An Update!

Here's some rudimentary capship provisions, and some more ships to show scale. None of the ships you see are actually game ships, but they're about the same size. The ship on the left is aboutt he size of a hydra and the one on the right...well, it doesn't have a comparison to be honest. Anyway, here it is.

BradMick
 
Quarto said:
Small fuelling stations sound like a good addition, given the limited fuel range you guys are planning... but small is the key word. Remember, the Landreich is a backwater. The various colonies probably have less than a few million population each - some of them probably have populations counted in the thousands, not even millions. How exactly would a facility this huge find enough traffic to make itself even viable?
It does seem a bit too large, like a more major installation in one of the more-travelled systems.

I don't want to mess up the thread but I have my own concept for a simple, cheap refueling station, pretty much a large fuel tank with a small landing bay, something that could be mass-produced, that would make the bigger depots more interesting.

I had nothing better to do, so I whipped up a concept. I don't mean to be insulting by posting my own ideas in here, but I'd just like to run this idea by you.
 

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Vinman said:
I don't want to mess up the thread but I have my own concept for a simple, cheap refueling station, pretty much a large fuel tank with a small landing bay, something that could be mass-produced, that would make the bigger depots more interesting.
I like it. It seems functional and simple enough to be set in different uninhabited parts of space. However one thing bothers me - what exactly prevents for example pirates (or other space badguys) from looting such a depot from its fuel and then destroying it say just for fun? I guess nothing, unless there is some defensive system mounted. Especially in such civilization and confed free systems as Landreich's there is always a need to defend your ship and base alike as much as possible and making this small depo able to defend itself would show to be to expensive and thus not viable.
 
Not to much in the way of any substantial work, had a PT test today and so I went to bed rediculously early last night. But, I did resize the station, down to 720 ft (219m) across, 517 ft (157m) tall. I did up a dummy venture, it measures at 262 ft (80m) long. I also realized that the ship I was using as a basis of comparison for the Hydra was a might excessive in the size department. So, the station I think is a bit more...managable size wise now.

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Plasteel Skull said:
I like it. It seems functional and simple enough to be set in different uninhabited parts of space. However one thing bothers me - what exactly prevents for example pirates (or other space badguys) from looting such a depot from its fuel and then destroying it say just for fun? I guess nothing, unless there is some defensive system mounted. Especially in such civilization and confed free systems as Landreich's there is always a need to defend your ship and base alike as much as possible and making this small depo able to defend itself would show to be to expensive and thus not viable.
"Protect the fuel station" missions? I don't know... some of those mine-type gun turrets scattered around the area?
 
Glorious work, everyone. I think the new station looks stellar (no pun), very fitting for the time frame. Though I will agree that it seems way too elaborate and posh to be a simple landreich refueling station. This looks more like a sizable outpost than a utilitarian refueling spot. Also, it would suprise me to see capships refueling at a small depot, since I imagine capships would want to be much more self-sufficient so as to be capable of power projection. After all, theres no refueling depot waiting for them on sorties in to Kilrathi space. THOUGH, it would be reasonable to imagine tankers meeting them it kitty space for refueling, which brings me to my next point:

Why not make the refueling "depot" just a tanker? A tanker can deploy itself and redeploy itself as more space is explored/colonized, maximizing its efficiency in a dynamic trade network. A tanker can run if pirates show up, and probably has guns to defend itself. And a tanker can be quickly re-commissioned to carry out a different mission, making it more valuable and viable for Landreich.
And I think it makes perfect sense for the refeuling entity to have fighter escorts. Backwater though this may be, no territory is worth having without a supply chain, and refueling is fairly vital to that chain. So though they should be small, refueling depots (or I'd say tankers) must be there, and as they are of great importance to Anything in landreich, should be well guarded.

Thanks :) you guys are great! Can't wait to see more!
 
