The Restoration class of heavy frigates was a unique initiative by the Imperial Navy which has proven to be an unqualified success. Local sector navies have long had to rely on obsolete cast offs from the Imperial Navy for defense. While this ensures a steady supply of cut price ships there are always issues, the vessels perhaps not ideally suited for the required role, or aspects of the ship’s technology still beyond some of the sector’s worlds or local naval stations, greatly limiting the effectiveness of the vessels.
The Restoration class is ship building program for local systems defense taken in a different direction. Where the Imperial Navy analyzed past ship building technologies and sector protection requirements and designed a low cost budget space craft for a specific strategic role that has a place in any corner of the inhabited galaxy.
The Restoration is a low jump, high firepower tech level 12 ship. To help protect key dense key shipping routes over a wide net of low technology level worlds. Standardizing the hull, and relying on a weapons suite that has stood the test of time, the Restorations are a powerful deterrent to enemy forces. Hostile nations find casual commercial cruiser raids are prevented, significant material must be committed to overwhelm these heavy frigates. While pirates can only run when a Restoration comes onto the sensor screen.
There were other benefits of the program. These low cost, low jump capital ships assume a function that high jump high tech ships of the line are wasted for, freeing up modern naval elements for more optimal roles. Cost conscious local governments appreciate the fiscal savings of this standardized ship, while naval constructions yards that could never have dreamed of receiving an Imperial Fleet contract have received a significant economic boost. Not only that, but the Imperial Navy now has an expanded base of qualified suppliers, with many new yards familiar with Imperial Naval standards and requirements. Easily made space worthy, more than a few Imperial naval stations have a pod of Restoration hull hulks in ordinary. Ready to be armed and brought into service with reservists in case of a war emergency.
Finally, these ships are reminder that it is not always the person with the best guns that win the fight. Enough guns of any sort can still get the job done.
(Design not made with standardized hull cost saving. And yeah, at this stage there's a bunch of stuff missing like Marines, and a ships boat etc, the bridge is all wrong, but you'll see there's plenty of cargo left for that and ammo)
This design highlights several RAW issues.
I’d originally approached this concept with the idea that I’d make certain elements modular, so they could be swapped out for different tech levels of equipment. On review of the final design I discovered that it didn’t need it. The ship is perfectly lethal as is purely on pure firepower, as a tech 12 ship. If you look at that weapons balance and consider what you are gaining at TL15 – there isn’t really anything that much new. In a credit per credit basis this ship will likely defeat many TL15 Jump 4 ships up to light cruiser status in a straight shoot out simply because it is low jump. A tech level 15 ship has greater maneuverability, but it is paying for it by tonnage add on and needs to paaay in credits to get weapon parity (see below). A tech 13 ship that is only jump 3 can defeat an equal weight of TL15 jump 4 ship. Because the weight difference in the extra jump number even with advantages applied is not truly overcome by the increase in firepower or defense. So you have the paradox of what could be a standard naval ship of a higher tech level losing when they actually meet in battle with a past TL navy standard ship which would only a lower jump because of technology limits, not intended design.
One of the issues here is that hull points don’t scale with technology. This was touched on in another thread, and there could be a nod to this in a rules update.
Another issue is the rule for hull reinforcement. As it is currently worded capital ships of spinal weapon cruiser class of jump 4 can’t take advantage of it unless they are burning up high tech advantages i.e. it is a losing trade off. There just isn’t the weight allowance to fit this in and some sort of secondary weaponry besides the spinal mount. Whereas this lower jump ship can put this in, and could double it if it chose. And still maintain a firepower superiority over jump 4 medium cruisers.
Another point to take into consideration is the reduced fuel advantage. The fuel of a 100kt J4 battle cruiser is 40ktons. With Reduced Fuel 5% less of that is 2000 tons, another 5% if the referee allows stacking in this instance (and I’m NOT a fan of including loosely worded comments about referee discretion! The ref can reduce it if they choose, they don’t have to told they can do it and create confusion and unnecessary clarification on a case by case basis) is 4000 tons saving. Now when considering a low jump low tech ship the higher jump ship has only just gained parity with the fuel difference by using two advantages. And if it’s TL13 Jump 3, vs TL 15 Jump 4, there is only one fuel advantage separating the two, which is not enough to offset the firepower advantage.
If we look at the jump engines a difference in jump level is 2.5% of the ship by engine. If we apply the Size Reduction advantage if two are allowed you get 2% of that back so you’re loosing. And that TL 13 Jump 3 with one advantage vs TL 15 Jump 4 situation with two advantages gap still applies.
Going back to a TL 12 ship with a jump 3 drive you need to consider just to get near weapon tonnage parity, the TL 15 Jump 4 ship needs to pay 200% the costs of an already expensive jump drive. The credit per credit basis really kicks in.
I’d mentioned that I figured by the current rules under medium to heavy cruiser that there was no place for the light cruiser and the heavy frigate was likely to be the next level down. This ship is a design in that niche. Enough long range particle weapons to start shooting at fighters early, a vast torpedo salvo (or missile salvo depending on final weapon balances) to meet incoming craft and overwhelm point defenses, and fusion gun bays to assault anyone who wants to get close. At tech level 13 the fusion bays would be more and long range, and as we have shown already the bay weapon is an equal or better match up to the spinal mount as such in this current beta. When you are talking bay weapons the couple of points of armor difference is no balance mechanism when somebody else is bringing a dozen more 100 ton bays to the fight. High maneuver will help, but certainly not enough to ensure superiority vs the firepower of an extra 2.5% of the ship hull in weapons which you get with Jump fuel size difference alone. That’s 12 medium bays more in a 50,000 ton ship that a lower jump drive ship has. In a Jump 4 medium cruiser ship you are working to have 12 medium bays along with a spinal mount.
