Star Wars Roleplay: Chaos

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Type 2.5 Haran'uliik-class Light Frigate (Haran = "Hell" ; 'uliik = "Beast")

7b6ac3bbb876cea97b644a53241cf04b.jpg

Image Credit: Vitaliy Vostokov


Intent: Taking the long road...

PRODUCTION INFORMATION
Development Thread:Manufacturer:Model: Type 2.5 Haran'uliik-class Light Frigate
Affiliation: Closed Market,
Modularity: NA
Production: Limited
Material: Double-layered Mandalorian Steel Armor Plating, Alusteel Hull and Frame

DESCRIPTION
As a new generation of warships bring their might to bare upon the enemies of the Mando'ade, the ancient and venerated designs of days gone by begin to show their age. Ever mindful to the needs of the Mando'ade, the shipwrights and engineers of Mandal Hypernautics are again at the forefront of Naval science, marring modern metals and construction techniques with tried and true warship designs that have served the clans for centuries.

However, practicality and time constrains necessitate an alternative option to simply replacing the entire Mandalorian Navy. For that reason, the engineers of Mandal Hypernautics have worked with a number of engineers from rival companies to create a modular upgrade package capable of bringing existing warships up to current naval standards. Though these upgrades require an extensive retrofit and anywhere from a few weeks to a handful of months in drydock, the end result is far cheaper and quicker than simply manufacturing entirely new ships.

The retrofit process begins with entirely gutting the ship of its existing electronics systems and cabling, removing the reactor, hyperdrive, ion drives, sensor suite, communications suite, energy shielding emitters, and peeling off the outer armor of the ship. As new cabling and electronics are snaked throughout the hull of the ship, the previous reactor is replaced with a powerful Firestorm Isotope-5 Reactor, several banks of capacitors, and emergency power cells scattered throughout the ship. The previous hyperdrive is replaced with the advanced MandalTech 500 Series Hyperdrive (with royalty payments made to MandalTech for the use of their product) and the ship's new outer layer of armor is laid down. Far lighter than traditional Durasteel, the Mandalorian Steel armor plating can be double-layered with an underlay of Tenloss's TTAA-C (again with royalties paid to Tenloss for the use of their product) mesh to maximize protection without compromising the ship's previous speed and maneuverability. With the new armor in place, advanced ion thrusters are now secured to the aft of the ship as extra strength retrothrusters, maneuvering thrusters, and emergency thrusters are secured throughout the ship's hull.

At this point the ship's new shielding system is installed upon the hull, consisting of a dual layering of Retribution Ray Shields and Thermal Deflector Shields and backed up by ArmaTech's Aegis Receptor Nodes (royalties paid for use of their product). Followed swiftly by a new sensor suite, targeting suite, ECM and ECCM systems, upgraded point-defense systems, and a number of other proprietary upgrades to various electronics and software.

Though she possesses thicker armor plating than the original model, the lighter-weight metal used for the armor plating allows the Type 2.5 Haran'uliik to retain the high speeds that personified the original class. With the advanced power supply and modern thrusters, the Type 2.5 Haran'uliik is capable of bursts of speed and agility that exceed the original model. And while the drastic upgrades to the electronics systems of the ship required minimal structural changes to the design, the expanded reactor and hyperdrive of the design did require that the hangar be entirely removed from the ship's design in order to maintain the speed and armament of the design without compromising the overall durability of the ship.


Strengths
  • Heavy Brawler at Close Ranges
  • Thick, Double Layered Armor Plating
  • Advanced, Double Layered Shields
  • Fast and Agile
Weaknesses
  • Limited Fire-Arcs
  • No Missile/Ordnance Weapons
  • No Hangar
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Classification: Light Frigate
Role: Fast Attack Frigate
Length: 220 meters
Power Core Generator/Reactor: Firestorm Isotope-5 Reactor, Capacitor Banks, Emergency Power Cells,
Hyperdrive Rating: (High) Class 0.6, Class 10 Backup
Minimum Crew: 58
Optimal Crew: 280
Passenger Capacity: 380
Cargo Capacity: 2,200 tons
Consumables: 4 months
Sublight Speed: High (Moderate Reverse)
Maneuverability: Average
Defensive: Moderate
Armament: High (prow arc only)

