Re: What makes a Carrier? (ftfb)

Brendan wrote:

> With all the ships I've designed so far using the construction system,
> after all the _fixed_ systems (% of mass systems) are installed
(drives,
> hull, ftl, screens) most ships usually have about 30% of their mass
> available for offensive systems & armour. As a guide, this should make
any ship 
> with more than 15-20% of their mass in fighter bays a carrier (using
the old 50% 
> systems definition).	

That's high-thrust and decently-hulled, though. If you look at the FB
ships, the average is closer to 40% available. Using 20% of the total
Mass as a limit should probably be OK. However, it doesn't help the
large
carriers very much - a wet-navy carrier can only launch the aircraft in
a
single direction, which limits the launch speeds; but a space fighter
carrier should be able to launch the fighters in *any* direction, which
means that it can potentially launch lots of them very fast - all of
them
at once, if it has enough launch bays...
 
Later,

Oerjan Ohlson
oerjan.ohlson@nacka.mail.telia.com

"Life is like a sewer.
  What you get out of it, depends on what you put into it."
- Hen3ry