Approved Tech VIORA Orbital Defense Cannon

[Saera Willamina Savan]

Factory Notes: The original draft was 10% the range and 10x the spread, so if the power/range is too much, cutting it to 1/10 is as simple as knocking off a single digit across the board. Altering the strength (even though it's standard consolidation) can also be easily done changing or removing multipliers. Lastly, projectile velocity can also be decreased (though it has already been reduced from canon).
Intent: Turning the Ion Pulse Cannon into something much, much smaller and less overpowered so that it can be fielded and used. The largest ion weapon possible via 2.0 Guide is the equivalent of this at peak optimal strength, so there is no way possible for this submission to be stronger than a Star Destroyer. Maximum range is the length of 150 ISD's.
Development Thread: None (Already doing one for VIORA in general; 3 writers, 30 posts)
Manufacturer: Ri'ess Regal Drives
Model: VIORA Cannon
Affiliation: Ri'ess Regal Drives
Modularity: None
Production: Limited; only Nine ever made (4 on VIORA RR-001, 4 on VIORA RR-002, 1 at MMS for research), further must be acquired via IC dev thread.
Material: Matrix Armor, Terenthium-Desh Frame
Description: The VIORA Orbital Defense Cannon is nothing more than a halved, weakened version of the Malevolence Ion Pulse Cannon. The range, diameter and strength have all been greatly toned down, and technological advances have allowed the system to be more compact.
Each pulse has a maximum range of 240 km (see visual below), a diameter of 225 m. with an expansion of +75 m./10 km. (1,725 m. @ 200 km.), and an approximate strength loss of 1.5(+.0025/km.)%/10 km..

*10

*10
The VIORA Cannon's ionic strength at 50 km. (90% Capacity) is the equivalent of a Heavy Long-Range Quad Ion Cannon Battery:

• Ion 1*1 (1)
• Quad Ion 1*4 (4)
• Long-Range Quad Ion 4*5 (20)
• Heavy Long-Range Quad Ion 20*2 (40)
• Heavy Long-Range Quad Ion Battery 40*4 (160)

Classification: Ion Pulse Cannon
Size: Ship-Mounted (160 Points)
Status: Military (min. Star Destroyer / LSD Station)
Length: 239 m.
Height: 247 m.
Weight: 3,046 mt.
Ammunition Type: Ion Pulse
Ammunition Capacity: N/A
Effective Range: 232.5 km.
Optimal Range: 150 km.
Muzzle Velocity: 5.4 km/s
Fire Rate: 15 GSM (Avg. 4-6 Fleet Posts)

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Særa Ayña Savan"] - Thank you for providing easy ways to nerf this. Under review.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Særa Ayña Savan"]

Already doing one for VIORA in general; 3 writers, 30 posts

Could you link me to that?

Your graphs are great, but once I processed them I realized what you were talking about with the 10x and 1/10 and so forth. If I'm reading you right, you've got two concepts here, one that shoots a blast 200km that maxes out around 200m wide, and one that shoots a blast 20km that maxes out around 2km wide. See, I like this concept, I like your graphs -- is this you trying to float two ideas and see which one gets traction? That's fine and all, but I need to see one consistent submission in order to move on from here as a judge.

So let's get to the root of this. You started with short-range, wide blast. Why did you switch to long range, narrower blast? Which configuration do you consider more powerful or practical, and for what situations? Also, what is the rate of fire?

 

[Saera Willamina Savan]

[member="Rasho the Hutt"] - Actually, the radius is a constant either way, only the distance is a scaling variable; only the rate of expansion would change, not the size. I was actually going to have the width multiply as ten with the range but I felt that alone made it too much like the original, even with the steep damage reductions. The rate of fire is probably considerably low, though I don't really have any material to go by so I would ask that you as a member of the Factory staff throw me a number that you are comfortable with.

Haven't started the development thread yet. The satellite's still sitting in Second Chance (though the request submission removed all the things I was told made it so abusable). If it's absolutely important, I can get that started now.

So let's get to the root of this. You started with short-range, wide blast. Why did you switch to long range, narrower blast? Which configuration do you consider more powerful or practical, and for what situations? Also, what is the rate of fire?

I switched to "long/narrow" because Tamara said that capital weapons go on for thousands of kilometers as opposed to the original 24.
I would consider them both powerful under different circumstances. The original lacked any kind of substantial range that an orbital defense station would need to cover the entirety of a planet. The increased range has a much slower rate of expansion, meaning it won't be wiping out any fleets, but the increase in range also means a much slower decay rate. That would make it more powerful, but a giant ion cloud would definitely be detectable on its way across such a long range as thousands of kilometers, enough for lighter capital ships to possibly evade. As mentioned before however, the increased range is what makes it effective as a weapon at all. The satellite isn't mobile, which is its primary user, so it's not going to be nearing any other ships for a high-powered direct blast and the chances of one getting close enough to it is... well, let's just say they deserve it if they thought flying right up to an orbital defense station with a spinal HVG and four battery-equivalent guns was a bright idea.
Throw me a rate range. I'm more comfortable with a reputable staff pick.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Særa Ayña Savan"] - Ah, I see. Thanks for the clarifications. So. Gun fires at t=0, blast is 225m, power loss of 50% by around 150km where the diameter is around 1500m, after around 28 seconds, total falloff around 240km where the diameter is about 2km, after around forty-five seconds.

See, me, I like this weapon a lot. The natural disadvantages and natural progressions appeal to me. 240km is still quite a short range for an orbital-use weapon, all things considered -- turbolasers can perform orbital strikes at altitudes of tens of thousands of km; energy torpedos, though weak and slow on the recharge, can fire about three and a half million km; mass drivers have theoretically infinite range -- so it's a good thing you're trying to partner this with a hypervelocity gun to make yourself unavoidable as a planetary defense station. If I'm understanding your concept correctly, you slam enemy ships until they come in to take you out, at which point you hit them with...this. If it's equivalent to 160 guns at point-blank range and zero expansion, 80 guns at 150km, and like ten guns at 220km -- I'm interpreting your graphs correctly, yes? -- I have no problem with this weapon due to its disadvantages:

• Serious falloff rate
• Very low effective range

I like the weapon as is, and will probably stamp it with only minor edits. The degree of its nerf/buffing, pending input from the starship judges, will mostly take place on the sliding scale of recharge rate, ie, I'll talk to them before I assign a number. That number will be either a proportion of normal turbolaser fire rate, or a flat recharge time.

Sound fair? And if I've misconstrued anything in your sub, now's the time to tell me.

 

[Saera Willamina Savan]

[member="Rasho the Hutt"] - Green Light.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Særa Ayña Savan"] - Ayden's signed off on it, so now it's just a matter of firing rate. I talked it over with another tech judge, and we're thinking that once per fifteen minutes would be reasonable.

 

[Saera Willamina Savan]

[member="Rasho the Hutt"] - Agreed and added.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Særa Ayña Savan"] - Then you, my friend, are approved pending secondary. Oh, and one more caveat -- please don't go cramming a ton of these onto a command ship at some point.

 

[Saera Willamina Savan]

They won't ever be granted for that, scout's honor.

 

[Thurion Heavenshield]

Approved.