Kochou plotship concept

[Fred]

I've made more than a passing reference that I was working on making a ship class that I was making with the intent of it being a ideal ship to serve as a plotship like the Mikomi and Sakura-class vesels have been used for.

I'm now bringing this up here because I think I'm fairly close to completion and I wanted input so I could know what touches to add in the finalization of the ship class.

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Kochou Type 29 Nekovalkyrja Escort
Class : Ke-D4-1a
Manufacturer : Ketsurui Fleet Yards
Crew : 5 officers, 12 enlisted

• Length: ~140 meters
  Width: ~80 meters
  Height: ~20 meters
  Decks: 4 (4 meters each)

CFS Speed : 300,000c
Hyperspace Fold Speed : 10 LY/m
Atmospeheric Flight Capable
Capable of Underwater Operations

Internal Accomodations :

• Bridge (slightly larger, streamlined version of the Nozomi-class)
• Armory (Arm ship crew x2, close to power armor bays)
• Auxiliary craft (ship inbuilt corvette-like craft)
• Living Ring (nest rooms organised in a circular arrangement around the lounge with all crew accomodations a short stroll away such as Rec room, wardroom, laundry room and baths - nests also include toilets with showers.
• Captain's Suite + Monitor room ( close to bridge and in proximity of living ring, has a bathroom)
• E-IES Computer (under bridge, shielded, only bridge can offer direct access)
• ACS (auxiliary computer located under the monitor room, access only from Captain's Suite)
• Engine room (close to cargo bays, living ring and main gun - contains namely the CFS and the ship's power systems)
• Medical Lab (in proximity of living ring, close to auxiliary craft and Power Armor bays)
• Science Lab (separate from normal medlab - more extensive facilities)
• Brig (two containment cell rooms)
• Anti-gravity passageways (the ship is designed for NH-29s and Yamataians in mind)
• Power Armor bays x2 (each bay hold 6 power armors - typically Mindy - or 1 T4 Fox. Has both atmospheric forcefield and physical doors)
• Cargo Bays x2 (adjacent to power armor bays) with elevator platforms to offload cargo on planet.
• Fabrication Rooms (safe place for the nodal system to create items, under living ring, linked to cargo bays and torpedo bay)
• Briefing Room (linked to bridge, power armor bays and living ring)
• Observation room (contains an arborium and shows an outside view of space, close to auxiliary craft)

Ship systems :

• Moderate-strength Armored Hull
• Regenerative ablative armor
• Internal Compartmentalization
• 6 gravitron beam projectors
• 4 Escape pods (spaced out to allow crewmembers quick access throughout the ship)
• 1 soul savior pod
• Firefighting stations
• Sound-powered telephones
  
• Combined Field System (strong shields, stealth)
• Hemosynthetic Conduit System
• Matter collection system (two ports positioned on the front of the ship, on each side of the main gun)
• Nodal system (with dedicated fabrication rooms)
• Escort Integrated Electronics Suite Type 29 (produce NH-29 or NH-12B sprites; includes RDD and WARMS)

Weapon Systems :

• KFY W2901 Aether Beam Cannon (mounted on front)
• KFY W2904 Subspace-Encased Particle Cannon (6; 2 front dorsal, 2 front ventral, 1 rear ventral, 1 rear dorsal)
• KFY W2903 Variable Pods (56; fast 30 second deployment)
• Type 29 Dual-port Torpedo Launcher (fires front and back, can carry 16 AS-5 or 8 AS-7 torpedoes, but mainly designed to launch chibi-MEGAMI probes)
• Projected Aether Beams (can be generated by main ship or auxiliary craft)

Vehicle Complement

• Ke-F8-1a Auxiliary Craft
• 6 Ke-M2-2a Mindy Power Armor or 6 Ke-M1-1c Lamia Power Armors or 1 T4 Fox combat aeroshuttle
• 6 Ke-M2-2a Mindy Power Armor or 6 Ke-M1-1c Lamia Power Armors or 1 T4 Fox combat aeroshuttle

PROS :

• The Kochou boasts high speed, close second to the Sakura-class gunship.
• The kochou has powerful defensive systems to it's disposal, despite being smaller than it's Arashi-class predecessor.
• A small hull with a high amount of versatile, highly-responsive and powerful weapon systems as an alternative to the Sakura gunships anti-fleet capabilities. The escort can combine it's high speed and extended range to devastating effect. The Kochou's weaponry is extremely effective in ship-to-ship combat and it should offer a good showing of itself even against a cruiser.
• Well-rounded crew amenities to sustain morale in long-range missions.
• Integrated secondary craft that can serve as a superior base of operation than the T4 shuttles in planetbound operations.
• The Kochou is a smaller hull with a accordingly small crew that is easier to build and crew than the larger Arashi-class escort.
• The Kochou can act with the Sakura and Nozomi-classes as part of a Type-29 fleet's strategic strike pool.

