posted
It's just that when you're making First Contact and the Universal Translator tells the aliens you've been talking to that your ship is a DESTROYER, all the "peaceful organization dedicated to exploration" crap flies out the window.
Might as well name your ship the USS Killer of Aliens while you're at it.
-------------------- Justice inclines her scales so that wisdom comes at the price of suffering. -Aeschylus, Agamemnon
Registered: Aug 2002
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Cartman
just made by the Presbyterian Church
Member # 256
posted
Yes, because the opening line of every captain in Starfleet has always been "Hi, I am Cap Tin Capped In of the Federation InsertFriendlyClassName InsertFriendlyShipName that is really an InsertEvilMilitaryClassName in disguise but you didn't get that from me and I am selling these fine synth-leather jackets". Al-ways.
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted
Lots of good discussion on this one and I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who perfers niche designs to overblown death machines.
First off the designation; I think "torpedo frigate" should suit this class just fine. Secondly, the q-torps; I agree with el hombre del hacha on this one, one salvo's worth is more than enough for a ship this size. If you consider that it only took a salvo of 4(?) q-torps to deduce a borg sphere into a cloud of freeze dried slag then the idea that this thing should carry 50 is just crazy talk. You might as well paint a big sign in Ferengi on the side of the ship which says "mug me!". Aside from the overkill and security issues I get the impression that these things aren't exactly easy to mass produce so allocating any more than a handfull to a bunch of small patrol ships isn't very practical.
One thing that might make this ship a little more deserving of it's designation could be the addition of Micro-torp emplacements. The little buggers may only be about the size of you average ruler, but with a decent launching system could unleash an unholy swarm of the little bastards. Good for close range anti-fighter defence, clearing mine fields, overwelming weakened shields on capital ships and fixed emplacments. You could probably fit a m-torp bank in that troublesome void between the P-launchers and the registry. And/or an aft facing bank may be justified given the weapon's defensive nature and short range application.
posted
Anyhow, the way the Defiant, Enterprise-E (FC/NEM) and Valiant spent their quantums kind of hints that the things aren't made of liquid diamonds. I agree 50 is a bit much but say 10? This is a small design meant to return to base regularily, anyway.
As for hypothetically planning location and installation of aft launchers (I'm gonna say it), you could have just one muzzle between the impulse engines, with the tube extending into the ship and the actual launcher being somewehere (anywhere) deeper, where the girth of the ship's lucious hips is sufficient to deploy the package.
posted
An aft launcher? Nah, I dont see it on this design. As we've pointed out already it packs a lot of firepower into it's front launchers, and it's already been established that these things have pretty impressive tracking and turning capabilities. Seems like overkill to me.
I'm a bit uncomfortable with the whole mini-torp thing, which episodes did they make an appearance in? I'm guessing it's later DS9 or Voyager, shows which I grew bored of watching long before their end. I like the idea of a ship designed specifically with the capability to launch a swarm of them, but I am struggling to see a use for them that other items couldn't do as well. Anti-fighter maybe, a whole swarm of small guided missiles would undoubtedly be a bitch, but phasers and full blasts from a phototorp can deal with most things. Why launch shitloads of missiles when one nuclear level blast will do the job nicely when clearing a minefield?
-------------------- www.kennyscrap.com - where I download crap I make.
Registered: Jun 2003
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I think the micro torps were never refereed to onscreen but devised backstage as a way to explain how a Danube could possibly be spewing photons, left right and centre. As for it's usefulness, well these things may be small (30cm) but they'll still have the explosive yield of a nuclear warhead, so when clearing a minefield (especially if it's the self replicating kind) you're more likely to get them all if you detonate shite loads of smaller explosives over a wide area than if you blow up a massive warhead in the centre of them and risk missing the one's outside of the blast radius. Or worse, scattering the field so you loose all track of the navigational hazards. So basically you can equate it to using shot instead of a bullet, not much good against a big armoured target that's a long way away, but devastating at point blank range or for precision demolition. With phasers you tend to have a limit of one shot at a time per array, so if you're outnumbers you're going to have a hard time fighting them off. With swarms of precision guided micro-torps AND phasers, no fighter pilot in his right mind is going to get within half an AU of you. Which also means that this little ship would be a great support vessel in big fleet action, keeping small craft and indeed torpedoes away from the Nebulas, Galaxies, and Sovies.
posted
The Micro torp thing is something Sternbach made in the DS9TM to explain why Runabouts have torpedos and then Eaves sketched micro "pop-up" launchers on the Enterprise E refit (though I dont think they were ever actually shown in Nemesis).
I dont think that a figure of 50 QUantum torpedos is excessive- if that's this ship's entire compliment. In SOA, Nog warns that the Defiant is down to only 50 Q-Torps (this seems a critical shortage, but they were also in the biggest fleet engagment we'd ever seen onscreen), so 50 is not too crazy (if the ship patrols disputed space or a border with a potentially hostile neighboring race).
Possibly, most ships of this class carry only photons and others a mixed compliment of both Q and P torps.
I can easily see this as a rapid response vehicle for firing areas and colony support.
Axeman, can you post or send me line art schematics of this ship? I'd like to make amodel of it and it looks just large enough to be feasable in my preferred scale.
-------------------- Justice inclines her scales so that wisdom comes at the price of suffering. -Aeschylus, Agamemnon
Registered: Aug 2002
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posted
Line art? Hmmm, I'll see what I can do, but it's not really my field. I'll see if colouring it completely one colour and using a toon shader with lining will do the job, or if the glowing edge render thing will work.
On another note, I've some up with a rough design for the equivelant of a missile boat in the Star Wars games. Using Revs scenario I have some up with a small ship, about the size of Datas scout ship from Insurrection, and loaded it out with minitorp launchers. I figure it can be used in fleet engagements as either fighter suppression or to damage/destroy shields on capital ships. It's secondary function would be as a planetary bombardment ship and minelayer, leaving little matter/antimatter torpedos all over to be activated by passing craft. If I get anything modeled tomorrow at work I'll let you know.
-------------------- www.kennyscrap.com - where I download crap I make.
Registered: Jun 2003
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posted
Many thanks! That should do nicely as reference- the final model wont be longer than a business card.
-------------------- Justice inclines her scales so that wisdom comes at the price of suffering. -Aeschylus, Agamemnon
Registered: Aug 2002
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