Of Draymans and Clydesdales

[BlackJack2064]

Hey fellow wingnuts.

I have a question about WC1-2.

I have been working on a Wing Commander RPG over the last year or so (have actually finished two different drafts of, about to do the third cut) and I was wondering about transports from the first two games.

I can only assume the Drayman and Clydesdale class transports we so love to escort from those games are Light Transports. With thier length of around 90-100 meters they really could not carry all that in the way of parts or equipment for a fleet carrier, let alone a battlegroup.

And with the Wake Class Escort Carriers being built on a medium transport frames can only mean there are larger transports in use.

Are these the same class of transports in WC3 and 4?

 

[ChrisReid]

I can only assume the Drayman and Clydesdale class transports we so love to escort from those games are Light Transports. With thier length of around 90-100 meters they really could not carry all that in the way of parts or equipment for a fleet carrier, let alone a battlegroup.

Neither is ever referred to as a "light" ship anywhere (there are many variants for both ships besides standard transport).

And with the Wake Class Escort Carriers being built on a medium transport frames can only mean there are larger transports in use.

Are these the same class of transports in WC3 and 4?

There's lots of different transports. I can't think of anything specific that ties the Wake and Clarkson classes like that.

 

[BlackJack2064]

I have gathered the majority of my source material for my RPG from here at the CIC.

I am just going to have to dig through the ship database to get commissioning dates for other types of transports. I am very interested in visual references so I can make the appropriate tiles for the space combat portion of the game.

Thank you for the response!

 

[frostytheplebe]

I have gathered the majority of my source material for my RPG from here at the CIC.

I am just going to have to dig through the ship database to get commissioning dates for other types of transports. I am very interested in visual references so I can make the appropriate tiles for the space combat portion of the game.

Thank you for the response!

Hey what about the Dilligent class?

 

[Mincemeat]

The Diligent class is essentially the same as the Drayman, except that it is a tanker. Would it be redundant in terms of the proposed RPG? Your call.

https://www.wcnews.com/ships2/wc1diligent.shtml

 

[Bandit LOAF]

The Diligent isn't actually (necessarily) a tanker - the fiction is that it's a transport just like the Drayman... which can be configured as a tanker if desired. I believe we actually see more *Drayman* tanker versions than we do Diligents, though...

(It was originally *intended* to be a tanker... and not called a Diligent. The original game would have had different art for the Drayman depending on what the mission said you were escorting... but it was cut for space and the artwork was later reused in The Secret Missions as the Diligent.)

 

[Ijuin]

The big difference between the Dilligent and Drayman type of transport and the Clydesdale type appears to be that the D/D type are set up for carrying a large external cargo container (sort of like a semi truck), while the Clydesdale appears to carry its cargo internally (preferable if you are hauling stuff that the crew needs to be able to reach in-flight). The Clarkson and Pelican classes appear to be set up to haul multiple containers at once.