Ship Design Philosophy

[Condottiere]

Starships: Cheapest Possible

1. This is a flexible plastic ‘framed bag’, and not very durable, but can serve in an emergency.

2. It deploys inward, protected by the bulkhead-standard outer door, and takes up a significant proportion of the available space.

3. An accommodation block consumes six tons and costs MCr2.

4. The stables are the cheapest, in terms of bodies.

5. The slave quarters only take up half a tonne for one human, but cost the same as ten tonnes of stables.

6. In either case, probably add a fresher.

7. Though, I would suppose in the stables you have a hole in the corner, a slight slope in the floor to allow drainage, and a tap, which you could attach a shower/sink/toilet combination.

8. Life support is all or nothing, so it's twenty five hundred starbux per month, gross.

9. You could install a half tonne slave quarters per routine number of humans onboard, with life support cost of two hundred fifty starbux, presumably, per human, and switch off the stables, until sufficient numbers of passengers and crew are onboard.

 

[Condottiere]

Starships: Cheapest Possible

A. A spacecraft or self-contained, sealed structure with power can usually sustain life support for one person per stateroom for one month comfortably, and for six months at a stretch (number of staterooms x 5,000 person/hours).

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

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

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

E. 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.

F. Power required to the accommodation, to keep the increasing depreciating carbon dioxide scrubbers functioning, though need to examine Cluster rules if they have another mechanism.

 

[Condottiere]

Starships: Cheapest Possible

G. Each person living aboard a vessel incurs costs and requires a certain amount of supplies every day, including water, filters, air scrubbers and of course food.

H. The basic requirement is one unit of Life Support Supplies (LSS) per person per day, or 1/10 of one unit for someone travelling in a low berth.

I. One unit of LSS costs Cr150 if bought singly and takes up 0.01 ton of space if carried as cargo.

J. I'm not sure how this was playtested, but that is unaffordable.

K. I'd certainly deconstruct that bill of materials, to figure out how that amount was reached.

 

[Condottiere]

Starships: Cheapest Possible

L. Vessels have an internal capacity for LSS equal to four times their displacement in tons.

M. It will not seriously harm a crew to go on half rations for a couple of days, although they will be hungry and bad-tempered.

N. Even when supplies run out, crew do not immediately stop functioning.

O. However, increasingly foul air will impair their function until they die a slow death from suffocation.

P. Not all things being equal, in what appears to be in this particular basket of goods.

 

[Condottiere]

Inspiration: Masters of The Universe – Official Final Trailer

Over 40 years ago… He saved his universe. He inspired a generation. Now, He-Man returns. Watch the final theatrical trailer for Masters Of The Universe - only in theaters June 5. Get tickets now.

About Amazon MGM Studios: Amazon MGM (Metro Goldwyn Mayer) is a leading entertainment company focused on the production and global distribution of film and television content across all platforms. The company owns one of the world’s deepest libraries of premium film and television content as well as the premium pay television network MGM+, which is available throughout the U.S. via cable, satellite, telco and digital distributors. In addition, Amazon MGM has investments in numerous other television channels, digital platforms and interactive ventures and is producing premium short-form content for distribution.


Hit and miss with the script.

Actors actually manage to inhabit the characters (as probably envisioned by the script).

Cameo (of course).

Special effects are okay, but it seems they took shortcuts.

Worthwhile watching, not just for the nostalgic amongst us.

 

[Condottiere]

Starships: Cheapest Possible

Q. Every day after the supplies run out, each Traveller must make a Very Difficult (12+) END check, suffering damage equal to the negative Effect.

R. Odds are, that if you run out of air, before you run out of food, that endurance check may happen in more rapid succession.

S. It is possible to obtain LSS and fuel at a lower cost if the Travellers have the right connections or can do a deal with someone.

T. Or, retire dirtside, to the trailer park made up of broken down spacecraft.

U. The more foolhardy, may just drift endlessly, after miscalculating the amount of Life Support Supplies they have in their inventory.

 

[Condottiere]

Starships: Cheapest Possible

V. Each time the Travellers purchase fuel or LSS they can attempt to reduce the cost.

W. This will typically be a Persuade check, although Broker may also apply.

X. Each point of Effect on an Average (8+) check allows the cost to be reduced by 5%.

Y. Members of the Space Truckers’ Association gain DM+2 on this check in most ports.

Z. Implies that wholesale cost way below retail price.

 

[Condottiere]

Inspiration: Hellflower by George O. Smith | Full Audiobook

BOOK INFO:
Title: Hellflower
Author: George O. Smith
Narrated by: Ben Tucker

ABOUT THE BOOK (Plot Summary):
Blast off into a gritty future where space travel is a privilege and survival is a calculation. In "Hellflower," George O. Smith introduces us to Charles Farradyne, a disgraced space pilot who has lost everything except his skills and his "elite mind." In the squalor of a Venusian port, Farradyne is given a dangerous second chance: to infiltrate a deadly criminal syndicate trafficking the "Hellflower," a potent and soul-shattering narcotic. This mission requires more than just piloting expertise; it demands the strategic discipline to navigate the galactic underworld and the mental fortitude to resist the very substance he is sent to destroy. Smith’s narrative is a high-stakes exploration of redemption and the power of a disciplined spirit to reclaim honor in a universe filled with temptation and betrayal.


