Batteries and Jump Drive

[Condottiere]

We're cutting corners due to a limited resource, an artificial limitation, actually, battery power.

Never quite figured it out for the Aliens Universe, since soldiers can always use more training, though for the Nostromo, it might be because it's a way to ensure their bodies don't age during long voyages.

 

[wbnc]

We're cutting corners due to a limited resource, an artificial limitation, actually, battery power.

Never quite figured it out for the Aliens Universe, since soldiers can always use more training, though for the Nostromo, it might be because it's a way to ensure their bodies don't age during long voyages.

the Sulaco was a fairly fast ship it made it to Zeta2 Retculi ( the location of Lv-246)in a matter of weeks. Not only that, Burke sent orders to the colony on Lv-246 which means they have FTL communications that can reach around 40 ight years or so from earth at a minimum. I imagine the Sulaco had massive energy requirements for its FTL drives, forcing the ship to "dim" and the crew to go into coldsleep to allow the drives to function...or that's my best guess... technical details are a bit sketchy on the tech behind the ships in that setting.

the Nostromo was a bulk hauler that was evidently a lot slower than a Colonial Marine Assault Transport...so it needed cold sleep to keep the crew from going bugnuts crazy on long hauls...and save on tons of supplies...

 

[Reynard]

Remember the first and second Alien movies were I think 50 years apart and times changed. Ships could have become faster not needing cold sleep.

Are batteries that much better than just reducing power with what you already paid for and redistributing the remaining power to lownberth? Now the crewmember designated as having the best chance reviving the rest from coldsleep had better not die when the capsule opens and there's no medic. Also using lowberth as the principle means to travel means the chance to fail revival grows. By the way who's minding the store if everyone is saving money in coldsleep? Who's performing necessary duties that a ship needs whether in or out of jumpspace? Oops...

 

[Condottiere]

 

[wbnc]

Remember the first and second Alien movies were I think 50 years apart and times changed. Ships could have become faster not needing cold sleep.

Are batteries that much better than just reducing power with what you already paid for and redistributing the remaining power to lownberth? Now the crewmember designated as having the best chance reviving the rest from coldsleep had better not die when the capsule opens and there's no medic. Also using lowberth as the principle means to travel means the chance to fail revival grows. By the way who's minding the store if everyone is saving money in coldsleep? Who's performing necessary duties that a ship needs whether in or out of jumpspace? Oops...

The Nostromo was old as dirt It seemed to have been rode hard and put up wet. Weyland Yutani seemed to prefer that at least one crewman was an android. That means that this crewman was pretty much immune to freezer burn. He could wake u and revive the rest of the crew in an emergency.

the Sulaco was fully automated requiring no crew to operate for extended periods Int eh Technica Manuals several comments indicate the ship was capable of engaging in ship to ship combat without human direction. It also carried n android a part of the standard crew compliment.

 

[Reynard]

If Travellers are trying to save money with batteries and cold sleep, would they be buying androids?

 

[Condottiere]

It could be Artoo Deetoo doing the honours.

The premise is trying to figure out minimum outlay, though if I was living in this universe, I'd rather stay awake, mostly.

 

[wbnc]

If Travellers are trying to save money with batteries and cold sleep, would they be buying androids?

the androids are also a means of ensuring that at least one crew member on the ship is "reliable". If a set of orders is received it will carry them out without those nasty morals, and self-preservation instincts getting in the way. They can influence crew decision making..such as pointing out that if the Nostromo did not land on LV-246 they would be in trouble with the company. Or insisting on trying to take the creature alive rather than flush it out an airlock.

 

[Reynard]

What would the players think if they discover their plastic pal was programmed to kill anyone who would disobey company directives? Might explain another reason robots aren't always trusted or welcome in the Imperium.

Back to batteries. I need to take a few adventure class ships and compare the designs with and without battery pumped jump drives. The low berth thing I don't know if it's a bit convoluted to save or can save a credit. There's something would passengers feel comfortable knowing no one is at the wheel for a week?

 

[Condottiere]

You want artificial gravity and life support, especially over the week or so it takes to get from starport A to starport B.

Isolate those energy requirements, you can recalculate if the batteries will last.

 

[PsiTraveller]

Minimum ships power is evidently 10 percent of hull, so a 200 ton ship would be 20 points, this would drain a battery in 18 minutes.

