Mordel's Bar & Grill
Star Swan Liner
Post new topic   Reply to topic    Mordel's Bar & Grill Forum Index » Design Submissions
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
StarRaven
Federated Suns
Leftenant General
Leftenant General


Joined: 01-Jun-2004 00:00
Posts: 1138
Location: United States
PostPosted: 08-Feb-2005 00:57    Post subject: Star Swan Liner Reply to topic Reply with quote

I recall seeing this company mentioned somewhere in BattleTech. I just don't remember where.

                    AeroTech 2 Vessel Technical Readout
                                  VALIDATED

Class/Model/Name:  Star Swan 
Tech:              Inner Sphere / 3068
Vessel Type:       WarShip
Rules:             Level 3, Custom design
Rules Set:         AeroTech2

Mass:              750,000 tons
K-F Drive System:  (Unknown)
Length:            1,500 meters
Sail Diameter:     1,115 meters
Power Plant:       Standard
Safe Thrust:       3
Maximum Thrust:    5
Armor Type:        Standard
Armament:          
   32 NL55
  120 ER PPC
   80 ER Large Laser
   64 Laser AMS
Manufacturer:   Federated-Boeing Interstellar
  Location:     Galax
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
==Overview:==
Commissioned from Federated-Boeing Interstellar by the White Swan Corporation,
the Star Swan Liner is possibly the greatest gamble ever made by a civilian
shipping company.

The discovery of several Star League memory cores, the creation of the NAIS,
and the coming of the Clans have all combined in recent years to push much of
the Inner Sphere out of its artificial dark age, and back to the technological
level of the Star League era. Unfortunately, this is nearly as true for
pirates as it is for Successor States. The Star Swan is intended as a
preemption against the more powerful pirates which much of the Inner Sphere
soon expects to see.

The Star Swan is designed to be the epitome of luxurious interstellar travel.
The first class accommadations are located exclusively on grav decks. Except
for embarking and disembarking, first class passengers can spend the weeks and
months of interstellar travel without any contact with zero-G. Even the
"steerage" accommadations are incredibly well appointed, although they are not
on grav decks.

For those passengers who wish to see space, the Star Swan carries a pair of
finely appointed domed observation decks, one attached to a grav deck and one
near the center of the ship; observers on this second obervation deck are in
zero-G, since it is assumed that even some first class passengers will want to
experience zero-G. Current plans will forbid passengers from being on the
observation decks during jump, but this may change if no safety reasons can be
found against it.

Despite her luxuriousness, the Star Swan is also a WarShip. Most of the crew
members actually responsible for running the ship are ex-military, mostly from
the Free Worlds League, Federated Suns, and Lyran Alliance. Standard capital
armor is used instead of more advanced types because of its inexpense, but the
company is negotiating with Federated-Boeing to have the armor upgraded in any
future refit if heavier armor should prove necessary. 32 heavy naval lasers
provide the Star Swan with defense against potential pirate DropShips, while
scores of ER PPCs and lasers provide anti-fighter defense, and dozens of laser
AMS systems defend against missile attacks. Energy weapons are used instead of
ammunition-using systems in order to eliminate ammunition costs.

Further protection is provided by two wings of mercenary aerospace fighters.
As a final line of protection for the passengers, two companies of mercenary
marines are carried aboard ship at all times. These mercenaries are on very
lucrative but restrictive contracts; any harm to a passenger caused by
mercenaries can result in instant imprisonment aboard ship for future trial on
Galax (the Swan's home port). If the Star Swan's initial trip proves to be as
profitable as is expected, the White Swan Corp. intends to hire ex-military
pilots as the core of its own aerospace fighter unit, a unit whose discipline
it can more easily trust. A similar corporate force will be formed to replace
the mercenary marines.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Class/Model/Name:  Star Swan 
Mass:              750,000 tons

