Recent Posts

Pages: [1] 2 3 ... 10
1
Garfunkel's Fiction / Re: Solar Hegemony Redux
« Last post by nuclearslurpee on Today at 11:19:57 AM »
Oh, and moving cities and changing jobs, those also took a little bit of my time.

Given your recent entry to the ranks of folks called "Doctor", I'm glad to hear you've successfully found a job. The market these days is not the best. Hope it is a good one, too!

Quote
Luna equipment would follow its own nomenclature, which confusingly meant that M1 was now the name of a shovel, a helmet, a carbine, an old armoured car, a tank prototype, a series of tractors, a field howitzer, a heavy anti-aircraft gun, an aircraft gun, a light anti-aircraft gun, a tank gun, a bayonet, a chemical mine, a flamethrower, a hand grenade, a rifle, a mortar, a Bazooka, a submachine gun, but now also meant the ultra-light carbine that used caseless ammo to prevent Lunar dust from jamming its mechanism and its Duranium coated body could withstand the extreme temperature swings between Lunar day and night. Or so its designers claimed.

"If we don't know what we're wielding, the enemy sure won't!" --some American general c.1956, probably

Quote
the M8 all-terrain vehicle for logistics purposes.

The M8A1 Tactical Resupply Utility Carrier Kit.  ;D

Honestly I can't believe the U.S. Army hasn't come up with this one yet...

Quote
the M7 anti-air machine gun
[...]
Against the Red Air Force, if it ever appeared on Luna, the mechanized columns would be protected by the M16 HMG, which was just the M7 placed on a Luna-qualified trike, and the M17 Air Defence Vehicle, carrying a short-range surface-to-air missile.
[...]
The M21 Air Defence Vehicle was truly a behemoth, being the largest combat vehicle that the Americans were planning to build and it carried both missiles and heavy AA guns, able to cover an entire formation against flying threats. The fact that the Soviets had not demonstrated such capability had not deterred American engineers.

Should I take this to imply that there will be mucking about with ground support fighters at some point in the campaign? Or are the AA units purely for roleplay purposes?

I usually can't bring myself to use AA even for roleplay purposes, it is simply too wasteful for me... but in some campaigns I have used, e.g., small Gauss turrets to represent AA elements as these have some minimal practical use despite the heinous expense involved.

Quote
If they had known the maintenance problems that the CCCP KOSMOS was struggling with, they might not have been quite so worried. Production of mines had been halted by the Kreml and a new crash build of maintenance facilities was prioritized. This program was completed on the last days of December and allowed Kreml order the construction of 10 Krivak-M10B1 fighters.

Given that the initial outlay of 5,000 tons supported is quite generous until survey ships start going up, the Soviets do seem to have seriously overbuilt their space forces here. Although given the general Soviet policy of preparing to utterly dominate a war and then failing to declare it, this is at least on-brand.

I note a general lack throughout this update of snazzy OOB graphics, while I would not fault an authAAR for such an omission it is a clear mark of taste and elegance borne by only the very best AARs thus such graphics would come highly recommended.  ;D
2
Garfunkel's Fiction / Re: Solar Hegemony Redux
« Last post by Garfunkel on Today at 09:59:56 AM »

Whoa, talk about a little delay. I blame Paradox for finally putting a discount on the BattleTech DLC which meant I could try out the big BEX mod. Oh, and moving cities and changing jobs, those also took a little bit of my time.

1956

The Pentagon has finally shown the greenlight for the formation of American Luna garrison. The brass had asked industry for a wide range of proposal for equipment while at the same time the in-house think-tanks had theorized doctrine and organization, ultimately leading to several rounds of wargames. Luna equipment would follow its own nomenclature, which confusingly meant that M1 was now the name of a shovel, a helmet, a carbine, an old armoured car, a tank prototype, a series of tractors, a field howitzer, a heavy anti-aircraft gun, an aircraft gun, a light anti-aircraft gun, a tank gun, a bayonet, a chemical mine, a flamethrower, a hand grenade, a rifle, a mortar, a Bazooka, a submachine gun, but now also meant the ultra-light carbine that used caseless ammo to prevent Lunar dust from jamming its mechanism and its Duranium coated body could withstand the extreme temperature swings between Lunar day and night. Or so its designers claimed. This carbine would equip the security and rear area troops while the infantry would go to battle with the M2 assault rifle, the M3 designated marksman rifle, the M4 light machine gun, the M5 Luna-Bazooka, the M6 Portable Mortar System, the M7 anti-air machine gun and the M8 all-terrain vehicle for logistics purposes.