This is actually one of my favourite science fiction novels, though obviously pulpy.

Basically a detective noir story in a science fiction setting, though I found the plot, and the characters compelling.

And, considering current national practices, rather contemporary.

 

[Fluffy Bunny Feet]

Inspiration: Hellflower by George O. Smith also available : From Project Gutenberg

Various formats from HTML to read in your browser to epubs to read on your ebook.

 

[Condottiere]

Starwarships: Gazelle Class Close Escort

1. I was trying to figure out what would be the cost effective hull adaptation.

2. Breakaway hull, or drop tanks.

3. I couldn't find an example of a breakaway hulled design.

4. And a drop tanked one, the only canonical example seems to be the Gazelle class.

5. I noted that actual hull points weren't directly assigned to drop tanks.

6. In addition, drop tanks are automatically destroyed once their ship has lost 10% of its Hull points.

7. Right off the bat, the question becomes whether the drop tanks become an integral part of the primary hull.

8. My assumption has always been no.

9. However, the current Gazelle entry mentions one hundred sixty hull points, for three hundred tonne primary hull, plus hundred tonnes of drop tanks.

 

[Condottiere]

Starwarships: Gazelle Class Close Escort

A. Also, four hardpoints.

B. So, what happens when you fly without the drop tanks?

C. I'm not the first to point this out, but, since supposedly there is a new revision, you'd think that either gets clarified, or corrected.

D. This could be just a case of copy paste, going back how long?

E. Easiest way to exploit this, is to design battleships with drop tanks, and then move all the hardpointed weapon systems to the primary hull.

F. Then drop the drop tanks, and have an increased acceleration performance based on the smaller volume.

 

[Condottiere]

Starwarships: Gazelle Class Close Escort

G. Hull configuration is close, which is a twenty percent discount, and one hundred fifty percent hull armour volume per default factor.

H. Hull cost is sixteen megastarbux, which is twenty percent off gravitated default for four hundred tonnes.

I. Hull armour is fourteen and two fifths tonnes at seven and one fifth megastarbux.

J. Fourteen and two fifths tonnes divided by one hundred fifty percent is nine and three fifths tonnes.

K. Nine and three fifths tonnes over four hundred tonnes is two and two fifths percent.

 

[Condottiere]

Close Escort

batteries bearing
batteries
CE-3455762-300000-40100-0
2
2
2 2
MCr287.47
300 tons
TL=14.
Crew=12.
Passengers=0. Low 8erths=0. Cargo=6. Fuel=81. EP=21. Agility=0. Troops=0.
L-Hyd tanks add 100 tons of fuel and displacement (CE-4444762) and cost MCr.11
Tonnage: 300 tons (standard). 4,200 cubic meters.


I'd say that the description in Fighting Ships would indicate that drop tanks are considered separate from the primary hull.

 

[Condottiere]

Starwarships: Gazelle Class Close Escort

L. That odd niggle of four hardpoints on a three hundred tonne hull persists to this day.

M. Variant: The Fiery class gunned escort is a variant based on the Gazelle class, the major difference being a streamlined hull.

N. Which would indicates that drop tanks can be altered, in this case, streamlined.

O. If you assume the default configuration is standard.

P. I believe the technical term is conformal fuel tanks.

 

[Condottiere]

Starwarships: Gazelle Class Close Escort

Q. With only three hardpoints, it would be a question of what gets dropped.

R. Two particle accelerator barbettes, and one beam laser triple turret, is rather aggressive.

S. Close escort tends to imply more defensive systems.

T. Speaking of close, smaller bridge might not be ideal, with minus one to piloting,

U. Certainly, an emergency jump of five parsecs Is going to be chancy.

 

[Condottiere]

Starwarships: Gazelle Class Close Escort

V. Currently, a fifty tonne drop tank, of which the Gazelles, had two each, costs twenty five kilostarbux per tonne, total one and a quarter megastarbux.

