Ship Design Philosophy

[Condottiere]

Spaceships: Shipboard Systems and Coopting Dirtside Vehicles

20. I'll leave the minibus the default basic control system.

21. Interesting, at technological level ten we can add an auxillary grav drive, which would double the cost per space, and consume a quarter of said spaces.

22. If I'm not mistaken, this makes it cheaper than a grav vehicle.

23. Also have an aquatic drive option, though I wonder how this compares with just a specialized boat in terms of performance and cost.

24. Auxiliary thrusters might be more interesting for troopers, who now can fly.

25. I don't think we'll need ground drives, though it might be fun to see spacecraft spheres cruising along the high way.

26. For the minibus, smart wheels are probably too expensive.

27. External power seems interesting, as long as no one hacks the system or switches it off; doesn't mention the cost of the supporting infrastructure.

28. Hey, fission reactor; may be too hot to handle.

29. Must be cold fusion; unlimited range would justify getting rid of default range.

 

[Condottiere]

Spaceships: Shipboard Systems and Coopting Dirtside Vehicles

30. For the anti missile system, you'd need to place the minibus outside the hull.

31. Decoy dispenser has to be outside as well, though I wonder if they are effective enough for spaceship missiles and torpedoes.

32. I suppose you could use the minibus as part of the tonnage dedicated to close escort vessels.

33. Electrostatic armour seems an interesting defence against ordnance, such as missiles, torpedoes, railguns and mass drives; and sand.

34. Nuclear damper seems very useful, since it's one kilometer radius would include almost all spaceships, and has a chance to neutralize any nuclear detonation.

35. Prismatic aerosol discharger should be effective inside the hull.

36. Reactive armour - assuming space is half a tonne internal volume, so if you applied the advanced variant on a spaceship hull, it would be ten kilostarbux per tonne.

37. How does a smoke discharger work on a modern battlefield, since you'll assume most of the soldiers would be equipped with sensors; if I recall Striker correctly, you add in additional chemicals to distort infra red and presumably obscure the other visual sensors.

38. If you place the minibus on rails, you have to add in an extra four hundred starbux per space.

39. Since direction is fixed, agility shouldn't matter, but you get an increase of one speed band.

 

[Condottiere]

Spaceships: Shipboard Systems and Coopting Dirtside Vehicles

40. Now, if I understand this correctly, armoured fighting vehicle option would only be available to heavy vehicle variants.

41. This would allow the chassis to triple the amount of armour that can be used to protect the hull, in line with the technological level.

42. This would mean for the railed turrets, you'd probably prefer using the heavy ground vehicle as basis.

43. There probably isn't much point in having a vehicle larger than one hundred twenty spaces.

44. Basic cost is three kilostarbux per space, which would give us three hundred sixty kilostarbux.

45. You probably want to give the driver two spaces for minimal comfort.

46. One hundred eighteen spaces is the equivalent of twenty nine and a half tonnes of cargo.

47. Shacman Shannxi 6x4 30 ton Payload Capacity Dump Truck
1 - 9 Units
$38,500.00
>=10 Units
$38,000.00

Quick Details
Drive Wheel:
6x4
Capacity (Load):
31 - 40T
Horsepower:
251 - 350hp
Condition:
New
Transmission Type:
manual
Emission Standard:
Euro 3
Fuel Type:
Diesel
Engine Capacity:
> 8L
Gross Vehicle Weight:
25000
Place of Origin:
Shandong, China
Brand Name:
SHACMAN
Dimensions (L x W x H) (mm):
8329x2490x3450
Color:
White,red,yellow
Tire:
12.00-20,12.00R20,12R22.5,315/80R22.5
Engine:
Weichai, Cummins
Transmission:
FAST
Steering:
Power Steering
Drive type:
LHD&RHD

48. I was expecting something bigger:

49. Well, main battle tanks are supposed to be around seventy tonnes, so I guess that's within that range.

 

[Condottiere]

Spaceships: Armaments and the Express Boat Tender

9. Actually, you could use the cargo crane to push around loads.

10. This would mean extending the gantry rigs to the outside of the hull.

11. Though it's speculative, if the gantry jigs are able to withstand high constant accelerations.

12. The cargo crane can move around loads upto sixty five tones, which would be a pretty big turret.

13. I'm not sure how you would define one hundred fifty tonnes of cargo space on the external hull, possibly by the width of the gantry jig.