ARMAMENT
Armament Rating: 18
Point Defense: 16HANGAR
  • None
NON-COMBAT ATTACHMENTSEncrypted Communications Systems Advanced Navigational SystemsREFERENCE HYPERLINKS
 
<p>RESEARCH REVIEW<br />
-----<br />
Star Wars Canon:<br />
Pending initial review<br />
------<br />
Starwars Chaos:<br />
Pending initial review<br />
------<br />
WITHOUT DEV THREADS<br />
Pending initial review<br />
------<br />
WITH DEV THREADS<br />
Pending Initial review<br />
------<br />
SUGGESTIONS<br />
Pending Inital review</p>
 
[member="Captain Larraq"]

Buckle up.

I've reviewed this submission in moderate depth, and I'm intimately familiar with the original -- I used one as Rave Merrill's personal ship for quite a while, with minimal modifications.

For the record, I'm examining the Haran'uliik based on posted current standards and on the original submission, prioritizing current standards. Both as a benchmark for my thinking and as a note for whoever may scrutinize this submission in the future, I think it's important to note that the original was not really an example of 'using a lot of development to justify something insane.' It rested wholly on the allowed stats of its time. This is especially crucial in talking about the speed rating.

The original speed rating was 4/10. I'm well aware that the 20-point scale doesn't scale in the same way as the 10-point did (you can't just multiply an old speed rating by 2 to give the new speed rating). Fortunately, however, both scales came with handy reference material, which is easily accessible. 4/10, under the old system, was , without development, completely fine for a ship the size of the Haran'uliik if certain other sacrifices were made -- and they were. Numerous other ships of that size made those sacrifices and obtained that speed rating, without a need for development or further tradeoffs or special consideration. 4/10 was the normal speed rating for a ship that had the Haran'uliik's classification. 4/10 was also, and this is crucial, the standard speed rating of a Millennium Falcon-scale light freighter. A light freighter was used as the defining benchmark of a 4/10 vessel.

While those options are no longer available in a systematized way, I would find it fairly dumb for the upgraded version to be significantly slower through a judge's mandate. Fortunately, that won't need to happen. According to the example ship reference chart, an average Millennium Falcon-scale light freighter falls between 5 and 6. An average 220m capital ship rates at 8, roughly. You're asking for 7. This is slightly faster than average, slightly slower than the original, and completely fine by me as a reasonable part of a balanced breakfast.

(As a side note, I managed to locate the original source of the image; plz to cite the artist.)

So much for speed. Let's look at guns.

The original Haran'uliik used a specific approved weapon sub and some finicky but entirely legitimate gun trade math to maximize the punching power of a numerically limited loadout. As noted above, this wasn't really a case of massive dev justifying disproportional weapons. The original was entirely normal in terms of absolute gun count for that particular vessel classification.

My next step is to calculate, by modern standards, the loadout you're asking for.

1x Axial Vulcan Mass-Driver Flak Cannon: approved as 30 point defense weapons or 20 capital weapons
2x Axial Deck Cannon Batteries: 2 x 4(batteries) x 2 (the deck cannon is a double-barreled weapon) = 16 capital weapons
2x Tractor Beam Projectors: no rating under current system
2x Pressor Beam Projectors: no rating under current system
2x ACS Witch Fire CIWS Batteries: 2 x 4 (batteries) x 1 = 8 defensive guns
2x DM Guardian System Batteries: 2 x 4 (batteries) x 1 = 8 defensive guns
1x MH EM Field Generator Battery: 1 x 4 (battery) x 4 (noted as being equivalent to one battery) = 16 defensive guns

The total comes to 36 capital weapons and 32 defensive guns.

