Ship Design Philosophy

[Condottiere]

Spacecraft: Armaments and Laser Gun, Man Portable

1. Currently, highest damage potential is eight dirtside dice.

2. That's eighty percent of a spacecraft beam laser, translated as ten dirtside dice.

3. Either way, these weapons draw no Power from the spacecraft since it is assumed their energy requirements are tiny in comparison to other systems, and they consume neither hardpoints nor firmpoints.

4. So, free energy.

5. Medium range appears to default, for a large receiver, to five hundred metres.

6. Improved beam focus would technically, at plus three to damage, boost potential damage to ninety percent of a spacecraft beam laser.

7. Minus one to penetration.

8. Has the zero gravity benefit, which may, or may not, contribute to accuracy.

9. Since it can draw directly from the spacecraft power grid, it probably doesn't need an integral power pack.

 

[Condottiere]

Spacecraft: Armaments and Laser Gun, Man Portable

A. Quarter tonne, in terms of mass, are weapon systems a tad larger than heavy (support) weapons, and less than what would be battlefield adjacent.

B. Even the best of light howitzers are a tad under two tonnes.

C. We can't customize a weapon system from those larger categories, to shrink down to that limitation.

D. So. to take full advantage of that quarter tonnes, we have to scale up smaller weapon systems.

E. One issue, of course, is that range is scaled to dirtside, gravitated combat.

F. Especially, for energy weapons.

 

[Condottiere]

Starwarships: Logistics Ships, The Unsung Heroes of Sci-Fi

Spacedock dives into the all-important and oft-neglected logistics ships of science fiction.

1. You do have to supply all those star destroyers, and planetary garrisons.

2. Assuming, the setting permits large numbers of space trucks.

3. You have to have something to steal.

4. Convoy!

5. Underway replenishment, or hull barnacles?

6. Armed merchantmen.

7. Weaponized containers.

 

[Condottiere]

Communist Star Wars: The Phantom Capitalist

"Use the Persuasion of Marxist Theory, Luke."

 

[Condottiere]

Inspiration: Soviet Starship Troopers

1. Killed the most enemies, with the least questions.

2. The assault on Klendathu was a triumph Soviet military planning; thousands of soldiers dropped from metal boxes that offered minimal protection, and maximum patriotic symbolism.

3. The truth was irrelevant; the narrative was everything.

4. The bugs were freed from the burden of self governance.

5. Work is freedom; productivity is piece work.

6. Compassion is a counter revolutionary impulse.

 

[Condottiere]

Spacecraft: Gun Ports

1. Well, small cargo hatches.

2. Presumably, battle dressed Marines.

3. Factor/fifteen fusion gun, man portable.

4. Range in vacuumed microgravity, who knows?

5. Certainly would work as anti boarding.

6. Might even work at dogfight range, against any other spacecraft.

7. You could presume that the external gallery would be under inertial compensation.

8. Get more crew out there to shoot at the close by enemy spacecraft with ground weapon systems.

9. How big a hole in the hull, before self sealing doesn't work?

 

[Condottiere]

Spacecraft: Gun Ports

A. Or, we just drop a big cargo hatch.

B. March out the Marines with ground weapon systems.

C. Could even be armoured vehicles, rather than just infantry heavy weapons.

D. In theory, the inertial compensation field should definitely cover the cargo hold, and the cargo hatch.

E. Then, volley fire sixty times at the nearby spacecraft.

F. Assuming double dee damage times one, that should discombobulate some spacecraft, especially if calculated as a salvo.

 

[Condottiere]

Spacecraft: Gun Ports

G. Firing infantry heavy weapons, assuming they cause enough damage, from open cargo hatches, should work.

H. Or, assuming the inertial compensation field exerts influence slightly beyond the hull, you could sandbag the top, and station Marines there.

I. The balance struck would be between the quarter tonnes needed for smaller weapon mounts on spacecraft.

J. And, if you could squeeze more bang for buck by just having ground forces man their weapon systems, firing from open hatches.

