Ship Design Philosophy

Startrucks: Hulls and Planetoids

1. Having figured out what the cheapest possible starship would be, it's time to do that for a hectokilotonne startruck.

2. Hundred thousand tonnes being the last major milestone, in regard to structural integrity and crewing.

3. Twenty percent wastage doesn't seem to have an effect on structural integrity, in terms of increased hull points.

4. Maintenance is confined to the eighty percent of usable volume.

5. It seems that volume allocated to actual hull armour is unaffected.

6. It's pure speculation on my part that crew requirements would be reduced to a third, based on tonnage.

7. If not, it would be half, based on the previous milestone, that is within usable volume.

8. If it really mattered, could increase tonnage to one eighth of a megatonne.

9. In which case, eighty percent would be a hectokilotonne.
 
Startrucks: Hulls and Planetoids

A. Going by the Planetary Monitor, cost (and probable size) is defined by the usable volume.

B. Which does have implications for other forms of hull configurations.

C. Though, with command centres, it is more about the cost, not how many tonnes they take up.

D. However, propulsion is still based on total tonnage.

E. For the same performance, you always have to calculate in a twenty five percent deficit between a planetoid and most other hull configurations.

F. To account for hull wastage.
 
Startrucks: Hulls and Planetoids

G. In practice, this means that I could use a (default) ten tonne bridge to control a one hundred twenty five tonne planetoid.

H. Leveraging this option, you can design a one hundred twenty planetoid starship, with ninety six tonnes usable.

I. Now we reach a sort of incongruity.

J. You need a ten tonne bridge to normally jump without penalty, and six tonne would be a smallerized variant, and have a minus one penalty to spacecraft operations.

K. However, a six tonne bridge is the default size for spacecraft ninety nine tonnes and below, thus at ninety six tonnes, all spacecraft operations, short of jumping, are performed without penalty.
 
Startrucks: Hulls and Planetoids

L. This would be valid, if you pay the full half a megastarbux for the bridge.

M. If you pay just a quarter of a megastarbux, you're back down to minus one penalty for all spacecraft operations.

N. So you still can save that difference, if you're willing to accept that cheap controls get in your way, as you try to keep the flying brick afloat.

O. If the engineer withdraws himself to the engine room, probably won't effect the engineering roll(s).

P. If you install a separate cockpit, probably won't effect anything but the astrogation roll.
 
Spacecraft: Armament and Casemates

1. Obviously, a lower grade of weapon platform.

2. Advantage, lower cost and tonnage.

3. Disadvantage, limited to a ninety to one hundred twenty degree traverse and elevation, depending on placement and hull configuration.

4. One way of looing at it would be a step up from fixed mount, and a step down from turret.

5. However, considering historical precedent, might even include bay weapon variants.

6. Lends itself to broadside engagements.

7. Since missiles and torpedoes are guided, likely suited to energy weapon systems.

8. Also, gauss guns and mass drivers.

9. Also, could be installed as bow and stern chasers.
 
Spacecraft: Armament and Casemates

A. Turrets are obviously a better choice for weapon system platforms.

B. Or, rotating gun house.

C. Since this isn't a Traveller option, so I'm partially groping in the dark.

D. We'd default this to a forty five degree traverse, left and right, and a forty five degree elevation/depression, up and down.

E. There is the option to turrettize bay weapon systems.

F. So, everything's fair game, except spinal mounts.
 
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Spacecraft: Armament and Casemates

