Those would need to be balanced as cruisers, so they'd have a low speed, so any players would very easily outrun them. Keeping those at gunboat speeds would make them heavily overpowered. As cruisers, the lower range of the gunboat turrets would make them rather poor craft to use.
Carrier: Very large capital ship intended to deploy strike craft (FL: Carrier)
Battleship: Capital ship with heavy caliber araments. (FL: Battleship, Dreadnaught)
Pocket Battleship: Light capital ship, fewer but heavier caliber guns (FL: Battlecruiser with BS guns)
Battlecruiser: Light capital ship (FL: Upper end of cruisers - Like the Rheinland and Colonial ones)
Cruisers: Midsized warships (FL: Cruiser)
Destroyer: Small, maneuverable warship (FL: Destroyer)
Frigate: Mercantile/combat group escort (FL: Gunboats)
Corvette: Light escort vessel (FL: Lighter gunboats)
Fast Attack Boat: Missile/Torpedo boats (FL: Dual nova bombers)
Think we have them all covered
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Maybe, but you missed some points. There are Helicopter these days which are considered as Gunships, also the AC-130-like ships are considered as Gunships... Gunboats even exist in our current century http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunboat
Fast Attack Boat, never heared of them . Also there is a Dreadnaught class, which differs from Battleships. Since these are Space Ships, they're more armored
Anyway, I have another Idea, why don't you Gunboat armed Transporters just call "Light Frigate" I mean... it would soften up, and we actually could live with that. as of Ships with just more than 8 Gunboat Turrets, Corvettes, which use 12 GB Turrets (Since they're also considered as anti-capital). You know I actually didn't request to make a Corvette class (however that would be freakin awesome, Heavy Gunboat class = Corvette), thats why I would even be ok if we had Corvette like ships in FL called "Frigates". Up to you, Corvettes would be on Gunboat Class and Frigates something between Capital Ship and Gunboats. It'd fill the hole
I wouldn't agree that there's such a big hole between Gunboats and cruiser classes, at least in form of DPS/ship sizes.
Heaviest gunboat runs with 60/600k powercore, and is spending it's energy at the 0.25-0.35 DpE ratio, lightest cruiser got 90/1400k powercore, and is spending it's energy at ~0.30 DpE. (both with primary turrets) Difference is in available engagement ranges when using primaries, and projectile speeds.
Also, compare the size of lightest of lightest cruisers with heaviest available gunboats. (KuDessie, Corvos, Threshers, etc). Is there really a gap between them that should be filled?
(05-28-2013, 01:55 PM)Knjaz Wrote: I wouldn't agree that there's such a big hole between Gunboats and cruiser classes, at least in form of DPS/ship sizes.
Heaviest gunboat runs with 60/600k powercore, and is spending it's energy at the 0.25-0.35 DpE ratio, lightest cruiser got 90/1400k powercore, and is spending it's energy at ~0.30 DpE. (both with primary turrets) Difference is in available engagement ranges when using primaries, and projectile speeds.
Also, compare the size of lightest of lightest cruisers with heaviest available gunboats. (KuDessie, Corvos, Threshers, etc). Is there really a gap between them that should be filled?
There is the Nomad Gunboat which approves that it can be done and that there is a small hole that can be filled. (Also mentioning its guns refire rate 2.00 also hull damage 1650)
Maybe, but you missed some points. There are Helicopter these days which are considered as Gunships, also the AC-130-like ships are considered as Gunships... Gunboats even exist in our current century 
. Also there is a Dreadnaught class, which differs from Battleships. Since these are Space Ships, they're more armored 