K. Of course, that leaves holes in hull armour, open for exploitation.

 

[Condottiere]

Starwarships: The Design Philosophy Behind the Venator-Class Star Destroyer

Today we take a look at how the Galactic Republic's open and market driven culture inspired the design of the Venator Class Star Destroyer.

1. Not a destroyer.

2. Assault carrier.

3. Defect(ion) proof.

4. Command and control.

5. Initiative.

6. Oversight.

7. Large mixed aerospace groups.

8. Megacorporation.

9. Taxation with representation.

 

[Condottiere]

Spacecraft: Armaments, Energy Weapon Systems, and How Does Gravity Affect Light?


We know that gravity exerts its pull on light, and we have an explanation for why. Actually, we have multiple explanations that all predict the same thing. And at first glance, these explanations seem to describe completely different causes. So what is the true connection between light and gravity, or is truth, in fact, entirely relative?

1. Furthest range for a large bay particle accelerator is distant.

2. Furthest range possible for all other forms of energy based weapon systems is very long.

3. The question would be, how far does light diverge if it clips. let's say, the edge of a Terran standard gravity well?

4. In a combat situation, all it needs to be is just sufficient to miss the opposing craft, at the engagement range.

5. Very long range is upto fifty kiloklix.

6. Assuming a thousand metres divergence would be sufficient for any miss against the vast majority of spacecraft.

7. That would one over fifty thousand kilometres.

8. Which would be what, a ten thousandth of a degree?

9. Of course, closer the range, the more of a divergence would be required.

 

[SgRichards]

Thing you have to remember is that the Scout Service is a Civilian Institute and not a military one. And its main purpose is to deliver mail, explore and update charts. As well as operating in areas that have little access to higher jump range technologies, so it is easier for them to operate whilst keeping costs down.

So keeping up with the fleet isn't their priority, IMHO. Plus, the Navy does make use of its own couriers, which would be more likely to have higher jump drives so they can keep up.

The Scouts also find locations for Scout Bases and lease land to private conserns to build Starports and Trade Stations. See TRAVELLER Book Vol.2, Library Data.

 

[Condottiere]

Scouts tend to be an organization that you can delegate miscellaneous roles and missions to, which allows the actual navy to concentrate on the military functions.

It scales well, from one man scoutship to scout cruiser.

Whether it was deliberate or not, fracturing it along bureaucratic lines does emphasize civilian control, while field units have a more flatter hierarchy.

 

[Condottiere]

Starwarships: Ranking EVERY Model of TIE Fighter

Spacedock delves into a mountain of TIE Fighter designs both old and new to rank the lot of them.


1. It is iconic.

2. Hull configuration, actually, does permit easy modification.

3. Bombers demonstrate this by just adding pods, and bracketing them between the wings.

4. Under Traveller rules, manoeuvre drive allows atmospheric reentry without heat shielding.

5. In theory, considering range and firmpoint limitations, use fusion gun, man portable, to increase firepower.

6. No idea how to squeeze required power generation out of the solar panels, for the manoeuvre drive.

 

[SgRichards]

Scouts tend to be an organization that you can delegate miscellaneous roles and missions to, which allows the actual navy to concentrate on the military functions.

It scales well, from one man scoutship to scout cruiser.

Whether it was deliberate or not, fracturing it along bureaucratic lines does emphasize civilian control, while field units have a more flatter hierarchy.

Does one truly 'muster-out' of the Scouts, or is 'everyone' placed in Reserve to be called upon for those miscellaneous jobs? My house rule - correct or not- is that they all placed in Reserve for various spy jobs, and the like.

 

[Condottiere]

Without having to wade through half a dozen books on that particular issue, it's always been a rather vague aspect for me.

You don't get a pension, so such loyalty doesn't seem warranted.

You could have that legal obligation, whether it's a short space of an additional term, or lifetime, or until pension age; I rather suspect it's plot dependent.

On the other hand, if they lend you a scoutship, and free fuel, that does seem likely that as a scout, you could, and would, be recalled to service; at least while you retain custody of the scoutship.