EPTEssentially "cannon fodder" for the Gahennas fleet, these 80km monsters were used to engage artifacts forged by the Gods in the battle for Olympus. Most of their weapons are oriented around engaging objects of large scale, but they possess a sufficient number of smaller weapons (Most I can't model due to my entry-level modeling skills) for engaging smaller targets.
Gahennas ships are runed in words of the tongue of the Gods, which can be used to unlock supernatural powers that bolster their existing powers significantly.
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Gahennas ships are black, intensely runed in the tongue of the Gods and the tongues of the Underworld. They bear the Bladed Claws of Cerberus, a symbol and banner representing a lesser tier of the Gahennas sect. The ship is commanded by a crew of twelve that oversee operations in an enormous throne room. All Gahennas have fed upon the soul well of tyrants, warmongers, traitors and other figures involved in war crimes of some form. They bear the knowledge of all past military engagements between mortals that resulted in the loss of life. Although brilliant, Gahennas of these castes are often needlessly aggressive.
Operational specs
Gahennas Battlecruisers produce limited propulsion power, relying largely on their massive jump drives to assist them in achieving desired firing angles and advantageous positions throughout the battlefield. A Gahennas Battlecruiser is capable of jumping every thirty seconds, ten seconds when its seals are unlocked. They only jump this often when engaging dangerous opponents, otherwise simply allowing their shields to soak up attacks from aggressors (especially small ones). Their technology is considered fairly outdated by current standards, but their brute power is more than a match for most mortal fleets on their lonesome.
The interior of the Battlecruiser is much like those of other Gahennas ships - entirely comprised of Hellfire crystal. They are highly regenerative and are capable of producing a vast amount of energy when they self-destruct or are heavily damaged. The engine output offers little maneuverability but strong acceleration. They maneuver through space folding (when unlocked) or Hellfire particle emissions, granting them the ability to create and manipulate gravity waves.
Defensive features include a maddening psionic aura that manifests from their direct link to the underworld. This will overthrow the conscious thoughts of individuals within a billion kilometers and have significant subconscious effects in the range of an entire star system. The spirits of the damned are in particular adept at creating hallucinations, visual and auditory, that disrupt the functions of mortals. At close range the spirits can physically manipulate the world around them, such as shutting down brain activity completely, opening small gateways for lesser demons to emerge from (inside ships, planets, ect.) or completely overthrowing entire fleets and turning them against each other.
The ship's shielding is described as impressive but not overly powerful in comparison to the Quantum barrier fielded by the Dreadnaught and other, more specialized classes. The Battlecruiser invests more heavily into weaponry and its jump drive. However, its armor is notoriously hard to damage with energy weaponry of any nature. It is reactive to kinetic energy, but fragments when the reactivity is exceeded, opening weak points for future attacks before they regenerate.
This vessel features factories for multiple types of drones, averaging a kilometer in size each. They range from defense-oriented machines that intercept light-speed projectiles to inhibitor drones that disrupt electric and psionic activity in enemy vessels, making them easy prey for point defense.
Demons also have this lovely tendency to drive their vessels into those belonging to other fleets. Their drones are no exception to this methodology.
Offensive specs
The Gahennas Battlecruiser is equipped with a stellar-ranged Meteor Hammer cannon that fires a Hellfire shard - a crystalline object - at low speeds. The shard accelerates exponentially as it travels until it partially enters subspace, parting the ether of space with a preceding psionic wave that makes it relatively easy to detect. This crystal does not explode on impact, but ruptures subspace enough to release large amounts of Hellfire particles that can be used for any number of devious purposes by third parties; usually other demons. The heat and radiation released is fatal to most defenses and should be avoided.
Secondary weapons include two sets of revolving Chains of Cerberus Hellfire-based beam weapons that produce overlacing waves of psionic energy as they fire. These frontal-arc weapons are vastly ineffective against small targets but can completely immobilize anything they hit. They were pivotal in effectiveness against weapons forged by the Gods.
The vessels sports two Hellcrack lightning cannons that are empowered by the storms of Hell. They channel a current across their primary target into nearby secondary targets. This current is amplified by the presence of Hellfire particles, which are generated by a number of means including its contact with matter - even that of allied ships. The current exists for a split second before reacting, a reaction that is exponentially intensified by aforementioned factors. This reaction rips apart molecules through a release of psionic energy and splits the remaining atoms it reacts with. The platforms containing these weapons are controlled through psionic energy and can move around the vicinity of the main hull. Incidentally, they can also ram targets within this range. Delightful!
To engage opponents in a moderate range the vessel has a number of Soulsplitter torpedo launchers. Each launcher has twelve drivers for standard Soulsplitters and a primary driver for Greater Soulsplitters. These glowing spectres will hunt ships for an extreme distance once they have locked onto their soul energy, thus their name. Once in close distance the torpedoes will split into a dozen new projectiles and impact with terrifying force.
For closer engagements the ship is equipped with Talons of Cerberus 6x beam cannons that sweep space with grievous claws of crimson flame. The ship has multiple Lava Knuckle pulse-beam turrets that fire thermal lances to cut through stragglers.
For even closer engagements the ship holds multiple hangars of specialized Gahennas fighters and bombers as well as a multitude of generic point defense weaponry.
Engagements
Gahennas Battlecruisers are considered fairly weak in overall engagement capabilities within the Gahennas Fleet as they lack a dimensional core as well as "God powers" outside of their seals. However, they were produced in large numbers and make excellent general combat units. The powers unlocked by their seals are not completely understood.
The presence of a Gahennas ship encourages lesser demons to fight harder and will attract hordes of smaller ships immediately upon its arrival.
AO2 Gameplay Elements Concept - Ingame Mechanics
Gahennas Battlecruisers are a unit summoned in Tier 8 by Armageddon during the Gahennas fleet waves. Only four Gahennas Battlecruisers can be active at any time. They will remain at a range and bombard enemies across the map with their Meteor Hammer cannons until engaged.
They are also summoned during the Call of the Underworld event when The Great Destroyer awakens.
~75k quads (Much can be converted to normal maps for in-game use, but that is well beyond my abilities.)
~12 hours modeling time non-stop in 2008 + 15 or so hours across three sessions for detailing and remodeling in 2010.
Created in Maya for the 2008 model and then updated in 3ds max.
One day I plan to put this unit into Starcraft 2 as a proof of concept, but no time soon.
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