Ship Design Philosophy

Spaceships: Engineering and Alternative Solutions

V. Basic ship systems cover essentials such as life support, the ship’s computer and the gravitic systems providing artificial gravity ...

W. Three separate systems.

X. Ship's computer is tied to the bridge or cockpit, so keeping that powered should ensure continued operation.

Y. For life support, it may be all over the place.

Z. Gravitic systems creating artificial gravity would be where the rubber meets the road.
 
Spaceships: How to Build Your First Ship in Starfield - Complete Guide

In this complete guide, I'll take you through all you need to know when building your first ship in Starfield. Check out Starfield's early access on Xbox and PC now: https://bit.ly/3Rb6Ynh This video is sponsored by Bethesda.

0:00 Intro
1:22 Requirements
2:22 Best Ways to Start
5:01 Manufacturers and Styles
8:51 Where to Buy Parts
11:39 Starting to Build
13:06 Components and Balance
17:52 Tips & Tricks




1. Cannibalization of mortgaged starship seems contrary to the wishes of the lease holders.

2. Start a crowdfunder.

3. Use streetwise to locate contraband, and sell it; or ransom it.

4. Don't be stingy with onboard space.

5. Bridge can be placed anywhere.

6. Off the shelf parts may not be available at your local starport.

7. Balance your starship components, literally and figuratively.

8. Technological level caps acceleration factor.

9. Regenerating the power pool.

A. Extra workstations may increase efficiency.
 
Spaceships: Engineering and Alternative Solutions

1. A spacecraft or self-contained, sealed structure with power can usually sustain life support for one person per stateroom for one month comfortably ...

2. ... and for six months at a stretch (number of staterooms x 5,000 person/hours).

3. 208.3333333333333 days.

4. 29.76190476190476 weeks.

5. 6.944444444444444 months.

6. Without power, this drops to two weeks at most.

7. Which at this point you clarify if the players can throttle the fusion reactor.

8. Also, wind up generators, radios and torches might be a neat addition to the ship's locker.

9. And strategic shutdowns of non vital parts of the spacecraft.
 
Spaceships: Engineering and Alternative Solutions

A. Various shelters will list the amount of air and life support available if they differ.

B. Without life support, a Traveller begins to suffocate, suffering 1D damage each minute.

C. A Traveller who is utterly without air (such as one being smothered or strangled or who has been thrown out of an airlock) suffers 1D damage each round instead.

D. As I understand it, three minutes without oxygen causes brain damage.

E. Damage would be temporary, until critical mass, and then, I would suppose would permanently effect Education and Intelligence.

F. With training and preparation, you could hold your breath for far longer.
 
What is the World Record for Holding Your Breath

Guinness World Records (pure oxygen assistance)

The Guinness World Records organization ratified these records, and the people who made these records did so by breathing 100% oxygen for some time before starting their breath-hold. Since their bodies were much more saturated with oxygen than if they were breathing the air around them (which consists of only 21% oxygen), unbelievably long breath-hold times are possible.

Men: 24 min 37 sec – Budimir Šobat (HRV) in 2021 in Sisak, Croatia
Women: 18 min 32 sec – Karoline Mariechen Meyer (BRA) in 2009 in Florianopolis, Brazil
Notable: 17 min 4 sec – Illusionist David Blaine (USA) in 2008 on the Oprah Winfrey show
You can watch David Blaine’s successful Guinness World Record attempt on the Oprah Winfrey show below

AIDA World Records
These records were ratified by the International Association for the Development of Apnea (AIDA), an international organization whose primary focus is freediving as a sport. After athletes set an AIDA World Record, their urine is tested according to World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) standards.

Men: 11 min 35 sec – Stéphane Mifsud (FRA) in 2009 at his hometown swimming pool in Hyeres, France
Women: 9 min 2 sec – Natalia Molchanova (RUS) at the 2013 Individual AIDA Pool World Championship

CMAS World Records
These records were ratified by the Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques (CMAS), an international organization dedicated to underwater sports. After athletes set a CMAS World Record, their urine is tested according to World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) standards.