Thanks to the lessons of the Second World War and the Korean war, all the infantry would be fully mechanized, utilizing the M9 and M10 armoured personnel carriers, one armed with a squad machine gun and the other with a light but high-velocity cannon. If encountering Soviet armour, the M11 Gun Motor Vehicle would be brought up, as it carried a heavier high-velocity cannon capable of utilizing the latest SABOT rounds. The M12 Motor Mortar System provided close fire support whereas field artillery wielded the M13 Self-Propelled Gun. For traditional cavalry duties, the M14 Fire Support Vehicle with its light automatic cannon and the M15 Mobile Gun System with its heavier sister, were available. Against the Red Air Force, if it ever appeared on Luna, the mechanized columns would be protected by the M16 HMG, which was just the M7 placed on a Luna-qualified trike, and the M17 Air Defence Vehicle, carrying a short-range surface-to-air missile. Further missiles and other supplies, were loaded onto the M18 logistics truck.

Finally, the planned heavy formations, which would form the mailed fist of America, would be built around the M19 main battle tank, carrying the same high-velocity cannon as the M11 but being better armoured as well as carrying secondary machine gun armament. They would be supported by the M20 infantry fighting vehicle, equipped with a medium automatic cannon and a machine gun. Just as well armoured as the tank, the M20 would ensure that its passengers would reach the battle intact despite expected heavy Soviet shelling. The M21 Air Defence Vehicle was truly a behemoth, being the largest combat vehicle that the Americans were planning to build and it carried both missiles and heavy AA guns, able to cover an entire formation against flying threats. The fact that the Soviets had not demonstrated such capability had not deterred American engineers.

A tank company would consist of 14 M19 MBTs, four in each of the three platoons, and one each for the company commander and vice commander. Four tank companies would make up a battalion, with its headquarters made up of a M24 CP5 headquarters tank, the battalion commander's M19, two M18 supply trucks and a M17 ADV for protection. Similarly, a mechanized infantry company would consist of 14 M20 IFVs, four for each of the three platoons and one for the company commander and vice commander. The dismounted infantry squad consisted of four M2 AR riflemen, two M3 DMR marksmen, and two gunners, one with the M4 LMG and the other with the M5 RPG. This squad could be split into two fireteams in two configurations - in the first form, the riflemen would form the manoeuvre element while the marksmen and the gunners would provide fire support. In the second form, each team would have equal equipment and thus manoeuvre separately, relying on the IFVs for fire support. A mechanized platoon would have four squads and a mechanized company would have three platoons, for a total of 48 riflemen, 24 marksmen, 12 LMG gunners and 12 RPG gunners. This did not include the crew of the M20 IFVs who were mandated to stay with their vehicle at all times. The fourth company in a Mechanized Battalion was a Weapons Company that, instead of infantry, had close-in fire support in the form of the M6 mortar and the M7 AAMG.

In July, Corundium deposits ran dry on Earth but all powers had ample stockpiles of it. In August, the Soviet Union once more expanded its DSTS network and United States increased their fighter building capability. In September, the Soviet Yurga design and manufacturing bureau completed the prototypes of all four types of their MBP 100mm T-10 railguns, ranging in barrels from one to four. Each was capable of firing every 10 seconds. Naturally, the more barrels a gun had, the larger it became. It would be possible to upgrade the Krivak-M to use the faster firing single barrel gun but the larger guns would degrade its speed unless compromises were made elsewhere. Krivak-M10B1, -B2, -B3 and -B4 would also require a more powerful powerplants which required more space. In fact, the Krivak-M10B4 became so heavy that its speed dropped from 700 m/s to 438 m/s. Reducing the fuel storage slightly, from 26,000 litres to 21,000 litres, allowed Krivak-M10B1 to remain at 250 tons and 700 m/s. The Politburo ruled that on the short term, this approach was to be taken. The other versions would have to wait for the emergence of more powerful engines.

November saw the 18th American research complex start work and it was sorely needed as Pentagon demanded that the Essex class armed shuttle should fly as soon as possible to counter the Soviet Krivak gunships. If they had known the maintenance problems that the CCCP KOSMOS was struggling with, they might not have been quite so worried. Production of mines had been halted by the Kreml and a new crash build of maintenance facilities was prioritized. This program was completed on the last days of December and allowed Kreml order the construction of 10 Krivak-M10B1 fighters.
3
Gothic III - Conventional / Re: Gothic III - Comments Thread
« Last post by Steve Walmsley on May 16, 2024, 08:42:30 AM »
Those XB upgrades were pretty smart but are you really short of wealth or was it more to speed up the upgrades?

Because it was a conventional start, I still don't have a very large fleet, so I am refitting less than I normally do. I still have a couple of ion-engined light cruisers, which I haven't refitted because its about the same cost as a new ship and I wanted the new ships. So it was a time-saving refit, plus Gallicite supplies are a little tight.
4
Gothic III - Conventional / Re: Gothic III - Comments Thread
« Last post by Garfunkel on May 15, 2024, 07:27:01 PM »
Those XB upgrades were pretty smart but are you really short of wealth or was it more to speed up the upgrades?
5
Gothic III - Conventional / Re: Gothic III - Comments Thread
« Last post by doodle_sm on May 12, 2024, 10:57:24 AM »
Dear Steve, in the description of the battle for Carpathia II on March 4031, you name "the battle-hardened Janus Corps".
I am still not good at ground combat, so I wonder if being "battle-hardened" allows better performance of this unit.