Equipment:                                                            Mass  
Power Plant, Drive & Control:                                      135,000.00
Thrust:  Safe Thrust: 3
      Maximum Thrust: 5
Kearny-Fuchida Hyperdrive:  Compact (Integrity = 16)               339,375.00
Jump Sail: (Integrity = 4)                                              68.00
Structural Integrity: 150                                          112,500.00
Total Heat Sinks:    3,100 Double                                    2,536.00
Fuel & Fuel Pumps:                                                  15,123.00
Bridge, Controls, Radar, Computer & Attitude Thrusters:              1,875.00
Fire Control Computers:                                              3,656.00
Food & Water:  (1832 days supply)                                   18,253.00
Armor Type:  Standard  (990 total armor pts)                         2,249.00
                           Capital Scale Armor Pts
   Location:                            L / R
   Fore:                                181
   Fore-Left/Right:                  165/165
   Aft-Left/Right:                   165/165
   Aft:                                 149

Cargo:
   Bay 1:  Fighters (18) with 2 doors                                2,700.00
           Small Craft (20) with 2 doors                             4,000.00
           Cargo (1) with 10 doors                                  10,000.00
   Bay 2:  Fighters (18) with 2 doors                                2,700.00
           Small Craft (20) with 2 doors                             4,000.00
           Cargo (1)                                                10,000.00
   Bay 3:  General Luxury (1)                                       10,000.00
           Observation Deck (G) (1)                                  1,050.00
           Observation Deck (Zero G) (1)                             1,050.00

DropShip Capacity:  4 Docking Hardpoints                             4,000.00
Grav Decks #1 - 40:  (150-meter diameter)                            4,000.00
Escape Pods:  320 (7 tons each)                                      2,240.00

Crew and Passengers:
    110 Officers (106 minimum)                                       1,100.00
    450 Crew (85 minimum)                                            3,150.00
     80 Gunners (76 minimum)                                           560.00
    100 1st Class Passengers                                         2,000.00
    300 2nd Class Passengers                                         4,200.00
    600 Steerage Passengers                                          6,000.00
    172 Marines                                                      1,204.00
     36 Fighter Pilots                                                 360.00
     80 Small Craft Pilots                                             560.00
     65 Fighter/Small Craft Techs                                      455.00
Weapons and Equipment      Loc        SRV    MRV    LRV    ERV  Heat    Mass
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4 NL55                     Nose        22     22     22     22  340  4,400.00
5 ER PPC                   Nose     5(50)  5(50)  5(50)     --   75     35.00
5 ER PPC                   Nose     5(50)  5(50)  5(50)     --   75     35.00
5 ER PPC                   Nose     5(50)  5(50)  5(50)     --   75     35.00
5 ER Large Laser           Nose     4(40)  4(40)  4(40)     --   60     25.00
5 ER Large Laser           Nose     4(40)  4(40)  4(40)     --   60     25.00
4 Laser AMS                Nose        --     --     --     --   48      6.00
4 Laser AMS                Nose        --     --     --     --   48      6.00
4 NL55                     FL/R        22     22     22     22  680  8,800.00
5 ER PPC                   FL/R     5(50)  5(50)  5(50)     --  150     70.00
5 ER PPC                   FL/R     5(50)  5(50)  5(50)     --  150     70.00
5 ER PPC                   FL/R     5(50)  5(50)  5(50)     --  150     70.00
5 ER Large Laser           FL/R     4(40)  4(40)  4(40)     --  120     50.00
5 ER Large Laser           FL/R     4(40)  4(40)  4(40)     --  120     50.00
4 Laser AMS                FL/R        --     --     --     --   96     12.00
4 Laser AMS                FL/R        --     --     --     --   96     12.00
4 NL55                     L/RBS       22     22     22     22  680  8,800.00
5 ER PPC                   L/RBS    5(50)  5(50)  5(50)     --  150     70.00
5 ER PPC                   L/RBS    5(50)  5(50)  5(50)     --  150     70.00
5 ER PPC                   L/RBS    5(50)  5(50)  5(50)     --  150     70.00
5 ER Large Laser           L/RBS    4(40)  4(40)  4(40)     --  120     50.00
5 ER Large Laser           L/RBS    4(40)  4(40)  4(40)     --  120     50.00
4 Laser AMS                L/RBS       --     --     --     --   96     12.00
4 Laser AMS                L/RBS       --     --     --     --   96     12.00
4 NL55                     AL/R        22     22     22     22  680  8,800.00
5 ER PPC                   AL/R     5(50)  5(50)  5(50)     --  150     70.00
5 ER PPC                   AL/R     5(50)  5(50)  5(50)     --  150     70.00
5 ER PPC                   AL/R     5(50)  5(50)  5(50)     --  150     70.00
5 ER Large Laser           AL/R     4(40)  4(40)  4(40)     --  120     50.00
5 ER Large Laser           AL/R     4(40)  4(40)  4(40)     --  120     50.00
4 Laser AMS                AL/R        --     --     --     --   96     12.00
4 Laser AMS                AL/R        --     --     --     --   96     12.00
4 NL55                     Aft         22     22     22     22  340  4,400.00
5 ER PPC                   Aft      5(50)  5(50)  5(50)     --   75     35.00
5 ER PPC                   Aft      5(50)  5(50)  5(50)     --   75     35.00
5 ER PPC                   Aft      5(50)  5(50)  5(50)     --   75     35.00
5 ER Large Laser           Aft      4(40)  4(40)  4(40)     --   60     25.00
5 ER Large Laser           Aft      4(40)  4(40)  4(40)     --   60     25.00
4 Laser AMS                Aft         --     --     --     --   48      6.00
4 Laser AMS                Aft         --     --     --     --   48      6.00
1 Lot Spare Parts (1.00%)                                            7,500.00
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTALS:                                            Heat: 6,248     750,000.00
Tons Left:                                                                .00

