THE PROTO SECTOR
AUGUSTA SHIPS
(PSR1.1) HEAVY CRUISER (CA):
The Augusta Heavy Cruiser formed the backbone of the Augusta Fleet. Capable of performing a wide variety of missions, the Augusta Heavy Cruiser was also a fair combatant. Armed with Tachyon Guns, Tachyon Rockets, batteries of Phasers, and well fortified Shields, the Augusta Heavy Cruiser fared well in battle. The Augusta Heavy Cruiser was uniquely designed to have more Reserve Power than the Average Heavy Cruiser, specifically to charge the Tachyon Guns as the need arose in combat. The Tachyon Rockets employed by the Augusta were an ever present threat to an opponent, one that could not be easily ignored or dismissed. A single hit from a Tachyon Rocket could seriously damage an adversary’s Shield, creating a severe weakness that could be further exploited by other Augusta Weaponry.
DESIGNER NOTES:
The Augusta Heavy Cruiser, originally named the Romanus Heavy Cruiser, was created in 2020. The changes were supposed to be simple: Change the Name of the starship and Change the Outline (all Internals/Shields remain the same) of the starship. The name had to be changed because it was too close to the Roman starships from Sector 50 and the Imperium name was already taken by the Mitrax Galaxy.
But as I moved the Internals into the New Outline, I noticed various discrepancies that could not remain. The Proto Sector Design Paradigm calls for Omega starships to be Balanced (Weapons/Devices/Internals/Shields/Power) as much as possible against the Alpha Sector. The Romanus Internals did not achieve this objective.
So I ended doing a careful comparison between the Maesron CA, the Fed CA, the Gorn CA, the Klingon D7, and then making the appropriate changes to the Augusta Heavy Cruiser. The Internals basically had to be completely redesigned from scratch. It was very important to get this right because the first ship of the Proto Sector sets the stage for all of the future empires to come.
What follows is what was originally written for the Romanus CA in 2020:
Due to the Complexities (Modular Construction) and Potential for Imbalance (with Alpha Sector Weaponry), Tachyon Missiles were immediately identified as an Issue. Instead of Revising pages and pages of Rules, it was simpler to create a Brand New Seeking Weapon: the Tachyon Rocket.
The Base Tachyon Rocket is essentially Two Type-I Drones Combined, with some Additional Features. Only One Tachyon Rocket can be Launched per Turn. I never liked the idea of a Single Tachyon Missile launching per Turn from Two Separate Racks. That didn’t make sense to me. So for Tachyon Rockets, they all launch from a Single Tachyon Rack, but the Tachyon Rack takes Two Damage Points on the DAC to Destroy. This makes sense since the Tachyon Rocket is essentially One Huge Missile. More versions of the Base Tachyon Rocket (and other Racks) will be introduced in the Future.
Tachyon Guns were a completely different challenge. Their Basic Design seemed sound based on the 2:1 Alpha Sector Principle. You put in 2 Points of Energy over 2 Turns and it yields 4 Points of Damage at Close Range and then Progressively Lessens as the Range Extends Out. You put in 8 Points of Energy over 2 Turns and it yields 16 Points of Damage at Close Range and then Progressively Lessens as the Range Extends Out. This seemed Balanced and created a sort of Photon/Disruptor Synthesis based on the 2:1 Alpha Sector Ratio. However, the To-Hit Probabilities of the Tachyon Gun have always bothered me. They are simply Too Good. Consider that the Original Tachyon Gun has an 83% Chance to hit from Range 0 out to Range 16! This is Far Better than even a Disruptor! Additionally, the Original Tachyon Gun has a 66% Chance to hit from Range 17-32 (and that’s with No Proximity Feature)! This was simply Too Good, in my Opinion. After carefully comparing the To-Hit Probabilities and Range Brackets to the Disruptor and Photon, I Revised the To-Hit Chances on the Tachyon Guns to make them more Balanced with the Alpha Sector. The New Weapon Design is simply called a Revised Tachyon Gun.
In a different area of Ship Design, Reserve Power and Total Power came into question. It seemed to me that it was important for a Captain who was utilizing Tachyon Guns in warfare, to have Plenty of Extra Power available to boost the Tachyon Guns should the enemy suddenly come into range during the Turn. Tachyon Guns are unique in this respect, in that they are very much dependent on what actually occurs during the Turn in terms of speed, turning, movement, and maneuvering. The enemy can slip in and out of optimum firing range of the Tachyon Gun in just a few impulses. Therefore, Reserve Power was critical. For this reason, I gave the Augusta Heavy Cruiser 5 Batteries. I thought this made sense and that the Engineers would have certainly made this decision, if they could do so (economically with available resources). Furthermore, I raised the Total Power on the Augusta Heavy Cruiser so that it has plenty of Power, in addition to the Reserve Power. Again, these decisions were made to primarily fuel the Four Tachyon Guns in Combat. There are only two Alpha Sector Heavy Cruisers who also have 5 Batteries: the Kzinti BC and the Paravian CA.
In Conclusion, the Internals/Shields are now Balanced versus the Alpha Sector. Reserve Power matches the Kzinti BC and the Paravian CA. Total Power matches the Klingon BC. Tachyon Guns have been Revised to match Disruptor Bolts in terms of To-Hit Probability. Phaser-1’s and Phaser 3’s have been revised to match the Fed CA, the Gorn CA, and the Klingon D7. All in all, the Augusta Heavy Cruiser is now Balanced (as much as possible) against Alpha Sector ships while retaining the flavor of the Omega Sector.
The only variable remaining is the Tachyon Rocket. It was simply impossible to Balance the highly modular Tachyon Missiles with all its variations. The Tachyon Rocket, while seemingly overpowered, is comparable to the Fed CA carrying a Drone Rack. This allows the Fed to launch singular Drones every turn or to launch a Scatterpack. In my opinion, while the Tachyon Rocket is a big, menacing Drone, it still does not have the Tactical Advantage of Six Drones from a Scatterpack. Only Playtesting will discover if the Tachyon Rocket needs to be revised.
REVISED TACHYON BEAMS (TG):
These function exactly as Tachyon Guns under (OE3.0), except that the To-Hit Probabilities have been Revised.
TACHYON ROCKETS (TRK):
The Base Tachyon Rocket has the following Elements: Warhead 18, Speed 20, Damage 8, Endurance 3, 1 Point of Negative Tractor.
One Tachyon Rocket may be launched from a Type-A Tachyon Rack per Turn.
It takes Two Damage Points on the DAC to destroy a Type-A Tachyon Rack.
Type-A Tachyon Racks carry Four Tachyon Rockets with No Reloads.
Tachyon Rockets cannot impact (explode) within 4 impulses of launch (see OFD1.31).
Tachyon Rockets can be Distracted by Wild Weasels.
Tachyon Rockets are not Destroyed by ADD.
Tachyon Rockets require Two Seeking Weapons Channels to Control.
Tachyon Rockets may not be loaded into a Scatterpack.
Treat Tachyon Rockets as Tachyon Missiles for all aspects not noted above.
PHASER-1: These function as described in the Basic Set.
PHASER-3: These function as described in the Basic Set.