14. The hull would be treated as the ceiling.

15. If you customized the cargo crane, or morphed it into a docking clamp, you could use it to grab something, and transport it into the cargo hold, including smallcraft.

16. The primary difference between a cargo hold and a hangar would be the facilities to maintain, inspect and repair spacecraft, possibly specialized clamps to restrain spacecraft.

17. The cargo crane and the gantry jigs could also be used as a form of internal transportation, with the elevator lift or train tube defined as a cargo hold.

 

[Condottiere]

Inspiration: Star Citizen: Constellation Taurus

The name trusted by casual and professional spacefarers alike takes an essential step forward in cargo transport while remaining true to its iconic roots. The all-new RSI Constellation Taurus - still does it all.

Roberts Space Industries is a spacecraft manufacturer within the persistent-world game "Star Citizen" and its companion single-player spaceflight sim, "Squadron 42." RSI is also your portal for information, updates, and purchases of your very own spacecraft with which to trade, plunder, and protect the citizens of Star Citizen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQAFU1eP5ys


At least you can see where all that money is going to.

 

[Condottiere]

Starships: Personnel


Now Hiring

First Officer
Announcement open continuously from 06/21/2021, with periodic cut-offs


First Officer - Mixed Work Schedule
Announcement open from 07/26/2021 to 09/30/2021


Operations Chief
Announcement open continuously from 07/06/2021, with periodic cut-offs


Able Seaman
Announcement open continuously from 02/11/2021, with periodic cut-offs


First Assistant Engineer - Mixed Work Schedule
Announcement open from 07/26/2021 to 09/30/2021


Electrician
Announcement open continuously from 10/01/2020, with periodic cut-offs


Refrigeration Engineer
Announcement open continuously from 10/01/2020, with periodic cut-offs


Deck Engineer Machinist
Announcement open continuously from 10/01/2020, with periodic cut-offs


Unlicensed Junior Engineer
Announcement open continuously from 11/17/2020, with periodic cut-offs


Pumpman
Announcement open continuously from 10/01/2020, with periodic cut-offs


Electronics Technician
Announcement open continuously from 10/01/2020, with periodic cut-offs


Yeoman Storekeeper
Announcement open continuously from 10/01/2020, with periodic cut-offs


Assistant Storekeeper
Announcement open continuously from 10/01/2020, with periodic cut-offs


Steward Cook
Announcement open continuously from 10/01/2020, with periodic cut-offs


Chief Cook
Announcement open continuously from 10/01/2020, with periodic cut-offs


Cook Baker
Announcement open continuously from 10/01/2020, with periodic cut-offs


Assistant Cook
Announcement open continuously from 10/01/2020, with periodic cut-offs


Ship Communications Officer
Announcement open continuously from 02/08/2021, with periodic cut-offs


Ship Communications Officer (IAM)
Announcement open continuously from 02/08/2021, with periodic cut-offs


Chief Radio Electronics Technician
Announcement open continuously from 10/01/2020, with periodic cut-offs


Chief Radio Electronics Technician (IAT)
Announcement open continuously from 10/01/2020, with periodic cut-offs


First Radio Electronics Technician
Announcement open continuously from 05/17/2021, with periodic cut-offs


First Radio Electronics Technician (IAT)
Announcement open continuously from 10/01/2020, with periodic cut-offs


Second Radio Electronics Technician
Announcement open continuously from 05/17/2021, with periodic cut-offs


Medical Services Officer
Announcement open continuously from 10/01/2020, with periodic cut-offs


Any Entry Level

 

[Condottiere]

Spacecraft: Jet Shoes, Zip Guns and Rocket Belts - How Astronauts Learned to Fly Around In Space.