I turn now to the non-binding example ship reference chart. Three examples stand out: the 200m heavy corvette, the 250m anti-starfighter frigate, and the 250m escort frigate. For comparison purposes, I convert all warhead launchers to capital weapons at 2:1 or defensive weapons at 4:1 as appropriate, yielding the following:

Heavy corvette:
  • 42 capital weapons, 4 defensive weapons OR 30 capital weapons, 28 defensive weapons, armament rating 16
  • Speed 9
  • 0 squadrons
Anti-starfighter frigate:
  • 30 capital weapons, 60 defensive weapons, armament rating 6
  • Speed 9
  • 0 squadrons
Escort frigate:
  • 40 capital weapons, 40 defensive weapons, armament rating 5
  • Speed 8
  • 0 squadrons
I think we can all agree that 36 capital weapons, 32 defensive weapons, overall armament rating 18, speed 7, 220m is reasonably consistent with those examples, with the excess armament rating explained by the weapons' unique potency. The hangar will be a sticking point; I'l come back to that. I'd consider the armament rating to be worthy of development work. More on that later as well.

I don't consider 'no long-range weapons' to be a good listable weakness for a light frigate. It's been accepted as such many times, but mainly for much larger ships.

Limited fire arcs, by contrast, is a HUGE weakness, and goes a very long way toward balancing the submission. 100% of your capital armament is axial, and relies almost totally on the ship's maneuverability to aim.

Reduced hangar size. You're already pushing a lot of metrics here, and adding MANY non-combative attachments. I would strongly prefer it if you removed the token hangar entirely and made a note that the Type 2.5 sacrificed its token hangar capacity to cram all that stuff in. This is a really small and compact ship, and you're out of space.

I have no particular problem with your list of non-combative attachments. I share a tag color with people who sub NCA lists like that as their bread and butter, and I believe in one standard. However, I also believe that a list like that deserves dev.

So let's talk about the dev. Without further explanation (including an estimate of how many posts are directly and indirectly relevant), I can't accept them as the full dev for a ship this ambitious. I look at the overall picture and I see armament rating 18, defense rating 16, a bit faster than normal, and a raft of moderately intense special features, all at minor production.

As a result, I'd like to see the following:
  • Remove the hangar. You just plain don't have room for it.
  • Remove mention of being faster than the original; this is about 1-1.5 points slower.
  • 25 posts of further development (maybe lower if I like your answers about how much of those two threads was relevant). Don't break your back: grab some guys, go for a test drive, 200-word posts, have some fun with it.
Counterpoints, or does that seem fair to you?
 
[member="Jorus Merrill"]

I'll be honest. This ship has never needed the hangar. It was simply an acceptable part of the design when it was created. Hell, the original had a smaller than average hangar. So I dont really have an issue getting rid of it entirely.

In regard to the speed + Maneuvering thrusters and engines though... I have to disagree. Valiens. The codex admin, previously had no issues with me using the original Haran'uliik Frigate and Nebula Corvette + Overdrive Engine and Maneuvering thrusters in his last attempt at an official fleet event / semi-official event as an after-market add-on. While I see the point you are trying to make... I just don't see an IC or OOC reason why the effects of this ship's after-market add-ons are an issue. If they are an unacceptable issue when submitting a ship through the Starship Factory, why approve them in Technology Factory at all?
 
[member="Captain Larraq"]

I took another look at your wording, and you're correct. Consider my note on speed withdrawn.

Talk at me about these two dev threads.

Outstanding edits (mainly so I don't forget): remove hangar, add image attribution.
 
[member="Jorus Merrill"]

Not thrilled about completely removing the hangar from the design, but it's an edit I can agree with for this particular ship (it is very small for a frigate, and that is a very big gun / engines). Also, I went ahead and added the image source to the submission.

How does the rest of it look to you?
Any additional edits you're leaning towards, or any development requirements you'd feel more comfortable with?

The current list of Dev Thread provided here relates to the submission via the fleeting aspect of the Mandalorian Invasion of Kashyyyk as well as the naval vs naval actions of the Dominion (simulated war-games).

To be honest though, I can think of at least three threads where the Haran'uliik played a significant-ish role in naval combat. If you'd like, I can go digging for threads and add a few to the list of existing development threads.
 
