(I didn't read every single post here.. Its been a weekend of posts, and I'm only halfway through all the new ones.)
Okay, first I've been in Sigma-13 quite often, and I didn't spend much if it pirating.. My Kiretsu would be chatting with GMG quite a bit there. Also; I've only seen 4 GMG capships.. The first was a Zoner Juggernaut, their flagship. I saw it once, and he doesn't have access to it anymore (its banned and I don't know if he found out why yet..). Second I never actually saw, but knew existed. The second flagship was a Albatross Battlecruiser.. Unfortunately for the GMG, the OPG and indie Corsairs constantly GB spammed it (the whole reason they had those flagships was because of the GB spam) and it can't hold out against 3 GBs..
The 3rd and 4th are what I saw in those pictures. The Battlecruiser is gone I believe, which makes their total 2 (unless they have some I don't know about..). Now, except for the ONE time I saw that Juggernaut, the GMG have been fighters and bombers.
So please don't yell that they are capship spamming..
About the RM Cruiser; The GMG won.. Its not hard to imagine them getting spoils of war. They would have had access to the wrecks long before the Junkers would have, and probably could've found a nearly-complete cruiser. Also; They could have required one from the RM to end the war. Thirdly; There is an RP story written for it.
About the Battlestar. Allies of Zoners, its allowance is sort of self-explanatory.
Now for Linkus' points..
The supplies are the POSSIBLE supplies. There are only as many supplies as the owner can afford to make available to it. Years of supplies is possible for something the size of the Zoners to afford, but the GMG might not be able to, and even if they are, they don't HAVE to fill it with years of supplies. When a ship is set to depart on a journey, supply needs are calculated and then they get the necessary supplies with a little extra for emergencies. So the Battlestar has the capacity for years worth of supplies, but is not always going to carry that much.
A fighter patrol would be much less hasty in pursuing a battlestar than it would a gunboat. Secondly, the Battlestar can very quickly get rid of any pursuit after it and get away before reinforcements arrive. A gunboat cannot do so as quickly, and may even be damaged, making it even easier and faster for the hostile reinforcements to kill it. Meanwhile a scout or probe could be disrupted, then quickly killed by a hostile patrol (that are always 3 or more ships, making a single scout's life, or a probe very easy to kill quickly), without even the need for reinforcements.
Since I've fought Nomad Patrols in both a Gunboat and a Battleship, I know which stands a better chance.. And if the battlestar is outgunned, doesn't that mean by pure logic that the gunboat would be much more outgunned? The Gunboat is fast, yes. But it can't outrun Nomad turrets very well.. Especially a battleship and 2 gunboat's worth, as well as the four fighters.. Gunboats don't last long before they need to either hide behind cover, or get out of turret range to recharge shields.. And it still takes a very long time to kill that patrol.. A battleship can pretty easily take a battleship patrol and win, without having to recharge its shields. Take out 2 gunboats and then the battleship last and you won't lose your shield. Also, it'll take a fifth of the time to kill the patrol as it would take a gunboat. And the crew of the battlestar is safer and less likely to die than the gunboat's is.
Sending a probe into an uncharted and potentially hostile system is, yes, a smart idea. But there are also drawbacks. A corporation such as GMG cannot afford to have highly specialized, and therefor, highly expensive probes sent out to potentially hostile systems.. Probes cannot evade attacks and do not have the intelligence to run, nor the armor to make such a move possible. A battleship endangers lives, yes. It also costs more, yes. However, it is much less likely to be lost than a probe. Also, no military guards its borders with units strong enough to defeat a battleship. They have small, fast, agile ships patrol borders, and then if a very powerful ship appears, they call in their own battleships. It would be way to costly for any military in Freelancer to fuel and supply multiple battleships on a constant basis for them to patrol borders.. Likewise, a Battlestar is less likely to be lost than that probe because if it does detect incoming battleships, or simply enough ships to destroy it, it can run. It has the intelligence of humans being onboard that a probe does not. It can also defend itself quite competently. It can simply retreat through the jump hole it entered in if it encounters too much defenses. Scouts have been lost many many times by the GMG. They can't afford to waste them over and over again when the past has proven that they will be destroyed when sent out. And probes have one-time uses. A military backed by a large government like Rheinland or Kusari could certainly afford them, however the GMG cannot afford to waste that much, therefor they must do all they can to preserve everything they buy and use. Also, the operational costs of the Battlestar would be lower than normal, since the fuel to run it is produced by the GMG.
Guyton, while you already know i'm appreciative and a fan of getting a GMG faction going, there are a few issues i've noticed and a few steps that I personally think ought to be taken. It doesn't mean you have to, but just some observations i've made and changes I feel would be appropriate.
The GMG captured, as Blodo said earlier, three rheinland battleships from Rheinland after annihilating the entire Rheinland navy in sigma-13. One was destroyed in omicron 85, and the other two are still active. So, I suggested to a couple of people I was discussing this with that the GMG have one of those Rheinland battleships added into the GMG Guard eventually as a dockable battleship station, thus effectively still keeping it but removing it from active "play", as it were. Keep the last remaining BS as the GMG flagship but don't use it very often.
Stick to using only Zoner Destroyers but don't use too many of them. I'd say no more than owning 2-3 Zoner Destroyers max in the entire faction (and don't use them all the time either). Everyone else should at the very least have a fighter and a bomber each, minimum. Transports can be handed out to whoever wants one also also.
One last thing, stick to Kusari naming conventions. The GMG are formerly fishermen from Honshu in Kusari and they would not likely use any other naming conventions for their ships etc. Their pilots would all be Kusari as well, except for perhaps the odd Zoners who got accepted. They're a tightly-knit organisation, rather like most organisations in Kusari.
I would suggest that the GMG create a secure comms with both public and private channels.
The various discussions are getting spread too far for me to track. As security advisor to the GMG I have an interest in getting a balanced and distinguished(RP) fleet out of dry dock.
Our fleet RP is really good, however save for a few, slower people who are still learning, Besides that, when our vessels are speaking to others, we are a Distinguished and Proud People, with RP to match.
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