Ever since I have joined Wyrdysm Forums, I have had this sense of regret all the way till now - that I have not been able to contribute to the community in many ways, that I have been a nuisance, a useless fellow,and a (on occasion) complete idiot/retard. This has been reinforced by the fact that I have committed many mistakes in the past, apologised countless times over and over again, and have faced others telling me that I shouldn't be doing this. I've pondered on this many times, and had been always telling myself that I should redeem myself, pull up my flagging reputation. So far, I've tried my best to do that, by contributing in discussions (to the best of my abilities), by participating in tournaments,by improving relationships with fellow BSF fans who have been extremely supportive as a community.
But I realised one gaping hole, which time and time again have been pointed out by senior members of Wyrdysm - I lack a fleet, I lack ships to give credit to my reputation, I lack things which I have shared with the community, things which are needed as a forum member.
I decided to build fleets. Well, though I did start off rather enthusiastically at first, my excitement soon died off, time and time again, due to my constraints pertaining to school. There were even times I considered giving up the entire idea completely, thinking it unfeasible for my schedule. The ships were created, deleted, and re-did over and over again. I found myself in this cycle, without any way of really overcoming it. It was disappointing, frankly, when I saw the countless number of ships others churn out week after week, when I myself don't even have a thread to my name in the Custom Ships forum. Time, it seemed, was my key limiting factor.
But ever since the school term ended at the beginning of last week, I have finally been relinquished of this strain on my schedule - time for ships at last, it seemed. I procrastinated for a while, thinking that it was still an inappropriate time to post up ships. I wanted to finally show off the results of my time at Wyrdysm, but I did not know when. And after a senior member commented on IRC (on discussion about the third BP) that I wasn't supposed to talk after I posted ships, I finally realised the depth of my follies. Dragging on, it seems, should not and later would not become yet another option I take. So I started designing. Some of the designs I have withheld so far, since I am still working on them, but the ones now that you see below are those which I feel confident enough to release.
And here, right before your very eyes (for those who disbelieve what they are seeing), will be Master Chief's own ships. Yes. I have decided to end this long drought, and seed the clouds to make them begin to rain starships and fleets. The wait for you guys has ended, this is the beginning of things to come, just over the horizon.
I hope the community can forgive me for my previous mistakes (or at least forget those), and these ships are dedicated to you guys, for the many things you have yelled at me for and corrected me, for the things which you have showed me and caused me to be a better person, and for the things which you have definitely led me to enjoy and learn from. I hope this can be a sign to everyone that I am improving, that I am taking in your advice, and that I am changing, definitely for the better, at long last.
Dedication
These ships below are dedicated to all the contributive members of Wyrdysm, especially those who have advised me as to my behaviour (or chewed me out in the past), and the following, which I have shamefully taken ideas from, or even ripped off shipbuilding styles from: Anna, Lizzie, Siber, Aralonia, Commodore111, Spoot Knight and Tsakara. Do inform me if you feel that I have left someone out.
Faction Information
Unified Republic of Earth
Memores acti prudentes futuri - "Mindful of what has been done, aware of what will be"
Established 2068
Ships
Republic Starships usually have distinct characteristics such as the overall blockiness of the ship structure (no matter how much the civilian population complains about their unaesthetic looks, as Fleets Command has always wanted that look as a legacy of the first ships of the Republic), ablative armour (highlighting the outline of the ship in blue), colour-coded sections (blue outlines for special weapon mounts), common use of Sectional Shield Generators, and (on capital ships) the thrusters you can see poking out of the starship's hull at the stern. Though they look an eye-sore to most United Fleets of Earth Personnel (more commonly known as Fleets Personnel), the majority of humans have learned to appreciate these ships for their role in defending humanity from the Katuri onslaught. Thus, because of this, FLEETSCOM (in an unprecedented move) has decided to release blueprints of these ships for the first time in Republic history, a move which is planned to boost morale and improve overall propaganda efforts. All blueprints below are to scale with each other unless stated otherwise.
UF Fighter
Armaments
OFFENSIVE
2 Lance Plasma Cannons
DEFENSIVE
---NONE---
The only space superiority starfighter which the Fleets use, a Fighter can easily tear apart a Patrol Craft, given the extraordinary amounts of luck, daring and numbers which such an assault would require. These Fighters are usually piloted by low-grade Artificial Intelligences, and are used as a close-range distraction maneuver which is normally considered suicidal for a human pilot. Nonetheless, it fills this niche which no other ship in the Fleets can do, and also can be used as a in-atmosphere fighter should the need arise during ground engagements. Due to its small size, point defence, sadly, is an impossibility, and so is thick armour which can protect this craft better from attack.
