I did. I wrote it before the Militarized Merchant Drives were voted for in the Design Phase and the idea was for an improved maneuverability engine module, hopefully without losing the fuel-efficient trait. Since you're asking, I hope they turned out well?
I did. I wrote it before the Militarized Merchant Drives were voted for in the Design Phase and the idea was for an improved maneuverability engine module, hopefully without losing the fuel-efficient trait. Since you're asking, I hope they turned out well?
But is that just off critical failure or just off critical success? Guess we'll have to wait and see.
I've been thinking about specialized hulls, and it occurred to me that we aren't going to stop using macrocannons any time soon, so that might be a good option for our first one. I'm not really sure what the specialist bonus would do, though. Increasing the shell size or the firing rate seem like weapons projects, not hull bonuses.
But is that just off critical failure or just off critical success? Guess we'll have to wait and see.
I've been thinking about specialized hulls, and it occurred to me that we aren't going to stop using macrocannons any time soon, so that might be a good option for our first one. I'm not really sure what the specialist bonus would do, though. Increasing the shell size or the firing rate seem like weapons projects, not hull bonuses.
I've been thinking about specialized hulls, and it occurred to me that we aren't going to stop using macrocannons any time soon, so that might be a good option for our first one. I'm not really sure what the specialist bonus would do, though. Increasing the shell size or the firing rate seem like weapons projects, not hull bonuses.
(Hull) Truncheon-class Frigate Hull: Although the Indomitable is a powerful combatant, its size and complexity make it quite expensive for an escort. It is believed that a more specialized hull design could mount nearly as much macrocannon firepower in a smaller, less expensive ship. The Truncheon-class hull is only slightly larger than a Sabre or Spatha, but its reinforced turret hardpoints allow it to handle the recoil of significantly larger shells, and space is set aside for well-laid-out magazines and shell elevators to streamline the reloading process and improve firing rate. This comes at the cost of flexibility, since the turrets are ill-suited for any other type of weapon, but as macrocannons are the mainstay of the navy, this is of little concern. [1W (Macrocannons only, increased firepower), 1W, 2D, 1U, 1E]
I like the Truncheon class, but I want to suggest it have two engines maybe, given there's been some discussion about wanting a faster ship for both catching enemy raiders and maybe doing our own raiding?
I like the Truncheon class, but I want to suggest it have two engines maybe, given there's been some discussion about wanting a faster ship for both catching enemy raiders and maybe doing our own raiding?
It would be nice to have something like that, but that'd bring it up to 7 modules total, the same as the War Hawk. Maybe turn the second weapon slot or one of the defenses into an omni? Or the utility, of course, but not having any cargo space or boarders would make raiding hard. Ultimately, though, we can't expect a specialist hull to be good for too many different things, and this one's already pretty flexible.
It would be nice to have something like that, but that'd bring it up to 7 modules total, the same as the War Hawk. Maybe turn the second weapon slot or one of the defenses into an omni? Or the utility, of course, but not having any cargo space or boarders would make raiding hard. Ultimately, though, we can't expect a specialist hull to be good for too many different things, and this one's already pretty flexible.
The sparta has 6 and the hawk as 7 so it should be fine but making one defense slot shields and the other armor will make it easier to build at the cost of making adding PD on it harder(as it can only be fitted in the weapon slot like this hashim PD weapon: 1x Pulse Lasers (Damage 1, PD 3, VS Range).
We have a bonus to developing plasma drives from the Harvest's Day Loot, so it might increase both a little.
The Carmine Glory has a pulsed plasma drive so that where the stats i was expecting:
The sparta has 6 and the hawk as 7 so it should be fine but making one defense slot shields and the other armor will make it easier to build at the cost of making adding PD on it harder(as it can only be fitted in the weapon slot like this hashim PD weapon: 1x Pulse Lasers (Damage 1, PD 3, VS Range).
Yeah, we can do 7 slots, but it puts us in heavy frigate territory, so we'd lose the advantage of being a smaller, cheaper, less complex hull. I've been warming to the idea of swapping a weapon slot for an omni, though, which would open up both fast frigate and PD-escort options. It wouldn't be able to both launch boarders and have two engines, but we can't have everything:
(Hull) Truncheon-class Frigate Hull: Although the Indomitable is a powerful combatant, its size and complexity make it quite expensive for an escort. It is believed that a more specialized hull design could mount nearly as much macrocannon firepower in a smaller, less expensive ship. The Truncheon-class hull is only slightly larger than a Sabre or Spatha, but its reinforced turret hardpoints allow it to handle the recoil of significantly larger shells, and space is set aside for well-laid-out magazines and shell elevators to streamline the reloading process and improve firing rate. This comes at the cost of flexibility, since the turrets are ill-suited for any other type of weapon, but as macrocannons are the mainstay of the navy, this is of little concern. The prow mounts are less specialized, allowing for split armaments, and can even be omitted to free up space for other systems. [1W (Macrocannons only, increased firepower), 2D (one armor only, one shields only), 1U, 1O, 1E]
Well, the existing designs aren't going anywhere, and we can certainly design more if we want, but I'm not sure what other generalist hulls we'd want. If you have suggestions, go ahead and post them.