Men: 10 min 45 sec – Branko Petrovic (SRB) in 2017 in Subotica, Serbia
Women: 8 min 53 sec – Veronika Dittes (AUT) in 2017 at the 5th Apnea Indoor Open European Championship
 
Spaceships: Engineering and Alternative Solutions

G. Chemical power plants have the same capital cost per power point, as early fusion reactors.

H. The advantage is it's a technological earlier, and I would presume, it's easier to maintain and operate than a nuclear reactor.

I. The disadvantage is that energy output is half of that of early fusion reactor, and it guzzles two hundred times more fuel, per power plant tonne, than the fusion reactor, and four hundred times per power point.

J. Assuming minimum one power point, that's at default one fifth of a tonne, fifty kilostarbux, and fuel consumption one tonne per week.

K. I would say that assuming it's not broken somewhere, you can start up a chemical power plant at any time.
 
Model: Tonnage - Power - Technological Level - features - fuel consumption/week tonnes - default cost/megastarbux

0.2-1-7 - / - 1 - 0.05

0.25-1-7 - t/125 - 1.25 - 0.0375

0.14-1-A - t/70 - 0.7 - 0.075


features: e/% [energy/percentage], h [hardened], t/% [tonnage/percentage]

manning: one engineer per thirty five tonnes of engines
 
Spaceships: Engineering and Alternative Solutions

L. The problem with reactionary rockets is that they are gas guzzlers.

M. Their primary advantages are that they are relatively cheap, low technological level availability.

N. In theory, for really short hops, you could combine them with chemical power plants, since fuel consumption wouldn't matter that much.

O. Also, since they don't need direct electrical input, there's less stress on the generators.

P. What I'm not sure of is if operation and maintenance needs a degree in rocket science.
 
Spaceships: Engineering and Alternative Solutions

Q. Ramscoops are passive hydrogen collectors that operate automatically whenever a starship is manoeuvring in normal (non-jump) space.

R. Ramscoops require 1% of a ship’s available tonnage plus five tons, with a minimum overall size of 10 tons and can collect five tons of hydrogen per week for every ton attributed to the ramscoops.

S. Fifty tonnes of hydrogen per week would feed a ten tonne chemical power plant.

T. Ramscoops are technologically unlevelled.

U. Doesn't really work out for a continuous rocket acceleration.
 
Spaceships: Engineering and Alternative Solutions

V. Should be interesting how you can kickstart a fusion reactor.

W. Or a fission one.

X. The coming Starship Operator's Manual should be a fascinating read.

Y. While I originally thought the chemical power plant was, at best a rather niche case usage, the more I thought about it, it may actually be the emergency electricity generator, to keep minimum life support going.

Z. At best, a technological level ten one hundred forty kilogramme chemical power plant, with seven hundred kilogrammes of fuel, could generate sixteen hundred eighty power points over the course of a week, compared to one tonne of technological level twelve battery which can only store sixty power points in one tonne.
 
Starships: Cheapest Possible

1. Within reason, I suppose.

2. Hull is a hundred tonne planetoid, at two fifths megastarbux, natural armour class two, gravitated, and unstreamlined, built at a technological level nine space yard.

3. Six tonne small bridge at a quarter megastarbux, with basic sensors (lidar and radar).

4. Thirty kilostarbux for a computer/five seems expensive, comparatively to our sensibilities with manoeuvre, jump control/one (one tenth of a megastarbux), library.

5. Ten tonne Venture model jump drive, at nine megastarbux.

6. One tonne energy inefficient manoeuvre drive at one and a half megastarbux.

7. Four tonne increased size early fusion reactor at one and a half megastarbux, fuel consumption hundred kilogrammes per week.

8. Half tonne point defence turret with point defence laser, at half a megastarbux.

9. 13.28 megastarbux and fifty eight and a half tonnes of cargo.
 
