Modular Cruiser D

[Son of Hicks]

So, this is it.

This is the whole reason I started playing KSP so many months ago, what I have worked toward, and what I have mastered.

Behold my greatest creation:

The Modular Cruiser D:

THE PITCH:

The Modular Cruiser D is a fully modular interplanetary capable armored weapons platform designed to be both mission kill resistant by subdividing and distributing mission critical components across the vessel and strategically upgradable and reusable by having dedicated reloadable ordinance docking ports as well as fuel cross-feed capable docking ports of both regular and junior sized, configured in such a way as to allow damaged modules to be replaced in any space based theater of operation with either newly boosted modules or by consolidating undamaged modules from two or more damaged Modular Cruiser Ds into one or more undamaged vessels.

THE HIGHLIGHTS:

Parts: 257 (includes full armament)

Total Mass: 120.19 tons

Total Fuel/Ox: 2,914/3,562 units

Total RCS: 600 units

Armament: 8x centerline forward facing direct fire Reloadable SRBs fired in 4 salvos; 6x manually guided anti-fighter missiles.

Armor: 2x Series 5 segregated, free-floating, replaceable "Clamshell" plate sections.

Fuel Module: A forward keel connects 8 fuel cells to compartmentalize damage; forward armor panel doubles as dock for reloadable SRBs.

Crew/Engine Module: The crew is protected by placing their compartment between the fuel module/SRB armament and battery/ rear keel, which connects 4 RCS cells with 5 Nuclear engines to compartmentalized damage.

THE CRAFT FILE IS HERE, AND INCLUDES THE BOOSTER (536 PARTS).

The operation of this craft is simple: Full throttle to orbit, gravity turn to 90^o at ~10-15km, and press the space bar to jettison empty stages. SRB salvos are fired by staging. Anti-fighter missiles must be manually undocked, select the jr. docking port farthest from the ship and control from there, and thrust it like a rocket using shift/ctrl/x into something else at high speed. Fuel/ammunition tenders/stations may come in another post.

The third image presented was took after I re-docked the cruiser to that floating clamshell armor section in the distance to prove that it could be done and document how much RCS it took. PRO TIP: fly the cruiser to the armor, not the armor to the cruiser, and DO NOT USE TIMEWARP; you do it by threading the docking port towers through the 1x6 meter gap between the engine armor cowls. I got it on the third try; it was the most thrilling maneuver I ever pulled off in KSP.

And now I shall end this post with an artsy picture of the Modular Cruiser D high over Kerbin, eclipsing the sun.

Edited November 12, 2013 by Son of Hicks
Fixed broken craft link

[Wayfare]

The Modular Cruiser D is a fully modular interplanetary capable armored weapons platform designed to be both mission kill resistant by subdividing and distributing mission critical components across the vessel and strategically upgradable and reusable by having dedicated reloadable ordinance docking ports as well as fuel cross-feed capable docking ports of both regular and junior sized, configured in such a way as to allow damaged modules to be replaced in any space based theater of operation with either newly boosted modules or by consolidating undamaged modules from two or more damaged Modular Cruiser Ds into one or more undamaged vessels.

Holy run-on sentences, Batman

That's a very impressive design! I'm not a military builder myself but I do appreciate the great craftsmanship I see here. Do those clamshells hold up well during maneuvers? Either way I'm a sucker for modular stuff so +1.

[barrenwaste]

Well, the design is kind of boxy, that said, it's much larger and more complex than anything I've done.

[Andrewwang66]

Um the download links to a image...

[quasarrgames]

Did you send this to Macey Dean? YOU SHOULD SEND THIS TO MACEY DEAN.

[Son of Hicks]

Oh Snap! I'll fix the messed up craft link when I get home. So sorry.

And yes, the clamshells took several minutes of solid rotation until I got bored.

As much as I would love to submit this to Macy, I haven't proofed it to Jool, and I won't do that in the near future.

Edited November 12, 2013 by Son of Hicks
Fixed broken craft link in origional post.

[Son of Hicks]

Guess where this thing just went.

Go on, take your time; this one's a stumper.

[Turd]

Nice ship, That was fun! The "main gun" packs a punch which surprised me since there were docking ports on the front of the SRBs instead of structural elements but lining it up took ages, and I only had about a 10% hit percentage at 200M. Maybe changing the volley/design of the torps would help, as I was getting hits against your ship at 500M with SAS torpedoes.

A few of the hits with your weapons did no damage, which is not surprising since the docking ports are "softer" than structural elements, but the hits that did land solidly were almost always completely catastrophic.

Your armor is about as effective as you can get it, anything less than a solid hit usually meant it took no damage. Even shots right down the barrel only took out the torpedoes. However, the capsule inside is a weak point, twice I managed to knock it free and the ship was then without any control. Maybe add the struts to it, or additional armor around it.

I'd remove the RCS completely, add additional armor around the sides and in front of the capsule, remove the greeblies from the exterior, upgrade the torpedoes, and add a big honkin' SAS system to turn that sucker faster.

The best feature about this ship is its narrow and sleek design. Getting a nice oblique impact was tough and took some creative torpedo piloting.

screenshot297 by [email protected], on Flickr

screenshot295 by [email protected], on Flickr

screenshot294 by [email protected], on Flickr

[Son of Hicks]

I'll see what I can upgrade the crew module, although it should've been super hard to get a good angle on it when it is in combat; i'll put some struts to firm up the command module.

The thing about the SRB salvos is that they are upgradable to fit alternate mission profiles.

On turning: use the RCS, it is there for combat turning. It is too big to use RCS for docking, and it has those powerful RCS thrusters to overcome its length; the ASAS/command pod torque is for combat rotation or non-combat positioning.

[Turd]

I must have been having game issues, I deleted my KSP config file and it turns super easy now.

It wasn't so much hitting the module as busting loose from the impacts then rattling around inside. A few struts should fix it if you want to keep the docking port attachment.

Very solid design though, I learned a lot from it. Like I said, anything less than a square on hit did nothing but bounce off, even the big stuff.

[TheGeoninja]

That dwarfs anything I have ever done 34 times over.