Re: [GZG] Battlecruisers

On 12/26/06, Ryan Gill <rmgill@mindspring.com> wrote:
> At 10:17 AM -0700 12/26/06, Richard Bell wrote:
> >>
> >The posited ship type is a vessel that can engage cruisers with a
> >small degree of impunity, even though cruisers in FB1 can include
both
> >thrust6 and class-3's.  This requires the "true-BC" to have thrust8
> >and class-4 beams.  None of the ships referred to as battlecruisers
in
> >the FB's are anything more than larger cruisers.  For that matter,
> >even the SDN's are little more than very large cruisers.
>
> I would argue that thrust 8 and Class 4 beams would make the vessel
> something more like a Prinz Eugen or HMS Furious. Thrust 8 is very
hard to
> mate up to class 4 beams and not have a unusuall expensive craft.

I never said that these ships would be cheap, or even small.  In a
fighter-lite, SM-free universe, you could build these on 120 mass
points and an NPV of 396(?).  With thrust8, FTL, 24 hull, 2FCS, 2PDS,
and 4 class-4 beams, it is about as resilient as the cruisers that it
is meant to hunt down, much more maneuverable, and able to deal out
serious damage at 24+.	Alternatively, you decrease the main battery
to 3 class-4's and give it an extra FCS, more PDS, and some class-1's
for close in firepower.  Another option is going even larger, but
still only having 4 class-4 beams.  About 160 is the biggest that I
would make it.

My ideas for BC's grew out of a fleet design that I was putting
together for a race with human FB technology and a serious need for
speed.	They went in for serious maneuverability and a touch of long
range firepower.  They often fought amongst each other and had a very
stylised form of ritual warfare with long range and/or close in
battles of maneuver.  Their ideal warship was a weak hulled cruiser
with a single FCS, single PDS, single class-4, FTL and thrust 10.
Thrust might be reduced to allow for more damage points or an extra
weapon.  In decreasing order, weapons of preference were class-4
beams, class-3 beams, and pulse torpedoes.  Multiple arc main weapons
were for people who couldn't point their ship in the correct
direction, large numbers of weapons were for people who couldn't shoot
straight, and really tough hulls were for people who were slow to
realise that they were beaten.	Fleet engagements tended to devolve
into single ship duels.  Their PDS was not really intended to fire at
fighters or SM's (systems that they do not use), but to engage ships
flying past at relative velocities of 50+, with close approaches of
6-.

After encountering humanity, their ships eventually got slower,
tougher, and upgunned, but anything that could not thrust at 6+ and
carry at least a P-torp was not worth building.
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