I also think it would be cool and reasonable at smaller outposts/depots to have capship just park next to the base, and just use flexible cables for any refueling, and rely on shuttles for any personel exchanges. This way you dont need to worry as much about having all capships fit a uniform gantry, or (nitpicking here) risking the armor weakness of an external bulkhead. Cuz you know the kitties are insidious enough to take advantage of something like that.

At larger bases cool would be to have a scaffold-like enclosure (I know theres a better term, help me here) surrounding capships, or at least the semblance of a few massive canada arms to be used as platforms for repairs/service/etc... But wait, Im getting waay to carried away here. Keep up the good work! I'll do your homework if it helps!
 
yeah, i've decided its going to be a major station, like a refinery base/refueling deal. So, it'll have more stuff inside of it than just a bar. I'll try and get some more work done on it tommorrow, i'm helping my buddy and his wife out with their patio today. But, yeah. Reclass it to a major station.

Also, in the novels on missions where ships need to just run, they carrier tankers with them, so it is necessary for capital ships to refuel. They generally don't need to refuel because they have their scoops open, but if their in a hurry and needing to run scoops closed, then a station (or tanker) would come in handy.

BradMick
 
The station is looking great. Now that is is reclassified as a more major installation, would it be appropriate to add a second "ring" of storage tanks?

For pure "gas stops", would you consider hidden, one-use, unmanned fuel caches inside asteroids?

I'm imagining something like a roughly hewn cave on the side of an asteroid that is just large enough to park your fighter in, with nothing but fuel barrels strapped inside.
 
Hey guys - Howie here. I thought I'd drop in and say howdy, as well as give some feedback. I'm on my brother's 28.8 modem laptop...sooo yeah. Anyhow Brad - this looks awesome. My only request is if we could make it a bit more modular - number of bays, number of fuel cylinders, etc. That's definately give us more room to run with this when it's in the game. Also - I'm glad you decided to go with this as a larger station/refinery than just a simple fuel stop. What I had in mind for those is something very similar to the fuel stations on the Klrathi system in the last missions of WC3. Very rough, some may be made out of asteroids, some not, but that these things are far more numerous and common than a 350+ meter monstrosity. Probably no more that a few slots for various ships to dock. I really like the post that Vinman made - it's almost, hell is EXACTLY in WC1 style. Simple, and elegant. The only thing I'd switch out the landing strip - I'd go for simple airlocks and couples. (this allows the system to service both fighters and capships. The only thing to remember is that the more these things can be modular, the better. That gives us variety, and that's something we're really gonna need. As for project nicknames, I'd just go with Pio. Simple - all the letters are just up there in the upper right coner of the keyboard. Plus - it doesn't step on any other WC games - which is good.
Anyhow - good to see everyone getting in on this!
 
For the simple gas-and-go depots way out in the hinterlands, I like Vinman's model--a simple hundred-meter-long tank with a small landing bay/crew quarters section just large enough to enclose a single Hydra or Camel. Draymans or larger would likely dock to an external port.
 
Alrighty, so patios take a while to put in, heheh. I'll see about getting some stuff done while I wait to see whats up with my class start date. Should probably study, but...eh, I wanna get this knocked out. So, we'll see how it goes today.

BradMick
 
Well, with the other base pretty well knocked out, and with it being something I think will be hanging out more around the Confed side of the border, we've got a more...I guess Landreich-esque base for you. It's a modular system. The pictures show the hanger module, and then the commodity module. I'm working on the rough form for a...basically it's an Offices module. There will also be a Ship Dealer and Capital Ship Dock Module as well. Everything plugs into the central part of the station.

The thing thats neat about this, is that it will make doing the bases LOADS easier. The interiors will be all sorted out already, which will make implementing the walking around the bases a lot easier. So, enjoy!

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here's another quick update. This is the basic layout of the stations concourse. Here is where you'll find the bar, mission computer, and the access ways to the other sections of the station. Each horizontal line marks 15 feet. Again, each box is 6ft. So, as you can see its fairly spacious inside. I kind of see like a bazaar type enviroment in there too. Vendors and what not, but that's getting a bit ahead of myself :)

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BradMick
 
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