Taln Shipyards [New Naming Convention!] [New Ships!]

The Whisper class was envisioned by an eccentric designer, Primary Vikla Esnti, to fill the role of a heavily armed and armored vessel capable of extended patrol duties and be able to take on marauders solo, allowing for quick and decisive victories without needing to wait for reinforcement. While the blueprints did manage to get to the production stage, flaws were found in the hull itself as a result of Vikla's CAD tech malfunctioning and displacing a variable by a mere decimal point. By the time this mishap was discovered, over 140 of these ships were manufactured. Some had their bulkheads redesigned to accommodate the error, however over half were initially scuttled. Consequently, the Whisper never entered mainstream service and is now prized as a rare possession by ship collectors.



The Whisper class Cruiser is designed for long distance patrol duty, and its design reflects that. The vessel is powered by four NIV ion-based drives, as well as an intricate FTL system allowing near-instant in-solar system travel.



One may also note the aft hanger bay, this space can accommodate close to eight strikecraft, for providing a fighter screen, reconnaissance, etc. This increases the versatility of the vessel in combat, allowing it to act as a veritable one-ship fleet without any support vessels.



Again fulfilling its role, the Whisper is equipped with not one, but two Mass driver systems, the lesser one capable of being interchanged with a variety of other weapons platforms. In addition to that already impressive armanent, the craft supports a whopping 20 weapons platforms on the hull, all controlled by four Virtual Intelligence systems integrated into the hull itself, lowering the crew count to only 200! This also enables more space to be freed up for more advanced systems that require a sentient operator to keep a close eye on for maximum efficiency. Most of these systems are housed on the bridge for ease of access.



A mere 6 officers can run the entire craft with the assistance of the aforementioned V.I's, perhaps less if the buyer wishes to risk lowered efficiency. This bridge is capable of mounting the very best of Taln's computer systems, making this ship perhaps the most advanced in the fleet!

The first of Taln's new Vespyr line. Devised by a need for a sleek, powerful tool of warfare, it reinvigorates Taln's selection of craft by featuring the very latest in tech.



Unlike Taln's previous warships, the Proponent features no wings, and consequently does not support in-atmosphere travel. However, this tradeoff has the effect of reducing the frigate's profile. Should the buyer so wish they can purchase wings retrofitted to work with this frigate, however, it is not recommended, as the repulsors in the wings draw power away from the modular weapons pods.



New in the Vespyr line are configurable weapons pods, capable of mounting a vast selection of weapons for maximum versatility. To name a few, the T-RX dual rail cannon system, the T4K Multiple Rocket Launch platform, the TII-E Extended Mass Driver device, and the list goes on and on. While these pods commonly serve as a ship's primary weapon, the Proponent, for instance, features a whopping 8 platforms integrated into the hull that can support a variety of turrets, provided they match the E-620 power socket. Do note that these weapon systems must be controlled by a sentient operator, unlike the 10 point defense slots for anti-starfighter weaponry, which are controlled by a ship-board AI.



Taln Shipyards is always on the frontier as far as technology is concerned, and the Proponent class is no exception to this rule. * The vessel features an Artificial Intelligence core capable of supporting the latest in the AI industry, containing a liquid crystal core and Taln's very own S-V Logic Unit. The AI's programming can be configured by the captain, and should worse come to worse the core can be ejected from the craft with little to no collateral damage.


At 186 meters, the Proponent is classified as an Assault Frigate, see the primary post of this 'thread' for details.


A grand total of 4 engines propel this craft, powered by a class III Fission drive.

*Artificial Intelligence systems are very much experimental technology. Taln Shipyards nor any associated companies can be held responsible for any injuries that may result in the use of this system.

[quote="Tiel"]Corvette (20-80 blocks long)

As spacefaring races reached for the stars and managed to battle within them as well, they realized a need for an assault craft that wasn't as unwieldy as larger warships but packed more punch than traditional starfighters. The outcome was the swift, yet deadly, corvette classification of ship. Corvettes typically fill reconnaissance roles due to increases in maneuverability of the drives of conventional ships of the line, but still pack a mighty punch when organized into 'wolf packs', groups that have been noted to take down ships three times to size of their member craft. But for serious battles, typically fleets have a Combat Corvette classification (60-80 blocks) that weave in and out of capital ship broadsides to deliver a deadly payload of missiles and lasers. Whilst laden more heavily than their smaller cousins, they sacrifice little of the maneuverability, and also like their counterparts, crews only reach as large as 20 members at a time, with the sole pilot also acting as the commander of the vessel.

Frigate (80-250 blocks long)

A long used but stalwart and reliable class, they form the bulk of many fleets but oftentimes don't need the support to be combat effective. With multiple gun emplacements and speedy normalspace drives, frigates serve as the happy medium between the nimble corvettes and mammoth cruisers. While not as agile as the corvettes, frigates feature above average maneuverability with enough armor and shielding to get the job done. Job descriptions typically range from escorting larger vessels from corvette threats to carrying massive siege lasers that decimate enemy shields.

