Battlecruiser Cross Section - Help

So I've been working on-and-off for a long time on a cross section of the Behemoth-class battlecruiser. I had planned a series of these, their dimensions based on Robear's diagrams. Between work, social life, research for the project, and actual time it takes to execute it, I'm not sure if or when my project will pan out. But for the time being, I wanted to ask for some help.

I've pinned down the majority of the internal composition of the BC, including hangar bays and such. What I still don't get, though, is what these discs could be...

http://i.imgur.com/8BS5l5C.jpg

These are the things that stand out to me immediately:

1.) Toroidal shape
2.) Adjacent to three engine exhaust ports
3.) Crewed deck on "ridge"

http://i.imgur.com/kSdxt6W.jpg

Assuming each engine has its own reactor, however, excludes the possibility of a conjoined reactor in that disc. But would there be a precedent for something like that?

What I've been thinking:

1.) Gravity Accelerator
2.) Reactor
3.) Antennae or radio dishes

Also, aside from Yamato gun related machinery, what might the foreward hammerhead section contain? Ideas?

An excellent question.

I like the idea of them being something gravity/accelerator related, having something to do with the battlecruiser's ability to hover in place, within a planet's atmosphere. Because that's a fairly important mechanism, that ought to take a lot of power. And then I personally would put a lot of the sensor equipment in the front/chin of the hammerhead especially since (imo) the bridge is in the back, gotta put something up there.

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An excellent question.

I like the idea of them being something gravity/accelerator related, having something to do with the battlecruiser's ability to hover in place, within a planet's atmosphere. Because that's a fairly important mechanism, that ought to take a lot of power. And then I personally would put a lot of the sensor equipment in the front/chin of the hammerhead especially since (imo) the bridge is in the back, gotta put something up there.

My initial draft of the disc contained a large Tokomak reactor from which the adjacent engines pulled their power. That doesn't seem realistic to me anymore, though I do have a torus for gravity accelerator. I remember asking about this in another thread, and somebody suggested some of the smaller discs scattered along the bottom of the ship could be gravity accelerator projects, while others could be hardpoints for weapons emplacements.

I also have the bridge on the superstructure on the back. :)

If those large discs are gravity related and that there are two of the things (for stability and balance reasons?), I would also expect one to be at the front/hammer section the ship because otherwise, when it enters a planet with atmosphere and gravity, the nose of the thing will start dipping. Not a bad idea though.

I'd like the idea of them being reactor chambers for the Yamato cannon. I supposed they power the magnetic field required to contain the Yamato blast into a beam or, if not that, somehow help in generating the Yamato blast in some way. Being the huge energy sink it is, that's why there's two of them.

As to what could be in those hammerhead sections, I'd assume a lot of it is physical reinforcement of the aperture through which the Yamato blast exits and contains the scientists and engineers dedicated to the task of making sure the beam is focused and preventing blowback of the shot.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Turalyon

As to what could be in those hammerhead sections, I'd assume a lot of it is physical reinforcement of the aperture through which the Yamato blast exits and contains the scientists and engineers dedicated to the task of making sure the beam is focused and preventing blowback of the shot.

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The only reason I'm not totally on board with this is because Behemoth-class battlecruisers with no yamato cannon capabilities exist, and still (presumably?) have the general hammerhead shape going on. Obviously it should still take up lots of space, but it can't be the only reason for that space to exist.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Robear

The only reason I'm not totally on board with this is because Behemoth-class battlecruisers with no yamato cannon capabilities exist, and still (presumably?) have the general hammerhead shape going on. Obviously it should still take up lots of space, but it can't be the only reason for that space to exist.

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Fair enough. Maybe it was designed that way by forward-thinking engineers at the time who were thinking of installing these theoretical Yamato Cannons later. :p

Other alternative could be that it contains equipment that assists in generating it's shields (which apparently they have although not represented in-game) or something to do with navigation or warp space tunneling/travel. Either way, I wouldn't expect somethings like living quarters to be situated there at any rate.

I figure the hammerhead is just to provide a wide surface for lots of little lasers. At one point during SC II development, the battlecruiser fired a whole bunch of lasers really fast, and they all came from a small bank of lasers in the center of the hammerhead. I thought it would have been cooler to spread those lasers out a bit. (Among other hits, a hit to the hammerhead would probably only take out one or two lasers, not the whole bank.) At another, earlier, point in development, it fired single big lasers like in SC I, but still had multiple laser cannons, and would "randomly" pick one to fire from each time. Visually cool, although an indication that the power plant was insufficient for the battlecruiser's needs.

I figured those disks were anti-grav (specifically when the battlecruiser is in the atmosphere), but there's nothing like that at the front that we could see. Of course, maybe there's one at the bottom of the front. Do we have any good views of the underside of a battlecruiser?

There are no other discs like those mounted on the wings.

http://fc05.deviantart.net/fs71/f/20...un-d330u4d.jpg

Kimera, you're talking about point-defense lasers right?

So I have the hammerhead shielding worked out. Now I'm wondering what to put into the two globes on the bottom-front. Sensor and navigation equipment?

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So I have the hammerhead shielding worked out. Now I'm wondering what to put into the two globes on the bottom-front. Sensor and navigation equipment?

Aaand some new developments:

http://fc09.deviantart.net/fs71/f/20...in-d85urn3.jpg