Jumping from within atmosphere

captainjack23 said:
...I've learned from bitter experience never to give players a suicide bomb, or create a new terror weapon.
:lol: (Analyst sits shaking head with big smirk!)
 
captainjack23 said:
My call is that inside of 10 diameters, more or less, you stay where you are, and the drive systems slag down. expensive and useless.

This would be my call too - I would have the ship instantly drop back out of jump space, or never actually successfully enter it*. The jump drive is probably destroyed, and if you're really wicked then maybe even the powerplant and m drive too - in which case the characters better hope there are parachutes on board….

* the reason I say this is if you have a week-long non-jump, then when the ship re-appears, you have to answer the question of whether it remained stationary in relation to he universe in general, the local star system, or just the world. Because star systems move through space constantly, a week of standing still relative to the universe in general would probably result in a significant change in position relative to the entry point…. It's easier to just make the jump instantaneous and ignore the problem !
 
I'd firstly have a shedload of saftey protocols they'd have to bypass. SERIOUS saftey protocols - punching a hole to another dimension in an unsafe configuration isn't like trying to change the share rights on a pictures folder! It'll take more than a couple of right clicks (My Starship>Settings >Control Panel>Systems>enginnering>Jump Drive) and clicking yes on "Readings indicate the plotted location is an unsafe source. Are you sure you want to activate the jump drive?". There may even be safties hardwired into the drives that would have to be physically bypassed or removed.

I'd also say that you just can't propogate a jump field in an atmosphere, as it either strips away the venting deuterium if you are moving, or the deuterium boils away and disperses before the jump bubble is formed if you are stationary. Without a jump bubble, the jump drive won't fire. The jump capacitors will need a way to discharge all the stored power without forming a jump field, probably in an energetic burst of light an heat from the Lantanum grid/coils - probably burning them out and maybe igniting any remains of the deutirium and possibly burning through the hull in the process.

The atmosphere of most habitable planets will be waaaaaay smaller than a 10D limit anyway, so if you were out of the atmosphere you could still try and jump within 10D with all the associated fun.

G.
 
GJD said:
I'd firstly have a shedload of saftey protocols they'd have to bypass. SERIOUS saftey protocols - punching a hole to another dimension in an unsafe configuration isn't like trying to change the share rights on a pictures folder! It'll take more than a couple of right clicks (My Starship>Settings >Control Panel>Systems>enginnering>Jump Drive) and clicking yes on "Readings indicate the plotted location is an unsafe source. Are you sure you want to activate the jump drive?". There may even be safties hardwired into the drives that would have to be physically bypassed or removed.

G.

That made me smile.

ALERT: It looks like you are attempting to override safety protocols and initiate a Jump within the 10 diameter limit and within an atmosphere. This may lead to unforeseen events, such as drive failure, thermonuclear detonation, global planetary atmosphere combustion firestorm, or hypernova and mini big-bang ignition.

Are you sure you want to continue ?

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One other scenario; a suitably big orbital installation may have an interior space where (if you can manage the accuracy) you could jump into or out of. Which could be a nice way to bypass the externally mounted armament of a big military facility.....

By this, I mean something like Babylon 5 or Rama's central chambers - a massive cylinder where there is actually only a centrifuge effect, not actually gravity, and hence no real (gravitational) reason why you can't fire up the drive whilst inside what appears to be a planetary atmosphere to anyone else present.
 
locarno24 said:
One other scenario; a suitably big orbital installation may have an interior space where (if you can manage the accuracy) you could jump into or out of. Which could be a nice way to bypass the externally mounted armament of a big military facility.....

By this, I mean something like Babylon 5 or Rama's central chambers - a massive cylinder where there is actually only a centrifuge effect, not actually gravity, and hence no real (gravitational) reason why you can't fire up the drive whilst inside what appears to be a planetary atmosphere to anyone else present.

Ahh, but all mass creates gravity. Rama and B5 certainly created their own gravity irrespective of the coriolis effect, just not much of it. Besides, an orbital installation, by nature of it being in orbit, may still be within the 100D limit of the parent planet.

G.
 
All mass creates gravit, but nothing like on a scale that would produce a gravity well that would interfere with a jump.


As to the planetary orbit....as you say, it depends. If it's in direct planetary orbit, probably so. If in a high co-lunar orbit or at a lagrange point, possibly not.

Just a thought, anyway.
 