Basic power is 20 percent of hull and it can be cut in half for combat, that is how I got my number. Since a combat round is 6 minutes for starships, and you have to maintain your power to your systems each round, that is my reasoning.

I don't think batteries are going to be good for extended use for ships. A few hours for some systems. Trying to make an interstellar journey without a power supply will not end well I don't think.

 

[Reynard]

I had this whole multi-paragraph thesis about power and batteries but the more I wrote and thought the more something felt wrong.

I think I may have been reading the design rules wrong. Are you running the amount of power listed for Jump as long as you are in jumpspace (punching the hole then maintaining the pocket) or is the power points only for the initial opening? Batteries charge and discharge in 6 minute rounds. The batteries make sense if you charge them one way or another then dump the points stored at once (1 combat round) rather than doling out the energy over a week as a power plant does by burning fuel during that time. The way the Express boats is listed, it's a 6 minute one shot. If a jump is running continuously for a week (184 hours max or 1840 rounds times the power needed). That is many tons of battery.

Probably repeating what has been said but I'm trying to wrap my head around the math.

 

[AndrewW]

Are you running the amount of power listed for Jump as long as you are in jumpspace (punching the hole then maintaining the pocket) or is the power points only for the initial opening?

The jump drive doesn't require continuous power.

 

[Reynard]

*WHEW!* Didn't want to redo THAT many designs. Thanks.

 

[PsiTraveller]

My opinion is that batteries are great for upping the short term power of a ship for combat. That is where i put my design efforts. Trying to have a battery system for an extended period of time just cannot last long enough to get anywhere. Batteries can support a power drain for a few hours.

Example:A 20 ton ship with a few tons of cargo space and a M drive of 2 would have a basic power drain of 4 points per round. That would be 40 points per hour.
M-Drive energy demand would be 40 points per hour. That is 80 points per hour.
Civilian Sensors drain 10 points per hour, so that is 90 power per hour, or a ton and a half per hour of TL 12 60 point batteries. So we have 5 tons of batteries storing 300 points of power.
So a 20 tons ship, with a small 3 ton bridge and 1 ton of civilian sensors, 5 tons of batteries, 2% tonnage of M Drive is 10 tons of space used and 10 tons of cargo.

Travel times on pg 153 of the main book says a 2G ship can get from surface to orbit in 24 minutes. (1414 seconds)

So you could have a battery shuttle that charges on the surface and at the ship as it loads cargo and deliver anywhere on the planet in a couple of hours. From orbit it could reach the moon in 149 minutes. This makes sense to me, but maxes out at 3 hours and 5 tons of battery for a million credits. Or you have 1 ton of fuel and 1 ton of Power Plant and have 4 weeks of fuel for 1 million credits. Not sure if there is a win there.

Now combat is a different story. I've pointed out the advantage of having a battery backup for combat. A small ship, 200 tons and low power (like the A2 Far Trader) lacks a lot of extra power for a large number of weapons. Adding in 1 ton of battery and getting 60 points of power would allow a triple turret of energy weapons (at 12 points a shot) to have 5 rounds of combat, plenty of time to do damage to an enemy.) Or you add a Particle barbette at 15 points of power demand and do a heck of a lot more damage for a few rounds of combat, more if you add another ton of battery. I think a Qship could be built that can throw out a surprising amount of damage for its tonnage without needing more power plant or fuel space by adding in a couple of tons of batteries.

Batteries would also allow for the end of Jump dimming since the batteries can be slowly charged and provide the power for the Jump Drive when needed.

 

[Condottiere]

It's a cost benefit issue; batteries on a battleship for me was more of a last ditch effort after substantial pounding destroyed the generators.

It's ideal for a short burst of power.

It's probably great for stealth ships, since they can turn off their reactors.

 

[AndrewW]

Adding in 1 ton of battery and getting 60 points of power would allow a triple turret of energy weapons (at 12 points a shot) to have 5 rounds of combat, plenty of time to do damage to an enemy.)

13 points of power since you need to power the turret as well, though might be the power plant has enough extra to at least power the turret, even if not the weapons installed within it.

 

[Condottiere]

In Mongoose First, this woks with a reaction rocket and kinetic weapon systems.

Ship systems now suck too much.