Marchkeep or Banfi Starport Displacement

[Terry Mixon]

I'm trying to get a reference to what size (other than the biggest) Marchkeep Starport at Mora or Banfi Starport at Glisten are. I want to design something to rival their size but without it actually being stated somewhere, that's surprisingly challenging. I could make a billion-ton starport and still not be sure that I'm even in the same league as the big boys.

Can anyone help a guy out?

 

[MasterGwydion]

I'm trying to get a reference to what size (other than the biggest) Marchkeep Starport at Mora or Banfi Starport at Glisten are. I want to design something to rival their size but without it actually being stated somewhere, that's surprisingly challenging. I could make a billion-ton starport and still not be sure that I'm even in the same league as the big boys.

Can anyone help a guy out?

I would help, but without an actual economic model, there is not enough data to give even a guess. So, unfortunately, it will come down to either designing an entire economic system (Ouch!) or just making something up and then making sure that any Starport in the future that you design is smaller than whatever precedent that you created IYTU.

 

[Terry Mixon]

I would help, but without an actual economic model, there is not enough data to give even a guess. So, unfortunately, it will come down to either designing an entire economic system (Ouch!) or just making something up and then making sure that any Starport in the future that you design is smaller than whatever precedent that you created IYTU.

Or bigger since I'm breaking my universe and players.

Gurps Traveller said the shipyards at Mora's starport itself could build 3,000,000 tons, so I have that metric.

New shipyard target: 3,050,000.

 

[agentwigggles]

Marchkeep dtons: Yes
Its roughly 12miles in height. Which is ~3.2k dtons tall, and around 5 miles at its thickest or ~1.3 dtons long.
You can roughly figure out the volume, by treating each section as its own cylinder and just adding the volume of the cylinder together.

 

[Terry Mixon]

Marchkeep dtons: Yes
Its roughly 12miles in height. Which is ~3.2k dtons tall, and around 5 miles at its thickest or ~1.3 dtons long.
You can roughly figure out the volume, by treating each section as its own cylinder and just adding the volume of the cylinder together.

Maths, we hates them!

Thanks, I’ll see if I can figure this out tomorrow. I have low confidence, mind you, in my personal calculative abilities, but I have the data I need to try. Appreciate it.

 

[GabrielGABFonseca]

So! I've done my very best to approximate the station in Blender based on the diagram and the renders in GURPS Starports. Those 'prongs' are a pain in the ass to model, let me tell you that...

But anyhow, it seems the station is some 10 Km 'tall' (long axis) and ~4.825 km in diameter at its widest point. Using Blender's in-built volume calculation tool, this behemoth comes in at a whopping 36,746,198,573 Cubic Meters. Or, assuming the standard 13.5 m³ dTon, around 2,722,000,000 dTons.

As the internet would put it: a heckin' chonker indeed.

 

[agentwigggles]

2.7b
Holy heck, I think that might make one of the largest structures in chartered space

My favorite bit of marchkeep is the observation dome. MTU is that when you go into it at the bottom, the grav in verse so you look up to the dome toward Mora.

 

[MasterGwydion]

So! I've done my very best to approximate the station in Blender based on the diagram and the renders in GURPS Starports. Those 'prongs' are a pain in the ass to model, let me tell you that...

But anyhow, it seems the station is some 10 Km 'tall' (long axis) and ~4.825 km in diameter at its widest point. Using Blender's in-built volume calculation tool, this behemoth comes in at a whopping 36,746,198,573 Cubic Meters. Or, assuming the standard 13.5 m³ dTon, around 2,722,000,000 dTons.

As the internet would put it: a heckin' chonker indeed.

View attachment 2242

Crap! I don't think I have ever designed anything that big!

 

[Sigtrygg]

I have a PC ship in my Culture universe that is a GSV 175km x 90km x 50km = 5.625 x 10^12 displacement tons.

 

[Terry Mixon]

So! I've done my very best to approximate the station in Blender based on the diagram and the renders in GURPS Starports. Those 'prongs' are a pain in the ass to model, let me tell you that...

But anyhow, it seems the station is some 10 Km 'tall' (long axis) and ~4.825 km in diameter at its widest point. Using Blender's in-built volume calculation tool, this behemoth comes in at a whopping 36,746,198,573 Cubic Meters. Or, assuming the standard 13.5 m³ dTon, around 2,722,000,000 dTons.

