The next entry in the Cosmo Messer F series is here.

Steam Workshop::Bfc 109 Cosmo Messer F2

Description

Virtually a full upgrade to the Cosmo Messer F1, the F2 is smaller, with a stronger weapons loadout, and a consolidated fuel supply. It should be noted that the F2 has no subgrids, and thus, no deployable landing gears, so when it comes to landing, it’s either the connector, mag plate, or some really strong rope. This was one of the tradeoffs to making the plane ‘printable.’

The F2 can also carry and fire custom missiles, either Kaiser specific, or those that have a hinge based connector and fit under the F2’s wings.

The original Cosmo Messer F, or F1, was well received by Kaiser pilots, however the faction’s need for greater numbers necessitated both a figurative and literal scaling down of any fighters slated for full production. The F2 was envisioned as an easily manufactured, general purpose cosmo fighter. Despite its smaller size, the F2 is better armed than the F1, and its software allows pilots to use heavy ordnance against a variety of targets.

Most of the Cosmo Messer F2s produced before the introduction of the G series were used as shipborne escorts. Where no carriers were present, light and heavy cruisers tended to carry at least a few F2s, or were escorted by ships that did. One extreme example was the Admiral Hipper, which generally operated between ten and twelve F2s.

Due to the high availability of the F2, modifications were common, and custom planes were appearing as early as a few months after the initial rollout. Many were even upgraded to match capabilities of the G and K series within a few years.

Just like the Cosmo Messer F1, you can find piloting notes in the Cockpit’s Numpad text area.

Primary Mission: Medium Range Fighter
Crew: 1 Pilot
Armament: 4x Gatling Guns, 1x Integrated Rocket Launcher, 2x Autocannons
Power Plant: 1x Hydrogen Engine (500kw), 3x Medium Warfare Batteries (9Mw)
Thrusters: 41x Hydrogen, 10x Ion, 51 Total
Hardpoints: 2x Hinges
Wingspan: 39ft (12m)
Length: 65ft (20)
Height: 18.4ft (5.6m)
Grid Mass: 97,051 (forgot what units these are in SE)
PCU: 6,315

Scripts

• Whip’s scripts: Turret Based Radar, SIMPL
• Automatic LCDs 2 by MMaster
• Easy Automation by Coren
• Easy Throttle Control by DoktorKrove
• Telemetry Plus by TechCoder

• AQD – No Armor Edges by Enenra (For making my builds much better to look at)
• Rendering Improved by ??? (2nd verse same as the first)
• The Paint Gun and BuildInfo by Digi (It’s just not as smooth sailing without these)
• Star Blazers for the inspiration

It’s time for Round 2 in this post-Automatons world we’ve face planted into.

Steam Workshop::KCV Admiral Hipper 2.0

It’s time for Round 2 in this post-Automatons world we’ve face planted into. Just like last time, the better looking info dump can be found here http://P.R. Blog

This version of the Hipper is what I consider to be the ‘canon’ version. There’s one more after this that serves as a major refit, among other things, and I’ll probably start work on that one after the other Hipper class ships (up to Seydlitz or Lutzow) are finished.

Here’s an updated list of changes from the original:

• Tower assembly placed on a rotor and two shock field cannons were added to it
• Additional Pulse Laser defense mounts added
• Torpedo launchers moved to the bow and increased from four to six (bow was altered to accommodate)
• Recessed Missile Turrets installed beside the flight deck for extreme range engagements
• Emergency thrusters added to the Hipper’s Nacelles
• Gravity drives increased and redistributed throughout the ship for better performance (bow was altered to accommodate)
• Gyroscopes increased and redistributed for better performance
• Tailfins are no longer subgrids; they are now larger, heavily armored wing-like fins
• Prow areas converted into AI core Room and Emergency Helm
• Storage Area replaced with Science Lab; four cargo containers replaced the original two further forward in the ship
• Added Small Grid Projector for building Cosmo Messer F2s
• Carousel Hangar improved; current version is 4.1
• Hangar Airlock enlarged for expected personnel traffic
• Flight deck received sensors and guiding lights for aiding landing ships
• Brig replaced with Pilot Ready Room
• Briefing Room stands improved
• Brig rebuilt near pilot ready room
• Small Cryo Room added across from the Brig
• Crew Quarters area extended with six additional beds
• More doors added for better atmosphere retention
• Captain’s Quarters remodeled
• Main engine replaced with finless version
• Port side retractable docking connector added
• Willis Ducts …
• Aesthetic tweaks to better fit the Kaiser faction the ship hails from
• Automatons AI blocks added for futureproofing the ship

Like before, the Hipper is a heavy cruiser with only a moderate suite of offensive weapons. Her main long range weapons are her two new missile turrets and her wave motion gun. At medium range, her four 330mm positron beam turrets can wear down large targets and set them up for incoming missiles and torpedoes. On defense, she has a slew of pulse lasers, heavy armor covering most surfaces, and some hefty shielding.

Overall the Hipper doesn’t lean too much into offense or defense and is comfortable to operate in both scenarios.

The ship’s lore hasn’t changed from the previous version, but I’ll put up a condensed version here for convenience.