In MGT Jump accuracy does not seem to be a precise science (not to say in your TU it can't be) - so jumping inside a relatively small object might not be feasible.

The 100D 'limit' doesn't correlate directly with gravity - so my read on this is that entry to and emergence from Jump is based on distance from matter (i.e. not the strength of the gravity well). The counter effect being that one cannot Jump into existing matter - because one would simply pre-emerge prior to occupying the same space (of course nothing says you don't then slam into the normal space matter :D ).

Since normal matter 'possess' gravity - there is a relationship, but not direct. So wether jumping near a hollow sphere or from a planet sized neutron star - its still 100D that is the limit...
 
BP said:
In MGT Jump accuracy does not seem to be a precise science (not to say in your TU it can't be) - so jumping inside a relatively small object might not be feasible.

The 100D 'limit' doesn't correlate directly with gravity - so my read on this is that entry to and emergence from Jump is based on distance from matter (i.e. not the strength of the gravity well). The counter effect being that one cannot Jump into existing matter - because one would simply pre-emerge prior to occupying the same space (of course nothing says you don't then slam into the normal space matter :D ).

Since normal matter 'possess' gravity - there is a relationship, but not direct. So wether jumping near a hollow sphere or from a planet sized neutron star - its still 100D that is the limit...

Very good point. My follow on question would be then what is the smallest mass/volume/quantity of matter that would precipitate a vessel out of jumpspace, or prevent you from jumping? 100d from a grain of sand? If that's the case you'll be popping out of jump any time you get near a lump of space fluff as you pass through interstellar space. 100d from an equivalent volume/mass/whatever?

G.
 
GJD said:
...My follow on question would be then what is the smallest mass/volume/quantity of matter that would precipitate a vessel out of jumpspace, or prevent you from jumping? 100d from a grain of sand? If that's the case you'll be popping out of jump any time you get near a lump of space fluff as you pass through interstellar space. 100d from an equivalent volume/mass/whatever?
Ah - here is the reason why Jumps are never 100% accurate - even the smallest amount of matter has an effect. To impair (note - does not prevent) Jump or cause pre-emergence typically requires significant amounts of matter (stars, planets, moons, asteroids) - others simply cause generally mild deviations in course/time. Partly to blame for the 148+6d6 hours and the arrives 'close to the target' aspects of play.

Thus one 'could' jump from within atmo, but would not emerge within... on emergence normal space 'resists' matter occupying the same space at the same time. Resulting in jump emergence in the near vacuum of space - and not inside another ship, or even a 2' diameter near-c rock! So even the 'smallest grain of sand' has an effect - though individually it will be neglible with respect to misjumps.

Even gas atoms (such as stray ones in space) will have an effect - but such are by nature largely seperated (100d = atomic diameter) so not really a practical problem. I would say this could generate small Jump signature as some atoms will invariably exist causing annihilation of atomic/sub-atomic particles resulting in slightly abnormal radiation (again the word above was resists - not absolutely prevents matter occupying the same space). Large bodies of gas - made up of numerous particles moving around at speed (i.e. > absolute zero) will resist re-emergence - hence while one might Jump from atmo (with much greater chance of misjump than deep space - not any real difference from 100D of a planet because matter of planet is much, much greater than atmo) re-emerging is virtually impossible.

This approach largely accounts for misjumps aside from equipment irregularities, and poor skill. It also avoids a 1000 ton frieghter re-emerging with a 400 ton starship inside it - the 400 ton ship would push the re-emergence away - around 100D. (They could still collide afterwards. - but the odds of emerging even within 100D of a starship are fairly small under normal circumstances - even around the same planet experiencing 1000s of jumps a day).
 
captainjack23 said:
Old traveller rules (and possibly MGT, I may have missed it) had it that jumps within 10 diameters caused instant destruction of the drive, if not the ship. If they are within the atmosphere, they are certainly within 10 planetary diameters.

No it is +15 to the mishap roll for jumping within 10 diameters, +10 if within 100 diameters. With the drive Mishap roll being 13+ on 2d6.

So effectively drive destroyed.

Though that depends more on the gamemaster than anything else.
 
my players 'aimed' for a jump to a system's gas giant, blow the jump roll and I had them reappear in the GG's atmosphere, I roled a few D6 (# roled relfecting how deeply inside the atmo they where, based on how bad the jump role missed) for number of hits to the ship do to stress and stain, etc....then treated it like missle hits.

seemed to work ok..
 
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