The Swarm ship is for all intents and purposes a flying aircraft carrier, but due to the limited nature of organic pilots, the aircraft were replaced with advanced AI that can handle higher G forces and process information faster.
Swarm class ships would be a moderate cross between the current classes such as interceptor/fighter/frigate/etc. They would not be a singular ship, but more like a “swarm” of very small ships all controlled by the player(the ‘Stalk’). Flight mechanics would be very different too. The “ship” would enter a sector as a singular, massive entity, then, via use of the special module (toggling on and off) the ship would split in to numerous smaller crafts all with their own shield, radar, weapons, missiles, etc. The core stalk of the ship would contain no active modules, but would have “commands” that effect the swarm or selected drones. The singular ship would be very slow and heavy-flying. Essentially like piloting a train. Then once split, the speed of the crafts would be increased greatly. Individual ships would pursue and attack targets and when an enemy was close-by, the whole swarm of ships could all fire in unison for higher damage. Each individual ship would have very little firepower, but once the swarm is close enough to a target, there is no hope for them. This would be the first ship to show damage states, as swarm units are destroyed. Here are some example stats that can of course be freely changed depending on how they will ultimately function:
Class: Swarm (Unique Frigate)
Name: Royak
Faction: Unique Jericho
Lore: “Ancient modulation technology blueprints utilised by the Precursors to make their exploratory crafts more versatile and mobile was extracted by a pirate spy aboard Miss Summer’s dreadnought and sold to the black-market. As soon as some unnamed Jericho technicians saw it, they immediately started building prototypes. The very first military modification of these blueprints, the “Royak” ship, was released to mercenaries for a hefty price. The ship was a thing of marvel. It was not one ship, but a squadron of drones controlled by mercenaries aboard the “Stalk” or core of the ship. Upon activation, a score of these drones would peel away from the Stalk and proceed to be controlled in whichever way they were modified for. Several months after the ship was developed, several unique and powerful drone modifications were released to the public.”
Primary Module:
Name: Myriad Stem
Recharge: None, as long as all living units are within 800m.
Tooltip: Activation releases all available swarm units and opens their command GUI. Activate again to gather them back on your ship stalk.
Singular form:
Speed: 115m/s
Shield: 66,560pts
Hull: 53,970pts
Special features: Has no offensive capabilities aside from active modules and the “Swarm Pulse” weapon. Takes double damage from explosives.
Stalk:
Speed: 385m/s
Shield: 10,225pts
Hull: 12,430pts
Special features: Contains the primary module arrangement, as well as the trigger mechanism for the “Swarm Pulse” weapon. Controls all swarm units and if destroyed, the swarm will self-destruct. Is cloaked until an enemy is within 5,000m.
Swarm units (x10):
Speed: 560m/s
Shield: 3,845pts
Hull: 4,220pts
Special features: Extremely agile. Each one has very little firepower, but if all 10 attack the same target, there will not be survivors after long. Takes half damage from explosives. If destroyed it explodes, dealing massive thermal damage in a 250m radius to enemies and the Stalk.
Example Modules/Weapons/Ammo:
Name: Swarm Pulse
Type: Swarm Main Weapon
Damage: 25,000 EM (5,000+2,000 per swarm unit within 300m)
Range: 9,500m
Rate of fire: 2 shots/min
Charge: 1 second
Beam radius: 200m
Turrets: 1 (center of Stalk)
Tooltip: All attached drones dump their energy reserves in to charging up a massive beam of EM radiation. Upon charging, the beam area is highlighted for 1 second, then the beam is fired for 1 second.
Name: Backup Drone
Type: Swarm Secondary Weapon
Recharge: 20s
Tooltip: Launches a drone to fill in for a lost one. Maximum of 10 active at any time.
Name: Orbiters Of Death
Type: Swarm Command
Tooltip: Commands selected drones to spin around the selected target and open fire for 5 seconds.
Name: File In
Type: Swarm Command
Tooltip: Tells the selected drones to attack the selected target one by one.
Name: Return
Type: Swarm Command
Tooltip: Tells the selected drones to gather around the Stalk.
Name: AI Mode
Type: Swam Command
Tooltip: Tells the selected drones to act on AI and attack nearby enemies.
Name: Transport Gate
Type: Swarm Active Module
Drone minimum: 5
Recharge: 60s
Energy: 60/s
Tooltip: Calls in 5 drones to open up a very large warp gate for you and your allies to travel through in the direction of the crosshairs.
Name: Repair Modification
Type: Swarm Active Module
Drone minimum: 1
Recharge: 3s
Energy: 90/s
Tooltip: Switches all drones to repair mode. Drones will repair targeted allies or the Stalk for 110 hull and shield points per second per drone.
Name: Rogue Drone
Type: Swarm Active Module
Drone minimum: 3
Damage: 1,245 Thermal
Rate of fire: 90 shots/min
Projectile speed: 4250m/s
Drone speed: 540m/s
Recharge: 120s
Energy: 700
Tooltip: Three drones slam in to the same location and bind their hulls to form a single massive and powerful drone. This drone cannot be controlled and does not count towards your total forces. Once destroyed, explodes, dealing 10,000 Thermal damage in a 750m radius.
Name: The Collective
Type: Swarm Active Module
Drone minimum: 1
Recharge: 60s
Energy: 250
Tooltip: Drones warp to your location. Drones will absorb damage for you for 30 seconds, firing at enemies and healing your hull and shield, if damaged, for 150pts/s per drone.
Name: Swarm Wall
Type: Swarm Active Module
Drone minimum: 5
Recharge: 30s
Energy: 300
Durability: 40,000pts (no resists)
Tooltip: Drones project their energy reserves in to a solid barrier in the direction of your crosshairs that absorbs damage for 90s or until destroyed.
Name: Command Beacon
Type: Swarm Command
Tooltip: The selected drone is disabled in place and repairs the most damaged ally within a 900m radius for 125pts/s. Also increases radar range by 3,000m for all allies.
Name: Dagger Missiles
Type: Swarm Hull Module
Tooltip: Allows drones to fire a small missile dealing 1,950 kinetic damage every 20 seconds.
Name: Radiation Beam
Type: Swarm Hull Module
Tooltip: Fits drones with small electromagnetic laser weapons, each dealing 850 EM damage per second. The target suffers continued damage by radiation for 5 seconds after last hit.
Name: Thermal Blaster
Type: Swarm Hull Module
Tooltip: Fits drones with small blaster weapons that deal 890 Thermal damage per second.
And many many more. The possibilities are endless!
Swarm Heads Up Display (Slightly transparent to allow the Stalk to be controlled, etc.)
