Opinion on Dropship design

[Resident Evil (OP)]

Hi.

I've been thinking about a Dropship design and haven't been able to find any. I have two designs, a small and a larger, the small only drops 1 battalion while the larger drops 2; but the smaller has significantly heavier armour.  I'm after some opinions so let me post them both here and we'll see....

Larger one first:--->

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Hazzarr I class Dropship    8,000 tons     156 Crew     1672 BP      TCS 160  TH 192  EM 0
5000 km/s    JR 4-100     Armour 9-35     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 7     PPV 0
Maint Life 3.81 Years     MSP 914    AFR 73%    IFR 1%    1YR 99    5YR 1483    Max Repair 400 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 24 months    Spare Berths 17   
Drop Capacity: 2 Battalions   

Perkins J8000(4-100) Military Jump Drive (e10)     Max Ship Size 8000 tons    Distance 100k km     Squadron Size 4
Crawford-Webb 400 EP IntCon Wasp Px1.0 (F0.5/T25/e0.4) (2)    Power 400    Fuel Use 40%    Signature 96    Exp 10%
Fuel Capacity 450,000 Litres    Range 25.3 billion km   (58 days at full power)

Sauron Armaments Icarus T-12000 CIWS (4x4)    Range 1000 km     TS: 12000 km/s     ROF 5       Base 50% To Hit
This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes

And here's the smaller one, half the size actually:--->

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Hazzarr I - Copy class Dropship    4,000 tons     79 Crew     981 BP      TCS 80  TH 96  EM 0
5000 km/s    JR 4-50     Armour 15-22     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 6     PPV 0
Maint Life 7.17 Years     MSP 920    AFR 21%    IFR 0.3%    1YR 31    5YR 470    Max Repair 400 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 24 months    Spare Berths 0   
Drop Capacity: 1 Battalion   

Perkins J4000(4-50) Military Jump Drive (e8/s4/r50k)     Max Ship Size 4000 tons    Distance 50k km     Squadron Size 4
Crawford-Webb 400 EP IntCon Wasp Px1.0 (F0.5/T25/e0.4) (1)    Power 400    Fuel Use 40%    Signature 96    Exp 10%
Fuel Capacity 250,000 Litres    Range 28.1 billion km   (65 days at full power)

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes
Obviously the small one's a lot tougher but sacrifices CIWS and capacity to do it. Also the small one is using a slightly older tech for the jump drive, so with a bit of research into a new drive I could free up some space for more armor still.

Anyone who's done a planetary assault got an opinion.

Cheers

ZG

[Father Tim]

For planetary assault, either is fine.  (Though I usually only build transports that can carry 5 battalions at a time, so I don't have to make special plans to handle Construction Brigades.)  I've also had a fair amount of success with fleets where every capital ship carries one battalion, and destroyers/frigates a company each.  Such a 'ready capacity' for planetary assault makes snapping up DSTS and CMC much easier, and practically painless.

I expect most folks around here will tell you a jump drive on a dropship is a huge mistake, but I don't agree with them.  They'll probably say that such ships shouldn't ever be carryong out planetary assault unguarded by warships, and therefore a dedicated jump tender can be assumed to be on standbay for the whole fleet and thus you're just wasting mission tonnage.  I find it invaluable for my troop transports to be assault-capable, rather than having a separate 'contested landing only' fleet and forever be working out how much troop lift I can send where.

In short, I use one model of Troop Transport that is: 
1.  fully independent (and therefore jump capable) 
2.  armoured and CIWS-equipped for defense 
3.  able to carry 5 battalions / 1 construction brigade / 1 HQ + 4 subordinate units simultaneously 
4.  relatively long-legged on the assuption that refuleing may be a problem 
until late in the development of my empire, when I'll add a one battalion Small TT and a 25 battalion Large TT.

I find the convenience of knowing my one design can at least DO all the jobs I need done (even if not very well) to be much greater than having three-to-six different designs that are each the perfect choice for one task, but can't do others and never seem to be in the right place at the right time to do THIS job right now.

[Resident Evil (OP)]

Oh gosh, you've given me more to think about than you can possibly realise. I hadn't even thought about using jump tenders for the fleet to move. What I've been doing is making squads of 5 ships, 4 combat capable ships armed to the teeth, with the 5th been the command ship which carried the jump drive and active sensor package for the group. That way each 'squad' could operate independently, or form up with other 'squads' to form more capable fleets (i.e. mixing carriers with amm ships, etc etc), but with every component squad been capable of independent operation

With regard to shipping troops, I do have a larger troop transport which carries 5 battalions, but it's not intended to go within shooting range of a hostile planet.

It's this--->

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Hyperion II class Troop Transport    34,000 tons     277 Crew     2371 BP      TCS 680  TH 600  EM 0
3676 km/s    JR 2-25(C)     Armour 5-93     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 2     PPV 0
MSP 96    Max Repair 250 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 24 months    Spare Berths 17   
Troop Capacity: 5 Battalions    Cryogenic Berths 200    Cargo Handling Multiplier 40   

Palmer Design Bureau JC34K Commercial Jump Drive (e10)     Max Ship Size 34000 tons    Distance 25k km     Squadron Size 2
Crawford-Webb 500 EP Commercial IntCon Fusion Drive Px0.5 (F5/T0.25/e0.44) (5)    Power 500    Fuel Use 4.42%    Signature 120    Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 220,000 Litres    Range 26.3 billion km   (82 days at full power)

Sauron Armaments Icarus T-12000 CIWS (3x4)    Range 1000 km     TS: 12000 km/s     ROF 5       Base 50% To Hit
This design is classed as a Commercial Vessel for maintenance purposes
But looking at it, it doesn't match up with rest of the fleets design speed of 5k kms. It's a bit of a legacy design from when I was just starting out and didn't really  know what I was doing    But the reason for these was they're commercial vessels so don't have to worry about maintenance failures.

