Anybody mind posting some home-made examples of Schizo Tech across the Third Imperium for YTU?
Schizo-Tech in Traveller
- Thread starter Voltron64
- Start date
DFW said:There are plenty of real world examples on Earth. No need to look further.
Too true. I think you're going to find this sort of thing on most 'low tech' worlds that aren't under some kind of trade embargo or interdiction. As long as they have some kind of resource they can trade offwrold they'll have offworld currency to buy some high-tech goods to spruice up their otherwise low-tech lives.
When I first visitedmy wife's hometown in China back in 2001 donkey carts with feairly up to date suspensions and modern rubber wheels were very common, you still see them occasionaly nowadays. I can easily imagine a donkey-pulled cart that uses anti-grav (Just for weight neutralisation) to lift massive loads.
Simon Hibbs
Available fuel sources may dictate some of it. Especially for a small colony, animal power might be more attractive and practical than other options. Or, if the planet has major petrochemical resources, might make sense to run the vehicles off them, even if fuel cells and fusion are around.
On an isolated world, any high tech option that needs parts might get recycled, or fixed with some bizarre alterna-tech. A grav vehicle whose gravitics are shot might make a useful boat, with a steam powered propeller bolted on. Vacc suit gloves being used as potholders; helmets as pots.
On an isolated world, any high tech option that needs parts might get recycled, or fixed with some bizarre alterna-tech. A grav vehicle whose gravitics are shot might make a useful boat, with a steam powered propeller bolted on. Vacc suit gloves being used as potholders; helmets as pots.
Rikki Tikki Traveller
Cosmic Mongoose
A solar powered gravitic platform being pulled by a native beast of burden.
A fabric biplane of local manufacture mounting an imported VRF Gauss Gun.
A fabric biplane of local manufacture mounting an imported VRF Gauss Gun.
alex_greene
Guest
How would they slow down the ROF of the Very Rapid Fire gauss gun to synchronise it with the rotation speed of the props? Unless they mount the props somewhere not in direct line of sight of the gun, such as under the top wings or something.Rikki Tikki Traveller said:
Admittedly, your schizotech biplane would resemble something out of Vulture Squadron, and they'd better hope not to encounter a similar plane or their VRF Gauss Gun would shred their plane's leather and wood chassis like toilet paper.
A better design for the biplane would be for the thing to have miniature grav drives installed in it, enabling it to enjoy all the manoeuvrability of a biplane without the annoying roar of the engines giving away its position, and without having to worry about synching the ROF of the VRF gauss gun because it wouldn't have any prop blades for the gun to fire between.
Rikki Tikki Traveller
Cosmic Mongoose
The guns are mounted outside of the prop line of sight/fire.
Grav drives would be great, if the planet could afford them. VRF Gauss Guns are much cheaper and easier to maintain than Grav Drives (way more arms merchants than tech merchants and don't get me started on the spare parts...)
The Biplane is dead in any kind of equal fight, but against ground targets (it's primary mission) it would be devastating against those TL4-5 tanks and early mechanised vehicles.
However, it WOULD be interesting to go into the vehicle design system and see if a grav powered biplane (with a VRF gauss gun) could be designed up. Build it as a TL-5 design with a couple of add-ons. I wonder if an Internal Combustion Engine could produce enough power for the Grav Generators and the prop? HUMMM have to go see what I can come up with!
Grav drives would be great, if the planet could afford them. VRF Gauss Guns are much cheaper and easier to maintain than Grav Drives (way more arms merchants than tech merchants and don't get me started on the spare parts...)
The Biplane is dead in any kind of equal fight, but against ground targets (it's primary mission) it would be devastating against those TL4-5 tanks and early mechanised vehicles.
However, it WOULD be interesting to go into the vehicle design system and see if a grav powered biplane (with a VRF gauss gun) could be designed up. Build it as a TL-5 design with a couple of add-ons. I wonder if an Internal Combustion Engine could produce enough power for the Grav Generators and the prop? HUMMM have to go see what I can come up with!
alex_greene
Guest
Recoil compensation would have to come top priority, or otherwise it would be bullets go forward - wings go backward - pilot goes downward.
A VRF gauss weapon is available a self-contained crew served weapon normally - presumably it must have an integral power source.
Obviously it's a rather over-the-top thing to have slung under the wings of a biplane.
Hell, how about a largely fuedal world that's aquired a suit of strength-boosting 'magic armour' - i.e. a decommissioned battledress undersuit (no armour, just the servos)
Obviously it's a rather over-the-top thing to have slung under the wings of a biplane.
