Strike Carrier Concept

I can't remember if they where called rambus or bussard collectors in WC, but the fictions is quite similar..they collect hydrogen for the engines IIRC.
In one of the novels was it mentioned quite clearly, but I can't find the text at the moment.
 
Hmmm... Hey people, do you know why some WC starships have intakes? What's their function in space?

They're intakes :) Ships generate electromagnetic ramscoops, which take in spaceborne hydrogen to use as fuel.
 
I never said this was a light/escort carrier. Its a strike carrier, meant to go deep into enemy territory and hold down a prescense. Its small compared to the carriers of its era, less than half the length of Midway. The Cerberus had a good concept but really doesn't have enough fighters to combat a large threat.
 
WildCat said:
They also decelerate the ship, through drag I believe.

That's part of what scoopfields do - they create drag that a) lets you maneuver without maneuvering jets, and b) the ramscoop fields that create said drag also keep sucking in the hydrogen for the engines.
 
Sylvester said:
I never said this was a light/escort carrier. Its a strike carrier, meant to go deep into enemy territory and hold down a prescense. Its small compared to the carriers of its era, less than half the length of Midway. The Cerberus had a good concept but really doesn't have enough fighters to combat a large threat.

And there was the TCS Eagle's escort carrier class, which dates from the end of the Kilrathi War and has room, if it has the same fighter capacity as either a Ranger-class or a Tarawa-style escort carrier, for between 40-50 fighters. From what I recall, even the jury-rigged Tarawa could do 247 kps, which makes her just about perfect for the 'strike' role, especially if you could have paired her with Plunkett-class cruisers and Murphy-class destroyers which would match her maximum speed. The main justification for the 'strike carrier' class seems to have been the theoretical ability to fight an action by itself without any escorts. Unfortunately, in the post-Kilrathi War world where plasma cannons now exist - especially during or after the Nephilim incursions where it was shown that enemy bombers could, without even using torpedoes, take out Confederation ships with ease (Red Manta, Skate-T, Devil Ray) - this is no longer a feasable concept, if it ever was. You're better off spending the money on a light carrier or two, as otherwise you've got a fleet carrier with a few more guns and a lot more resources invested in it... all of which can be lost by a few strikes to the bridge and engines.

Remember that the Midway was designed to be a 'floating starbase' - the nucleus of a task force in wartime, easier to defend and maintain than the equivalent number of ships. That defined mission helped define the requirements for it size, which is substantial. What you've described above is a fleet carrier, more of an update for the Concordia-class, with some of the ideas mixed in from the Bengal-class, than anything. The reason Confed moved away from these ships is because it's a lot more expensive to maintain a large carrier force of many fleet carriers, each with its own wing of fighters, than it is to send out several large megacarriers or supercarriers that all have three or four wings of fighters. Fewer capships to defend, fewer to maintain, but possessing equal strength in terms of their fighter wings to the pre-War fleet if not improving on it.

The Quick-Strike Cruisers of the Hades-class ships are an attempt to put in small, fast ships with enough fighter capability to carry out hit and run missions behind enemy lines, from what I see. Any surviving or new light or escort carriers would have similar mission profiles, on top of patrolling frontier sectors, as they're small enough to not be a horrific loss should one ship go down but large enough to be a credible threat to an enemy.

Therefore, I must ask this - what role do you have for the strike carrier in this reduced, post-War world? A Hades-class can be really fast for the small raids, a light or escort carrier group with one or two of the light or escort carriers and a few destroyers or cruisers could make for near-equivalent fighter strength and greater speed in raids or strike missions along with greater flexibility. For heavy strike missions, you've got the Vesuvius-class in the wings, or maybe a Midway-class ship's task force ready for fleet engagements. Also, in this world, a single carrier on a raiding mission by itself - the reason for the strike carrier - would easily get destroyed since the guns and torpedoes are far more lethal now than they were during the period the Bengals were designed and brought into play... and even then, they've apparently lost most of the Bengals by the End Run period, much less Fleet Action.
 
Hey. Why not design a "slow-strike cruiser"? Just like a quick-strike cruiser, but . . . slower!
 