UF Bomber
Armaments
OFFENSIVE
2 Stinger Missile Launchers
DEFENSIVE
---NONE---
Incredibly, though Fleets Personnel by far and by large dislike the Fighter (due to the potential of debris from such easily-destroyed craft to impact and damage other ships), they admire the Bomber for its two Stinger Missile Launchers, more that capable of demolishing a Patrol Craft within a few seconds. Again, no human pilot usually pilots this AI-controlled craft, due to the insanely low survival rates. The lack of PD on this craft is due to the same reason as the Fighter above. In fact, the UF Bomber is simply a Fighter with a slightly modified hull that allows more room for missile storage, and is slightly better armoured as a result. The rule of thumb while dealing with such craft? Don't ignore it, prevention is a much better option than cure, especially when you're engaging a craft with the second highest damage-to-tonnage ratio in the Fleets, after the Fighter.
UF Patrol Craft
Armaments
OFFENSIVE
2 Resilience Plasma Turrets
2 Stinger Missile Launchers
DEFENSIVE
2 Denial Point Defence Chainguns
2 Impediment Sectional Shield Generators
A well-rounded ship usually meant for scouting or skirmish purposes, the Patrol Craft is well-equipped for its size, considering that it boasts weaponry strong enough to take on small capital ships when in numbers. Though small and speedy, most Fleets Personnel intensely dislike this craft (no matter how many times they admit it as being crucial to humanity's survival in the War) due to the fact that it sacrifices armour for speed and weapons power. Incredibly, groups of these craft have been known to disable other distracted ships by flanking them and destroying the vulnerable thrusters at the sterns, a feat which was commonly attempted by both sides during the Insurrectionist War, thus making this ship useful in its own way.
UF Monitor
Armaments
OFFENSIVE
1 Tremolo Plasma Ordinance Launcher
DEFENSIVE
2 Denial Point Defence Chainguns
2 Impediment Sectional Shield Generators
An occasionally used ship of the UF, the Monitor is a fearsome thing to behold, as its rapid-firing main offensive weapon can lay waste to even starships of Destroyer classification and above. The Tremolo Launcher accelerates what would be commonly called as "Plasma Charges" to high speeds, causing these flying bombs to crack through ship hulls before detonating within them and leaching plasma all over. Any capital ship which encounters hostile Monitors usually has only two courses of action: 1) Focus a considerable amount of firepower on the craft or 2) ignore it and be damaged considerably, due to the plasma leaching effect. Despite it's inherent usefulness, FLEETSCOM has never ordered the wide-scale production of this ship at facilities all over the Republic, due to its high cost of manufacturing and weak armour which allows it to be destroyed just as easily as the Patrol Craft.
UF Corvette
Armaments
OFFENSIVE
3 Resilience Plasma Turrets
1 Illuminati Directed Energy Weapon System
DEFENSIVE
4 Denial Point Defence Chainguns
5 Impediment Sectional Shield Generators
NEITHER OFFENSIVE NOR DEFENSIVE
4 Realspace Ion Thrusters (2 for controlling Direction, 2 for Thrust)
If any Fleets Personnel ever comment that the UF Corvette is useless or obsolete, you can instantly tell that either he has had too much to drink already or he is completely insane. The lowest-ranked capital ship, the Corvette is more than capable of destruction in numbers, due to its highly powerful Illuminati Directed Energy Weapon System, which is the striking feature of any capital ship, and can lay waste to just about any decent armour section in one single firing cycle, if the Shield Generators do not kick in fast enough. This is a ship which has played an enormous part in stalling the Katuri advance especially in the Outer Worlds, where numerous packs and task forces of such craft managed to defend (or at the very least, hold back the invaders) human-held systems and worlds, and buying some time for the Inner Worlds to prepare for assault. Even then, any observer will be able to spot this capital ship within any task force or battlegroup, due to its immense usefulness and advantage provided by its size and speed, and capability to inflict considerable amounts of damage against the enemy for a ship of that size and tonnage.
UF Frigate
Armaments
OFFENSIVE
3 Resilience Plasma Turrets
8 Stinger Missile Launchers
2 Illuminati Directed Energy Weapon Systems
DEFENSIVE
6 Denial Point Defence Chainguns
6 Impediment Sectional Shield Generators
NEITHER OFFENSIVE NOR DEFENSIVE
4 Realspace Ion Thrusters (2 for controlling Direction, 2 for Thrust)
Better armoured and better equipped than the Corvette, a UF Frigate can easily punch holes in amour with its 8 Stinger Missile Launchers, and also has an extra Illuminati Directed Energy Weapon System. Though slightly slower and bulkier than the Corvette, the Frigate's usual role supporting an assault by larger ships or supporting a usual defence (most prevalent in the Outer Worlds) with UF Corvettes and smaller craft. Along with the Corvette, this is one of the most commonly produced capital ships in the United Fleets, and sacrifices firepower for relatively unhampered maneuverability. Seen at nearly every battle in the Human-Katuri War, its firepower, when combined, can result in devastating destruction due to the ridiculously insane number of Stinger Missiles these ships are capable of launching, and the numerous Illuminati Directed Energy Weapon Systems these ships can possess while in groups, again epitomising the Republic idealism of "strength in numbers".
