Alright after some work I've fleshed out my empire's design doctrine and initial ship designs.
Doctrine:
Before I get into any actual design I want to describe the doctrine that I am adhering to for this game. I've decided to start by abandoning the common military strategies I've found on the forums. Actually forbidding them is more like it. The following rules form the foundation of my military doctrine:
1) Only transport-type vessels may exceed 1000 tons. I.E. Carriers, Freighters, Tankers, Colony ships.
2) Only Carrier class vessels will be allowed armour or shielding of any kind
3) Missiles are entirely forbidden. Drones and buoys may be developed for remote sensor placement.
4) If/When a Carrier comes under attack all Parasites assigned to that Carrier will respond with 1 of 2 actions;
4a) If the Parasites are of adequate speed to intercept the attack, they will do so.
5b) If the Parasites are unable to intercept the attack for any reason they will either attempt to destroy the attacking ship (such as in the case of a missile salvo), or simply continue with orders.
5) In the event of a Carrier being destroyed, all Parasites assigned to that Carrier will become 'berserk' and fight either until their death or the enemy is destroyed. In the latter case Parasites will then self-destruct.
The above doctrine will grow as combat situations arise that require it to be modified. Now for the fun part, ship designs!
Design:
First up is the main carrier of my current fleet.
Talona class Strike Carrier 16,000 tons 823 Crew 2118.8 BP TCS 320 TH 600 EM 0
1875 km/s Armour 9-56 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 25 PPV 0
Maint Life 12.83 Years MSP 2069 AFR 81% IFR 1.1% 1YR 23 5YR 350 Max Repair 128 MSP
Hangar Deck Capacity 6500 tons
"Orion" Class Ion Engine (10) Power 60 Fuel Use 80% Signature 60 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 700,000 Litres Range 98.4 billion km (607 days at full power)
"Twin-Fang" Class Carrier CIWS (2x4) Range 1000 km TS: 16000 km/s ROF 5 Base 50% To Hit
"Hawkeye" Class Missile Defense Sensor (1) GPS 128 Range 10.2m km Resolution 1
This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes
Kinda proud of this thing for a first generation ship. Armoured, can carry various configurations of 20+ fighters, it can even reasonably defend itself from missile strikes.
Next, my Strikefighter twins: Baphomet and Balor.
Baphomet class Strikefighter 300 tons 12 Crew 42.5 BP TCS 6 TH 48 EM 0
8000 km/s Armour 1-3 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 0 PPV 3
Maint Life 0 Years MSP 0 AFR 60% IFR 0.8% 1YR 2 5YR 36 Max Repair 14 MSP
"Venor" Class MP Fighter Drive (1) Power 48 Fuel Use 8000% Signature 48 Armour 0 Exp 25%
Fuel Capacity 5,000 Litres Range 0.4 billion km (13 hours at full power)
Strikefighter Meson Cannon (1) Range 30,000km TS: 8000 km/s Power 3-2 RM 3 ROF 10 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Strikefighter Beam Fire Control (1) Max Range: 48,000 km TS: 16000 km/s 79 58 38 17 0 0 0 0 0 0
Strikefighter Micro-Fusion Reactor (4) Total Power Output 2.4 Armour 0 Exp 5%
This design is classed as a Fighter for production, combat and maintenance purposes
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Balor class Strikefighter 260 tons 7 Crew 40.7 BP TCS 5.2 TH 48 EM 0
9230 km/s Armour 2-3 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 0 PPV 2
Maint Life 0 Years MSP 0 AFR 52% IFR 0.7% 1YR 3 5YR 38 Max Repair 14 MSP
"Venor" Class MP Fighter Drive (1) Power 48 Fuel Use 8000% Signature 48 Armour 0 Exp 25%
Fuel Capacity 5,000 Litres Range 0.4 billion km (13 hours at full power)
"Aura" Class Strikefighter Laser (1) Range 48,000km TS: 9230 km/s Power 3-0.5 RM 2 ROF 30 3 3 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
Strikefighter Beam Fire Control (1) Max Range: 48,000 km TS: 16000 km/s 79 58 38 17 0 0 0 0 0 0
Strikefighter Micro-Fusion Reactor (1) Total Power Output 0.6 Armour 0 Exp 5%
This design is classed as a Fighter for production, combat and maintenance purposes
With 1 Talona Strike Carrier, I can get 25 Balors in the air for a total of 75 dmg every 30 seconds in a perfect scenario. Or 20 of either Strikefighter and 1 of my scouts which can be seen below.
Loki class Scout 500 tons 42 Crew 97.6 BP TCS 10 TH 160 EM 0
16000 km/s Armour 1-5 Shields 0-0 Sensors 8/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 0 PPV 0
Maint Life 0 Years MSP 0 AFR 100% IFR 1.4% 1YR 25 5YR 371 Max Repair 40 MSP
"Apollo" Class Fast Attack Drive (1) Power 160 Fuel Use 800% Signature 160 Armour 0 Exp 15%
Fuel Capacity 5,000 Litres Range 2.3 billion km (39 hours at full power)
FAC Active Search Sensor (1) GPS 3200 Range 25.6m km Resolution 100
FAC Thermal Sensor (1) Sensitivity 8 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 8m km
This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes
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Kali class Scout 500 tons 42 Crew 97.6 BP TCS 10 TH 160 EM 0
16000 km/s Armour 1-5 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/8/0/0 Damage Control Rating 0 PPV 0
Maint Life 0 Years MSP 0 AFR 100% IFR 1.4% 1YR 25 5YR 371 Max Repair 40 MSP
"Apollo" Class Fast Attack Drive (1) Power 160 Fuel Use 800% Signature 160 Armour 0 Exp 15%
Fuel Capacity 5,000 Litres Range 2.3 billion km (39 hours at full power)
FAC Active Search Sensor (1) GPS 3200 Range 25.6m km Resolution 100
FAC EM Detection Sensor (1) Sensitivity 8 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 8m km
This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes
I'm really counting on my ship's speed to keep a decent percentage of them alive. Of course I'll hopefully have numbers on my side too. A Battle Group of 5 Talonas can pump out over 100 fighters and remain 200 million km back if need be.