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Martechi — TCCU Border Security Fleet Assets
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Published: 2018-07-19 06:31:57 +0000 UTC; Views: 3532; Favourites: 46; Downloads: 76
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Description
These are the starship classes most commonly deployed by the Tau Ceti Colonial Armed Forces to secure and protect the territories of the Union. Based on tried and proven Earth Alliance technologies and components, these vessels are very reliable and can be produced by the TCCU in great numbers. They form the baseline for the emerging TCCU fleet, which is to be augmented by more specialized vessels in the future.The development of this first generation of warships in the Tau Ceti system marks a turning point in human history. For the first time, the center of industrial and military power of a major human nation is no longer based in the Solar System.
Babylon 5 fanart. Original designs.
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Comments: 16
Okay so i thought it a bit so here is my input.
General: Main armament for vessel of this generation are obviously the 40/52mm Plasma Pulse Cannons which are stock EA Tech. I think Agents of Gaming made this into basic Pulse Cannons (no Plasma, but condensed Particles of some kind), but i think various wiki entries actually acknowledge EA Pulse Cannons as Plasma Pulse Cannons. I dot know which source is correct, but obviously you went with Pulse Plasma Cannons.
Pulse Discharge Cannons seem to be the "Light Weapon" here, i suppose its a replacement for Light Pulse Cannons ? If so, there is there profound difference or is just a different name for basicaly the same kind of weapon ?
Also, in your take, whats the difference between Missiles and Torpedos in space warfare / TCCU context ? Is one guided, while the other is fixed ?
Milan Toplica Escort
Not too much opinion on this one. I think its a cool unit. Personally i would have probably replaced the anti ship missile launchers with a 40mm Pulse Cannon for anti-ship duty, but either way is fine. This would have made it less dependant on ammunition (see below).
I think a general a fleet is probably better off with more smaller units than few bigger units. So in general, i would like to see perhaps another picket element as opposed to another heavy cruiser (this is no critism to you, but a general obvervasion when it comes to B5 line art). I do realize big ships are more fun imagine and drawm but in reality i think there is maybe one carrier per 10 destroyers per 30 frigates or something.
Vesna Tender
Considering the unit only has reactive arms and is a logistics unit, im not completely onboard with the huge amount of strike craft here. It seems its almost more of a carrier than a logistic support unit with a total of 6 fighter wings. I think it would probably make sense (to me!) to completely get rid of the fighter wings and instead greatly up the amount of multi purpose transports & shuttles so this unit can actually stay behind and performs ammunition and fuel of sorts runs. Since your fleet has a very strong focus on ballistic weapons, both missiles and torpedos, ammo should be a major concern issue (not the case for stock EA using Lasers), so i think more shuttle craft could run ammo from these Tenders to actual combat elements. For an effective supply chain, i would imagine 20, 30 shuttle crafts running cargo. Possibly escorted by a few fighters stationed on this unit as well.
As it is, its really feels more like a hybrid Carrier/Tender in that order - if that is indended, fair enough.
Also. i really, really would like to see a few pulse discharge cannons on this unit (in my setup: -fighter wings +shuttles +pulse discharge cannons)
Lastly, im not 100 % certain if this unit actually has a use for 200 military troops ? Has it ?
Ispolin Patrol Cruiser
I really love this units visuals. I feels like the smaller cousin of a Hyperion, perhaps a tad more mobile. Compared to the Tawhaki i feel like this unit however is certainly undergunned. Its does not have that much less mass, but waaay, way less guns (could also be that Tawhaki is overgunned).
Tawhaki Heavy Cruiser
This is my favorite really. It looks really intimidating. Im not certain how it would perform in actual battle versus say a Hyperion, GQuan or Primus, but it looks like it would be able to take quite a pounding while offering overwhelming ballistic salvos. Perhaps it should also use at least one of the upscaled 52mm PPCs ? I can also very easily imagine this unit sporting one of those Phased Particle Guns, perhaps in a fixed mount located near the front in a later revision ?