In spirit, yes!
6
Gothic III - Conventional / Re: Gothic III - Comments Thread
« Last post by nuclearslurpee on May 11, 2024, 01:00:22 PM »
Dear Steve, in the description of the battle for Carpathia II on March 4031, you name "the battle-hardened Janus Corps".
I am still not good at ground combat, so I wonder if being "battle-hardened" allows better performance of this unit.

No, it is purely for flavor.

Quote
After two more waves, with eleven and fifteen hits respectively, the senior commander, Lord Captain Arabella Typhon, ordered her two ships to cease point defence fire, relying only on shields, speed and ECM. Four more waves arrived, without any torpedo detonations affecting the cruisers’ armour.
:o

I guess with PD fire costing MSP now, there's a real meta role for heavily-shielded ships to save wear on the gun barrels. I'd almost worry about trivializing the Necrons, but this is against one ship with a huge tonnage advantage and a tech level advantage, so I probably shouldn't draw sweeping conclusions here.

Quote
One day later, the survey frigate Tempest investigated a jump point in Macharia, six transits from Sol via the shortest route, and discovered Cadia, a system with an orange K2-V star, three terrestrial planets, a dwarf planet and a single moon, orbiting the fourth planet. Just outside the orbit of the second planet was a strange phenomenon; a vast rift in space ten million kilometres in diameter. Imperium Intelligence designated it as an ‘Aether Rift’, as it appeared to penetrate through both known space and the Aether to somewhere beyond.

Of course the system just happened to be named Cadia, naturally, definitely not a stealthy rename for story purposes at all...  ;)

Quote
Baneblade Super-heavy Tank
Transport Size (tons) 228     Cost 41.04     Armour 108     Hit Points 144
Annual Maintenance Cost 5.1     Resupply Cost 99
Super-Heavy Anti-Vehicle:      Shots 1      Penetration 135      Damage 135
Heavy Crew-Served Anti-Personnel:      Shots 6      Penetration 22.5      Damage 15
Heavy Crew-Served Anti-Personnel:      Shots 6      Penetration 22.5      Damage 15

Hearts attacks take out anywhere from 5-10% of the Adeptus Munitorum every time these bad boys are deployed to a war zone. An acceptable rate of attrition, of course.

I anticipate hostilities with the T'au at some point, hopefully this will require a ground invasion of the home world so we can get a look at what that looks like from Steve's perspective.  ;D
7
Gothic III - Conventional / Re: Gothic III - Comments Thread
« Last post by AlStar on May 11, 2024, 12:44:10 PM »
I am still not good at ground combat, so I wonder if being "battle-hardened" allows better performance of this unit.
Pretty sure he's just saying that the unit had previously been in combat.
8
Gothic III - Conventional / Re: Gothic III - Comments Thread
« Last post by paolot on May 11, 2024, 10:32:37 AM »
Dear Steve, in the description of the battle for Carpathia II on March 4031, you name "the battle-hardened Janus Corps".
I am still not good at ground combat, so I wonder if being "battle-hardened" allows better performance of this unit.
9
Gothic III - Conventional / Re: Gothic III - Updates Thread
« Last post by Steve Walmsley on May 11, 2024, 09:16:42 AM »
On March 20th 4030, the Firestorm III class frigates Achilles, Medusa, Raven’s Spear and Thunderchild were launched from the Astaroth Shipyard. They were based on the same technology as the Dauntless III and Gothic II classes.  All four immediately began brief refits to a new Firestorm III-B class that incorporated third generation EW jammers.

Firestorm III class Frigate      15,000 tons       534 Crew       4,218.2 BP       TCS 300    TH 2,400    EM 3,570
8000 km/s    JR 3-50      Armour 3-54       Shields 119-571       HTK 99      Sensors 6/11/0/0      DCR 9-6      PPV 75
Maint Life 1.57 Years     MSP 2,081    AFR 200%    IFR 2.8%    1YR 975    5YR 14,618    Max Repair 1,200 MSP
Captain    Control Rating 4   BRG   AUX   ENG   CIC   
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months    Morale Check Required   

RM-150-B Military Jump Drive     Max Ship Size 15000 tons    Distance 50k km     Squadron Size 3
Ravenor Drive Systems RDS-2400-MB2 (1)    Power 2400    Fuel Use 24.94%    Signature 2400    Explosion 12%
Fuel Capacity 369,800 Litres    Range 17.8 billion km (25 days at full power)
Valentinian-Stern VS-119 Void Shield (1)     Recharge Time 571 seconds (0.2 per second)

