Approved Starship The Midnight Vulture

[AMCO]

​

OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION

• Intent: A [REDACTED] for [REDACTED] and a (winning) entry for the Darkwire's Starship Contest.
• Image Source: study by Yuan Fang
• Canon Link: N/A
• Permissions: N/A
• Primary Source: The Voidstar

PRODUCTION INFORMATION

• Manufacturer: Vanguard Hypernautics
• Affiliation: Larz Blackheart
• Model: [REDACTED]
• Production: Unique
• Material: Nightshadow-coated Fiberplast Hull, Turadium Shutters and Blast Doors, Plexalloy Viewports.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

• Classification: Personal Transport | EW Corvette
• Length: 124.7 metres
• Width: 43.1 metres
• Height: 42.9 metres
• Armament: Very Low | None (Bastion Protocol)
  • [8] Dual Ion Cannons [Point Defence, Turreted]
  • [2] Variable Warhead Torpedo Tubes
    • Standard Loadout: 30 Ion Torpedoes and 30 Proton Torpedoes each.
• Defences: High | Very High (Bastion Protocol)
  • Adaptive Multilayered Shielding (Cycling Regeneration)
  • Light Fiberplast Hull Plating
• Hangar Space: Average | 0
  • Starfighters: N/A
  • Support Craft: N/A
• Manoeuvrability Rating: Extreme | High (SLAM)
• Speed Rating: High | Extreme (SLAM)
• Hyperdrive: Equipped.
• Hyperdrive Class:
  • Primary Hyperdrive: Jumpmaster 0.33
  • Secondary Hyperdrive: Class 6

STANDARD FEATURES

• The Midnight Vulture is outfitted with all the features and facilities one would expect from a vessel of its size and purpose, among them:
  • Encrypted Communications Suite - HoloNet+ (DarkNet, CryptNet, MedNet, KPLink, etc.) & Long-Range Subspace Transceiver
  • Full Mind-Machine Interface/Neurocrown Integration
  • Antisepsis Field Generators
  • Force Cylinders

ADVANCED SYSTEMS

• The Midnight Vulture is designed to carry two unarmed stealth shuttles in recessed docking ports; when docked with the intended vessels (two advanced but otherwise generic shuttles), the transition is mostly seamless and when not docked thin shutters made from the same material as the hull proper cover the opening to conceal a structural weakness from prying eyes. (OOC: Aside from aesthetics, this setup provides no notable advantage over attaching shuttles to conventional docking ports and this should not be considered a proper hangar.)
• XS7 "Mirage" Stealth Suite
• Power Distribution Systems:
  • The Midnight Vulture can dedicate its rather unusual propulsion system almost entirely to forward momentum at the expense of much of its manoeuvrability in a manner resembling a conventional SLAM drive.
  • Bastion Protocol: By diverting power from weapons the Midnight Vulture can reinforce its already formidable shields at the expense of all conventional offensive functions, i.e., its ion cannons and torpedo tubes.
• Electronic Warfare Suite:
  • Short and Long Range Jamming Systems
  • NEEDLE Remote Slicing Unit
  • Slicing Countermeasures
  • Remote Slicer
  • etc.
• Security Systems:
  • Self-Adaptive Encryption Systems.
  • Automasers and Coma Gas Dispensers.
  • Energy Gates, Laser Gates, and Ray Shields.
  • Paralysis Beams and Disruptor Security Beams.
  • Genetic Code Scans and various other identification systems.
  • Echo Pulses and various other anti-tampering measures.
  • etc.
• Utility Systems:
  • "Hypnos" Hypersleep Caskets
  • High-End Gravitic Sensors
  • Duplicator w/ Prototyper
  • Garment-Fabricator
  • Synthicator

STRENGTHS

• Layers of Lies: The "Mirage" Stealth Suite employed by the Midnight Vulture is almost as hard to pierce as a proper Stygium cloak yet significantly more versatile - the vessel can appear to be almost anything, including empty space, to sensors and eyes alike!
• Terror of the Net: The ignorant might very well dismiss the Midnight Vulture as a non-threat on account of its lacking armaments, but to do so would be folly of the highest calibre - outfitted as it is with potent Electronic Warfare systems and the best encryption and communications credits can buy, this unusual vessel is perfectly suited to be the spider at the heart of a vast digital web.
• Engineered to Perfection: No part of the Midnight Vulture's design was left to chance and no expense saved in its construction; few places is this more evident than in its unusual engines, whose innovative design affords it omnidirectional propulsion and impressive speed.

