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Post by darthroach on Mar 14, 2017 9:25:15 GMT
The Islamic state still exists. That is a terrible example because it has nothing to do with military matters and everything to do with politics. Which I would rather not see on this forum, ever. I hope everybody can agree to that. Even so they are getting steamrollered at the moment.
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Post by darthroach on Mar 14, 2017 8:25:04 GMT
Shit guys you are writing faster than I can respond and I really need to work . Thing is that you are all affected by what I would call "large force" way of thinking and I'm much more inclined to like small nations that defy the forces of the day and do everything possible to protect themselves . Both points of view have their issues. You think investing large amounts of money in military makes your stomping of everybody else somehow more moral and right. I on the other hand like simple cheap solutions that give even small nations ways to defend themselves. We may never agree. A small nation that uses a Qship is a dead nation. A big nation that uses a Qship is a nation at war with the rest of the system.
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Post by darthroach on Mar 14, 2017 7:48:39 GMT
You should consider the political fallout of Q-ships. If you use Q-ships, all of your civilian ships will be considered Q-ships, even by 'neutral' parties not willing to take the risk of possibly having a Q-ship near a major population or production center. Essentially, using Q-ships would politically and economically isolate your faction. The use of Q-ships might actually be a tipping point causing neutral factions joining your opposition, causing you to get curb stomped economically and militarily by the rest of the solar system. Also expect public outcry among your own population due to the morality and the repercussions. Exactly this. The argument against Qships was never about morality - it's a stupid strategic decision for as long as any neutral factions exist. By the time you could use Q ships without losing more than you gain (aka when you are fighting everyone in a total war), they won't work anymore. People aren't going to give you the benefit of the doubt when their entire nation is only a bulkhead away from the hard vacuum of space.
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Post by darthroach on Mar 14, 2017 1:22:08 GMT
Space Command: We have just built a 200t, 9.3 km/s neon-based liner that can carry 40t with only 40t devoted to reaction mass. 40t Cargo Liner: Hello everyone! Consumer: We want you to delivery to our station in low Jupiter orbit. 40t Cargo Liner: Are you f**king kidding me later... 40t Cargo Liner: I'll just station in the asteroid belt... To be entirely honest, so long as you can continously reorient to thrust prograde, climbing out of gravity wells is not nearly as much of a problem - though it does take both way more time and energy. 9.3km/s is very underwhelming, however. I am rather surprised you managed to get an MPD to perform so low.
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Post by darthroach on Mar 14, 2017 1:18:27 GMT
Why are we even assuming drones need pilots? Just give them some general swarm datalink, integrated guidance and targeting computers. Get a couple of officers to look after the whole swarm and be done with it. Why do our guns even need gunners? Connect those guns up into some sort of datalink, give them a target and they basically are mounted drones. Indeed. The only input from humans is required for broader scope decision making (aka tactics) and fixing shit whenever something goes wrong. There aren't going to be any gunners. I mean, for the love of god, they already had computerized turrets on bloody b-29s during ww2, and ships have fully automated CIWS right now.
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Post by darthroach on Mar 13, 2017 21:57:24 GMT
The best way of getting yourself embargoed by everyone else ever invented.
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Post by darthroach on Mar 13, 2017 16:16:10 GMT
One strategic consideration that people here arent taking into account is that you can just shine a low powered flashlight at this "giga doom laser" and burn out its optics. God help the doom laser if you have yourself have a laser pointer. Are we sure this is not just oversight by qswitched?
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Post by darthroach on Mar 13, 2017 15:25:21 GMT
if lasers can wipe out anything within LOS then all lasers will be destroyed by enemy lasers and NLOS missiles It's a lot easier to protect ground based installations. Not to mention the distances involved - where lightspeed lag makes targeting legitimately difficult, and the power requirements start to move up into the astroengineering scales.
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Post by darthroach on Mar 13, 2017 14:57:10 GMT
And as soon as the threat of invasion becomes real, you can bet your arse someone's going to start breaking them. There is just too much to gain by constructing powerful surface defences.
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Post by darthroach on Mar 13, 2017 14:11:18 GMT
Disclaimer: I absolutely building and flying warships. And nothing beats the view of capital fleets lobbing tens of thousands of railgun projectiles at each other with Saturn's rings in the background. And yet I can't help but wonder whether such a thing could ever even happen
Considering just how effective gigantic lasers are, the question is pretty inevitable - does it even make sense to build warships? If we can build mobile warships with lasers big enough to engage at thousands of kilometers, what exactly is stopping the construction of surface laser batteries on moons, asteroids and planets the size of cities, capable of vaporizing anything within millions of kilometers? How could one realistically even approach something like a hostile Saturn system? The only thing I can conceive of that could make it past planetary/orbital defences is barrages of hypervelocity kinetics running cold, relying on imperfect detection. So essentially planet-scale mass drivers. Is there any quirk of physics that would make anything but complete MAD warfare possible in space?
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Post by darthroach on Mar 13, 2017 10:12:50 GMT
Maybe something like 4-6 drones/missiles a pilot or so? Why are we even assuming drones need pilots? Just give them some general swarm datalink, integrated guidance and targeting computers. Get a couple of officers to look after the whole swarm and be done with it.
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Post by darthroach on Mar 12, 2017 16:35:27 GMT
If you mean you don't know how to add an MPD to your ships, it's literally as simple as going into ship design and adding an MPD of the same propellant type to your ship. I believe Astro has problems engineering efficient MPDs. Anyhow, MPDs are almost completely useless in tactical. :/ You were saying?
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Post by darthroach on Mar 12, 2017 15:30:23 GMT
I might try to add methane MPD, but I don't know how. If you mean you don't know how to add an MPD to your ships, it's literally as simple as going into ship design and adding an MPD of the same propellant type to your ship.
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Post by darthroach on Mar 9, 2017 22:39:39 GMT
In before we are able to 3D print ships. But only ones made of paper. Has anyone tried using paper armour on spaceships?
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Post by darthroach on Mar 9, 2017 22:27:51 GMT
I am by no means an expert, but wasn't the original nuclear-pumped laser idea just a bunch of x-ray spectrum gain rods being exploded by nukes? You'd dump them out the arse of your project Orion battleship and turn them in the direction of the enemy to produce a deadly high frequency radiation burst. that was casabal howitizer, a nuclear shaped charge I most definitely did not mean the Casaba Howitzer. Something along the lines of this: Wiki: Project ExcaliburThough the first time I read about the idea was on Atomic Rockets regarding some sci-fi novel where aliens get BTFO by a gigantic orion battleship. ETA: Didn't see your post, caiaphas
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