their designs to compensate for our ships being very maneuverable. Still, it's completely workable and additional capable combatants are always welcome.
It's just not the excitement I hoped for when we had the chance to design a Heavy Line Cruiser that could launch as the UFS Federation.
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[X] Command Configuration (Mass: 140kt) [Cost: 27.5]
- Location
- USA
- Pronouns
- He/They
[X] Inverse Slope Configuration (Mass: 170kt) [Cost: 33.5]
[X] Rising Slope Configuration (Mass: 190kt) [Cost: 37.5]
Command is *just not fucking big enough*. I think I prefer Inverse over Rising, but Command is just not big enough.
[X] Rising Slope Configuration (Mass: 190kt) [Cost: 37.5]
Command is *just not fucking big enough*. I think I prefer Inverse over Rising, but Command is just not big enough.
Starfleet wants Better Kea, in a world where the advance of technology has explicitly made bigger ships better, and is already getting cold feet about paying for even a (modernized) straight replacement, "better" be damned.
😕 😭
presses X to doubt
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Command will, for minor gains in weapons placement, greatly reduce the mass (and thus the hull points, shield points and phaser firepower - especially when the secondary hull being less massive than it otherwise would be is taken into consideration) and the volume for all the space taking modules we would want to fit in it - from cargo to shuttles and more.
It's penny wise and pound foolish.
It's penny wise and pound foolish.
- Location
- USA
- Pronouns
- He/They
I'm skeptical we can
Oh boy if people are balking at cost here there is no flippin' way they're gonna shell out for quad nacelles
(I admit, I would quite like to borrow the Radiant's nacelle-cycling concept just to beat SanFran about the head with "this is why your bright idea shoulda waited for the new warp core like we fucking told you"- not to mention the enormous coverage-area and response-time benefits of a supercruise design.
But barring that extreme long-shot possibility, I expect us to end up sprint-optimized again on grounds of "cruise is still capped, MIGHT AS FUCKING WELL")
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I'd be down for Nacelle cycling if Sayle lets us. Sounds fun.
I'd say if you're voting Rising Slope only, it's probably worth considering at this point what your preference is between the leading options, because it is unlikely it could make up the difference at this point.
Onionjones
とある 科学 の 大学生
- Location
- a swing state
I think most of the rising slope votes are approval votes
Rising slope, likely wanting the most mass/volume they can get, should probably throw their weight (pun intended) behind inverse slope - otherwise we're going to be stuck with a ship that's low mass and low volume, gimping combat ability and peacetime ability.
- Location
- USA
- Pronouns
- He/They
It does, and supercruise also does really good things for effective coverage area per hull (and thus also per-crew), as well as incident-response speed (without protagonist-tier heroics from the engineering crew, see also Tarsus) and priority cargo delivery speeds. It'd be expensive as hell, but I think at this moment in the Federation's history, with this set of needs over this size territory, it'd pay off amazingly.
- Location
- Canada
[X] Inverse Slope Configuration (Mass: 170kt) [Cost: 33.5]
- Location
- The Void
[X] Inverse Slope Configuration (Mass: 170kt) [Cost: 33.5]
- Location
- United States
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Command Configuration (Mass: 140kt) [Cost: 27.5]
I don't think that we'd need a cycling config in order to sustain the maximum allowable cruise of Warp 7. A three or four nacelle cruise config should be able to reach it. Maybe cycling allows for exceeding that if we don't hit the thermal limits as fast?
From a rules standpoint I think it would just be a configuration with an efficient cruise speed at or close to warp 7.
- Location
- his hidden lair
We explicitly have the options for more nacelles. That's more mass on the table right there. To say nothing of a secondary hull. That, and it's entirely uncharitable to call the command crowd penny pinchers. Most of its voters are advocating for it because a smaller exposed profile and better firing angles. A disinterest in treating a means as an end is not the same thing as being cost adverse.
Afaik we have never gotten this degree of options for the saucer of a ship. Assuming we can expect similar amount of options for the other key ship sections seems a lot more credible than just dismissing this as a random one off fad.
darkstarling
Brilliantly Crazed
- Location
- Columbus, Ohio
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Agreed, I'm actually willing to spend what it takes for this design. I just voted for 'good phaser lines' and 'heavy shields' because this is a fleet anchor and that's what fleet anchors need.