TNO: Universal-class Corvette
Name:Universal-class Corvette
Designation:
Anti-Starfighter Corvette
Manufacturer:
Sienar Fleet Systems
Operational Function:
Point Defense Anti-Starfighter Corvette
Length:
200 meters
Width:
200 meters
Height:
75 meters
Crew:
200
Troops:
50 Marines for on-board defense
Hyperdrive: x3.5
Speed:
25 MGLT
Emergency Speed: 35 MGLT (with weapons powered down)
Hull: 800 RU
Shields: 1,000 SBD, Multi-track shields
Weapons:
30 Phoenix Gun Batteries
16 Long-range laser cannons
4 Electromagnetic Accelerators tailored for anti-starfighter use
9 Multi-purpose warhead launchers
40 Quad Laser cannons
Special Systems:
Light Sensors
CGT
Efflux Detectors
Molecularly Bonded Armor
Description and Development History:
With the rise of the Galactic Coalition, and specifically the Kashan Confederacy, stealthed fighters were coming into their own. The devestation wrought by guerilla warfare over Metalorn prompted Sienar into developing the Universal-class Corvette, a dedicated starfighter, and specifically stealthed starfighter, killer.
A unique design, the Universal abandons the traditional shape of starships in favor of a spherical command center encircled by a doughnut-shaped weapons platform. Four tubes in an X shape connect the command center to the weapons systems. Through these tubes run electronic systems and communication systems, as well as providing a walkway for gunners to move back and forth.
The command module, 75 meters in diameter, is a perfectly rounded sphere. The bottom and top decks both have five quad cannons to compensate for any blind spots in the weapons platform. The second deck down contains the bridge and the communications array. The third and fourth deck contain the quarters for officers as well as the mess hall and recreational rooms. Decks five and six contain crew quarters. The middle decks (seven and eight) contain the four engines, shield generator, CGT, sensor arrays, and the main reactor core.
The engines are mounted in an interesting and efficient fashion, with each engine being mounted at the ends of the walking tubes. With one major engine pointing every direction, the ship can change direction extremely quickly along a horizontal plane. This allows a hasty retreat by simply switching power from one set of engines to another.
Decks nine through eleven contain crew quarters as well as crew recreational rooms and a secondary mess hall. Decks twelve through fourteen are set aside for munitions and provision storage.
The outer ring contains weapons emplacements. The Phoenix gun batteries and the quad cannons are interspaced, all facing outward. However, each battery is set in a individually rotating section so it has a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree vertical field of fire, leaving no blind spots on the ship. The warhead launchers and long-range laser cannons are also interspaced around the ring with 360-degree vertical rotation. The electromagnetic accelerators are placed with one in between each set of tubes, commanding the horizontal approach from every direction.
Description of Special Systems:
Phoenix Gun Batteries - The Phoenix Gun Battery is in actual fact three guns mounted to one fast tracking mount. The main piece of this weapon is an electromagnetically charged rail gun, capable of firing small slugs at high speed. This weapon is coupled with a flechette launcher, designed to intercept enemy missiles and destroy them. It fires flechette at high speed, allowing it to cut through enemy missiles, even armoured ones, with relative ease. It is also effective at close range against unshielded enemy starfighters.
The second element of this weapon is a pair of rapid fire blaster canons. These weapons are suited for use against starfighters.
Equipped with fast-tracking targetting systems and mounts, these emplacements are designed to quickly and efficiently kill enemy starfighters. While no replacement for a dedicated antistarfighter frigate, they are extremely effective in point defence.
Electromagnetic Accelerator - A projectile weapon designed to inflict heavy damage from long range, the Electromagnetic Accelerator fires metallic "slugs" at enemy ships. The weapon is comprised of a long barrel wrapped in superconductive wiring, turning the entire barrel into a massive electromagnet. Once charged, this magnet hurles a slug at near-lightspeed toward a distant target. The longer the barrel, the faster the slug moves and thus, the greater the damage inflicted. Neccessarily, the Electromagnetic Accelerator draws a substantial ammount of power, and its application is limited. These accelerators are tailored specifically for anti-starfighter fire. These slugs are fired into clusters of enemy starfighters. Once the slug gets within a few hundred meters of the targets the slug explodes, coating an area of space roughly 500 meters squared with superheated shrapnel. Because of the speed of this explosion, these weapons are unaffected by starfighter shields and literally cut enemy ships to pieces.
Light Sensors - These sensors operate by emitting rays of utraviolet light in all directions. Rather than expecting these rays to return, however, the sensor operator observes where they vanish (as they do when they strike an object). Because all stealth ships still have a physical presence in space, their location will be revealed by these sensors.
The working of this sensor can best be described as picking up a ship's "shadow" in space.
Because this sensor relies on light being blocked, and light travels in a straight line, they are unable to detect ships if they are being screened by another vessel. As well, they are incapable of producing a definate enough image to secure a confirmed classification, and targetting relies upon the skill of individual gunners.
Efflux Detector - These sensors are highly sensitive to heat. Because space is an absolute vacuum and temperatures are below freezing, any sort of heat shows up on these sensors. While they cannot acheive a targetting lock on stealth engines, they can detect that stealth ships might be present and provide a general idea of where they are on the battlefield.
Molecularly Bonded Armor - Molecularly Bonded Armour "is created by bonding metals at the subatomic level. Texture-molding tractor fields hold the metal in place while it is just barely surface-liquefied. The hot metal surface is then bombarded with charged particles that increase its bonding strength and resiliency" (CUSWE).