The problem with space walks is you can't actually walk, you have to carefully pull yourself around from one handhold to the next and remain tethered to your spaceship. However, when NASA was experimenting and learning how astronauts could operate in space it had many more ideas, not all of which were practical.

There have been several personal rocket propulsion systems developed for spaceflight, and a handful of astronauts have been able to float in space without a safety tether, the ultimate one person spacecraft.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-6JAsLe1As


1. Smallest spacecraft

2. Don't lack motivation.

3. Be tethered.

4. Jet shoes.

5. Or get remote control drones to do it.

 

[Condottiere]

Spaceships: Shipboard Systems and Coopting Dirtside Vehicles

50. Can you make a dirtside vehicle jump capable?

51. The answer is yes, but it may not be possible to put together the pieces in a coherent fashion.

52. First, you have to establish exactly how large a space is.

53. It's not half a tonne as given for shipping, or even a quarter tonne for an unpowered boat.

54. Economy of scale allows you to half shipping size, once you have more than thirty tonnes of volume.

55. That means, for an unpowered boat, a hundred tonnes of volume would be eight hundred spaces.

56. Or, for most other vehicles, four hundred spaces.

57. In theory, as I couldn't prove it one way or another.

58. The obvious go to chassis would be the heavy submersible.

59. And at four hundred spaces to achieve jump capable buoyancy of a hundred tonnes volume, that's forty megastarbux alone for the hull.

 

[Condottiere]

Spaceships: Shipboard Systems and Coopting Dirtside Vehicles

60. Next up would be the ship chassis.

61. Four hundred spaces would be two megastarbux.

62. You could configure it like a mini oil tanker, in order to have large cargo spaces where you can embed hydrogen tanks and spacecraft engineering compartments.

63. Ten tonne jump drive would in theory take up forty spaces.

64. Checking up on spacecraft weapons, rules dictate they take up four spaces per tonne.

65. It's quite possible that the unpowered boat cannot benefit from economy of scale in terms of shipping volume.

66. On the other hand, considering the likelihood to account for the sails, masts and/or oars, the 0.25 shipping volume might be wrong.

67. While ships are likely to be constructed from steel, unpowered boats you can only make that assumption for the higher technological level constructions, though a thin layer of armour should ensure vacuum proofing.

68. Four hundred spaces on an unpowered boat would be sixty kilostarbux.

69. You could then weld two unpowered boats over each other (if you can't construct them to be covered tumblehomes).

 

[Condottiere]

Spaceships: Shipboard Systems and Coopting Dirtside Vehicles

70. At technological level eleven, unpowered boats can be stripped of their motivation from high to stopped in five steps, or fifty percent additional spaces.

71. In our case, that's four to six hundred spaces.

72. Presumably, that means removing the masts, sails, and/or oars.

73. I'm not quite sure how fuel capacity applies, but assuming it's supposedly muscle and crew endurance, four times twenty five percent is forty percent additional spaces.

74. That's one hundred sixty spaces, and with the removal of motivational infrastructure, that's a total of seven hundred sixty spaces.

75. It's basically just a barge at this point.

76. Minimum size of a jump drive is ten tonnes, nominally forty spaces, a one tonne manoeuvre drive, nominally four spaces, and early fusion reactor with forty power points, another sixteen spaces; total sixty spaces.

77. You can bolt them down to the hull of the unpowered boat, and add in a ten tonne bridge, and a twenty tonne fuel tanks, which together take up another one hundred twenty spaces.

78. However, with a nominal seven hundred sixty spaces, the fuel tank should be twenty percent, or one hundred fifty two spaces, and in theory, the jump drive should be half that, or seventy six spaces.

79. This is way open to interpretation, but I kinda suspected when I was deconstructing the other chassises, that the designers just halved the spaces available, and that went to the other integral components like hull, drive and fuel capacity.

 

[Condottiere]

Spaceships: Bridges, Computers, and How did NASA Steer the Saturn V?- Smarter Every Day 223

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dI-JW2UIAG0

 

[Condottiere]

Inspiration: Dropping Ballista From an Orbit | Star Citizen

Well, technically not the exact orbit, but just 100 km above microTech.