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Starships: Cheapest Possible

A. Thirteen tonnes of fuel tanks.

B. One tonne fuel processor, at fifty kilostarbux.

C. Twenty tonne external cargo mount at twenty kilostarbux.

D. Two tonne airlock at one fifth megastarbux.

E. Ten tonne stable at twenty five kilostarbux.

F. Life support is twenty five hundred starbux per tonne, for twenty humans, per month.
 
Model: Tonnage - Power - Technological Level - features - fuel consumption/week tonnes - default cost/megastarbux

0.2-1-7 - / - 1 - 0.05

0.25-1-7 - t/125 - 1.25 - 0.0375

0.14-1-A - t/70 - 0.7 - 0.075

4-32-8 - t/130 - 0.1 - 1.5

3-33.33-9 - t/90 - 0.075 - 1.65


features: e/% [energy/percentage], e/p [emergency/power], h [hardened], t/% [tonnage/percentage]

manning: one engineer per thirty five tonnes of engines
 
Power budget: operation - power points

jump - twelve
manoeuvre - thirteen
basics - sixteen [life support, artificial gravity, electrical grid, internal communications/computer network][default/half minimum/quarter artificial gravity - quarter life support, electrical grid, internal communications/computer network]
. airlock - 0.4
. bridge/computer/sensors - 1.2
. engineering
.. fuel processor - 0.2
.. fusion reactor - 0.8
.. jump drive - 2
.. manoeuvre drive - 0.2
. fuel tanks - 2.6
. point defence laser turret - 2
. stables - 2
 
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In theory, you need a two hundred tonned shipyard, on a technological level nine civilian space station, two hundred power points, and twenty workmen, at one hundred fifty megastarbux.

I'd say fifteen days construction time.
 
1. I'd say to construct nuclear reactors, jump drives, and manoeuvre drives, you need a specialist manufacturing plant.

2. Goods manufactured would be capped at a given technological level.

3. I assume that retooling a production line would be a refit, depending on the degree, major or minor.

4. For the Venture model jump drive, that would be a dedicated five hundred tonne production facility, a thousand power points, one hundred sixty seven workmen, and costs five hundred megastarbux.
 
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Spaceships: Engineering and Fuel Processing

The problem with a fuel refinery is, that it's probably cheaper just to park a spaceship next to a gas giant, and use onboard facilities to become a floating, Mobil(e) gas station.

Space dedicated to refineries includes hangars and other facilities required for scoop drones to bring the raw materials back to the space station.

There's no default power requirement, it's four times cheaper (versus technological level seven), though you'd need to provide for the hangar space and the scoop drones separately.
 
Spaceships: Engineering and Fuel Processing

While you'd think that a very large fuel processor is going to need some supervision and ongoing maintenance, it doesn't, though a fuel refinery scales between one per fifty to five hundred tonnes.

For a kilotonne fuel processor, you could assign a ship's mechanic to keep an eye on it.
 
1. I'd say to construct nuclear reactors, jump drives, and manoeuvre drives, you need a specialist manufacturing plant.

2. Goods manufactured would be capped at a given technological level.

3. I assume that retooling a production line would be a refit, depending on the degree, major or minor.

4. For the Venture model jump drive, that would be a dedicated five hundred tonne production facility, a thousand power points, one hundred sixty seven workmen, and costs five hundred megastarbux.


Starships: Engineering and the Venture Drive

1. It's quite possible that the original Venture drive production line was evacuated from Terra before the imperium Navy besieged it.

2. The size of the production line would depend on the expected annual demand for the jump drive.

3. After three millenia, it's not so much a question of patents and trademarks, it's more an issue of an experienced workforce and sunk cost.

4. Depreciation seems neutralized by annual maintenance.

5. Amortization should be concluded, at this point.

6. Twenty five percent discount for budgetted ship components should be reflected in manufacturing cost.

7. Cheaper materials, less labour cost, marketing, and/or packaging.

8. You only need a five power point power plant.

9. Facility could located somewhere rural, to minimize real estate costs.
 
Starships: Engineering and the Venture Drive

A. So what's the current demand for the Venture Drive?

B. Within the Confederation, stellar density tends to limit the commercial use of it.

C. Over three millenia, there should be hundreds of thousands of examples manufactured.

D. Still popular with the hobbyists, especially if they can source a used one, since spare parts are available.

E. Useful for microjumps, and still utilized by (Confederation) system military and paramilitary forces.

F. The Confederation Navy use them in their light short range patrol and strike craft.
 
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