I was thinking of these (or something like it) to transport troops to the region, with the dropships been used for the final run to put feet on the ground.

I'm going to have to give this a bit more thought, cause I'm not happy with it now   

Hmmm

Thanks for your input 

[Michael Sandy]

You only need to have jump capacity for squadron jumps if you need to do a jump assault.  I am a big fan of jump scout fighters.  It is very fast to research small, single ship jump engines for fighters, and gets you a lead on probing systems to figure out where you want to survey.  And you can find nasty aliens without them knowing what jump point you came through.

But drop ships, if you are planning on using them to attack ships, the most essential attribute is speed.  And more speed.  So you want maximum boosted engines, and absolutely the minimum space devoted to other systems.  Armor is potentially useful, but I generally only board mostly disabled ships or civilian ships.

I find a range of a couple billion km is more than sufficient.  They can be accompanied by fighter tankers for extra range, but when going against ships, I generally have a fleet present anyway. Somebody has to be providing sensor coverage.

Also, one battalion of Assault infantry, not even marines, can generally take a 24000 ton ship.  And that is with no ground troop tech improvements.  So what kind of ship requires 5 battalions boarding at the same time?

[Resident Evil (OP)]

Nooo..... I was not thinking of attacking ships with them. It's for dropping ground troops on a planet that these are intended for.

You've just made me double check, but drop modules are used for fast offloading of troops on a planet. I have no plans to drop troops on enemy ships for the time being.

I already have tiny jump engines for 300 ton ships - made some useful runabouts/shuttles/rescue craft with them.

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Epimetheus Mk III class Shuttle    300 tons     6 Crew     104.5 BP      TCS 6  TH 14.4  EM 0
10000 km/s    JR 1-50     Armour 1-3     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 0     PPV 0
Maint Life 21.61 Years     MSP 44    AFR 3%    IFR 0%    1YR 0    5YR 3    Max Repair 30 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 3 months    Spare Berths 25   

Shah-Farmer J300(1-50) Military Jump Drive     Max Ship Size 300 tons    Distance 50k km     Squadron Size 1
Crawford-Webb 30 EP IntCon Compact Px1.5 (F0.5/T25/e1.36) (2)    Power 30    Fuel Use 136.41%    Signature 7.2    Exp 15%
Fuel Capacity 80,000 Litres    Range 35.2 billion km   (40 days at full power)

This design is classed as a Fighter for production, combat and maintenance purposes
Thanks

ZG

[xenoscepter]

While you were posting this, I was messing around with some Maximum Tech Level ships. I don't expect anyone to actually be able to use this, but since it is technically a drop ship, here it is for your inspiration.

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Polaris class Battlecruiser    150,000 tons     2954 Crew     189801.7 BP      TCS 300  TH 3150  EM 810
4375 km/s    JR 3-50     Armour 9-251     Shields 27-60     Sensors 675/675/3/3     Damage Control Rating 455     PPV 224.84
Maint Life 1.81 Years     MSP 115127    AFR 1894%    IFR 26.3%    1YR 43898    5YR 658470    Max Repair 31500 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 18 months    Flight Crew Berths 98   
Hangar Deck Capacity 2000 tons     Cryo Drop Capacity: 20 Battalions    Magazine 1482    Tractor Beam     

J150000(3-50) Military Jump Drive     Max Ship Size 150000 tons    Distance 50k km     Squadron Size 3
4375 EP Photonic Drive (3)    Power 4375    Fuel Use 37.98%    Signature 1050    Exp 17%
Fuel Capacity 49,750,000 Litres    Range 157.2 billion km   (415 days at full power)
Epsilon R60/72 Shields (9)   Total Fuel Cost  27 Litres per hour  (648 per day)

30cm C1.25 Far Gamma Ray Laser (1)    Range 1,400,000km     TS: 25000 km/s     Power 24-1.25     RM 12    ROF 100        24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24
R144/C12 Meson Cannon (6)    Range 1,400,000km     TS: 25000 km/s     Power 24-12     RM 144    ROF 10        1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Twin R36/C6 Meson Cannon Turret (2x2)    Range 360,000km     TS: 100000 km/s     Power 12-12     RM 36    ROF 5        1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Quad Gauss Cannon R6-12.5 Turret (6x32)    Range 60,000km     TS: 100000 km/s     Power 0-0     RM 6    ROF 5        1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0
80cm C25 Plasma Carronade (3)    Range 1,400,000km     TS: 25000 km/s     Power 168-25     RM 1    ROF 35        168 84 56 42 33 28 24 21 18 16
Fire Control S08 700-100000 H10 (4)    Max Range: 1,400,000 km   TS: 100000 km/s     99 99 98 97 96 96 95 94 94 93
Vacuum Energy Power Plant Technology PB-1 (3)     Total Power Output 480    Armour 0    Exp 5%
Vacuum Energy Power Plant Technology PB-1 (1)     Total Power Output 80    Armour 0    Exp 5%

Size 12 Missile Launcher (3)    Missile Size 12    Rate of Fire 30
Missile Fire Control FC128-R10 (10%) (3)     Range 128.1m km    Resolution 10
Size 12 Anti-ship Missile (120)  Speed: 60,000 km/s   End: 33.7m    Range: 121.2m km   WH: 90    Size: 12    TH: 740/444/222
Size 1 ASM (32)  Speed: 100,000 km/s   End: 38.1m    Range: 228.7m km   WH: 13    Size: 1    TH: 866/520/260

