[Space/Spaceships] TL9 nomad fleet - playable?

[vicky_molokh]

Originally Posted by cccwebs

In a "fleet" setting, you'll probably want to include at least one Hangar Bay in every large craft. Transferring cargo would be considerably safer from internally docked ships vs "tubes" connecting ships externally.

Yes, but that's an extra strain on the already limited amount of free space in ships.

Originally Posted by cccwebs

Sounds about right, though 'population' ships might want to include at least 1 fabricator system to help with essentials.

A replicator without at least one Cargo Hold is not very useful. All that leaves very little space for Habitat systems. At this point, 'population' ships start looking more like corporate mining towns, making them almost the same thing as the industrial ships of the fleet.

Originally Posted by cccwebs

Mobile shipyards for a fleet would be limited in the size of ships they could construct. Unless setting up 'camp' for a while, any ships built should be able to fit inside (no larger than what can fit in the hangar bay). If a larger ship is needed, then the fleet would need to 'camp' for the duration of construction.

When the fleet is not experiencing acceleration, I see no reason why a mobile shipyard can't function. The problem seems to be that the math of constructing ships outside of hangars in G:SS is unplayable, and arguably silly (price doesn't match the expenses needed to actually build the ship).

Such a fleet, if it's capable of reproducing its flagship(s) and/or mobile shipyards, must be able to construct things that don't fit into hangars. When I said shipyard, I envisioned something closer to a wharf that only partially surrounds the ship under construction.