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Pepe's Wars - 10. Breachships

UNPAINTED CURRENTLY

Pepe's Wars:

Pepe's Wars is a series of ship collections intended to tell a story, showing an evolution of ship design as a series of wars progressed across the galaxy. Each collection or 'line' of ships was created with a core idea in mind, and the ships within that line are an evolution of one to another, guided by the demands of the wars. Additionally, each different line shows a rough timeline, and you should see how one line becomes obsolete or surpassed by the next 'technological advancement'. For example, the 'beamships' line got out-ranged by the subsequent 'railgun kiters' line, which in turn were beaten out by the 'lensing ships'. Download all collections in the Pepe's Wars series to get the full story in the ships' descriptions.

All ships in the Pepe's Wars collection have been designed for function above form, so please read the descriptions or the ship info in-game to understand my core concepts behind each design. They are not the prettiest ships, but hopefully you will agree they are effective at their roles.

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Breachships:

Breach ships were devised as a response to the rising prevalence of shield domes during the sixth war. The solution was to bypass the shields entirely by flying straight under the domes, latching directly onto the hull and ripping it apart. They led to the decline of larger hulls that characterised the seventh war.

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The Ships:

Huginn
The Huginn is not a pretty ship. Upgraded from a mining vessel, engineers realised that mining lasers would be the perfect weapon for this new 'breach' role - slicing apart the enemy hull from underneath their shields. Powerful cannons and a flak was bolted onto the front of the ship to deliver explosive shells directly into the innards of the unlucky target, and two tractor beams - a hangover from the hull's mining days - hold The Huginn onto its victim. A skilled pilot will be aware of The Huginn's exposed rear, especially when latched onto a target, and so should cleverly use the latched ship as a physical shield when outnumbered.

Sleipnir
The Sleipnir is a direct upgrade from The Huginn cruiser hull, with engineers learning the lessons of the predecessor by adopting an entirely new sleeker hull shape to better latch onto an enemy ship and avoid enemy fire once it has. In a controversial decision the tractor beam was removed - a mainstay of The Huginn - in favour of raw speed to keep victims close. The flak cannon was swapped for a vast number of disruptors to disable enemy thrusters on approach.

The sister varient of this hull - The Astarte - offers more damage and utility at greater expense.

Astarte
The Astarte is a fearsome ship in the new 'breach' role, expanding upon the successes of its sister varient The Sleipnir. Recognising the potential of the explosive projectile weapons when it comes to tearing apart ship armor, the Astarte upgrades the Sleipnir's cannons to deck guns, and adds miniature railguns in their place as the ship's 'teeth'. Tractor beams were added (in exchange for a little speed) to hold its prey in place. Disruptors were kept in the design, as The Sleipnir had demonstrated their necessity in disabling the target, ready to be devoured. Few ships can survive the Astarte - usually the ones lucky enough to have a hull shape that is hard to bite into.

Nightmare
The Nightmare is a terrifying vessel, designed to engulf whole ships at once, or at least entire wings at a time, and melt them within a mouth of lasers. The Nightmare pilot must be skilled in selecting their approach angle carefully, but if successful then few targets will be able to escape its triple tractor beam. Disruptors were kept in the upgrade from The Astarte's hull, a staple of the role, alongside a new hyperdrive beacon to call in support once the target is latched.

By the end of the seventh war breach ships were the only large hulls able to survive on the field. It devolved into a melee of mouths all trying to eat each other, with the occasional minebomber too