WEAKNESSES

• Paper Tiger: Ill-suited for conventional military service on account of its lacking armaments, the Midnight Vulture is best kept away from battle.
• Paper Hull: Formidable though its defences may be, a heavy reliance on its state-of-the-art shield generator leaves the Midnight Vulture unusually vulnerable to solar ionization cannons and the like - better not pick a fight with any Thyrsians.

DESCRIPTION
As far as Vanguard is concerned, no vessel dubbed the Midnight Vulture has ever left its docks or even been worked on - all physical records of its construction and design have been expunged, all involved employees sworn to secrecy, and all related expenses thoroughly concealed.

All to satisfy a client which only a handful of its executives even knows exist - quite a different state of affairs from its usual flashy yachts.

Despite its subtlety, the Midnight Vulture is still a distinctly Vanguard design at heart, its unusually utilitarian frame honed to perfection for optimal performance and its sleek and experimental engines finetuned to the point where concepts such as "bow" and "stern" begin to lose their meaning; perhaps nowhere is this design language more evident, however, than in its complex shields and its Hyperdrive, a carefully calibrated Jumpmaster.

Its interior, too, is utilitarian yet oddly luxurious, for only the finest of materials were used in its construction, as befits the personal vessel of one of the Direx Board's most powerful members. Dispensing with the formality of his showier peers, Blackheart's Vulture was never meant for formal balls and open warfare, but for watching from the shadows, always watching, as the spider spins its web...

 

[AMCO]

Gir Quee Fiolette Raaf

The time has come for this little birdie to leave the nest and make its way to Starship Creation for Review.

 

[Gir Quee]

AMCO , I'll be your FJ for this submission.

Hangar Space: High | 0

• Starfighters: 0 Squadrons
• Support Craft: 0 Squadrons | The Midnight Vulture carries a pair of unarmed stealth shuttles in dedicated launch bays.

This is one of things that makes practical sense from an in-character standpoint, but doesn't translate well to our out-of-character system. This is particularly true because support craft in turn are partially rated by their squadron size - so in other words, leaving this at "2 shuttles" allows them to basically nerf the "None" value in the squadron count if they're submitted to the Factory.

So technically, this needs to have a hangar space rating of "Very High: 1" in order to fit any craft inside it.

However, as an alternative, I might suggest writing in the description that this has docking ports that allow small ships to dock with it (like shuttles) rather than a hangar. This allows the users to depart from The Midnight Vulture via stealth shuttle if needed, but avoids the OOC issues with the hangar count. It would also give an additional rating to potentially put somewhere else.

Hyperdrive: Equipped.

• Primary Hyperdrive: Jumpmaster 0.33
• Secondary Hyperdrive: Class 6

The hyperdrive field technically is a "Yes" or "No" answer field.

Perhaps somewhat more seriously though, we cannot remove or alter the actual, existing fields of the templates. This means that "Hyperdrive Class:" has to show up somewhere here as a field.

 

[AMCO]

Gir Quee

Firstly, I am aware of the whole "Can nerf to "None" rating conundrum", that's why I tried to make it clear that these would only ever be an unarmed mode of transportation for a small number of people. I've done similar things on >50 m ships, but with a concrete roof on people, a lack of a hyperdrive of its own, a lack of repair facilities, and only ever on larger "Small Craft" with a Squadron Count of None.

As for your docking suggestion, that would fit the intent quite well - before I make any edits, would it be acceptable to have them be internal docking ports specifically designed for small, unarmed shuttles? Could even be just having a section of the hull open and close around them, the reason being that the ship's stealth systems rely on small projectors on the hull for some of its more advanced functions.

(To OOCly clarify my intent, the purpose of the shuttles are to provide a way on and off the ship, since it wouldn't land very often - if at all. They are not meant to be involved in combat (or at least last long in combat) and the ship does not possess the repair facilities a proper hangar would.)

Secondly, I am really flailing on how to make this part aesthetically pleasing - I nabbed the current version from Khonsu (with his permission, of course) and have been using it for a while without complaint from any Judges, though I believe he writes it as "Primary Hyperdrive Rating"/etc. Would that way of writing it be an acceptable way of doing it? Perhaps even "Primary Hyperdrive Class", though I'm loathe to do that since neither "... Class: 6" or "... Class: Class 6" is very aesthetic next to the Jumpmaster.

Might have to submit more Hyperdrives for the sole purpose of making those fields prettier.

(Daily reminder that having both a "Hyperdrive" and a "Hyperdrive Class" field in the template is both redundant and confusing; sorry if I come off as a bit salty, I just feel a bit too strongly about making my submissions aesthetically pleasing.)