Hyp Refit
EDIT: Well, i did read the Refit DA only after this comment...soo..
Is this supposed to be a testbed cruiser, or is actually a production / lease line ? It seems to be more of a testbed for those Phased Particle Cannons ?
Considering the Hyp fits right between Ispolin and Tawhaki im not entirely sure if there really a purpose for a yet another cruiser, unless its really meant to test the effiency and use case for those new weapons ?
I have to say though im kind of biased in regards to the Hyperion. I didnt like the unit because 2/3 of it length is basically devoted to a wireframe and it seemed to me to be a reaaally awkward design. The smallest of guns could probably be able to kill its structural mainframe integrity and voila, your engine section is drifting in space. It seemed like a reeeeeeeeally bad design for a combat unit. Also, the visuals dont fit Olympus and Omega at all, who were bulky and without brittle wireframes section. So, that is my main problem with the Hyperion, and in extension this refit. I dont see why anyone would lease these horrible units when they apparently have the capability to construct proper starships at about the same size on their own.
Hope you like the input either way
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That is certainly a lot of input! I'll go through it bit by bit.
Yes, the Pulse Discharge Cannons replace "Light Pulse Cannons". It is basically the same weapon, just perhaps a different version/iteration of this tech. Sadly, the lore of weapons types is severely inconsistent between different game manuals and lore books, so I don't think I can find a definitive canon source to base this on.
I use the terms "missiles" and "torpedoes" extremely loosely here (my excuse being that Babylon 5 itself clearly disregarded a lot of terminologies when it came to classifying ships etc). My take is this: Missiles are relatively light with limited guidance and countermeasures. They are used in huge swarms to overwhelm enemy defenses and carry conventional payloads. Torpedoes, on the other hand, are much heavier and contain not only nuclear payloads but much more powerful engines, proper thrusters and advances guidance and countermeasure systems. They are much more of a strategic weapon than the Missiles. This is not really a proper use of the term, but it seems to fit the universe.
Milan-Toplica Escort:
I do agree with you on the ration between huge vessels and smaller ones. I'll address this in two ways:
Firstly, I will create more picket-ship-type vessels. You can also assume that there are many specialized variants based on the Milan-Toplica Escort Hull, *but* I am probably not going to create pictures of all those, because it would seem kind of redundant to do a dozen different variants of the same hull with just some weaponry and details swapped around.
Secondly, ships like the Ispolin *are* going to be the small ones swarming around in later fleets. Even though they're a kilometer long, they're not that big compared to most other designs - this is especially true for many fan designs which tend to go a lot bigger than the show.
Vesna Fleet Tender:
I see your point about the strike craft and I'll probably address that with future vessels and stat sheets. To explain my thought process: This Tender is not supposed to deploy these strike craft as a carrier. I was more thinking of having a bunch of fighters stowed away on there as reserves to quickly replace lost fighters on capital ships in the fleet. The same goes for the Troops aboard. They're not meant as a permanent garrison for this particular vessel, but to replace lost ones on ships after a skirmish. Of course, I did not specify any of that in the stats, so...I'll probably fix that!
Ispolin Patrol Cruiser:
I'm glad you like the visual style of this one. It is indeed a smaller cousin to the Hyperion - a bit cheaper, more streamlined production for the TCCU to manage early on. It has few weapons, which is mostly because it is intended for fighting raiders rather than any serious adversary. This may change over time though and later iterations would have likely a larger number of lighter weaponry. I am likely going to create such versions, because I wanted to start creating actual custom weapons for the TCCU which would be added onto these vessels as well!
Tawhaki Heavy Cruiser:
Like with the Ispolin, I will likely heed your advise and do a refit version of this one, adding some more interesting and heavier weapon types on there.
