'Access Hatch' vs 'Hatch', and Avionics access

[flyingsandwich]

I'm trying to wrap my head around my players' ship (the Smuggler, a modified Type A Free Trader from 'Scoundrel') after our first session, and there are a couple of things I'm uncertain about.

At first I assumed that an 'access hatch' was an external hatch allowing personnel access. But then I noticed two regular 'hatches' in the rear of the Engineering room, apparently leading to cold, empty space. It seems a little unsafe to have what I thought was a non-sealed hatch on the wall of a room where the ship's engineer is working.

The other thing is the access hatch leading to Avionics. Avionics is in the nose of the ship, there's a little room to move about in there, and an access hatch. At first I thought this was another way into the ship, but then I realised there's a wall between Avionics and the Bridge. So is Avionics a room that you generally don't go into? Because if there's a wall there, you either have to pull on a Vacc Suit and take a walk, or land in atmo in order to get into it. And it doesn't have an airlock, so you'd better hope you didn't leave your space pencil inside when you open the door.

 

[DickTurpin]

I would assume that they were the other way around, an Access Hatch provides access to service equipment while a Hatch is an opening to allow personnel to pass through.

 

[flyingsandwich]

Someone elsewhere just told me that regular hatches '{' are unpowered while iris valves (hourglass) are powered. Access hatches '[' are "not intended for casual foot traffic and may not be at floor level". All are airtight by default.
So, if they're right, then the unpowered hatches in Engineering may be for venting atmo if there's a fire. They're probably unpowered because if there's a fire, electronics might fail, whereas a manual hatch should still function.

 

[GypsyComet]

The symbol with the obvious handles sticking out each side is an unpowered hatch.
The double triangle is a powered iris valve.
The Bracket on one side of a wall is an Access Point or Access Hatch, and matches that description you were given. It isn't a high traffic doorway.

 

[flyingsandwich]

The symbol with the obvious handles sticking out each side is an unpowered hatch.

Thanks for the clarification. You say that the handles are obvious, but they're just blurry smudges in the PDF I have (don't worry, print copy's on its way). Can I infer from this that the deck plans are easier to read in the actual book?

 

[GypsyComet]

Sometimes.

The Hatch symbol is the one that looks like it should be one of these:
http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/5273/1013363.jpg

 

[flyingsandwich]

Yeah, I figured that was what it was meant to represent after a guy on 4chan chewed me out for being a bit stupid. They just looked like wonky smudgy crosses until then.

 

[phavoc]

I'm trying to wrap my head around my players' ship (the Smuggler, a modified Type A Free Trader from 'Scoundrel') after our first session, and there are a couple of things I'm uncertain about.

At first I assumed that an 'access hatch' was an external hatch allowing personnel access. But then I noticed two regular 'hatches' in the rear of the Engineering room, apparently leading to cold, empty space. It seems a little unsafe to have what I thought was a non-sealed hatch on the wall of a room where the ship's engineer is working.

The other thing is the access hatch leading to Avionics. Avionics is in the nose of the ship, there's a little room to move about in there, and an access hatch. At first I thought this was another way into the ship, but then I realised there's a wall between Avionics and the Bridge. So is Avionics a room that you generally don't go into? Because if there's a wall there, you either have to pull on a Vacc Suit and take a walk, or land in atmo in order to get into it. And it doesn't have an airlock, so you'd better hope you didn't leave your space pencil inside when you open the door.

Generally speaking you would never have a non-airlock style hatch anywhere on the surface of a spacecraft. You may have a maintenance hatch that leads into an area (say for ammunition loading or some other compartment), but that area should have an airlock-rated door on the inside to allow for external vacuum access.

The avionics access is meant to be used for repairs and maintenance. It would be cramped inside, but allow just enough access for a person to get inside and perform maintenance and repair as needed. Wholesale replacement of the avionics and sensor section may require part of the forward hull section to be removed.