Active Search Sensor MR954-R50 (10%) (1)     GPS 9000     Range 954.6m km    Resolution 50
Active Search Sensor MR335-R20 (10%) (1)     GPS 2000     Range 335.4m km    Resolution 20
Active Search Sensor MR3306-R150 (10%) (1)     GPS 54000     Range 3,306.8m km    Resolution 150
Active Search Sensor MR2338-R75 (10%) (1)     GPS 27000     Range 2,338.3m km    Resolution 75
Active Search Sensor MR237-R10 (10%) (1)     GPS 1000     Range 237.2m km    Resolution 10
Active Search Sensor MR324-R1 (10%) (1)     GPS 540     Range 324.0m km    MCR 35.3m km    Resolution 1
Active Search Sensor MR675-R100 (10%) (1)     GPS 9000     Range 675.0m km    Resolution 100
Active Search Sensor MR954-R200 (10%) (1)     GPS 18000     Range 954.6m km    Resolution 200
Thermal Sensor TH9-675 (10%) (1)     Sensitivity 675     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  675m km
EM Detection Sensor EM9-675 (10%) (1)     Sensitivity 675     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  675m km
Advanced Gravitational Sensors (1)   3 Survey Points Per Hour
Advanced Geological Sensors (1)   3 Survey Points Per Hour
Cloaking Device: Class cross-section reduced to 10% of normal

Strike Group
4x Super Rapier Fighter   Speed: 50000 km/s    Size: 5
1x Advent Courier   Speed: 1500 km/s    Size: 10
1x Stalker Jump Scout   Speed: 10000 km/s    Size: 10

Missile to hit chances are vs targets moving at 3000 km/s, 5000 km/s and 10,000 km/s

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes

This is it's attending Fighter Craft.

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Stalker class Jump Scout    500 tons     16 Crew     1768.5 BP      TCS 1  TH 1  EM 0
10000 km/s    JR 1-50     Armour 1-5     Shields 0-0     Sensors 75/75/0/0     Damage Control Rating 0     PPV 0
Maint Life 4.41 Years     MSP 221    AFR 20%    IFR 0.3%    1YR 18    5YR 275    Max Repair 540 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 4.2 months    Spare Berths 21   

J500(1-50) Military Jump Drive     Max Ship Size 500 tons    Distance 50k km     Squadron Size 1
100 EP Photonic Drive (1)    Power 100    Fuel Use 9.9%    Signature 1    Exp 10%
Fuel Capacity 30,000 Litres    Range 109.1 billion km   (126 days at full power)

Active Search Sensor MR954-R50 (10%) (1)     GPS 9000     Range 954.6m km    Resolution 50
Active Search Sensor MR954-R200 (10%) (1)     GPS 18000     Range 954.6m km    Resolution 200
Active Search Sensor MR675-R100 (10%) (1)     GPS 9000     Range 675.0m km    Resolution 100
Thermal Sensor TH1-75 (10%) (1)     Sensitivity 75     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  75m km
EM Detection Sensor EM1-75 (10%) (1)     Sensitivity 75     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  75m km
Cloaking Device: Class cross-section reduced to 10% of normal

This design is classed as a Fighter for production, combat and maintenance purposes


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Advent class Courier    500 tons     7 Crew     67.5 BP      TCS 10  TH 15  EM 0
1500 km/s    JR 1-50     Armour 1-5     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 0     PPV 0
Maint Life 0 Years     MSP 0    AFR 100%    IFR 1.4%    1YR 4    5YR 65    Max Repair 45 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 1 months    Spare Berths 3   
Magazine 32   

J500(1-50) Military Jump Drive     Max Ship Size 500 tons    Distance 50k km     Squadron Size 1
15 EP Photonic Drive (1)    Power 15    Fuel Use 0.09%    Signature 15    Exp 1%
Fuel Capacity 35,000 Litres    Range 14000.0 billion km   (108024 days at full power)

Size 1 ASM (32)  Speed: 100,000 km/s   End: 38.1m    Range: 228.7m km   WH: 13    Size: 1    TH: 866/520/260

Missile to hit chances are vs targets moving at 3000 km/s, 5000 km/s and 10,000 km/s

This design is classed as a Fighter for production, combat and maintenance purposes

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Super Rapier class Fighter    250 tons     4 Crew     1591.9 BP      TCS 5  TH 2.5  EM 90
50000 km/s     Armour 1-3     Shields 3-60     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 0     PPV 1.6
Maint Life 0 Years     MSP 0    AFR 50%    IFR 0.7%    1YR 52    5YR 777    Max Repair 500 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 0.6 months    Spare Berths 1   
Magazine 4   

250 EP Photonic Drive (1)    Power 250    Fuel Use 97.83%    Signature 2.5    Exp 25%
Fuel Capacity 15,000 Litres    Range 11.0 billion km   (61 hours at full power)
Epsilon R60/72 Shields (1)   Total Fuel Cost  3 Litres per hour  (72 per day)

Single Gauss Cannon R6-8 Turret (1x8)    Range 60,000km     TS: 100000 km/s     Power 0-0     RM 6    ROF 5        1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0
Fire Control S00.1 43.75-25000 (FTR) (1)    Max Range: 87,500 km   TS: 100000 km/s     89 77 66 54 43 31 20 9 0 0
Fire Control S00.1 87.5-12500 H10 (FTR) (1)    Max Range: 175,000 km   TS: 50000 km/s     94 89 83 77 71 66 60 54 49 43

Size 1 Box Launcher (4)    Missile Size 1    Hangar Reload 7.5 minutes    MF Reload 1.2 hours
Missile Fire Control FC405-R100 (10%) (2)     Range 405.0m km    Resolution 100
Missile Fire Control FC128-R10 (10%) (2)     Range 128.1m km    Resolution 10
Size 1 ASM (4)  Speed: 100,000 km/s   End: 38.1m    Range: 228.7m km   WH: 13    Size: 1    TH: 866/520/260