CONS :

• The Kochou lacks anti-fleet weaponry.
• The Kochou, even with it's variable pods able to support it's armors, has a very low amount of power armors at it's disposal compared to previous escort vessels.
• The Kochou's sensor suite is less effective than the MEGAMI-IES the Sakura and Nozomi-classes have.

 

[Wes]

Most everything looked good, but two things stood out to me:

KFY W2901 Aether Beam Cannon (mounted on front)

The KFY W2901 is a single-bladed aether beam saber and phased pulse rifle for the Mindy Power Armor.

The Kochou can act with the Sakura and Nozomi-classes as part of a Type-29 fleet's strategic strike pool.

Escort ships do not (usally) serve in the strategic strike pool; they serve as escorts to capital ships. The strike pool is primarily for command-directed search and destroy missions (hence its name).

 

[Fred]

The KFY W2901 is a single-bladed aether beam saber and phased pulse rifle for the Mindy Power Armor.

Err... okay... ship nomenclature for weaponry seems to follow that current trend : the Sakura gunship's weapon is called the KFY W2800 Anti-Fleet Cannon so I'm pretty sure I got that one right.

The Chiharu has the revised KFY W2900 Anti-Fleet Cannon. The KFY W2901 Aether Beam Cannon (see link) was designed to be first mounted on the Kochou as a single-ship killing super-heavy weapon. It was called a 'beam cannon' because it could fire either a sustained beam or a powerful pulse but otherwise it's function is heavily based on the Mindy rifle equivalent.

Wes, you're refering to a weapon of similar name that would be the Ke-M2-W2901 Aether Beam Rifle. Both names though are very similar so this seems only to be a problem of nomenclature because the main gun the Kochou uses has been approved. I'm open to new name ideas if you feel it should be named differently.

Escort ships do not (usally) serve in the strategic strike pool; they serve as escorts to capital ships. The strike pool is primarily for command-directed search and destroy missions (hence its name).

My original qualification for the Kochou was first as a Gunship (the role was held by the recently built Sakura), then more firmly as a Light Cruiser, but you told me that the light cruiser classification no longer existed and that the category was now called Escort.

Essentially, if the Nozomi is a bee and that the Sakura is a dragonfly, the Kochou should be a wasp : meaner than a scoutship, but lacking the PWN-THEM-ALL capability of the Sakura in the favor of versatility and more survavibility in smaller-scale ship battles.

Possible roles? Well, like the Sakura, it's a relatively fast-response vessel, so it's good for patrol duties in established territory. It's something of an ideal raider-killer (the Sakura is good at fighting multiple ships while the Kochou tries to be a little better at fighting single ships). It can serve well in exploration missions too.

Do you have a better idea about the category the ship could fill in? I really wanted to keep the gunship role for the Sakura and the scoutship role for the Nozomi and have something of an in-between.

 

[Doshii Jun]

Weren't you considering a "diplomatic role" for this ship, Fred?

Why not just call it the "cruiser" class since the only ship that fills the role now is the Ayame, technically speaking. Let the Kochou set the standard for the Type 29 -- tough, fairly fast, enough offensive punch to be worth mentioning but not overboard.

The Ayame's Legacy Cannon seemed to be the one weapon that did the most and made the Ayame stand out. Since the Sakura's the one with anti-fleet weaponry now, let the cruiser-class be defined by ship-to-ship weapons. The Kochou still has the Aether Beam Cannon at its disposal; it's just not as buff as the Shock Cannon on the Sakura, neh?

 

[Fred]

I sort of bagged up diplomatic in the exploration part.

The problem I see with just classifying it as a cruiser is the Kochou's small size compared to the Ayame : it's smaller than a third of the ISFC (the Ayame has 33 decks, for example).

*nods* and the Kochou's main gun foregoes the possibility of hitting many targets with two weapon modes and a much increased firing rate... the amount of punishment done is about the same though, just more selective with less risk of collateral damage.

 

[Wes]

We could always call it a "Light Cruiser" or "Small Cruiser." :-D

 

[Doshii Jun]

Though it would give Fred a coronary, I'd vouch for that. *grins*

 

[Fred]

*cough* Okay, Light Cruiser it is. Probably going to be listed in the Escorts though since it's still in the 'D' category.

Wes, there's still the matter of the nomenclature for the Kochou's main gun which you didn't seem to agree with.

