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Subject: 
Re: Bram Lambrecht 's spaceplane
Newsgroups: 
lugnet.space
Date: 
Tue, 29 May 2001 20:20:08 GMT
Viewed: 
559 times
  
In lugnet.space, Trevor Pruden writes:
In lugnet.space, Mladen Pejic writes:
I guess it is all up to Bram and Jon to discuss...

My "Valour" Advanced Gunship is barely 89 studs long, and it is classified as a
gunship too, yet I still asked Jon to put it in the capital ship section. Why?
Well probably because Jon set the minimal length limit for capital ships to be
60 studs. Therefore, my ship, as well as Bram's "technically" belongs in the
capital ship section.
<snip>

Good point.  And you're right - it's between Jon and Bram.  But it's funny
because this is essentially a pleasure transport/A to B plane.  So does that
classify it as a capital?

So what classifies a capital anyway?  I have an image in my mind, but that
may not be the same what others perceive.  It has to be more than just
length in reality all of our big ships are under scale from a real-life
point of view (depending on how you look at it).  So that being said, there
must be other things which classify a capital ship.  Is is the number of
people, the amount of living space, the number of different missions that
the ship can perform?  For example, the medical ships that we see on the
galactic shipyard are classified sub-capital and I tend to agree because
although they are not small and have several crew, the ship is largely
mission specific.

Is is the cross funtionality coupled with the size and numbe rof crew that
makes a ship a "capital ship".  Think of a US naval aircraft carrier and
compare it to a Boeing 747.  The boing 747 is big, but it only carries
people from one place to the next.  Every 747 is configured to be mission
specific.  It may seem at first glance that an aircraft carrier is mission
specific, but it is also a city at sea (size and crew), and it can do many
things and respond to many events (cross funtional: carry aircraft including
helicopters, carry troops, labs can be set up on them, they can be missle
platforms if need be, they can restock other craft and visa versa..etc etc).
Space capital ships may have the ability to transport people and vehicles,
tranport freight, do research (physical and medical), act like field
hospitals, perform rescue, refuel other ships, do battle, defend others,
command others, map stellar bodies, etc etc...the list goes on.

Now, a capital does not have to have all of these characteristics, and
perhaps you have to consider the primary functions as well as the secondary
functions.  A battleship may be totally cross funtional, but it's primary
function is battle.  The Valour gunship is large, and it's primary function
is battle.  But can it do anything else outside of a war sphere?  What do
you think?  I don't know what kind of depate this will sprout, but it's
interesting.

Anyways, I love the Valour.  I'd like to get building instructions if at all
possible.  Do you have the dat posted (I just installed MLCAD).

~Trev

I think that to "qualify" for "Capital Ship" not only requires size and
function, but also time. Your example of 747 vs aircraft carrier is a good
one in this relationship. A 747 can stay aloft for about 12 hours - maybe a
bit more - end of 'mission'. A "Capital Ship" - such as the carrier
mentioned - could stay afloat (away from any port) for months at a time.
This is why in my 'definition' of capital ship, craft size is not the only
criterion.

I also don't think that just because a craft is limited to a single purpose
- a battleship that does nothing else - should be disqualified because of
'limited' functionality. I'm sure that a patrol or picket ship which stays
on station for extended periods of time could be classified as a capital
ship if duration alone was used. I think this is where the size
specifications come into play.

So, for me, the definition of a Capital Ship is one in which the ship size,
crew size, mission/purpose and time duration all must be weighed together
for determination. I think that each category needs a (general) minimum
requirement, but that that minimum requirement could be waived based on how
much the ship fulfills (or exceeds) the other aspects. So that a ship which
meets all minimum requirements (1) qualifies automatically. Any other ship
would need evaluation.

I can see where a freighter could be classified as a CS with only a crew of
6, because it is large and requires weeks to perform its singular function.
I would, however, disqualify all fighter and patrol craft from
capitalization due mostly to crew size, ship size or mission duration.

(1) Suggestion of "minimum requirements":

Ship Size: 60 studs long, with relative width/cross-section/volume
Ship Crew: 20 beings
Facilities: Bridge/Flight Control, Engineering, Crew Quarters, Galley,
Access (airlock, shuttlecraft, etc.)
Mission: Open - no minimum
Duration: 30 Solar days

Just my 2-studs worth.

Wayne



Message is in Reply To:
  Re: Bram Lambrecht 's spaceplane
 
(...) <snip> Good point. And you're right - it's between Jon and Bram. But it's funny because this is essentially a pleasure transport/A to B plane. So does that classify it as a capital? So what classifies a capital anyway? I have an image in my (...) (23 years ago, 29-May-01, to lugnet.space)

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