Ship Design Philosophy

[Condottiere]

Spaceships: Fighter drones

May actually be not as popular choice as some think, due to massive signal interference by both sides in battle.

 

[Condottiere]

Starships: Fighter Carrier

Featured in the latest Rebels episode; depending on tonnage seems very suitable for the Solomani Navy, otherwise an example of a possible direction for carrier design.

 

[wbnc]

Starships: Fighter Carrier

Featured in the latest Rebels episode; depending on tonnage seems very suitable for the Solomani Navy, otherwise an example of a possible direction for carrier design.

Looks nice


I'm waiting for a few things to get hashed out before doing any solid numbers.

But I have an an idea for a fleet carrier...well fleet support carrier.

around 75-100 Ktons
carriers fighters, fighter drones and up to 100 ton gunboats...possible 200 ton depending on how a few things work out concerning launch tubes etc.
the idea I am working with is combining launch/recovery tubes, with hangers, docking spaces, and docking clamps.

Screening drones and fighters that need to be able to launch quickly will be carried on clamps o they can be deployed as quickly as possible. you an slightly see that the forward section of the ship is hollow...craft on clamps would be moored there, with plenty of from for them to make their way out into open space.Heavy gunboats and lager riders will be docked in docking spaces, also inside the hollowed out forward area, and launched after screen is out.

Heavier fighters, strike fighters, and bombers will be launched from tubes, connected to hangers and workshops.the first wave of self defense fighters will be in the tubes as the ship emerges from jumpspace, other fighters will be rotated from docking spaces and cargo spaces to the hangers, and then into launch tubes.

The big bays on the sides of the rear hull are docking areas for cargo and supply ships. The pass through the ships hul and out the other side so a cargo ship fly through one side and out the other docking in the middle to use the ships UNCREP system and cargo handling gear...then move along so the next cargo ship or tanker can move in

My ideas are fluid at the moment since there is some heavy discussion of the details on docking clamps, launch tubes etc underway.

a few particulars about the ship..turrets and bay heavy, I am thinking no spinals, escorting cruisers will provide the heavy guns to deal with any cruiser or battleship that gets too close. and depending on how the fleet battle system works carriers would ideally launch form behind the main battle line and stay there. A carrier would never want to get into a direct fire scuffle with anything it's own size.That would be asking for someone to punch big smoking holes in your shiny billion or so credit investment.

devoting space to spinals sort of defeats the purpose of a carrier, which is to carry a bucket load of fighters and let them do the fighting.

I may adjust a few artistic details once I settle on a final tonnage ....scaling the various bays to proper proportions etc. and I am still not happy with the textures....any ideas from better modelers than me would be appreciated

 

[Condottiere]

With clamps, as well as other components, I'd have to know availability, performance and formulas, before I'd be able to nail down what I'd want, especially smallcraft tonnage.

 

[Condottiere]

Starships: Engineering and the smallest possible Jump Drive

I get the impression that ten tonnes remains the baseline minimum for any jump drive.

Which is too bad, since I've always looked forward to a monojump drive for a hundred tonne ship, which would be if I read the current formula correctly, seven and a half tonnes.

One further step would be one originally prototyped for microjumps, which GURPS identified as being only within a quarter parsec, which I would suppose could be half the size of a monojump one, basically six and a quarter tonnes.

 

[wbnc]

With clamps, as well as other components, I'd have to know availability, performance and formulas, before I'd be able to nail down what I'd want, especially smallcraft tonnage.

My dilemma exactly.

 

[wbnc]

Starships: Engineering and the smallest possible Jump Drive

I get the impression that ten tonnes remains the baseline minimum for any jump drive.

Which is too bad, since I've always looked forward to a monojump drive for a hundred tonne ship, which would be if I read the current formula correctly, seven and a half tonnes.

One further step would be one originally prototyped for microjumps, which GURPS identified as being only within a quarter parsec, which I would suppose could be half the size of a monojump one, basically six and a quarter tonnes.

