Gunstar

[N.I.C.E. Labs]

Ok...'the Last Starfighter' was on satellite last nite and I was reminded how cool a ship that is...and my previous notions of designing it for Traveller. I have the notion again now and have done anything more than the preliminary thoughts but I offer them for what it's worth:

There are 7 actual turrets on the vehicle so it's at least 700 tons (which also seems to reflect it's size). It's a warship so not much room for cargo or passengers...I'm thinking a beefy SDB type of craft, or, with jump drives some sort of assault gunboat. Thoughts?

 

[TheColonel]

I think 700 tones is way too big. Unless I'm remembering the movie wrong, that ship was a two man fighter with a big rear end. Some creative rule changes need to be done to put into traditional Traveller.

 

[Father Fletch]

These were the most informative websites I found for the Gunstar. I would guess it is a 20-50 Dton heavy fighter mounting fixed laser mounts, a high agility rating and the special effect attack of the "Deathblossom" which I would rule makes for a higher attack bonous on anything within range, but leaves you dead in the water for a combat round or two. My 2 cr.

http://www.starshipmodeler.com/gallery/jr_gun.htm

http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Station/3299/hanger/gunstar/gunstar.html

http://www.swtft.com/ships/gunstard20r.html

http://members.aol.com/StarCastSF/Gunstar.htm

http://drycas.club.cc.cmu.edu/~jae/sw/SHIPS/GUNSTAR.TXT

 

[BluWolf]

If you are using T20 you could give the ship a Feat like ability based on the D20 feat "whirl-wind attack"

This would probably give ship 1 attack at the highest BAB within a given range factor.

Don't have T20 yet but this sounds about right.

 

[N.I.C.E. Labs]

Good points. The reason why I was thinking 700 tons is one hardpoint per 100 tons...7 hard points (not counting missile mounts). That's also just considering the laser turrets shown. The ship had particle beams but never used them (except in the video game sequences). I was sort of envisioning it as having the same crew and cargo capabilities as say, a 100 ton scout ship, with the rest of the system space taken up with a massive maneuver drive, jump drive, armor, and weapons....since it was supposed to be THE defensive vessel. It might not be as big as a 700ton ship, but it's certainly as capable as one.

If scrapping the turret ideas it's still as easily big as a shuttle and that's nearly 100tons itself. A hundred-ton FIGHTER would still be quite scary. You could still have the chin laser be a turret, the rest of the weapons mounts.

While we're on the subject of mounts vs. turrets. Do weapon racks have any sort of firing arc or are they fixed?

 

[themink]

If each turret is a triple, then it only needs to be 300 tons (which seems a lot closer to the "reality" than 700 which seems to me to be a little large. Keep in mind that an M1 abrams is roughly 3 tons! (Yes I know that it weighs a lot more than that, but you know what I mean)

Splitting a triple turret into three smaller single turret has no game effect (you arrange them in batteries) and doesn;t affect the design process and the only actual effect is the difficulty of upkeep (it's non-standard parts)

 

[savage]

Mink right, but I've always thought that fixed weapons should require less tonnage. Say 25t for
a fixed single weapon hardpoint...100 for a turret hardpoint.
Gunstar is all engine and weapons, no quarters which also seems to leave the CT standard. This is really the differentiation between fighters and starships.

Savage

 

[Vargas]

It's been too long since I saw the movie but. . .

How about declare one weapons mount a starship turret and the rest are heavy weapons turrets?

Just a thought. . .

 

[gardclan]

OK, I'm going to step WAY out on a limb here. It's been years since I've seen this movie... but IIRC the numerous weapons mounts had relatively little tracking ability in and of themselves. Except when the DB was running, I never saw more than one or two shots going in a given direction at a given time.

It seems to me that despite the numerous weapons, the ship could be modeled as having a single turret with more than three slots. Perhaps a re-fitted barbette with five slots instead of one particle beam?

Another option would be many weapons in the solomani fixed mount style... very limited tracking individually... but when linked into the main fire control they become in effect a single triple turret. If you assume a 30° cone for each mount's arc you could place enough weapons to get the effect. That method also gives you the death blossom capability.

Its an idea anyway.

 

[BluWolf]

IIRC, the death blossom manuever was the combination of the guns mounted on the fighter, the engines (ME) whipping the ship and the pilot trying to maintain/hold on for dear life.

With this picture in mind and using (T20 or atleast my assumptions) I would design the ship as a 100ton fighter with top notch weapons, ME and computer.

But also asign the ship a feat similar to the the whirl-wind attack feat from 3E. Yes, you can asign feats to items or in this case a ship.

The Death Blossom feat would assign a cost and maintenance modifier to the guns, engines and comp. And would require a piloting check to be executed (I'm pretty sure this is in keepnig with the flavor of the movie).

Any thoughts??

 

[Father Fletch]

Nail on the head, BluWolf, nail on the head. That is the line I was thinking along, and having just re-watched the movie this morning I think that the Gunstar is 100DT tops. All engine and guns.

 

[N.I.C.E. Labs]

Great ideas...certainly gives me things to work with.

Thanks guys

I'm liking both the 100 ton set up, and the 300tone (if we were to include it's jump drive). Never thought about spitting up the triple turrets...good idea

 

[BluWolf]

Make it a 100t fighter for system defense and then design a 200t (or there abouts) JDS (Jump Docking Sled) for extra-system events.

Easier to maintain and probably little more cost effective for a system.

Just a random thought.