Theunderbolt
"Prepare for trouble..."
- Location
- USoA
No need to apologize I don't mind.
It's just thematically it was a very odd choice for the Federation. I don't doubt they were effective.
Also let me look at that post.
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Starship Design Bureau
- Thread starter Sayle
- Start date
- Sci-Fi
Linked contents
It's just thematically it was a very odd choice for the Federation. I don't doubt they were effective.
Also let me look at that post.
Some sucker at some point made me a top-level clan member in the SB fleet and I've never let go of power, baby. Nevermind I haven't played properly since the Iconian War, which was eight years ago. Except to grind out some new reputations and so on, of course. My cruiser is running mark 15 gold equipment so I must have had a binge somewhere in the last half-decade. After a certain point STO just turns into e-peen measuring over who can kill the Borg quickest in The Conduit (Space) anyway.
- Location
- Kiel; Germany
Frigates often serve a dedicated purpose, so let's say escort. A cruiser, no matter if light or heavy usually is expected to be able to operate alone or on long distant deployments. If we go by this then one is a dedicated escort, meaning good sensors and weapons, the other is an allrounder.
- Location
- California
Sisko would be proud.
LunaMoth
Wings of Kynareth is my comfort song...
- Pronouns
- He/They
Incorrect, the true endgame of STO is space Barbie. Also SB has a fleet? Man I haven't played STO in a while, but I really like the game, all my captains end up flying ships that aren't from their factions though; my fed captain is in a Tholian ship from what I remember.
Much as in real life, the distinction between an escort or destroyer and a light cruiser might be as much about what the ship is intended to do as it is doctrinal?
In real life we have the Ticonderoga class cruisers and Arleigh-Burke class destroyers at similar sizes, as well as the Slava class guided missile cruiser being the same size as many modern destroyers. (The distinction is a bit murky here because there are so few modern cruiser classes which vary substantially in loadout, and the role heavily overlaps with a destroyer in practice.) Frigates can also be very similar in sizes to some destroyers, but are generally understood to have less of an air-defence and more of an antisubmarine role, as well as being cheaper. Or there's the somewhat ill-fated Littoral Combat Ship, which is similar in size to many modern frigates but was intended for a different set of roles.
To me, the Sabre-class being not that much larger than the Defiant class* but classed as a "light cruiser" rather than an escort would suggest to me that it intended to do more cruiser-like functions, I.E. to be more multirole, able to cruise around and respond to lots of different contingencies. This might imply more cargo and shuttle capacity for ferrying personnel and supplies, perhaps greater endurance or speed, and even more scientific facilities. This is still Starfleet and ships must still be expected to perform peacetime duties, and reconnaissance is important in warfare, not to mention the potential value of science labs for devising on-the-fly countermeasures when fighting the Borg. Essentially a modernised version of the Miranda.
The Defiant class, on the other hand, is expected to do one thing well, and that is go toe-to-toe with ships several times its mass and give a good accounting of itself. The "escort" in the name might also suggest an additional and more specialised role of being able to bodyguard more omni-capable flagships like the Sovereign and Galaxy classes. These flagships can add huge value to a task group with their extremely powerful sensors and extensive medical facilities, transporters, stories and shuttlebays etc., but might be in danger of getting jumped by more numerous smaller adversaries.
*(Google suggests the Defiant actually outmasses the Sabre at 355,000 tonnes to 310,000 tonnes, although whether this is accurate I don't know.)
I for one welcome our new (old)fleet overlords. Also man, the Iconian War plotline, I remember playing when that was still coming out. Good times!
Would it also be alright to get an answer question I asked you in the post? Or is the idea that we should be tormented by uncertainty.😜
In real life we have the Ticonderoga class cruisers and Arleigh-Burke class destroyers at similar sizes, as well as the Slava class guided missile cruiser being the same size as many modern destroyers. (The distinction is a bit murky here because there are so few modern cruiser classes which vary substantially in loadout, and the role heavily overlaps with a destroyer in practice.) Frigates can also be very similar in sizes to some destroyers, but are generally understood to have less of an air-defence and more of an antisubmarine role, as well as being cheaper. Or there's the somewhat ill-fated Littoral Combat Ship, which is similar in size to many modern frigates but was intended for a different set of roles.