I was happy us to get the minimum size restriction dropped on M-drives..I didn't want to push it and go for J-drives too. but those minimum sizes are only if you plan on using it in a strictly canon setting ...for personal use you could ignore them

and ya know ,no one ever said you have to jump full range, on a jump. You could within the rules go for a sub-parsec jump..although unless your going for in system travel a week in Jump, isn't a big savings... but say in the case of a star bing 1 or two light years away yeah a short hop ad yer there a few years year ahead of an M-drive.

One way to do a mono jump on a 100 tn ship is to use a cheaper, lower TL J-drive. which means you could either buy it cheaper, or buy it with a few advantages. a good option for a budget type ship.


as a side note.....one quirk of the rule is that now that small craft can have jump drives, those jump-craft have extraordinary range due to the drive to hull tonnage ration. and since fuel requirements are based on hull tonnage. a Jump 3 50 ton ump craft only needs 15 tons of fuel. s it can carry it's jump fuel in a TL_14 drop tanks,( suffering a -1 on Jump check, retain the tanks for later use) and make J-3 with the 15 tons devoted to cargo.

I think my final numbers on one worked up was J-3, Thrust 11, and room for a nice comfy stateroom and lounge for the pilot and passenger. and that was on a TL-12 drive...
http://wbyrd.deviantart.com/art/50-ton-Eagle-Jumpcraft-579679335

If I use the drop-tank work around it could have 15 tons cargo space...which is enough for some high value/risk speculation, or maybe a bit of under the table trading.and If a personal transport had say 3 staterooms, it would be a great low end ship for a player group...especially mercs,freelancers, criminals, or bounty hunter types.

 

[Condottiere]

I've already concluded that the most bang for your buck at this range of tonnage is two hundred tonnes, so fooling around with hundred tonnes and below is more of a hobby.

As regards to jump capable smallcraft, word from god has it that no transition is possible under hundred tonnes.

 

[AndrewW]

as a side note.....one quirk of the rule is that now that small craft can have jump drives, those jump-craft have extraordinary range due to the drive to hull tonnage ration. and since fuel requirements are based on hull tonnage. a Jump 3 50 ton ump craft only needs 15 tons of fuel. s it can carry it's jump fuel in a TL_14 drop tanks,( suffering a -1 on Jump check, retain the tanks for later use) and make J-3 with the 15 tons devoted to cargo.

If you have a 50 ton ship using a 15 ton of drop tanks and retain those drop tanks when jumping it would then be a 65 ton ship for jump and manoeuvre purposes.

 

[wbnc]

as a side note.....one quirk of the rule is that now that small craft can have jump drives, those jump-craft have extraordinary range due to the drive to hull tonnage ration. and since fuel requirements are based on hull tonnage. a Jump 3 50 ton ump craft only needs 15 tons of fuel. s it can carry it's jump fuel in a TL_14 drop tanks,( suffering a -1 on Jump check, retain the tanks for later use) and make J-3 with the 15 tons devoted to cargo.

If you have a 50 ton ship using a 15 ton of drop tanks and retain those drop tanks when jumping it would then be a 65 ton ship for jump and manoeuvre purposes.

Yes and when I design a craft to retain jump tanks I factor that in. Either a) making a note of the altered maneuver and thrust, or b)upgrading the drives to compensate for the extra tonnage.

The odd quirk I mentioned above is that anything under 100 tons built at Tl- 13 or below will peg the upper limit of Jump range set by TL. Now you have to play some games mixing internal and external tankage to take advantage of this quirk.

there is a bit of diminishing return problem using external tankage, since at 90 tons you are only freeing up a few tons of internal space. But at 50 tons you save 15-20 tons of internal space. It's a dubious savings, but since drop tanks are cheaper than hull tonnage. it saves money to use external drop tanks long term.

