Full Thrust Studio Bergstrom ORCDeF Fleet Revisited

 

When I last posted about this range of ships here

 

https://brokenstarsburningships.blogspot.com/2019/02/full-thrust-orcdef-starships-from.html

 

I commented on how I might tweak them after some play experience.  After sitting down and fiddling around for a bit I've come up with the variant designs below.  Rather than going with grasers and heavy flank-mounted beam weapons, the new fleet relies on twin (or quad, for the superdreadnought) heavy beam cannons mounted forward and lighter beam arrays on the flanks.  Every ship in the fleet can now put out significant firepower at 36MU and the capital ships can reach out to 48MU.  However, they have very narrow firing arcs on those big main guns and their flanking batteries are half the strength of the older designs, so they really don't want to spend too much time within 24MU of an enemy until they've been softened up.  They've also lightened their hulls a bit in exchange for screens, which tend to work well when you're trying to hang around at extreme ranges where most incoming fire is from large beams and grasers.

 

 

The resulting ships are more versatile in some ways, but exemplify the differences in viable ship design between cinematic movement and vector movement games.  I'd feel fine putting these ships on the table with these rules under vector, where they can turn easily to keep their big guns on target.  In cinematic, I'd expect to do some damage as the enemy closes (assuming we started more-or-less facing them) but during the turn-and-burn stage I'd be suffering badly and getting the prow guns back in arc might just never happen.  They're not hopeless in cinematic play, but certainly much easier to handicap by smart maneuvering.

 

Light cruisers are inexpensive "workhorse" ships deployed in large numbers for patrol and security work, while still retaining just enough range and combat power to serve alongside heavier vessels in fleet actions.  Not a particularly agile ship for her mass, the ORCDeF light cruiser relies heavily on her large spinal mounted beam cannons for offensive firepower.  She sports moderate screens protecting a reasonably durable hull with light armor plating over key areas.

ORCDeF Light Cruiser
TMF 52
NPV 177/CPV 152
Thrust 4 q 2 q
FTL q
Level 1 Screen q
2 Fire Controls qq
2 PDS qq
2 Class 3 Beam Batteries (F) qq
2 Class 2 Beam Batteries (F/FP/AP) q (F/FS/AS) q
Armor 2
Hull 16 (2/4/4/4/4) - 3 crew units, one every 6th box

mm

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Larger and more powerful than the light cruiser, attack cruisers are still quite common in ORCDeF space and generally serve in the same roles.  They contribute the same amount of long range main battery fire as other cruiser types, but have greatly enhanced flank secondaries.  This also makes them quite dangerous at medium and short ranges, especially over their favored prow arc.

ORCDeF Attack Cruiser

TMF 67
NPV 227/CPV 205
Thrust 4 q 2 q
FTL q
Level 1 Screen q

2 Fire Controls qq
3 PDS qqq
2 Class 3 Beam Batteries (F) qq

4 Class 2 Beam Batteries (F/FP/AP) qq (F/FS/AS) qq

Armor 2

Hull 21 (2/6/5/5/5) - 4 crew units, one every 6th box

mm

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Roughly the size of most fleets' heavy cruiser classes, the ORCDeF defense cruiser is a specialized vessel that trades off some potential firepower for an extensive array of anti-fighter/anti-missile weaponry.  Often deployed as the flagship of small patrol squadrons, they also serve a fleet defense role in larger formations.  They are some of the most heavily screened ships in the fleet, making it difficult to remove their defensive support.

ORCDeF Defense Cruiser

TMF 87
NPV 297/CPV 286
Thrust 4 q 2 q
FTL q
Level 2 Screen qq

2 Fire Controls qq

1 ADFC q
7 PDS qqqqqqq
2 Class 3 Beam Batteries (F) qq

2 Class 2 Beam Batteries (F/FP/AP) q (F/FS/AS) q

Armor 3

Hull 26 (3/7/7/6/6) - 5 crew units, one every 6th box

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Smallest of the ORCDeF capital ships, the "battle cruiser" is basically a pocket battleship rather than an extremely heavy cruiser design.  She mounts a pair of immensely potent class 4 beam batteries, giving her tremendous offensive reach.  These are backed up by modest but effective secondary batteries and the usual mix of moderate screens and light armor over a moderately strong hull.

ORCDeF Battle Cruiser

TMF 104
NPV 349/CPV 353
Thrust 4 q 2 q
FTL q
Level 1 Screen q

2 Fire Controls qq

4 PDS qqqq
2 Class 4 Beam Batteries (F) qq

4 Class 2 Beam Batteries (F/FP/AP) qq (F/FS/AS) qq

Armor 3

Hull 35 (3/9/9/9/8) - 6 crew units, one every 6th box

mmm

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Battleships are the standard heavy warship of the fleet, with solid defenses, extensive secondary and tertiary weapon mounts, and the signature twin class 4 beams of all ORCDeF capital ships.  They retain an adequate thrust rating despite their size and can keep station with the smaller cruiser classes without difficulty.

ORCDeF Battleship

TMF 132
NPV 542/CPV 584
Thrust 4 q 2 q
FTL q
Level 1 Screen q

3 Fire Controls qqq

5 PDS qqqqq
2 Class 4 Beam Batteries (F) qq

6 Class 2 Beam Batteries (F/FP/AP) qqq (F/FS/AS) qqq

Armor 4

Hull 46 (4/12/12/11/11) - 7 crew units, one every 7th box

mmmm

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Largest ship in the ORCDeF roster, the superdreadnought is a truly massive hybrid warship/carrier/command flagship design.  Her main battery of two class 4 and two class 3 beam cannon is unequalled within the fleet, and is backed up by extensive secondary beam armament  on each flank.  She carries two squadrons of multirole fighters for further offense, and mounts a heavy area defense array to hold off enemy fighters and missiles.  All of this equipment is protected by level 2 screens and moderate armoring over a sturdy hull structure.  Unfortunately, the ship's drives are unable to reach normal fleet speeds, and superdreadnoughts are among the slowest and clumsiest vessels in human space.

ORCDeF Superdreadnought

TMF 184
NPV 646+fighters/CPV 702+fighters
Thrust 2 q 1 q
FTL q
Level 2 Screen qq

4 Fire Controls qqqq

1 ADFC q

6 PDS qqqqqq

2 Hangers qq
2 Class 4 Beam Batteries (F) qq

2 Class 3 Beam Batteries (F) qq

8 Class 2 Beam Batteries (F/FP/AP) qqqq (F/FS/AS) qqqq

Armor 4

Hull 56 (4/14/14/14/14) - 10 crew units, one every 6th box

mmmm
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