To me, the Sabre-class being not that much larger than the Defiant class* but classed as a "light cruiser" rather than an escort would suggest to me that it intended to do more cruiser-like functions, I.E. to be more multirole, able to cruise around and respond to lots of different contingencies. This might imply more cargo and shuttle capacity for ferrying personnel and supplies, perhaps greater endurance or speed, and even more scientific facilities. This is still Starfleet and ships must still be expected to perform peacetime duties, and reconnaissance is important in warfare, not to mention the potential value of science labs for devising on-the-fly countermeasures when fighting the Borg. Essentially a modernised version of the Miranda.
The Defiant class, on the other hand, is expected to do one thing well, and that is go toe-to-toe with ships several times its mass and give a good accounting of itself. The "escort" in the name might also suggest an additional and more specialised role of being able to bodyguard more omni-capable flagships like the Sovereign and Galaxy classes. These flagships can add huge value to a task group with their extremely powerful sensors and extensive medical facilities, transporters, stories and shuttlebays etc., but might be in danger of getting jumped by more numerous smaller adversaries.
*(Google suggests the Defiant actually outmasses the Sabre at 355,000 tonnes to 310,000 tonnes, although whether this is accurate I don't know.)
I for one welcome our new (old)fleet overlords. Also man, the Iconian War plotline, I remember playing when that was still coming out. Good times!
Would it also be alright to get an answer question I asked you in the post? Or is the idea that we should be tormented by uncertainty.😜
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- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] A Heavy Frigate - Project Steamrunner
When we do a captial ship how about we make it a Battlestar?
Starfleet vessels have the space because their crew sizes are tiny for some of their shipnsizes
View: https://youtu.be/Lwx5uB0pyhQ?si=PPpnd25f6SMW8-Nu
Starfleet vessels have the space because their crew sizes are tiny for some of their shipnsizes
View: https://youtu.be/Lwx5uB0pyhQ?si=PPpnd25f6SMW8-Nu
- Location
- Kiel; Germany
Don't feed my brain with such - and I'm looking at ways to copy this quest structure to BSG. Thanks for that ...
Enthusiast#117
This is not the Profile you are looking for
- Location
- United States
So they're roughly the same size, but they're meant to serve different roles I think?
Like, as far as I can tell, an Escort is meant to accompany other ships and fill out a fleet or task force. That likely means at least some emphasis on point defense so it can screen other ships, as well as some way to participate in heavyweight fights, which likely means torpedoes.
It also should not be the slowest ship in the fleet or have the least endurance, so as to not hold back whatever it happens to be escorting.
All of that is evident to me just from the name "Escort"
But I have no idea what role a Light Cruiser or a Heavy Frigate is supposed to fulfill.
The best I've got is that "Heavy" Frigate implies that mass is intended as a dump stat, and "Light" Cruiser implies that low mass is a critical design goal.
But what else are Frigates and Cruisers meant to do-
Okay, so a Light Cruiser is meant for, what, shorter deployments? Kind of like a longer range scout, or a fast-reaction force?
Emphasis is likely on warp-speed I would think.
Is the Heavy Frigate meant to be a brawler then? A heavy focus on Shields and Weapons?
[X] A Heavy Frigate - Project Steamrunner
I'm more referring to the idea of a ship of the line that is packing fighter hangers for added force projection.
Enthusiast#117
This is not the Profile you are looking for
- Location
- United States
[X] A Heavy Frigate - Project Steamrunner
If we want a proper brawler in the fleet I think we need to make it ourselves.
If we want a proper brawler in the fleet I think we need to make it ourselves.
Oh, I'm assuming that canon outcomes are preserved. Not fiddling about with the timeline if someone else deals with designing the Defiant. So the design would eventually be rehabilitated, yes.
[X] A Light Cruiser - Project Saber
- Location
- Kiel; Germany
I think Light and Heavy means more the tonnage these ships have. What is light and heavy in navy terms, at least in RL, changes with time. Ships tend to get bigger over time with further development of technology.
For example, current German Navy Frigates are bigger than destroyers of WW2.
Maybe, but it is too late! The idea is there, get it out!
[x] An Escort - Project Defiant