Calculated Factors:
Total Cost:        6,068,867,008 C-Bills
Battle Value:      96,600
Cost per BV:       62,824.71
Weapon Value:      70,512 (Ratio = .73)
Damage Factors:    SRV = 3,682;  MRV = 2,920;  LRV = 1,769;  ERV = 505
Maintenance:       Maintenance Point Value (MPV) = 539,572
                   (157,904 Structure, 268,588 Life Support, 113,080 Weapons)
                   Support Points (SP) = 1,419,750  (263% of MPV)
BattleForce2:      Not applicable


_________________
"Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close semblance to the first."
- Attributed to General Aleksandr Kerensky
Back to top View profile Send site message Send e-mail
Warhammer: 3025
Freelance
Captain, AFFC (Ret.)
Captain, AFFC (Ret.)


Joined: 29-Jan-2005 00:00
Posts: 1856

PostPosted: 08-Feb-2005 02:37    Post subject: RE: Star Swan Liner Reply to topic Reply with quote

From what I understand, pirates have very little in the way of interstellar firepower, nothing more than a few dropships on average. Couple that with the almost infinitesimal chances of a pirate ship being in the right place at the right time to "pillage" a ship (let alone a luxury liner), as well as the immense cost of the craft, and I really don't see much of a need for this ship. If you convert it to military use, however, it would make one helluva troop ship.

Just the $0.02 of a newbie.

[ This Message was edited by: Warhammer: 3025 on 2005-02-08 02:40 ]
_________________
Evil is like a bowl of oranges. Only one, instead, is an orange of DOOM. That orange has a fate to rule over the other oranges with an iron fist. That orange is me.

Because sometimes, there are many guards in the castle.


Ya Rl'yeh!
Back to top View profile Send site message
Warhammer: 3025
Freelance
Captain, AFFC (Ret.)
Captain, AFFC (Ret.)


Joined: 29-Jan-2005 00:00
Posts: 1856

PostPosted: 08-Feb-2005 03:09    Post subject: RE: Star Swan Liner Reply to topic Reply with quote

I don't really understand the rules for ship-making (in fact I have no idea how to design a ship), but here's what I would do:

1. Increase the tonnage to an even 1,000,000 tons.
2. Replace the passenger rooms with bunkrooms for more marines.
3. Slightly increase naval firepower, to keep in accordance with the increased size of the craft.
4. Add as much armor as possible.

That should make one great boarding craft. With the increased armor, you could send the ship straight at an enemy warship, and then deploy the marines to capture it. It's much more economical to capture a ship than to simply disable/destroy it. After capturing one or two ships, the craft pays for itself.

Again, just the $0.02 of a newbie.

[ This Message was edited by: Warhammer: 3025 on 2005-02-08 03:11 ]
_________________
Evil is like a bowl of oranges. Only one, instead, is an orange of DOOM. That orange has a fate to rule over the other oranges with an iron fist. That orange is me.

