Ship Design Philosophy

[Condottiere]

Armaments: Weapon Bays

You can embed as many weapon bays as there are hardpoints, the difference being that the ship can only operate as many simultaneously as the power power plant can legally supply power to.

You could attach a battery to each bay to bypass this requirement, though that limits the time the bay can operate.

 

[Condottiere]

Starships: Jump Drives and Capacitors

1. Twenty percent of a jump drive is devoted to capacitors, each ton of which can absorb thirty six energy points.

2. Essentially, that means an aA jump drive has two tons, with a capacity of seventy two energy points.

3. aQ jump drive would have sixteen tons, with a capacity of five hundred seventy six energy points.

4. A capital class jump drive factor one for three thousand tons is sixty tons, and twelve tons of capacitors with four hundred thirty two energy points.

5. So either Adventure class jump drives are very inefficient, or just have a larger margin due to safety concerns (the capacitors blow up if they exceed the rated energy points).

6. Assuming that energy requirements remain the same, adjusted for tonnage and distance, is fourteen point four energy points per parsec per hundred tons.

7. Firing up the jump drive occurs within a minute.

8. Within that minute, the power plant has to divert anywhere upto thirty six energy points per parsec per hundred tons. This is where the power plant probably suddenly overclocks.

9. Taking account of capital ship capacity, unless larger engines have economies of scale, seems unlikely.

10. Even fourteen point four energy points seems excessive, bearing in mind safety concerns.

11. Considering the potential catastrophic nature of an energy surge, I'd say that the required energy is probably fifty percent of installed capacitors, or rounded off to eight points per parsec per hundred tons

12. aQ power plant is forty six tons, while a three thousand ton capital ship has a factor one power plant of forty five tons. Presumably, power output is the same.

13. The amount of the power spike might not be unrealistic, in that it compresses total energy output of a six minute round into one minute or less.

14. Or maybe to really simplify it, ten energy points per parsec per hundred tons.

15. That would mean factor one power plants produce ten energy points per hundred tons per six minutes.

 

[Condottiere]

Starships: Jump Drives and Capacitors

16. On the other hand, going by the fact that capacitor charges don't dissipate, at least not within a significant time-frame ( which does become significant when employing a black globe), do starships actually need overclocked power plants? The energy can be slowly accumulated from the normal output from the power plant, that can be released just at the optimal transition point.

17. Holding that charge over any period of time does make capacitors attractive as batteries for normal ship functions, or ones that require significant power during a short period, like weapons systems.

18. Their nature might contribute significantly to a stealth profile.

19. This makes installing a factor one black globe an interesting proposition, both for the stealth and a means of accumulating energy.

20. Much like expelling the fusion bottle if it goes critical, that option seems attractive in regards to the installation of an ejection device for the capacitors once they start reaching the upper limits of their capacity.

 

[Condottiere]

Spaceships: Personnel Facilities

Saw an article on micro-apartments propose that the shower be located next to the kitchen sink.

 

[Condottiere]

Spaceships: Inertial Compensators

I would assume, going by the Manoeuvre Drive table, that they're discovered at tech level eight and compensate at five gees, and reach their final form at tech level nine, allowing six gees.

 

[Condottiere]

Spaceships: Ship Computers

Highly likely a second computer is running that deals with entertainment and communications for passengers and crew members, firewalled from the computer that controls shipboard systems, but can be overridden by it.

 

[Condottiere]

Spaceships: Artificial Gravity

Building a hull without it isn't really worth it, as the hull itself isn't the most expensive component, and what you save there will probably return in terms of medical costs and production inefficiency. Probably avoidable accidents as well.

Might have a playroom installed without artificial gravity. With mirrors.

 

[Condottiere]

Inspiration: Star Trek Space Dock

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAH4Lf5e2CY

 

[Condottiere]

Spaceships: Artificial Gravity (and presumably, Compensators)

Going by Space Stations, it varies depending tech level. Normally, you wouldn't expect Compensators to be part of the package, but the hull cost for a tech level twelve artificial gravity hulls is a hundred thousand schmuckers, which is the same price you pay for capital ship hulls. The floating variant is sixty thousand, however, if you took from that the cost per ton of artificial gravity (and possibly compensators) is forty thousand, you might actually be wrong.

At tech level eight, there is no difference between hull prices. Structural strength may have complicated the calculations, but not quite to the degree shown, nor does it quite seem in sync with HG low/high technology hulls.

While no mention is made of how large tech level seven and eight manufacturing process can build space stations, mention is made that at nine you can have hundred thousand tons, something that the onboard computer can't control until tech level thirteen.

I guess that you could mix and match, though the vagueness on the potential hull size of tech level seven and eight makes it a risky call, though going by table progression, that could five and ten thousand tons respectively.

The cost for non gravity hulls is likely to be wrong, since demountable tanks cost a thousand per ton, and even allowing for interior furnishing, wiring and plumbing, wouldn't really push the price up between ten to a hundred times.

