My home rule on small craft design

[Jak Nazryth]

On the note of small ships, will start a new thread... I have changed one major part of the design mechanic. It's just beyond dumb that a single person needs 1.5 tons of space. That's more than 75 square feet of floor space, a "box" of space 7'8" x 7'8" x 8' high (clear head room). only slightly larger is a standard sized state room (about 10'x10' or 3m X 3m per GURPS and T20. (In my case since the Mongoose rules say concerning actual size of staterooms "average size is about 3 tons) I allow a 2ton state room (same size as GURPS and T20) for middle or working passengers but high passengers can only occupy the traditional 3 ton room) Anyway... For only slightly more square feet than a single passenger seat on a small craft, you get a full fresher including a toilet, shower, sink, and compact washer/dryer unit, 2 bunks, desk and chair, closet, kitchenette with food processor, under-counter refrigerator, small cabinet for in-cabin snacks etc... storage for personal items (under the bunk).
But in a small craft... you get 1 seat.
I use 1/2 ton per passenger myself. That is 1 passenger chair every 25 square feet (5'x5' or 1.5m x 1.5 meter box). A luxury seat in a sports stadium, or first class airliner, uses about 9 square feet (3'x3' box) per seat. And those are VERY comfy!

So a smaller craft can carry more passengers... IMTU

 

[far-trader]

The "couch" right? If I recall correctly. When I first saw that I said: Proof reading error, errata fix needed, misprint, should be "0.5 tons" just like CT and pretty much every other Traveller rules set.

EDIT: hehe, speaking of proof reading and misprint, small spelling fix applied

 

[pasuuli]

And the rule of thumb I use informally is four people per ton, but that is for shuttle flights to and from orbit you understand, not for trips from Terra to Saturn.

 

[AndrewW]

The "couch" right? If I recall correctly. When I first saw that I said: Proof reading error, errata fix needed, misprint, should be "0.5 tons" just like CT and pretty much every other Traveller rules set.

Yup, small craft can have acceleration couches for short duration passengers which are .5 tons each.

 

[phavoc]

I believe the design rules call for 2 people Dton space. Which to me seems like first class.

I use a rule of thumb for 2 people/Dton for 'roomy', and 3 people/Dton for 'coach/cramped'.

It may not be the best seat in the house, but its more than adequate for basic transportation.

 

[BP]

Assume the OP is referring to The Main Compartment section of HG (p60), where the cockpit/control cabin is described as containing (should be including, IMO) controls and sensors, etc., and no other design element accommodates basic life support. For these the 1.5 tons seems ok. (The fighter examples use the term 'bridge'. :roll: )

1.5 tons for each crew member, though, is silly.

Of course, so is all the fluff text - silly and limiting for RAW.

In the RW, fighter pilots can spend very long durations in a cockpit - it boils down to refueling, fatigue and cramping (less an issue with gravitics and space travel) and consumables (water, air, food - the first two more likely to be recycled very efficiently). Designers should have the provided options to vary this.

In CT fashion, the rules would have been better in the form Cockpit X tons, Cr Y, with a one liner description for each. Sensors, Control Suites, and Life Support should all have been detailed out with various options.

(Also, limiting tech terms like 'electronics' should never have been used... a control and processing system could be mechanical, optical, fluidic, chemical, etc.)