We've done a little bit of chatting here and there about adding new technologies for the Alliance and Empire - working with the Chiss to develop the Nssis Clawcraft, working on the TIE/d automated starfighter, bringing in the E-Wing, things like that. Rather than clog up other discussions with that, I figured we might as well peel off into our own nerdy little toybox discussion. BIG THING to remember here: as part of the Treaty, the Alliance is no longer allowed to construct ships that belong to Imperial manufacturers - a deliberate downside of them being a legitimate government rather than a gang of criminals. There can be loopholes, but we should be trying to stick to that rule of thumb. Something else to remember/consider is that we're deliberately trying to inject variety into the Alliance, to set them apart from the everything-is-the-same Empire. One of the ways we're doing that is by having an element of "geography" to which ships get used by what forces. Units that are "up north" will have more of a bias towards Mon Calamari, Hoersch-Kessel, and Slayn & Korpil designs, as well as potentially contributions from the Cizerack, Hapans, Wookiees, etc. This includes Reshmar's First Fleet, and the Dac-based Second Fleet. Units from "down south" are more likely to have Bothan, Sluis Van, and SoroSuub ships, including the new Defender and Endurance cruisers. I've spent the day reading Visual Dictionaries, and it turns out that a lot of the toys we saw in The Last Jedi are actually contemporary for us: they either date from before the fall of the Empire (5 ABY in canon) or the early days of the New Republic. Such as - A-Wing II Interceptor - Disney canon pushed the original A-Wing all the way back to the pre-Alliance rebellion days, and made it a Kuat Drive Yards product. We already have a couple of "loophole" versions of the A-Wing that are essentially knockoff brand versions made by Slayn & Korpil and by SoroSuub, but the plan is for the A-Wing II to come into play as a new product from Incom-Koensayr-Meorrrei. I have a thread that was going to involve introducing the E-Wing, but someone ended up introducing them to the boards via an Imperial Knights thread already, so I'm going to retool that thread to give some backstory to the A-Wing II instead. Free Virgillia-class Bunkerbuster - The Ninka is one of these. In Disney canon, this ship is made by the Corellian Engineering Corporation, and is named after the Virgillian Free Alignment, where Admiral Holdo is from. The VFA won a civil war against the Empire-backed government of their sector, and in Disney canon provided support during the Battle of Endor, going on to become part of the New Republic. Virgillia is located near Endor though, so in our canon things may have gone very differently, with the Virgillians either getting re-conquered by the Empire, or continuing to exist as a lone/independent state the way K'til or Mandalore currently do. Either way, "Free Virgillia" is not a name that CEC would give a ship in our setting, if they even built it at all. We have a few interesting options: this could be something that spins out of the Corellian Blockade, with a more appropriate name; or, since the Ninka was used to transport Cobalt Squadron (the Alliance bombers), it could be interesting to see this reworked as a Hoersch-Kessel Drive design, making it Quarren in our canon and part of the "up north" category. MC-85 Star Cruiser - In Disney canon, this is one of the last (big) ships built before the New Republic and the Empire agreed to disarm. This is probably the main "big ship" that the Mon Calamari have been producing over the last couple of years, phasing out all the mismatched MC-80 designs. It's twice the length of an Imperial Star Destroyer, so this is not the sort of ship the Alliance has a whole buttload of: I'd expect they're probably deployed the way that the Empire uses it's Star Destroyers in Star Wars Rebels, as a sort of roaming/patrolling response ship. MG-100 StarFortress SF-17 - The bombers from The Last Jedi are described as being from "the late stages of the Galactic Civil War", so 5 ABY-ish. They're developed by Slayn & Korpil, and they could be a fun new toy for the Alliance to bust out against the Ssi-Ruuk eventually: perhaps during the "Second Battle of Eriadu", if we're going full Chin'toka and having the Empire's crushing defeat followed by a hard-fought victory? Nebulon-C Escort Frigate - The Anodyne is one of these. In Disney canon they were developed for the New Order, but they could easily be something the Empire has brought in since the Treaty. U-55 Orbital Loadlifter - In Disney canon, these shuttles are a Sienar Fleet Systems design, and were probably developed for the New Republic: they certainly aren't an Imperial design. They don't really match up with anything Sienar Fleet Systems is currently developing in our canon, though. Look-wise, they are similar to the Taylander Shuttle from Gallofree Yards, or the GX-1 Short Hauler from Lantillian ShipWrights - both of whom are Alliance companies, making this a good option for the default "Alliance shuttle" going forward. Vakbeor-class Cargo Frigate - The Vigil is one of these. In Disney canon, Gallofree Yards was acquired by the Empire when it went bankrupt, but in our canon it was acquired by the Bothans instead. The Vakbeor looks like a good surrogate/substitute for the Nebulon-B, which the Alliance can't legally build anymore, so having this as a ship the Bothans are contributing to the fleet could be a handy touch. It may have been in development since the Liberation of Bothawui, or it may have come into play after the Treaty; either way, it has likely been in service for a few years by now.