It should be noted, that at tech level eight, if you built a hundred ton station, the hull would cost the same as an Alphabet hundred ton hull. With or without artificial gravity.

 

[Condottiere]

Starships: Jump Drives and Time That You'll Never Get Back

I'm not a mathematician, but thought that the given formula may be a little too cut and dried.

So time spent in hyperspace and the period between entry and exit would be:

s = 500'000 + 20'000N(N√N)

N=parsecs
s=seconds


Misjumps cause the transition to become out of synchronization with realspace, with the likely result that the starship shifts in space when it exits, and/or time dilates within the pocket universe the jump bubble inhabits.

 

[Condottiere]

Starships: Jump Drives and Misjumps

I don't want to start making tables for how misjumps occur and what specifically happens at every and each stage.

The short version is, that misjumps are the rule and not the exception, the variable is the consequence of that.

The formula would take into account:

1. The skill and/or luck of the astrogator.

2. The skill of the engineer.

3. The sophistication of the computer.

4. The sophistication of the jump programme.

5. The parsec calculated difference between transition entry and exit.

6. The factor differences between the parsecs calculated, the sophistication of the computer, and the sophistication of the jump programme.

7. Maintenance status of the power plant, jump drive and ship computer.

8. Gravity distortions


In most cases, what happens is that the starship exits within a short distance from the point calculated, and experiences a slight variation in time experienced during the transition, and time passed in realspace.

Rarely, though dependant how far the astrogator comes up with the numbers through the seat of his pants, how much whiskey the engineer has been indulging himself, feeding an overwhelmed jump programme into the cheapest computer the builder could install, the last maintenance check done six months ago, the power plant hiccups, the jump drive sparkplugs are partially carbonized, and someone is using the computer to animate life size three dee porn, while a comet passes overhead within the orbit of a gas giant, catastrophic misjump would be mildly appropriate description.

 

[Condottiere]

Armaments: Torpedoes and Barbettes

1. Torpedo barbettes are basically one ton of local controls with operator space, plus three tons of torpedo and launch tube, upto five tubes at sixteen tons.

2. Can only be reloaded externally.

 

[Condottiere]

Armaments: Torpedoes and Fixed Mountings

1. There two types of fixed mounts:
a. reloadable
b. non-reloadable

2, Non-reloadable fixed mountings are three tons each, and need any reloading has to be done externally. This makes routine eyeball maintenance checks awkward, which explains the preference for bays or reloadable fixed mounts. Upto four non-reloadable fixed mountings per hundred tons are permissible.

3. Reloadable fixed mounts are three tons for the launch tube, plus three tons for the handling equipment (with or without a torpedo) and another three tons per torpedo. Two reloadable fixed mountings per hundred tons are permissible.

 

[Condottiere]

Space Stations: Command Module Unisectional

1. For five hundred tons and below it's one ton; for one thousand tons and below it's two tons.

2. Can they be compacted? I'm going to say that at one ton, it's about as tight as it can get, if you recall that it's a crew space, plus workstation, plus the station computer, nominal sensors, communications and controls.

3. You could add in extra space, not required by the rules, so that the crew-member could stretch his legs.

 

[Condottiere]

Armaments: Throw And Catch System

1. Fifty ton mass accelerator that can throw a ten ton slab.

2. It's slow enough that it's possible that a matching facility can catch it.

3. Could be used as ortillery; most likely any spaceship that has working manoeuvre drives can dodge it.

4. Can be used as a launch facility, at one ten ton smallcraft per round.

 

[Condottiere]

Spaceships: Launch Facilities

1. The Throw And Catch System from Space Stations should work without much alteration as a launch system.

2. It's one fifth the size of an equivalent launch tube, and one sixth the launch rate, though limited to ten ton smallcraft.

3. What's more interesting is the catch aspect, which can receive one load every minute, and it's implied can the allocate them to empty slot, making it an ideal landing bay.

4. Another question would be, if the system can be scaled up.

 

[Condottiere]

Spaceships: Computers

Not sure I'd trust a TL7 computer to do much of anything system critical, especially if you include lag. Like compensating for inertia.

Also, going by present developments, computers tend to remain the same price while increasing performance.

 

[Condottiere]

Space Stations: Computers

You'd think that a space station in the Adventure Class hull weight classes could use a Model One computer.

Or at least, a space station weighing in at around a hundred tons or less.

 

[Condottiere]

Spaceships: Refining and Processing Fuel.

Fuel processors convert unrefined fuel into refi ned fuel. One ton of fuel processors can convert 20 tons of unrefined hydrogen into refi ned fuel per day. A ton of fuel processing equipment costs Cr 50,000.

Fuel refiners cost twice as much, modified in price and efficiency by tech level, but require three times as much storage, two thirds for the raw material, and one third for the finished product.

It might be easier to have a tanker doing the collecting and refining, and than just transfer it directly to a ship, or to the space station.

 

[Condottiere]

Starships: Jump Drives

All that hydrogen has to have another function than just filling a bubble.

Maybe the jump drive is a quantum turbine.