I would say, it has a pretty good armor for now (until they physicalize it). For example, Cyclones and even Dragonflies met different fate. And yes, with such technology you don't need dropships.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OatPSbOz1Y


1. Well, not really, I always thought it was possible to have a self propelled artillery vehicle bolteddown in the cargo hold, open the hatch, and use it's battlefield meson gun to fire at another ship.

2. With missiles, unlike energy or cannonesque weapon systems, you would have to worry about the backblast.

3. I find it hard to believe the missile launcher didn't burn up during reentry.

4. More surprising, survived landing intact.

 

[Condottiere]

Inspiration: Last Exile

1. I tend to think it's rather foolhardy to stand up and a take a shot while in direct visual sight and range of the enemy's weaponry.

2. However, it does raise the question that if you're close enough of the enemy warship, can you roll out infantry heavy weaponry and broadside them.

3. Or, in this case, volley them.

 

[Condottiere]

Inspiration: The Third Battle of Minagith (Last Exile Lore part 1/3)

In our first seminar, we talk about the Airship Battle in the sky above Minagith (or Minagis).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QET_p9gXlR0


1. They had the high ground.

2. Steampunkish.

3. Make sure to read mortgage contracts minutely; the lender may decide to bail.

4. Make jump drives proprietary.

 

[Condottiere]

Spaceships: Shipboard Systems and Coopting Dirtside Vehicles

80. Low berths match at fifty kilostarbux each, and half a tonne spacecraft volume and two vehicular spaces.

81. Respective default staterooms do not, with spacecraft four tonnes with add on life support, plus refresher, at five hundred kilostarbux, and vehicular ones at ten spaces (two and a half spacecraft tonnes), no refresher, apparently no integral life support, and costing a hundred kilostarbux.

82. (Presumably, double decker) bunks at default take up a space (half a tonne), and cost two hundred starbux; probably has an option for folding, if placed against the wall.

83. Autodoc/fourteen has the ability to Raise Dead.

84. What is actually the difference between cryo and low berth? They cost the same, are the same technological level, cryo works faster and takes up less space.

85. Life support/seven, operates for ninety days, costs fifty kilostarbux, and requires one space per five persons.

86. That's a tad over 111.11 starbux per day per person, and requires one twentieth of a tonne, or a tad over 3'111.11 starbux per twenty eight days.

87. Or does it?

88. It seems fifty kilostarbux is the initial installation cost, and the actual cost is the regular maintenance schedule, stretched over ninety days.

89. That would be half percent per month of ten kilostarbux, times three (presumably), 150.00 starbux per person per ninety days.

 

[Condottiere]

Spaceships: Shipboard Systems and Coopting Dirtside Vehicles

90. Life support/four has an endurance of four days, requires one space per twenty persons, and costs ten kilostarbux.

91. That would require a regular maintenance cost of every four days out of thirty, fifty starbux divided by thirty times four, 6.67 starbux per four days.

92. You can always stock up in advance the requisite chemicals and filters.

93. That's about eight and one third starcentime per person per day.

94. Compared to life support/seven 1.67 starbux per person per day.

95. Fresher takes two spaces, or half a tonne, and you get a toilet, sink and shower for fifteen hundred starbux.

96. For the full service fresher, I believe the bidet can be combined with the toilet (come to think of it, you can buy an attachable one for the barebones fresher), plus tub and vanity at six spaces (one and a half tonnes) for five kilostarbux.

97. The holding tank was rather a complete surprise.

98. You can recreate any environment, including supposedly Terran Mediterranean temperate climate, at five kilostarbux per space, with long term life support/seven thrown in for free.

99. That's twenty five starbux per space per month, or five sixths of a starbuck per space per day.

 

[Condottiere]

Spaceships: Shipboard Systems and Coopting Dirtside Vehicles

100. Assuming I calculated the above correctly, the cheapest life support available is vehicular life support/four, that's 6.67 starbux per four days, with an initial investment of ten kilostarbux.

101. Assuming a turnaround for most commercial jumps at around two weeks or less, life support needs to be (re)activated only four times.