BIG THING to remember here: as part of the Treaty, the Alliance is no longer allowed to construct ships that belong to Imperial manufacturers - a deliberate downside of them being a legitimate government rather than a gang of criminals. There can be loopholes, but we should be trying to stick to that rule of thumb. So as part of the New Class Modernization Program the first three warships to be considered a part of that (aside from the MC90) were the Corona class Frigates (KDY Manufactured upgrade of the Nebulon-B Frigate), Belarus class Medium Cruiser (Loronar upgraded version of the Strike Cruiser), and Rendili Stardrive's Republic class Star Destroyer (Successor to the Victory class). Would those designs be available for the Alliance under the treaty? If not, Tempest Engineering Works could just as easily work on designing and manufacturing the Sacheen class Light Escorts in lieu of the Corona class Frigates.
Some of that was already touched on at the start of the Dogs of War OOC thread. Basically though, the New Class Modernization Program was conceived for a New Republic that controlled most of the known galaxy, including all its manufacturers and shipyards. We felt that a 1:1 transfer of the program might be a bit of a cop-out - the Alliance is in a desperate scramble for ships, and they're more focused on "pocket Star Destroyers" to try and quickly compensate for the Empire's larger fleet, etc - so we've been cherry-picking classes that we're able to provide an interesting reworked backstory. Currently Have Plans Defender - We're going with this name instead of Nebula-class Star Destroyer, as it fits a bit better with the theme (the EU uses both in different places). It has been produced through cooperation between the SoroSuub Corporation and Sluis Van, and we have the first few examples of this ship ready to go. If there is any Alliance involvement in a counterattack on Eriadu, a few Defenders will likely be involved. From there, they will enter into production at "down south" shipyards: Sluis Van, Bothawui, Elrood, etc. There are no plans to use the Defender-class Assault Carrier just yet: we felt we'd rather use the Liberator, Quasar Fire, and Endurance for that role, rather than a ship that we only have a crude doodle for. Endurance - Like the Nebula/Defender, there will be an Endurance-class Fleet Carrier ready to go by the time Invasion: Eriadu happens. The Endurance herself will probably/possibly end up as the flagship of the Fifth Fleet, which is the fleet responsible for a lot of the "down south" region. For nostalgic/thematic regions, Endurance-class cruisers are probably going to be named after Venators and other Republic-era starships. (Endurance, Audacity, Integrity, Liberty, Resolute, etc) Majestic - The Majestic-class Heavy Cruiser is being built at Lantillies as a new flagship (ish) for the Hapan Royal Navy. Long term, it may end up as the Consortium's main "outside the Cluster" ship, so their existing Battle Dragons can remain in the Consortium for defense. Republic - The Republic-class Star Destroyer is "live", and is being deployed mostly for lone border patrol type missions in the "up north" areas of the Alliance. MC90 - The MC90 Star Cruiser is just coming into service as the new "up north" equivalent of the Defender and the Imperial Star Destroyer. Meanwhile, the MC85 is rolling out as our new large-sized command ship. Currently No Plans Agave - Corvettes are useful, but this is something the Alliance fleet classically has a lot of. An Agave-class Picket Ship might be useful down the road, but perhaps not yet. Because of the collapse of the Corporate Sector, we may want to look into acquiring production rights for the Marauder Corvette instead. Alternatively (or as well), there are some structural similarities with the Nova-class and Majestic-class (if you squint enough) as well as Lupine ships, so that may play into the eventual origins of this class. I don't love the name, but we could potentially steal "Warrior". Belarus - The Belarus-class Medium Cruiser is a Loronar Corporation design, which is still firmly Imperial. Forces "up north" have the MC30, MC40, and MC60 in this sort of niche, and "down south" has the Vakbeor for now. Could be a new (cheap) ship for the Empire in the wake of the Ssi-Ruuk losses? Corona - The Corona-class Frigate is a Kuat Drive Yards design, so definitely not Alliance. It's described as a replacement for the Nebulon-B, but the Empire potentially has the Nebulon-C for that. Perhaps, given the space-themed name and the general hull shape, this could be something to align with the Nova and Majestic from Hapes/Lantillies? Ferret & Prowler - The Ferret-class and Prowler-class Reconnaissance Vessels are potentially very useful to the Alliance. Over on Jovan Station however, we've established the idea of the