shepard1701

An approach with speeds of around 25 to 50m/s, firing at a distance of 300 meters... Gives a mere 6 seconds to turn off axis and burn... I think my fighter can do it...

so... here's a thought experiment. Can I design a fighter nimble enough to make an attack run at suicidal speeds and survive? Let's find out.

My defensive fighters are probably going to be more my mainstay. I've managed to make a version of them with under 100 parts, fully armed, has 1000m/s delta-v, and maneuvers akin to a Viper from nBSG.

So, after the utter failure of a carrier design I was working on, I decided to see if I could make it into a cruiser... That went... poorly. The poor thing was completely cut in half by fighter torpedoes of all things. The last two shots just went right through it, didn't hit anything, because there was nothing left to hit... EDIT: you don't want to know what happened when it turned it's own torpedoes on itself... They'll be cleaning the wreckage from the launchpad for weeks...

After the tedium of docking one engine module to the Kerbylon, I'm sorely tempted to just do the rest with mechjeb... But I've gotten THIS far without mods smoothing it out... And all things considered, I WAS trying to dock a giant engine to a giant space station. Also, sometimes I REALLY wish we could convince Macey to use mods. Because I found a really, REALLY nice mod that, all it does, is add a proper interrior to the MK.2 cockpit. And that makes all the difference for my Sai fighter. Bacing the Sai around that brings it's part count down under 100 parts, and makes it flat out as maneuverable as a Viper.

Running into some... Interesting bugs. Sometimes, even when the gun isn't over heated and should be clearing my vessel perfectly fine, it's ripping the ship apart. I'm not entirely sure what the problem is. Is it because I'm testing it in atmosphere or aiming off vector?

It would seem as though the carrier is incompatible with my version of KSP.

Throw the craft file my way. I've been getting good at lifting big heavy spacecraft.

Can anyone design a carrier, please, for my light fighters? The SYF-2 SaiFighter The SYF-2i Sai ER Perferably something that can carry 2 - 4 fighters, plus a reload or two for each fighter. EDIT: Of course, anyone who does help in this, you'll be free to use those classes as you wish. EDIT2: Also, would anyone have any tips for getting something with aerodynamic surfaces into space? The Sai's wings keep making the rockets I build for it spin out.

I could make the proper nickname of my ship the 'SaiFighter'.

Oh... Kerbylon won't be landing. Fuel Cars to refuel it will. And when it needs them, they'll fly back up...

>.> I might also land my Fuel Reserve on Vall. Makes it an awful lot trickier to hack and use the refueling satellite when it isn't a satellite and instead is landed and has to launch to be used again.

That's still a possibility. However, putting Kerbylon around Vall allows for two VERY cool things to happen... 1. It's fighters will be able to go on 'patrols' around the orbit of Vall, which makes her seem more alive and can lead to dramatic moments. 2. The view. The sight of Jool, and maybe even Laythe, rising from the surface of Vall should be just breathtaking, and Kerbylon will have all the wonderful observation domes to appreciate it from. EDIT: And on the slim chance that Macey ever takes up the Kethane mod, then I imagine that Vall would become VERY valuable, as a relatively easy to launch from moon.

Wait... how is it you only have 1800 units of Liquid F? Doesn't that thing have 8... Oh wait, no, I see it now. It has only 6. I got it. Also, yeah. I think I'm going to park Kerbylon around Vall. It's less than 500m/s from Vall to just about anywhere in the Jool system, while also being out of the way and not hotly contested like Laythe. It's pretty much perfect.

Hmmm... maybe Probably a good thing I have my class number for it, then. SYF-2 And SYF-2i for the Ion variant.

Problem. How to get crews from their parking orbit to Kerbylon without overtaxing any computer by trying to render the behemoth ship and anything else at the same time. Solution: A tiny little crew wagon that a fighter can latch onto and carry out to pickup the crews of any ship from the parking orbit.

