Modular Ship Design... a crazy idea that just might work.

[blue emu (OP)]

I've recently started experimenting with Modular Ship Design: designing ships in seperate sections (or modules), with the pieces held together by Tractor Beams. It actually works!

Here's a low-tech AMM module intended to be towed behind any ship requiring anti-missile protection. It has rather thin Armor, but not very much will be needed since the module is only 2,500 tons and has no engines, so it is hard to detect and harder to target from typical missile ranges. It carries a res-1 sensor, two PD FCs, six size-1 PD missile tubes, a 166-missile magazine, enough life support for the minimal crew and enough engineering sections to repair the biggest component on-board (the active sensor). No engines or fuel... instead, it carries a Tractor Beam, to lock it onto the mission ship.

The mission ship does not need a Tractor Beam!

Parasite AMM class Module    2,500 tons     215 Crew     600 BP      TCS 50  TH 0  EM 0
1 km/s     Armour 2-16     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 2     PPV 6
Maint Life 4.11 Years     MSP 300    AFR 25%    IFR 0.3%    1YR 28    5YR 426    Max Repair 252 MSP
Magazine 166    Tractor Beam    


Size 1 Missile Launcher 2000 (6)    Missile Size 1    Rate of Fire 10
Missile PD Fire Control FC10-R1 (2)     Range 10.1m km    Resolution 1
Size 1 AAM 1-2.2-2003 (166)  Speed: 39,300 km/s   End: 0.9m    Range: 2.2m km   WH: 1    Size: 1    TH: 288 / 173 / 86

Active Search Sensor MR20-R1 (1)     GPS 252     Range 20.2m km    Resolution 1

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

Towing this module slows down a 20,000-ton Beam Warship from 5,000-odd kps to 4,500-odd kps... a -10% loss of performance. Naturally, the module can be dropped after the mission ship has weathered the enemy's missile fire, or once it has pulled in close enough that the PD module can cover the rest of its approach-run.

Think of the possibilities! Civilian ships can tow weapons modules. Carriers can be towed hangars instead of ships. In long, marathon battles, Fuel and Missiles can be towed, with the supply module dropped when empty. Jump Drives can be towed to the entry point of a contested system, then dropped at the jump point. Your whole task force can be faster and more agile if they don't need to carry jump drives. Tow a Box Launcher module, fire it off, and dump it, to be recovered later!

Other advantages: Modular ships can be built in sections, using smaller slipways. You can have a potent navy earlier in the game. They are also cheaper, and much easier to upgrade. Developed a new sensor suite and new missile launchers? Instead of upgrading your battle-line, just upgrade the AMM and ASM modules, or build some new ones!.

Comments and suggestions?

[scoopdjm]

A good idea (didn't girlinhat mention something like this?) Although I think it would be more feasible for space stations than ships.

[Mysterius]

That, sir, is awesome! I don't know why i haven't thought of this before!

I'll try immediately  .

[blue emu (OP)]

A good idea (didn't girlinhat mention something like this?) Although I think it would be more feasible for space stations than ships.

I think there's an old thread on this subject still kicking around, but rather than find it and resurrect it... different forums feel differently about thread necromancy... I decided to start a new one.

Jump point defense is certainly one possibility.

I am particularly intrigued by the possibility of mating civilian engine/armor sections with military weapon sections.

[scoopdjm]

Yes, it's quite genius I think. Just idea but: what about a mine module? Some you could deploy from a ship that would fire thousands of self guided munitions?

[blue emu (OP)]

A mine module would work... perhaps we should make a list of suggested modules:

1 ) AMM PD module
2 ) Gauss PD Module
3 ) Laser PD module
4 ) Box Launcher ASM module
5 ) Hangar module
6 ) Supply module (esp. Missile Ammo)
7 ) AWACS (Battle Management) module
8 ) Jump Point Defense module
9 ) Zone Denial module (ie: minefield)
10 ) Jump Drive module

[Vynadan]

Troop transport,
Non-box ASM,
Meson PD,
Decoy / bait (cheap but AI-attracting sensors?),
Salvage (because I rarely put more than one salvage module on a salvager and that seems like a waste of engines to me),
Freight (modular freighter size for varying cargo sizes or plain forward listening post / mainteance factories),
Survey,
Constructor

[OAM47]

In the past I've considered both a "mine module" and a towable hanger array in place of carriers.  The former was more like a disposable JP defense station, and the latter was more like a mini-FAC base that could hop from system to system as needed.  Unfortunately I never got around to making either, though I did develop the doctrine for the latter quite a bit.

