 August 29, 2013 - 3:45pm | Been thinking about starships. What is the "average" spaceship hull size in the Frontier? What is the distribution? Are there lots of little ships and only a few really big ones? Are most of the ships in the mid range? Is it evenly distributed? Obviously there have to be a lot of little HS 1-5 shuttle types ships that get things in and out of orbit. But what about the other ships? Chime off on your suggestions. I've written a simulation of the Starship Construction Centers based on the rules for ship build and maintenance time. It's interesting to see the numbers that come out. But one of the inputs needed is what sizes of ships are being requested to be built. That's what's got me thinking about this. Ad Astra Per Ardua! My blog - Expanding Frontier Webmaster - The Star Frontiers Network & this site Founding Editor - The Frontier Explorer Magazine Managing Editor - The Star Frontiersman Magazine |
 November 8, 2013 - 5:54pm | I think the frigate is popular simply from a cost point of view, engines are size B which give you three jumps between overhauls and there is only 3 of them. the crew is comparitively small which is good from a cost perspective but its large enough that it cant be overwhelmed by a civilian crew they have boarded. (this is a real possibility for an assault scout) its right in the range of not too small and not too large- I suppose you could call the frigate the "goldie-locks" ship. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 November 9, 2013 - 1:12pm | Frigates were common for inspections in the early naval history. |
November 9, 2013 - 3:53pm | It could also be part of a strategy on the part of the UPF to use Frigates and Assault Scouts which are fast moving to spot the slower moving sathar vessels, signal for help and shadow said formation till a task force or strike force can be assembled to deal with them. If fact that sounds like a KHs encounter- A Frigate (or patrol group of a frigate and 2 assault scouts) on patrol detects a sathar force and radios for help. Its orders are to shadow and maintain contact till the strike force can reach the area. the problem for the frigate is that while it is fleet of foot enough to avoid the heavy footed sathar vessels and yet maintain contact it cannot avoid the fighters from the sathar carrier(s) Victory for the UPF player is surviving 10 turns of successive fighter waves. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
November 9, 2013 - 9:17pm | Well, Jed, the Fighters need to get within about 30,000 km to launch their rockets. That is about the same range as the rocket batteries on the Frigate. Imagine... klaxons are blaring, the XO is screaming over the intercom for the PCs to get those reloads up to the rocket battery from the cargo hold. (Frigates may carry more reloads in the cargo hold, more than 4) There are boogies in-bound and that ammo is needed NOW! Think of it as a version of a gatling gun system - Anti-Air. As for the previous arguement over whether to build a ship that is HS 20 - It's a BIG stick! UPFS Clinton, a light cruiser and a couple of desrtoyers show up in Dramune or Laco's World during the wars - EVERYONE stops for a minute! It's not the destroyers or cruiser - everyone has ships and can swarm them but the Battleship...well pirates don't want to loose four Corvettes trying to take it on. No Corporation wants their fleet reduced to scrap. Sometimes size does matter. Think of the Great White Fleet during Teddy Roosevelt's time. If there is a flare up, park the battleship in their bay and things calm down -> modern times ~ park the USN Eisenhower or another carrier group off someone's coast and they get scared. No bullets have to fly to get the point across. I think that the UPF Spacefleet has Battleships to fight the Sathar, yes but, also to quiet any problems in the home systems, too. |
November 10, 2013 - 4:18am | I think gun boat diplomacy applies more with corporations in a shooting dispute than with member planets. Member planets, with one or two notable exceptions, are going to have a "we better calm down the UPFS Clinton is in orbit" reaction - it would be like the Eisenhower visiting Portland, Me. Rather the opposite would be true- there would be some excitement and a boost to the local tourism trade as people would want to see the ship. Shuttle flights to the orbiting station would be packed and t-shirt and hat venders would be cashing both selling touristy stuff to sailors on leave and UPFS Clinton stuff to the locals. Gun boat diplomacy might apply to parking the Clinton at Zebulon or at a Rim world or Outer Reach. It could also apply to Hentz if your read on Hentz is such that they may try to dominate the other yazirian colonies. and of course corporate conflicts. Alternately Star Law might have a warrent for the arrest of a CEO who has fled to a corporate controlled planet- a STrike force performing unscheduled maneuvers there might be a pointed hint that the corporate priveteers should not interfere with the shuttle that is landing. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 November 10, 2013 - 9:21am | I think the frigate is popular simply from a cost point of view, engines are size B which give you three jumps between overhauls and there is only 3 of them. Or one drive, if you go by the official TSR miniatures.  Well, Jed, the Fighters need to get within about 30,000 km to launch their rockets.
40K. And they get a head-on bonus to boot. Your chance to hit with an AR is doubled over the defender's RB before you even add skill modifiers to either side. Multiply that by a full squadron of six fighters launching from outside the RB range (only the frigate/destroyer LB can defend) and that's one drifting hulk. I think that the UPF Spacefleet has Battleships to fight the Sathar, yes but, also to quiet any problems in the home systems, too. That's one premise behind the Operation: Dreadnaught bill in my campaign. Problem was, in my game that came too little/too late...an upstart dictator appeared in the Frontier with HS:20+ carriers & cruisers and swiftly took over as the first UPF HS:20+ dreadnaughts were nearing completion. Those massive swarms of fighters (see prior comment) laid waste to many UPF warships. Surviving fighters then targeted the big ships, followed by their HS:20+ cruisers. And that scenario was repeated when the worms arrived afterwards. |
November 10, 2013 - 10:46am | It could also apply to the Dramune system if Inner and Outer Dramune go to war again. But, whether it is Dramune or Hentz, it does show an internal reason for the use of Battleships. I believe this is minor compared to Laco's World or Alcazzar. Corporation disputes and wars are a major issue in reference to internal disent. These skirmishes can involve innocent bystanders, disrupt trade and devestate the economy and ecology of worlds. |
November 10, 2013 - 4:40pm | I just thought of a new situation: CFM is not to picky about methods when it gets pissed off and if they went after another megacorp it might take some big stickes to separate the two. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
