Lack of Fuel

[phavoc]

clearly stating how much fuel is for the maximum jump rating, and how many weeks operation it has allows a player to do quick calculation and know.

If you have any small craft that bolloxes up the idea. Not sure if fuel set aside for small craft should be counted as cargo, or added into the normal amount. In ships like the Mercenary transport it's never quite clear.

 

[Rikki Tikki Traveller]

For the designs listed here, it is clearly stated that the fuel is for Jump, x weeks of operations and small craft refueling. That was good. How much was for each was not stated.

 

[-Daniel-]

For the designs listed here, it is clearly stated that the fuel is for Jump, x weeks of operations and small craft refueling. That was good. How much was for each was not stated.

If they all use the same fuel, why does it need to be broken out? I am trying to follow the issue here. Sorry if it is obvious and I am just missing it.

 

[Condottiere]

Maybe mention it in the notes the normal allocation?

 

[phavoc]

For the designs listed here, it is clearly stated that the fuel is for Jump, x weeks of operations and small craft refueling. That was good. How much was for each was not stated.

If they all use the same fuel, why does it need to be broken out? I am trying to follow the issue here. Sorry if it is obvious and I am just missing it.

It's one of those rob peter to pay paul sort of things. Knowing how much was allocated to the ship for jump and power plant and how much is allocated for small craft lets you plan better. Sure, you could always use the fuel on the ship and leave your small craft dry or with almost no fuel. Specifically calling out how much fuel is set aside for small craft also lets the reader know that the fuel estimates are correct. Seeing a ship with say 400 tons of fuel but when you run the numbers only 360 are necessary for jump and 4wks operation, you may start to wonder if there was a mistake in the listing. So pointing it out means it's easier to keep track of in the first place.

 

[Reynard]

I'm finally planning to give the space combat rules a play test so I printed out the rules and was printing the various ships and looked them over a little more carefully thinking about the fuel question. I also considered the weapons on those sheets. What we have in the main book are off the shelf, plain jane in the sales lot ships. Few have weapons to start and ships that expect to make runs from one 100D point to another regularly have minimal fuel to save space for other important features. For the main book, most Travellers with a ship other than a scout or mercenary cruiser will do just fine as they have a personal conveyance and base of operations between said points for most adventures to start. Just as they will need to find and pay for ship weapons, at some point in their adventuring they might decide they NEED to travel more than two weeks in system. That's when some of that cash they accumulate is spent on fuel bladders or collapsible tanks that should appear in High Guard. For beginning players (and refs) the weapons will more likely be the important issue and cash (ship share) drain. That, to me, is giving players and refs more flexibility not less. You decide how much of your precious cargo space to give up for endurance.

 

[-Daniel-]

Knowing how much was allocated to the ship for jump and power plant and how much is allocated for small craft lets you plan better.

Ah got you. Sort of like having the reserve water source in real life. It is all in one barrel but in my mind there is so much for the family to drink, for the pets to drink, to use for particular tasks, etc. But it is all in one place.

In that case, I agree, it would be worth knowing the total and break down.

 

[allanimal]

I agree the fuel usage needs to be listed somewhere.

But it needs to be detailed - if my ship has jump-3 drive and fuel for one jump-3, how much is used when a jump-2 is made? Is it 100% of the jump fuel or 2/3 of the jump fuel?
I can see the argument either way.

The rules need to clarify the situation.

 

[AndrewW]

But it needs to be detailed - if my ship has jump-3 drive and fuel for one jump-3, how much is used when a jump-2 is made? Is it 100% of the jump fuel or 2/3 of the jump fuel?
I can see the argument either way.

The rules need to clarify the situation.

You would use the amount of fuel required for the jump. So if you made a jump-2 this would use the amount of fuel needed to make a jump-2, leaving enough fuel in this case for a jump-1. But agree, the jump fuel formula should be included in the core rulebook.

 

[Captain Jonah]

Something which is very clear in a lot of the rules is that it has been written BY Traveller players FOR Traveller players. There are a number of places where we long term players are arguing which would be complete chaos for someone coming into the game new.

While some will find the presence of explanations and clearly defined rules a waste of time and space they are vital for new players, failure to have clean, clear, easy to understand rules will kill any possibility of new players getting involved.

If we are arguing over the rules because they are open to multiple interpretations where will new players be?

 

[Reynard]

It seems (to me at least) the new core book is the gateway into Traveller introducing game mechanics and essential play tools to get games up and running simply and easily. The other source books will add detail and complexity that expands the game. Looking at the ship sheets, I see the fuel block listing Jump capability, endurance and whether there is a boat fuel reserve. That's plenty of information for the basic games. I would suggest a note in the Fuel section in Space Operations noting a complete refueling is reflected in the Fuel notation on the ship sheets just to allay misunderstanding.

Details are what the advanced books are for. Keep the Core book the first book for easy beginning play.