As the internet would put it: a heckin' chonker indeed.

View attachment 2242

Wow. That shows how off my maths were. I used 19.8 feet per dTon and after measuring the image and scaling it, it was a measly 220 million dTons. Off by more than a factor of 10. That thing is HUGE.

Thanks for doing this. I appreciate it and am sure others will as well.

 

[agentwigggles]

Is Marchkeep big enough to have a visable shadow on the surface?

 

[Nelphine]

Yeah I've done 25 million dton ships, but that's not remotely the same scale. I guess I could do the station those dock at, but I don't think I ever thought about how big it was.

 

[MasterGwydion]

Is Marchkeep big enough to have a visable shadow on the surface?

Maybe, yes?

 

[Terry Mixon]

2.7b
Holy heck, I think that might make one of the largest structures in chartered space

My favorite bit of marchkeep is the observation dome. MTU is that when you go into it at the bottom, the grav in verse so you look up to the dome toward Mora.

I suspect the starport at Capital might top it.

 

[Sigtrygg]

So! I've done my very best to approximate the station in Blender based on the diagram and the renders in GURPS Starports. Those 'prongs' are a pain in the ass to model, let me tell you that...

But anyhow, it seems the station is some 10 Km 'tall' (long axis) and ~4.825 km in diameter at its widest point. Using Blender's in-built volume calculation tool, this behemoth comes in at a whopping 36,746,198,573 Cubic Meters. Or, assuming the standard 13.5 m³ dTon, around 2,722,000,000 dTons.

As the internet would put it: a heckin' chonker indeed.

View attachment 2242

Wrong assumption, the standard displacement ton is defined in Mongoose Traveller core rules and in High Guard as 14 cubic metres, ie the volume of one metric ton of liquid hydrogen rather than the scale of a deckplan.
I strongly dislike the Traveller iterations that use the 13.5 definition.

 

[GabrielGABFonseca]

Wrong assumption, the standard displacement ton is defined in Mongoose Traveller core rules and in High Guard as 14 cubic metres, ie the volume of one metric ton of liquid hydrogen rather than the scale of a deckplan.
I strongly dislike the Traveller iterations that use the 13.5 definition.

I feel honoured to be summoned to a bout of the classic 14 vs 13.5 debate! 'Tis a rite of passage for any aspirant Traveller, after all.

That aside; I recognise that 14 cubic meters has both the weight of tradition and physicality going for it (closer to the real-world value of liquid hydrogen), but I generally go for the 13.5 due to the neatness of the four 1.5x1.5x1.5 meter cubes and its formal definition in Traveller 5.

Be as it may, I calculated Marchkeep's volume in Cubic Meters, so whatever definition of dTon one chooses to use should be easy to calculate.

 

[Condottiere]

I'm pretty sure we can find some place on the deckplans to stuff in that extra half cubic metre.

 

[MasterGwydion]

I'm pretty sure we can find some place on the deckplans to stuff in that extra half cubic metre.

Just put it above or below on the deckplans. Easy. It is the extra space taken up by all of the non-listed crap that was listed in FFS, but that I don't want to have to work hard enough to create and keep track of. lol

 

[Terry Mixon]

Just put it above or below on the deckplans. Easy. It is the extra space taken up by all of the non-listed crap that was listed in FFS, but that I don't want to have to work hard enough to create and keep track of. lol

So, should I design a 3-billion-ton spaceport to bedevil my players, MasterGwydion? I only made it 1 billion. It might feel inadequate when all the spaceports get together.

 

[MasterGwydion]

So, should I design a 3-billion-ton spaceport to bedevil my players, MasterGwydion? I only made it 1 billion. It might feel inadequate when all the spaceports get together.

Good luck figuring out how you are going to keep the power plant on that thing full of fuel. lmao! Could be fun though. 1,000,000,000dton station. Basic Power Requirements before all modules and such? 100,000,000 Power per turn. TL-15 Fusion Power Plant. 5,000,000dtons of power plant. Fuel per month. 500,000dtons. Fuel per day. Just under 18,000dtons

LMAO!

and that is with it cut down to your 1 Billion dton station. lolz. and also before you add anything else that requires power... lol

The Downport must be massive as well