Space Combat: A Hypothetical Discussion

[BananaLee]

Space is a bloody huge place. Even a solar system is a bloody huge place. Let us imagine then, the Navy of Team A entering a system owned by Team B using some FTL method similar to a hyperspace jump.

Team B has a fleet waiting for Team A and they fight. After a while, Team B gains the upper hand and begins to start winning.

Team A is now incapable of jumping back (use whatever excuse you wish, no charge in batteries, can't jump with missiles flying about, whatever)

Barring annihilation and surrender, what options do you think are available to the commander of Team A in this situation?

This system is a generic system, assumed to have a few planets, an asteroid belt or two, and all that fun stuff. Travel time between jump points and main systems are between several days to two weeks.

Discuss.

 

[Nylan]

I suppose, depending on the situation, certain flanking/maneuvering options are viable, as well as attempts to put pressure on sensitive/valuable areas (attacking aggressively towards inhabited planets, etc.) are viable.

 

[Dachs]

[01:11:11] <%Dachs> it depends on what the winning side has in terms of sensory apparatus in order to find them

The aforementioned sensory apparatus: how would that janx work? Outside of glorified radar, any ideas? This kind of impacts hiding places and so forth, disengaging in and of itself is semitrivial in terms of mechanics.

 

[Masada]

If you assume that both parties had parity in terms of capabilities and that neither party could jump during the duration of the bout; then destruction of team A would seem to be highly likely.

 

[Icekommander]

Assuming that is impossible for Team A to leave the system, and can't really disengage for a while and get that capacity back, then I'd say they face annihalation. They could also leave the solar system with slower than light transportation, but that has it's own risks and problems.

 

[Shadowbound]

I suppose, depending on the situation, certain flanking/maneuvering options are viable, as well as attempts to put pressure on sensitive/valuable areas (attacking aggressively towards inhabited planets, etc.) are viable.

The enemy's base is down.

Team A's best chance is to send part of its forces against a highly critical target, like a populated planet, which Team B is forced to defend with everything available. Hopefully that should buy enough time to Team A to disengage and jump out of the system.

Failing that, three options. First is to take down as many enemy ships as possible, second is to surrender, and third is to scatter in small groups and hope some ships are able to evade the enemy to report on the disaster.

 

[Seon]

If it is a gravity well, they may make a microjump within that thing and then use their sub light drive to escape its hold.

Suicide ramming.

Scatter and flee

Make a plan quickly and hope to survive. It always works in the movies

Many, many more options depending on enemy's technology and what kind of weaponry/stretegies they are using. (Blow up their gravity well generator/ interdictor cruiser)

Even more options depending on your own technology (Cloaking device, self destruct, nukes)

 

[Kozmos]

Take the most durable ship in the fleet and charge right smack dab into the middle of the enemy, then trigger the superweapon singularity generator. One sacrifice to defeat so many.

 

[germanicus12]

Go to Plan B.

Dukes of Hazzard reference.



Depending on number of capital ships or even which kinds are still in the fight, Battleships could turn the tide of the battle when another ship gets too close to it, Carriers on the other hand could do the same, but if they have entirely lost their bomber fleet then they are dead in the water (so to speak).

Dreadnoughts, if available could hold its own against other capital ships and even threaten nearby planets and star bases. But when paired with a well equipped Cruiser could do untold damage, as the cruiser would protect the dreadnought from enemy fighters and smaller ships, such as frigates and destroyers, while the dreadnought can focus its entire power towards bombing a planet or eliminating a certain capital ship.


Another option if none of the above are available is to scatter and wait for reinforcements, provided a message got through.

 

[Seon]

Call for reinforcement.

Or use this


Superlaser kaboom!

 

[Lord_Iggy]

Hosting notices?

 

[Crezth]

Yeah those HeavenGames notices are pretty devastating.

 

[Seon]

Yeah. If you use them, their entire fleet just vanishes into a pile of paper (Darn)

 

[BananaLee]

Thanks for the input, guys. Keep on discussing this, but I think I have an idea of how to model such behaviour now.

Again, cheers.

 

[LightFang]

I know this is probably largely tangential to the conversation, but one beef I have with lots of space battles is that space is three dimensional. You can't encircle someone, just as one example; you have to ensphere them, to coin a new term. The addition of a z-axis is pretty complicated!

 

[Vertinari118]

It depends on how and why Team B gained the advantage and the strategic implications of the battle and the surrender or annihilation of Team A. With this knowledge in hand one could generate numerous tactical and strategic options that the admiral of Team A could take. Armaments of the two teams also make a big difference. Let's assume that Team A cannot jump due to the raging battle they are fighting and they are of great strategic importance as they have the leader of the nation Team A belongs to on their flagship. They could then disengage and retreat to a safe location from which to escape with a rearguard of ships being sacrificed for the rest of the fleet. If the fleet was of little importance or the destruction of certain enemy installation or ship is of far greater importance than the survival of the fleet than Team A then ramming, self-destruction, overloading of engines and whatever other kamikaze tactics you can come up with are viable. They could also break for the asteroid belt and hope to hide there, due to the large amount of celestial bodies all swirling around them or whatever, and launch hit and run attacks until reinforcements can arrive. That's all I can come up with off the top of my head right now.

 

[Oruc]

They should have just launched rockets from their homeworld using FTLT

 

[Seon]

how about ISSBM?

Inter Star System Balistic Missle. Although the term Balistic no longer apply, Ican't think of any other name

 

[Kozmos]

InterStellarMissile.

 

[germanicus12]

Or even an Inter-galactic Gun...

I saw one of these, (actually managed to be the only Galactic Power to construct them in my space game against friends), and just sent seismic waves rather than risk my fleet in a full scale invasion.

I would just move in and occupy the planet later. With no fleet protecting it the planet would fall quickly and my fleet would continue on to the next planet. Those guns can fire on any planet from one system to the next, but a new one must be built in the conquered system to continue the fire into the new system, as they cannot travel through two systems.

These guns were expensive, took too long to build, took too long to fire, took too long to prepare to fire... overall, it was a bad investment, and in the end I just conquered my friends in a good old bloodbath with my fleets.