Active Search Sensor MR42-R10 (10%) (1)     GPS 180     Range 42.7m km    Resolution 10
Active Search Sensor MR13-R1 (10%) (1)     GPS 18     Range 13.5m km    MCR 1.5m km    Resolution 1
Active Search Sensor MR135-R100 (10%) (1)     GPS 1800     Range 135.0m km    Resolution 100

Missile to hit chances are vs targets moving at 3000 km/s, 5000 km/s and 10,000 km/s

This design is classed as a Fighter for production, combat and maintenance purposes


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Strike Rapier class Attack Craft    250 tons     6 Crew     600.9 BP      TCS 0.5  TH 1  EM 0
20000 km/s     Armour 4-3     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 0     PPV 0.6
Maint Life 11.63 Years     MSP 150    AFR 5%    IFR 0.1%    1YR 2    5YR 31    Max Repair 200 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 0.75 months    Spare Berths 5   
Magazine 4   

100 EP Photonic Drive (1)    Power 100    Fuel Use 9.9%    Signature 1    Exp 10%
Fuel Capacity 5,000 Litres    Range 36.4 billion km   (21 days at full power)

Size 1 Box Launcher (4)    Missile Size 1    Hangar Reload 7.5 minutes    MF Reload 1.2 hours
Missile Fire Control FC128-R10 (10%) (4)     Range 128.1m km    Resolution 10
Missile Fire Control FC405-R100 (10%) (1)     Range 405.0m km    Resolution 100
Size 1 ASM (4)  Speed: 100,000 km/s   End: 38.1m    Range: 228.7m km   WH: 13    Size: 1    TH: 866/520/260

Active Search Sensor MR42-R10 (10%) (1)     GPS 180     Range 42.7m km    Resolution 10
Active Search Sensor MR135-R100 (10%) (1)     GPS 1800     Range 135.0m km    Resolution 100
Cloaking Device: Class cross-section reduced to 10% of normal

Missile to hit chances are vs targets moving at 3000 km/s, 5000 km/s and 10,000 km/s

This design is classed as a Fighter for production, combat and maintenance purposes

And the Ordinance used in these ships

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Missile Size: 12 MSP  (0.6 HS)     Warhead: 90    Armour: 4     Manoeuvre Rating: 37
Speed: 60000 km/s    Engine Endurance: 34 minutes   Range: 121.2m km
ECM Level: 10
Cost Per Missile: 43.9
Chance to Hit: 1k km/s 2220%   3k km/s 740%   5k km/s 444%   10k km/s 222%
Materials Required:    23.5x Tritanium   5x Uridium   15.4x Gallicite   Fuel x5000


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Missile Size: 1 MSP  (0.05 HS)     Warhead: 13    Armour: 0     Manoeuvre Rating: 26
Speed: 100000 km/s    Engine Endurance: 38 minutes   Range: 228.7m km
Cost Per Missile: 4.82
Chance to Hit: 1k km/s 2600%   3k km/s 858%   5k km/s 520%   10k km/s 260%
Materials Required:    3.25x Tritanium   1.57x Gallicite   Fuel x800

Forgive me for the lackluster format and default names; I was in the middle of dinking around when this post went up. So this is literally "hot off the press" so to speak. Enjoy.

EDIT: Upon re-reading this I suddenly felt a brief overview was in order.

 - The Polaris is a Battlecruiser styled in a similar way to the ships found in Star Trek, namely those of the Federation. This is done quite loosely; however, the Polaris is built to be a warship capable of serving some mundane roles too. Those roles are Tugboat, Grav Survey Ship, and Geological Survey Ship. This enables it to have utility when not at war. It has heavy armament, heavy armor, and nominal shields mated to a modest (for Max Tech anyway...) sensor system, poor Anti-Fighter / Anti-Missile capabilities and shallow magazines for it's three Size-12 Launchers; the Polaris will shoot itself dry in just twenty minutes amounting to a a paltry forty salvos. However, it carries two Divisions worth of Cryogenic Combat Drop Modules, which allow it to keep them at the ready for an indefinite period of time; alongside the capability to Combat Drop them onto a contested world.

 - The Fighters are just a general purpose fighter, a stealthy strike variant of it, a Jump-Capable Courier for fetching supplies for the Polaris' fighter complement and a single Jump Scout to enable the Polaris to scout ahead of itself. This ship would be my principal "Assault Ship" in a Max Tech game. Like I said; I hope this gives you some inspiration.

 - As an opinion on Dropships; I prefer small ones. Namely Fighter-Sized Landing Craft and "Gunships" that use Combat Drop Modules to fight their way to the target, release their payload, then get the heck outta Dodge. Otherwise I prefer to mount Combat Drop Modules on a General Purpose Warship. Either something akin to the Polaris, which is a competent Warship first and everything else second, or a smaller / cheaper "Peacekeeper" with either Cryo Combat Drop Modules or Hangar Decks for Landing Craft.

 - The above being said; during war I find two general designs to be of great utility. The first is a "Construction Brigade" carrier. It's basically a massive Commercial Ship that serves only one function: carry a pair of Construction Brigades. This is my "Second Wave" ship. A good ship for reinforcing worlds or assaulting them when the defenses are cleaned out. The second design is a dedicated "War Transport" It's an armed and armored ship which uses troop transport bays to assault the planet. It should be armed with railguns, mesons, or gauss cannons: whichever you prefer, although I prefer to have at least two types. One being railguns or gauss cannons, and the other always being mesons.

 - My planetary assault strategy is to "force the line". That is to force the attack despite the defenders. However, I also heavily favor planetary bombardment over a direct assault. There are plenty of planets in the cosmos, I can always colonize another. Typically I will assault worlds that are: The enemies Capital / Homeworld, strategically or logistically useful, places where I can set up a good defensive in a place where I can force the enemy to attack at a disadvantage, or places where it is logistically sound to create a possible diversion (Read: Making another thing that my enemy needs / wants to take.) and both tactically and strategically advantageous to do so.