The first and most well known of her class, Admiral Hipper was constructed as part of a plan to reduce the risks posed to the Kaiser fleet’s battleships and fleet carriers, allowing them to operate closer to the heart of Kaiser space. The Admiral Hipper launched with Commander Paul Wilk in the captain’s chair and lead numerous supportive missions for the Kaisers. Most of these missions included long range patrols, convoy escort, anti-shipping raids, and independent investigations.

The Hipper’s most famous action prior to the outbreak of hostilities with the Repatriate Navy was making initial contact with an unknown vessel, and the subsequent operation. The Hipper was initially attacked and forced to regroup with heavy cruiser Hessen, light cruiser Magdeburg, six Type 34 destroyers, and a prototype Type 36 destroyer. The fleet’s counterattack failed to damage the unknown vessel, and the Hessen’s artificial intelligence succumbed to a cyber attack that led to the loss of two of the Type 34s, the prototype destroyer, and severe damage to the Magdeburg. The unknown vessel escaped via jump drive and Commander Wilk was forced to destroy the Hessen with all hands in order to save the Magdeburg and the remaining destroyers.

Bonus Lore

The crew of the Admiral Hipper aren’t sure why, but there’s an odd breakup in the Hipper’s paint scheme. The black waterline-esque marking running the length of the ship is interrupted just behind the flight deck. Specialist Fredricka May has a theory that since the two white brackets on each side of the Hipper’s hull roughly line up with the carousel, they must be a way for an incoming ship to quickly measure itself against the carousel for compatibility; the omission of the waterline mark obviously makes these brackets stand out more, and the flight deck would serve as the limiting factor on the height of embarking craft.

Captain Wilk is one of the few people who could confirm or deny May’s theory, but for whatever reason he won’t even comment on it.

Type: Heavy Cruiser
Crew: 20-80 (20 Skeleton, 80 Full)
Armament: 1x Wave Motion Gun, 4x 330mm Positron Turrets, 4x Torpedo Launchers, 16x SAMs, x2 8 Tube Missile Turrets, 6x Dual Pulse Laser turrets, 4x Quad Pulse Laser turrets, x4 Triple Pulse Laser Turrets, 15x Concealed Dual Pulse Lasers
Power Plant: 1x Wave Motion Generator (15 GW Max Output), 44x Warfare Batteries (132 MWh)
Propulsion: 1x Wave Motion Engines, 2x Subengines, x26 Gravity Drives, 4x Emergency Subengines (In nacelles)
Docks: 15x (x1 Port Dock, 8x Hangar, 2x flightdeck, 2x aft, 1x Ventral, 1x Maintenance Bay)
Width: 55 Meters
Length: 300 Meters
Height: ~70 Meters
Grid Mass: ~31,400 Metric Tons
PCU: 82,839 (From console), 92,117 (From Blueprint)

Notes

• Check the Custom Data of the Auxiliary seat in the 1st Bridge for the full list of hotbar controls for the remote control and 1st Command Station.
• Autopillock is installed on the ship, but since there are currently no APck Messers available, the Hipper is not configured as a carrier. This may change in the future but for now, APck is mainly used for controlling large grid APck allies.
• There’s a weird bug(?) with WC/SBY-W that prevents the user from manually controlling turrets while using the remote control on the ship. The only work around I have at the moment is just using the remote control to toggle settings and then going back to direct piloting in combat. Aside from being the main controller, the remote control acts as more of a universal console for storing common commands anyway.
• The shock field cannons are extremely finicky right now so they’re mostly for show; if I find a fix I’ll update the blueprint.
• The Hipper’s been tested at low altitude on Pertam (1.2G) and can float just fine, but she hasn’t been tested with a full load of cargo and embarked craft, so bear that in mind.
• One of the three hydrogen storage tanks behind the bridge tower is left off and unstocked. Considering they were last minute additions in the lore, the Captain would appreciate it if that forward one was only used in emergencies, as it’s a safety hazard in addition to an obstruction.
• The Hipper’s PCU has gone up considerably from the previous version, but the ship’s actual in-game performance impact is about the same. A lot of the additional cost comes from the added SBY blocks; even the smallest ones have a PCU cost of 200 at minimum. The rest comes from vanilla addons … and gyroscopes. My goodness it takes so many gyroscopes to get this ship maneuvering.

Mods & Blueprints

• Ribera’s SBY series: Weapons, Reactors, and Thrusters
• Defense Shields by AutoMcDonough, Darkstar, nukeguard, Neimoh, and Whiplash
• WeaponCore by Darkstar, nukeguard, Whiplash, and Ash Like Snow
• Kelevra’s Arcade Machines: Tetris, Doom, and Snake

Scripts

• Cheerkin’s scripts: Autopillock 2.0, TMC, and Delta Steering
• Whip’s scripts: Turret Based Radar, Artificial Horizon, and SIMPL
• Automatic LCDs 2 by MMaster
• Fancy Displays V2 by Ekuah
• Easy Automation by Coren
• Easy Throttle Control by DoktorKrove
• Telemetry Plus by TechCoder
• Sigmund Froid’s scripts: WeaponCore Autofire and Addon for Whip’s TBR Script

• AQD – No Armor Edges by Enenra (For making my builds much better to look at)
• Rendering Improved by ??? (2nd verse same as the first)
• The Paint Gun and BuildInfo by Digi (It’s just not as smooth sailing without these)
• Star Blazers for the inspiration