Valentinian-Ventris V12-240-B Particle Lance (2)    Range 240,000km     TS: 8,000 km/s     Power 37-5.5    ROF 35       
Astaroth Kinetics AK-30D Weapons Battery (4x4)    Range 320,000km     TS: 8,000 km/s     Power 21-5.5    ROF 20       
Astaroth Kinetics AK-10C Weapons Battery (5x4)    Range 60,000km     TS: 8,000 km/s     Power 3-3   ROF 5       
MK III Energy Weapon Fire Control (2)     Max Range: 320,000 km   TS: 8,000 km/s    ECCM-2
R-50 Tokamak Fusion Reactor (1)     Total Power Output 50.2    Exp 5%

MK III Frigate Active Augur Array (1)     GPS 7560     Range 73.3m km    Resolution 120
MK III Small Torpedo Detection Array (1)     GPS 11     Range 6.1m km    MCR 545.7k km    Resolution 1
MK II Thermal Augur Array (1)     Sensitivity 6     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  19.4m km
MK III Electromagnetic Augur Array (1)     Sensitivity 11     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  26.2m km
Electronic Warfare Jammers:   Fire Control 2    Missile 2   

In April 4030, an Aquila scout detected a single Necron ship, designated as Phaeron class, in orbit of the first planet of the newly discovered Bloodfall system. The two recently constructed Gothic II-B class cruisers were dispatched to Bloodfall to eliminate the threat. On approach, they came under attack from a wave of fifty-one torpedoes moving at 34,555 km/s. The cruisers killed twelve torpedoes with their point defence, along with thirty-six decoys, leaving thirty-nine torpedoes still inbound. Only fifteen hit the cruiser Invincible with strength-7 warheads, dropping her shields to 85%. The rest missed due to the speed of the cruiser or potentially due to a degradation in accuracy from its third generation missile jammer.

After two more waves, with eleven and fifteen hits respectively, the senior commander, Lord Captain Arabella Typhon, ordered her two ships to cease point defence fire, relying only on shields, speed and ECM. Four more waves arrived, without any torpedo detonations affecting the cruisers’ armour. Five million kilometres from Bloodfall I, a ground force signature of 3800 tons was detected. At 400,000 km the cruisers came under fire from a Necron battery of thirteen surface-to-orbit bombardment cannon. The Imperial warships eliminated the surface weapons without any serious shield damage then launched their Thunderhawks in a boarding assault, as the undamaged Phaeron was plainly out of torpedoes. It was captured with minimal losses.

Phaeron class Orbital Defence Base      19,325 tons       376 Crew       3,006.8 BP       TCS 386    TH 0    EM 0
1 km/s      Armour 6-64       Shields 0-0       HTK 101      Sensors 11/11/0/0      DCR 8-4      PPV 137.7
Maint Life 0.55 Years     MSP 777    AFR 373%    IFR 5.2%    1YR 1,401    5YR 21,010    Max Repair 820.3 MSP
Magazine 3,172 / 96   
Commander    Control Rating 2   BRG   AUX   
Intended Deployment Time: 6 months    Morale Check Required   

Size 24 Decoy Launcher (4)     Decoy Size: 24    Hangar Reload 245 minutes    MF Reload 40 hours
Size 9 Missile Launcher (30.0% Reduction) (51)     Missile Size: 9    Rate of Fire 720
Missile Fire Control FC120-R123 (2)     Range 120.6m km    Resolution 123   ECCM-2

Active Search Sensor AS127-R123 (1)     GPS 23247     Range 127.9m km    Resolution 123
Thermal Sensor TH1-11 (1)     Sensitivity 11     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  26.2m km
EM Sensor EM1-11 (1)     Sensitivity 11     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  26.2m km
Electronic Warfare Jammers:   Sensor 2    Fire Control 2    Missile 2   

Analysis of the ship confirmed that its missile fire controls only had second generation ECCM, so the deployment by the Imperial Navy of third generation jammers would reduce Necron accuracy in the future. A month after the battle,, the 1st and 4th Cadian Regiments landed on Bloodfall I and eliminated the small Necron ground force. A survey revealed a ruined outpost.

In June, a survey of Helican, located in presumed Tau space, revealed two jump points. Emperor’s Light transited the first and discovered Belis Corona, a system with a yellow G-5V primary, six planets and sixty moons. The outermost of twelve moons orbiting Belis Corona II, a gas giant, had liquid water and a thin nitrogen – oxygen atmosphere. There were three wrecks of unknown ships types in the inner system; one in orbit of the first planet – a Venusian world – and two between the orbits of the second and third planets, on opposite sides of the system. All three were less than 7500 tons. Emperor’s Light began a survey. As she had no remaining scouts, an old Aquila II was dispatched from Black Star, which was still in Helican, to check the inner system. Two new Aquila Vs were sent from Terra to replenish the strike groups of the survey frigates.

