Ability ideas

posted on April 20th, 2009, 4:27 pm

The shape of the Shields only makes it less likely to hit at the right angle, not a case of 'it will never happen'. While the Tractor beam one isn't the same as a shield based one, only an example that it is possible.

This shield strikes me as something you'd probably get from Borg mixed-tech.

posted on April 21st, 2009, 4:13 am

Well at first i designed most of these so that i could conceivably implement them in armada at some point. Why don't i revise/explain some of them?
* Sensor Echo
  Creates a false image of a ship at the requested location, which cannot be hit but must be targeted
  lasts for 10 seconds
* Graviton Emitter Grids
    Explanatation: As i understand it, shields are a projected bubble of plasma-ish energy that naturally wafts away and needs to be contained.
* Multi-frequency Phaser Blast
    Explanation: this is a separate technology from metaphasic phasers, it is good against shields (as opposed to doing a wildly random amount of damage)
* Reactive Shields (It seems most people didnt like this one)
    Engages a set of computers that automatically shift energy to damaged sections of the shields
    reduces damage taken from all weapons by 15 percent
* Quantum Distortion Probe
    This must sound like "quantum slipstream" to you guys, because what i meant by it is the probe "distorts space at the quantum level", which means that it would randomly change the properties of matter in the area. Kaboom.
* Chaff Cloud
  Deploys a cloud of chaff material around the ship/station that partially reflects sensor scans
  creates a ship-size "nebula" that hides the ship inside and disables its weapons
* Asymptotic Energy Gradient
    Explanation: i DO know what that means, and "asymptotic" means something that varies in a particular way according to the energy put into it. It might be a little "technoabbley"but it seems relatively sound (to me anyway).
* Just ignore folding of space...
* Holo-Stealth
    Utilizes holo-technology to disguise the source ship from most sensor scans
    makes this ship capable of traveling in the outer half of enemy ships sensor ranges without being detected (can be "destealthed" by tachyon scans and will be detected at full sensor range by advanced detection grid equipped vessels)

[mimesot]

posted on April 21st, 2009, 11:55 am

Last edited by mimesot on April 21st, 2009, 12:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.

@ tyler

Indeed it's not never, but so close to never in an realistic fight, that we can call it never. You can't say, it's a viable technology if it works in next to no case. For the rest of cases there are intelligent captains that simply target those points (areas).

There are only 6 configurations, where such a backcoming shot is possible when you target the center of the vessel. These configurations are: Attacker standing in line with the shield-rotational-ellipsoids axes AND targeting at points along this axis. Try to manage that in realy life.

But especially for you, I'll do a worst case (for the attacker) calculation. How large is the possibility to be hit by your own beam, in case the targets shields are spherican and you are just hitting arbitrarily anywhere on the shield (normally you won't target at the center of the ship, if you now about it's reflector, but this is a worst case).

The area one can target is a disc with area = shieldradius^2*pi. I will call it face. This is not a correct assumption for close cobat, as the faces get smaller then.

area on shield capable of reflecting to you:
A =  1/4* (shieldradius / distance_to_enemy)^2 * face_attacker

the possibility to hit that area:
p = A / face_victim

To give you some figures:
Borg sphere (600m in diameter) attaking a Galaxy class starship (642m length, say 350m shield radius) from 1000km (my source: ST-v-SW.Net :: Star Trek Weapons Ranges).

This makes a probability of 0,00000227% that the shot is reflected to you.

In contrary the spherical reflection of tractor beams (they can pull and push from their origin) has not to be calculated just from the center of the ship, but different locations, and they are larger in number. But if you say, it has 100 Tractor beams, 0,000227%, which makes that weapon not much mire reliable.

If there is a fight at really close range (distance of ships smaller than their size), reflecting shields could do a really proper job. Still I have no idea how thes shall be implemented.

I hope I could bring some light into the absurdity of reflecting shields.

[mimesot]

posted on April 21st, 2009, 12:51 pm

Last edited by mimesot on April 21st, 2009, 1:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.

@RCIX

Reactive Shields:
Your previos version of that shields vere not only disliked by a lot of people, but also proven senselessness at regular battle distances.

