Excel Ship Designer v2025.07.22

[Terry Mixon]

Sigh. Now everything is wrong. This is a huge change. Back to the drawing board.

Also, Terry, this affects alot of your designs using pods that are using the free airlocks for transfer between ship and pod on the docking clamp.

I might have been too hasty. I think the number of free airlocks might not have changed. There's just a requirement for at least one airlock per 500 tons.

As for my pods, they use docking hatches rather than airlocks. I just updated them all to say so yesterday.

 

[mavikfelna]

Ok, because of my recent deep dive into automation, I now want to create some K'kree ships. What are the chances we can get the various High Guard equipment rules from the Aliens of Charted Space books added to the spreadsheet? I wouldn't even begin to know where to add most of the equipment or how it interacts with the rest of the sheet. ::sigh::

 

[Arkathan]

Bringing this ship back on course...

@Ezarhon just pointed out another rule change in Core 2024 in a new thread. The free airlock seems to be 1 per 500 tons now.

AIRLOCKS
A ship has at least one airlock per 500 tons. The average airlock is large enough for three people in vacc suits to pass through. An airlock takes 10 seconds to cycle. Under normal circumstances, airlocks are locked down from the bridge and require a Very Difficult (12+) Electronics (computers) check to override from either the interior or exterior of the ship. An unlocked airlock can be triggered from outside. Airlocks generally have vacc suits (see page 102), rescue bubbles (see page 119) and cutlasses (see page 125) in lockers nearby.

And when I went to look at High Guard to compare, I spotted another potential way the spreadsheet might be doing it incorrectly.

A ship may have one airlock for every full 100 tons at no additional expense.

ADDITIONAL AIRLOCK
A ship is assumed to have one airlock for every full 100 tons or part of. However, additional airlocks of any size may be added to a ship. Airlocks consume a minimum of two tons and cost MCr0.1 per ton. Larger airlocks can be used for cargo bays.

While the free airlocks have not been being charged for, they also don't take tonnage, and I believe that they were meant to. Free cost, but the tonnage must be dedicated.

EDIT: Belatedly realizing I have the 2022 update in printed form, I checked it, and it says the same thing as the 2024 update. Maybe this is a false alarm.

Though I still now think the free airlock should require the tonnage.

And the core rulebook says this.

A ship has at least one airlock per 500 tons.

One could say that means if you hit 500 tons, you must now have at least one airlock and anything less is optional. The sheet should probably throw and error if it doesn't have the minimum number of airlocks.

Using the examples we are given, which tend to confirm no-volume free airlocks, and given that TPTB's have refrained from correcting us when going on about free zero-volume 2 ton airlocks when discussing numerous subjects, several of which the HG author chimed in on, I am inclined to keep things as they are, although there may be a need to throw a warning if you have not bought sufficient airlocks for the ship's size.

 

[Arkathan]

Ok, because of my recent deep dive into automation, I now want to create some K'kree ships. What are the chances we can get the various High Guard equipment rules from the Aliens of Charted Space books added to the spreadsheet? I wouldn't even begin to know where to add most of the equipment or how it interacts with the rest of the sheet. ::sigh::

Not this update, assuming I quit breaking things and get this one out.

 

[Terry Mixon]

Using the examples we are given, which tend to confirm no-volume free airlocks, and given that TPTB's have refrained from correcting us when going on about free zero-volume 2 ton airlocks when discussing numerous subjects, several of which the HG author chimed in on, I am inclined to keep things as they are, although there may be a need to throw a warning if you have not bought sufficient airlocks for the ship's size.

Understood. I think I will pester them about it, though. Just on general principles.

 

[MasterGwydion]

Understood. I think I will pester them about it, though. Just on general principles.

So, wait a minute. Does that mean your 50,000-ton pod needs to have 100 airlocks each? Just the pod itself?

 

[Fluffy Bunny Feet]

So, wait a minute. Does that mean your 50,000-ton pod needs to have 100 airlocks each? Just the pod itself?

Can you combine them into one big cargo lock?

 

[Terry Mixon]

So, wait a minute. Does that mean your 50,000-ton pod needs to have 100 airlocks each? Just the pod itself?

Sounds like.

 

[MasterGwydion]

What kind of a moron requires airlocks on a "large shipping container"? It is not like they are pressurized to begin with.

 

[Terry Mixon]

What kind of a moron requires airlocks on a "large shipping container"? It is not like they are pressurized to begin with.

My cargo pods are pressurized, so I'm your moron.

 

[Anstett]

What kind of a moron requires airlocks on a "large shipping container"? It is not like they are pressurized to begin with.

The Imperial Starship Inspectors and Regulators would like to have a word with you on you failing to apply section 624 of regulation 92B on your definition of what Large is @MasterGwydion. Please provide your response in triplicate and sent through registered post. Expect a reply to your query in only 14 to 36 months.
Thank you for abiding by all rules and regulations.

 

[MasterGwydion]

My cargo pods are pressurized, so I'm your moron.

What use are they? You can't unload them in any kind of reasonable timeframe if you have to use an airlock. Can you imagine how long it would take to unload 50,000 tons of cargo if you had to wait for the airlocks to cycle each time?

 

[J. L. Brown]

What use are they? You can't unload them in any kind of reasonable timeframe if you have to use an airlock. Can you imagine how long it would take to unload 50,000 tons of cargo if you had to wait for the airlocks to cycle each time?

50000 dTons, which can have 500x 2 dTon locks combined into a single 1000 dTon 'Cargo lock' -- at about 1 minute per cycle is ~100 minutes added to the 'loading/unloading' time. This seems pretty minor.

 

[Terry Mixon]

What use are they? You can't unload them in any kind of reasonable timeframe if you have to use an airlock. Can you imagine how long it would take to unload 50,000 tons of cargo if you had to wait for the airlocks to cycle each time?

Incorrect. I use docking hatches that match up with docking hatches in the docking clamp, so no airlock. Still pressurized, though.

The mandatory personal 2-ton airlocks are for safety and maintenance access only.

 

[Terry Mixon]

50000 dTons, which can have 500x 2 dTon locks combined into a single 1000 dTon 'Cargo lock' -- at about 1 minute per cycle is ~100 minutes added to the 'loading/unloading' time. This seems pretty minor.

The "free" airlocks are 2 tons. So far as I can see, they can't be combined.

 

[MasterGwydion]

The "free" airlocks are 2 tons. So far as I can see, they can't be combined.

Doesn't say that they can't either, and in Traveller, if you want to build something bigger, such as Docking Facilities, you just buy more and stick them together.

 

[Fluffy Bunny Feet]

My cargo pods are pressurized, so I'm your moron.

Me too. Though in my case they are treated more as barges.

 

[MasterGwydion]

50000 dTons, which can have 500x 2 dTon locks combined into a single 1000 dTon 'Cargo lock' -- at about 1 minute per cycle is ~100 minutes added to the 'loading/unloading' time. This seems pretty minor.

2 tons is the size of the whole airlock. You can fit about 0.94 tons into each airlock at a time. 50,000/500=100. 100*0.94= 94 tons per cycle. With cycling and loading/unloading the airlocks, say 2 minutes for everything. 50,000/94/2= Takes about 4.4 hours to unload.

 

[Fluffy Bunny Feet]

The mandatory personal 2-ton airlocks are for safety and maintenance access only.

Mandatory? Can't find one on the Empress Marava just the 2 x 3 ton cargo airlocks.

 

[Sigtrygg]

I honestly think it is time for High Guard 3e...

go back to basics and build from there.