We Do Not Come in Peace [Closed][OOC/Planning]

[Vilkia]

I'm making a brief factbook of my troops' equipment, so you might want to hold your RP until you read it.

[Singaporean Transhumans]

can i write the portal being completed

[Excidium Planetis]

can i write the portal being completed

Sure, go ahead.

[Menelmacar]

My post is about 75% complete, but I need to get ready for work, and Allanea needs to contribute to it some. It'll go up tonight for sure.

[Menelmacar]

Arrival post is up and shots have been fired. You can derive a more detailed ORBAT from it if you like.

[Excidium Planetis]

Okay, first thing: It's pretty minor, but Hobbiest Republic, the stations didn't blow up. They just kind of got destroyed on the inside. I'm not Stormwrath, but Stormwrathian ships have very durable construction. I'd assume they could withstand even be blown up from the inside.

Second... I'd like to make a post, but I'll wait for Menelmacar and C'tan to post into the battle.

Don't want to move along without them.

[Hobbiest Republic]

I guess my key question is, after being hit, are they still functional? What are we looking at in terms of survivors? Because by a Hobbiest's reasoning if it is rendered non-functional it has been destroyed.

[Excidium Planetis]

I guess my key question is, after being hit, are they still functional? What are we looking at in terms of survivors? Because by a Hobbiest's reasoning if it is rendered non-functional it has been destroyed.

There are no survivors, and the reactors and life support were destroyed. Most of the inside is completely destroyed. But your post refers to the stations breaking into fragments, and they didn't...

Anyways, it doesn't matter. The stations are dead, either way.

[Hobbiest Republic]

Well, there's already so much debris, could you really fault them for thinking that the pre-existing fragments moving away from the shockwave from the explosion being mistaken for parts of the station? I mean, yeah they frequent death worlds, but I doubt they've had to deal with an active debris field quite like the one over chri-irah.

[Tinfect]

Okay, sorry I've not been able to get a post out, but there should be one extremely soon.

[Hobbiest Republic]

Thinking of having a reinforcing Squadron arrive to supplement Hobbiest forces, given that the payout has increased, and the threat level, clearly. the Marilquist class cruisers are about 600m in length and the Tenement class destroyers are just 250m. Our Star Destroyer Inevitable Contempt, is a Towerless Petulant Class measuring at 2.2 km, it'll be the largest and sole ship of that size and classification deployed.

Suggested Reinforcement Squadron (25)
2 x Marilquist Class Cruisers
3 x Tenement Class Destroyer
5 x Mk I type Space Carriers (40 fighters, 10 dropships total)
5 x Mk I type support ships

10 x Requisite Class Frigates

[Menelmacar]

Posted approaching the planet, would still be 2.5 light seconds out but closing fast. Also responded to Vilkia's terrible, terrible, nigh-suicidal idea.

I'll wait for Vilkia to post and then we'll hit the 2.5 LS mark and start firing, as well as unleash phase two.

Thanks to all of you, by the way. I've not had this much fun on NS in some time. I'll have to RP with you lot more often if you'll have me.

[Excidium Planetis]

Posted approaching the planet, would still be 2.5 light seconds out but closing fast. Also responded to Vilkia's terrible, terrible, nigh-suicidal idea.

I'll wait for Vilkia to post and then we'll hit the 2.5 LS mark and start firing, as well as unleash phase two.

Thanks to all of you, by the way. I've not had this much fun on NS in some time. I'll have to RP with you lot more often if you'll have me.

Menelmacar, how were you able to know where the lasers were? Given that the attack travels at light speed, Nienna should have not even known the Cannons had fired until the beams already hit.

Of course, this wouldn't increase the damage by much, since as pointed out they were beyond effective range, but being able to know where a light speed attack is a bit OP in my book.

[Menelmacar]

Menelmacar has FTL sensors; this has been RPed extensively before (along with the FTL travel and FTL comms), but if it's an issue I can drop that for this thread and edit my post.

[Excidium Planetis]

Menelmacar has FTL sensors; this has been RPed extensively before (along with the FTL travel and FTL comms), but if it's an issue I can drop that for this thread and edit my post.

If you've consistently RPed FTL sensors before, that's fine. My problem then becomes the fact that all but FTL weapons are essentially obsolete, especially with your gravitic shield thing.

As long as you are fine with me pulling out what even I regard as a fairly BS weapon in a last ditch attempt to destroy your ships. It has not been extensively RPed, but it has been RPed before and is in one of my factbooks.

[Allanea]

Menelmacar has literally RPed having FTL sensors for longer than Excidium Planetis has been a thing.

Lasers are, at any rate, not an effective weapon at 2.5 light-seconds and never really were.

[Menelmacar]

Sure, that's fine with me.