W. Plus, two sets of one fifth of a tonne drop tank mounts costing a hundred kilostarbux, each.

X. Compared to two sets of fifty tonne breakaway hulls, for a total of two percent total hull in tonnage, which would be sixteen tonnes.

Y. That would be plus thirty two megastarbux.

Z. Which is why breakaway hull for a drop tank alternative isn't worth the cost.

 

[Condottiere]

Inspiration: Disclosure Day | Final Trailer

If you found out we weren’t alone, if someone showed you, proved it to you, would that frighten you? This summer, the truth belongs to eight billion people.
We are coming close to … Disclosure Day.

Universal Pictures is proud to release a new original event film created and directed by Steven Spielberg. The film stars SAG winner and Oscar® nominee Emily Blunt (Oppenheimer, A Quiet Place), Emmy and Golden Globe winner Josh O’Connor (Challengers, The Crown), Oscar® winner Colin Firth (The King’s Speech, Kingsman franchise), Eve Hewson (Bad Sisters, The Perfect Couple) and two-time Oscar® nominee Colman Domingo (Sing Sing, Rustin).

Based on a story by Spielberg, the screenplay is by David Koepp, whose previous work with Spielberg includes the scripts for Jurassic Park, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, War of the Worlds and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Combined, those films earned more than $3 billion worldwide. Koepp also wrote the script for this 2025’s Jurassic World Rebirth.

Disclosure Day is produced by five-time Academy Award® nominee Kristie Macosko Krieger (The Fabelmans, West Side Story) and by Spielberg for Amblin Entertainment. The executive producers are Adam Somner and Chris Brigham.

Steven Spielberg is one of the industry’s most successful and influential filmmakers. The top-grossing director of all time, Spielberg has helmed such blockbusters as Jaws, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, the Indiana Jones franchise and Jurassic Park.

Among his myriad honors, he is a three-time Academy Award® winner, including Oscars® for Best Director and Best Picture for Schindler’s List, which received a total of seven Oscars®, and for Best Director for Saving Private Ryan. His most recent film, The Fabelmans, was released by Universal in 2022 and received seven Academy Award® nominations, including for Directing, Best Original Screenplay, Best Actress and Best Picture.


Charitably, it's nicely filmed, the actors can act, but, it seems disjointed.

It could be, that Spielberg fell into the Lucas trap, and tried reverse engineering the script from the ending he had in mind.

 

[Condottiere]

Starwarships: Gazelle Class Close Escort

1. It does become a question, as to whether is just a hull variant.

2. That would make it, at twenty five kilostarbux, ungravitated, presumably.

3. It could also be altered to streamlined, assumably, at twenty percent premium, or thirty kilostarbux per tonne.

4. Though, that would make it subject to a five tonne minimum.

5. Coincidentally, boosters and internal modules, are also priced at twenty five kilostarbux per tonne.

6. And it seems pretty clear that boosters are hulls.

7. That means that drop tanks actually have hull points.

8. With separate damage from the primary hull.

9. The dstruction of the drop tank mounts, would potentially cause separation from the primary hull, or cut the fuel hose.

 

[Condottiere]

Spacecraft: Engineering, Manoeuvre Drive, and Inertial Compensation

1. The other advantage of manoeuvre drives is inertial compensation to the same value as the drive’s nominal thrust rating.

2. Even if a ship’s drive output has been degraded, internal compensation will still usually work at its full value.

3. A ship that was once capable of 2G acceleration but which now struggles to make 0.6G will still have 2G of internal gravity and compensation for manoeuvres unless the grav field has been weakened over time.

4. Which grav field, hull artificial gravity field?

5. Presumption would be that the full specified energy input is still required, for full rated inertial compensation.

6. Though, it seems unclear whether full power is also required to obtain degraded performance.

7. Technically, it would be considered energy inefficient, if you had to pro rata remaining performance, to fifty percent power requirement to obtain a thrust of three tenth gravities, for the above example.

8. Inertial compensation would also be reduced to one gravity, presumably.

9. If you could divorce inertial compensation from thrust, you'd have, likely, a cheaper and lighter manoeuvre drive.

 

[Condottiere]

Spacecraft: Engineering, Manoeuvre Drive, and Inertial Compensation

A. Depending on what supplement you happen to be reading, gravitational force has different effects on passenger health.

B. If a High Guard spacecraft is designed without artificial gravity, the basic hull costs half.

C. If you can figure out how to incorporate Aerospace Engineer Handbook, there also is no artificial gravity, without, I think, spinning the spacecraft.

D. Then, we have primitive hulls, who's charm is having twenty times less basic systems energy requirement.

E. And forty percent discount.

F. Though, you aren't allowed to install either jump, nor manoeuvre drives, in them.