[xenoscepter]

 - Below is a selection of some extremely rudimentary [and very bad] designs. These are mostly bad on account of the tech level used, which was less then 120,000 RP. For reference, 120,000 is the standard amount of "Free Tech" that you get at the start of a typical TN Start. I hope they can also serve as an inspiration; and a more practical one at that. The abysmal tech with which these ships are built means that they can be made much better very easily. Using Ion Engines and Composite Armor for starters, and tinkering with some of the specs as you see fit. In my prior reply I
talked a bit about my design philosophy. I've included the "Gunship" and the large Construction Brigade toting Commercial Vessel here, alongside a Raider and a Fighter-Sized Landing Craft. With the exception of the civilian vessel, all of these ships use Combat Drop Pods.

 - This ship is the Pelican Class Raider. It has three Boat Bays from which to launch Albatross Class Assault Shuttles. It is well armoured and can be deployed for up to a year without resupply.

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Pelican class Raider    8,000 tons     85 Crew     433.5 BP      TCS 160  TH 250  EM 0
1562 km/s     Armour 3-35     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 2     PPV 0
Maint Life 8.18 Years     MSP 1068    AFR 256%    IFR 3.6%    1YR 28    5YR 426    Max Repair 15.625 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months    Flight Crew Berths 24   
Hangar Deck Capacity 750 tons     

62.5 EP Commercial Nuclear Thermal Engine (4)    Power 62.5    Fuel Use 13.26%    Signature 62.5    Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 330,000 Litres    Range 56.0 billion km   (414 days at full power)

Strike Group
3x Albatross Assault Shuttle   Speed: 1101 km/s    Size: 4.54

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes
 - This is the Albatross Class Assault Shuttle. It carries enough Life Support for a three week deployment and enough fuel for two such deployments. This ship can drop a single Company of Ground Units into battle with the use of it's Combat Drop Module. It is nominally armoured for the sake of the crew and has five spare berths which allow it to double as transport for Away Teams [i.e. Geological or Xenological Teams] This also means that the Albatross can deploy a Company of Ground Units to act as a forward recon element before unloading the Away Team.

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Albatross class Assault Shuttle    227 tons     2 Crew     29.9 BP      TCS 4.54  TH 5  EM 0
1101 km/s     Armour 2-3     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 0     PPV 0
Maint Life 0 Years     MSP 0    AFR 45%    IFR 0.6%    1YR 3    5YR 40    Max Repair 15 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 0.75 months    Spare Berths 5   
Drop Capacity: 1 Company   

5 EP Nuclear Thermal Engine (1)    Power 5    Fuel Use 99%    Signature 5    Exp 10%
Fuel Capacity 5,000 Litres    Range 4.0 billion km   (42 days at full power)

This design is classed as a Fighter for production, combat and maintenance purposes

 - The Heracles Class is an Assault Transport. It's job is to deploy a single Battalion of Ground Units via it's Combat Drop Module. The Heracles works best in groups, with bigger being better. The Heracles is further armed with two Meson Cannons in a Single Turret. The Turret has no Rotation Gear, so it's tracking speed is zero, but it does sport an armor rating of one. This gives the Meson Cannons an extra HTK, making them tougher to knock out and aiding the Heracles' survival. The Heracles carries enough Fuel, Life Support and a full year of constant deployment, while it carries a year and a half's worth of Maintenance Supplies. A Cargo Handling module allows the Heracles Class to recover it's Combat Drop Module after the battle at a good speed if needed, giving the ship additional self-sufficiency.

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Heracles class Assault Transport    8,000 tons     119 Crew     415.5 BP      TCS 160  TH 250  EM 0
1562 km/s     Armour 3-35     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 3     PPV 10.02
Maint Life 1.52 Years     MSP 97    AFR 170%    IFR 2.4%    1YR 48    5YR 715    Max Repair 60 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months    Spare Berths 1   
Drop Capacity: 1 Battalion    Cargo Handling Multiplier 5   

125 EP Commercial Nuclear Thermal Engine (2)    Power 125    Fuel Use 8.84%    Signature 125    Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 200,000 Litres    Range 50.9 billion km   (377 days at full power)

Single R1.5/C1 Meson Cannon Turret (2)    Range 15,000km     TS: 1562 km/s     Power 3-1     RM 1.5    ROF 15        1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Fire Control S00.7 15-1250 (1)    Max Range: 30,000 km   TS: 1250 km/s     67 33 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Pressurised Water Reactor PB-1 (2)     Total Power Output 4    Armour 0    Exp 5%

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes
 - Not really a Troop Transport, the Resolution Class is actually a large-scale Commercial Vessel used to transport two Construction Brigades and a Cargo Hold's worth of supplies. The Resolution sports nominal armouring and mounts a CIWS for token missile defense. A nice complement of passive and active sensors couple to a Geological Survey Sensor allows the Resolution to monitor it's immediate area and conduct a Geo Survey while the Construction Brigades do their thing. The ship also sports a Tractor Beam to bring along an Illustrious Class Terraforming Base. This ship is first and foremost a Survey Support Ship, serving to be a one stop shop for colony preparation, but I'm including it here because it can also be pressed into service as a Troop Transport if need be, ferrying an entire Division inside of it's hold. It's lightweight armor and CIWS allow it to handle leakers if being escorted as an acting Troop Transport, while it's sensors package allows it to aid it's escorts in finding targets or monitoring the area. I'm including the Terraforming Base below for the sake of completeness.