[Elouda]

I tried out a similar idea out a while back (http://aurora2.pentarch.org/index.php/topic,2459.0.html), though my starting point was modules and ships of roughly the same size. Eventually it got refined into something similar to what youre doing. The best part was that you could move modules around on commercial ships too.

I still wish there was a mechanism for internal modular construction (ala the 'mission packages' for the US Navys LCS).

Heres another module suggestion, particularly when facing fast nasties; Booster module; a lot of engines and fuel.

[Girlinhat]

I brought this up rather recently in "advanced tactics" actually.  My designs were primarily going to be an engine section and a mission section, but it's very possible to add mission elements to the engine.  I'm particularly fond of the box launcher idea, and the warp drive has some real potential, especially as it acts like a tender and you can leave it on the "safe" side.  Not to mention fuel canisters open a lot of options.  Have enough fuel for in-system combat and leave the main tanker module out of danger, shave off some weight from your combat ships, every bit helps.  I'm also interested in a "heavy weapons" module.  Some mega lasers to add a stiff punch to your fleet.  Not to mention, sensor modules have some very obvious use.  No more big expensive sensor ships, just slap a thermal module onto a destroyer and let them go!

[blue emu (OP)]

Holy Crap! I've just had an idea (EDIT: reading over the new posts just above mine, it seems that everybody has had the same idea):

After-burners!

Put the tractor beam on the mission ship (instead of on the module), and use a small ship that's nothing but engines, fuel and (possibly) armor... to increase the mission ship's speed. If we can get the after-burner down to 1000 tons, we can use a FAC engine (2x power). If we can get it down to 500 tons, we can use a FTR engine (10x power)!

EDIT:
Interesting... a 120-ton Fighter "After-burner" increased the speed of a 41,000-ton (!) warship by 69 kps. Not really a signifigant boost, of course... but that's with a 41,000-ton mission ship, more than 340 times more massive than the module. I'll try it again later with a better size-match.

EDIT again:
OK, this is more like it... a 350-ton FAC after-burner increased that same 41,000-ton mission ship's speed by over 220 kps. That's quite impressive, considering that the mission ship out-masses it by more than 100-to-1.

EDITEDITEDIT:
... and a self-contained 900-ton Afterburner II FAC (with tractor beam) can boost a 16,000-ton cruiser by more than 400 kps. I think we're onto something, folks!

[jseah]

An interesting behaviour is the ability to daisy chain tractor beams.  A ship that has been tractor beamed can tractor beam another ship. 

To me, the most vulnerable portion is that you allow the enemy to knock apart one module at a time.  This makes shields nearly useless. 

You also waste alot of mass on armour, which gets heavier-per-non-armour-ton as your ship gets smaller. 

[blue emu (OP)]

An interesting behaviour is the ability to daisy chain tractor beams.  A ship that has been tractor beamed can tractor beam another ship. 

Are you sure? I thought that particular exploit was patched out some time ago. I didn't even bother testing it.

To me, the most vulnerable portion is that you allow the enemy to knock apart one module at a time.  This makes shields nearly useless. 

You also waste alot of mass on armour, which gets heavier-per-non-armour-ton as your ship gets smaller. 

On the other hand, small modules give a smaller radar signature (inverse square) so for a res-100 active sensor to detect my 900-ton afterburner (or for a res-100 FC to target it), the enemy needs to approach more than 25 times closer.

[Girlinhat]

If you take a single ship, split it in half with engines and weapons, and add a tractor, you become significantly harder to detect and shoot and significantly cheaper to produce (smaller shipyards with more slipways).

[jseah]

Are you sure? I thought that particular exploit was patched out some time ago. I didn't even bother testing it.

On the other hand, small modules give a smaller radar signature (inverse square) so for a res-100 active sensor to detect my 900-ton afterburner (or for a res-100 FC to target it), the enemy needs to approach more than 25 times closer.

You can in 5.52.  I am unsure if it works for 5.53

Small radar signature is a plus yes.  Although you do have a certain minimum effective size and it's somewhere around 1-2ktons. 
Which isn't quite small enough unless you blow alot of RP on stealth systems, which, to be fair, will suddenly become alot more useful.