Hero's Pride, 100t Automated Free Trader TL15

[mavikfelna]

I guess, My question would be how often do you actually use the J-5 capability and is it worth the loss of cargo space and of increased fuel from say a J-3 engine. A J-3 engine would allow you to take advantage of the full 3 points of fuel reduction.

You have to have the Jump and Maneuver 5 to carry the maximum amount of cargo. This relies entirely on external cargo, which reduces ship's performance. If I could have fit in a Jump 6/Maneuver 6 setup to carry 500 tons of external cargo, I would have. But, there was not enough space in hull for everything else needed. The loss of the reduced fuel addon would have no material effect on the design ability to carry the external cargo. I could do it. Give me bit to work it up
It needs to carry 50 tons of fuel in drop tanks to jump with a full load, but that gives you 450 tons of cargo. I'll post it in a sec.

 

[mavikfelna]

Am I going crazy or does the maintenance cost seem a little off. I think the cost of the robots has been removed before the maintenance cost calculation. I think that the maintenance cost of the robots needs to be included unless the robots got the self repair options.

Also I'm a bit dubious about the induction plates taking up no space since they take up 2 vehicle spaces.

The brain has self repair. All the other robots should be accounted for but they aren't that expensive on maintenance.

 

[mavikfelna]

Ok, I've included the J-6/M-6 version here. It's 20Mcr more expensive but is actually more profitable once I figured the trick out. The issue is, you can't have most of your fuel internal with this design. So the actual maximum performance without cargo is Jump 4, because you must carry 30 tons of fuel externally, which drops the jump rating. If you're just maneuvering in system, you can move a full 500 tons of cargo with the M-6 engines because it doesn't need additional fuel. Of course the M rating drops to 1 under that load.
So to recap with this design: Unloaded performance J-1/M-6, Loaded with just fuel needed for maximum jump J-4/M-4. Fully loaded with 450 tons of freight and 50 tons of fuel J-1/M-1.
You are paying for a Jump 6 engine but you'll never actually jump 6 because you need the rating to handle the cargo, not to actually jump 6 parsecs. Both designs are all about the loaded performance, not the base numbers.
Does this clear anything up?
EDIT: Fixed max jump numbers. I was calculating with too little fuel. If I dropped the Adv Mail Array and put in another 20 tons of internal fuel instead, that would up the maximum jump to 5.

 

[Terry Mixon]

Am I going crazy or does the maintenance cost seem a little off. I think the cost of the robots has been removed before the maintenance cost calculation. I think that the maintenance cost of the robots needs to be included unless the robots got the self repair options.

Also I'm a bit dubious about the induction plates taking up no space since they take up 2 vehicle spaces.

The robot maintenance is calculated separately. It’s a yearly thing. The induction plates can be in floors, walls, and even furniture. It doesn’t take up space.

 

[Terry Mixon]

Ok, I've included the J-6/M-6 version here. It's 20Mcr more expensive but is actually more profitable once I figured the trick out. The issue is, you can't have most of your fuel internal with this design. So the actual maximum performance without cargo is Jump 4, because you must carry 30 tons of fuel externally, which drops the jump rating. If you're just maneuvering in system, you can move a full 500 tons of cargo with the M-6 engines because it doesn't need additional fuel. Of course the M rating drops to 1 under that load.
So to recap with this design: Unloaded performance J-1/M-6, Loaded with just fuel needed for maximum jump J-4/M-4. Fully loaded with 450 tons of freight and 50 tons of fuel J-1/M-1.
You are paying for a Jump 6 engine but you'll never actually jump 6 because you need the rating to handle the cargo, not to actually jump 6 parsecs. Both designs are all about the loaded performance, not the base numbers.
Does this clear anything up?
EDIT: Fixed max jump numbers. I was calculating with too little fuel. If I dropped the Adv Mail Array and put in another 20 tons of internal fuel instead, that would up the maximum jump to 5.

I’m on my phone so can’t look, but remember you’ll need drop tank mounts to move the fuel fast enough to be useful for jumping.

 

[mavikfelna]

Ok, better J-6/M-6 version without the mail array.
Performance:
Unloaded: J-3/M-6
Loaded for maximum jump range, 20 tons external fuel: J-5/M-5
Loaded for jump 3 with cargo, 20 tons fuel, 80 tons cargo: J-3/M-3
Loaded for maximum cargo, 30 tons fuel, 470 tons cargo: J-1/M-1
Maximum cargo capacity with no external load, 20 tons internal cargo: J-1/M-6

Ship makes money up to J-3 with full exterior cargo load and 2 jumps a month. It loses badly using just internal cargo and jump 1.

This is the design I will be going with unless anyone else comes up with problems with it.

I’m on my phone so can’t look, but remember you’ll need drop tank mounts to move the fuel fast enough to be useful for jumping.

They're there, for up to 500 tons.

EDIT: updated ship slightly, adding some programs to the computer.

 

[mavikfelna]

For the sake of @Terry Mixon and @MasterGwydion I have tweaked the description to helpfully make it more clear how this works and what I'm doing. I hope this helps!
Also, including the blurb I used when posting to the FaceBook groups.:

(So I had an idea for a very different Aslan character and while thinking about that I was also wondering about External Cargo Mounts and Automation for starships. I know the Hiver's are big on automation and so "Drake" the Hiver ship designer and economic theorist was born with this ship idea.

As an aside, the ship's name is a pun by Drake. The pilot is my Aslan named Herrerwoweruu, commonly called Hero and he is an outcast, so his family pride is the ship. He is also an Aslan, so lion's pride, and then the fact that in stories, the hero's pride either leads to victory or defeat.

