Ship Design Philosophy

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Space Stations: Solar Sailor Design

Tech level eight artificially gravitated space station standard unarmoured spherical hull, which will cost you two hundred thousand schmuckers for ten tons (which presumably is the smallest size, but I suppose you could squeeze it further).

For propulsion, a half ton solar sail backed with a twenty five kilogramme factor one-tenth tech level eight non-orbital grav drive (worth a hundred thousand schmuckers), powered by an equivalent sixty-three kilogramme tech level eight power plant; factor six half-ton (minimum at fifty thousand schmuckers) solar panels should really be able to engage it's little one tenth grav motors at full thrust.

Theres a one ton command module costing a hundred thousand schmuckers, equiped with a factor one distributed tech level seven computer system (priced at five million schmuckers, though you would have supposed that an ordinary model one would have served just as well), and standard electronics package.

Half-ton ship's locker, half-ton refresher and the one-ton airlock (two hundred thousand schmuckers) are installed separate from the bridge, leaving about five point nine tons as a combination stateroom, common area, galley, fuel, pantry and cargo; provisionally a four ton stateroom at a half million schmuckers that would keep two people alive.

 

[Condottiere]

Space Stations: Computers

The key word would be distributed, indicating that it's spread throughout the station, and might be laggy, which would explain why you couldn't use them to control the jump drives. Though presumably, if you install a normal computer, you could transition the station through hyperspace.

 

[Condottiere]

Inspiration: Star Citizen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOx9rrv8MAc

Notice the armoured hangar hatch; technically speaking, the fighters vertically lift off.

 

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Armaments: Particle Accelerators and Barbettes

1. It seems pretty much established that bay weapon systems are internal. That seems to leave room for one with a more external presence.

2.One ton for operator and local fire control, plus four tons each per particle accelerator, with a maximum of four.

3. All particle accelerators mounted on the same barbette must be aimed at the same target.

4. Unlike a turret, you can't mix weapon systems on a barbette.

5. You can only have so many barbette sized PAWS, as maximum number is limited by displacement/five hundred,
multiplied by the power plant factor rating.

 

[Condottiere]

Space Stations: Searcher Mining Ship Design

Tech level eight artificially gravitated space station standard unarmoured conical hull, which will cost you two million schmuckers for a hundred tons.

For propulsion, a one ton factor one tech level eight geo-stationary grav drive (worth five hundred thousand schmuckers), powered by an equivalent one point eight seven five tons tech level eight power plant costing four point six eight seven five million schmuckers; tech level eight factor two point six seven half-ton (minimum at fifty thousand schmuckers) solar panels.

Theres a one ton command module costing a hundred thousand schmuckers, equiped with a factor one distributed tech level seven computer system (priced at five million schmuckers), and standard electronics package.

Half-ton ship's locker, half-ton refresher and the one-ton airlock (two hundred thousand schmuckers) are installed separate from the bridge, two staterooms (one million schmuckers). Fuel scoop would not be inherent, but you can add in a one ton fuel processor at fifty thousand schmuckers and a snow shovel.

One and quarter tons of fuel are needed per two weeks of operation, though with the solar panels,that may be far far less.

Equipment can include any number of mining drones, cargo drones, and a prospecting buggy, sharing eighty three point six two five tons space with fuel and cargo.

Armament would consist of a single one ton heavy duty mining laser turret (uninstalled) at two hundred thousand schmuckers.

 

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Smallcraft: Twin Illuminated Engine Fighter Design

Tech level twelve artificially gravitated smallcraft standard unarmoured spherical hull, which will cost you one million forty thousand schmuckers for twelve tons.

The hull is coated with additional layers of tech level ten reflec (one million two hundred thousand schmuckers), is self sealing at tech level nine (one million two hundred thousand schmuckers), stealthed at tech level eleven (one million two hundred thousand schmuckers), radiation shielded (three million schmuckers), and heat shielded (one million two hundred thousand schmuckers).

A three ton factor eleven and two thirds sG grav drive costing six million schmuckers, is powered by tech level eleven factor two hundred and eighty solar panels, six tons worth three hundred thousand schmuckers, split in two and installed parallel to the primary cabin.

There's a one and a half ton cockpit costing sixty thousand schmuckers, equipped with a factor one tech level seven computer system (priced at thirty thousand schmuckers), and standard electronics package. The cockpit has an amoured bulkheads which weighs in at one hundred and fifty kilos and costs thirty thousand schmuckers. Holographic controls cost another fifteen thousand schmuckers.

Three hundred and fifty kilogrammes of cargo space is available.

Armament is a tech level seven mounted pulse laser with a one ton fire control at a quarter of a million schmuckers.

 

[phavoc]

Armaments: Particle Accelerators and Barbettes

1. It seems pretty much established that bay weapon systems are internal. That seems to leave room for one with a more external presence.

The explanation for a bay weapon has always included the idea that it may be an actual internal 'bay', or an external turret. The AZL images from CT show external turrets that match the weapon mount descriptions (ventral and dorsal). Admittedly the original book had some errors in it (for example one scenario has a disabled ship in orbit of a planet with "just enough fuel for a short in-system jump".