Crew is almost always upwards of 50 unless an Artificial Intelligence module is installed, though these are rare on smaller classes of ship. But while the frigate is a well enough asset on its own, fleet commanders soon realized their fragility due to their versatility and commissioned a variant commonly referred to as the Assault Frigate (150-230 blocks) designed to function more as a cheaper Cruiser than its former variety of roles. Assault Frigates cram many cruiser weapons into their small chassis, making for a very effective and non cost prohibitive alternative to larger ships, albeit having a shorter list of specializations.

Cruiser (250-425 blocks long)

A less common class, cruisers form the backbone of many a fleet. Commanded by seasoned crews of 100+ and correspondingly advanced weaponry, the class originated from a need for higher quality assault ship that would be guaranteed to survive long into engagements and even into additional battles without repairs or resupplying. Oftentimes referred to as 'ships of the line' due to their higher than average expense, cruisers function well as 'lone wolves' and can accommodate high ranking fleet officers; as a result many a battle has been fought with an admiral at the helm of one as opposed to larger but more bulky Carriers or Dreadnoughts that enemy ships know to concentrate fire on.

While not as maneuverable as Corvettes or Frigates, the class features an intimidating drive capable of elaborate evasive maneuvers. Cruisers carry a variety of heavy hitting weapons, but those equipped with the thundering higher caliber guns are often referred to as Battlecruisers (375-425 blocks), though they sacrifice most of their agility in order to produce the power needed to fire them. As a result, most Battlecruisers are designed with thick armor plating to make the most of this disadvantage.

Juggernaut (425-600 blocks long)

Smaller classes are vulnerable. Juggernaut laughs at their pitiful excuses for weapons and armor. The second largest ship ever fielded by any known fleet, Juggernauts feature tremendous thickness of armor plating just in case the entire enemy fleet manages to punch a hole or two in their equally powerful shields. Second only in cost to the massive Dreadnoughts, they are reserved for the commanding officers of large fleets who desire the protection afforded by the humongous craft crewed by well over 200 experienced staff members; not including a corresponding marine attachment for capturing enemy vessels or defending the ship from being boarded itself. The lumbering vessel is a prime target for Combat Corvettes and the aforementioned boarding parties due to its almost nonexistent agility, but this shouldn't be a problem with a supporting fleet of frigates and/or cruisers.

The Juggernaut's primary role is the destruction of other ships of its class and cruisers that may pose a threat to the fleet it presides over. Most Juggernauts are equipped with an AI to take control of the multiple weapon banks, leaving only the heaviest weapons to gunnery crews stationed throughout the ship. Should the AI core be disabled by any means, a Juggernaut would be crippled. A variant is the Carrier (550-600 blocks) which exclusively uses starfighters as its only offensive capability. Though it mounts heavy cannons and a screen of flak turrets, the Carrier is designed to be stationed on the rim of the battle, and consequently relies on a supporting fleet more than the standard Juggernaut. Many fleet officers prefer being stationed on a Carrier because of its distance from the heat of the battle and its serendipitous ability to flee more quickly than any other ship participating in the battle.

Dreadnought (600-∞ blocks)

The rarest ship class in fleets, its introduction stemmed from the need to take on entire fleets at once and provide a negative psychological effect on enemy crewmen. Known to drain entire star systems of resources in order to be constructed, the sight of an enemy Dreadnought warping in usually signifies the beginning of the end for opposing warships. In fact, many admirals have been known to pull back entirely due to the class's reputation. Usually equipped with the best technology a faction has available, they are armed to the teeth with heavy weapons and an even larger network of smaller caliber guns for boarding craft, fighters, and the occasional pesky corvette. The massive reactors necessary for powering said weapons could prove a prime target, with catastrophic results.

The crew capacity of most dreadnoughts scale upwards of 500 of the best the constructor's navy can offer. The exact number of these fearsome ships is unknown due to the various factions concealing how many they have built for a tactical edge in upcoming battles. It is, however, a rarity for more than one, if any, to exist in smaller realms. A Dreadnought can coordinate several fleets at once and has many destructive capabilities, so they are deployed sparingly.


Other classes:

Destroyer

A frigate cruiser with exclusively anti capital ship weaponry, which typically consists of a siege laser and heavy turrets.

Dropship:

In space, dropships are between a corvette and a small cruiser in size, and while lacking offensive capabilities of their own, they can land on the surface and deploy troops while the defending fleet is pre-occupied. (ie, Acclamator I in Star Wars)

Gunboat

A corvette designed primarily for killing other corvettes, or for atmospheric superiority.

Diplomatic Ship

Never larger than a frigate, Diplomatic Ships carry no weapons and must rely on enemy goodwill to survive. Many a conflict has been sparked by the destruction of one of these vessels.

Download @ Dropbox

Once finished, move pack.zip to your texturepacks folder in .minecraft Don't start the game just yet. Open up pack.zip, and then navigate to /.minecraft/bin/minecraft.jar, open it with your file compression utility (Jzip, winRAR, etc).

Now drop all the .class files from pack.zip into minecraft.jar, and delete the META-INF folder in the latter. Start up Minecraft and choose pack.zip as your texpack and you're good to go

When ingame you can right click your paintings to cycle them.