Fourth SIMM ship class

[Cayden McConnell]

Defiant class starships are a bit harder to write as a stand alone SIMM.

However, (God help me for thinking this), the more I think about it, the more I like the idea of an Excelsior Refit, Ambassador class, or even a mothballed Connie (times get rough sometimes).

I am also a fan of the Saber and Nova Refit (Rhode Island Variant).

While I like the bigger ships, I think a smaller ship gets back to the roots of SF..back when it was a simple Nova Class, exploring strange new world's.

As far as "putting the cart before the horse", I think that a discussion thread about the possibility of a fourth SIMM in the future, causes no harm. If you don't wish to participate or add something constructive to the conversation, then there are other discussion topics/threads  for you to partake in.

In anycase, when we get the numbers (which we will), then we will be opening the new SIMM. In the meantime, a discussion into what the membership of the site might want to see on the boards, seems pretty harmless and allows us to begin to compile a list of classes for the poll.

Keep'em coming

[Gabriel Arthur]

As far as "putting the cart before the horse", I think that a discussion thread about the possibility of a fourth SIMM in the future, causes no harm. If you don't wish to participate or add something constructive to the conversation, then there are other discussion topics/threads  for you to partake in.

In anycase, when we get the numbers (which we will), then we will be opening the new SIMM. In the meantime, a discussion into what the membership of the site might want to see on the boards, seems pretty harmless and allows us to begin to compile a list of classes for the poll.

Keep'em coming

lol, lower your sodium content, boss.  Just think of it as me giving you something to do.

And I did chip in earlier.

[William Waring]

Excelsior Refit

See! Everyone wants an Excelsior (with that sensor bulk no less!)
Welcome to the correct side, Commander!

[Dylan Torngate]

I agree with William!!! Excelsior Refit or Ambassador class! I wanna play with those warp 8 engines. Old styles can be the best.

[Gabriel Arthur]

I agree with William!!! Excelsior Refit or Ambassador class! I wanna play with those warp 8 engines. Old styles can be the best.

Honestly, Ambassador really isn't that old, in the scheme of things.  They could easily be refit to modern specs.

[Constance Lafayette]

I feel like if we are doing a Nova, Ambassador, Galaxy, Excelsior or a Sovereign it is largely a cosmetic choice. They are all pretty much the same ship at different times.

Having played one and captained a Nova/Rhode Island refit on this site (the Fleetwood) it always felt like we were not one of the big boys (in fleetwides we were relegated to escort duties and other "not on the line" things) without the benefit of having anything "unique" to replace that lack of firepower/size/general "power". So a "kinda smaller" ship doesn't really do much for me.

If you want a cosmetic choice: a Galaxy, Excelsior or a Sovereign is fine. It doesn't matter what shape it is, it's a Federation ship that does Federation missions, has standard Federation weapons, standard Federation shields, and uses standard Federation technology. That doesn't open up new venues for storytelling.

Now if you took one of those "kinda smaller" (Nova, Intrepid, etc) gave a ship a cloaking device- you could tell new stories with that. Observation missions, scouting missions behind enemy lines, a mission where the entire crew was turned invisible, diplomatic disagreements with its use, etc. There are dozens of these little "tweaks" that would still make it relatable to new members.

Some ideas:

• Speed: The ship is testing out a new warp drive system that lets to go warp 14 or something. This allows them to say "Ok we are able to do missions FAR out in space" or "We are the ship that gets called on to get somewhere in the nick of time because of this- often thrown in at the last sec".
• Cloaking: As above.
• WMD: The ship has some new, very dangerous, weapon. Like moon-cracking level of power. Something that SHOULD be illegal. You can get into the whole "WMD" conversation. The captain and crew would have a very grave responsibility.
• Sensors: You can easily read enemy communications, maybe see into their ship or something (great RPing opportunity- give pathos to enemies).
• Made for Time Travel: I like Will's suggestion. It's on the fringe of what I would conciser acceptable but I could see some AWESOME plotlines. Not every mission would be a time travel one, but some could be.
• Made for Medical: Maybe it's not a strictly medical ship like an Olympic class. Maybe it's a nova class but the sickbay covers like an entire level of the ship. It's sent as a "medic" ship, has a medical captain, but can still be used for the normal diplomatic roles but typically has a medical ilk to it.

• MacGuffin: For those who don't know what a MacGuffin is- it's an object that is a plot device. A ship like this could have a "ancient artifact that exhibits really weird powers when near random locations in its cargo bay" and is sent on a mission to explore that. Or it has a piece of unknown alien tech on board that is both fantastic and terrible. Or the ship was modified by a late, great, hermit-like, once-in-a-thousand-years, genius (like Soong) but no one FULLY understands it (or the ultimate purpose). As a result of ANY of these (or whatever you come up with) the ship finds itself in lots of trouble, sometimes victories come from it, and it gives a framing device for missions.

  I'm ultimately trying to say:
• If you want a method by which you can tell the same sorts of stories, the choice of ship doesn't matter (and that's not a bad thing).
• If you want a venue that allows you to tell DIFFERENT stories, the class can help you create that sort of environment.

[William Waring]

I call dibs on the Excelsior Command seat *Puts on four gold pips*

[Cayden McConnell]

So currently we have these recommendations:

Excelsior class
Ambassador class
Nova Class Refit
Defiant class
Saber class

Anyone else have any recommendations?

[Constance Lafayette]

So currently we have these recommendations:

Excelsior class
Ambassador class
Nova Class Refit
Defiant class
Saber class

Anyone else have any recommendations?

With the exception of the Defiant or Saber- most are fairly standard.

[Malcolm Adeyemi]

I always liked the Apollo class.

[Dylan Torngate]

I've been reading up on each of the ships, and have a few questions for people to consider.

Ambassador Class:

Would the ship be one of the 875 regular ships or one of the 150 revised models (revised has less cargo space but more maneuverability and bite), Would our ship be a 'new' ship or have history?
Would we have a use for a general purpose Cruiser class?

Excelsior Class:

These ships are aging, espeically in weapons tech (Excelsior classes are outmatched by two B'riel BoP's), would that be ok to have?
Would our ship be new or have a history? (Almost certainly history) and if so what is it?
Would we have a use for a general purpose Cruiser class?

Nova Class:

This class is very small and very specialized for one purpose: Short range Science. It was commissioned to replace the Oberth class ship (so it's a science lab on nacelles)
With this ship size do we have the resources, missions, and interest to commit to a large science based ship? I've heard lots of talk of a pure hospital ship but do we have the inspiration to use a very very directed craft and not make it repetitive?
This ship is meant as a second wave, in some missions going places already explored by larger ships... do we want this or would we prefer a ship that can be the first line of "Let's see what's out there"?
Do we want a ship of this size, with very few amenities and not meant for extended operation... this means less things to do off duty if the crew so chooses.

Defiant Class:

This class is built for one purpose: To fight and kill. This ship is a warship plain and simple.
With a ship this based in tactical systems, do we have enough missions and inspiration to continually support a warship without the mission being repetitive and boring? Do we have enough conflict, enough warfare, enough invasions to justify one being it's own simm instead of say, bringing the starbase online with a defiant tagalong.
This ship is not meant for extended operations. It's cramped, with almost no amenities for off duty, cutting into what we can RP off duty. It's also lacking in many scientific opportunities, almost getting rid of an entire department.
This ship class is still in production. Is this a new defiant or a hand-me-down from another fleet, or has this ship just 'been in' the fleet for a while and is just now being APC'ed.

Sabre class:

A well rounded, if small, cross between a frigate, tactical ship, and science vessel.

This ship is not meant for extended operations. It's smaller, with a few basic recreational things but not to the magnitude you see on larger cruisers.
This ship class is still in production. Is this a new defiant or a hand-me-down from another fleet, or has this ship just 'been in' the fleet for a while and is just now being APC'ed?

[Malcolm Adeyemi]

Nova Class:

This class is very small and very specialized for one purpose: Short range Science. It was commissioned to replace the Oberth class ship (so it's a science lab on nacelles)
With this ship size do we have the resources, missions, and interest to commit to a large science based ship? I've heard lots of talk of a pure hospital ship but do we have the inspiration to use a very very directed craft and not make it repetitive?
This ship is meant as a second wave, in some missions going places already explored by larger ships... do we want this or would we prefer a ship that can be the first line of "Let's see what's out there"?
Do we want a ship of this size, with very few amenities and not meant for extended operation... this means less things to do off duty if the crew so chooses.

I used to be Chief of the Boat on an Nova (RIP to the Mad Mel), so I have some opinions and thoughts for you on this one.

At the time, the Admiralty was not giving the Gibson very many science related missions, so it was kind of strange. We'd shoot off into the unknown and take on a lot of warships. So I'd be eager to see a Nova take on some Nova missions!

Personally, I used to RP being aboard a Nova properly:

[Passageways]

He scuttled down the p-way to the turbolift in the now familiar Gibson shuffle: turned half sideways and occasionally barking his shins against the bulkheads. Such was life aboard a Nova class. Since Stafford had been promoted to petty officer second class he'd been afforded new, more private quarters. You could still drop a towel on the deck and call it wall to wall carpeting.

I'd like to see more of this, more of me writing this way, and more of me on a Nova class!

I have a buddy who has served aboard all kinds of Navy vessels and his description of the enlisted quarters is appalling. I think we need that kind of suffering for our enlisted personnel and junior officers!*

*Both he and I are senior officers.

[Dylan Torngate]

I used to be Chief of the Boat on an Nova (RIP to the Mad Mel), so I have some opinions and thoughts for you on this one.

At the time, the Admiralty was not giving the Gibson very many science related missions, so it was kind of strange. We'd shoot off into the unknown and take on a lot of warships. So I'd be eager to see a Nova take on some Nova missions!

Personally, I used to RP being aboard a Nova properly:

I'd like to see more of this, more of me writing this way, and more of me on a Nova class!

I have a buddy who has served aboard all kinds of Navy vessels and his description of the enlisted quarters is appalling. I think we need that kind of suffering for our enlisted personnel and junior officers!*

*Both he and I are senior officers.

So if we go on a nova class it'll essentially be a submarine in space? ooohhhh

But still do we have enough missions that require a lot of science work to be sustainable?

[Kirok]

So currently we have these recommendations:

Excelsior class
Ambassador class
Nova Class Refit
Defiant class
Saber class

Anyone else have any recommendations?

Although I love the smaller ships, we currently have 2 on the SB.

We also already have 2 small/medium sized ships with the Athena & Discovery (with 15 & 18 decks respectively).

So, maybe we need another bigger sized ship like to Phoenix (which has 30 decks) to balance us out.

As such, I kind of like the Ambassador class or even the Excelsior class.  Both are in Heavy Cruisers/Battleship which bring something new and different to the fleet.  Also it could open up some more story option for (admittedly more war/battle oriented).

I do like the idea of modifying which ever ship we choose to make it more interesting.  For the larger ships, saucer separation would be a great modification.  Also, enhance speed would be something to consider.

In regard to a plot driver, a larger ship has more options.  We could make it a traveling site for 'ambassador' type meetings.  Or, perhaps, make it the traveling site for the Bajoran Orbs or something similar.

Just my thoughts,

Kirok

[William Waring]

In response to the Exelsior's tech:
In the Excelsior's defense (Surprise! I'm back the Excelsior), the ship's of that class were still widely used during both TNG and DS9. I see no reason why those ships weren't carrying the latest in Starfleet equipment.   They have been one of the longest serving ships in Starfleet because of how they were built. They were designed as the workhorse of Starfleet. Other ships might be newer and more efficient but the Excelsior gets the job done. They are seen along side Galaxy and Defiant classes, Starships lightyears ahead of the Excelsior. (Will was born on the USS Valley Forge, an Excelsior Starship and he is only 21)  If we do decide on the Excelsior I reckon it could be a ship that's been sitting in Drydock for a complete overhaul of all its systems and is now sent to us to use.  That would cover the outdated tech argument and the reason why it wasn't seen in service before now.