Some suggestions for consideration
- TBD, still mulling this heh.
The Restoration class is ship building program for local systems defense taken in a different direction. Where the Imperial Navy analyzed past ship building technologies and sector protection requirements and designed a low cost budget space craft for a specific strategic role that has a place in any corner of the inhabited galaxy.
The Restoration is a low jump, high firepower tech level 12 ship. To help protect key dense key shipping routes over a wide net of low technology level worlds. Standardizing the hull, and relying on a weapons suite that has stood the test of time, the Restorations are a powerful deterrent to enemy forces. Hostile nations find casual commercial cruiser raids are prevented, significant material must be committed to overwhelm these heavy frigates. While pirates can only run when a Restoration comes onto the sensor screen.
There were other benefits of the program. These low cost, low jump capital ships assume a function that high jump high tech ships of the line are wasted for, freeing up modern naval elements for more optimal roles. Cost conscious local governments appreciate the fiscal savings of this standardized ship, while naval constructions yards that could never have dreamed of receiving an Imperial Fleet contract have received a significant economic boost. Not only that, but the Imperial Navy now has an expanded base of qualified suppliers, with many new yards familiar with Imperial Naval standards and requirements. Easily made space worthy, more than a few Imperial naval stations have a pod of Restoration hull hulks in ordinary. Ready to be armed and brought into service with reservists in case of a war emergency.
Finally, these ships are reminder that it is not always the person with the best guns that win the fight. Enough guns of any sort can still get the job done.
(Design not made with standardized hull cost saving. And yeah, at this stage there's a bunch of stuff missing like Marines, and a ships boat etc, the bridge is all wrong, but you'll see there's plenty of cargo left for that and ammo)
This design highlights several RAW issues.
I’d originally approached this concept with the idea that I’d make certain elements modular, so they could be swapped out for different tech levels of equipment. On review of the final design I discovered that it didn’t need it. The ship is perfectly lethal as is purely on pure firepower, as a tech 12 ship. If you look at that weapons balance and consider what you are gaining at TL15 – there isn’t really anything that much new. In a credit per credit basis this ship will likely defeat many TL15 Jump 4 ships up to light cruiser status in a straight shoot out simply because it is low jump. A tech level 15 ship has greater maneuverability, but it is paying for it by tonnage add on and needs to paaay in credits to get weapon parity (see below). A tech 13 ship that is only jump 3 can defeat an equal weight of TL15 jump 4 ship. Because the weight difference in the extra jump number even with advantages applied is not truly overcome by the increase in firepower or defense. So you have the paradox of what could be a standard naval ship of a higher tech level losing when they actually meet in battle with a past TL navy standard ship which would only a lower jump because of technology limits, not intended design.
One of the issues here is that hull points don’t scale with technology. This was touched on in another thread, and there could be a nod to this in a rules update.
Another issue is the rule for hull reinforcement. As it is currently worded capital ships of spinal weapon cruiser class of jump 4 can’t take advantage of it unless they are burning up high tech advantages i.e. it is a losing trade off. There just isn’t the weight allowance to fit this in and some sort of secondary weaponry besides the spinal mount. Whereas this lower jump ship can put this in, and could double it if it chose. And still maintain a firepower superiority over jump 4 medium cruisers.
Another point to take into consideration is the reduced fuel advantage. The fuel of a 100kt J4 battle cruiser is 40ktons. With Reduced Fuel 5% less of that is 2000 tons, another 5% if the referee allows stacking in this instance (and I’m NOT a fan of including loosely worded comments about referee discretion! The ref can reduce it if they choose, they don’t have to told they can do it and create confusion and unnecessary clarification on a case by case basis) is 4000 tons saving. Now when considering a low jump low tech ship the higher jump ship has only just gained parity with the fuel difference by using two advantages. And if it’s TL13 Jump 3, vs TL 15 Jump 4, there is only one fuel advantage separating the two, which is not enough to offset the firepower advantage.
If we look at the jump engines a difference in jump level is 2.5% of the ship by engine. If we apply the Size Reduction advantage if two are allowed you get 2% of that back so you’re loosing. And that TL 13 Jump 3 with one advantage vs TL 15 Jump 4 situation with two advantages gap still applies.
Going back to a TL 12 ship with a jump 3 drive you need to consider just to get near weapon tonnage parity, the TL 15 Jump 4 ship needs to pay 200% the costs of an already expensive jump drive. The credit per credit basis really kicks in.
I’d mentioned that I figured by the current rules under medium to heavy cruiser that there was no place for the light cruiser and the heavy frigate was likely to be the next level down. This ship is a design in that niche. Enough long range particle weapons to start shooting at fighters early, a vast torpedo salvo (or missile salvo depending on final weapon balances) to meet incoming craft and overwhelm point defenses, and fusion gun bays to assault anyone who wants to get close. At tech level 13 the fusion bays would be more and long range, and as we have shown already the bay weapon is an equal or better match up to the spinal mount as such in this current beta. When you are talking bay weapons the couple of points of armor difference is no balance mechanism when somebody else is bringing a dozen more 100 ton bays to the fight. High maneuver will help, but certainly not enough to ensure superiority vs the firepower of an extra 2.5% of the ship hull in weapons which you get with Jump fuel size difference alone. That’s 12 medium bays more in a 50,000 ton ship that a lower jump drive ship has. In a Jump 4 medium cruiser ship you are working to have 12 medium bays along with a spinal mount.
Some suggestions for consideration
- TBD, still mulling this heh.