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Resolution class Survey Support    170,000 tons     733 Crew     3552 BP      TCS 3400  TH 500  EM 0
147 km/s     Armour 2-273     Shields 0-0     Sensors 5/5/0/1     Damage Control Rating 8     PPV 0
MSP 104    Max Repair 100 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months    Spare Berths 53   
Troop Capacity: 50 Battalions    Cargo 25000    Cargo Handling Multiplier 20    Tractor Beam     

125 EP Commercial Nuclear Thermal Engine (4)    Power 125    Fuel Use 8.84%    Signature 125    Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 400,000 Litres    Range 4.8 billion km   (377 days at full power)

CIWS-50 (1x2)    Range 1000 km     TS: 5000 km/s     ROF 5       Base 50% To Hit
Active Search Sensor MR5-R100 (1)     GPS 1000     Range 5.0m km    Resolution 100
Active Search Sensor MR1-R10 (1)     GPS 100     Range 1.6m km    Resolution 10
Thermal Sensor TH1-5 (1)     Sensitivity 5     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  5m km
EM Detection Sensor EM1-5 (1)     Sensitivity 5     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  5m km
Geological Survey Sensors (1)   1 Survey Points Per Hour

This design is classed as a Commercial Vessel for maintenance purposes
 - The Illustrious Class is a Terraforming Base. Without engines, it is a Space Station. There's not much to say really... it gets hauled over by a Resolution Class or some other tug and it Terraforms a planet.

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Illustrious class Terraforming Base    80,500 tons     310 Crew     2262 BP      TCS 1610  TH 0  EM 0
1 km/s     Armour 2-166     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 1     PPV 0
MSP 18    Max Repair 500 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 36 months    Spare Berths 310   
Terraformer: 3 module(s) producing 0.003 atm per annum


This design is classed as a Commercial Vessel for maintenance purposes

[Resident Evil (OP)]

While you were posting this, ....... stuff ...

Thanks. I am almost overwhelmed by the obvious time, thought and effort you put into your reply    I expected a few minor comments, not that anyone would take the trouble to design such a wide ranging and comprehensive plethora of craft that could take on the assault ship role.

If only I had a shipyard that could build 150k ton ships

Thank you

[Garfunkel]

Generally speaking, your planetary assault ships do not require anything except troop transport / drop capability. That's because any sane commander would neutralize enemy ships and orbital bases before the invasion. NPRs and spoilers do not build PDCs. So your dropship does not - strictly speaking - need armour, shields, CIWS, jump engines or anything except troop bays and cargo handling. As Michael Sandy said, if you want to capture enemy ships, then speed is extremely important.

Before cryo combat drop bays (or whatever the exact name is) were added by Steve, the usual tactic was to have a huge troop transport carrying either a brigade or a division of troops in comfort, so as not to lose morale, and have the transport accompanied by a carrier carrying dropships that were each capable of combat-dropping a single battalion. The troop transport could thus be a cheap commercial design, the dropships only needed very little range/endurance, and the carrier carrying them was cheap as well if it didn't have to do anything else. Some people combined the big transport with the carrier itself. The only problem with this approach was the ability to have jump tenders big enough for them.

Now that cryo combat drop bays are a thing, and if you don't have an RP reason not to use them, you can just use them and not worry about anything else. That means your transport and dropship are now the one and same. I'd still stick with at least enough room for a full brigade like Father Tim said, so you can use the same ship to move combat troops and construction brigades around.

[xenoscepter]

Peacemaker-Class Patrol Cruiser

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Peacemaker class Patrol Cruiser    50,500 tons     497 Crew     4154.3 BP      TCS 1010  TH 900  EM 0
1188 km/s    JR 2-25(C)     Armour 8-121     Shields 0-0     Sensors 15/15/0/0     Damage Control Rating 19     PPV 69.88
Maint Life 1.1 Years     MSP 2463    AFR 2266%    IFR 31.5%    1YR 2054    5YR 30817    Max Repair 140 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months    Flight Crew Berths 64   
Hangar Deck Capacity 4000 tons     Troop Capacity: 1 Company    Cryo Drop Capacity: 4 Battalions    Magazine 423    Cargo 5000    Cargo Handling Multiplier 10    Tractor Beam     

JC50K Commercial Jump Drive     Max Ship Size 50500 tons    Distance 25k km     Squadron Size 2
400 EP Commercial Magneto-plasma Drive (3)    Power 400    Fuel Use 7.07%    Signature 300    Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 2,950,000 Litres    Range 148.7 billion km   (1448 days at full power)

Particle Beam-3 (3)    Range 80,000km     TS: 1250 km/s     Power 7-2    ROF 20        3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
R1.5/C3 High Power Microwave (1)    Range 15,000km     TS: 1250 km/s     Power 3-3     RM 1.5    ROF 5        1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Twin Gauss Cannon R2-25 Turret (2x4)    Range 20,000km     TS: 10000 km/s     Power 0-0     RM 2    ROF 5        1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Fire Control S02 40-1250 H70 (3)    Max Range: 80,000 km   TS: 1250 km/s     88 75 62 50 38 25 12 0 0 0
Stellarator Fusion Reactor Technology PB-1 (1)     Total Power Output 6    Armour 0    Exp 5%
Stellarator Fusion Reactor Technology PB-1 (2)     Total Power Output 6    Armour 0    Exp 5%

Size 3 Missile Launcher (3)    Missile Size 3    Rate of Fire 90
Missile Fire Control FC30-R100 (70%) (1)     Range 30.0m km    Resolution 100
Size 3 Anti-ship Missile (141)  Speed: 15,000 km/s   End: 26m    Range: 23.4m km   WH: 2    Size: 3    TH: 55/33/16

Active Search Sensor MR15-R100 (70%) (1)     GPS 3000     Range 15.0m km    Resolution 100
Active Search Sensor MR3-R1 (70%) (1)     GPS 60     Range 3.0m km    MCR 327k km    Resolution 1
Active Search Sensor MR21-R200 (70%) (1)     GPS 6000     Range 21.2m km    Resolution 200
Thermal Sensor TH3-15 (70%) (1)     Sensitivity 15     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  15m km
EM Detection Sensor EM3-15 (70%) (1)     Sensitivity 15     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  15m km