As is, the Tawhaki would have a good chance against a standard Hyperion Heavy Cruiser on an even playing field. It could not hold up against a G'Quan or Primus, however. It's a heavy capital ship but not really a big battleship like those. The TCCU will eventually get those, but the Tawhaki is not one of them!
Hyperion Refit:
I hope my lore entry on the Hyperion does clear up your issues why the TCCU would have them flying around. I can see your problems with the design, though I have my own thoughts which go into a bit different direction. That, however, is a discussion for another time.
Hope to hear from you soon. There's more designs in the works that might interest you!
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Well i have to admit i completely dismissed the idea that your Tender is actually carrying those fighters not to deploy them as a carrier, but in order to deploy them to replace lost fighters on other fleet elements. That is a VERY good point you made. So i stand corrected.
Also, please make sure to understand that this is YOUR fleet & faction and you absolutely do NOT have to "fix" it for me. It is certainly fine as it is. Im just offering some thoughts, some may have merit, some may be compete BS. After all, you thought about this way more than i did so im probably missing a ton of angles here - like with the Tender carrying fighters.
I love the effort you are putting into this.
Also, another point i only briefly considered is this: You write yourself "Border Security Fleet". When im making comparisions to Hyperions, GQuans and Primus that is obviously not a fair competition, since a) those vessels are by multi-system empires with vastly more ressources and also b) build for the purpose of actual war, as opposed to solely protecting borders / neutering raiders. So thats a really big difference right there and i didnt acknowledge it when i should have
have fun drawing, im looking forward to your ideas.
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A thought about a fair comparison between the Ispolin & the Hyperion:
By the time the TCCU is founded, some years after the Earth Civil War, the Hyperion-Class is already kind of outdated. There are still many ships in service, as they were built in great numbers, but I imagine they are kind of relegated to patrol borders in less important territories and serve as the lesser workhorse of the fleet, whereas Omegas and later Warlocks are replacing them at the frontlines.
The TCCU's Ispolin design fulfills a similar role of patrolling borders, fighting off raiders and guarding territory, *but* in contrast to the Hyperion, which kind of slips into that role because it's outdated, the Ispolin is specifically designed for these tasks in the first place.
This is sort of the prime example of how the TCCU manages to build 'competitive' ships without having the kind of technological breakthroughs like the Earth Alliance. The TCCU uses older tech, but they benefit from the years and years these techs have been in service. While the Earth Alliance always leaps from one almost experimental tech to the next, the TCCU picks up the slightly older tech but uses it to its full potential.
Being a very skilled archer is sometimes more desirable than picking up a musket without really understanding how it works and having it misfire half the time. Of course, this does only work for a while and in the long run, you *need* technological development - but for these very early designs of the TCCU, this is kind of the idea I was going for.
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Did the TCCU join the Interstellar Alliance?
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Probably yes, eventually in the future, but not for decades after the events of the show. The colonies were very keen on keeping their independence as much as possible.
The TCCU did seek to exchange technologies, trade and maintain diplomatic relations with other species though, so in that regard, it would have much in common with the ISA and would likely be on friendly terms with them.
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So it would have trade connections with the ISA while not being a member.
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Exactly!
They might also allow ISA ships to go through their territory freely or have a base in the Tau Ceti System in exchange for some trade rights, technologies or military truces. They're just not interested in becoming full members quite yet
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Good idea. Did they offer aid after the Drakh attack on Earth and the release of the Drakh Plague?
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Absolutely. When they seceded from the Earth Alliance, it was because of the Clarke Regime. They stayed independent because they feared how many terrible elements of that regime and psi-corps remained - but they have no animosity against Earth or the civilians living on it.
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Good to know. Did they lend any ships/crews to the search for a cure?
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They would have lend crews for sure - I am not sure if they would have had any ships capable of being of much help quite yet. Perhaps they had some explorers at their disposal - if I ever do a TCCU explorer ship, I'll add that!
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I will check this later today but i already wanted to let you know this GREAT, especially the details !
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Glad you like it! I look forward to your thoughts!
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