Ship Design Philosophy

[Condottiere]

Spaceships: Light Fighter(/Bomber)s

G.

H. Embed some balconies, galleries, battlements, and machicolations on a spacecraft.

I. Then assign some troops to man the heavy weapon systems, externally.

J. Or, pop the portholes.

K. Pillboxes and bunkers.

 

[Condottiere]

Spaceships: Light Fighter(/Bomber)s

L. Basically, you want a flat roof on the hull.

M. That would allow the spacecraft to act as a portée.

N. Some indentations could have been designed in, to act as trenches and firing positions.

O. I doubt that the weight of the humans would have an effect on the spacecraft performance.

P. In theory, the actual volume of the heavy weapons (and humans) would do so, going by the design rules.

 

[Condottiere]

Why is the volume of the average human body only 7 cubic centimeters?

It's not. 0.07 cubic meters is not 7 cubic centimeters. When you cube things math works differently. So 0.07 cubic meters is 70,000 cubic centimeters (100 cm x 100 cm x 7 cm) or 70 liters.


Is the average volume of a human being just 2 cubic feet?


It seems there might be a misunderstanding. The human body does not have a fixed or standard volume of seven cubic centimeters. The volume of the human body varies significantly from person to person based on factors such as age, gender, height, weight, and overall body composition.


On average, an adult human body can have a total volume ranging from 66 to 90 liters or more. This volume includes various components such as bones, muscles, organs, blood, and other tissues.

 

[Sigtrygg]

Why is the volume of the average human body only 7 cubic centimeters?

Because someone hasn't a clue about conversion between units...

 

[Condottiere]

Spaceships: Light Fighter(/Bomber)s

Q. You could weld a steel wall on top of the flat roof, calculate it's volume, and use that to adjust performance.

R. Including weapon systems and crew.

S. Or, add a tent, and you have a way to transport personnel; maybe some benches.

T. You could add a flatbed, volume calculated the same as the wall, but you might need to reposition the manoeuvre drive.

U. Or build a (landing) pad on top, and fortify it.

 

[Condottiere]

Spaceships: Light Fighter(/Bomber)s

V. Spacecraft weapon systems are inherently more powerful, than ground scale ones.

W. However, smallcraft rules tends to favour them, rangewise, since a twenty five percent cut in energy input cripples them to ten klicks max.

X. Except for missiles and torpedoes, where it's a question of cost versus volume versus effect, since they're pretty much intercontinental.

Y. And then you have plasma and fusion guns, man portable.

Z.

 

[Condottiere]

Spaceships: Light Fighter(/Bomber)s

1. Most of the plasma and fusion portables have a listed range of four and a half hundred metres.

2. Long range would be nine hundred metres, and extreme one and four fifths klix.

3. That's close enough to adjacent range band, though arguably, there might be an attack penalty.

4. It's probably minus two.

5. On the plus side, they don't need to tap the power pool, and can bite every dogfight turn.

6. Though the possibility exists for overheating.

7. Plasmas do one dice of damage.

8. Fusion two dice, plus radiation.

9. It would be like a machine gun on a Great Patriotic War fighter, you just continue firing until you see flames or smoke.

 

[Sigtrygg]

On a capital ship you can install sensors equal to the displacement of a 99t small craft, and power them with 10x the EPs.

A capital ship can have a weapon bay of 100t.

One bay should kill one small craft at 10x the range a small craft can even respond.

 

[Condottiere]

There is a difference in range between firmpointed and hardpointed weapon systems, in which groundscale weapon systems have about the range bands firmpointed ones, with some notable exceptions.

If you view this from a Great Patriotic War perspective, the subdice damage weapon systems would be like machineguns, the turretted ones like light autocannons.

Going with that analogy, the barbettes would be medium autocannons, and for the small and medium bays, six and eight inch autocannons, which I think were in development.

It's not perfect, since large bays are likely ten inchers, of which the nine and one fifth incher may actually be the most optimal realization of that calibre, and the twelve incher would be a factor one spinal mount.

 

[Condottiere]

Speaking of range, I forget how much an atmosphere is supposed to disperse energy beams, so it's quite possible that groundscale energy beams in space might have a longer medium range than listed.

What spacecraft armed with spacecraft weapon systems can do in orbital combat, is look down, shoot down, which would leverage their longer range, while missiles on both sides can be utilized in over the horizon engagements.

Space dogfights initiate at close range, and at a minimum, portables can extend to at least adjacent, and if affected by atmosphere, possibly the full ten klix to close.

How they relate to point defence, I'm not sure, though if mounted lasers could do that, so can they.

 

[Condottiere]

Spaceships: Light Fighter(/Bomber)s

A. If you installed a turreted fusion gun on a firmpointed mount, you get four dice at adjacent range, requiring nine power points, at two megastarbux.

B. You are limited to one, or two at thirty five tonnes, or three at seventy tonnes, but it does not displace volume.

C. You can have a portable version with two dice, at a hundred kilostarbux, at around adjacent range, requiring no energy from the onboard power plant.

D. But as long as you allocate a quarter tonne, you can have as many as you have spare space.

E. Average from four dice is fourteen (four to twenty four).

F. Average from two dice is seven, with five portables at seven plus eight at fifteen (ten to twenty).

 

[Condottiere]

Spaceships: Light Fighter(/Bomber)s

G. Three firmpoints are enough for a five tonne fusion gun barbette, with five dice (five to thirty, armour piercing three), fifteen power points, four megastarbux.

H. Five tonnes are twenty quarter tonne slots.

I. Twenty one fusion portables is two dice plus forty ( forty two to fifty two), five and a quarter tonnes, no power requirements, and twenty one hundred starbux.