Because sometimes, there are many guards in the castle.


Ya Rl'yeh!
Back to top View profile Send site message
StarRaven
Federated Suns
Leftenant General
Leftenant General


Joined: 01-Jun-2004 00:00
Posts: 1138
Location: United States
PostPosted: 08-Feb-2005 10:31    Post subject: RE: Star Swan Liner Reply to topic Reply with quote

I'd have a nickel, but you only gave me four cents. But if you use the phrase often, then maybe soon I'll have six cents.

In the fluff of the Cameron class Battlecruiser, it mentions that one ship (the SLS Saint Joan) was destroyed by pirates when her power systems failed. Everything I've read about the the Star League era (I've not read the original Star League source book, mind you) shows that the pirates were very well equipped back then. (And remember that your average ground based pirates have BattleMechs in numbers.) But since the modern Star League is a paper tiger, there's no one to escort the civilians. So if you're expecting a return to the days of big pirates, you've gotta guard your passengers yourselves.

The aerospace equivalent of 'Mech armed pirates will have fighters and DropShips, which is what ithis is designed to fight. It has only a few naval grade weapons because those are expensive. The armor's rather light, so it really can't go up against a WarShip, but it can kill anything smaller which messes with it.


[ This Message was edited by: StarRaven on 2005-02-08 10:33 ]
_________________
"Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close semblance to the first."
- Attributed to General Aleksandr Kerensky
Back to top View profile Send site message Send e-mail
Ronin
ComStar
Colonel
Colonel


Joined: 05-Feb-2002 00:00
Posts: 907
Location: United States
PostPosted: 08-Feb-2005 12:15    Post subject: RE: Star Swan Liner Reply to topic Reply with quote

The odds of pirates being in the right place at the right time is actually fairly high. They'll likely know many of the routes travelled by merchants and passenger liners: all they have to do is find a good spot and wait. This kind of ship would certainly not be able to travel without notice... it might even attract pirates at first, which might not be a bad thing. The pirates will want to try for a big score in a grand fashion, and the ship will be able to prove itself, thus justifying it's expenses. Some of the luxury travellers may even see that as part of the attraction of this ship: they get to be in "danger" and see a battle first had, "provided" by the desperate pirates and the ships crew. I could even see that in time, if pirates start to leave this (and other, subsequent ships) ship alone, the company may even hire some merc units to "attack" the ship (knowingly or not, depends on how amoral you think the corp to be) while the crew repels the attack. The rich fops will eat it up... they get to be in the middle of a pirate swashbuckling adventure! The corp may even allow a few to "lead" some of the valiant marines and aerofighters into battle, so they can heroically "protect" their loved ones, etc. If the marketing goes right, this could be a very lucrative business venture that may even turn a profit in a short amount of time.
Back to top View profile Send site message Send e-mail Visit website
Karagin
Imperial Karagin Army
Imperial General
Imperial General


Joined: 04-Feb-2002 00:00
Posts: 4120
Location: United States
PostPosted: 08-Feb-2005 13:41    Post subject: RE: Star Swan Liner Reply to topic Reply with quote

Interesting take and something that needs to be in the game...civilian ships. Be them Freighters or liners or what not. Yes I know Dropships can double for some of these, but not all the time, and in differen eras the texts of different books have hinted at military vessels being converted into civilian use ships.

As for the pirates, well given the whole annhilation of the Jaguars and the break up of that military as well as the rouge units running around and the pirates that have managed to stick around as well as corperate raiders aka one companies sercuirty units attacking another company and then claiming they were pirates etc...you will find a lot high tech pirates as well as low tech ones.

They are there, just forgotten about or used to justify things like the Word Of Blake's UberArmy and the rest of that line of thinking.

_________________
Karagin
Only the dead have seen the end of war. - Plato

"Wasted trip Man. Nobody said nuthin' about lockin' horns with no tigers." Oddball
Back to top View profile Send site message Send e-mail
ralgith
Blighted Sun Battalion
1st Company
"Ralgith's Renegades"
Colonel
Colonel


Joined: 18-Aug-2003 00:00
Posts: 2021
Location: United States
PostPosted: 08-Feb-2005 15:50    Post subject: RE: Star Swan Liner Reply to topic Reply with quote

I like this a lot, its a novel concept and fits great into hinted at areas of the fiction.

