Federation Commander

[HappyDaze]

I just got BP #37 and took a look at the Federation CLC. It looks a lot like the NCC without the secondary hull and extra center warp (much as the NCL looks like the NCA without the secondary hull and extra center warp). But there is one significant difference:

The CLC has much better shields than the NCL, while the NCC has the same shields as the NCA. In fact, the CLC has better #1, #2, and #6 shields than the NCC. Is this correct? Are CLC hulls modified to make NCC hulls, and if so, does this make the shields less effective for an unstated reason?

[mjwest]

OK, I got two stories for why the seeming discrepancy exists.

1 (real world): It was something that was not caught until way after the product was published, out, and circulating. Since this doesn't actually harm the NCC and it is still a quite workable design, it was simply left alone with an in-game explanation as to why.

2 (in-game): Which, inconveniently, I cannot exactly remember. I believe it was along the lines of that the CLC is trying to play a role for which it is overmatched, so was given beefier shields, despite extra cost, to help it have a chance to live through that role. The NCC was itself beefier, and, as such, was able to survive just fine using standard shields rather than the more expensive equipment.

Regardless, while the NCA itself was a modified NCL design, all of the variants of the NCA were not necessarily modified versions of the corresponding NCL variant. In the case of the NCC, it was likely modified directly from the NCA itself, which means it would take the shields from the NCA, not the CLC.

I hope that all helps explain things.
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Federation Commander Answer Guy

[appealglad]