Two weeks after the entry into Belis Corona, thirty strength-7 detonations were detected in the inner system, close to one of the existing wrecks, followed by the appearance of a new 109,000 ton wreck of unknown type. As the Necron torpedoes used strength-7 warheads, Imperium Intelligence suspected the Tau could be fighting the Necrons in Belis Corona.

A second JP in Helican, explored by Black Star, led to Anvilus, a red dwarf system with six unremarkable planets. Small Tau populations, with EM signatures of strength-65 and strength-40 were detected on two moons of the fifth planet. These were the first known Tau colonies and further indicated that Helican, and now Anvilus, were on the route to the Tau core worlds. As Black Star continued her survey, she received several suggestions to leave the system. Given the mildness of the request, plus the fact that the Imperium did not take heed of alien demands, they were ignored. Geological results from the moons of the two colonies revealed why they were or interest to the Tau. From an Imperial perspective, the moons were too large for orbital mining platforms and too cold to easily terraform, so the Tau were probably using automated mines.

Anvilus V - Moon 12 Survey Report
Duranium:   317,169   0.90
Tritanium:   4,696   0.90
Boronide:   24,688   0.90
Mercassium:   39,839   1.00
Sorium:   107,008   0.90
Gallicite:   98,129   0.80

Anvilus V - Moon 18 Survey Report
Duranium:   3,144,362   0.90
Corbomite:   2,044,230   0.90
Vendarite:   3,919,730   0.90
Uridium:   193,228   0.50
Gallicite:   3,020,123   0.70

The Aquila II detached from Black Star to aid Emperor’s Light in Belis Corona was on approach to the second planet when it detected Active emissions from a Necron Shroud class destroyer on a reciprocal course at 5672 km/s. The Shroud was known to be 9,550 tons and armed with ten torpedo launchers. Before the Aquila II could enter active sensor range of either the Shroud or the planet it was destroyed by torpedoes. Imperium Intelligence’s theory about a Necron – Tau conflict now seemed very likely.



A few weeks later, the Starhawk-R arrived in Belis Corona, armed with a pair of Augur drones, attempting to discover what the lost Aquila scout could not. The Starhawk moved to the fifth planet, then launched a drone at the twelfth moon of the second planet, the only body with a nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere. The drone detected three 28,000 ton Scarabs, three Scythe escort cruisers, four destroyers and a Cryptek class escort, before being destroyed shortly thereafter by light torpedoes.



In August 4030, a task group comprising three Gothic cruisers and a new Dauntless III light cruiser was dispatched to subdue the Necron system of Carpathia. One of the cruisers was an older Gothic-B, with AK-25B weapon batteries and the original lance batteries rather than the more recent particle lances. Carpathia was discovered in December 4018, when an Aquila class scout was lost to torpedoes. A Starhawk-R mission four years later detected Necron forces in orbit of both the second and third planets. The four Imperial warships entered the system without challenge and confirmed the Necron forces remained unchanged during the intervening eight years.

Battlefleet Carpathia
Gothic II-B class Cruiser: Holy Flame, Invincible
Gothic-B class Cruiser: Righteous Fury
Dauntless III class Light Cruiser: Vanguard

Necron Forces in orbit of Carpathia II
1x OWP Phaeron 19,324 tons
1x MDB Dirge 19,271 tons
1x ODB Deathmark 19,212 tons
12x FAC Mephrit 979 tons.

Necron Forces in orbit of Carpathia III
1x OWP Phaeron 19,324 tons
1x CLE Scythe 19,164 tons
1x DD Shroud 9,590 tons
1x DD Cartouche 9,590 tons
1x DD Khopesh 9,590 tons



As both planets had a Phaeron class base, now known to be equipped with fifty-one torpedo launchers, Battlefleet Carpathia approached Carpathia III from a direction opposite to the location of Carpathia II. At forty-eight million kilometres, the fleet faced a wave of sixty-one torpedoes, presumably from the Phaeron and one of the destroyers. To conserve their maintenance supplies, the Imperium ships used only their AK-10 batteries for point defence. Twenty-two Necron torpedoes hit, reducing the shields of Righteous Fury by a third.

A second wave arrived ten minutes later, which was the normal interval for Necron torpedoes, but the third, just fifty-one torpedoes, arrived after only a six minute gap. The obvious conclusion was that the fleet was also coming under fire from the Phaeron at the second planet. The fleet faced fourteen main waves of torpedoes over the next hour, with occasional smaller waves of ten or twenty. A total of two hundred and sixty torpedoes impacted Imperium shields during that time, but never reduced the shields of any individual warship below fifty percent. Eventually the attacks ceased as the Necron bases and destroyers exhausted their ordnance.