Quantum Distortion Probe:
I personally dislike it like ths same way I dislike the Quantum torpedo (Whereas the photon torpedo or the plasma torpedos are), because it is a little too far-fetched, bit I am not capable of prooving it wrong.

Asymptotic:
"and "asymptotic" means something that varies in a particular way according to the energy put into it"
I don't want to offend you, but I knew that you were not familiar with that term. An asymptote is an approximation of a curve to another one at the infinite. This also occurs for functions: e.g. as poles. Asymptotic has nothing to do with energy, there can only be asymptotic behaviour. An example of nature: While approaching towards a black hole the energydensity goes up for infinity.

Holo-Stealth:
As I said before, holo-stealth can only be used to map time-independent things onto your holo-layer. You could for example map a realistic looking 3D model of a Porsche on a Ford. Still it is impossible to map highly mutable objects on the ships surface. If you map the stars onto your ship and turn around, the stars you are projecting will turn with you, which is a little eye-catchy. But even if it work to constantly change yor otical layer:

Modern starships will still have radar, and see you with the simpest sensors possible, so it doesn't help being invisible to eyes. Besides that: How should a holo-technology hide your energy signature?

Sensor echo:
The idea of creating decoys is really great and shall be implementet IMO

posted on April 21st, 2009, 12:59 pm

I personally like the Reflective Shields, if implemented proplerly. I mean, I can see it as a "10% chance" kind of passive ability . The one that I extra like is the Multi-Frequency Phaser, although I came up with one that did little damage to shields, and heavy damage to hull. Won't go any farther, and will avoid hijacking the thread.

I do like the ideas, though. Very ingenuitive.

posted on April 21st, 2009, 3:09 pm

Asymptotic = Math = Bad  Anyway most of your ideas are nice 

posted on April 21st, 2009, 9:40 pm

While you are correct i am not very familiar with the term "asymptote", what i recalled of it suggested that it would be an appropriate term. Now that you have described it to me in (relative) detail, i don't see that it doesnt fit. Since people still dont like holo stealth, perhaps i should revise it again...
* Holo-Stealth
    Utilizes a combination of holo-technology and sensor misdirection to disguise this ship
    makes this ship capable of traveling in the outer half of enemy ships sensor ranges without being detected (can be "destealthed" by tachyon scans and will be detected at full sensor range by support vessels and most stations)
Also, perhaps i should explain my original "Reactive Shields" idea a little more/revise the description:
* Reactive Shields
    Charges the shields with energy that responds to incoming beam and pulse weapons, returning blasts of energy to the targets that fired
    fires blasts of shield energy in response to incoming beam and pulse weapons; doubles damage taken by beam and pulse weapons
Now, i actually started the thread so that anyone could post their ideas, so i'd love to hear them.

posted on April 21st, 2009, 9:57 pm

Another one possibly could be disguising an enemies ship as one of your own for a short while... ala DS9 Orbital Turret battle.

Not sure if in that long list, you've already mentioned it though. If so, I apologize 

posted on April 21st, 2009, 10:20 pm

Nope didnt mention anything like that. Are you talking about where someone would "reconfigure the warp bubble" to disguise the ship from long range sensors? if so, that would indicate that it is possible to hide the ship perhaps.

posted on April 21st, 2009, 11:10 pm

Hologenerators that disguise you as the enemy have been mentioned before. So has the ship that uses that system, the USS Incursion.

posted on April 21st, 2009, 11:36 pm

No, no, no... not what I meant Tyler: more like "imprint a Federation drive signiture on that asteroid controlling all the Cardassian turrets"... *turrets fire on asteroid and cease all action* 

posted on April 21st, 2009, 11:44 pm

Like the Shadow?

posted on April 21st, 2009, 11:51 pm

Not familiar with that one, sorry 

posted on April 21st, 2009, 11:54 pm

How many things called 'Shadow' can make ships think their allies are the enemy that way? Only 1, the Shadow from stock.

posted on April 22nd, 2009, 12:03 am

Here's one for the Galaxy-Class!

Full Antimatter Spread - The very same thing that the Enterprise-D did to the Borg.  Unfortunately, they were expecting it.  It does a very large amount of damage all around the Galaxy in a fair radius, but since you just dumped your fuel as a weapon, it also applies the Gravity Mine effect to the ship that used it it.  Gotta repair to get rid of it.