Rams

Zarahemla · Post by **Zarahemla** » Sat Sep 11, 2004 1:18 am

Do rams really do anything to a ship that claims it can take a gigaton explosion on the nose and survive?

just wondering, because it seems kinda confusing

New Calabra (Albion) · Sat Sep 11, 2004 1:23 am

Hmmm...

It's unlikely a ramming ship would be able to ram something and NOT take damage. But it is CERTAINLY unlikely that the ship BEING rammed wouldn't take damage.

It's all do to with pressure. IF the ram point has a small enough surface area, the force it could exert would be many times more then you'd expect, thus it would be able to cause significant damage. Add to the fact that rams can be laden with all kinds of things ranging from nuclear warheads to vortex bombs and a ram suddenly looks a lot more threatening and can certainly cause a LOT of damage.

Skeelzania · Post by **Skeelzania** » Sat Sep 11, 2004 1:28 am

Rams serve more of a symbloic rather than practical purpose in mostnavies. Battles are (or should) be fought so far apart that the prospect of ramming someone would be remote. However, the thought of a 2 trillion ton vessel ramming another vessel at half light speed would be rather awesome, and if the enemy knew you had a ship that could do that they would try and stay out of the way.

On the other hand, my Ork nation takes a more practical approach to ramming. Their ships aren't particularly good at long range fighting, demanding an up close and pesonal approach to combat. Also, with the inefficency of Ork machinery large crews are required. Since their going to be close to the enemy anyway, many Ork kaptians try to skewer the enemy on their rams, and then shove as many crewmen into the enemy vessel as possibile. Thus rams given them an effective method to latch on to an enemy vessel.

Jangle Jangle Ridge · Post by **Jangle Jangle Ridge** » Sat Sep 11, 2004 1:46 am

New Calabra (Albion) wrote:Hmmm...

It's unlikely a ramming ship would be able to ram something and NOT take damage. But it is CERTAINLY unlikely that the ship BEING rammed wouldn't take damage.

It's all do to with pressure. IF the ram point has a small enough surface area, the force it could exert would be many times more then you'd expect, thus it would be able to cause significant damage. Add to the fac that rams can be laden with all kinds of things ranging from nuclear warheads to vortex bombs and a ram suddenly looks a lot more threatening and can certainly cause a LOT of damage.

And then there are formed energy rams with a shield set up around them. You ram into them, the shield does heavy kinetic damage, phases out, and the energy explodes directly into the enemy ship.

New Calabra (Albion) · Sat Sep 11, 2004 1:34 pm

I'm currently working on a ramming ship. It's going to have all the features listed currently on this topic, barring the ork method of boarding, as my vessel will be unmanned and expenable.

Sskiss · Post by **Sskiss** » Sat Sep 11, 2004 2:11 pm

Ramming is very unlikely in my opinion. Any ship attempting to ram would have to go through a gaunglet of enemy fire before even having the chance to do so. Boarding pods are a more likely alternative - at least they have range.

New Calabra (Albion) · Sat Sep 11, 2004 2:44 pm

The ship is not INTENDED to board. It's meant to RAM. Hence it's going to be a ramming ship. Sure, it would require sepcila tactics, but I'm going to do it anyway.

The Emperor Fenix · Post by **The Emperor Fenix** » Sat Sep 11, 2004 2:52 pm

Ramming is the only world eater defense, its not really head on but a world eater thats maybye 400 years old, the shielding covering the head can be 1/2 km thick (its designed to be canabalised in deep space to continue growth). Unless you sit still and let the mining ships sort you into your componant metals, heavy impact is all i can do. However, war is not high on this list of likely things for me, i can buy off pretty much anyone, Crassuss has been hording for thousands of years.

Feazanthia · Post by **Feazanthia** » Sat Sep 11, 2004 3:54 pm

My new ship that I'm designing has a ram on it. The thing has to be damn thick, and probably reinforced with plasma or something.

Post by **Arizona Nova** » Sun Sep 12, 2004 8:35 pm

I am also striving to develop an affective ram-ship as well, as well as boarding pods, most likely rams designed to damage certain classes of ships: like a .5 kilometer ram for larger capital ships, etc. Essentially a gigantic, heavily armored missile. The ship would have no other purpose than to smash into monsters and rip them apart from the inside.

The nice thing about the boarding pod that I've seen is that the troop(s) aboard the pod should have heavy armor suits with integrated life-support options. When the pod penetrates the hull, I'm banking for something that rips a big hole open and empties the atmosphere, thus killing and crewman/troops in the initial landing area.