Define "cost effective"? The nice thing about the Truncheon, cost-wise, is that giving a battery of macrocannons a hull bonus (almost certainly) isn't going to increase their cost, whereas designing new macrocannons will. Of course, new macrocannons would have their improved performance on any hull we cared to put them on, which is a big advantage, but as far as I can tell a new hull is the budget option.
Actually, the real budget option is probably improved shell manufacturing, which could even apply to our existing guns, but I don't know how big a boost we could get out of that.
Define "cost effective"? The nice thing about the Truncheon, cost-wise, is that giving a battery of macrocannons a hull bonus (almost certainly) isn't going to increase their cost, whereas designing new macrocannons will. Of course, new macrocannons would have their improved performance on any hull we cared to put them on, which is a big advantage, but as far as I can tell a new hull is the budget option.
Actually, the real budget option is probably improved shell manufacturing, which could even apply to our existing guns, but I don't know how big a boost we could get out of that.
Sorry that was what I was thinking of I just wan't explaining myself, also DaLintyGuy has stated that our macrocannons aren't working as well as they could because we're using substandard materials so we should get a decent boost if we can fix that issue.
(Defence) Haptrix-Alpha Interlock Shields: The Haptrix-pattern shields are a serviceable design, but are fairly expensive, and have proven somewhat unreliable in practice. Perhaps worse, they are projected to scale up poorly both in terms of cost and in ability to stop capital-scale weaponry. This redesigned version uses a smaller number of larger shields to simplify the design and strengthen each pane, and arranges them in two concentric shells with the panes offset like bricks to provide redundant coverage.
Result of 5+0 (extant technology)=5
The Haptrix team was brought back for this project. Older they may have been but their skills had been made use of in the intervening time to plan projects such as the Bailafax defenses. Now they were called upon once more for the sole purpose of improving their prior craft. Calavar had learned in the intervening years as well as captains and crew alike had written up copious amounts of material on what the limits and advantages of the system were.
The single largest and most inescapable problem was the distributed nature of distributed shielding. Powerful hits, such as Lances or strong Batteries, would overwhelm the local shielding with a single strike and power through to hit the hull. To solve this issue the idea was floated and shelved for the present time to use numerous weak shield bubbles to get much the same effect (rapid shield regeneration) as the current distributed systems. Such a solution could cost and possibly mass more than the current defenses but the tradeoff might be worth it for Cruiser scale shields.
For now the Haptrix-Alpha provided a serviceable upgrade to the previous Haptrix Pattern shields. A second layer using larger shield panes provided a moderate improvement in effectiveness while not simply doubling costs and taking up too much space.
[Haptrix-Alpha Rapid Shields: A development out of the previous generation of Haptrix shielding, the Alpha Pattern consolidated the shields to try and keep costs low and not stud the flanks of a warship so equipped with valuable shield generators, as would happen if the previous generation were simply doubled to form multiple layers. These larger generators diminished the effect of the Rapid shields slightly, yet it was still impressively fast to reset. Enough to continue to make a difference throughout the rest of the volley from an enemy ship. (Shield 3, Armor .5)(6M)]
(Engine) Plasma Pulse Drive Array: One means of increasing the thrust of the merchant grade drives is to compress the expelled plasma and propel it through a narrower aperture in the drive nozzle. Such would even theoretically allow the new drives to retain much of the original's fuel efficiency, more so than simply making the drives bigger. The only complication to doing so is the increased thermal stress on the components, which made long burns infeasible without access to more advanced materials. Instead, the reduced size has been taken advantage of to include a greater amount of thrusters in the drive assembly, firing in short pulses in tandem to facilitate greater speed without risk of melting the drive. Because of the smaller size, each nozzle can now also be mounted on a gimbal, which allows for greater fine maneuvering mid-burn.
Result of 7-1 (pushing the boundaries)+1 (salvage)=7
The blood of the stars was the method of choice for propelling Mankind through the stars. For good reason, as plasma was highly energetic and simple to work with. Even the majority of Xenos walk after Mankind in this regard though it is common that they found a crashed shuttle or ship wreck to study.