And now my light Defensive fighter. ShepYards F-2 Sai light fighter. She's fast and maneuverable, though her mono-propellent could leave a little to be desired. Depending on firing configuration, she either has 2 shots of 3 mini-torpedoes or 2 shots of 2 and 2 shots of 1. Either way, I think she'll be a respectable fighter for defending Kerbylon. She weighs in at around 100 parts, and 10 tons. Once the Kerbylon is fully fueled, this thing will be a tiny drop in the bucket compared to it. EDIT: Which of Jool's moons would it be best to locate the Kerbylon station at? I'm thinking Tylo. For starters, Tylo is relatively out of the way, but still in the primary moons proper. It's in a higher orbit around Jool, meaning that it might receive incoming ships, and there-fore allow for Kerbylon to service them. (I'm picturing it as a frontier outpost/waystation. Ships that want to top off their tanks after getting to the Jool system can do so at Kerbylon, and while they're at it, can enjoy it's recreational facilities.) As a bonus, you can see two of Jool's moons from it's orbit relatively frequently, which is cool. Additionally... I'm going to put in place a large amount of satellites around whichever moon Kerbylon takes position over. These would act as a complex communications and sensors net which should prevent ANYONE from getting the drop on the station. Very handy. Kerbylon and it's Orbit should be considered neutral territory. It will sell fuel to anyone, and allow anyone 'shore leave'. It's not out here in the interests of waging a war. It's out here in the interests of making money.

Uhm... 8 Maybe? Probably more once the engine modules are docked. It also has 8 SAS modules for their reaction wheels. And 9 Cupula cockpits for even more reaction wheel power.

Actually, that's the funny thing. The Kerbylon is launched up into Kerbin orbit in two pieces. The Fuel Module, and the Crew Module. Both get into Kerbin orbit very healthily, infact, both modules went up easier than any three of my capital ships. Then, once in orbit, they meet and dock. Next comes the engine modules. You need at least two, or you can go with four. Those modules dock with the bottom of the fuel section. Finally, you send up a bunch of refueling trucks. I mean, a LOT of refueling trucks. I have one design that takes nearly an orange tank up with ease, and It'll still require a full 8 trips or more before the Kerbylon is ready for departure. Then, she flies out on her own power.

Oh... no. The Kerbylon is 100 tons unfuelled... the light fighter is much less.

I will be attatching four engine modules on the bottom of it's fuel section, which, after it's been totally refuelled, should provide it with more than enough delta-V to get out to Jool. I'm debating with myself as to which moon, if any, it should orbit. I kind of like the thought of it just orbiting Jool itself. Currently, I'm designing a light fighter to service it. It's part count is at around 315 or so, (and at that, it's currently over 100 tons.) So the fighter has to be relatively simple.

You know what helps with launching things. Draining fuel from the tanks you're trying to carry into orbit, and then filling them up in orbit with a more efficient fuel platform. Incidentially... My submission for the support category is well under it's way to completion. Allow me to introduce... The SBS Kerbyllon 5 With crew space for 53 kerbals, 10 medium sized docking ports, 18 small docking ports, 8 (4 in flight configuration) large docking ports, an unspeakable 23040 units of liquid fuel and equivilent amount of oxidizer (25000+ units in flight configuration). a solar array capable of generating 48 units of electricity, and a backup Radio-Isotope generator array capable of generating 8 units of electricity. Kerbylon is not a warship. It is not a tug. It is not a fuel transport. It is a BASE. A home away from home for diplomats, traders, entrepreneurs, hustlers, and wanderers. A floating chunk of civilization, all alone in the night.

Welp... Despite being a smooth launch with plenty of pics... That ship has an absolutely PAINFUL part count of around 600. I can confirm that half of that is it's ammo as well as the unlighted ladder I installed in place of the lighted ladders. Don't know if that's acceptable or not... >.> Here's the gallery for the launch.

Alright... If I really have to... I designed an ammo variant to my Trident Fighter that uses 8 seperatrons to generate what should be enough kinetic energy to snap anything ever in half.

That strikes me as more than a little silly. What's the point of having fighters in the first place? They basically should serve as craft that can get from their base to the combat theater, carrying a limited payload, for less fuel than a capital ship. At best, enough fuel for a too and back trip, rather than full maneuvers. What is even the point of having them in the first place if they aren't allowed to carry a payload heavy enough to possibly damage capital ships. And I'd like the point out, it can't be about the 1 meter SRBs being 'too powerful' for use. Anything small enough to be a fighter should only be carying one payload of that, at best, and at least against my own combat vessels, they are not a guaranteed kill. Plus, when you throw in possible anti-fighter weaponry, and escort fighters... well... So long as everything's done smart, then no, a heavy torpedo bomber ISN'T death on two engines in the battlefield. I will concede that a dedicated fighter-bomber might be, though. EDIT: Basically, the entire point of this post is... If fighters aren't allowed to carry heavy weaponry that can damage capital ships, then what's the point of building them in the first place?