War College: Intercept Orbit Archetypes

We generally don't talk much about Intercept Orbit, whether it's lack of players or lack of interest I'm not sure.  I'm trying to get my group to play on a more regular basis, if only to use all the cool starships I've made out of Lego.  Anyway.  With the lack of talk there's a lack of designing and talking about how systems interact in IO and a lack of Archetypes.  I've come up with a few so I'm going to list them here for people to discuss.

Battle Cruiser: Two Assault attachments, two Defensive attachments, built on a Cruiser hull. (2Ras+d8/2B/2W)
Loadout (4 systems): 2A2D2W
Role: The heavy hitter, meant to absorb damage and dish it out.

Blockade Runner: One Assault attachment, two Defensive attachments, built on a Frigate hull. (2Ras/2B/2W)
Loadout (3 systems): 1A2D2W
Role: Using the enhanced agility and speed of the Frigate hull, this ship is meant to cut through enemy lines and survive.  It also has a decent punch to help damage any enemy ships it might encounter.

Carrier: Two Catapult attachments, one Point Defense attachment, one Defensive attachment, built on a Cruiser hull. (1Rpd/2K/1B/2W)
Loadout (2 systems): 1PD2K1D2W
Role: Frame Squad delivery system.

Armored Carrier: Two Catapult attachments, two Defensive attachments, built on a Cruiser hull. (2K/2B/2W)
Loadout (2 systems): 2K2D2W
Role: More armor than a normal Carrier but less in the way of active defenses.  It may need an Escort or a Frame Squad perched on it to act as that defense.

Light Carrier: One Catapult attachment, one Point Defense attachment, one Defensive attachment, built on a Frigate hull. (1Rpd/1K/1B/2W)

Loadout (2 systems): 1PD1K1D2W
Role: When you don't want to pay for a full size Carrier but still need a Frame Squad delivery system.

Pocket Carrier: Two Catapult attachments, one Point Defense attachment, built on a Frigate hull. (2Rpd/2K/2W)

Loadout (1 system): 1PD2K2W
Role: Another Frame Squad delivery system.  A little less durable than a full size Carrier.

Escort: One Point Defense attachment, two Defensive attachments, built on a Frigate hull. (2Rpd/2B/2W)
Loadout (3 systems): 1P2D2W
Role: Provides cover for a larger ship and helps scrape off problematic Frame Squads using a Point Defense weapon.

Hunter Seeker: One Support attachment, two Spotting attachments, built on a Frigate hull. (2Rs/2Y/2W)
Loadout (3 systems): 1Su2D2W
Role: A lighter version of the "Recon by Fire" archetype from Rapid Attack for Intercept Orbit.

Heavy Hunter Seeker: Two Support attachments, two Spotting attachments, built on a Cruiser hull. (2Rs/2Y/2W)
Loadout (3 systems): 1Su2D2W
Role: A version of the "Recon by Fire" archetype from Rapid Attack for Intercept Orbit.

Reconnaissance Vessel: One Defensive attachment, two Spotting attachments, built on a Frigate hull. (1B/2Y/2W)
Loadout (3 systems): 1D2S2W
Role: Designed to target threats in enemy fleets.  Built on a Frigate hull for extra speed and maneuverability to dodge enemy encounters.

Hopefully these designations make sense and work for everyone.  Maybe I'll be able to do more IO themed War College posts in the future.

Random Starships 6

How about some neat starships for a lazy Monday morning?

Mini Milano Spaceship by Adeel Zubair.  Another version of

a cool starship.  And of course there's no download available.

Microscale Spaceship # 2 by The BrickGuy.
Frigate size, nice composition and color.

Micro Ghost Falcon by JK Brickworks.  A slick version

of the Millenium Falcon that's IO Frigate sized.

SSV Normandy SR-2 by pretraumatic.  This looks really slick.
It's a stud or two over the size limit for Cruisers though.

Mobile Defence Group by TenorPenny.  It seems like -- when

it comes to spaceships -- I'm always coming back to this guy.

Random Starships 5

Let's finish out the week with some starships!

Micro GARC Lineup by Jake.  All of these feature interesting
parts use, color use, and techniques.  They also look to
range in size between Cruiser and Frigate length.

Vorenhutz class Orbital Assault ship by Malcom Craig.  An old creation

but still a good one.  Looks to be the proper length for a Cruiser.

Dressed for Wargames... by nnenn.  This is another old one.
The picture's a little small and the ships are probably
too long for Intercept Orbit but they look fantastic.

Tiny Freighters by essaych.  Render.  These would make great HVAs.

Starship II by Adeel Zubair.  Nice color blocking, it
looks to be Frigate length, and downloads are disabled.

Random Starships 4

It's Friday and I'm feeling lazy so let's do a picture post.

Dispatch by Paul Vermeesch.  This doesn't feature any combat
vessels but, the ships in this picture could be used for HVAs
and the drones could be used as a Frame Squad representation.

Communications Lab HVA by c0d3monk33.  

This is purpose built for Intercept Orbit.

Millenium Falcon - Microscale by Riskjockey.  It's complex and the
size of an IO Cruiser but, who wouldn't want this on their game table?