Even in the current Age, ten thousand years is a long time for Humans to get everywhere and anywhere.
Irrespective of this fact, the Admiralty of the Hegemon's Crusade desired additional options for their ships and the Calavan members of the Cult Mechanicus, with a few visitors from Lexicalum keeping abreast of the developing projects, bent to the task. With the fragments of the drives of the late Harvest Day at hand progress was swiftly made.
A multitude of smaller engine bells naturally made for improved maneuvering and this was further enhanced by limited gimballing on the exterior ring. The primary bank of drives in the center of the stern made use of design features gleaned from the Harvest Day drives but even then had to alternate their use in order to keep wear and thermal stress within acceptable tolerances. Ships using this pattern of drive would be reasonably nimble but only held a bare edge against the base pattern of drives used by civilian shipping.
[Pulsed Plasma Array Drive: Continuing with the Calavan tendency to use more and smaller devices to do the job of a single large example, the Array Drive used small streams of plasma pressurized higher than that of conventional drives to get improved results. A main bank of engines provided the straight line impulse but were limited to alternating which ones were under load due to material limits of the time. A fact which a desperate or canny captain could use to their advantage, or a foolish or unlucky one could leave their ship vulnerable until the vents cooled. (Accel 1.5, Maneuver 3, Fuel Efficient)(4M)]
(Warp drive) 'Longstride' Warp engine. While the typical drive uitilized in merchant shipping suffice, the minimal use of technology and advanced components to save costs caused them to have slow charge times, greatly limited speed through the Warp and not being suited for fast/emergency jumps. The Longstride was Calavar's first attempt at improving their engines to something closer to what is utilized on Imperial Navy ships.
Result of 5-3 (Warp-tech)=2
The Warp. Madness incarnate yet inchoate. Concepts that Humanity took for granted simply did not exist there in the same way such as time or distance.
Yet in true fashion Humanity made it happen. The Gellar Field enforced these rules in the paradoxical realm that was the only way to cross the gulf between stars. It enabled safe travel in the face of the denizens of that demented place once the Warp drive opened the ominous entrance to the hellish dimension.
Necessarily, the knowledge of the inner workings of these devices were closely held secrets. Necessarily, it was widespread knowledge for repair and construction were common tasks. Maintenance of the great devices was common and exacting, for if this critical piece of machinery failed while underway....
Well, "ghost ship" held many meanings. All of them potentially true for an unlucky or slovenly crew...
For the task of modifying such a device from the exacting standards followed since the dockyard had been set down (less than a millennia, a trifling period of time as these things go) the Adepts of Calavar left nothing to chance. Years were spent simply memorizing every facet of it's design and several jumps were observed of one of the local Patrol Squadron ships to try and tease even that little bit of understanding more of the physical workings of the device.
The Warp drive of the Harvest Day had been scrapped outright without second thought or aim for benefit. It had been polluted by Orkish efforts and so could not be trusted to convey Humans without catastrophically failing.
The first four attempted prototypes was merely to get a sense for what different changes affected, and therefore attempt to safely feel for how the system as a whole functioned. Corruption and catastrophe beckoned at every turn and so the Admiralty (warily) turned to those who could be said to have looked it in the eye and spit in its face. A detachment of House Noctris troops were brought in for security and made for a strange sight alongside the pristine and uniform Calavar troops.
It was a move many were thankful for when a "fast travel" rig (the first of its line to return after warping away) disgorged mobs of horrific abominations onto the workshop floor. Yellow and black armored soldiers slipped into action alongside local troops in Preserver and Shelter armors. Yet the battered troops of the Knight Scion consistently got superior results against the Warpspawn than the heavy weapons carried by Calavan exoskeletons. Something that nearly got them shot by their allies and a lingering amount of distrust.
[Project Failed. +2 to next Warp drive action. Difficulty modifier may be somewhat limited by focusing on a single area of improvement: travel speed, resilience, and fleet cohesion.]
[Design actions relating to the Warp are more dangerous than mere physics. For the purposes of Critical Failures/Disasters the Difficulty modifier is applied first. If this takes the result below 2, there will be Consequences.]
(Housing) 'Bastion' housing complex. Further experience with ship building has allowed for more effective placement of ratings and deckhands living space; giving better 'elbow room' while keeping mass and space costs low. As an additional benefit, this redesign includes security garrisons at vital locations (reactor, warp drive etc) to counter on-board rebellions or boarding attempts.
Result of 9+1 (simplicity)=10
The spaces in between the other systems of the ship, the warrens of service tunnels and the accommodations for the crews, were often left blank in favor of minimizing mass budgets that took from things like weapon magazines and fuel stocks. Yet the Crusade commonly fought foes that suicidally drove into boarding combat. The open and reasonably lit walkways allowed for good use of heavy weapons but so much more could be done if the effort was there.
