There seems to be a lot of misunderstanding on Ultrachrome and the Confederation's use of it, and thus, I would like to clear those things up.
1) Ultrachrome is a compound (according to Wookiepedia, and has been RPed as such during the opening Kashan threads...). Meaning that it's something that simply isn't mined and then slapped onto a hull. Instead, it's a mixture of different elements with precise ratios of each element; very much like durasteel. In this lies the reason why the Confederation has been the only one to use it, as thus far, the Kashan have been the only one to reverse-engineer it. Other factions could argueably reverse engineer the formula and apply it to their ships.
2) The elements that compose Ultrachrome are undefined thus far in canon. Thus, it is rather impossible to state whether or not it is expensive based on that alone. However, we do know that it was originally (in canon) was used for as hull armor for starships, which would seem to suggest that it was not overly expensive compared to other metals available millenia ago.
3) The argument that it is relatively ineffective in this era is somewhat mute, I believe. Durasteel is older in canon. Thus, by that argument, durasteel is also ineffective, meaning that a goodly portion of TNO's (and others) ships are poorly armored. Another argument that could be applied would be the technological plateau theory argued in previous years by the Staff.
4) Ultrachrome doesn't plate everything anymore within the Confederation. Some people might have noticed this, but the Confederation has stopped producing Pegasus-class Star Destroyers in favor of the canon Nebula-class Star Destroyer (which doesn't use Ultrachrome). As well, the Confederation recently bought out Creshaldyne Industries . And thus, instead of Ultrachrome plating, troops now generally wear the said company's Camou Scout Armor (another canon armor).
This doesn't mean that the Confederation has ceased use of Ultrachrome completely. Indeed, older units will continue to use it. But it does mean that it is not remotely as heavily used as it was in the past. It still has many useful properties, such as wiring or as a superconductor within Electromagnetic guns. Just something to keep in mind. Thanks.
1) Ultrachrome is a compound (according to Wookiepedia, and has been RPed as such during the opening Kashan threads...). Meaning that it's something that simply isn't mined and then slapped onto a hull. Instead, it's a mixture of different elements with precise ratios of each element; very much like durasteel. In this lies the reason why the Confederation has been the only one to use it, as thus far, the Kashan have been the only one to reverse-engineer it. Other factions could argueably reverse engineer the formula and apply it to their ships.
2) The elements that compose Ultrachrome are undefined thus far in canon. Thus, it is rather impossible to state whether or not it is expensive based on that alone. However, we do know that it was originally (in canon) was used for as hull armor for starships, which would seem to suggest that it was not overly expensive compared to other metals available millenia ago.
3) The argument that it is relatively ineffective in this era is somewhat mute, I believe. Durasteel is older in canon. Thus, by that argument, durasteel is also ineffective, meaning that a goodly portion of TNO's (and others) ships are poorly armored. Another argument that could be applied would be the technological plateau theory argued in previous years by the Staff.
4) Ultrachrome doesn't plate everything anymore within the Confederation. Some people might have noticed this, but the Confederation has stopped producing Pegasus-class Star Destroyers in favor of the canon Nebula-class Star Destroyer (which doesn't use Ultrachrome). As well, the Confederation recently bought out Creshaldyne Industries . And thus, instead of Ultrachrome plating, troops now generally wear the said company's Camou Scout Armor (another canon armor).
This doesn't mean that the Confederation has ceased use of Ultrachrome completely. Indeed, older units will continue to use it. But it does mean that it is not remotely as heavily used as it was in the past. It still has many useful properties, such as wiring or as a superconductor within Electromagnetic guns. Just something to keep in mind. Thanks.