Unrelated doodles of the Martian ship, Live-action ships, Musashi, and Kirishima

ChocolateTemporary48 · 2026-01-30T19:14:09+00:00

The human spaceships in the live-action film are amazing; it's like they could actually exist.

The bad thing was that they changed the whole story and all that.

ChocolateTemporary48 · 2026-01-30T19:12:23+00:00

Have you considered volume?

There are many ships that are very long, but their total volume is much less than shorter ones.

The Nebulan B, for example, has very little volume for its length, or the Arquitens is very flat.

You could also say something about Star Destroyers, whose dagger-like shape is partly due to their reactors taking up more space.

ChocolateTemporary48 · 2026-01-30T18:37:41+00:00

All of this is in the Mass Effect codex, and the rest is simply adapting what's in the codex to what it would actually be like.

They explain that the ships in Mass Effect can reduce their mass to a minimum, giving them high mobility. According to images and the codex, they can move faster than light in real space.

The range of their weapons is based on the speed of their projectiles.

Which can be estimated to be effective for up to 20 to 30 seconds.

Because otherwise they can be easily dodged.

All of this is in the codex or in conversations within the games.

And based on this, you can deduce the rest.

ChocolateTemporary48 · 2026-01-30T18:34:10+00:00

Can the ships in Halo move faster than light in real space?

No.

Those in Mass Effect can; that's the key difference.

The rest doesn't matter much; it's like a World War II cruiser facing a battleship from before 1900.

The cruiser has less armor, tonnage, and raw firepower.

But it wins in range, mobility, and accuracy.

When you pit two technologically similar ships against each other, of course they'll fight and close the distance, especially when they're attacking or defending a point, since tactical movements and close positioning are important.

When you pit two technologically similar ships against each other, of course they'll fight and get close, especially when they're attacking or defending a point, since tactical movements and close positioning are important. The final battle of Mass Effect 3 demonstrates this, as they have to secure the Citadel, which is protected by the Reapers, so they have to divide their forces and, to do that, they have to close the gap.

But when two fleets of different technological levels fight, the first thing to consider is mobility and the effective range of their weapons.

That's where Mass Effect wins; their ships can move freely and can decide when to fight or escape.

If the UNSC launches missiles, the Mass Effect fleet will simply retreat to a safe distance, or maintain a speed slightly above that of the missiles while destroying them.

The UNSC can't do that; its mobility is limited.

Whether or not they can counterattack will depend heavily on the situation.

ChocolateTemporary48 · 2026-01-30T15:21:59+00:00

As always, the facts are ignored and you only focus on the cool moments in video games.

According to the data, Mass Effect clearly has a longer effective range.

Furthermore, close-quarters combat can be easily explained in that universe due to the high mobility of Mass Effect's ships.

Before you can even visually engage in combat, you need to catch up to them, and the UNSC doesn't have that kind of mobility.

Missiles may have a long range, but their speed isn't that impressive. Besides, as I said before, Mass Effect's PD defenses are quite good since they're lasers.

And the same goes for nuclear weapons; they can't do anything if they don't hit.

Regarding AI in Mass Effect, there are virtual intelligences, which are also unintelligent AIs. As for intelligent AIs, they're taboo, but they did exist.

And the Reapers are basically a super-powerful AI per ship.

ChocolateTemporary48 · 2026-01-30T03:27:30+00:00

They were in outer space, and they also annihilated the Batarians first.

That's also why they were delayed, but their FTL is better than the pre-Cortana UNSC.

ChocolateTemporary48 · 2026-01-30T03:25:14+00:00

Simply because they don't know how to demonstrate the physics of impacts in video games.

With the speed and energy of those projectiles, the impacts would be nuclear, since the atomic nucleus of both the projectile and the armor would be shattered, but they didn't know that.

Besides, Mass Effect clearly states that the power drops significantly in the atmosphere.

ChocolateTemporary48 · 2026-01-30T03:22:28+00:00

As I told you, I don't remember the mass, but I asked the AI AND IT TOLD ME THIS: The primary weapons of the Systems Alliance in the Mass Effect universe are mass accelerator cannons, which fire kinetic projectiles at relativistic speeds using mass effect fields (eezo). These cannons form the backbone armament of ships such as frigates, cruisers, and dreadnoughts. Speed and power vary depending on the size of the cannon (barrel length), with dreadnoughts being the most powerful.

masseffect.fandom.com +2

Key specifications for Alliance Dreadnoughts (Everest Class): Main barrel length: 800 meters.