The biggest change was the layout of the crew living quarters. Communal bunks and amenities were still the norm but instead of blocks of housing the crew was broken up to be set next to their place of work. Gun crews would live and sleep beneath the bulk of the titanic guns they directed and operated while engineering teams were placed in and around the massive machines they tended to.
Yet that was merely the most widespread alteration. Every intersection bore attachment points for heavy weapons and deployable cover (made mobile by the Shelter exoskeletons) while important areas such as the approaches to the bridge, genetoriums, and Gellar nodes were built as defensive strongpoints. Plasteel backed armor provided cover for the multitude of bolters, autocannon, and flamers that were mounted within.
To man these defenses extra troops were allotted to the hull, with stand alone life support. Such a concept quickly was spun to the rest of the ship's crew, as every crewman was provided with the unarmored bodysuit of the Preserver armor. Blocks of it's solid state oxygen storage could be sourced all over the ship in case of emergency, instead of forcing the crew to evacuate any penetrated compartments during a fight.
[Bastion Pattern Housing: A more defensible ship interior for a more fraught era. As the enemies that surrounded them stepped up to the plate with more and worse forces Calavar did the same with integrated strongpoints and integral ship garrisons to punish any that disturbed the sanctity of their vessels as well as the ability to use onboard troops to support some level of offensive action. (Increases ship defenses, allows limited offensive boarding, reduces crew casualties) (3M)]
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Lord Admiral: What I am about to tell you is something you can not repeat. It is a classified state secret that could adversely affect morale far out of proportion to the physical harm it can do.
A Fallen Astartes has been reported among our enemies. A single man can do little on the scale of battle we will be fighting on but their blasphemous "heroics" may be enough to turn the tide in some way. We know this because it arrived on a ship from outside the Subsector, what the war books identify as an Idolater Raider. The only good news is that this will likely galvanize the last of the Traitors and allow us to crush their mobile forces once and for all.
Then there are our other fronts. To the North there are two growing WAAAGH!!s, while Legcutta amuses himself with raiding and reaving rather than taking land. Still, it would not do to underestimate him should his forces attack Lativa.
To the East is the damnable conflict between Gehault and Yttreum. Bagalog has openly declare their support, as they may as well after being attacked directly, and is attempting to hold back raiding squadrons between their holdings while Yttreum glares at it's neighbor with little effect. Intervening is an extreme option and High Command suggests leaving them to fight it out while supplying Yttreum with ships. Possibly, including the Savior Multiroles in the deal.
Finally, there is Uniary. High Command is adamant: we can not abandon our troops there and so the blockade must be broken. Such a concentration of Traitor fleet assets must also represent a significant investment of their remaining, local, hulls. Break them here and very little will be there to contest us purging their kind from our borders.
There is a budget of 265 Manufacturing Capacity (190 from Calavar+60 from her neighbors that have bent the knee+15 from the rebuilding worlds near renamed Bailafax) to be spent and 10 Artisanal Workmanship available.]
[46M outstanding in various costs.]
There will be a six hour moratorium to encourage discussion.
Oh, I had a thought. How would people feel about turning the Bulk Hauler into a troop transport? If we scrimp on it, we could get it into operation for only 38M:
Obviously, this thing is deadweight in a naval battle, so we'd have to be sure to only use it in safe regions or with heavy escort, but being able to carry 4-6 armies at once would make landing operations way easier, and it's cheap enough that we could launch it in a single turn. I don't know if we can fit it into the budget this turn, but in the long run it might honestly be more useful than the carrier design we've been looking at. Once we start building real cruisers, a large but slow and fragile carrier is going to look a lot worse.
Speaking of which, when do people thing we should be starting? I'm thinking next turn, or maybe the turn after. If we keep spending 60M a turn, we'll finish the shipyard upgrades on turn 9, and two turns at 40M and one at 60M gives us a reasonable budget of 140M on the ship with three turns of construction - two upgraded turns for 120M, on the other hand, would be much harder to work with. (The sample light cruiser on the tech post is 146, but that's with double-cost Haptrix shields; we can do better than that.) I feel like we'll be needing capital ships sooner rather than later, so starting early seems like a good idea.
A Fallen Astartes has been reported among our enemies. A single man can do little on the scale of battle we will be fighting on but their blasphemous "heroics" may be enough to turn the tide in some way.
Ah hell, this is bad. This is really bad. Depending on the astartes, this could completely reverse our gains from the heretics. Oh Emperor let this one not be a sourcer. Please no Thousand Sons. Not them.