102. That's about twenty six and two thirds starbux for twenty persons over sixteen days, wholesale.

103. Then we need to feed and water them.

104. I guess stillsuit is copyrighted.

105. However, I came across the hydro reclamation suit.

106. This complete coverage bodysuit is designed to recycle all of a body’s fluids and wastes back into usable materials in order to survive much longer in a desert or other arid environment. Like its predecessors, the suit is reflectorised to reduce the heating effect of the sun. It covers the entire body, covering all orifices and inserting several ‘replenishment’ tubes. Wearing an empty suit can effectively allow the Traveller to go up to thirty days without needing water, and fifteen days without food before needing to have its internal scrubbers and injectors cleaned.

107. That's within a two week window, and as a bonus, you don't need to install freshers.

108. Sure, the suits cost ten thousand each, and need to be, eh, flushed, after two weeks.

109. Also, there doesn't seem to be any type of maintenance costs for equipment.

 

[Condottiere]

Spaceships: Shipboard Systems and Coopting Dirtside Vehicles

110. If you think about it, in the event of a spaceshipwreck, you might want to include hydro reclamation suit in the rescue bubble.

111. Or, as it turns out to be, ball.

112. Wait a second, four hours air only?

113. I guess this must be like the life vests under your airliner seat, in case you make a water "landing".

114. A lot of air bottles seem to be capped at six hours.

115. That's a set of two tanks, which would mean one is three hours.

116. A recharge per tank would appear to cost ten starbux.

117. No wonder you can't insure spaceships, and I'd add a caveat in life insurance policies, as well.

118. Small air bottles with four hour duration can be plugged in on onboard life support sockets, at apparently no cost.

119. You could wear the hydro reclamation suit under a vacuum suit.

 

[Condottiere]

Spaceships: Shipboard Systems and Coopting Dirtside Vehicles

120. If you can't install vehicular components, outside of weapon systems, directly into the spacecraft, you could use a vehicular chassis, install them there, and then park it somewhere in the spacecraft.

121. An unpowered vehicle is capped at ten spaces, but you could place it in the accommodations compartment, install ten short term life support/four modules, and turn them on as required.

122. Of course, being unpowered does seem alike a fly in the ointment.

123. Optionally, they could be powered by thread mill or someone pumping away on a bicycle to produce electricity.

124. Perhaps, more realistically, you exchange one of the life support modules for an external power source access, which would cost two kilostarbux for a ground vehicle.

125. It's going to take up five tonnes of volume, with ten hull points, and cost ninety three kilostarbux.

126. As long as you keep feeding it coins every four days, that's one hundred and eighty persons, perfect for transporting a company of soldiers, or some rather tightfisted immigrants.

127. An unpowered boat isn't space capped, so you could transport a twenty thousand man division.

128. That requires one thousand spaces of life support/four modules, plus five percent external power, which should be rounded up to fifty three spaces.

129. One thousand fifty three spaces is one hundred five thousand, three hundred starbux, plus ten megastarbux, plus one hundred six kilostarbux; 20'211'300.00 starbux, 101,056.50 starbux per month; 5.05plus starbux per soldier per month life support.

 

[Condottiere]

Spaceships: Shipboard Systems and Coopting Dirtside Vehicles

130. You can vacuum proof your vehicle for ten kilobux per space.

131. That's about twenty kilobux per tonne, but actually forty kilobux per spacecraft tonne.

132. Which in my mind is a sheer waste of money, as you can get the real thing for about the same amount, if not cheaper.

133. Since we don't have cloaking technology, you could slather the spacecraft's hull with camouflage.

134. While I think there are diminishing returns for increasingly larger tonnages, you might get away with painting over a Scout.

135. Four hundred spaces is a hundred tonnes, and basic/one would be ten kilostarbux per coat.

136. Improved/four forty kilostarbux per coat.

137. Advanced/twelve you're a chameleon at four megastarbux.

138. If you could apply vehicular stealth to spacecraft, it would be a lot cheaper.

139. Or perhaps, like camouflage, it might be easier if it's not moving and you can cover it with whatever you consider a stealth net.