Hell, how about a largely fuedal world that's aquired a suit of strength-boosting 'magic armour' - i.e. a decommissioned battledress undersuit (no armour, just the servos)
alex_greene said:
Simplest approach would be to use a pusher design, or more likely (given the payload weight) a twin engine design with the engines and props mounted on the wings.
In any case, an interrupter gear should still be possible - with an electrically powered weapon it would just turn off the firing while the prop is in the danger zone - have a ring of nonconducting material around the prop shaft, with segments of metal in the "safe" areas and a brush contact. If the current isn't flowing, no shootee. I'm sure something more sophisticated could be designed, but this would easily be within the technical capabilities of the plane builder.
Higher speed projectiles should work BETTTER with this.
alex_greene
Guest
Plane on ground, guns let off, wings go up, plane stays on ground, holes in everything.
Very Dick Dastardly.
I think I'll stick to my favourite device - a TL 9 computer with a TL 4 manual typewriter - style keyboard and 1940s monitor screen.
Very Dick Dastardly.
I think I'll stick to my favourite device - a TL 9 computer with a TL 4 manual typewriter - style keyboard and 1940s monitor screen.
alex_greene
Guest
Something with low recoil and high impact. Something contemporary with the era. H'mm. Tsiolkovsky. Goddard.barnest2 said:See, I just posted my description of a WW1 tank using the vehicle design rules... And you've had to make me wanna go and make it schizo-tech...
Any suggestions? The best I can come up with now is Lasers instead of it's guns
Gyrojets.
Or maybe those stubby little tank barrels sticking out of those ancient WWI tanks fired something dreadful, like Frag-12 shot shells sized for big honking smoothbore tank barrels.
hehe... just realised while looking through the CSC. Could happily replace its two main guns for a pair of 12mm gauss cannons...
That would just be pushing it
, why would you ever want such destructive anti-armour power on a WW1 battlefield. Your could penetrate tank armour with a rifle!
That would just be pushing it
, why would you ever want such destructive anti-armour power on a WW1 battlefield. Your could penetrate tank armour with a rifle! barnest2 said:hehe... just realised while looking through the CSC. Could happily replace its two main guns for a pair of 12mm gauss cannons...
That would just be pushing it
Well, that's the thing. It's NOT a WW1 battlefield, but a battlefield where high tech is somewhat available. If you have a 1916 technology base, but have knowledge of 1940's concepts, it's quite likely that you will avoid 1916 design flaws. Quite reasonable that some kind of workable heavy armoured vehicle could be made.
Just because it wasn't done in WW1 doesn't mean it can't be done at TL5...
Rikki Tikki Traveller
Cosmic Mongoose
Well, when those nasty TL9 aliens invade your nice quiet TL5 world, you have to figure out a way to slap their Supergun onto your existing tank design!
I was also going for a young colony that can only manufacture to a fairly low tech, but has some imported stuff that they can strap onto the local things. That is the floater pulled by a horse type of concept...
I was also going for a young colony that can only manufacture to a fairly low tech, but has some imported stuff that they can strap onto the local things. That is the floater pulled by a horse type of concept...
Those sound like interesting thoughts.
Ever since I first picked up a copy of "Twilight 2000" I always wanted to try a Earth today meets some more advanced race kind of cross over. If it were a semi-peaceful encounter with say a first contact with a race in a long standing cold war with one or more other races, the initial race making contact might be more interested in trading partners, etc than conquest (maybe). As such, you could end up with upgraded M1, Leopard or Challenger tanks with partial alien tech, and maybe USMC, SBS or other troops serving as ship's troops as part of some sort of excange program, etc.
Similarly, I could see some sort of cross between WWI era world and a 1st Imperiium era alien group.
Just some thoughts.
Regards
PF
Ever since I first picked up a copy of "Twilight 2000" I always wanted to try a Earth today meets some more advanced race kind of cross over. If it were a semi-peaceful encounter with say a first contact with a race in a long standing cold war with one or more other races, the initial race making contact might be more interested in trading partners, etc than conquest (maybe). As such, you could end up with upgraded M1, Leopard or Challenger tanks with partial alien tech, and maybe USMC, SBS or other troops serving as ship's troops as part of some sort of excange program, etc.
Similarly, I could see some sort of cross between WWI era world and a 1st Imperiium era alien group.
Just some thoughts.
Regards
PF