Now a question about the intakes: when do they first show up? That's not an in-universe question, but rather on what WC product are they first mentioned? WC3?
 
psych said:
Hey. Why not design a "slow-strike cruiser"? Just like a quick-strike cruiser, but . . . slower!

Since Confed has quick-strike cruisers, it implies that all other attack cruisers are slow.
 
Delance said:
Now a question about the intakes: when do they first show up? That's not an in-universe question, but rather on what WC product are they first mentioned? WC3?

I think that WC3 is the first time we see GLOWING intakes, though there always seemed to be ports on the Exeter class back in WC1. I could be wrong, though.
 
Delance said:
Since Confed has quick-strike cruisers, it implies that all other attack cruisers are slow.

'Slow' in this case being defined as 240 kps for the Plunkett-class cruisers.

Which fits pretty well with an escort carrier's speed, by the way. At least, if they all kept up Tarawa-level speeds due to the use of destroyer-rated engines.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Sylvester said:
How about a light carrier then, I bump up the speed and lower armor slightly.

You'd have to lower the armor, lower the fighter capacity from the 100 you've got right now, bring down the weapon loadout (it's not MEANT to fight ship to ship or even handle a lot of close-range fighter actions), and probably shrink it a tad.

At which point you've got an escort carrier that already existed in canon somewhere. Maybe you could define the Eagle's specs instead, given the clues pointed out in the WC3 novel?

Gods know, Confed has a history of recycling capship designs till they're completely out of style, at least for successful ones.
 
What about removing 2 Ion Cannons and calling it a "Medium Fleet Carrier" IE, something much cheaper and easier to produce than Midway or Vesuvius ships.

Besides, the WC Saga team already created specs for the Eagle, the're on the Fleet Tactics site.
 
psych said:
You are being more idealistic then realistic.


Now you, RFBurns, are putting blind faith and thinking that everyone who works on a WC project has the necessary temperment, maturity, willpower to not only complete any fan project they want, but to make it the best damn project ever. To think that every project that has started is going to finish, and be a credit to the community, and is going to be completed by 13-14 year old teenagers . . . is living in a dream world.


Now where do you suppose WC came from to begin with? Just popped out of thin air or something? OR did someone sit down one day and say "hey Ive got this great IDEA for a space combat sim". Wonder how old that guy was, and how long he had the idea before it was taken seriously and developed.

Unless you personally know the guy...you cannot say this person does not posess the will, the drive or temperment or even maturity to persue a project for WC. Maybe *YOU* dont...but give others a chance before slamming the door on them.
 
*edited* I have reached an understanding with the other party, and retract this post.
 
Dude...get off your high horse and grow up. No one is attacking you. In fact, perhaps all should see your nice web page you put up just for me..and maybe we can all see who's attacking who. Seems to me...you attacked the original poster regarding his ideas, saying HE had no will, no intent to complete the ideas.

All I said was, and still do, is give the newbies a chance to voice their ideas. I suppose that must hit a nerve with you.. too bad. Your problem.. not mine or anyone elses.

GET OVER IT!
 
RFBurns said:
Dude...get off your high horse and grow up. No one is attacking you. In fact, perhaps all should see your nice web page you put up just for me..and maybe we can all see who's attacking who. Seems to me...you attacked the original poster regarding his ideas, saying HE had no will, no intent to complete the ideas.

All I said was, and still do, is give the newbies a chance to voice their ideas. I suppose that must hit a nerve with you.. too bad. Your problem.. not mine or anyone elses.

GET OVER IT!

I want to edit my posts, as psych stated, a happy ground has been reached. I retract my two posts from above, but for some reason my browser is not showing an edit icon (tho my work pc shows it). I want all to know that I have no ill will towards psych or anyone here. And I apologize if anyone was offended.

Last thing we need in the WC community is division. EA has divided that enough I think. We all need to stick together because if we dont...who will?

Again, I retract my statements, and apologize publicly to psych and anyone else who may have been offended.

Now...lets go fry some nephillim with some of these new carriers! The cats can come too if they want, tho were fresh out of cat nip. A new shipment is expected soon. :D
 
Back
Top