Settler-Class:
---------------- --- This is a concept I really like, so I thought I would share it. The idea is to put a single Emergency-Sized Cryogenic Storage module alongside a single Small-Sized Cargo Hold Module. The Cryo can hold 200 Colonists, while the Cargo can hold 2 units of Infrastructure. The model below is an example, it was built using a fresh Trans-Newtonian start, with only Jump Point Theory and the bare-minimum Jump Drive techs to allow the creation of a Jump Drive. Neither the Jump Drive nor the Cargo Handling System are essential, however I find that a single basic Cargo Handling reduces the load / unload times quite significantly... from a little over two days down to just north of 10 hours!
The Jump Drive extends the service life of this concept quite a bit, meaning you do not require a re-tool nor a re-design of the ship when you need to be able to transit Jump Points.
--- I posted this design at the tech level of a (mostly) fresh TN start because of how it's meant to be used. This design takes your meager 200 Colonists and 2 Infrastructure and 'settles' the planet, then the Civilian sector can go to town with additional infra and colonists. With a bit more than 400 km/s and a basic, but functional, Jump Drive the
Settler-Class colony Ship can be built fairly early from an (almost) fresh Commercial Shipyard and catch a good number of planetary bodies (And just about anything in the Solar System). The 10,000 Tons of a Commercial Shipyard requires a mere 2,000 Tons of expansion to build a
Settler and a
Settler need only visit a planet once to start the colony. The other nice thing about it is that even
IF the colony in question is cut off from civilian shipping, the 2 Infrastructure is guaranteed to be enough for those piddly 200 Colonists on all but the most inhospitable of worlds.
--- Overall, the
Settler-Class is by no means the end all / be all solution for colonization, rather it is an excellent tool for early-game colony starting, while also being good for slow colonization. A six month deployment time and fuel to match provide a decent endurance for it's mission. Having "Colony Runs" where the
Settler performs 5 trips to pick up full Infra and Colonists allows you to start a colony of 1,000 people, while ten such runs provides a 10,000 person colony, so the time frame isn't
too horrible. If your daring or just like to splurge, a fleet of 5 can plop down 10 Infra and 1,000 Colonists. Careful though, the Infra to Colonist needs don't seem to scale linearly in my experience. Anyway, that's the idea, hope you liked it and as always, Cheers!
Settler-Class Colony Ship 12,000 tons 68 Crew 186.5 BP TCS 240 TH 100 EM 0
416 km/s JR 1-25(C) Armour 1-46 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 3 PPV 0
MSP 29 Max Repair 25 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 6 months Spare Berths 6
Cargo 5000 Cryogenic Berths 200 Cargo Handling Multiplier 5
StarTech Systems JC12K Jump Drive [T-4000/4E Single-Type] Max Ship Size 12000 tons Distance 25k km Squadron Size 1
StarTech Systems T2000C-100E Nuclear Thermal Engine (1) Power 100 Fuel Use 10.61% Signature 100 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 50,000 Litres Range 7.1 billion km (196 days at full power)
This design is classed as a Commercial Vessel for maintenance purposes