UF Shrapnel Submunition Kinetic Kill Vehicle (more commonly known as a SSKKV)
Armaments
---WARNING: SHRAPNEL SUBMUNITIONS ARE A CLASS 7 HAZARD---
A craft usually sent in after the first engagement has been made, the UF SSKKV packs a nasty amount of shrapnel inside its innocuous-looking hull, making even one hit from this vehicle potentially capable of complete starship destruction. Though FLEETSCOM was initially reluctant to construct these ships because of potential public backlash, they eventually did go ahead after furious calls by Republic civilians to unleash their revenge against the Katuri advance (after repeated evidence of the atrocities committed like orbital bombardment of Republic worlds), no matter how brutal and inhumane the underlying principle of this kinetic missile was. Now the Katuri immensely fear this ship once it appears in the battlezone, as they know what devastation this creation of mere human civilian defilers can do to their own hallowed ships.
Civilian Freighter
Armaments
OFFENSIVE
---NONE (Restricted by Republic law)---
DEFENSIVE
6 Impediment Sectional Shield Generators
NEITHER OFFENSIVE NOR DEFENSIVE
4 Realspace Ion Thrusters (2 for controlling Direction, 2 for Thrust)
The most common civilian ship anyone will see in Republic space, the Freighter holds the reputation of being able to support the many worlds by way of inter-system trade. Maneuverable but sluggish, this craft is capable of holding tonnes of needed basic commodities and other products, and is the reason why the Republic has patrol ships and listening posts to warn and defend civilian craft such as these from attack, due to the usual fragility of the hull. Smaller than the Heavy Freighter, this ship is usually used en masse in trade convoys. Its 6 Sectional Shield Generators provide a veritable amount of defence to this otherwise weak ship in terms of armour, while there are no other armaments which could be utilised to attack other ships, in accordance with Republic law. Civilians have been arguing for the allowance of point defence weaponry on their ships, but as of now, the Republic Senate has not lifted the ban, saying that these weapons could go out of control in the hands of a rogue ship captain.
Civilian Heavy Freighter
Armaments
OFFENSIVE
---NONE (Restricted by Republic law)---
DEFENSIVE
10 Impediment Sectional Shield Generators
NEITHER OFFENSIVE NOR DEFENSIVE
4 Realspace Ion Thrusters (2 for controlling Direction, 2 for Thrust)
A slow and lumbering starship used for civilian purposes, the Heavy Freighter carries exactly what its name implies - bulky items which are destined to another system. This craft, like all other civilian ships, can be easily modified and re-used as a passenger transport, a luxury cruiser, or even occasionally a moving self-enclosed habitat, suitable for human habitation over a period of time. The numerous Sectional Shield Generators provide enough protection to this ship such that even Fleets Personnel are envious of these sometimes, and the detachable cargo sections on both port and starboard are capable of turning into escape pods should the need arise. Notably, this ship can also be turned into a moving shield for the UF, as demonstrated at certain battles during the Insurrectionist War, due to the above abundance of such generators, proving its versatility to be even beyond plainly civilian purposes.
Downloads
Upon demand, here is a compilation of all released UF starship blueprints. Feel free to use them, wreck them, upgrade them or essentially do anything to them in simulations, but do seek my permission for inserting them into your timelines, or I will personally hunt you down with the combined might of a thousand starships.
DOWNLOAD FOR ALL RELEASED UNITED FLEETS STARSHIPS BLUEPRINTS
Note: All Republic starships are not custom-coloured but do have the below colour scheme on my computer.
[Ship Colours]
1blue = 80
1green = 80
1red = 80
2blue = 255
2green = 180
2red = 0
3blue = 200
3green = 200
3red = 200
[Glow Colour]
blue = 255
green = 255
red = 255
Bonus Content
Anthem of the Unified Republic of Earth
Battle Theme of the Republic
Battle Theme of the Alliance to Restore the Republic
Footnotes
Master Chief claims no responsibility whatsoever for any injuries or liabilites incurred while viewing or commenting on his ships.
Copyleft © 2008 Master Chief (Wyrdysm Forums). All rights unreserved.
