In my recent game, I have decided to go with a more ship-centric approach rather than a fighter-centric approach to ship design in order to reduce micromanagement. As a result, I developed the science vessel below:
Oxford class Science Vessel (P) 10,000 tons 264 Crew 1,202.8 BP TCS 200 TH 250 EM 0
1250 km/s Armour 1-41 Shields 0-0 HTK 61 Sensors 210/210/1/1 DCR 10 PPV 0
Maint Life 9.25 Years MSP 3,591 AFR 80% IFR 1.1% 1YR 76 5YR 1,133 Max Repair 210 MSP
Captain Control Rating 1 BRG
Intended Deployment Time: 72 months Morale Check Required
TMG EP125.00-40C Ionic Reaction Drive (2) Power 250 Fuel Use 4.48% Signature 125 Explosion 4%
Fuel Capacity 500,000 Litres Range 200.9 billion km (1860 days at full power)
TMG EM Sensor EM35-210 (1) Sensitivity 210 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 114.6m km
TMG Thermal Sensor TH35-210 (1) Sensitivity 210 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 114.6m km
TMG Jump Point Survey Sensor (1) 1 Survey Points Per Hour
TMG Ground Survey Sensor (1) 1 Survey Points Per Hour
ELINT Module (1) Sensitivity 5 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 17.7m km
ECM 10
This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes
Notable features of this ship:
1. Maximum size commercial engines available to my empire. These are used to allow for homogenization of design efforts between my cruiser-class ships, which have similar speed requirements but shorter ranger than my science vessels. These engines also have smaller thermal signatures than equivalent tonnage military engines, making them somewhat stealthier. Thermal reduction is not utilized as that would require a dedicated engine design and would reduce the cross-class engine compatibility I am striving towards.
2. Geo, grav, EM, and thermal sensors, but no active sensors. The passive sensors are large and are intended to provide early warning against potential hostiles. The ELINT module provides the potential for discerning alien ship designs. This ship is intended to operate independently or as part of a fleet which includes much stronger defensive elements. When operating as part of a larger fleet, it can provide valuable long-range detection capabilities and possibly ELINT capabilities if the fleet can remain undetected.
3. Range and speed. This class has fairly low speed, however this was chosen intentionally as low speed ships have relatively smaller thermal signatures, which reduces the chance of detection at long range. Additionally, with lower, speed, commercial engines become a viable option, which allows for improved range due to improved fuel efficiency.
4. Jack of all trades, master of none. This class was designed to replace smaller, dedicated passive scouts, geosurvey craft, and grav survey craft. A primary goal for this design was to reduce micromanagement of all of the aforementioned craft and some compromises were made to achieve this objective. For example the old designs could survey more systems faster, but the new Oxford class can accomplish an entire system survey with minimal intervention on my part.
What are some other people's survey/science vessel designs and how do you use them?