[The Ctan]

In fairness, in Menelmacar's post, Feri says to begin suppression fire at that range; certainly a ship that's randomwalking to avoid getting hit by beam weapons is somewhat suppressed, as it has to use power to evade.

ETA on my next post: evening tomorrow.

[Excidium Planetis]

Menelmacar has literally RPed having FTL sensors for longer than Excidium Planetis has been a thing.

Stupid OOC advantages.

Lasers are, at any rate, not an effective weapon at 2.5 light-seconds and never really were.

Then what is? Anything slower than light sucks at 2.5 light seconds (too far away, easy to dodge). Being able to hit a target in two and a half seconds is pretty good. Doesn't leave much time to dodge, especially when the target has low velocity.

[Allanea]

Lasers are, at any rate, not an effective weapon at 2.5 light-seconds and never really were.

Then what is? Anything slower than light sucks at 2.5 light seconds (too far away, easy to dodge). Being able to hit a target in two and a half seconds is pretty good. Doesn't leave much time to dodge, especially when the target has low velocity.

Being able to dodge a laser at 2.5 seconds is easy. You just need to be able to move your own width sideways in 2.5 seconds. Given spacecraft move at speeds measured in kilometers per second, it's really not useful to fire lasers at each other at such a distance - how do you know, when firing your laz0r, that your target won't suddenly shift 300 meters to the right?

The only viable weapon at such distances is (assuming physics are not borked) is guided missiles, which can correct their course in mid-flight.

[Excidium Planetis]

Then what is? Anything slower than light sucks at 2.5 light seconds (too far away, easy to dodge). Being able to hit a target in two and a half seconds is pretty good. Doesn't leave much time to dodge, especially when the target has low velocity.

Being able to dodge a laser at 2.5 seconds is easy. You just need to be able to move your own width sideways in 2.5 seconds. Given spacecraft move at speeds measured in kilometers per second, it's really not useful to fire lasers at each other at such a distance - how do you know, when firing your laz0r, that your target won't suddenly shift 300 meters to the right?

You fire barrages of lasers, of course. Cover a wide area.

And honestly, saying it's easy to dodge a laser at 2.5 light seconds is like saying it's easy to dodge a sniper's bullet at 2 kilometers. Yeah, you can, but it isn't likely you see it coming and have the reflexes to dodge it. More likely it misses by dumb luck.

The only viable weapon at such distances is (assuming physics are not borked) is guided missiles, which can correct their course in mid-flight.

And can be easily shot "down" from a thousand kilometers away. The fact that the missiles travel very slowly means several minutes of flight, potentially, if not hours. 2.5 light seconds is a large distance. You have a very long time to hit them. Even if the missiles dodge, eventually they will get within effective laser range, where they have only a fraction of a second to dodge.

[Allanea]

And honestly, saying it's easy to dodge a laser at 2.5 light seconds is like saying it's easy to dodge a sniper's bullet at 2 kilometers.

It's actually extremely hard to hit a moving person with a bullet at two kilometers, which is why only the most skilled snipers can do it... and the snipers have the advantage of seeing where you are at two kilometers away with no light-speed delay.

You cannot see where someone is two and a half light-seconds away (unless you, too, have FTL sensors!). You can only see where they were two point five light-seconds ago. So by the time your laser is on the spot it's been five seconds. You see the difficulty.

[Excidium Planetis]

And honestly, saying it's easy to dodge a laser at 2.5 light seconds is like saying it's easy to dodge a sniper's bullet at 2 kilometers.

It's actually extremely hard to hit a moving person with a bullet at two kilometers, which is why only the most skilled snipers can do it... and the snipers have the advantage of seeing where you are at two kilometers away with no light-speed delay.

You cannot see where someone is two and a half light-seconds away (unless you, too, have FTL sensors!). You can only see where they were two point five light-seconds ago. So by the time your laser is on the spot it's been five seconds. You see the difficulty.

I was arguing from a point of either both sides having FTL sensors or neither having them. Obviously, one side having them is so lopsided it doesn't matter which weapon the FTL sensor lacking side uses, it will be essentially useless.

Now, if both sides have FTL sensors, then skilled "snipers" (which, let's be honest, in the Future computer gunners can do the job) can indeed have a chance at pulling off 2.5 light second shots.

If neither side has them, the enemy cannot dodge purposefully... They can only accidentally dodge a laser. They essentially are attempting to dodge invisible bullets.

[Allanea]

If neither side has them, the enemy cannot dodge purposefully... They can only accidentally dodge a laser. They essentially are attempting to dodge invisible bullets.

I'm quite sure it's possible to deliberately move in an an unpredictable way to make yourself hard to target.

[This is a less viable strategy if your ships have only very low rates of acceleration, unfortunately.]

[Allanea]

Really fighting at two and a half light-seconds away away is rather daft. We should probably close to a more sensible range.