A New Universe for ACTA's

[godsgopher]

I'm rather curious about the webs myself as well as umm... well just about everything else actually. I want to know when the Hydrans and the Lyrans will be added in as those are the two races I'm most interested in. The 3D sculpts look good, I can't wait to see them translated into resin. But hopeful we will be seeing something of that pretty soon from Matt once he's got a preview package together in a few weeks or months. Of course then it will be back to waiting and waiting and waiting for the game to release.

 

[AdrianH]

Will Mongoose design some ships of their own, preferably a bit more imaginative than the current Starline models? Coming from the diversity of the B5 set , I found the SFB models to be a bit too similar to each other. Many Federation ships are minor variations on the Heavy Cruiser (if we're not allowed to use the "E" word here ). Klingon ships are even worse, being almost all versions of the D-7 stretched or squashed a bit, with an extra warp nacelle or two on the larger types. A long time ago, when I was collecting a few Star Trek miniatures for display, I came to the same conclusion and preferred FASA's models, which in turn is why I've got a few FASA Klingon ships which will probably go onto the table as proxies for something.

The Romulans at least show a bit of variety, which is why, if the cloaking rules are any good, I'll probably switch allegiance to them. (And I've got a FASA Winged Defender which will probably proxy for something. )

 

[Da Boss]

A long time ago, when I was collecting a few Star Trek miniatures for display, I came to the same conclusion and preferred FASA's models, which in turn is why I've got a few FASA Klingon ships which will probably go onto the table as proxies for something.

I also much prefer the FASA ones - might just have to use their old but reletively shiny counters! - although the new "Heavy Cruiser" - (do they not have a class name?) and the D7 look pretty good so likely get a couple of those.

 

[Poi]

The tech manual the early ADB designs came from called it the Constitution class IIRC

 

[godsgopher]

This is good question, and while I'm not an authoritative source I think I can make a few guessed based on what I have heard. As this is a joint venture between Mongoose and ADB, and truly "new" model ship design would have to be run past Steve Cole. Said design would also have to remain within the context of the setting, so something like a 24th century design would never be approved. Furthermore such a design would have to have a specific need, I.E. "it looks cool" would probably not be sufficient excuse for a radical departure from existing design philosophy. But something that could be accounted for in the setting and makes sense in the setting could probably get added.

a.k.a. "Federation Special Operations Frigate", commissioned in secret, and operated by an anonymous and unknown Federation intelligence agency commissioned by secret sub-section of the Federation charter. Such a thing might make a compelling argument for "something new"

Also there are the X-ships which bridge the gap between the 23th and 24th century ships. These more than any other ship would merit a unique and updated look much closer to the 24th century ships we all know and love.

 

[AdrianH]

I didn't say any new designs need to look like 24th century ships! Some of the Federation types have arrow-head shaped saucers rather than the bog standard Constitution type, and the Light Cruiser seen in Squadron Box 1 looks really nice. The New Light Cruiser seen in Squadron Box 7, on the other hand, is back to the stock saucer and nacelles, so I hope Mongoose goes with the original Light Cruiser.

I certainly intend to get the new Mongoose Federation Heavy Cruiser and Klingon D-7 - what I would also like to get is new Mongoose Federation and Klingon ships which don't look almost identical to them.

 

[godsgopher]

Its all up to the sculptor. I'm going to wait and see. Shoot I don't even know which side I want to play yet. Actually that's not true I want to play Lyrans and Hydrans, but obviously those wont be coming out first.

 

[Iron Domokun]

The Fed ship(s) with the spade-shaped saucers are the "fast" variants, packing fewer guns and bigger engines. Intended to "slip behind enemy lines" and do raids. The spade shaped saucer gives it a different shaped warp field, reducing "warp drag". They were later replaced by the raiding dreadnoughts (DNL), which could outrun anything that could hurt them and smash anything that could catch them.

Ships from the same empire tend to look the same, simply for engineering reasons. It's easier to scale up or down an existing design than to build a completely new design from scratch. Steve Cole's an engineer, not an artist, so the designs make engineering sense as much as possible, while perhaps lacking in eye candy.

IIRC Rob Glass, who is sculpting the minis for the new range, has said that Mongoose is committed to making minis that are noticeably distinct from each other on the tabletop. You will be able to easily tell the difference between a D6 and D7, for example. However, the silhouette will basically be the same. They have to remain consistent with the SFU, and that's just how it works there.

ETA: Old CL vs New CL: You'll get both. Over a two-year period, all minis in the existing Starline 2400 line will be resculpted. Which will be done first, I don't know. But you will get both, and I'm sure you'll get AcTA stats for both too.