J. This might actually be a fusion carronade, phased array variant.

K. Cause I never could figure out the actual one.

 

[Condottiere]

Spaceships: Light Fighter(/Bomber)s

L. Something more concrete would be gravity bombs.

M. Same space rules apply, so a hundred kilogramme high explosive bomb takes up a quarter tonne.

N. However, a quarter tonne is the equivalent of three missiles, which while more expensive, are more efficient in delivering damage.

O. Even with guided gliders, it feels counter insurgencyish, and not the well funded type.

P. You have to get pretty close with bombs, which gives the opposition the chance to take a potshot at the launching platform.

 

[Sigtrygg]

Most current day glide bombs have ranges up to 100 miles.

 

[Condottiere]

I guess someone forgot to update Traveller.


While freefalling bombs are an extremely effective (andcheap) way of destroying a target, their use does exposethe carrying aircraft to danger as it is forced to overflythe enemy. By adding flip-out wings and streamlining, abomb can be made to glide to a designated target withgreat accuracy. This upgrade can be given to any bomb,modifying it as detailed below. It will gain a horizontal range equal to half the altitude of the launching aircraft.


In theory, that would be a launch altitude of fifty miles.

 

[Condottiere]

Spaceships: Light Fighter(/Bomber)s

Q. Medium bomb is half a tonne, so you might as well skip to a full tonne heavy bomb.

R. The earthquake bomb causes five damage, takes up ten tonnes, and costs a hundred kilostarbux.

S. At this point, you might as well just send a torpedo.

T. An actual wettish half tonne torpedo causes the same damage, costs twelve kilostarbux.

U. Cal it Namor, and put wings on that bad boy.

 

[Condottiere]

Spaceships: Light Fighter(/Bomber)s

V. However, it might need to be pointed out that some, if not most, of the damage is caused by the medium the explosion occurs in.

W. Like water pressure, and underneath the keel.

X. Or, maybe it's the other way, and that multiplies it.

Y. You can use torpedoes as smart depth charges, if the action switches to underwater.

Z. Instead of Namor, how about Flying Fish?

 

[Condottiere]

Spaceships: Light Fighter(/Bomber)s

1. Does size matter?

2. That depends.

3. If you're dogfighting, the optimal volume is upto forty nine tonnes.

4. After that, it becomes incrementally easier to outmanoeuvre the larger opponent.

5. Also, hitting something that is larger than a kilotonne, per kilotonne, and capped at six kilotonnes.

6. But apparently, the reason Han Solo had difficulty ascertaining that the Death Star was a space station, is because the spacecraft sensors don't get a bonus when looking for larger objects.

7. Component cost scales, of course.

8. Except hull armour, that decreases as smallcraft become larger.

9. And if you have a fixed overhead, like that five tonnes in jump drives.

 

[Condottiere]

Spaceships: Light Fighter(/Bomber)s

A. Most smallcraft have to be purpose built for most installed weaponry, whether spacecraft or ground scale.

B. However, you could push bombs, and retarded missiles, out of the rear cargo hatch.

C. In fact, you could use barrel bombs, if anti aircraft defences aren't expected.

D. For example, the earthquake bomb would be large enough to be carried by a docking clamp.

E. These are adaptations to existing frames, rather than rebuilding them with weapon slots.

F. In theory, modified modules could be installed in modular cutters, so that it could act like a gunship, or an ad hoc bomber.

 

[Condottiere]

Inspiration: Colony One Mars - Science Fiction Audiobook Full Length and Unabridged

How can a colony on Mars survive when the greatest danger on the planet is humanity itself.

All contact is lost with the first human colony on Mars during a long and intense sandstorm. Satellite imagery of the aftermath shows extensive damage to the facility, and the fifty-four colonists who called it home are presumed dead.

Three years later, a new mission sets down on the planet surface to investigate what remains of the derelict site. But, it’s not long before they realize the colony is not as lifeless as everyone thought. Someone is still alive -- hiding out somewhere.

Yet, before they can find the elusive colonist a strange illness starts to affect the crew. Pressure now mounts on Biologist, Dr. Jann Malbec, to locate the source and find a way to fight it. However, as she investigates she begins to suspect a dark and deadly secret lurking within the facility. A secret that threatens not just the crew but the entire population of Earth.

With limited resources and time running out, she must find some answers and find them fast. Because if she doesn't, none of them will be going home.

TIMESTAMPS
===============================
00:00:00 - Opening Credits
00:00:10 - Prologue
00:01:31 - Chapter 1, Descent
00:15:11 - Chapter 2, Jezero Crater
00:29:18 - Chapter 3, Colony One
00:47:21 - Chapter 4, Exploration
01:03:50 - Chapter 5, Vanhoff
01:14:46 - Chapter 6, Hab
01:24:36 - Chapter 7, A New Sol
01:37:33 - Chapter 8, Just The Feeling
01:55:32 - Chapter 9, COM
02:05:17 - Chapter 10, Medlab
02:13:15 - Chapter 11, Cold, So Cold
02:37:13 - Chapter 12, Nills & Gizmo
02:51:00 - Chapter 13, Annis & Malbec
03:18:10 - Chapter 14, Caves
03:41:43 - Chapter 15, Bloods
03:52:17 - Chapter 16, Walkabout
04:02:52 - Chapter 17, The Analogue
04:06:56 - Chapter 18, No Return
04:21:25 - Chapter 19, Bio-Dome
04:25:24 - Chapter 20, Recalibration
04:44:26 - Chapter 21, Lies
04:51:40 - Chapter 22, Research Lab
05:07:08 - Chapter 23, XFJ-001B
05:23:07 - Chapter 24, MAV
05:36:53 - Chapter 25, The Garden
05:49:49 - Closing Credits

I think it's surprisingly good, and Travellerish.