Re: [FT]UNSC ship ideas (was graser-1 slightly overpowered)

Hugh Fisher wrote:

>Quick recap: as part of discussion on the graser-1 I suggested
>some new USNC ship designs to which Oerjan replied:

[...]

> From the playtesting point of view, these beta designs are an ideal 
> opportunity to test how ships with primarily graser armament perform. 
> People are going to design such ships sooner
>or later, why not make it sooner?

 From the playtesting point of view, "sooner" was several years ago. My 
reply was based on several years of playing both with and against such 
designs, and in my experience from those games the armaments you suggest

make the ships too vulnerable to being outflanked and outranged both by 
other human ships and by the various GZGverse aliens to be particularly 
effective.

>The descriptions of the Lake and Luna make it clear that the
>UNSC is steadily developing graser technology as the Xeno War
>continues, and fitting more and more grasers to their ships
>over time. These seem quite reasonable extrapolations to me.

It would be quite reasonable *unless* they also found problems with the 
suggested graser-heavy weapon fits, eg. the problems already discussed
in 
this thread.

>As to weaknesses, I'll argue that those missions are not what they are 
>designed for.

You're arguing that the non-missile Lake variants are not designed to be

able to escort heavier UNSC ships? Whatever. I OTOH would argue that 
escorting heavier UNSC ships is the *primary* mission for the Lakes and 
Hunters, with any anti-capital-ship strike capability being a secondary 
role only.

>Do you criticise a current day Aegis for being unable to sink
submarines?

No, but I would critizise the admiral who proposes to send all his
frigates 
on close-range assaults against enemy capital ships (thus leaving the
Aegis 
and CVN without decent anti-sub protection) and therefore wants to refit

his frigates with anti-ship weaponry only.

>In the closing stages of the Xeno War the UNSC starts building
destroyers 
>that seem less effective against the Kra'Vak, but capable of doing
serious 
>damage to the less agile human capital ships.

You're assuming that the various aliens will cease being serious threats
at 
the end of the Xeno War. I'm not :-/

Regards,

Oerjan
oerjan.ohlson@telia.com

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