GURPS did a much better job of separating the definitions of internal and external bays:

Weapon Bays are large weapon mounts. They come in two varieties: external or internal. External bays are treated exactly like turrets, above (though they have the same surface area as a vessel of their size; see p. 28). Internal bays are treated exactly like hull-mounted weapons, as above. Bays on planetoid hulls are usually internal. Weapon bays may not be grouped as batteries.

GURPS also pointed out the silliness of the storing cargo in an empty bay idea when too liberally applied (internal vs. external):

Empty internal bays may store cargo or hold small craft. External bays may not store cargo or craft – they are only capable of holding weapons due to a honeycomb structural arrangement designed to hold either missiles for the multiple missile racks or the components used to build energy weapons. Vehicles and craft may be carried in otherwise unused internal bays at 50% space wastage (a 100-ton bay holds 50 dtons of vehicle or craft); a bay may launch one craft per
turn (see p. 64).

GURPS also separated the idea of internal and external bays taking up different amounts of spaces. External consumed some internal space but most external (i.e. you only have X amount of hull real estate to mount them). Internal bays took up far more internal spacing (the same principle applies - only so much internal real estate).

You also have to consider that if bays are purely internal weapons, the number of weapons a larger ship can bring to bear would be much more restricted, especially with some of the ship designs that are elongated.

 

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Armaments: Particle Accelerators and Barbettes

Going by Mongoose mechanics, particle accelerator bays have single weapons installed, as compared to railguns, missiles or torpedoes.

That would indicate that they're sort of micro spinal mounts (mini would probably weigh in the hundreds of tons).

Couldn't do that with fusion or meson weapons. Though the fact that meson sleds and FGMPs exist, you couldn't rule that out.

 

[Condottiere]

Space Stations:Manoeuvre Drives and Power Plants

Distributed seems to be again the operative word when it requires two and a half times more tonnage to create one tenth gee propulsion, than if you had just pro rataed a standard factor one manoeuvre drive, powered by an appropriate power plant, by is a third the size of a factor one.

It does seem a tad strange that geo-stationary stations factor one drives and plants are one to one to factor one capital ships, with no provision for distributing them.

 

[Condottiere]

Space Stations: Computers

Actually, you can easily replace the distributed model with a core one; the reason few bother is because it's cheaper and available at lower tech levels.

Because the basic models never had a maximum tonnage, it's hard to pin them down, though it's implied that they could effectively control upto five thousand tons.

 

[Condottiere]

Spaceships: Computers

Computer rating formula:

R=TL^2/CTM


R = Computer rating
TL = Technical level
CTM = Computer type multiple

Computer type multiple
Basic - 6
Distributed - 3
Core - 2

 

[Condottiere]

Spaceships: Computers

In case you're wondering why I didn't add a formula for the cost, I couldn't find one that works across technological levels and performance.

Theoretically, you want diminishing returns the greater the rating, and accelerate that if you cross the base rate per technology level, to make it prohibitively expensive.

I think that computers at technological level seven that can compute jumps have got to cost a great deal more; tech level twelve rating five computer might be costed at tens of thousands of schmuckers.

Computers take space; I'd hack it out of the existing bridge requirement, and the designer can then decide if you want to place it in a secured separate room, and allocate additional tonnage. Of course, if it's the size of a laptop or a Raspberry Pi in a yacht, you might not bother beyond a bulkhead safe.

 

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Spaceships: Computers

If you can specialize a computer specifically to handle jumps, you could also specialize computers to specifically deal with fire control, and attach one to each console.

A computer with rating one should be able to handle normal navigation, ship systems, and flight controls of smallcraft.

 

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Spaceships: Computers

Basic models could have maximum spaceship tonnages that they can effectively control. Going by High Guard, rating forty maxes out at five thousand tonnes; model seven at rating thirty five would indicate a maximum of four thousand tonnes, and model one maxes out at five hundred tonnes, if you go pro rata.

 

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Spaceships: Computers

Basic model

T=TL(10R)

T = Tonnage
TL = Technical level
R = Rating

 

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Starships: Jump Fuel

Instead of drop tanks, fuel tanks have sliding hatches that as soon as the fuel is drained to the jump drive engines, they slide up, opening up the tank(s) to space and shrinking ship volume, thus changing the actual jump equation just prior to transition, meaning that the starship weighs less in relation to how much the jump drives actually need to push the starship to any specific exit.

 

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Starships: Jump Fuel and Exterior Sliding Hatch of the Fuel Tanks

Found an appropriate picture:

 

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Starships: Jump Fuel

Current transition calculations probably aren't based on mass, otherwise the empty tanks wouldn't need to be calculated for, as the hydrogen hadn't already been dumped, without needing to be opened to space.

 

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Spaceships: Personnel Facilities

Going by the brig specifications, you can squeeze a human in one quarter tonne of displacement and include the requisite life support equipment, at probably considerably less than twenty thousand schmuckers per prerson.

 

[F33D]

Spaceships: Personnel Facilities

Going by the brig specifications, you can squeeze a human in one quarter tonne of displacement and include the requisite life support equipment, at probably considerably less than twenty thousand schmuckers per prerson.

A quarter ton is about one 5' cube. If the rules state that it is sufficient for a person & all the l.s. equip, they got it wrong.