At 1,250,000 kilometres from Carpathia III, the fleet came under fire from the Scythe class escort cruiser, which launched salvos of 32 light torpedoes every ten seconds. The majority were shot down by point defence and those that did impact had minimal effect, due to their strength-1 warheads. At 750,000 km, the Scythe and the three destroyers broke orbit and ran, leaving the Phaeron class base in orbit. There was no sign of surface-based weapons, so Battlefleet Carpathia moved into orbit and launched a Thunderhawk II against the undamaged Phaeron. Once the space marines were on the undamaged hull and the Thunderhawk back in its hangar bay, the fleet began pursuing the fleeing Necron ships. After several broadsides, the Shroud and the Khopesh were destroyed, while the Cartouche and Scythe were disabled and boarded. After the fleet’s space marines captured all three remaining Necron ships, Thunderhawks moved in to retrieve the marines while the fleet headed for Carpathia II, which had an orbital force comprising three bases and twelve fast attack craft. The immediate follow-up against the second planet was to distract the bases from any attack against the troop recovery operations.

On approach, Battlefleet Carpathia detected a large ground force signature of 36,000 tons, indicating both surface-to-orbit weapons and a large defensive force. The Phaeron in orbit was apparently still out of ordnance, but the fleet was attacked by the Dirge, armed with 42 light launchers. Missile fire was relatively ineffective, although the older cruiser Righteous Fury was gradually losing shield strength. At 360,000 km, twenty-six bombardment cannon, estimated to be 37cm in calibre, also attacked Righteous Fury, albeit with only one hit.

The fleet continued to close, targeting the Dirge with lances and the bombardment cannon with weapon batteries. The Necron fast attack craft fled. At 180,000 km, the fleet halted. Invincible suffered three strength-10 hits from the surface batteries and numerous hits from light torpedoes. Her shield strength remained above eighty percent. Amid heavy Imperial fire, the Dirge exploded, followed by the Deathmark. The surface weapons were wiped out by massed weapon batteries. The Phaeron was no immediate threat and could be boarded, but all three of the fleet’s marine boarding platoons were being retrieved from the ships captured near Carpathia III. To ensure the safety of those marines and the captured ships, the Phaeron was targeted and destroyed before it could reload.

Once recovered, the fleet’s space marines landed unopposed on Carpathia III and captured two deep space tracking stations, a refuelling station and an ordnance transfer station. Apart from the fleeing Necron FACs and the ground force on Carpathia II, the system was now secure. A few days later, after the cruisers had departed and left Vanguard to watch over the system in anticipation of landing operations on Carpathia II, the twelve FACs were detected by the tracking stations on Carpathia III, heading back in-system. Vanguard moved out to meet them in case they were armed, or possibly trying to re-arm or refuel on Carpathia II. She intercepted them fifteen million kilometres from Carpathia II and systematically blew them apart as they tried to move past her.

On September 25th 4030, Aegis, the third Dauntless III class light cruiser, was constructed at Terra. One day later, the survey frigate Tempest investigated a jump point in Macharia, six transits from Sol via the shortest route, and discovered Cadia, a system with an orange K2-V star, three terrestrial planets, a dwarf planet and a single moon, orbiting the fourth planet. Just outside the orbit of the second planet was a strange phenomenon; a vast rift in space ten million kilometres in diameter. Imperium Intelligence designated it as an ‘Aether Rift’, as it appeared to penetrate through both known space and the Aether to somewhere beyond. The Emperor decreed that a colony would be established to monitor the rift and determine its effects. As the second planet’s orbit passed close to the rift every ninety-five days a tracking station would be emplaced there, but the main colony would be on the fourth planet.



Meanwhile, in Anvilus, Black Star detected another Tau population, this time on an asteroid in the inner system that was large enough to retain an atmosphere. Anvilus was proving to be the home of numerous useful deposits. Tau suggestions to leave continued while the Imperial survey frigate was within their sensor range.

Asteroid #2 Survey Report
Duranium:   586,017   1.00
Corbomite:   242,275   0.70
Tritanium:   189,259   0.70
Vendarite:   181,888   0.60
Uridium:   114,189   0.80
Gallicite:   489,402   0.90

In November 4030, the Firestorm II-B class frigate Night Stalker, one of eight in her class, was refitted to the first Firestorm III-XB. This new class was identical to the Firestorm III-B with two exceptions. The engines were the older, less fuel efficient version of the latest Ravenor Drive Systems RDS-2400-MB2, which reduced the range to 14.8 billion kilometres, compared to 17.8b million for the III-B, and the AK-10 weapon batteries had a maximum range 10k km less than the latest AK-10C model. However, retaining the engines and the AK-10 weapon batteries from the II-B model reduced the refit cost from 97% of a new III-B to only 59%, with only a minimal sacrifice in capabilities. The refitted Firestorm III-XBs would be almost as capable as a new construction Firestorm III-B.