 

[Gir Quee]

AMCO

As for your docking suggestion, that would fit the intent quite well - before I make any edits, would it be acceptable to have them be internal docking ports specifically designed for small, unarmed shuttles? Could even be just having a section of the hull open and close around them, the reason being that the ship's stealth systems rely on small projectors on the hull for some of its more advanced functions.

So in other words, it's a hangar in everything but name?

I could see the idea of a recessed docking port, but I think that once you encapsulate the carried ship fully, you have a hangar.

Secondly, I am really flailing on how to make this part aesthetically pleasing - I nabbed the current version from Khonsu (with his permission, of course) and have been using it for a while without complaint from any Judges, though I believe he writes it as "Primary Hyperdrive Rating"/etc. Would that way of writing it be an acceptable way of doing it? Perhaps even "Primary Hyperdrive Class", though I'm loathe to do that since neither "... Class: 6" or "... Class: Class 6" is very aesthetic next to the Jumpmaster.

Might have to submit more Hyperdrives for the sole purpose of making those fields prettier.

I can understand the frustration, but we ultimately, we as judges don't get to make the rules when it comes to individual submissions, we simply enforce them. Here's the relevant Factory Rule as a reminder:

The entire template must be used in your submission. Users can customize templates to their own personal liking, but the template's fields are not to be changed/removed/altered, additional information may be added but base fields may not be changed or removed.

 

[AMCO]

Gir Quee

Concerning the shuttles: I can definitely see where you're coming from, though I would argue that maintenance functions and such are a pretty essential part of a proper hangar. A recess could work, though, perhaps one that incorporates stealth projector thingies around the edge and lowers a thin piece of pseudo-hull when a shuttle's not there, so as to play into the whole nebulous ship of stealthiness part.

If that seems acceptable to you, I'll make the changes right away.

(For reference, I always envisioned it as more of a recess with a docking port, a door of some sort under, and no real space around it. Fits like a glove. Ditching the door analogue is perfectly fine, if that's what it takes for you to not consider it a hangar.)

Concerning the Hyperdrive Rating: Oh certainly, but different Judges have vastly different tolerance levels (when it pertains to formatting that diverges mildly without losing any actual information), which is why I'm asking what you find acceptable in this instance. As it is is obviously off the table for you, but would "Primary Hyperdrive Rating/Class"/etc. be acceptable?

 

[Gir Quee]

AMCO , I'm perfectly fine with a recessed docking ports as you've described (that is, without doors or any other way which can fully enclose an attached starship). I don't personally see an issue with a door that can slide up and cover the docking port when not in use.

As far as the hyperdrive field area, I personally do not have any strong feelings on the phrasing of the hyperdrive fields. As a judge though (when not taking in consideration the context of the actual field itself), I think it's pretty cut and dry that we cannot change the actual terminology used by a template field. It sounds to me though that this is one of those interpretation areas which may have changed during my absence, so I will defer the matter to John Locke when he comes by the secondary review if you wish to keep it as is.

 

[AMCO]

Gir Quee

Done and done - lowered Hangar Rating to Average and raised Maneuverability to compensate, equalised the drop in Maneuverability with the increase in Speed because "Extreme - High = High - Extreme" is pretty satisfying to see. Added the shuttles under Advanced Systems and did my darndest to make absolutely sure that it can't be abused in any way.

As for the Hyperdrive, that's fair enough - I don't actually know either. Since you suggested it, I'd be happy to simply refer the matter to John Locke; if anyone knows what the limits are, it should be him. I just hope he approves of the aesthetic option.

Anyway, thanks for your time and especially for responding so thoroughly. Cheers!

 

[Gir Quee]

Passing on to John Locke for secondary review; please let AMCO and I know your stance on modifying template fields. Thank you!

 

[John Locke]

AMCO | Gir Quee

Good work on resolving the hangar issue guys, that seems like a really good compromise that you came to.

On the issue of the template, Gir is correct, the base template itself can not be changed, nor can fields be removed. I understand the appeal of aesthetics when working on a submission, so what I'd suggest is something like the following.

• Hyperdrive: Equipped.​
• Hyperdrive Class:
  

  • Primary Hyperdrive: Jumpmaster 0.33
  • Secondary Hyperdrive: Class 6

 

[AMCO]

John Locke

Done and done, though I hope you'll forgive me if I take this as yet another opportunity to argue that splitting "Hyperdrive", the least important rating by most standards, into two fields is unnecessarily bloated and, frankly, a bit silly. Just imagine if "Armament" was "Armament: Yes." and "Armament Count: Lots of turbolasers." or occasionally "Armament: No, this a civilian ship." and "Armament Count: Still no, still civilian".

I know, I'm pathological.

 

[John Locke]

AMCO | Gir Quee

Thank you for making that adjustment.

APPROVED