Right my 2 cents, (and I havent read every single post in this thread so sorry if Im retreading ground here at all):
First off: Whitestar Whatevers:
Most of the regulars here probably already know my general opinion of the whole 'Whitestar Battleship, Carrier, Freighter, Space Station, Cheese Factory, Badger Cleaning System etc etc etc concept' as unoriginal and totally unsupported by the show.
Basically after the Vorlons leave the galaxy, I'm fairly certain Sheridan outright SAYS they don't have the technology to build any more whitestars as they dont fully understand all the principles behind it all and in fact the whole POINT of the Victory was to basically provide the ISD with a destroyer class ship to supplement the whitestar fleet (and other than that theyre supposed to use ships from member nations) so I've always hated the idea that the way to expand the ISA fleet is, rather than create some new ship desings, take an iconic one from the show and randomly strethch, squash and inflate it.
I have absolutely no problem with the ISA getting a battleship class ship, or a carrier, or a destroyer etc of their own but for the love of smeg why did it have to be all bloody whitestars. Dont get me wrong, I LIKE Whitestars but I feel it somehow cheapens them and makes them 'less cool' by having 900 plays on the same theme. Varients is one thing with the same hull with slightly different loadouts but beyond that I say if your going to make a new ship, DESIGN a new ship.
In my eyes the ISA already have 2 very capable battleships type ships in the form of the Victory and the Taralin (and in larger battles any of their member races ships). The two ships I feel they definitely should get are the new ones from Legend of the Rangers (aside from the Liandra/Nolotar) and the Valen class from Lost tales (though probably that should be a Minbari fleet ship rather than ISA).
So no. I do NOT want a 'Whitestar Battleship' (and if there was going to be one those original stats are horribly overpowered)
Secondly: Whitestars and Boresighting:
This has been defended by saying they are maneurable and thus can turn their nose and thats why theyve got forward arc guns. Sorry but no. Thats why theyre agile and have 2 90 degree turns. The only reasonably argument I can think of for NOT boresighting them is the fact that they are relatively high PL but even that doesnt hold much water now theres Bluestars to use as handy initiative sinks.
Basically as I see it they SHOULD be boresighted unless you want to start making all Drazi forward arc too for the same reasons and so on. And yes I know whitestars are more maneuverable than that but frankly thats why the SHIPS are more manueverable it shouldnt be carried into their weapon arcs. But really I dont mind them as they are. I actualy like the current whitestar in terms of balnace, power suriveability and dont think it really needs poking any more!
which brings me onto point 3:
Comparing ACTA to B5Tech. I'm sorry but B5Tech, whilst it has some pretty pictures and some good fluff text is more full of crap than a sewage plant outside of crap city, the capital city of pooalon 6 headquarters of the Fescelon empire. All the weapon names, statistics and figures seem basically to be pulled out of someones ass and backed up by precicely.... nothing. Has JMS ever said: Yep thats right to anything listed on there? No. Its just made up by some guy with too much time on his hands (and for the record I do appreciate the irony in that statement as I sit here taking the time to slag it off on a forum I frequent because I spend more of my time painting and playing with model spaceships.....).
Personally I still maintain the closest thing there is to an actual JMS sanctioned canonical tech manual for B5 there is B5 Wars Core rulebooks and ship lists. And ACTA, when you get right down to it more based of B5 Wars than actual B5. Theyve changed some things (for the worse in some cases in my eyse I'm afraid (cough, cough, stealth, cough) and in a few cases for the better (the change in name of the Centauri weapons though I maintain this is just a case of nomenclature as I feel the current 2nd Edition Primus, Dargan, Vorchans and Demos etc actually now play very much like the AoG ones, which is in my eyes a very good thing) and in some cases for no apparent reason other than what seems to me to just be a case of someone making a cockup and then covering it up with a 'yes we did that on purpose' blurb (switching the Mindriders and the Krishiak ship models around).
So basically: Neutron Cannon, fusion blater, whatever, my arse. If you want to make up new guns, fine, its a new ship after all, but I wouldnt put any weight whatsoever behind ANYTHING I read on B5Tech unless I could find it stated elsewhere as well