Firestorm III-XB class Frigate      15,000 tons       534 Crew       4,244.2 BP       TCS 300    TH 2,400    EM 3,570
8000 km/s    JR 3-50      Armour 3-54       Shields 119-571       HTK 99      Sensors 8/11/0/0      DCR 9-6      PPV 75
Maint Life 1.57 Years     MSP 2,091    AFR 200%    IFR 2.8%    1YR 975    5YR 14,625    Max Repair 1,200 MSP
Captain    Control Rating 4   BRG   AUX   ENG   CIC   
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months    Morale Check Required   

RM-150-B Military Jump Drive     Max Ship Size 15000 tons    Distance 50k km     Squadron Size 3
Ravenor Drive Systems RDS-2400-MB (1)    Power 2400    Fuel Use 29.93%    Signature 2400    Explosion 12%
Fuel Capacity 369,800 Litres    Range 14.8 billion km (21 days at full power)
Valentinian-Stern VS-119 Void Shield (1)     Recharge Time 571 seconds (0.2 per second)

Valentinian-Ventris V12-240-B Particle Lance (2)    Range 240,000km     TS: 8,000 km/s     Power 37-5.5    ROF 35       
Astaroth Kinetics AK-30D Weapons Battery (4x4)    Range 320,000km     TS: 8,000 km/s     Power 21-5.5    ROF 20       
Astaroth Kinetics AK-10 Weapons Battery (5x4)    Range 50,000km     TS: 8,000 km/s     Power 3-3    ROF 5       
MK III Energy Weapon Fire Control (2)     Max Range: 320,000 km   TS: 8,000 km/s    ECCM-2
R-50 Tokamak Fusion Reactor (1)     Total Power Output 50.2    Exp 5%

MK III Frigate Active Augur Array (1)     GPS 7560     Range 73.3m km    Resolution 120
MK III Small Torpedo Detection Array (1)     GPS 11     Range 6.1m km    MCR 545.7k km    Resolution 1
MK III Electromagnetic Augur Array (1)     Sensitivity 11     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  26.2m km
MK III Thermal Augur Array (1)     Sensitivity 8     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  22.4m km
Electronic Warfare Jammers:   Fire Control 3    Missile 3   

A week later, Imperial Wrath, one of the two Gothic-B class cruisers, was refitted to the Gothic II-XB. As with the Firestorm III-XB, this was a refit to create a design very close in capability to the latest new construction class, but retaining the less fuel efficient engines, resulting in lower endurance, and the older AK-10 point defence batteries. The total cost was fifty-nine percent that of a new Gothic II-B.

On December 13th, an Aquila II class scout from the survey frigate Covenant transited a jump point in Luyten’s Star, located nine jumps from Sol on the fringe of known space. She discovered a red dwarf star with a single planet: an ideal habitable world that was almost entirely ocean, apart from sub-tropical islands covering 3% of the surface. The system was named Medusa. She detected a surface EM signature less than 10% that of Terra and a ground forces signature of 28,000 tons, but there was no sign of ships or any orbital infrastructure. The scout moved into orbit to attempt communication with the unknown alien race. Imperium Intelligence postulated that this could be a large colony, given the size of the signature, rather than a home world.

Two months later, Covenant moved into Medusa and completed a survey of the lone planet. The mineral deposits were both substantial and accessible. Those deposits would greatly assist with the Imperium shortages of Neutronium and Gallicite and also allow the distribution of mines from large colonies that existed due to the availability of one specific mineral, such as Io for Neutronium and Hesperus for Mercassium. There was still no communication from the surface, so Imperium Intelligence theorised this could be an alien race that had yet to develop Trans-Newtonian physics, making this a potentially huge opportunity for the Imperium. The Emperor ordered the Imperial Navy to develop plans for a ground invasion, once the build-up for the Carpathia invasion had been concluded.

Medusa I Survey Report
Duranium:   1,494,900   0.90
Neutronium:   541,500   1.00
Corbomite:   496,200   0.50
Tritanium:   667,800   0.60
Boronide:   244,200   0.60
Mercassium:   444,300   1.00
Vendarite:   207,300   0.50
Sorium:   265,950   0.60
Uridium:   394,200   0.90
Corundium:   201,900   0.40
Gallicite:   222,000   0.70

The Taranis colony had been built up to a population of eight million. On that basis, the Imperium declared its sovereignty over the system in January 4031 and asked the Tau Empire to leave. The Tau agreed. As this was the only known route into Imperium space for the Tau, this created some degree of short term security. Longer term, the only real security would be provided by building up a sufficient force in Taranis to push the Tau away from Imperial colonies.

On March 5th 4031, the Imperium launched the invasion of Carpathia II. The invasion force comprised the newly trained Avalon Corps with four infantry regiments, the battle-hardened Janus Corps with two Cadian and two Janus regiments and the first battle test of the 1st and 2nd super-heavy tank regiments. The total force comprised approximately 25,000 Guardsmen. 2000 Chimera light tanks and 96 Baneblade super-heavy tanks. The Necron ground force had a signature of 29,000 ton signature, which likely meant around 100,000 tons in reality due to the effects of fortification on the sensor signature. The battle lasted five days. Imperial losses were approximately one quarter of the engaged guard regiments. No super-heavy tanks were lost.