G. It's sort of implied that bayed weapon systems are fixed in place.

H. It's logical, considering you don't really want things to rattle around while under acceleration.

I. If you configure it as a central battery, traverse is internal, rather than swivelling around in a pseudo turret.

J. Which means, you need a lot more volume internally.

K. Hard to figure out any benefit you can squeeze out of that.
 
Spacecraft: Armament and Casemates

L. Casemates for turrets and barbettes would only need limited protection.

M. A protective shield that would be at most half the volume.

N. Energy requirements for the casemate would be half.

O. With the possibility that they could be traversed manually.

P. For a firmpoint, energy and range limitations are in effect.
 
Spacecraft: Armament and Casemates

Q. Casemates sort of imply that possibly half the weapon system is poking out of the hull.

R. With gun ports, you can run out the guns.

S. That would increase volume, and hit engineering performance.

T. With gunports and large weapon systems, traverse would be really limited.

U. Fixed mountings, dependent on the pilot bearing them up.


gun_room___wip1_by_arrghman.jpg



DVD3-broadside-003-gunports.jpg
 
Startrucks: Hulls and Planetoids

Q. I was trying to figure out dimensions of my one hundred twenty tonne planetoid fleatrader.

R. I was going with the brick configuration, since, essentially, it would be a flying brick.

S. Sort of realized that internal subdivisions was going to be an issue.

T. If you think about it, fuel tanks are free, outside of the sunk cost of the hull (volume).

U. As, is a cargo hold.
 
Startrucks: Hulls and Planetoids

V. I think that structural integrity, basically the inner hull hull and floors, ahs to be drawn from the five percent.

W. The remaining fifteen percent has to be applied on the outer hull, to retain it's organic armour factor/two.

X. I also think that bulkheads, now, have to be declared and paid for.

Y. Which means, that if there is a thick wall separating the engine comportment from the rest of the ship.

Z. Perhaps, not to the extent of an armoured bulkhead, but bulkheads take up volume.
 
Inspiration: The Federation Marine Series: Books 1–5 | Complete Military Sci-Fi Audiobooks

book 1 00:00:00
book 2 6:49:50




Plodding, though.
 
Spacecraft: Armament and Meson Weapon Systems

1. It could be that meson weapon systems are actually a lot rarer than illustrated in the rule books.

2. Meson sleds might be restricted to elite forces in the Imperium.

3. Militaries outside of the Imperium, might only have a few prototypes.

4. Despite being base technological level twelve, meson spinal mounts require a lot of resources to manufacture.

5. And then, a comparatively massive platform to install it on.

6. Which tends to rule out paramilitary forces that tend to utilize small combatants.

7. For corsairs, getting hold of a small meson bay must be like hitting the jackpot.

8. They can take out small warships and ground based defences.

9. Which is probably the reason this weapon system is tightly regulated.
 
Startrucks: Hulls and Planetoids

1. My brick is going to be two by three by eight.

2. In theory, a default deck height is two half tonne cubes.

3. That's one and a half metres, by one and a half metres, by, let's say, one metre fifty five centimetres.

4. Height three metres eleven centimetres.

5. Adjusted for plumbing and gravity tiles.

6. I suppose we want the plumbing to be operating under normal gravity.

7. That would mean we'd have to install them on top of the gravity tiles.

8. That would mean that I'd install the plumbing over the gravity tiles, next to the wall.

9. With an angled cover to protect them, and allow easy access.
 
Startrucks: Hulls and Planetoids

A. Plumbing is water, electricity, communications, ventilation, climate control, for crew and passengers.

B. Mains for power hungry components, like weapon systems, sensors, cargo hatches.

C. Pipes for fuel to and from the tanks, then diverted to the power plant and jump drive.

D. Possibly, the fuel processor and scoops, if installed.

E. Though, if you think about it, you could flush the oxygen tanks once you're in a Terran norm atmosphere, and refill them with fresh air.

F. That does pose the idea of whether you can compress enough oxygen to last two weeks in a spacecraft.
 
Startrucks: Hulls and Planetoids

G. Liquid oxygen has an expansion ratio of 1:861[3][4] and because of this, it is used in some commercial and military aircraft as a transportable source of breathing oxygen.

H. The expansion ratio of a liquefied and cryogenic substance is the volume of a given amount of that substance in liquid form compared to the volume of the same amount of substance in gaseous form, at room temperature and normal atmospheric pressure.[1]

I. liquid hydrogen – 1 to 850

J. liquid oxygen – 1 to 860

K. It's an interesting question what would be cheaper, default Traveller life support costs, or sourcing it independently.
 
Startrucks: Hulls and Planetoids

L. Sewage should be rather simple.

M. That would be the fresher(s) and the galley.

N. Mirroring that of water supply.

O. But, in reverse.

P. The simple solution would be to eject from the ship, or feed it to the reactor.
 
Startrucks: Hulls and Planetoids

Q. The easiest way to distribute the hull is a cube configuration.

R. In space, without air resistance, not really an issue

S. Except, maybe, aesthetics.

T. Since we tend to use anti gravity propulsion, at relatively low speed, flyable.

U. I'd prefer a single deck, since the assumption would be I'd have to divide five percent not only for the six walls, but to acts as floors for the internal deck subdivision.
 