Ok, So this is a TL 15, 100-ton, standard hull with 6 points of superdense armor designed to be manned by a single sophont. It has External Cargo Mounts for 470 tons of cargo and a 30 ton drop tank mounts (Drop tank mounts may hold up to 500 tons of fuel tanks if no cargo is carried). It is Maneuver 6, Jump 5 (Rating 6 but there is not enough internal fuel tankage to allow more than Jump 3 and any external tankage reduces the Jump rating) in its base configuration, giving it M-1, J-1 when fully loaded. It has no standard internal cargo space beyond the single ton and a half set aside for stores and personal equipment, but 2 of the 10-ton jump fuel containers are mixed use for fuel or cargo if the ship is running without external cargo and jumping 2 or less parsecs. They are all only configured for fuel if the ship is loading external cargo. The ship has a High Stateroom to make journeys more comfortable for the single crew-being.

The ship has a small bridge, as the ship's brain is expected to do most of the flying and astrogation, though it does have Military Grade Sensors and a TL15 built Core/40 computer to manage the software needs of the ship. It is the ships automation that sets it apart. The Hero's Brain, another pun by Drake, ship's brain is a TL15 self-aware robot brain that costs nearly 4MCr but provides for all the command-and-control functions of the ship. It has an extensive sensor and communications suite and can pilot with a +7 DM and astrogate with a +1 DM (including the -4 penalty for not being conscious). It is assisted in ship's maintenance by a StarTek engineering droid, Maintenance Bot and standard Crew Droid, as well as the built in repair drone swarm. The Crew Droid also serves as a steward for the crew-being. Additionally, to assist with the trading functions of the ship, a MixCorp BrokerBot provides the necessary skills.

For economics, the ship can make 470KCr a jump with a full load against 177,028Cr in expenses. If you are jumping 2 parsecs, your max load is 270 tons of cargo but it still generates 432KCr against the same expenses. Jumping 3 parsecs with 70 tons of cargo will generate 182KCr. Jumping 4 parsec with 20 tons is a money loser with only 88Kcr income.)

 

[MasterGwydion]

For the sake of @Terry Mixon and @MasterGwydion I have tweaked the description to helpfully make it more clear how this works and what I'm doing. I hope this helps!
Also, including the blurb I used when posting to the FaceBook groups.:

(So I had an idea for a very different Aslan character and while thinking about that I was also wondering about External Cargo Mounts and Automation for starships. I know the Hiver's are big on automation and so "Drake" the Hiver ship designer and economic theorist was born with this ship idea.

As an aside, the ship's name is a pun by Drake. The pilot is my Aslan named Herrerwoweruu, commonly called Hero and he is an outcast, so his family pride is the ship. He is also an Aslan, so lion's pride, and then the fact that in stories, the hero's pride either leads to victory or defeat.

Ok, So this is a TL 15, 100-ton, standard hull with 6 points of superdense armor designed to be manned by a single sophont. It has External Cargo Mounts for 470 tons of cargo and a 30 ton drop tank mounts (Drop tank mounts may hold up to 500 tons of fuel tanks if no cargo is carried). It is Maneuver 6, Jump 5 (Rating 6 but there is not enough internal fuel tankage to allow more than Jump 3 and any external tankage reduces the Jump rating) in its base configuration, giving it M-1, J-1 when fully loaded. It has no standard internal cargo space beyond the single ton and a half set aside for stores and personal equipment, but 2 of the 10-ton jump fuel containers are mixed use for fuel or cargo if the ship is running without external cargo and jumping 2 or less parsecs. They are all only configured for fuel if the ship is loading external cargo. The ship has a High Stateroom to make journeys more comfortable for the single crew-being.

The ship has a small bridge, as the ship's brain is expected to do most of the flying and astrogation, though it does have Military Grade Sensors and a TL15 built Core/40 computer to manage the software needs of the ship. It is the ships automation that sets it apart. The Hero's Brain, another pun by Drake, ship's brain is a TL15 self-aware robot brain that costs nearly 4MCr but provides for all the command-and-control functions of the ship. It has an extensive sensor and communications suite and can pilot with a +7 DM and astrogate with a +1 DM (including the -4 penalty for not being conscious). It is assisted in ship's maintenance by a StarTek engineering droid, Maintenance Bot and standard Crew Droid, as well as the built in repair drone swarm. The Crew Droid also serves as a steward for the crew-being. Additionally, to assist with the trading functions of the ship, a MixCorp BrokerBot provides the necessary skills.

For economics, the ship can make 470KCr a jump with a full load against 177,028Cr in expenses. If you are jumping 2 parsecs, your max load is 270 tons of cargo but it still generates 432KCr against the same expenses. Jumping 3 parsecs with 70 tons of cargo will generate 182KCr. Jumping 4 parsec with 20 tons is a money loser with only 88Kcr income.)

I like it. Just one question. Is it always an economic loser at J-4 or are there scenarios where J-4 can still make you money?

 

[mavikfelna]

I like it. Just one question. Is it always an economic loser at J-4 or are there scenarios where J-4 can still make you money?

If you don't have a mortgage, yes you can make money at J-4. 88KCr income vs about 12KCr of expenses. (Most of your cost is purchasing fuel, 60 tons of unrefined will run you 6000KCr and a day to refine it.)

 

[MasterGwydion]

If you don't have a mortgage, yes you can make money at J-4. 88KCr income vs about 6KCr of expenses.

So, fuel skimming for fuel?

 

[mavikfelna]

You could, except since it's a standard hull without streamlining, it doesn't get free scoops so there are none installed. If you wanted to pay the extra megacredit to install them and then have to deal with the penalties for scooping without being streamlined, then you could do that.