Alliance using stealth-equipped HWK-290s for this, as flown by Tristan Tahmores and Gunner Rodes - we figured an SR-71 Blackbird vibe was more in fitting with the starfighter-heavy Alliance. The Ferret (and Prowler) could be useful as the Ssi-Ruuk war unfolds, and they're small enough to be built relatively quickly. The hull design doesn't immediately scream a particular manufacturer, though. Mon Calamari? Lantillies? A Sienar or TaggeCo project for the Empire? Something from Hapes/Lantillies (they almost resemble a Nova-class with no wings, if you squint)? Hajen - Alliance ships are mostly being deployed as lone patrol craft at the moment, so there's limited value for a fleet tender. We have the Vakbeor to do some of that, and the idea of the Alliance needing to struggle a bit is a little more on brand with the Alliance of Free Planets than a Hajen-class Fleet Tender that makes everything convenient. Perhaps this ship is best saved for the New Republic; for when the Alliance enters the war and has need of it; or brought in as a new (Corellian?) ship for the Galactic Empire, since they're the ones who'll have long supply lines and what-not. Sacheen - This role likely falls to the Vakbeor, our Nebulon-B surrogate. The Sacheen-class Light Escort is structurally similar to the Carrack and Lancer, so it might be better suited as an Imperial ship. However, it's also somewhat similar (ish) to the Bothan Assault Cruiser, so in the longer term we may want to introduce the Sacheen as an escort designed to work with those ships. Possibly something to develop as a reaction to the Ssi-Ruuk? Warrior - We already have the Liberator from SoroSuub in that niche, so "down south" probably wouldn't benefit from a Warrior-class Gunship, and "up north" potentially has access to the Braha'tok-class Gunship instead. Could allow the Agave to steal this name (see above)? Bonus Ideas Bantha - Not strictly a New Class Modernization Program design, but the Bantha-class Assault Shuttle is normally a collaboration between MC and SoroSuub, which doesn't quite fit our north/south divide. However, there are some structural similarities to the GR-75 and the U-55 (particularly the windows). Perhaps this is a Bothan/Gallofree design instead?
https://theholo.net/forum/showthread...Pride-Military this is eight years old (!!!) but a lot of the information is still pertinent. The only changes I think are that Tai’thaa fighters are now based on Incom tech and that the Feessarro class destroyer is going to be equipped with the Saanja hypermatter weapon
It's interesting to think of what the Empire will be able to do as a still functioning and intact government during this time period instead of being a bunch of factionalized warlords scattered across the Galaxy. So the Empire will be getting the Corona and Belarus classes out of the new program, the Adz Patrol Destroyer would be entering service at about this time. I think we also need a collection of our in-house ship designs for each faction, as I'm still learning about new stuff people are doing on their own for each faction as well and I'm sure the same applies for me to others.
The Empire won't necessarily be getting the Corona and Belarus. As I said, there are currently no plans - that means they aren't earmarked for either faction. With many of the Modernization ships, we changed who their manufacturer was to better fit our story, so having those ships be Alliance via a different manufacturer, or not even exist at all, is equally valid. I don't think we necessarily need to scramble to figure that out right away either: we can play it by ear, and cherry pick from these options as and when the story needs us to bring something like that in. Similarly, we should probably keep our in-house classes to a minimum. We are much more story and narrative focused these days, without all the bean counting, so there's arguably much more value in sticking to ships that people might have heard of (or can find info/pictures/etc for easily) over ones we make up from scratch and that only have a list of stats to work with. Obviously in some cases (like the Cizerack) we're going to need new/unique stuff because no alternative exists, but where we are able to use or adapt something familiar instead of needing to go from scratch, that's probably the better choice for our purposes. Heck, 99% of the time, "it's Imperial, and it's a triangle" is as much as the narrative is going to need.
As far as the Lupine ships, I'd be interested in doing a thread to have a Khe'sa'ari ship turned into an Alliance line of defenders. Of course I'm sure the alliance would want to forego the MMU units and have a plain-jane central computer, but it would certainly be something that s'Il would give her blessing to and willingly help to make happen. Could even call it Vornskr-class or Wolf-class, heh.
