What Type of weapon/systems would you like to see for ships?

[starfleet]

Figure given how many point out the lack of new weapons etc etc we could create a list of some of the weapon types we'd like to see done up maybe some where down the line MGP can do up a book of just extra ship features etc. I'm not limiting this to O.T.U either..

Weapon Wise:
More spinal mount weapons, lets face it if you can build a small railgun you should be able to build a LARGE rail gun (ala B5 when the centuri are bombing narn back to the stone age)

ie:

Rail Gun Spinal Mount - Ammo limited but likely to do some heavy damage you are accelerating a nice chunk of semi metalic material to high realitive speed..

Plasma/Laser Spinal Mount.

more missile/torpedo types, we have antimatter now so I don't see that there that unfeasable.. Maybe dangerous to carry (which could make intresting rules for if a weapon emplacement with them got hit)...

expanded laser/beam weapon listing based on technology etc ie:

X-ray lasers, UV Laser, Microwave Laser etc etc.

Energy 'Torpedos' see several diffrent universes for this

Gravity based weapon systems..


---

Ship systems:

Dedicated rules that seperate Sensors from EW and expand on both systems allowing them to be used in opposition of each other (Hey i can wish right?)

Likely more but i'm tired
---

 

[rust]

Something weird for very high tech levels could also be nice, for example
a psitech weapon that teleports explosive devices into enemy ships, and
perhaps a kind of psitech screen to counter that type of weapon.

 

[Vile]

I, too, would love a spinal nail gun (sounds painful, doesn't it?). Actually, there's no reason why ammo would be that limited. You wouldn't need a very big nail at high velocities, certainly not bigger than a torpedo.

It would also be nice to branch out a bit. Plasma torpedos, tachyon funnels, neutron blasters ... 8)

 

[Rikki Tikki Traveller]

A Spinal Mounted Rail Gun (Mass Driver or Asteroid Smasher) will probably not be effective as a ship-to-ship weapon though. GREAT for Ortillary, but not so good against a ship that can dodge out of the way...

But I agree, it should be there.

Laser Spinal Mounts are a definite need. In the Babylon 5 book, the EA Destroyers will be using those won't they? I always thought the bright beam out of the Agamemnon was a Laser, but I guess it could be a Particle Beam.?

 

[Woas]

Maybe it's out there already as my Traveller knowledge is limited, but I think some sort of drone combat system would be interesting.
I'm picturing an expensive investment upfront but would bring with it the utility to swap out weapon types before launch, remote control, extra hand at point defense, and other functions (long range sensor in a pinch, etc.)

 

[Klaus Kipling]

A Spinal Mounted Rail Gun (Mass Driver or Asteroid Smasher) will probably not be effective as a ship-to-ship weapon though. GREAT for Ortillary, but not so good against a ship that can dodge out of the way...

But I agree, it should be there.

Near C slugs would be more useful than lasers and any other energy weapons, no? Just as hard to dodge and without the energy loss over distance. And you could set up long range sniping patterns to take out some of the attacking fleet when they're right across the system (with good tactics and some luck).

I'd like to be able to build Mass Effect style vessels...


What about deadfall bombs for fighters? No kinetic kill perhaps, but a nuke would be rather handy. They'd work like dive bombers, and the target would find it hard to spot stealthed bombs that don't have an engine. Use the correct pattern of attack with your squadron and you can guarantee at least one hit, like checkmate in chess.

Flak cannon? Special ammo for rail gun bays that creates an exploding fire shield a la nBSG to take out missiles and enemy fighters.

EMP warheads to blind sensors, and decoy missiles that can look like a cruiser, electronically.

 

[Vile]

Yes, EMP rules have been sadly lacking in SF RPGs.

 

[rust]

I need a little language help, please ...

EMP is the electromagnetic "shock wave" created when, for example,
a nuclear device explodes, and which can ruin most electronics ?

Thank you !

 

[AKAramis]

I need a little language help, please ...

EMP is the electromagnetic "shock wave" created when, for example,
a nuclear device explodes, and which can ruin most electronics ?

Thank you !

Yup. EMP can be generated by a number of effects, but the best known is thermonuclear detonation. (Subcritical nuclear cascade is also moderately well known, by the moniker "dirty fizzle".) A couple forms of non-fission cascade events can generate EMP as well.

 

[rust]

Thank you for the explanation !

 

[Infojunky]

Yes, EMP rules have been sadly lacking in SF RPGs.

Quite few in recent years have rules for EMP.

As a starship weapon they are kinda a moot point, EMP shielding is one of the base requirements for spacecraft.

 

[lastbesthope]

As a starship weapon they are kinda a moot point, EMP shielding is one of the base requirements for spacecraft.

I dunno, there's a difference between EM shielding and EMP shielding.

LBH

 

[cbrunish]

What would you call the weapons from Battlestar Galactica (the new version). It seems to be similar to rail guns. Tell you what, during the space battles it really looks cool.

On a side note, Battlestar Galactica is probably one of the best sci-fi shows of all times! 8)

 

[AKAramis]

As a starship weapon they are kinda a moot point, EMP shielding is one of the base requirements for spacecraft.

I dunno, there's a difference between EM shielding and EMP shielding.

LBH

Not really... a faraday cage is a faraday cage.

 

[saundby]

Not really... a faraday cage is a faraday cage.

Not when designing for EMP. When you have effects like induced potential differences measured in kV/mm with high current, your shielding can become a long lead conductor so far as the circuit it's supposed to protect is concerned. Not to mention all the penetrating conductors, transient radiation effects and so on. Designing for EMP is a whole separate discipline from designing for EMI. A standard faraday cage won't do the job.

 

[HorusZA]

I need a little language help, please ...

EMP is the electromagnetic "shock wave" created when, for example,
a nuclear device explodes, and which can ruin most electronics ?

Thank you !

Yup. EMP can be generated by a number of effects, but the best known is thermonuclear detonation. (Subcritical nuclear cascade is also moderately well known, by the moniker "dirty fizzle".) A couple forms of non-fission cascade events can generate EMP as well.

However, it should be pointed out that the "High Altitude Nuke" method of generating an EMP doesn't work in space unless the explosion is near an atmosphere and a magnetic field.
Nuclear Weapons in space are actually far less effective at killing spaceships than they are at destroying atmospheric targets. The detonation must be really close to the ship (500m or so depending on Yield) before it will cause any significant damage.
There is an excellent calculator at this site which can generate some hard numbers: http://www.5596.org/cgi-bin/nuke.php

 

[Infojunky]

Actually my entire point is that commonly occurring radiation fluxes that one need to shield against in the broad number of space based environments that the typical Traveller starship operates in would make them effectively immune to EMP.

 

[lastbesthope]

And my entire point is that while being shielded against EMP would probably shield you against such pulses, being shielded against such pulses might not offer you sufficient protection against a weaponised/fcused EMP burst (It being somewhat stronger I think).

LBH

 

[saundby]

And my entire point is that while being shielded against EMP would probably shield you against such pulses, being shielded against such pulses might not offer you sufficient protection against a weaponised/fcused EMP burst (It being somewhat stronger I think).

LBH

That's a good assessment. Especially if we assume that some of our present ideas about weapons that are a bit "out there" are available at the five-and-decicredit shops of the 3I. And assuming that the underlying tech of what we'd do with electronics would still be electronics then.

On the original subject of this thread, I'd like to see "smart skins" that not only work in the radio/microwave freqs of the EM spectrum like present developments, but go through the optical freqs and beyond. Broad spectrum phased arrays for active/passive sensors, cloaking, visual spoofing, weapons effects, data xfer, etc.