As for Warhammer's idea of it being a troop ship/giant assault ship.... Heres why it wont work.
In space, absolute speed means all of squat. Relative speed and vector mean everything. For this reason it is so close to impossible for a hostile ship larger than a small troop shuttle to dock with a warship. If the assault ship is closing in at a faster accelleration (to have a higher velocity relative to target) the target can simply change its vector making the attacking ship off by a significant margin. I'm not saying that it could *never* be successfully accomplished, but it'd be hella hard. The assault ship would need to be smaller, more maneuverable, and faster than the target, meaning a 1 million ton slow vessel just isnt gonna cut the mustard.

If anyone wants to see examples of relative speed/motion watch some star trek. In the movie Generations when the Klingon Bird of Prey attacks the Enterprise D it misses a lot, from SMALL changes in the Enterprise's vector. This is also illustrated in the Battle of Wolf 359, several battles with the dominion, more fights with the cardassians, and last but not least, the borg. Thankfully for use Trek fans, they actually used a scientific basis for their spacial combat starting with ST:TNG and Star Trek: The Motion Picture.

If anyone wants the MATH on all this, see a physics professor who specializes in spacial physics, because I don't understand the math at all, I just know its true

_________________
Colonel Ralgith t'Mayasara
Blighted Sun Battalion
1st Company 'Ralgith's Renegades'

Back to top View profile Send site message Send e-mail Visit website
Warhammer: 3025
Freelance
Captain, AFFC (Ret.)
Captain, AFFC (Ret.)


Joined: 29-Jan-2005 00:00
Posts: 1856

PostPosted: 08-Feb-2005 16:17    Post subject: RE: Star Swan Liner Reply to topic Reply with quote

Quote:

On 2005-02-08 15:50, ralgith wrote:
In space, absolute speed means all of squat. Relative speed and vector mean everything. For this reason it is so close to impossible for a hostile ship larger than a small troop shuttle to dock with a warship. If the assault ship is closing in at a faster accelleration (to have a higher velocity relative to target) the target can simply change its vector making the attacking ship off by a significant margin. I'm not saying that it could *never* be successfully accomplished, but it'd be hella hard. The assault ship would need to be smaller, more maneuverable, and faster than the target, meaning a 1 million ton slow vessel just isnt gonna cut the mustard.



That's actually what I meant. The ship already has room for 40 small craft, and it would deploy those at close range, helping increase their survivability by both decreasing the distance they need to travel, and covering their approach by destroying incoming fighters and weapons ports on the target vessel.
_________________
Evil is like a bowl of oranges. Only one, instead, is an orange of DOOM. That orange has a fate to rule over the other oranges with an iron fist. That orange is me.

Because sometimes, there are many guards in the castle.


Ya Rl'yeh!
Back to top View profile Send site message
ralgith
Blighted Sun Battalion
1st Company
"Ralgith's Renegades"
Colonel
Colonel


Joined: 18-Aug-2003 00:00
Posts: 2021
Location: United States
PostPosted: 08-Feb-2005 16:57    Post subject: RE: Star Swan Liner Reply to topic Reply with quote

Quote:

On 2005-02-08 16:17, Warhammer: 3025 wrote:

That's actually what I meant. The ship already has room for 40 small craft, and it would deploy those at close range, helping increase their survivability by both decreasing the distance they need to travel, and covering their approach by destroying incoming fighters and weapons ports on the target vessel.



Ok, thats a bit more realistic I guess. Still, boarding actions are quite complex unless the target is disabled and drifting. But either way, I prefer the Luxury Liner

_________________
Colonel Ralgith t'Mayasara
Blighted Sun Battalion
1st Company 'Ralgith's Renegades'

Back to top View profile Send site message Send e-mail Visit website
Display posts from previous:
Post new topic   Reply to topic    Mordel's Bar & Grill Forum Index » Design Submissions All times are GMT-04:00

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
You cannot attach files in this forum
You can download files in this forum