Gunboat Concept

So here's a little proof of concept; I've put large ship gatling turrets on a small ship with connectors.
While it looks like a space pringles tube, it really works well and nice.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=283138848

So here's some pics:


Tell me what you think!

 

its interesting to see that turruts on a connector wont take a 3x3 spot, but u can armor it up.

i like it!

 

as a gunboat i would think it would have more gunz

pretty cool none the less though

 

Amazing idea, very good job :thumb: I can see this thing ripping through waves of fighters
It only has 1 issue if I'm correct, the turrets aren't conveyored so you might have some ammo issues, but that can be solved

 

Since he used connectors they should be connected to the ships network.

 

He's actually right, I forgot to turn on the use of the conveyor system - oh well, nothing that can't be easily solved :]

 

Tbh its not a gunboat a gunboat usually consist a a forward facing higher calibre weapon with small machine-guns at the back to protect the rear i have provided an image of a gunboat

A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.

so two Gatling turrets aren't really a gunboat it more of a anti missile defence

 

Times change, and so do definitions.

Heck, in WWII a Corvette was designated as PG (US designation: Patrol Gunboat), and they were used to escort convoys and hunt subs. Frigates were only slightly larger and were PF (Patrol Frigate) and served the same purpose. Neither were expressly used for attacking coastal targets.

 

In my day gunboats were a dinghy that you put a cannon at the bow and rowed like mad at anyone coming up your river. Seriously though, quibbling over definitions like this is silly. Gunboat=gunship=lil ship with big guns. This appears to be a very petite and adorable little ship that can make a whole lot of people seriously regret their life choices up until this moment. This moment of course being when explosive decompression renders then insensate.

Comparisons to space pringles though make it clear some redesigns are in order.

 

Hehe! Brown water Navy?

 

I get what you are trying to tell me, but if you look all over the science fiction genre, there have been numerous interpretations of what a gunboat is as a spacecraft.
So this is my own idea and I can well use the designation gunboat if I want.

Besides, that thing you've shown is a little boat with little crew and some heavy armaments (2 high caliber cannons), so where's the big difference? Mine also has 2 AI controlled large turrets and 1 pilot...

 

Even scifi gunboats hold true to the standard navy ship here is a sci fi gunboat to show you this


Note: that none of them are shaped very widely in the horizontal plane most are short and slender

Note: a main powerful weapon at the front and some small light calibre turrets on the back and sides for defence

why there can be numerous interpretations of something the formula remains the same my only point was you had classified the vessel incorrectly it wasn't the end of the world.

 

I'd talk about why using naval architecture, and designs inspired by naval architecture to define a ship class in space is silly, and maybe a smattering of weapon weight to vehicle mass as a good test, but I CAN'T HEAR ANYTHING OVER THE SOUND OF WIN.

 

I completely agree that naval classification is silly however it also is used commonly by many sci-fi community's just to list a few (Halo,Starwars,XUniverse,startrek,MassEffect and more) i can go on its the easiest classification system to use as the definitions are very loose, and easily can be applied into a space situation my point is less about aesthetics and more functionality

Sources:
https://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Starship_classification
https://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Starship_classes
https://halo.wikia.com/wiki/Covenant_Navy
https://halo.wikia.com/wiki/UNSC_Ship_class
https://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/Starships


Also something weird that i hade'nt spotted most space fleets are refereed to begin in a navy

 

Ok, you're right, by IRL navy standards this wouldn't be a gunboat, however I was just making a proof of concept with this creation.
Now please cease, it's getting overly annoying how you try to tell me that I have done incorrectly while it has absolutely no point whatsoever.

 

in my experiences in other games....he was only trying to help for on the workshop you might just find the same comments there as here....i believe he was only trying to save some of that grief now by trying to help you correct it for later......of course i could be wrong......

sometimes there are more than 2 sides to a coin.

 

This "thats not a gunboat" discussion is just silly. The Wikipedia article alone contains a multitude of roles, gun numbers and ship sizes in its "Gunboat" article. The only thing that seems to stay consistent in its historical use is that gunboats are (relatively) small military ships and thats about it.

Also, this gunboat looks pretty damn good considering you had to cover up the clunky connectors, good job!

 

Honestly, I'd call it a destroyer. Destroyers are commonly designed to be small lightly armored ships designed to screen larger ships from ships too small for their daddies to engage effectively. sadly, destroyers are usually not particularly maneuverable of quick for their size, which makes them vulnerable to larger ships. That seems to describe this build pretty well.