In terms of ship construction, this eliminates panel gaps between armour plating, essentially meaning the ship is structurally one piece. This increases structural rigidity substantially, as well as strengthening the hull overall. Because armour is bonded at the subatomic level, it does not flake off as traditional armour is prone to do, and instead must be melted away or punched directly through.
Multi-track Shields - Multi-track shields, which take data from the ship's central computer to predict approach angles and attack patterns, instantly angle to better deflect, rather than absorb, energy and warheads. Multi-track shields allow for instantaneous changes in shield dispersement around the vessel.
Long-range Laser Cannons - These weapons are normal laser cannons with reinforced barrels. The difference between these and normal laser cannons is that they use the same energy as a turbolaser. But instead of being a heavy bolt, the extra energy is turned into speed and range, allowing the cannon to fire at targets up to 2 km away, nearly four times the range of a normal laser cannon. Since the shots are not as powerful, they can fire faster than a turbolaser as well, though not as fast as a short-range cannon. The downside is that using these weapons significantly slows the ship's speed, since power has to be channeled from the engines.
Comments
#6 5:43am 08/12/06
Understood, and thank you.
#5 5:13am 08/12/06
The example of the Confederation was used simply because they use a great number of stealth fighters, and I do plan on going up against them soon.
Generally, the way these would be used would be that, in defensive fleets, those most at risk from attacks from factions such as the Confederation (again, an example only) would contain a Universal with a CGT. For example, fleets near major hyperspace routes contingent to the Confederation, or fleets along routes the Confederation is most likely to use in an assault. And this would be a rarity. Most of the time these would be used if TNO is planning the attack. Any fleet planning on entering Confederation (or other faction heavily reliant on stealthed ships) would commandeer one.
As for the light sensors, someone else from TNO is going to have to clarify the particular workings. The R&D was posted in TNO forums as something we could incorperate into other R&D's, so I assume it is something that has already been R&Ded. As for how it would detect Confederation ships, for example, is that when the light does something unusual - stops or bends - the operator has a pretty good idea that there's a stealth ship nearby. Gunners would still have to blanket the area with fire, but that's how it would work.
As for oneupmanship, that is not the intention. When I design an R&D (and this is just me), I try to do it as a logical response to something that has happened IC. For example, in the battle over Metalorn, the Confederation employed stealth fighters in guerilla warfare and did a substantial amount of damage. In an attempt to combat such tactics, TNO would logically come up with a ship dedicated to killing fighters, stealthed or not. It's not oneupmanship so much as a reasonable, logical response. At least, that's the way I do it.
#4 4:27am 08/12/06
Being as this R&D looks like it was designed with the intention of causing OOC debates... I have to wonder how you defend your 'light sensors' other then to say "this is how it works" when that same statment has failed to qualify in past debates. I like the R&D forum and the freedom it gives members to explore new ideas, but I dislike seeing it used for the very thing that we constantly try to avoid; the game of oneupmanship. I also wonder about the employment of the CGT, heavily. Arguments that such and such a faction may only have X number of objects would indicate that things like CGT's need to be quantified in some manner... and that their use should be tracked.
You reference the use of this ship against the Confederation, for instance. Which has me curious given that you're not at war or anything...
[QUOTE]Those would be reserved for battles in which stealthed ships are expected (such as against the Confederation), and usually only one or two in a fleet will carry one.[/QUOTE]
Unless you're the one planning the attack, how do you defend that?
"Oh, well we knew we'd be near Confed space, which is huge and all, and so we figured we'd just, you know, equip every friggin ship near that area with a CGT on the off chance that an engagment is met." - Not gonna fly.
Unless we can get past the point of rationing one anothers creative abilities.
Just a thought (which could probably be applied to a number of recent R&D submissions, granted, but Wes is tuff and can handle it).
#3 4:15am 08/12/06
Well, as for the light sensors, if the operator sees the light being bent, that'd essentially have the same effect as it stopping. Basically, it's doing something it's not supposed to do.
As for the specifics of how it works, ask whoever from TNO R&Ded the tech in the first place. I can't give any more than I posted.
As for the CGT, not every [i]Universal[/i] will have one. Those would be reserved for battles in which stealthed ships are expected (such as against the Confederation), and usually only one or two in a fleet will carry one.
#2 12:59am 01/12/06
I'm half tempted to hire Irtar to smite anyone who renames the Contegorian Confederation into another thing, albeit the Kashan Confederacy does sound pretty good, but I digress.
Besides what Stellar has said, here's the actual phrasing:
"The only sensor that can detect a cloaked vessel is the relatively rare and expensive crystal grav traop, which searches for gravitational flucations created by a large mass." (Essential Guide to Weapons & Technology, page 102).
A large mass is also key. As Beff has already stated in the distant past within this forum, CGTs aren't particularly effective in dealing with small objects, such as individual fighters. I think it would probably be able to detect a dense group of stealth fighters though.
While light sensors aren't exactly new, I am somewhat skeptical about well this variety would work, particularly against the S9 Mk II, which uses reflec coating. Reflec bends light around the object it's covering, so I'm somewhat skeptical about how accurate it would be. As well, how is the UV light being sent? Is there a special array similar to the that used on the Anti-gravitron? I'd like other opinions on this as well. This seems reminiscent of the photon unit of the anti-gravitron, and I wonder if it should have similar capabilities.
Efflux (Heat) sensors look good.
#1 12:26am 01/12/06
Just a note on the CGT. These are very expensive pieces of equipment, thus I think they should be very rarely used and not equipped on many of these vets. CGTs have been stated as costing so much that the empire could only afford to have a few of them build and used.