My first step into IO

[Artasid]

I will state up front that I am more familiar with Rapid Attack than I am with Intercept Orbit. In fact, as of this posting, I have not yet read the entire rulebook of IO, though I have glanced through it. I do intend to read it intensly once the chance presents itself, but for now, I do apologize in advance if anything I post is mistaken, and hope that someone will point out my faults so that I may A) correct them, and B) learn from the mistake I have made.

Anywho, on to my builds.

The first vessel I built, was actually inspired by Atavism's assault carrier here
Assault Carrier:


Using this pic as a guide I managed to create this:



Thank you Atavism for the inspiration, and I tried not to make a copy, but I loved the design because it reminded me of the Orion class carriers from an old space simulator PC game I used to play called Freespace. Hopefully I added enough modifications that no one will not be upset.
As for the systems, I am still on a learning curve where it involves capitol ships. It has a catapult (1kD6), point defense flakk turrets (2bD6), and a radar tower (1yD6). (FYI I gave it 2 blue defense die because I noticed in the rulebook, it gave an example of a ship using 2 separate pieces to represent 1 system. Using this formula, I determined 2 flakk turrets equaled 1 blue die. Please correct me if I am mistaken.)

Because I am a fan of carriers, even the old aircraft carriers back from WWII, I decided to build a second one with a bit more originality, but still sharing similar details.


This one is similar to Carrier A in terms of systems, but instead of 4 flakk turrets, I gave it 3 and subbed out 1 turret out for extra plating on the side. Again, if I messed this up for game play, please inform me how to correct it, thank you.

And finally, what's a carrier without a Frigate escort?


Equipped with a dual system, Tri-barrel Assault tubes (2rD6+1D8), and a radar tower (1yD6), perhaps it'll discourage any threats... (we can dream)


And as a bit of extra, I also made an Ace. The type of Ace it is has yet to be determinae ATM. Not my best I'll admit, but it works fine given my current inexperience with IO

And yes, that starburst symbol disc is used as the emblem for all the units.

I hope you enjoy, and I am eager to hear any suggestions, comments, or questions you may wish to share.

[Vitoria]

Really nice!

I'm not sure about the red 1x1 round bricks as thrusters, thou. Maybe if you used bigger 2x2 rounds would it look slightly better?

[Atavism]

Hey man, good job!

What kind of piece are those slopes on the frigate? They give it a really interesting texture.

As far as the point defense turrets go- I'm pretty sure using more than one to represent one system is fine, my only concern would that point defense is the ship version of hand-to-hand combat range and it may be confusing in play.

[Artasid]

[Atavism]

The new engines look much better.

The rules are just "big slow ships" and "smaller, faster ships." Carriers have 4 systems, frigates have 3 + for being smaller, but those names are just to call them something. Designate ships however you want. A "Battleship" could just be a carrier-sized ship with support or assault weapons and no catapults.

[Artasid]

Wow, an almost automatic reply. Thank you Atavism. I know what I'm going to be doing for the next few days. lol

[Vitoria]

Much better indeed!

[Artasid]

[Hackjob]

There is some good stuff here, especially for a beginner. I like the wheel you used for engines on the SDTs.

Just to clarify, there are two basic ship types. Cruisers with 4 systems, and Frigates with 3 systems and a free green die. All other ship "classes" battleship, carrier, destroyer, ect all fall under one of those types and are unofficial labels we use for fun.

Carriers can be Frigates or Cruisers, but I personally only consider a ship a carrier if it has 2 catapaults. I would call a Cruiser armed like this: , , d6black, d6black, (free d6black) a Fleet Carrier (much akin to modern Supercarriers). And a Frigate with: , d6black, d6black, (free d6black) an Escort Carrier or Light Carrier. If I armed a carrier with any ranged weaponry I would call it an Assault or Attack Carrier.

[Atavism]

That functional hangar is pretty great. I like the rails you put on the runway, as well. I had considered doing something like that on my own builds, probably with a bunch of those 1x1 bricks with the handles on them, but I ran out.

[Artasid]

Well, my fleet continues to grow and my collection of bricks continues to shrink, lol. Anyway, on to the newest vessels of my fleet:

First up is my attempt of a Battleship



Took a lot of the classic design for the standard battleship as you can see, but hopefully made it fluff worthy for IO. System wise it has both Assualt and Support ranged cannons (2Rd6 each) and a radar dish (1Yd6), plus the free . This was kind of a trial and error build, but I'm happy with it.

This next build was also a first attempt at a carrier with dual catapults, because of this, I have thus named it Slingshot



This one has dual catapults (2Kd6) and dual armor plating (2Bd6). It's smaller than my other carriers, but the extra squadron it carries more than makes up for it's lack of size lol. Also, I have altered the placings of the crate hangers on the build deliberately for the purpose of making it easier to remove should it take damage. At one point I had them sitting paired against each other, but it A) made it look weird and B) made it kinda hard to remove one without remove the second at the same time. This way seemed easier in my opinion.
Hope you enjoy until I make some more. As always, I am eager to hear any comments, complaints, questions ect.

[Atavism]

The battleship has a nice figure to it, and its cannon array turned out very nicely. I also like the dynamic shaping you got from stacking those angled plates on the side of the carrier.