Aotrs Shipyards is a webstore on Shapeways.com, a 3D print house which had production and shipping facilities located in the USA and the Netherlands.
This month, we have Wave Two of the Phystyulons! This time, the support ships.
Rylorz Class Artillery Battlecruiser
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The Rylorz ("Castigator") Artillery Battlecruiser has a complex history. Originally conceived as much smaller vessel, the Rylorz was intended to provide long-range fire support with railguns to the fleet. The Phystyulon's standard Phazra triple railgun system was to be mounted in a series of seven turrets, providing a much greater arc of fire than the fixed mounts on vessels like the Sylor Barrage Destroyer.
However, the sheer volume – despite the relatively low mass – of the Phazra systems meant that to physically accommodate the seven turrets, the Rylorz ended up being 67% larger than the original specifications, making it bigger than the Lokutar Battleship. However, one major advantage was discovered during this process. The distinctly larger power core the larger hull required had enough spare power for a previously unexpected benefit. While experimenting with the weapon systems the design engineers discovered that the additional power could be rooted into the Phazras, essentially over-charging them but cutting their recharge time in half. The durable Phazra arrays only needed relatively minor modifications in components and stressing for this process to be made reliable enough for standard operation procedure – a testament to the excellent Phazra engineering design. The reloading system – which was already being rebuilt to accommodate for the turret – was further improved to safely handle the increased rate of fire.
The Rylorz does not possess any other capital ships weapons outside of the seven triple-railgun Phazra systems, but has an impressive one hundred and twenty point-defence lazer turrets for self-defence. It also has excellent manoeuvrability for a vessel of its size class, the same as the heavy cruisers half it size.
Despite its actual size being akin to an average dreadnought, the Rylorz is nonetheless still classified as a "battlecruiser."
The Rylorz turrets have been so successful that low-cost versions of that the design is being copied to ground defences and orbital installations to re-mount older Phazra systems.
Lokutar Missile Battleship
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The Lokutar Missile Battleship is the Phystyulon's principal fire-support vessel. While the much smaller Vistrixons are limited to swarming an enemy with rockets, the Lokutar uses its twenty vertical launch missile racks in a more conventional fashion.
With respectable defences and manerouverability, the Lokutar is able to withstand significant fire, unlike a group of smaller vessels. Around eighty point-defence lasers ensure it has not a little protection from return missile fire (though it can just as easily mount its own point-defence missiles is required). Four Class 60 lazer cannon pylons provide some limited discouragement against capital ships, but unlike most Phystyulon ships, the Lokutar doesn't have any spinal-mount weapons itself.
Sylor Class Barrage Destroyer
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The Sylor Barrage Destroyer is the Phystyulon Star Navy's primary railgun vessel. Taking advantage of the compact nature of Phystyulon technology, it crams a great deal of firepower into a light and inexpensive hull.
Slightly smaller than the Kablak – with which it shares a great deal of internal systems – it has improved armour and equivalent speed and agility.
Instead of the Kablak's lazer cannons, however, it mounts four Phazra (a roughly analogue translation would be something like "viper") triple railgun emplacements. Phazra systems have a long and storied history in the Phystyulons, and the current generation are no exception, Trading less mass for volume, the highly reliable Phazra system look large at with the distinctive triangular housing 36.4 metres across the widest point and 85 metres long. However but most of the space inside is taken up with a light-weight solid-state biopolymer which provides the magnetic acceleration to the railguns.
With few moving parts, the Phazras are very tolerant to damage and need virtually no maintenance. In fact, they are so reliable that they are only replaced simply when a newer, better version is available. The Phystyulons have a massive stockpile of older Phazra systems which have a projected life of several centuries in atmosphere and almost indefinitely in space. Old Phazra systems usually find new homes in planetary defence installations and orbital arrays.
Syrotukan Class Escort Frigate
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The Syrotukan's role is defence, typically of smaller groups of escort or larger capital ships. It has good shields, speed and armour for its size – like many Phystyulon escort vessels; it expects to get disproportionate fire.
Like the Vistrixon, it mounts a single pylon configured for point-defence lazer emission rather than capital ship fire and sixteen other lazer turrets on the lower hull.
The Syrotukan also boasts four vertical launch point-defence missile tubes to provide long-range protection to multiple flight groups or capital ships.
Pylonaz Class Cutter
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The Pylonaz Cutter is a light vessel whose primary role is providing light point defence protection. Deployed singly to support a Vistrixon flight group, pairs are used interchangeably with a Syrotukan Escort Corvette.
With light shields and even a little armour, the Pylonaz is very fast and agile, relying on this its main defence. Offensively, it carries a wide range of nearly forty point-defence lazer arrays. While mostly used to protect its fellows from missile-fire, the Pylonaz is capable of inflicting serious damage on an unshielded and armour-stripped vessel, able to easily capitalise on the rents in armour to devastate a ship's internal structure.
Of note, like the Vistrixon, the Pylonaz's Nazograk Cores had to be angled off the centreline due the vessel's small size relative to the core. While this slightly reduces their efficiency, the saving in volume space is considerable.
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Photos of Replicator 2 protoypes a per usual. Next month will be Wave Three (there my or may not be a wave four) of the Phystyulons, and then hopefully, there might be the start of the forth elenthnar fleet, the Xygritt Matriarchy.
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Accelerate & Attack: Aeons of War is also out now (a generic build-your-own ships system suitable for any set of models) is also now available of Wargames Vault here:
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There is also a free Web Enhancement Pack; this contains the markers and the QR sheet the latter of which is an indicator of the level of the game if you want to have a quick nosey.
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And, of course, I'm always happy to answer questions about it (though your best bet is to contact me through the Wargame Vault or Shapeways PM, since that PM system here isn't open to everyone and these days, putting your email address on a forum is a no-no!)
