Checking how Drives are calculated

[Ommadawn]

However, until HG comes out we won't know for sure that they are useless.....given Garth's previous prresentation of engines and power and how they interact with the characters and play in general, I'll be surprised if there isn't some use of the redundant drive letters to quantify things like damage or upgunning ships or even hot-rodding them.

These are my sentiments as well at this point. I'm happy to wait and see what Highguard brings to the table, and until then I just use the most efficient drive or powerplant for the hull in question.

I've done a few designs of common ships which never made it into the core book. I should post them up.

 

[Rikki Tikki Traveller]

You are certainly free to use the higher drive letters, but they give no additional performance and cost more and displace more. It's a poor design choice but not "illegal".

If the letters at a given hull size had been left out, people would be asking WHY, can I put a Drive F in a 300 ton ship even though it wasn't shown on the table and a Drive E does what I want?

 

[Emperor Herdan]

Ach weel;

I think I'm with the minority here because I'm also thinking Tugs...

An example I'm doing is an old Imperial Fleet Salvage Tug "Heroic Endeavour" class. (roughly its below)

Basically an armoured TL12 400 dtons* with Jump Drive H (vs a J), Man. Drive H, PP H(or J) with 192 dt fuel (196 for the J version).

so at

400 dTons its a J4 M4 starcraft (same with JJ J PP J)
500 dTons the table gives us J3 M3
600 dTons J2 M2 (J3 M2 with J version )
700 dtons J2 M2
800 dTons J2 M2
900 dTons J2 M2 (Close to PP failure due to low fuel)
1000 dTons J2 M2 (needs 200 dt fuel for Jumping)
1200 dTons J1 M1 (J2 M1 with the J version (but needs 240dt of fuel))
1400 dTons J1 M1
1600 dTons J1 M1
1800 dTons or more... Ain't happening Jack. (J1 M0 with the J version)

So for an increase in about 12 dTons (4 dtons fuel extra for the J plant and increased mass of the J drive and plant) you can haul an additional 200 tons at the upper end, of increase the jump distance at the lower ends....

Depends on your viewpoint if thats worthwhile or not.

( * dTons are displacement tons. I'm old fashioned I suppose...)

Likewise it depends on your GM... Youir experience may vary and for heaven sake... make sure you have enough fuel for the jumping and Powerplants .... I've lost more adventurers that way...

Take care

E. Herdan

 

[EDG]

I don't think there aren't any rules or guidelines for tugs in the corebook though... and mass isn't a factor in MGT ship design, so what is there to base any estimates of how much a tug could pull on?

 

[captainjack23]

I don't think there aren't any rules or guidelines for tugs in the corebook though... and mass isn't a factor in MGT ship design, so what is there to base any estimates of how much a tug could pull on?

Displacement.

Just build a hull with no M,P, or J drive, add in some wastage for connections, (the 50 ton Mod Cutter seems to dedicate about 1 full ton for a 30 dTon pod.). Add the displacement to the tug for calculating drive/output.

Easy-peesy......