Hop and Skip Drives

[tytalan]

Here a good Question. In CT there’s a software package called jump governor which allows a ship to only use the fuel needed for the jump (without this a jump two drive would use 20% of the ships tonnage regardless of rather it did a jump 1 or 2). In later editions jump governor is a device that allows a ship to actually jump less than its full drive capacity (one of the most ignored rule in the system). Now in neither the CRB or HG 2022 do I find any mention of “Jump Governor “ so the question is in MgT2 do you require a “Jump Governor “ to use a Hop or Skip drive for less than it’s maximum capacity? I ask this because I was told that in the JTAS that talks about Hop and Skip drives that you need a Governor to do a one parsec jump with a hop one drive ( this makes absolutely no sense to me because it literally makes hop and skip drives useless). HG 2022 says nothing about this (from the read of it a hop 1 drive could jump from1 to 10 hex’s). Someone also said that a prototype and early prototype of any jump drive cannot have a Jump Governor (again this is a system that I can find in either the CRB and HG 2022). The other question is according to other editions you need to be a 1000d outside of a gravity well to use either drive but again HG says nothing about this

Please include sources and pg numbers and remember this is MgT2 not other editions

 

[Sigtrygg]

There is no CT computer package called jump governor, unless you can cite me a page reference I've missed.

In High Guard 79 the jump governor was introduced as an add on for CT 1977 LBB2 ships, page 32

Jump Governor: It is possible to procure a jump governor for ships produced according to Book 2. It allows such a ship to utilize fuel more efficiently; instead of consuming all fuel when performing a jump, regardless of jump number, the ship will consume fuel equal to O.1MJn, where Jn is the actual jump number used, rather than the maximum jump number available. Available at any industrial world with tech level 10 or higher. Cost: Cr300 000. Mass: 1 ton. Ships produced according to this book already have the jump governor as part of their drives.

This was dropped from HG80, and when CT was revised in 81 drives used the HG jump fuel paradigm so a governor was not required.

 

[AnotherDilbert]

Jump Governors are standard since HG 1980 and LBB2 1981.

T5 says:

T5.10, B2, p116:
Jump Governors
_ _ A Jump Drive produces a Jump approximately equal to its Jump number in parsecs, and no less than the next lower Jump number. A Jump-4 drive can achieve up to 4 parsecs, and more than Jump-3.
_ _ A Jump Governor modifies the operation of a Jump Drive allowing any jump performance equal to or less than the drive’s rating. A Jump-4 drive that by itself can only perform Jump-4; equipped with a Jump Governor can perform Jump-3, Jump-2, or even Jump-1.
_ _ A Jump Governor is integral to a Standard or higher tech level Jump Drive; an Experimental, Prototype, or Early Jump Drive does not have a Jump Governor.
_ _ The same applies to Higher Order Drives: a Hop-3 drive without a Governor can do more than Hop-2 and up to Hop-3 (approximately 21 to 30 parsecs); a Hop-3 drive with a Governor can Hop 10, 20, or 30 parsecs.

 

[CordwainerFish]

If you ask me, jump governors are an Early Installment Weirdness that can and should be forgotten.

 

[Condottiere]

Generally speaking, for the players aware of the existence of the jump governor, it's ignored, since the assumption is (currently) that is handled during astronavigation and/or by the engineer.

For myself, I had a go to see if the supposed one tonne mechanism could be deleted for a monojump drive, and the answer at the moment is no.

As I understand it, skip and hop drives use similar principles as the jump drive, just in another dimension, in set multiples of parsecs, but unlike jumps, no microhop or microskip options.

The real purpose of the jump governor was to pro rata fuel use, since it took up a large percentage of the hull, and most of the time, Travellers were counting pennies, so it made sense.

 

[AnotherDilbert]

That is not how MgT2 works, as opposed to T5:


Hop and Skip drives can do jumps from 1 Pc up to the maximum range.

It's Mongoose: it just works, and no silly games with impossible astrogation tasks (and ignore the technical details).

