New universe, new ships: Goblin, Madusa, Kobold and Kelpie

[Groovrider]

Hello all again.

The last update caused me to abandon my big offensive unit ship in light of the fact that it was too heavy and to underpowered. I had to fall back on a previous design and update weapons, systems, power and engines to survive in a universe with dangerous and custom pirates (I used all of my old ships as enemies. Unsophisticated but they pack a punch).

Spoiler: Goblin class contact unit

The Goblin was designed as an explorer and escort. It has a full crew cabin, med stations and storage although designed to be piloted alone. Space is big, dark and dangerous so it's best to be prepared.

weapons:
1 rapid fire explosive cannon
twin beam cannon
2 rapid fire multi-stage hi-ex missiles array
2 x2 long range hi-ex missile array
x6 multi-stage mini nuke launcher
1 high yield ion missile
6 x7 thunderhead vertical launch heat seeking missiles

AI weapons:
x6 tri-barrel PD cannons
4 x4 medium range missile turrets
2 x3 long range missile turrets

Support:
Astro class salvager

Stats:

 

[Groovrider]

Spoiler: Medusa offensive unit

The Medusa is the big brother to the Goblin and was designed specifically to engage pirate stations and destroy them while under heavy fire from all sides. With this in mind, the Medusa feature a prototype AI controlled missile system that will keep up a continuous barrage of pain until the sky turns blue again. Some concessions have been made to a secondary exploration role in the form of a small shuttle bay, a full salvage unit and a fully combat adapted anti-gravity system for in-atmosphere operation. The fast charging jump engines are just icing on the cake.

Weapons:
Heavy damage and long range missile array with nuclear and ion warheads
Heavy twin rapid fire cannon
Heavy rapid fire multi-stage burst missiles
Heavy vertical launch hi-ex heat seeker arrays

AI weapons:
6 x4 medium range missile turrets
4 x3 long range missile turrets
14 tri-barrel PD cannons
forward firing rapid fire hi-ex warheads
vertical launch heat seeking hi-ex warheads

support:
Astro salvager

stats:











This is a work in progress so There may be updated depending on how it all works out.

 

[Reilly Reese]

I feel like these could be far better than they are now (which are good.)

If the backs weren't so stubby it would go a long ways I think. ^^

 

[Groovrider]

Spoiler: Kobold starfighter

This ship came about because needed a small support craft to help out a friend in a hurry. Its not the quickest fighter around but it does have solid defences in the form of shields, armor and 3 PD cannons to take care of missiles. Despite its size it comes equipped with a small galley and med station in the core. A fast charging jump drive makes this a great long range support craft.

weapons:
2 x3 hi-ex missiles
x2 rapid fire hi-ex missiles
1 x7 heat seeker array
twin rapid fire explosive cannon
1 mini nuke launcher.
jump drive

stats:

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Spoiler: Kelpie stealth ship

the key to this ship is stealth. That mean minimal weight but with perma-cloak, perma-jamming, jump drive and guided missiles..Silent killer.
This is also the first stealth ship I have made that doesn't look terrible.

weapons:
1 x3 hi-ex missile array
support:
jump drive
full stealth and jamming capable
stats:

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I feel like these could be far better than they are now (which are good.)

If the backs weren't so stubby it would go a long ways I think. ^^

I kind of see what you mean but what is stubby to you is economical to me. The hull is pretty well tuned so that I can upgrade weapons and systems and engines without adding any addition armor (weight) or length (-turn speed). While I agree that they may not be as long and dramatic as other ship their shape is as important to their performance as it is to my sense of aesthetics.

 

[Captain Tankman]

I actually like this bulky and industrial look. Good work there mate

 

[Groovrider]

I actually like this bulky and industrial look. Good work there mate

Thanks!

OK truth be told I like bulky and industrial. The hull shape means that all of the turrets can fire forward without blocking each other and can keep the weight down by making things conformal rather than having a lot of external nacelles and super structure.

 

[ltmauve]

I don't mind the boxy either, but the hull's too flat. Adding raised stripes will either give you a bit more armor or system room, and will break up the flatness. Also the turrets are looking like blobs, a few lines of grey would break them up a bit.

 

[Groovrider]

I don't mind the boxy either, but the hull's too flat. Adding raised stripes will either give you a bit more armor or system room, and will break up the flatness. Also the turrets are looking like blobs, a few lines of grey would break them up a bit.

Thanks for the feedback.

At the moment I have room to spare for more systems so I don't really see the point in that. As well, the PD turrets are arranged in such a way as the cover pretty much all of the hull and I don't want to compromise this by adding obstructions. As for the turrets..What can I say. These are fighting ships built in survival and those turrets get scrapped off semi-regularly and they are pretty cheap to replace. As for bloblike, I agree. Bloblike means they rotate freely in all directions so... yeah.

 

[ltmauve]

As for the turrets..What can I say. These are fighting ships built in survival and those turrets get scrapped off semi-regularly and they are pretty cheap to replace. As for bloblike, I agree.

I don't mean change the shape, but if you replace a stripe of green with gray the turret will be a bit more defined and will look better.
Also I was only talking about raising the stripes by 1 block or so. Not enough to block any turrets.

 

[Reilly Reese]

Turret ought to be wedged.

 

[Groovrider]

OK this video is a test of the logic missile system. It's my first video for anything ever so please excuse everything.

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Turret ought to be wedged.

I'll take it under advisement. The MK II version of the turret will be coming along soon and will likely have an internal rotator so it will look a bit more streamlined as well as being slightly bigger.
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I don't mean change the shape, but if you replace a stripe of green with gray the turret will be a bit more defined and will look better.
Also I was only talking about raising the stripes by 1 block or so. Not enough to block any turrets.

Underneath the flat bits is a 1 block thick "cavity wall" that was a hold over from its construction phase. I suppose I could shrink wrap the hull to make it a bit more interesting. The turrets are getting another pass as I'm making a beam blob along with a MK II missile turret so there may be an increase in stripy-ness.

 

[ltmauve]

Nice missile system, though I'd honestly advise not doing a 100% slave with small swarm systems and instead only letting off 3-5 per tube. It won't target 20 different craft and unless they're unshielded targeting 20 ships is uneeded anyway. Plus they tend to cluster up so AMS won't struggle over more.

Also nice idea to show arming on the outside of the ship. I may copy that for my cruiser.