Re: TML nightly: Msgs 7884-7889 V75#19

Steven M Bonneville ([email removed]) wrote:

> It looks to me like the lighter weapons are really only useful for
> anti-missile fire or to try and scrub the communications and sensory
> antennae off a ship.  The only other thing I can think of doing with
> them is to try to saturate a big ship's anti-missile defenses and get
> a fusion weapon right up next to it.  So I suppose the *really* big
> ships like the _Tigress_-types will depend more on what we'd currently
> consider very heavy weapons to do any real damage to the enemy line.
> I have no idea what sort of power the TNE equivalent to the meson-T
> delivers on target, but it is probably massive.  The big ships will
> need to depend on heavy bays to back up the main gun, though, since
> the turrets and "pea-shooter" spinal mounts on escorts won't do much
> good.  I'm not sure if the 100-ton bays can cut it; I haven't checked.
>
This is a good analysis.  To tell you the truth, I like the feel of being
able to armour my dreadnaughts in proper Fisher fashion.

As for tactics, would you not want to (1) engage with (relatively) light
armourment to detroy the antennas for the meson screen (I am under the
impression that cust out the meson defence) then (2) engange with the meson
armed big ships.

I have been thinking of some lighter meson armed ship ideas as well, but that
needs some development.

> As for the _Chrysanthemum_ in a fleet action, well, I guess it really
> is a cheap "tin can".  I suppose it's supposed to be an SDB hunter
> and commerce cutter.
>

Thats fine.  If there is no magic "torpedo" for frying big ships, torpedo
boats do not serve a lot of purpose.


Les Howie
Prograph International