Courier Shuttle by lemon_boy.  This is more than twice as long
as a Frigate but, it has some interesting techniques, greebles,
and color use that could be re-purposed into smaller designs.

Micro GARC Racer 327 by SpearralSquid.  This might meet
the overall length for a Frigate.  I love the use of Purple.

Random Starships 3

More starships for you to drool over.

LEGO Guardians of the Galaxy - Mini Milano Spaceship by Adeel Zubair.  The

perfect length for an IO Cruiser.  And of course downloading is disabled.

Frigate by lemon_boy.  Remove the long bits at the back end and
this one looks like it's actually the right length for an IO Frigate.

Neon Spaceship by Matt Mazian.  Render.

This one looks to be Cruiser length too.

RedWelt10-1 by Luis Biaxinho.  In between
Frigate and Cruiser length but, looking fiiine.

starbreaker04 by chubbybots.  It needs a new base and might be a

little long but, all the parts can be found in set 31034 Future Flyer.

Random Starships 2

With the recent delivery of MFZ: Intercept Orbit it's time to take a look at a few ship designs for some inspiration.

Kalakeyan Corvettes by VA-Nugget.  These look like
they're IO Cruiser size, except for the blue one.

Oblivion bubbleship and folding motorcycle. Micro size. Multi angle view by Irwan Prabowo.  I think this would make a really neat starship.  The motorcycle might work as some sort of HVA.

Close Support Ship by Ska2d2.  Another one from
Ska2d2, this time more in scale with MFZ:IO.

GARC - The Arch by wray2064.  Render.  This

looks like it would be in scale for a Cruiser.

"Triton" 7th Fleet Support Carrier by Shamisenfred.  Three studs too long
for the Cruiser limit, it still looks good and could be adapted to fit.

MFZ: Intercept Orbit Goes to Press!

Intercept Orbit has passed final checks and is now being printed!  It should be shipping sometime after November 20th.

Random Starships

I guess it's time to start a set of posts for Intercept Orbit to show people all the starships I come across on Flickr.

PLNT-class Seedship by Willis Reifsnyder.  This
looks like it's about the length of an IO Cruiser.

FTW by ska2d2.  You'd have to find a way to cut six studs

in length out of it, but this would look great on a game table.

Micro Sulaco by Grantmasters.  This
fits in right under the Frigate limit.

Bf-1 VTOL by rope fish.  Render.  Not

a starship but, could pass as one.

Micro SSV Normandy by the Mugbearer.  Shrink this down
a stud or two and it would make for a great looking Cruiser.

Spotlight: Tenor Penny

The emphasis in MFZ lately has been on Intercept Orbit.  This leads me to my latest Spotlight post.  I came across these while looking through Flickr.

Supply Run is the first thing that caught my
eye.  The brick-built asteroids are great.

The Type 77 Salvage Drone would make a great

 microscale frame for an IO Frame Company.

The DDC Ningyo looks to be about four studs too long, but you
might be able to cut it down to fit under the IO size limits.

The ISS Chiharu is also too long, but you should be

able to cut it down to fit under the IO size limits.

And there's lots more to see in his Flickr stream.  Hopefully this will inspire you in your Intercept Orbit builds.

Modular Ships 2

Here are a few pictures of the modular plug-ins I've created to go along with my modular hulls idea.

Mass Driver (2 Red dice at Support range.)

Turret (2 Red dice at Assault range.)

Sensor Pod (1 Yellow die.)

E.C.M. Pod (1 Blue die) [Suggested by Ced23Ric.]  On the right you can see it broken down.






Obviously, you do not have to use these stats and can label these creations however you want in your own games.

Bridge

Engines

These are the pieces I used for the stand.

As you can see it doesn't require much in the way of parts to make a modular plug-in.  If you count the friction pins the Mass Driver and the Bridge both have eight pieces.  I know some people are already experimenting with this idea, so let's see what you can do!

Modular Ships 1

I had an idea the other day as I was driving in to work, modular ships for MFZ: Intercept Orbit.  A set of base "hulls" for Frigates and Carriers/Cruisers that allow you to attach modular sections for Attachments and greebling.  Weapons, sensors, defenses, and catapults will all be detachable and interchangeable.  Wings, cockpits, engines, etc. will all be detachable and interchangeable.

The core for a Frigate is a stack of paired, alternating (north/south and east/west) 1x2 Technic Bricks.  The stack is 9 bricks long to leave room for modules and not break the 12 stud length limit for Frigates.

The core for a Cruiser/Carrier is a stack of paired, alternating (north/south and east/west) 1x4 Technic Bricks with regular 1x2 Bricks to fill in the gaps.  The stack is 12 bricks long to leave room for modules and not break the 16 stud length limit for Cruisers/Carriers.

These may look a little ugly.  Okay, they're a lot ugly.  But I'm hoping this design idea will allow new players to quickly build the base hulls to play the game and also allow players to easily remove attachments to reflect battle damage.

Here's a look at both hulls with a few Attachments and greebles.

The Attachments that I added are Turret (2 Red dice at Assault range), Mass Driver (2 Red dice at Support range), Sensor Pod (1 Yellow die).  The greebles that I added are the Bridge and the Engines.

I'll show you pictures of the modular plug-ins in my next blog post.