 

[Condottiere]

If that's how it works, it would essentially turn Traveller into Star Trek or Star Wars.

 

[Condottiere]

Or worse.

 

[WHULorigan]

That is not how MgT2 works, as opposed to T5:
View attachment 1929

Hop and Skip drives can do jumps from 1 Pc up to the maximum range.

It's Mongoose: it just works, and no silly games with impossible astrogation tasks (and ignore the technical details).

Which MgT2 book are you citing this from, BTW?

 

[tytalan]

Jump Governors are standard since HG 1980 and LBB2 1981.

T5 says:

None of which is MgT2 reference and since Mongoose has stated that there universe is not canon your references don’t really count hence why I asked for MgT2 references

Also I specifically described how governors worked in other edition including the fact that they had a different effect in CT than the others. Tho if I remember right they were not mentioned in MegaTraveller either

 

[tytalan]

If that's how it works, it would essentially turn Traveller into Star Trek or Star Wars.

No Warp drive does that. Remember Hop 1 is TL 17

 

[AnotherDilbert]

Which MgT2 book are you citing this from, BTW?

Sorry, MgT2 HG'22, p79.

 

[WHULorigan]

Also I specifically described how governors worked in other edition including the fact that they had a different effect in CT than the others. Tho if I remember right they were not mentioned in MegaTraveller either

Once they were described as "Standard" in the CT: HG'80 update moving forward, all references to them mechanically disappeared. No mention of them in CT'81: Book 2 though it is clear from the rules that they are assumed to be incorporated. No mention in MT because there was no further mention in CT, thought in the DGP version of SOM for MT they are mentioned in the section describing how the Jump Drive works, but merely as the system that distributes power to the Zuchai Crystals in a particular pattern during the charging sequence.

 

[tytalan]

Once they were described as "Standard" in the CT: HG'80 update moving forward, all references to them mechanically disappeared. No mention of them in CT'81: Book 2 though it is clear from the rules that they are assumed to be incorporated. No mention in MT because there was no further mention in CT, thought in the DGP version of SOM for MT they are mentioned in the section describing how the Jump Drive works, but merely as the system that distributes power to the Zuchai Crystals in a particular pattern during the charging sequence.

And again your talking none MgT2 which it kinda the point since MgT2 does not follow canon

 

[Spartan159]

It's good to be brought up anyway, as some of us draw from more than one version for their Traveller universes.

 

[Anstett]

For MTU MgT2 IS canon.

I like to pull info from previous editions to help me complete MTU but for rules, MgT2 is the ruleset we use and so that is canon.

Fully understanding that others see T5 as their Canon, CT, etc.

 

[WHULorigan]

And again your talking none MgT2 which it kinda the point since MgT2 does not follow canon

I am responding to your comment about CT & MT.

 

[MonsterX]

The Hop drive takes you into an alternate universe where gender roles are swapped and you are replaced by your equivalent of the opposite gender.

 

[Zarpaulek]

If there was an experimental hop drive and governor software hadn't been developed yet would it be solely capable of jumping ten parsecs and no less?

 

[WHULorigan]

If there was an experimental hop drive and governor software hadn't been developed yet would it be solely capable of jumping ten parsecs and no less?

Yes (I am basing this on T5). But you could try to plot a 10pc hop that intersects a closer target so that you precipitate out of hop at the 1000-diameter limit of the closer object as an "obstruction" to your hopline plot. In T5 each "Hop #" is a 10pc increment. Hop-1 is 10pc; Hop-2 is 20pc; etc. Without a governor, you can only do the specified Hop-# exactly. But I do not believe that any Hop drive of any rating can do less than 10pc (even a Hop-1 drive), even if it has a governor, except by the 1000-diameter-intersect/precipitate method. Just under 10pc (i.e. "Hop-0/1") is a hard lower limit for Hop, except via obstruction interference.

Presumably there is a hard lower limit for Jump as well (just under "Jump-0/1") but the distance is effectively intra-system and of such a small distance so as to be irrelevant.