Internal Space - extras

[Jak Nazryth]

Now that Andrew has defined where extra tonnage of Staterooms go (corridor and other circulation spaces) Because now "common space"... lounges, galley, public freshers, exercise space, etc.. is now purchased under a separate line item, that got me to consider other aspects of interior spaces.

1) Interior air locks. Normally an airlock takes up... 3 tons I think??? But that is a lock to the exterior of the ship. Internal locks that connect sections of a ship (like a vehicle bay, cargo bay, or sections separated by air tight bulk heads, shouldn't take up any additional space... because they are simply part of the corridor. You should pay the for the cost, but not the volume. Also, you can have a 1 ton or even half-ton internal lock, just extrapolate the cost down (or up)

2) I want to introduce a REVOLUTIONARY bit of technology alien to most every current star ship. I call this new technology "stairs". Now your passengers don't have to climb up a little ladder through a hole in the floor... actually when you look at many deck plans... there's a freaking hole in the floor.. in the middle of a corridor! Sure it can be closed and you can walk across it... but there's still a freaking hole in the center of the corridor! Now your high class passenger's no longer have to clamber up that wall mounted ladder, trying to lug up their baggage with them... or cram into that tiny 1 meter x 1 meter lift. With the new revolutionary technology they can glide up and down these "stairs" with grace and dignity... Or you can have a more realistic lift that takes up almost 2 tons (4 squares) I'm joking of course, but now you can simply "count the squares" based on your staterooms, within reason. It's just something I will address in future designs... (and yes, I'll still have the wall mounted ladder with a hole in the floor and a tiny lift and some designs, but stairs and larger lifts will make their way into my designs. And internal airlocks where appropriate.

 

[phavoc]

Check out some of the deckplans from GK. Some of their designs have stairs. And a few even have (gasp!) elevators between decks!

 

[Jak Nazryth]

BLASPHEMY !!!

 

[Jak Nazryth]

Here is a very basic guide for a common elevator size.

http://www.otis.com/site/us/OT_DL_Documents/OT_DL_DocumentLibrary/HydroFit%20Grid%20Typicals/HYD-PDF-P3.pdf

I know Traveller technology won't need cables or hydraulic jacks, (probably gravic or at least mag-rail tech) but this gives you a basic idea how the elevator cab is always smaller than the shaft. So that 1.5x1.5 meter lift that shows up in many ship designs, will have a smaller cab. You can probably have 2 normal sized humans at most in a "traveller-1-box lift" and they would be crammed in...
I don't want to take the fun out of drawing deck plans for people, it's all make believe after all. But this shows the reality of vertical circulation.

 

[AndrewW]

1) Interior air locks. Normally an airlock takes up... 3 tons I think??? But that is a lock to the exterior of the ship. Internal locks that connect sections of a ship (like a vehicle bay, cargo bay, or sections separated by air tight bulk heads, shouldn't take up any additional space... because they are simply part of the corridor. You should pay the for the cost, but not the volume. Also, you can have a 1 ton or even half-ton internal lock, just extrapolate the cost down (or up)

2 or more tons for additional airlocks. But that's for extra airlocks, you still get some included with the ship as well, that tonnage can come out of the bridge or excess from staterooms and so forth. Or just throw it into the 'slop' space.

2) I want to introduce a REVOLUTIONARY bit of technology alien to most every current star ship. I call this new technology "stairs". Now your passengers don't have to climb up a little ladder through a hole in the floor... actually when you look at many deck plans...

I always try to avoid putting a hatch in the middle of a hallway. And typically include lifts as well, I tend to use both, if there's no power the lift isn't going to do you much good but can still use the hatchways to get between decks.

 

[Jak Nazryth]

I have the same design principal as some of your drawings. The vertical circulation is never in the corridor itself, always adjacent to it. 90% of the time, a "1 square lift" is directly across the corridor for the very reason you give. In case of power loss, the floor to floor access ladder is right there. Also, it's common for me to wall off the ladder/hatch from the rest of the corridor via door. In normal operation is remains open, but in emergencies and combat operations, it automatically closes.. In essence creating a vertical air lock. That way if one deck is decompressed, or filled with harmful gasses, you can move up and down without endangering the other levels.