Inspiration: The Lee Phillip Show - "Star Wars Cast Interview" (6/17/1977!!) 😮

Here's something truly incredible - a heretofore undiscovered interview of the three main stars of Star Wars, given a scant 23 days after the film's release on May 25th 1977! [note: due to concerns of reposting, an extra timecode has been added to the video along with our usual watermark]

It provides an early look into the "Star Wars" phenomenon as spotlighted by Lee Phillip on her self-titled daytime show on WBBM Channel 2. The three stars - Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker; his surname misspelled "Hammil" on the lower-third super), Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia) and Harrison Ford (Han Solo) - are questioned by members of the Star Trek Revival Club - S.T.A.R. (Star Trek Association for Revival - specifically STAR Northbrook) after Lee has her turn with them.

Special thanks to John Lavalie, Alan Morton, Jeff Wargo, and Chuck Swan.

Includes:

Station ID / promo for Dinah! with today's guest Erma Bombeck (voiceover by Jerry Harper)

Show open, with Lee discussing the film's impact (as became evident upon release), and introducing her guests and their to-be inquisitors, then introduces Kathryn Kiefer's newscast [can be seen in a separate post here: • WBBM Channel 2 - Ending of Search for... - I thought it best to keep just the Star Wars related stuff here]

Lee asking Mark his views on why "Star Wars" is such a success (referring to C-3PO and R2-D2 as "a mechanical Laurel & Hardy"), then asks Carrie about why people keep going back to see it again, then has Harrison preview the backstory before a clip is shown [mostly edited out to avoid copyright blockage]

Commercials for:

American Egg Board - "The Incredible, Edible Egg" (posted separately here: • The Incredible Edible Egg (Commercial... )

Six Flags amusement park

Robert Hall Village (with Allen Ludden) (posted separately here: • Robert Hall Village - "Chairs & Pong"...

Segment 2 starts within the audience, with Tris(?) Hoffman asking what it was like working with actors "dressed as weird aliens," another fan asking Mark how the light saber scene was staged, yet another asking him if there were any difficulties in filming the trash compactor scene, another fan asking Carrie about the weather conditions during filming, Lezlie Sawyer asking Harrison if he enjoyed making the film and what was his favorite part in it, and Stuart Weiss (founder of the local chapter of STAR) asking Carrie who "gets" Leia at the end; then Lee asking more questions to them about their pre-fame work

Commercials for:

ScotTissue

Recipe Beef Chunks dog food

Macleans Fluoride toothpaste - "To Your Health, Teeth"

Canfield's Draft Root Beer

Segment 3: From the audience, Barry Waterman asks Mark about plans for a sequel, John Tadman (?) asks what cut scenes there were, Bill Goodmanson (?) asks how many aliens were in the cantina sequence (Mark mentions mask maker Stuart Freeborn and Ron Cobb), Kyler Buchwalter (?) asks what it was like for the stars to see the movie for the first time, Chuck Swan asks them if any own stock in 20th Century-Fox, and Ed Feinman (?) follows up on Kyler's question; Lee shows a photo of a Stormtrooper and asks a question from her son Bill, then she asks Carrie more about her famous parents and brings up a photo of C-3PO and R2-D2, with Mark discussing them

Commercials for:

Jewel Food Stores - "Father's Day Meal" (another version of this ad was aired in 1978 and can be seen here: • Jewel Food Stores / Jewel Grand Bazaa... )

Levelor Riviera Blinds

KitchenAid dishwashing machines (ending voiceover by Jerry Harper)

Piper's Carpet Warehouse - "Biggest Carpet Sale"





1. George cut a few things to keep the picture moving a little better.

2. The incredible, edible egg.

3. 1977 > Price of a dozen eggs: $0.79

4. Inflation-adjusted price of 12 eggs: $3.80
 
Inspiration: Tom Corbett, Space Cadet - Volume 1 VHS (plus extra)

Several episodes of the "Tom Corbett, Space Cadet" television series as released on the "Volume 1" VHS.

I did a little bit of audio cleanup. This copy of the tape had two additional episodes recorded onto the end.




1. Not so common, my dear.

2. Kellogg's Pep - plus extra sugar.

3. Fungible tokens.

4. Following a trail to danger.

5. The episodes are in the wrong order.
 
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