Baneblade Super-heavy Tank
Transport Size (tons) 228     Cost 41.04     Armour 108     Hit Points 144
Annual Maintenance Cost 5.1     Resupply Cost 99
Super-Heavy Anti-Vehicle:      Shots 1      Penetration 135      Damage 135
Heavy Crew-Served Anti-Personnel:      Shots 6      Penetration 22.5      Damage 15
Heavy Crew-Served Anti-Personnel:      Shots 6      Penetration 22.5      Damage 15

Two new Dauntless III-Bs, Bellerophon and Sacrament of Judgement were launched by the Alpheus Graving Dock orbital shipyard in June 4031. There were now five Dauntless III-Bs in service, along with four II-Bs and two of the original ion-engined Dauntless I. The combat arm of the Imperial Navy also included four cruisers, four light carriers and fourteen frigates. The support shipping had grown considerably over the last ten years. Thirty-six mass conveyors were in service, along with fourteen Jericho colony ships. Fifty-three fuel harvesters were in orbit of Saturn and forty-nine orbital miners were based at six different comet mining colonies. A total of sixty terraforming stations were operating at the new colony in Cadia, the research colony in Golgotha, the mining colony in Gryphonne that was the primary source of the Imperium’s Gallicite and a planet in Tigrus that would become a future source of Neutronium. A wide variety of other commercial-engined ships supported the Imperial economy or assisted in the deployment of the Imperial Navy.

Imperial Navy – June 4031
Gothic II-B class Cruiser: Holy Flame, Invincible
Gothic II-XB class Cruiser: Imperial Wrath
Gothic-B class Cruiser: Righteous Fury
Dauntless III-B class Light Cruiser: Aegis, Bellerophon, Cerberus, Sacrament of Judgement, Vanguard
Dauntless II-B class Light Cruiser: Divine Crusade, Ravenor, Unbroken Vow, Vengeful Martyr
Dauntless class Light Cruiser: Bloodhawk, Dauntless
Defiant III-B class Light Carrier: Archangel, Bellator Stoicus, Imperial Ghost
Defiant-B class Light Carrier: Defiant
Firestorm III-B class Frigate: Achilles, Medusa, Raven's Spear, Thunderchild
Firestorm III-XB class Frigate: Night Stalker
Firestorm II-B class Frigate: Cape Wrath, Destiny's Hand, Final Silence, Order Absolute, Reaver’s Dismay, Silent Fire, Triumph of Juno
Firestorm class Frigate: Firestorm, Heroic Endeavour
Tempest IV-B class Survey Frigate: Acta Sanctorum, Ascension, Black Star, Constantia, Evening Star, Morning Star, Red Dawn, Tempest, Truth Eternal, Vita Brevis
Tempest IV class Survey Frigate: Covenant, Emperor's Light
1x Daedalus class Intelligence Ship
6x Jericho III class Colony Ship
8x Jericho II class Colony Ship
10x Universe III class Mass Conveyor
12x Universe II class Mass Conveyor
14x Universe class Mass Conveyor
1x Atlas IV class Tug
3x Atlas III class Tug
2x Atlas II class Tug
1x Atlas class Tug
53x Ambrosia class Fuel Harvester Station
49x Hephaestus class Orbital Miner
60x Gaia class Terraforming Station
3x Phoenix II class Salvager
4x Gateway class Stabilisation Ship
4x Carrack IV class Freighter
12x Carrack III class Freighter
6x Orca IV class Troop Transport
4x Orca III class Troop Transport
19x Safe Harbour class Maintenance Base
4x Brigantine III class Replenishment Ship
3x Brigantine II class Replenishment Ship
1x Brigantine class Replenishment Ship
2x Empyrean II class Jump Tender
3x Empyrean class Jump Tender
2x Barque class Collier
1x Aether class Jump Tender Station
16x Raven class Intelligence Ship
3x Ambassador class Diplomatic Station
10
Gothic III - Conventional / Re: Gothic III - Comments Thread
« Last post by Steve Walmsley on May 05, 2024, 02:34:32 PM »
The NPRs don't always coordinate their salvos of the same missile type from the same location. As a result of this campaign, I have added some extra AI code so that NPR ships considering launching ASMs will be aware of the reload status of other NPR ships in the same location, even if not in the same fleet, and may wait for them in order to coordinate their attacks.

This still doesn't affect AAM ships in ASM mode, but I will tackle that if the ASM change works.

It also doesn't affect situations where one or more NPR ships have longer-ranged fire controls and may fire when other ships are still out of range. However, once two ships or more are within range, they will coordinate. I decided to ignore the 'longer-ranged' firing first situation because I don't want to get into the AI deciding if firing some missiles early and then coordinating later salvos is better than saving missiles and launching together, as they would have to consider opponent weapon range, PD, chance of their own ships being destroyed, etc..
Pages: [1] 2 3 ... 10
SMF spam blocked by CleanTalk