 

[AndrewW]

there is a bit of diminishing return problem using external tankage, since at 90 tons you are only freeing up a few tons of internal space. But at 50 tons you save 15-20 tons of internal space. It's a dubious savings, but since drop tanks are cheaper than hull tonnage. it saves money to use external drop tanks long term.

Also you need mounts for the drop tanks so that takes up a little more space. Alternately you could just make the small craft bigger to hold the fuel itself.

 

[wbnc]

there is a bit of diminishing return problem using external tankage, since at 90 tons you are only freeing up a few tons of internal space. But at 50 tons you save 15-20 tons of internal space. It's a dubious savings, but since drop tanks are cheaper than hull tonnage. it saves money to use external drop tanks long term.

Also you need mounts for the drop tanks so that takes up a little more space. Alternately you could just make the small craft bigger to hold the fuel itself.

I am aware of that. I have a couple of version roughed out that use that method actually I got sort of obsessed and have 10 or fifteen different designs for Jump capable small craft/combat craft on my hard drive right now.

with these little guys the big savings is in the fact they can use their tanks only when going interstellar, and cruise around the system without dragging along a lot of dead weight. Also a drop tank cost 25K per ton, Hulls cost 50K per ton.

Its a bit gimmicky but a 20ton tank even with fittings saves some money over a permanent fuel tank. even considering the loss of streamlining( wen tanks are present), jump modifiers,etc.. the benefits seem to pay off..

at least that's my thinking on it...Like I said its a little gimmicky, but not overpowered, or campaign breaking.

 

[Condottiere]

Spaceships: Armaments and Smart Missiles

Smart missiles will have a profile of what they were targetted at, and if the bugger disappears from their sensors, they'll slow down and try and re-acquire it in the last seen location, without trying to become more vulnerable to anti-missile defences.

It may also decide to play dead, and wait for that target, or something similar, to re-emerge.

 

[Condottiere]

Spaceships: Armaments and Weapon Engineering

If you can customize weapon systems dirtside, can you do for spaceship sized ones?

 

[Condottiere]

Spaceships: Hull and Armour

So basically, you have an outer hull that rotates, but is fully armoured and has all the bays and turrets embedded.

The rotating outer hull allows the ship to unmask all the weapon systems that normally would be facing away from a single target; it would also change the amount of armour that could be facing the opposing enemy weapon systems at any particular point in time, assuming that some armour plating had been attritioned or penetrated.

 

[Condottiere]

Starships: Hulls and Drop Tanks

Generally speaking, external tanks are carried by aircraft to extend range and endurance. They tend to screw with aerodynamics, conformal tanks less so.

Since there's no air to cause resistance in space, all you need is that ye naval architect ensures that the tanks can easily detach themselves, yet remain securely attached to the hull at all others.

 

[Condottiere]

Starships: Engineering and Jump Drives

Of course, details are vague as to how exactly a jump drive works in the new edition, not that it terribly specific in others, but with the new rules, that you can leave behind your jump drive together with your drop tanks, does seem rather possible.

 

[Torbyne]

Starships: Engineering and Jump Drives

Of course, details are vague as to how exactly a jump drive works in the new edition, not that it terribly specific in others, but with the new rules, that you can leave behind your jump drive together with your drop tanks, does seem rather possible.

And that basically recreates the hyperdrive ring from the Star Wars prequels, doesn't it?

 

[AndrewW]

And that basically recreates the hyperdrive ring from the Star Wars prequels, doesn't it?

It's still a jump drive but yes could do something along those lines.

 

[Condottiere]

In Traveller terms, you need a bridge, a computer, fuel, a jump drive, and a power plant in the same hull to jump, whereas a hyperdrive ring appears to have additional manoeuvre drives (not essential), presumably integral power plant, but no control system (bridge and computer).

With the new rules, assuming you can power and control the jump drive from a separate hull, you could drop it together with fuel tanks before transition, and after you punch a hole into another dimension.