Strike Group
8x Colt Battle Taxi   Speed: 1600 km/s    Size: 10

Missile to hit chances are vs targets moving at 3000 km/s, 5000 km/s and 10,000 km/s

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes

 - This is an example of the "Peacemaker" style of ship I mentioned earlier. I named it as such because I'm not feeling too inventive today. The Peacemaker-Class Patrol Cruiser is something more akin to an anemic Imperial-Class Star Destroyer such as those found in the Star Wars universe. It's a generalist ship and is lightly armed, but heavily armoured. It's armament is sufficient to engage many smaller Warships, but is primarily geared for the General Security and Interdiction roles. It makes a very good ground assault ship however, with the ability to deploy eight Marine Companies via it's Battle Taxis and four Battalions via it's own Cryogenic Combat Drop Modules.

 - Likewise it features a Ship-to-Ship Tractor Beam, allowing it to carry out Search and Rescue operations as well as tug stranded vessels back to safety. The Peacemaker is powered by Commercial-Grade Ion Engines and mounts a Commercial Grade Jump Drive, giving it excellent mobility. As an aside, the Peacemaker-Class has a small Cargo Bay, enabling it to help support colonies and / or Military Installations. Finally the Peacemaker-Class is outfitted with enough Fuel, Life Support and Maintenance Supplies to support a one year deployment; along with some extra Fuel to support it's standard complement of eight Colt-Class Battle Taxis.


Colt-Class Battle Taxi

 - The Colt-Class is a Battle Taxi; and what a Battle Taxi does is chase down and board enemy ships. This one is built with Magneto-Plasma Engine Tech, which is right after Ion Engine Tech. It is armed with a single High Power Microwave weapon, which can fry enemy electronics and does double damage to enemy shields... if you didn't know that already. It has a Cryogenic Combat Drop Module for one Marine Company, allowing them to be stowed for long periods of time with impunity.

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Colt class Battle Taxi    500 tons     8 Crew     84 BP      TCS 10  TH 21  EM 0
2800 km/s     Armour 2-5     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 0     PPV 3
Maint Life 0 Years     MSP 0    AFR 100%    IFR 1.4%    1YR 14    5YR 205    Max Repair 30 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 0.2 months    Spare Berths 0   
Cryo Drop Capacity: 1 Company   

28 EP Magneto-plasma Drive (1)    Power 28    Fuel Use 320.86%    Signature 21    Exp 17%
Fuel Capacity 15,000 Litres    Range 1.7 billion km   (6 days at full power)

R1.5/C3 High Power Microwave (1)    Range 15,000km     TS: 2800 km/s     Power 3-3     RM 1.5    ROF 5        1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Fire Control S00.4 15-625 (FTR) (1)    Max Range: 30,000 km   TS: 2500 km/s     67 33 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Stellarator Fusion Reactor Technology PB-1 (1)     Total Power Output 3    Armour 0    Exp 5%

This design is classed as a Fighter for production, combat and maintenance purposes

Class-3 ASM

 - This is a Class-3 ASM (Anti-Ship Missile) that is carried by the Peacemaker-Class Patrol Cruiser; and a particular favorite of mine to use around the time Ion Engine Tech becomes available. It has it's own sensors package; and a fairly comprehensive one for it's size, which means that any ship mounting these missiles that is ALSO equipped with Passive Sensors (that is EM, Thermal or both) may fire upon a target without using it's Active Sensors.

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Missile Size: 2.972 MSP  (0.1486 HS)     Warhead: 2    Armour: 0     Manoeuvre Rating: 11
Speed: 15100 km/s    Engine Endurance: 26 minutes   Range: 23.5m km
Active Sensor Strength: 0.0625   Sensitivity Modifier: 50%
Resolution: 50    Maximum Range vs 2500 ton object (or larger): 20,000 km
Thermal Sensor Strength: 0.0312    Detect Sig Strength 1000:  31,200 km
EM Sensor Strength: 0.0312    Detect Sig Strength 1000:  31,200 km
Cost Per Missile: 1.2925
Chance to Hit: 1k km/s 166.1%   3k km/s 55%   5k km/s 33.2%   10k km/s 16.6%
Materials Required:    0.5x Tritanium   0.0747x Boronide   0.1249x Uridium   0.5929x Gallicite   Fuel x470

Heaven-Class Assault Transport

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Heaven class Assault Transport    50,500 tons     486 Crew     3830 BP      TCS 1010  TH 900  EM 240
1188 km/s    JR 2-25(C)     Armour 16-121     Shields 8-300     Sensors 15/15/0/0     Damage Control Rating 42     PPV 22.26
Maint Life 2.98 Years     MSP 6569    AFR 1700%    IFR 23.6%    1YR 1106    5YR 16588    Max Repair 94 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months    Flight Crew Berths 118   
Hangar Deck Capacity 1875 tons     Troop Capacity: 4.4 Battalions    Cargo Handling Multiplier 10   

JC50K Commercial Jump Drive     Max Ship Size 50500 tons    Distance 25k km     Squadron Size 2
300 EP Commercial Ion Drive (4)    Power 300    Fuel Use 7.07%    Signature 225    Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 900,000 Litres    Range 45.4 billion km   (442 days at full power)
Gamma R300/336 Shields (4)   Total Fuel Cost  56 Litres per hour  (1,344 per day)

Twin R1.5/C3 Meson Cannon Turret (2x2)    Range 15,000km     TS: 1250 km/s     Power 6-6     RM 1.5    ROF 5        1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
10cm Railgun V1/C3 (2x4)    Range 10,000km     TS: 1250 km/s     Power 3-3     RM 1    ROF 5        1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Fire Control S02 40-1250 H70 (2)    Max Range: 80,000 km   TS: 1250 km/s     88 75 62 50 38 25 12 0 0 0
Gas-Cooled Fast Reactor Technology PB-1 (4)     Total Power Output 18    Armour 0    Exp 5%