 

[Rick]

Will Mongoose design some ships of their own, preferably a bit more imaginative than the current Starline models? Coming from the diversity of the B5 set , I found the SFB models to be a bit too similar to each other. Many Federation ships are minor variations on the Heavy Cruiser (if we're not allowed to use the "E" word here ). Klingon ships are even worse, being almost all versions of the D-7 stretched or squashed a bit, with an extra warp nacelle or two on the larger types. A long time ago, when I was collecting a few Star Trek miniatures for display, I came to the same conclusion and preferred FASA's models, which in turn is why I've got a few FASA Klingon ships which will probably go onto the table as proxies for something.

The Romulans at least show a bit of variety, which is why, if the cloaking rules are any good, I'll probably switch allegiance to them. (And I've got a FASA Winged Defender which will probably proxy for something. )

I think Matt said as much in one of the first planet mongoose posts about the new ACTA. I believe he hinted at wanting more variety whilst still preserving the overall design 'look' of each fleet. Given the track record of the NA designs, I am really looking forward to seeing what MGP comes up with!

 

[Poi]

Hopefully the next sneak peek will be the Romulan War Eagle.

 

[godsgopher]

Too many rotten Romulan sympathizers around here if you ask me. I don't think this bodes well for the Federation.

 

[Da Boss]

The tech manual the early ADB designs came from called it the Constitution class IIRC

I have always prefered class names to simple designations - seems more evocative? Do the SFU ships all have Class names rather than just "Frigate" or "Old Cruiser" which seems a bit dull

 

[Da Boss]

Too many rotten Romulan sympathizers around here if you ask me. I don't think this bodes well for the Federation.

Then don't put up pictures of sexy Romulans - it distracts me! :lol:

 

[Rick]

Too many rotten Romulan sympathizers around here if you ask me. I don't think this bodes well for the Federation.

I wouldn't worry too much - at the moment they're just rubbing their hands and drooling (what a disturbing image) over cloaking devices and big plasma weapons. I imagine that getting the tactics right for using them together will be tricky - the carnage will be awesome! :twisted:

 

[Iron Domokun]

ETA: This was in response to Da Boss' question on class names.

Off the top of my head:

Federation CA: either Constitution or Constellation or some other word beginning with "C". There's also the "R-class" (Republic, Reshadije) which are very similar but have a different class history.

Fed BCH: Bismarck class for the drone variant, New Jersey class for the one with six photons. Named for battleships.

Old CL: Province class, also known as Texas-class. Ships were named for provinces on Earth, e.g. Macedonia.

NCL: not sure, but most were named after revolutionary battles (e.g. Dien Bien Phu, various French Revolution battles, various American Revolution battles)

DN: Konkordium class?? Not sure, but named for synonyms of Federation.

Hydrans have class names named after types of cavalry, e.g. Dragoon, Ranger, Knight, Lancer. Command ships are named after mediaeval royalty or church figures, Lord Commander, Lord Bishop, Iron Duke.

Andromedan ships have code names ending in -er or -or for the motherships. Dominator, Devastator, Intruder. Satellite ships are named after snakes: Viper, Cobra, Mamba.

If you like naming your ships, there is a looooooong list of ship names available for download. Entries there for just about every ship class of every Empire.

 

[Rick]

Just had a look at the original Franz Joseph names for the classes.

Dreadnought = Federation Class
Heavy Cruiser = Constitution Class
Destroyer = Saladin Class
Scout = Hermes Class

 

[Da Boss]

Ah ha thats better

I'd far rather field a Bismark Class, Two Texas Class, a Constellation Class and a couple of Saladins rather than just the designations - just seems more interesting. Might be me though?

Hopefully the ship listings will follow this format 8)

 

[Iron Domokun]

I don't know how they will do it for AcTA: SF, but in the other games there is usually a little background info on each ship (2-3 paragraphs). There has also been published "class histories" in Captain's Log, detailing the careers of all the ships of a particular class.

 

[godsgopher]

I confess the class names do have more appeal than Federation Destroyer. However the Lyrans go in the more traditional direction.

Lion Dreadnought
Tiger Heavy Cruisers
Cheetah Frigate

etc... so obviously you need to Join the Lyrans, they have many advantages.

Expanding Sphere Generators
Fast and Maneuverable Ships
Disruptors
Plentiful ship designs and conversions....

There are a few negatives however.. I mean do you have any idea how long you have to wait on a Lyran female to wash her hair?

 

[AdrianH]

Yet another reason to join the Romulans. Sexy commanders, nice looking ships and class names - Condor, War Eagle, Sky Hawk...

For the Federation, I wonder if there will be a class named after either American aircraft carriers or British survey ships?

Incidentally, I have just seen the new Li Halan Naga class on Planet Mongoose, and I am seriously inclined to get one and use it as a proxy for something big and Romulan. The Maru looks like it could be turned into something Romulan as well - chop off the nose section and turn the rest of it to face the other way round. Which means if there aren't some nice new official Romulan designs, there may be at least two unofficial ones.