jump template

The rules do say Cassettes, but all a cassette IS is a housing for tape reels*. Term was invented by Phillips, from the French for "little case".

VCR stands for videocassette recording, but you rarely called them anything other than VCR tapes or video tapes..

Properly, other swappable data are cartridges.

*(or sometimes film stock, I guess. Reels of some kind.)
 
Last edited:
The rules do say Cassettes, but all a cassette IS is a housing for tape reels*. Term was invented by Phillips, from the French for "little case".

VCR stands for videocassette recording, but you rarely called them anything other than VCR tapes or video tapes..

Properly, other swappable data are cartridges.

*(or sometimes film stock, I guess. Reels of some kind.)

Well, it is a housing or a little case for something. It doesn't have to be tape or reels (although I am sure that is what GDW had in the back of their minds at the time of writing), just something that needs a more robust housing for protection of the contents.

There is no explicit specification anywhere of what was actually housed in the cassette.
 
Printer ribbons are also in Cassettes. But I'm struggling to find anything much that's in one that is not spooled. Otherwise (and often instead) it's cartridges.
 
The rules do say Cassettes, but all a cassette IS is a housing for tape reels*. Term was invented by Phillips, from the French for "little case".
Cassettes can contain many things, the word has been corrupted to mean only tape cassette or cassette tape.
VCR stands for videocassette recording, but you rarely called them anything other than VCR tapes or video tapes..

Properly, other swappable data are cartridges.

*(or sometimes film stock, I guess. Reels of some kind.)
The word cassette can be used to describe any caddy carrying something internal that is then inserted into another device.

A server blade could be cassette mounted, a USB drive is in a small cassette, especially the retractable ones.
 
Printer ribbons are also in Cassettes. But I'm struggling to find anything much that's in one that is not spooled. Otherwise (and often instead) it's cartridges.
How about floppy disks? Some early CDs had you place the CD in a case before inserting them in the machine that could be called a cassette. Still rotating media but not spooled.
 
I am not talking about a jump tape.

The Starbase gets the ship location. Then they do that Astro Calculation for the ship taking the ship size, configuration, jump engines, ETC and does custom Astro Calcs. Then sends them to the ship. Tapes that you buy are generic and introduce a lot of issues.
 
I am not talking about a jump tape.

The Starbase gets the ship location. Then they do that Astro Calculation for the ship taking the ship size, configuration, jump engines, ETC and does custom Astro Calcs. Then sends them to the ship. Tapes that you buy are generic and introduce a lot of issues.
Where does it say that jump tapes cause lots of issues? Seems to me that the difference between a jump tape and what you are saying is, one is on a physical medium and the other isn't.
 
sorry, I just imagine that you wonder into the Jump store and browse the jump tape section. "Lets see, here is the 200 ton ships, 2 parsecs, straight line, Ah here is one." And I thought that there was a negative DM to the jump from using a tape.
 
sorry, I just imagine that you wonder into the Jump store and browse the jump tape section. "Lets see, here is the 200 ton ships, 2 parsecs, straight line, Ah here is one." And I thought that there was a negative DM to the jump from using a tape.
For jumping to an empty hex, using a jump tape gives you a +4DM, so it actually helps you.
 
I refuse to believe that a gape purchased has no negative DM modifier when an unassisted AI will have a -2. Maybe that is why they do not really exist except to a passing word, they existed in the LBB days. The tape completely bypasses the Astrogation roll all together. I don't think so.
 
I refuse to believe that a gape purchased has no negative DM modifier when an unassisted AI will have a -2. Maybe that is why they do not really exist except to a passing word, they existed in the LBB days. The tape completely bypasses the Astrogation roll all together. I don't think so.
The tape is created by a person and trained astrogator, therefore not subject to the -2 for not being a sophont.

If it were given away for free would you have more trust in it?
 
No, The trained Astrogator still need ship data to make the tape. And that takes Realtime statistics from the ship. That includes your ships current location within the system, Exactly where you would like to arrive in the destination system, IE third Gas Giant. ETC... something that an AI would have. And then there is still the matter on no Astrogation roll when using a tape.

Now if the trained Astrogator connected to your ships computer and did the calculations then I would trust it. But then why put it on tape instead of just loading them into engineering for the jump drives.
 
No, The trained Astrogator still need ship data to make the tape. And that takes Realtime statistics from the ship. That includes your ships current location within the system, Exactly where you would like to arrive in the destination system, IE third Gas Giant. ETC... something that an AI would have. And then there is still the matter on no Astrogation roll when using a tape.

Now if the trained Astrogator connected to your ships computer and did the calculations then I would trust it. But then why put it on tape instead of just loading them into engineering for the jump drives.
They are good for a week after the calculation is done. So, I don't think these calculations are nearly as involved as you think they are. If they are good for a week and you still get a +4DM on the roll, then apparently you don't have to be too accurate. I wouldn't do it if it was for higher than J-2, but J-1 and J-2 should work fine.
 
Yes in the LBB's they were kind of lax'ed about some stuff. Good thing this isn't LBB it is MgT. And they are that complex when dealing with every gravity well and 100D from every object between your current location and the destination.

But you do you Boo.
 
Yes in the LBB's they were kind of lax'ed about some stuff. Good thing this isn't LBB it is MgT. And they are that complex when dealing with every gravity well and 100D from every object between your current location and the destination.

But you do you Boo.
Ummm... This is MgT2.

World Builder's Handbook page 223
 
Yes that is MgT2e and as I said there is on obscure reference with no detail as to what the Jump Template is. So according to that table, strictly speaking, it can only be used to jump to empty hexes.
 
Back
Top