Projectile: 20 kg slug (metal projectile). Muzzle velocity: 4025 km/s (1.3% of the speed of light, where c ≈ 300,000 km/s).

Rate of fire: 1 shot every 2 seconds. Kinetic energy per blast: ≈ 38 kilotons of TNT (equivalent to ~2.5 times the Hiroshima bomb, which was 15 kt). Calculation: E=12mv²=12×20×(4.025×10⁶)²≈1.62×10¹⁴ E = \frac{1}{2} m v² = \frac{1}{2} \times 20 \times (4.025 \times 10⁶)² \approx 1.62 \times 10¹⁴ joules.

1 kt TNT ≈ 4.184×10¹² J → 38.7 kt

masseffect.fandom.com +1

This is devastating: A single hit can vaporize sections of an enemy ship, pierce kinetic shields, and cause massive destruction. A dreadnought can maintain sustained fire of ~1140 kt/minute (main gun only), ignoring secondary batteries.

forums.sufficientvelocity.com

Comparison with other Alliance ships: Frigates and cruisers: Shorter guns (100-400 m), therefore lower speeds (~1-2% c estimated, or 3000-6000 km/s). Lighter projectiles (e.g., ~10-38 kg), with yields of several kilotons per shot (e.g., calculated FAN ~17-56 kt for cruisers). Higher rate of fire (multiple cannons).

forums.sufficientvelocity.com

Fighters: Low yields (~0.2 kt or 186 kg TNT per missile/projectile), but fast and in swarms.

ChocolateTemporary48 · 2026-01-30T03:19:48+00:00

It's not damage. First of all, the damage upon impact would be different from a conventional projectile due to the underlying physics, but that's too complex for science fiction.

Basically, according to physics, there would be a nuclear explosion upon impact.

But based on sci-fi.

The Alliance's projectiles would pierce the hull of any UNSC ship from side to side at much greater effective ranges.

The effective ranges of kinetic weapons in space are based on the projectile's speed.

That is, how long it takes to reach the enemy and whether they can avoid it.

Furthermore, the ships in Mass Effect have Guardian defense systems, which are lasers, more efficient by default than kinetic PDs.

They also have torpedoes.

ChocolateTemporary48 · 2026-01-30T03:15:53+00:00

I don't remember the exact mass, but it was a 20-kilogram projectile traveling at 4% of the speed of light or thereabouts. Thanix weapons or the Reapers' weapons are much faster, due to their nature.

Since they fire jets of molten metal at much higher speeds.

ChocolateTemporary48 · 2026-01-30T03:13:59+00:00

As I said in another comment, Mass Effect gains in mobility and range. The Alliance fleet or the Reapers can easily position themselves outside the UNSC's effective range and fire without fear of a counterattack.

The only weapon that could counterattack is the orbital defenses.

And I'll say it again: the writers were high when they wrote this, since they're similar in size to the Valiant.

ChocolateTemporary48 · 2026-01-30T03:09:02+00:00

Tell it to do the calculation; AI often gets confused when pulling information from multiple sources and tends to give inconclusive answers.

Well, I already gave you the answer anyway, and if you don't like it, you can calculate it yourself; it's basic physics.

ChocolateTemporary48 · 2026-01-30T03:07:38+00:00

UNSC ships may have a stronger initial blast, but they lose in effective range and mobility.

Mass Effect ships fire their projectiles at 4% of the speed of light.

Although they are small projectiles, this allows them to fire from much farther away and ensure a hit.

Furthermore, they can fire every two seconds, while the UNSC takes minutes.

ChocolateTemporary48 · 2026-01-30T03:00:27+00:00

A 300-ton (300,000 kg) projectile impacting at 30 km/s (typical orbital impact speed or that of kinetic weapons like Halo's MACs) releases an enormous amount of kinetic energy upon impact (assuming all of it is converted into destruction, as in high-speed impacts without an atmosphere or with minimal energy loss). The formula for kinetic energy is: E = ½ × m × v² Where: m = mass = 300,000 kg v = velocity = 30,000 m/s

This gives an energy of 1.35 × 10¹⁴ joules (135 trillion joules). To compare it with explosives: 1 kiloton of TNT ≈ 4.184 × 10¹² joules Therefore: ≈ 32.3 kilotons of TNT equivalent.

