High-Burn Thrusters

[F33D]

I wonder how it would perform if it was redesigned as a remotely operated platform that manages target tracking updates for missile flights. Kind of like the Ghost Rider platform in the Honor Harrington books.

It would be a total waste of MCr's...

 

[SSWarlock]

It would be a total waste of MCr's...

And there really are no rules that I could find. Still, it was an interesting exercise and got me more familiar with HG and TCS.

 

[F33D]

It would be a total waste of MCr's...

And there really are no rules that I could find. Still, it was an interesting exercise and got me more familiar with HG and TCS.

I'm sure. It is always good to explore the rules.

 

[locarno24]

Eh? I'm not sure what you mean by this. Could you explain please? Did I miss a rule somewhere affecting what can and can't be miniaturized?

Not specifically - but the table for what M-Drive rating is what TL only goes up to 6G; hence you're kind of stuck with standard rules for most small craft.

It would be a total waste of MCr's...

It would in the current rules - missiles are fire-and-forget, and there's no accuracy DM for range, just a delay in the weapons arriving.

The one thing that might be useful along those lines (more so if you're using High Guard vector manouvring where you actually can avoid incoming salvoes) was an idea for a high-G pod to 'loft' a spread of missiles, if you're engaging at suitably distant range:

MOHAWK-13 (Multiple Ordnance Homing-All-the-way Killer)

Hull: Distributed S3 (30 dTons)
Armour: Double Titanium Steel (Armour/4)
Power Plant: Chemical sB (Rating 1)
Power Plant Fuel: 3 Hours (0.1 dTons)
Manouvre Drive: Reaction sZ (16 G)
Manouvre Drive Fuel: 16 G/Hours (12 dTons)
Drone Command Unit: TL13 (Autonomous Operation, DM+2)

This thing can punt itself at 16G (faster even than a long-ranged missile) for ten turns and correct for enemy manouvres en route.

Of course, it is a 30 dTon drone, and costs about MCr 28.5 before you slot missiles into it. You can produce a budget (and a lower TL) MOHAWK-11 by accepting a remote operations only drone command unit, which cuts the price to MCr 20.5, but of course you're limited to effective drone control range of a light second or so.

Using the basic rules, which caps out flight time and doesn't take into account a target accelerating away from you, there's not too much point, but if you use the High Guard optional rules, things like this and LRMs are significantly more useful because warships can plunk away at one another from several seconds range.

 

[SSWarlock]

And now for some silliness for F33D's amusement. Here's a speedy little thing I threw together. Call it what you like; "fast boat" just doesn't quite capture its essence. Also feel free to tear it apart for design errors; my feelings won't be hurt. :wink:

Assumptions for this design are as follows:
1) design rules from all published MongTrav books, including PDFs, are in effect,
2) the High Burn Thruster includes inertial compensation for its acceleration,
3) rules for miniaturization due to TL can be applied to HBTs, and
4) cost is not a limiting factor but let's not waste credits.

And apologies ahead of time for the use of periods (or full stops for those of you across the Pond) for spacing. I have no idea how to set up a table in this forum's posts.

Item (TL 15 standard)...........................Rating.............Tonnage........Cost (MCr)

Hull..........................................................................30..................1.3.............Built at TL12 to reduce cost
Streamlining....................................................................................0.13
Self-Sealing.....................................................................................0.3
Heat Shielding..................................................................................3
Radiation Shielding............................................................................7.5
Maneuver Drive sZ.................................16 Gs................14.25.............74
High-Burn Thrusters (M-Drive Rating: sZ).....16 Gs..................2.565...........11.2
Power Plant sZ..............................................................9.225...........52
Fuel (12 hours duration)...................................................0.175
Cockpit.......................................................................1.5...............0.015
- Specialised Navigation Computer..........Computer/5...............................0.1551
- Main Computer..................................Model 6.................................20
- Holographic Controls.......................................................................0.00375
- Basic Civilian Sensor Suite..............................................0.................1
- Enhanced Signal Processing............................................2.................8
Cargo.........................................................................0.285
SubTotal:....................................................................................184.60385

Software
Maneuver/0....................................................................................0
Evade 3/25.....................................................................................3
Translator/1....................................................................................0.003
Library/0........................................................................................0
Expert Pilot/3 (skill: Pilot 2)................................................................0.1

Total.........................................................................................187.70685

Cost can be reduced further by changing the craft mission from a military one to civilian-use only and removing the Evade program to allow a major reduction in main computer rating and price. Of course, if you're going to do that, you likely won't be needing the enhanced signal processing, stealth, or reflec either. Even with those changes though, it's still a pricy toy.

 

[locarno24]

Looks like it belongs running races in disconcertingly low solar orbit...

 

[SSWarlock]

Looks like it belongs running races in disconcertingly low solar orbit...

Now there's a thought..

"Welcome to the 123rd Annual Star Regatta Race, sports fans! I'm Eneri Gedarin and I'll be your host for the next few hours as we watch the best pilots from around the Marches prove why they're the best!"

 

[DickTurpin]

For more excitement they should run a figure eight course around a close binary system.

 

[SSWarlock]

For more excitement they should run a figure eight course around a close binary system.

Or a close trinary of small M-class stars where their orbital proximities make solar flares a common occurrence. Oh, and inner orbit hot gas giants for those breath-taking high-G slingshot maneuvers.

 

[Lord High Munchkin]

Possibly the high-gravity type enhancements from Vehicles Book 5-6 and Special Supplement 3 could be used to avoid the high gee issues (they would have to be adapted to small craft though)?

 

[SSWarlock]

Possibly the high-gravity type enhancements from Vehicles Book 5-6 and Special Supplement 3 could be used to avoid the high gee issues (they would have to be adapted to small craft though)?

I'm not that familiar with the layout of Vehicle Book 5-6; could you give me idea as to what page(s) those enhancements are on? Also, what is Special Supplement 3? It sounds like I missed picking up one of the books.

 

[Lord High Munchkin]

The design system for vehicles are not quite compatible (as volume is measured in "spaces")... but there are a whole heap of ideas in the various books, such as shock gel-filled cockpits.

It's another way of approaching the issue.

 

[SSWarlock]

The design system for vehicles are not quite compatible (as volume is measured in "spaces")... but there are a whole heap of ideas in the various books, such as shock gel-filled cockpits.

It's another way of approaching the issue.

Thank you for this. I'll be rummaging through Vehicles on my day off tomorrow to really see what's in there.