Topic: Tugs

[Capt_Bearslayer_XC]

Hmmm.... looking at ONeal's post... could we enter them as FREIGHTERS in the shiplist?

Limiting the amount of freighters produced would still make them available for base/planet busting... but not show up as AI in anything other than convoy raids. 

Of course, the added benefit is that they would stop the convoy raids from being cake walks.

BTW, is there a convoy raid mission for GW3?  Haven't seen one yet.

[FPF-DieHard]

BTW, is there a convoy raid mission for GW3?  Haven't seen one yet.

No, there will not be one until Dave fixes it (HINT HINT  )

[Capt_Bearslayer_XC]

So tugs will only show up in the shipyard then if the shiplist considers them as freighters.

Is that a fair compromise?

[FPF-DieHard]

So tugs will only show up in the shipyard then if the shiplist considers them as freighters.

Is that a fair compromise?

Huh? 

Serously folks, who the hell really wants to fly a tug except out of morbid curiosity?

[el-Karnak]

Tugs should be SPECIAL class in the shiplist along with any other Special ships that are designed for unique roles in the fleet.  

Then you can assign specific shipyard costs and construction rate more commensurate with their specialized fleet role. BTW, SPECIAL class designation also keeps them Tugs out of the EEK missions as generated AI.

[Rod ONeal]

Tugs should be SPECIAL class in the shiplist along with any other Special ships that are designed for unique roles in the fleet.  

Then you can assign specific shipyard costs and construction rate more commensurate with their specialized fleet role. BTW, SPECIAL class designation also keeps them Tugs out of the EEK missions as generated AI.

Yes! I can think of some real world situations where tugs would be beneficial and add to the game. For example, your fleet just lost that (insert any limited construction ship that there are pods made for) and another one isn't immediately available to replace it. Configure a tug to insert into the fleet to take it's place until one does become available. They could be script generated for missions that they were "historically" used, assaulting/defending a fixed target or special cargo missions, ans soforth.

[Capt_Bearslayer_XC]

So tugs will only show up in the shipyard then if the shiplist considers them as freighters.

Is that a fair compromise?

Huh? 

Serously folks, who the hell really wants to fly a tug except out of morbid curiosity?

*raises hand*

Base/planet buster!!!!

[FPF-DieHard]

So tugs will only show up in the shipyard then if the shiplist considers them as freighters.

Is that a fair compromise?

Huh? 

Serously folks, who the hell really wants to fly a tug except out of morbid curiosity?

*raises hand*

Base/planet buster!!!!

Not needed.  We have real warships that fill that role.

[FPF-Jem]

I like the idea of tugs(and other special ships) showing up in special scripted missions every now and then. That makes more sense then just having them generally availble.

[Capt_Bearslayer_XC]

I like the idea of tugs(and other special ships) showing up in special scripted missions every now and then. That makes more sense then just having them generally availble.

*watches DH's face turn red as he sets to explode over this topic*

[Vorcha]

Naaaa Tugs are fun to play occasionally...but in a D2 campaign would be a pain.

[Green]

Huh? 

Serously folks, who the hell really wants to fly a tug except out of morbid curiosity?

I know we had at least a couple of major servers were tug (and aux) ships could be flown.  But I also know I actually had a pvp win and a couple of run-offs in a CVAT...against much smaller ships.

I agree w/ the shipyard spamming and "historical' reasons why not to have them, but 1 or 2 in the hands of players only would be fun.

[zerosnark]

[q]They were actually more expensive to produce than a similary configured CA hull would be, more vulnerable in open space, and fairly rare. If would be cool to have them if they could be employed with limits. [/q]

The problem is that the way they were implemented in SFB, they are not that expensive and not that vulnerable. Especially the war variants. If I recall correctly, the Klingon tugs actually had substantial firepower, even without pods. In game terms, the limitations of the tug combos were not really that evident. Why build big CVA's if you could just use CVA pods on your tugs? Put more money into the escorts. (essentially what the US navy does). That way, losing a CVA would not hurt as much.

My thought on Tugs goes back to the Franz Joseph Design manual. The idea of Tugs is to provide a fast freighter capability. . .presumably standard freighters are too slow for certain tasks. That was also an idea behind the Scout. A key secondary mission for Scouts was "VIP Transport".. . .again, presumably standard liners and yachts are too slow. . .

. . .in game terms, this could be achieved by simply eliminating the funky pods. And I think a cargo tug could make an interesting target for many scenarios.

. . .I also don't think freighters are appropriate for all races. Feds => sure. The federation is way spread out. The Hydrans Kingdom is small. . .and they probably shouldn't be building such big freighters at the expense of first line warships.

Klinks might be a special case, but I also can't see the Klingons expending resources on fast freighters. Fast troop ships, maybe. But keep in mind that the D7 and D6 have gobs of marines and transporters. . to serve the troopship function (just like an Imperial Star Destroyer).