 

Very fragile. Never do that in a small ship. A single rocket could cripple all of your ship, unless this changes in the future.

 

Omg, can we stop about how you would or would not call it? The discussion is about the design, not the name.
And as for the design, interesting idea, but as Fab mentioned, it looks fragile.

 

Fragile, but cheap and looks like it can chew up fighters pretty well, so I'd say it's kinda worth it.

Idea: Torpedo version fired from a larger ship. Small ship doomsday weapon

 

you are very much correct sir i applaud you and your humility

 

What are the dimensions on that thing? And how does the use of large blocks affect th acceleration?

The reason I ask is because i went ahead and built a gunboat myself a while ago. Except it doesn't mix block sizes - it's just a large ship (albeit a very small one)

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=268845777

I was wondering whether the mix of small and large blocks produces any appreciable advantages.

I'm posting from my mobile and not my pc at the moment. I'll download the workshop item and make some comparisons when i get chance.

 

The turrets aren't that massive, though I felt like the ship itself could use some beefier thrusters and maybe a couple more gyros. My primary concern was the recoil, and I'm happy to say it's a stable as a rock, even with only one side chattering away like crazy.

 

So I just completed some base comparisons between the two:

The screenshots actually make the gunboat look bigger than it is. After grabbing the workshop item and importing it into the same world as my gunboat, turns out it's about 50% of the size of mine.

The bigger consideration is that at 57,000 kg it's just a little over 1/10 of the weight of mine.

Ran acceleration tests and the gunboat made it to 104.5 in 13.5 seconds, mine took 26 seconds to do the same.

Also gauged turning ability. (used keyboard to perform a 360 degree lateral rotation)
Mine completed a 360 rotation in 4.7 seconds.
The gunboat completed a 360 in just under 3 seconds.
However, on the gunboat concept completion of the 360 was punctuated by a catastrophic structural failure. If I had to guess I'd say that there was some "rubber banding" with the connectors, which looks like it caused a collision between the turret and the armour cover. The resulting explosion thankfully left the cockpit untouched but took out most of the internals, including the reactor.
You may want to look into either securing the turrets or reducing the gyroscope force.

Did a little durability testing too.

I was surprised by how quickly the gunboat comes apart under gatling fire. Some heavy armour might be required in case you run into somebody else with the same idea as you.

The armour on mine can take gatling fire for days. Some of the exposed components don't fare so well, but mobility is supposed to stop the opponent keeping a bead on the vital components.

Didn't test rockets since we all know they'll tear holes in either ship.


I'll admit I wasn't expecting the gunboat concept to compare favourably at all, but it's not bad.
There are still design issues - whatever happened when I tested the turning ability needs to be isolated and fixed, and given it's intended purpose the ship probably needs to be more durable. Other than that I'd call it a success.

I still prefer my ship (call it creator's prerogative), but after comparing the two it feels like they were built for subtly different purposes, and could quite easily exist side by side.

 

I think of a destroyer as a large warship designed to perform scouting missions, screen larger capital ships or operate independently. Like a modern Arleigh Burke class destroyer or an Imperial Star Destroyer from Star Wars (big...but still small compared to Darth Vader's command ship).

I would imagine the OPs gunboat / gunship is really more like the helicopters that would be deployed from a modern destroyer. Useful for disrupting mining operations or taking out defenses around a base so as to not risk the mothership. Possibly harassing larger, slower ships.


I mean you can call it whatever class of ship you want though. It's not like there is a standard classification or anything. One player's 200 m long "dreadnaught battleship" might be completely dwarfed by the 2000m long, million ton "light long range reconnaissance pod" I'm thinking of building.

 

Thanks! I have seen it myself, when I do a full speed 360° turn, the inertia will rip off the turrets.
This is thanks to the fact that connectors don't merge like the merge blocks do, but they simply lock like a landing gear.
That means there is a chance for the connection to get ripped off. (which is when really large force is applied)

So there's no real fix for it at the moment, I've tried to support the structure with more beams and it still explodes.

About the armor, sure it isn't very durable. I use the light armor for cosmetic purposes (as I will never go into real PvP anyway, I'm not an aggressive player).
It could be refitted with heavy armor easily though.

Thanks for all the critique, guys. It's really appreciated.
Jakaya, no hard feelings. I was a bit annoyed that's all. I still appreciate your input. :thumb: