Her Imperial Majesty's Space Navy

[Commander McLane]

Fighter - I'd favour the Asp. To harry Warships and mop-up Thargons etc.

I think we need maybe two more. As a minimum I would want:

HIMSN version of the Sidewinder
HIMSN version of the Asp mk II

...

I also want both the Sidewinder and the Asp. Firstly, both are specifically mentioned as Navy ships in the Elite documentation.

The naval version of the Asp is already (and has always been) part of Behemoth.oxp. Doesn't that suffice?

[Gimi]

The naval version of the Asp is already (and has always been) part of Behemoth.oxp. Doesn't that suffice?

I'm still playing around with concepts and brainstorming ideas. I do foresee a Behemoth as a carrier for both Asps and Sidewinders, and as a part of HIMSN. But one of the things I personally would like to see, is a clean-up of the graphics. So ideally I would love to see Griff style versions of all the ships for the shader people like myself, and Smivs style for the non-shader version. So, at this stage, I'm not making any assumptions as to whether HIMSN.oxp will make use of other OXP's. We are still playing with ideas and a release is a long way off, if it comes to that stage at all.

[Gimi]

Also, I would like to make it perfectly clear, I don't have the necessary knowledge to make this thing. As I said earlier, I see myself as a consultant of sorts that any HIMSN.oxp lead developer is free to ignore. But I'm prepared to make an effort.

[Cody]

I see myself as a consultant of sorts

I see you as the project lead, Gimi... heh!

[Gimi]

I see myself as a consultant of sorts

I see you as the project lead, Gimi... heh!

We'll see if we get to that point. But at the current point in time, I'm just documenting a possible framework. (What consultants do mostly, document stuff)

[Cody]

Extract from the Real Programmers Credo:

Real Programmers don’t like the “team programming” concept. Unless, of course, they are the Lead Programmer.

[cim]

HIMSN Behemoth. Large battle ship with docking bay.

I view the Behemoths as witchspace-capable portable bases. If you see one right on the front lines, it's because the Thargoids have moved the line. (Like a modern aircraft carrier, extremely powerful if you count its fighter complement, and extremely vulnerable if you can sneak up on it)

This to create the right atmosphere in-game. The regular trader will mostly see the logistics ships bringing supplies to the front, but even that should be a rare event.

Thargoid Plans suggests that couriers are needed to carry secure information, too. I'd expect to see the occasional naval Asp running between HIMSN sites.

What about HIMSN Constrictors? We know they're building them, presumably for anti-Thargoid use as an eventual replacement for the venerable Asp, and that prototype looked finished enough that the first real ones should be coming into HIMSN service at most a few years after Constrictor Hunt is over. Special operations only, of course - bulk manufacturing is going to be years away.

[Cody]

What about HIMSN Constrictors?

That's a good thought, cim. (I have a Constrictor as my 'sport' ship.)

[Smivs]

I view the Behemoths as witchspace-capable portable bases. If you see one right on the front lines, it's because the Thargoids have moved the line. (Like a modern aircraft carrier, extremely powerful if you count its fighter complement, and extremely vulnerable if you can sneak up on it)

I had not considered this, but it is a very good point. I'm not saying we shouldn't have a Behemoth, but we should consider its role and how it will appear and feature in-game.

What about HIMSN Constrictors? We know they're building them, presumably for anti-Thargoid use as an eventual replacement for the venerable Asp, and that prototype looked finished enough that the first real ones should be coming into HIMSN service at most a few years after Constrictor Hunt is over. Special operations only, of course - bulk manufacturing is going to be years away.

A nice idea, but as you say for special ops only. I wouldn't neccesarily see it as a front-line fighter.

As for the 'team', Gimi is doing a fine job of laying the groundwork, and I am looking to him for direction at the moment. I'm messing about sticking bits on Boas, and El Viejo is acting as Canon Consultant and chipping in with some good ideas.
Between us we can probably handle the coding and (most of) the scripting, and I can do the non-shader graphics, but we will need a proper modeller on board, and someone to do all the clever shadery stuff for the 'Griffified' version.
Is this the time to ask for more volunteers?

[Diziet Sma]

A very personal opinion: [heresy]I have never regarded The Dark Wheel as canon![/heresy]

Didn't you once say you'd never read it? (apologies if I'm attributing somebody else's words to you)

If so, how would you know? <evil grin>

[Diziet Sma]

The Boa Class Cruiser is to my mind mis-named. It is a civilian transport/freighter and the name 'cruiser' implies a military role.

The term 'cruiser' has legitimate civilian uses too.. just ask any yacht-lover..

[Cody]

A very personal opinion: [heresy]I have never regarded The Dark Wheel as canon![/heresy]

Didn't you once say you'd never read it?

Yep, that was me. I never had the novella (or the manual) with my BBC Elite. A few years ago, I found it on Ian Bell's website and set about reading it... basically, I thought it was rubbish, and it didn't fit the game I saw before me at all, so I abandoned it after a few chapters. I believe B&B had minimal input, if any.

[Smivs]

The Boa Class Cruiser is to my mind mis-named. It is a civilian transport/freighter and the name 'cruiser' implies a military role.

The term 'cruiser' has legitimate civilian uses too.. just ask any yacht-lover..

<Smivs doesn't do boats>

[cim]

I had not considered this, but it is a very good point. I'm not saying we shouldn't have a Behemoth, but we should consider its role and how it will appear and feature in-game.

One of the things the GalNavy missions make very clear - though perhaps not intentionally - is that they're pretty useless in a pitched battle. Eight plasma turrets (or even sixteen, on the Type 2s) is a pretty pathetic armament against anything with a laser. But there's a definite need for a carrier since with only one missile pylon the Asps are going to need to return to rearm (and refuel) fairly often.

Galcop doesn't really have the weapons technology to build an offensive battleship, I think. Missiles need to be mounted on a fast fighter-bomber (a Boa II, perhaps, or maybe a Constrictor) and launched at fairly close range, or there's too much chance to ECM them or to shoot them down with point defense. Plasma turrets are too short-ranged and too high power-drain to use as anything other than point defense. Galcop doesn't have turret lasers, and given how fast the Thargoid ships are, a fixed laser isn't going to be much use against a moving target unless it's stuck to a fighter with a decent turn rate.

(Possibly, if you stuck a lot of forward lasers on a battleship, plus plasma turrets for point defense, you could have a nice sniper-style warship with Galcop technology - at 20km range the lack of turning is less of a problem. But Oolite doesn't have a sniper AI to use with it ... maybe it should?)

A nice idea, but as you say for special ops only. I wouldn't neccesarily see it as a front-line fighter.

Not in the Oolite timescale, no. I think it is fairly clearly HIMSN's eventual aim with that ship design.
- fits military lasers so it can outrange the Thargoid warships.
- fast enough to comfortably outrun a warship without burning injector fuel.
- strong enough shields to ignore pulse lasers so the thargons can be mostly ignored.
- three missile pylons so it can operate independently and flexibly much more than an Asp.

[Cody]

Wiki says this about cruisers: