Liberator Attack Wing

[Richard Bong]

Thing is I'm just glad someone (you guys) is thinking about different use cases for the ship. All I came up with was as support for a long range exploration mission which has a very high chance of turning into PVP, or using it as a moving and delivery truck which doesn't sound like PVP... but sounds like a business opportunity.

I play with my better half.

Our use cases are simple.
Long range Bounty Hunting missions with a pair of Hawks.
Moving our base of operations, as needed.
Putting our combat craft in position to participate in Org combat operations, where the Vanguards are inappropriate.
Help other people move their small ships, for a fee.

Before the Liberator my rule was only one short range (carrier craft) in each of our fleets. We decided on Hawks. I also have an Eclipse, mostly because it wasn't really short ranged.
I farted around with a Polaris, a Carrack and a Hammerhead for our fleet, but they just didn't feel right for what we wanted to do.
Then came the Liberator. We could move the Hawks for longer distance bounties and weren't reliant on our Cutlass Blues for that role. We could also move other carrier based craft when we needed to. We both really liked the Sabre, before we instituted that one carrier bird only rule, so the Sabres came back into our fleets.

Am I hoping when the Liberator is released, that the front pad will handle a Hawk? Yes, then we can move 3 size 2 ships at once and only have to make 2 round trips to move our base of operations.
Do I believe that will be possible so I am counting on it? No. 3 round trips instead of two is just fine.

 

[Shadow Reaper]

In other words, the use case and design do not meet. That is a reasonable outcome, and it is always better to find out before you try to make it work.
Some of what's wrong come to mind immediately:

• You don't normally use a pocket carrier to lead invasions.
• The Lib can't carry 3 Eclipse. Just two would fit, assuming they can lift enough of their wings to fit. The third exterior pad is a size smaller.
• The financial accounting seems to indicate a problem with costs. Even if the idea could work, nobody would expect the owner of the transport ship to pay for the cost of the actual fighting force. Someone might want to look at it that way, but that is not necessarily the only way.

• 
  
• There is still a use case here, and given 3 members of a group committed to the idea of running the Sons of Orion storyline together already had Eclipse, it'd be easy to go this way. Certainly that's simpler than one person dishing out $1k for a Polaris, and the Polaris really does need more than 12 players. It's also a very different kind of play. Flying Eclipse and M50s doesn't open up boarding actions or the opportunity to be boarded by the enemy, so there are no security personnel. There are no turret gunners here. It's unlikly you'd have the same time around the pool table as on the Polaris. You're not taking your home into battle, so the whole dynamic of damage control is probably not coming into play. On the Lib virtually everyone is a pilot, which appeals to many but not all. The Lib is a home, but not the same kind of home as the Polaris. Note though this consistent pattern CIG has carefully woven. With each step up in size, each player cooperating with others is more effective. Ultimately the Polaris requires say 20-30% more crew (depending upon the number of scout pilots) but is going to do 50% more destruction. The more you cooperate, the more effective you are. At this time it appears the Polaris needs 5 bridge crew, 6 turret gunner/marine Master Sargents, 2 engineering, 2 hangar bay, 5 scout pilots is 20 players. I shudder to think what the demands will be to fly an Idris, Javelin or Bengal.

 

[Shadow Reaper]

You don't normally use a pocket carrier to lead invasions.

I'm not that interested in invasions, though any merc group I'm in will likely be available to large fleet engagements for TEST. I'm interested in asymmetrical warfare, otherwise known as "guerilla tactics", stealthily striking at supply lines, scouts, patrols, destroying small installatiions for communications, sensing, and anything that makes territory useful to the enemy, such that the cost of occupation becomes far greater than the reward. So far as I'm aware, that is what the Sons of Orion mission series is going to be about. I doubt it will ever open larger than Polaris work as that would change the nature of the engagement. If players are successful enough to win the narrative, the outcome would be a return of the UEE to Orion space, and then you would see an invasion.

Think Guns of Navarone meets Rogue One. That's why I only look at stealth ships.