Etfaks, now it's the best time to start working on Battleship
I'm skeptical of a full-sized capital ship having much congruence with the Hoplites' stated strategic goals. Size-wise, the existing Heracles hull is about as large as I'd prefer, though it could indeed use a buff to its abilities (while still remaining a bit inferior to a true capship, as Etfaks intended).
Speaking of additional future ships.....instead of adding true battleship-grade capships, perhaps additional medium-sized units (destroyer hulls, and an additional cruiser hull) would be a better fit with the Hoplite situation and their limited resources.
Alternatively, a new "harassment frigate" hull which prioritizes durability & flux dissipation at the expense of a high weapons count? Such a ship could serve in large numbers as a "small 'heavy' unit" in the opening of a battle, later serving as a backup echelon behind the cruiser echelon or used independently as skirmishers on the flanks. I think that Arghy's idea up above is a good one and it deserves further exploration.
And as an alternative to the alternative (
), that possible new destroyer hull could be the sturdy harrassment unit instead of a new frigate. Use of a DD hull would allow you to still keep a hard-hitting weapons suite while still retaining much better agility than a cruiser, though less than that of a fast frigate hull. In general terms, I'm speaking of a unit with the weapons load of a Medusa but also with less speed, less efficient (though perhaps wider) shielding, just a bit less maneuver & acceleration than a Medusa -- but more armor, more ordnance points and superior flux abilities (dissipation as well as capacity).
Such a hull might be costly to buy, but its physical excellence would be well worth the trouble -- it's a superiority unit to anchor small groups of friendly frigates (or other destroyers), or to fly
only with others of its own kind as an "armored knights galloping ahead of the massed infantry" group.
Etfaks, this is an impressive little mod and I have high hopes for its future. Kudos to you for such a good start. What are your plans for its next stage of development? Have they changed since the last edit to your thread's first post?