Condottiere
Emperor Mongoose
The point being, you can convert a smallcraft into a starship, any number of ways, as long as you get the proper engineering, controls, and minimum enclosed space.
Okay, say your group wants to sell their starship...
- Thread starter Galadrion
- Start date
The towing rules also cover it. But thrust is easy to apply to a securely connected mass. That's just real physics.
The is a slightly open question (settled in my mind to the affirmitive) as to whether a smaller craft with a docking clamp that limpets onto a jump ship can be carried along with it when it jumps, as long as the jump ship has capacity.
Note that in the case of a customs ship or pirate, this COULD prevent the jump ship from jumping, if it doesn't have enough jump capacity (a 50 ton cutter clamping a J-1 Free Trader or Subsidised Merchant, for example).
Unless you do a Han Solo.
The is a slightly open question (settled in my mind to the affirmitive) as to whether a smaller craft with a docking clamp that limpets onto a jump ship can be carried along with it when it jumps, as long as the jump ship has capacity.
Note that in the case of a customs ship or pirate, this COULD prevent the jump ship from jumping, if it doesn't have enough jump capacity (a 50 ton cutter clamping a J-1 Free Trader or Subsidised Merchant, for example).
Unless you do a Han Solo.
Terry Mixon
Emperor Mongoose
You do you, but I’ll disagree on that. 100-ton hull—not displacement—required.
Terry Mixon
Emperor Mongoose
I like that idea but make it robotic. A jump attempt might kill everyone on both ships.
Full robotic is unlikely to be required. Just remote ops.
ALTHOUGH...
"Bzzt... Hello! I am Clampy, your freindly Clamp Module! I look forward to an... engaging... and... close experience with your ship today! Ha! Ha!"
Terry Mixon
Emperor Mongoose
That works too.
Fluffy Bunny Feet
Emperor Mongoose
If the designers don't want it being done like this why don't they reduce the size and/or price of the bridges of non starships? Why should a non starship 100 ton Seeker for example pay the same bridge cost (in MCr and tonnage) if they don't control all the same abilities? Maybe they should get the .1 MCr price of a Station rather than the (Star)ship .5 MCr?
Small bridge is a rule, as are cockpits. Go to town on a new construction ship, though in the case of the Seeker conversion it would cost more to rip out the Type-S bridge and install a smaller one. Or go prospecting in a boat.
And the Seeker IS a starship.
Scout/Seeker bridge is already pretty much at minimum comfortable starship size with two stations. One for the pilot/sensops, one for the engineer/astrogator. Yeah, one person CAN operate it all, but it's designed for the common situation where you do have a couple of crew to share the duties.
And the Seeker IS a starship.
Scout/Seeker bridge is already pretty much at minimum comfortable starship size with two stations. One for the pilot/sensops, one for the engineer/astrogator. Yeah, one person CAN operate it all, but it's designed for the common situation where you do have a couple of crew to share the duties.
I'm not sure what the dispute is. If you want to build a starship that can break off a small craft, that is entirely within the rules, you just have to make sure that your 100dton version of the ship meets all the requirements.
As far as the bridge goes, there's nothing about the bridge that is relevant to being jump capable. That's all software running on the ship's computer. And, in the current version of the rules, a person to use that software.
As far as the bridge goes, there's nothing about the bridge that is relevant to being jump capable. That's all software running on the ship's computer. And, in the current version of the rules, a person to use that software.
Fluffy Bunny Feet
Emperor Mongoose
THE Type J Seeker is a Starship. A Seeker need not be a Type J or a Starship.
This bothered me a little as well, and I tended to assume it would be the larger ship that had the clamp.
That said both sides of the interface don't need the hatch sized airlock, it is built into the clamp mechanism. Every ship may have engineering access hatches and emergency exits all over ships that we do not bother to detail. All it needs is for those to be a standard design that has a solid lug for the clamp to attach to (and that might be a requirement for maintenance anyway) and we are off to the races.
It would certainly require the agreement of the carrier as they would need to open their side of the hatch (and switch off any alarms) and some or even most ships might not have such attachment points, but it would seem a logical design feature if you were building a vessel with extra jump capacity.
Whilst in theory that is possible, actually getting the clamp on might be a challenge if the ship you wish to clamp doesn't want to cooperate. I would expect either party to be able to deny a connect or initiate a disconnect (e.g. explosive bolts on the docking lug) or the whole thing becomes a security and safety issue.
This might work if you manage to convince them to hold station while you conduct delicate docking manoeuvres but not if they are about to jump (as they are unlikely to hang about at the 100D point while some suspicious vessel approaches within kilometers (and simply by being within a few kilometers are already imposing a jump hazard due to their (admittedly tiny) jump shadow.
So possible but there are probably cheaper and easier ways to do it routinely.
Terry Mixon
Emperor Mongoose
A giant robotic speargun. It fires a cable and draws itself in to clamp on and hold.
Well, if it's a Customs Patrol, you have to let them do it, or try to fight or run.
Otherwise, it's a measure they put in place after hostile linkage and boarding tube stuff, although a mobile Clamp boat should be able to use the same procedure as a boarding shuttle does. Essentially it's a budget boarding shuttle that doesn't board.
Otherwise, it's a measure they put in place after hostile linkage and boarding tube stuff, although a mobile Clamp boat should be able to use the same procedure as a boarding shuttle does. Essentially it's a budget boarding shuttle that doesn't board.
Condottiere
Emperor Mongoose
The bridge is an interface between the flight crew and the ship components.
What counts is paying for wiring up the hull, since you pay per hundred tonnes.
That's the game mechanism, since you just as easily could have the engineering next to the bridge, and forego wiring up everywhere else.
What counts is paying for wiring up the hull, since you pay per hundred tonnes.
That's the game mechanism, since you just as easily could have the engineering next to the bridge, and forego wiring up everywhere else.
Sigtrygg
Emperor Mongoose
step 1 -- design hull, minimum 100t for jump ship, but then I can add the breakaway option...
"Breakaway Hulls: A ship can be designed so it can operate as two or more independent vessels, breaking or splitting away from one another. Each section must have an appropriate bridge and power plant to operate it. Manoeuvre drive, jump drive, sensors, weapons, screens and so forth are all options that can (and, under normal circumstances, should) be included in each section. While the sections are together, drives, power plants and weapons can all be combined when calculating performance. This whole process consumes 2% of the combined hull tonnage for the extra bulkheads and connections needed, and costs MCr2 per ton consumed. Hull points of each section will be proportionate to the total Hull points of the ship"
So I need a power plant and bridge in each breakaway ship, which also means 1 ton of fuel minimum in each
Which section gets the 2% hit? Do I share it evenly or dump it all on one of the breakaway sections?
"Breakaway Hulls: A ship can be designed so it can operate as two or more independent vessels, breaking or splitting away from one another. Each section must have an appropriate bridge and power plant to operate it. Manoeuvre drive, jump drive, sensors, weapons, screens and so forth are all options that can (and, under normal circumstances, should) be included in each section. While the sections are together, drives, power plants and weapons can all be combined when calculating performance. This whole process consumes 2% of the combined hull tonnage for the extra bulkheads and connections needed, and costs MCr2 per ton consumed. Hull points of each section will be proportionate to the total Hull points of the ship"
So I need a power plant and bridge in each breakaway ship, which also means 1 ton of fuel minimum in each
Which section gets the 2% hit? Do I share it evenly or dump it all on one of the breakaway sections?
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