Active Search Sensor MR15-R100 (70%) (1)     GPS 3000     Range 15.0m km    Resolution 100
Thermal Sensor TH3-15 (70%) (1)     Sensitivity 15     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  15m km
EM Detection Sensor EM3-15 (70%) (1)     Sensitivity 15     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  15m km

Strike Group
3x Angel Lifeboat   Speed: 6000 km/s    Size: 2.5
3x Demon Heavy Fighter   Speed: 1500 km/s    Size: 10

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes

 - I also mentioned a dedicated, well-armoured troop transport armed with Gauss Cannons, Railguns, and / or Meson Cannons for use later on as the game progressed. The Heaven-Class I have here is an example of it. Like the Peacemaker-Class it features a Jump Drive, the very same one actually; unlike the Peacemaker-Class, it mounts four of the Commercial Grade Ion Engines instead of just three... although they are still the exact same kind. The Heaven-Class is an Assault Transport, well slabbed with 16 Hull Space dedicated to the armour plating alone and sporting four Gamma Shields providing two shield points each, giving the Heaven-Class minimal shields adding up to eight points worth of it in total. The ship is armed with two 10cm Railguns and four Meson Cannons housed within armoured twin turret mounts. These mounts feature two points of armouring and no traverse speed, making them little more than fixed Meson Cannons with added armour. The transport can haul four Battalions and sports capacity for two Marine Companies to help protect itself from boarding actions.

 - Outfitted with enough Life Support for a full year of deployment, and carrying enough Fuel for the same in addition to it's shields, the ship likewise has three Demon-Class Heavy Fighters to support it's assault. The ship also mounts a trio of Angel-Class Lifeboats in the event that the crew must abandon ship. The inclusion of Lifeboats on the Heaven-Class is due to the nature of it's role, which is to drop down into orbit of contested worlds and administer it's payload of Ground Units... even during the hell of an ensuing battle for the control of said world's orbit. The Heaven-Class is also a Supply Ship, thanks to it's generous stock of Maintenance Supplies and a Maintenance Life that is almost triple it's deployment time. This gives the Heaven-Class great utility both when at war and during peace time, allowing it to serve as a capable Jump Tender and making it especially good to use in conjunction with the Peacemaker-Class Patrol Cruiser, where between them they could ferry up to four 50,500 ton Commercial Vessels and serve ably in the Garrison and Pacification roles with or without the aid of additional Space Stations.


Demon-Class Heavy Fighter

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Demon class Heavy Fighter    492 tons     29 Crew     58.4 BP      TCS 9.84  TH 15  EM 0
1524 km/s     Armour 2-5     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 0     PPV 6
Maint Life 0 Years     MSP 0    AFR 98%    IFR 1.4%    1YR 4    5YR 60    Max Repair 18 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 0.75 months    Spare Berths 0   

15 EP Ion Drive (1)    Power 15    Fuel Use 121.06%    Signature 15    Exp 12%
Fuel Capacity 10,000 Litres    Range 3.0 billion km   (22 days at full power)

R1.5/C3 Meson Cannon (1)    Range 15,000km     TS: 1524 km/s     Power 3-3     RM 1.5    ROF 5        1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
R1.5/C3 High Power Microwave (1)    Range 15,000km     TS: 1524 km/s     Power 3-3     RM 1.5    ROF 5        1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Fire Control S00.4 15-625 (FTR) (1)    Max Range: 30,000 km   TS: 2500 km/s     67 33 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Stellarator Fusion Reactor Technology PB-1 (1)     Total Power Output 6    Armour 0    Exp 5%

This design is classed as a Fighter for production, combat and maintenance purposes

 - The Demon-Class Heavy Fighter is a craft orientated around the use of special beam-weapons, namely the High Power Microwave and the Meson Cannon. These weapons let the Demon wreak havoc among the enemies shields and internal components; while the High Power Microwave damages the enemies shields, the Mesons use their ability to ignore shields and armour to deal significant damage to an enemy ship's internal components. Allocated with enough Fuel and Life Support to sustain a three week deployment gives the Demon-Class surprisingly long legs, however the ship suffers from poor speed when compared to other 500-ton Fighters; a flaw that is somewhat mitigated by it's inclusion of additional armouring.

Angel-Class Lifeboat

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Angel class Lifeboat    125 tons     2 Crew     19 BP      TCS 2.5  TH 15  EM 0
6000 km/s     Armour 1-2     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 0     PPV 0
Maint Life 32.16 Years     MSP 10    AFR 1%    IFR 0%    1YR 0    5YR 0    Max Repair 15 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 2 months    Spare Berths 1   
Cryogenic Berths 200   

15 EP Ion Drive (1)    Power 15    Fuel Use 121.06%    Signature 15    Exp 12%
Fuel Capacity 10,000 Litres    Range 11.9 billion km   (22 days at full power)

This design is classed as a Fighter for production, combat and maintenance purposes
 - The Angel-Class is an extremely lightweight Lifeboat, able to fit into a Small Boat Bay and carry 200 lucky souls in a state of cryogenic stasis. Unfortunately at least two unlucky souls consigned to pilot it will have to tough it out with the Angel's two months worth of Life Support, although they do have room for an extra passenger... Thankfully, although the Angel-Class Lifeboat only allocates enough fuel for three weeks and a days worth of thrust at full burn, the ship does sport amazing speed with which to hopefully bring it's cargo to safety. Or at least closer to it. In any other respect, the Angel-Class is a standard Lifeboat and boasts no other extraordinary features, with the exception of a single Fighter-Sized Engineering Space with which to conduct maintenance and repairs should something go awry.