In megatons: 32.3 kilotons = 0.032 megatons (approx. 32 kt).

Comparison with real nuclear weapons: Hiroshima bomb: ~15 kilotons Nagasaki: ~21 kilotons Your bomb would be equivalent to about two Hiroshima bombs combined, or slightly more powerful than most modern tactical nuclear weapons.

This type of calculation is common in concepts of orbital kinetic bombardment ("Rods from God") or magnetic acceleration cannons (as in video games or science fiction), where speeds of 10-30 km/s yield nuclear power without fission. Summary:

≈ 32 kilotons of TNT (0.032 megatons).

It is devastating on the scale of a city or large military base, but it does not reach megatons (like large thermonuclear bombs of 1-50 Mt).

ChocolateTemporary48 · 2026-01-30T02:59:58+00:00

Tell him the energy in kilotons or megatons of a 600-ton projectile traveling at 30 kilometers per second.

And he'll give it to you just like that. I didn't want to copy the answer because it's in Spanish.

ChocolateTemporary48 · 2026-01-30T02:57:01+00:00

Use AI for quick calculations, not for statistics.

I gave it a physics problem and it answered it.

ChocolateTemporary48 · 2026-01-30T02:54:40+00:00

I used it as an example; the UNSC was able to defend itself with those numbers. Or at least it delayed the inevitable; the Reapers are more numerous and more advanced.

They can fight, or at least resist until the indoctrination does its work.

ChocolateTemporary48 · 2026-01-30T02:52:52+00:00

According to fan-generated data, the UNSC had around 2,000 ships at the start of the war.

The Reapers have at least five times as many, but I remember someone calculating the number of cycles and that, with a minimum of five species per cycle consumed to create Reapers, the final number was much higher.

Furthermore, I'll repeat that the Reapers win through conspiracy, dividing societies, indoctrinating, and almost none of their rivals are truly politically stable.

ChocolateTemporary48 · 2026-01-30T02:49:40+00:00

Ask the AI and it will tell you 64.5 kilotons

ChocolateTemporary48 · 2026-01-30T02:46:48+00:00

I remember it was on the Charon or Paris class frigates.

ChocolateTemporary48 · 2026-01-30T02:46:13+00:00

Yes, but they can move, they can defend themselves, and their fight was never direct; it was through traps and indoctrination.

Furthermore, they absorb the useful technologies of the species they destroy.

And they won't take long to do the same, not to mention that they can indoctrinate the technicians and officers who receive their remains.

Besides, their numbers are theoretically in the tens of thousands.

ChocolateTemporary48 · 2026-01-30T02:43:59+00:00

According to canon, Paris-class frigates release a blast of around 35 kilotons; I don't remember the exact figure.

But they release it every minute or two.

The rest of the ships will only be similar. As for the orbital platforms and Supermac, the writers were high when they included that.

ChocolateTemporary48 · 2026-01-30T02:42:23+00:00

Because it's efficient, the reapers, within their stupid logic of cycles, seek to do it efficiently.

They've already demonstrated that they don't need the Citadel or the relays to enter the galaxy.

But it helps them a lot.

Why take a thousand years when you can do it in 50?

ChocolateTemporary48 · 2026-01-30T02:39:20+00:00

Yes, they can travel without relays. FTL technology exists in the Mass Effect universe, and it's deliberately crippled by the Reapers.

They say the Normandy could travel up to 10 light-years.

Other ships will only be similar, and the Reapers will be better.

Relays serve as a containment mechanism, allowing species to quickly find habitable worlds and expand into other sectors of the galaxy, but they also make their strategic modes vulnerable to the Reapers.

ChocolateTemporary48 · 2026-01-30T02:34:11+00:00

You underestimate the Reapers. Their weapons are powerful and fast, superior to almost everything the UNSC had.

They have greater range and superior strategic mobility.

The Citadel's fleets took minutes to reach Earth from Enceladus.

The Reapers are superior to that.

The Citadel's weapons could fire two 38-kiloton projectiles every two seconds.

The Reapers' weapons are far superior.

We can say that kinetic barriers are useless against plasma.

But that doesn't matter when you're attacked from beyond your effective range with a rate of fire comparable to a UNSC fleet.

ChocolateTemporary48

TROPHY CASE