And aside from that, is there something else that you people think could be added, changed, explained, commented on... something?

 

[Wes]

We'll go with Ke-C3 for the nomenclature.

The main cannon would likely be Ke-C3-W2900 if new, or if transplanted from an earlier class, whatever model number that class used.

 

[Fred]

It should be new. So, Ke-C3-W2900 Aether Beam Cannon? (the number was 2901 though, right?)

As in, the Aether Beam Cannon, sized for a cruiser? I'm pretty sure the Sakura and Nozomi class used another sort of nomenclature for their weapons, which is why I might seem a wee bit confused here. I don't mean to be picky - I'd just would like to get it right and understand why.

 

[Wes]

Well, if it is the same exact weapon system as the one on the Sakura, it would be a Ke-S3-W2800.

Ke Manufacturer
S3 Ship Class system is originally for (Sakura is the Ke-S3 series)
W Weapons System

* E Electronics
* F Frame
* G Generator
* H Hull
* P Propulsion
* R Inertial / Force Redirection
* V Environmental
* W Weapons System
* X Escape Pod

28 Year of the Empire
00 1st system of this type created in the above year (01 would be the second, etc)

 

[Fred]

Ah ha. Now I get it. Thanks for taking the time to explain and setting up another example for a known ship.

About the auxiliary craft : essentially, that thing is a corvette like the Ketsueki - a frigate/corvette. Less armed (maybe a few variable pods, projected aether), made to match the Kochou's hull geometry and with better crew amenities (which was the point). Should I consider that craft integrated with the ship, or, once I've done the Kochou and ironed the final details out, I could also post up the auxiliary craft's stat sheet too? Would it have a C-IES?

Also... I'm wondering if the torpedo tubes have enough reaosn to be there. Their original purpose was to be present to launch probes... but if you're going to have torpedo tubes, might aswell have an handful of torpedoes to go along with it. My point is that the torpedo tubes were added as an afterthought : their damage potential isn't any better than the Kochou's quick firing main gun, their ammo capacity laughable and their effective range/speed makes even the weapon pods look good. Are there alternate manners of launching chibi-megami probes?

 

[Wes]

I suppose you could always just dump the probe out into space as you flew along. It has its own propulsion.

The auxillary class should have its own stat sheet.

 

[Zakalwe]

Couldn't you use some sort of wormhole deployment system? It's fairly simple, deploys them easily, and doesn't have to be on the surface of the craft.

 

[Fred]

I think Zakalwe likes wormholes! XD

But sorry, no, I think I'll settle for a probe rack in the port and starboard launchbays. A graviton beam can suffice to 'launch' them out.

Whew!

I'm freed from finding a way of making a torpedo tube that'd run through the front and back to the ship and that would have to have an ammo bay big enough to stack 8 25ish feet long missiles in them. That saves a lot of space!

 

[Wes]

Are we going to put any of the "Custodian" droids aboard?

 

[Fred]

What business would those custodians have on a Type 29 Nekovalkyrja Light Cruiser?

Also, if the Kochou would be part of the Cruiser class, would it's computer type change too? (MEGAMI? WIES?)

 

[Zakalwe]

The Business would be to provide some heavy back up to the ship if it has missions on a planet, or in another ship. They're highly effective in that role, and as bodyguards if you want to stretch the diplomatic bit.

In addition to that they make an interesting addition to Sprites as additional NPC crew members.

 

[Wes]

Also, if the Kochou would be part of the Cruiser class, would it's computer type change too? (MEGAMI? WIES?)

Well, the Ayame has a MEGAMI. The Kochou would have either a MEGAMI or the WIES. Either would work fine (they're very similar--MEGAMI just has a few more sensors).

 

[Fred]

Wes, did you prefer the Kochou to have a less elaborate sensor suite? From how I see it, the MEGAMI are used more with independant, multi-function vessels such as the Sakura and the Nozomi. The Kochou sort of qualifies for that too - but I'd rather have it up to your preference (personall opinion : if the cool ships have a MEGAMI, why couldn't the Kochou have it too - but meh ~_^ ).

Also, in regard of the custodians, the Kochou is a nekovalkyrja vessel : it has anti-gravity passageways, deck sections that don't necessarely all stand neatly horizontally since each has its own gravity plating, has nests rather than beds, etc...

If Wes suddenly decides that KFY ships should have custodians on board (like the Sakura), I wouldn't have much reason to refuse. On the other hand, it doesn't really seem to fit in this case.

...I'm still slightly bothered by the Kochou being classified a category above the Sakura when it's in fact smaller *mind boggles*