Take a DN, add a ridgeback, replacing the top engine with two engines like the NCA.

By Alan Trevor (Thyrm) on Wednesday, September 04, 2019 - 09:43 am: Edit

Is this proposed as an "unbuilt variant" or as something the Kzinti actually built?

By Douglas Saldana (Dsal) on Wednesday, September 04, 2019 - 01:57 pm: Edit

Has to be unbuilt since we already know only the Klingons built a battleship. Plus we know from R5.57 that the four engine configuration wouldn't have worked on a Kzinti hull this size.

By Steve Zamboni (Szamboni) on Wednesday, September 04, 2019 - 02:20 pm: Edit

The 4-engine deign didn't work using a *battleship* hull. A ridgeback DN hull would bring more of the mass closer to the centerline and with it a more compact warp signature.

By Douglas Saldana (Dsal) on Wednesday, September 04, 2019 - 02:25 pm: Edit

Valid speculation. But the fact that they didn't build it despite the relative ease of the conversion (compared to building an entirely new hull with new, larger engines) suggests that the engine configuration may still have been a problem.

By Stewart Frazier (Frazikar2) on Wednesday, September 04, 2019 - 06:06 pm: Edit

Hmmm, the NCA adds two boxes to the head (Disr, FH), eight to the body (2 RH, BTY, TRAN, 2 LAB) plus Ph-3 winglets (4 boxes) and the fourth engine (plus changing 2 APR to battery). [+14]

For the DNH that could be 2 DISR (FA) + 2 BTY [or FH/BTTY] in the head, 2 RH, BTY, TRAN, 2 DISR (RA), ADD, SHUT, APR. [+13, not heavy enough, though 5 weapons and two power] +2 RH, 2 APR/IMP? …

The winglets are already a weapon pod.

By Douglas Saldana (Dsal) on Wednesday, September 04, 2019 - 06:18 pm: Edit

How does that compare with the standard Battleship?

By Jeffrey George Anderson (Jeff) on Thursday, September 05, 2019 - 10:55 am: Edit

What would happen if this modification was done to the SSCS?

By Jon Murdock (Xenocide) on Thursday, September 05, 2019 - 11:45 am: Edit

3 PF flotillas.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Thursday, September 05, 2019 - 11:46 am: Edit

I was not talking about putting an NCA ridgeback, but using the NCA concept to build a new ridgeback. Basically...

1. Take a BB

2. Remove everything from the BB that the DN has.

3. Turn whatever is left into the ridgeback.

By Douglas Saldana (Dsal) on Thursday, September 05, 2019 - 12:30 pm: Edit

Does the ridgeback have enough volume to contain that many systems? Might need a “hunchback” rather than a “ridgeback”.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Thursday, September 05, 2019 - 01:29 pm: Edit

It can be as wide as the top of the DN (which is a lot) and as tall as needed.

By Douglas Saldana (Dsal) on Thursday, September 05, 2019 - 02:44 pm: Edit

If it needs to go taller, how about a “sharkfin” on top of the ridgeback? I think that would be a good look for the Kzinti.

By Steve Zamboni (Szamboni) on Thursday, September 05, 2019 - 04:56 pm: Edit

Extending a ridgeback up past the roof of the command section was one of the things attempted with the saddlebags on the DNM model. There's only so many places to add forward-facing weapons on a Kzinti ship.

(The model for the ridgeback DN already exists somewhere, running the numbers is easy once I find where I buried it.)