[member="Captain Larraq"]



Captain Larraq said:
To be honest though, I can think of at least three threads where the Haran'uliik played a significant-ish role in naval combat. If you'd like, I can go digging for threads and add a few to the list of existing development threads.

Sounds good to me. Let's see what you've got and we'll go from there.

Edits look solid. Also, don't forget (like I did) to take the long-range gun thing off the Weaknesses list and change 'reduced hangar capacity' to 'no hangar capacity' to match your other edits.
 
[member="Captain Larraq"]

Couple more things:

It's now a factory rule that proper names in other languages have to include a translation in the thread title, so Haran'uliik will need a translation in the title. Same goes for your other four subs, incidentally.

I'm having trouble figuring out what parts of the dominion are relevant to the Haran'uliik. I Ctrl-F'ed through for your character names and the name Haran'uliik, and couldn't find anything. Can you give me post numbers for relevant posts, for the dominion and for the invasion? For the invasion I'd settle for page numbers that have relevant material.
 
Jorus Merrill said:
[member="Captain Larraq"]

Couple more things:

It's now a factory rule that proper names in other languages have to include a translation in the thread title, so Haran'uliik will need a translation in the title. Same goes for your other four subs, incidentally.

I'm having trouble figuring out what parts of the dominion are relevant to the Haran'uliik. I Ctrl-F'ed through for your character names and the name Haran'uliik, and couldn't find anything. Can you give me post numbers for relevant posts, for the dominion and for the invasion? For the invasion I'd settle for page numbers that have relevant material.
Honestly, I have no idea. Those two threads were suppose to be the IC justification for the "Type 2.5 Retrofit Program", but Liz's judgement on that submission forced me to take a different approach.

In regard to the name rule... Can I get a vote on that one? I mean... When it comes to the specific name for a suit of armor or a gun or a piece of technology, I completely understand. But when it comes to vehicles and starships, would not the "-class Type of Construct" part of the name fulfull that rule? For example, I'm talking about "Blank-class Light Tank", "Blank-class Heavy Frigate", "Blank-class Elite Starfighter", exc.... Each submission completely manages to explain what the heck it is thanks to including "Light Frigate" or "Heavy Starfighter" or something similar in the title. I think the biggest issue I could see in regard to this rule would be that the Kandosii is called a Dreadnought and the Keldabe is called a Battleship.... But that is fully explained under the Technical Specifications (Ship Classification) section of each submission. The Kandosii, though it is called a Dreadnought (because Mandalorians are special, and that's just what they are called) is explained as being a Star Destroyer and the Keldabe, though it is called a Battleship, is explained as being a "Heavy Cruiser".

Like... I would settle for adding "(Star Destroyer)" and "(Heavy Cruiser)" to the Keldabe and Kandosii submission titles if I absolutely had to... But I'd really rather not go that route for aesthetic reasons.

Again... Can I get a vote/judgement from the Factory Admin(s) in regard to that one?
 
[member="Captain Larraq"]

Nope, as discussed on Skype, that one's a factory rule. It came from the top, got voted into place by FJs, factory admins, and factory RPJs, and isn't negotiable. This is where it turns out you've named all your ships dirty words in Mando'a and nobody noticed.

As for the dev, I'll accept the invasion as supporting dev. The dominion isn't directly relevant to the Haran'uliik at all. Once you've dug up the other threads you mentioned, I'll reassess dev requirements.
 
[member="Jorus Merrill"]

I have found... so many uses of these ships.
There may be some more that I was unable to find... but... yeah.

I've updated each submissions with threads where the ship in question was either used in combat, used as a roleplay setting, or mentioned as being part of a formation of warships in use in the area/thread.
 
[member="Captain Larraq"]

I'm comfortable accepting each of those threads as a minimal or token amount of dev for a moderately upgraded version of a well-established ship. Taken together, I think -- for this sub in isolation -- I can take those in lieu of the dev I was going to request, which wasn't a lot. I also went back and compared it to some currently extant subs by people who share my tag color. You've made concessions and several rounds of edits, you've worked with me on this in good faith, and far as I'm concerned, she's all yours.
 

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