Ship Design Philosophy

[Condottiere]

Basically, one to thirty ratio seems canon, possibly one to thirty three.

One to a hundred is surprising, but decided that may be due to the larger structural strength inherent in the increased size of the clamp.

In theory, the clamps need a hard point.

 

[Condottiere]

Spaceships: Hangars

While spacecraft carriers tend to carry a lot more smallcraft, at some point it's more statistical and loses a certain immediacy, intimacy, the role playing aspect.

So an interesting question is, how many smallcraft are spacecraft carriers comfortable with operating?

These designs came about in trying to find the smallest hull that a squadron of Harriers could operate off on, and then they they added the ASW mission and I don't know if that's accounted for here, a helicopter that acted as an early warning platform, to avoid getting Argentined again.

Hangars and associated aircraft support infrastructure requires a lot of room, and even here we can see that it's still crowded.

Much like airlocks, launch facilities should be listed separately; the smaller the hangar is in absolute terms, the harder it is to move stuff around.

Ships that don't have a launch tube, should have the option of more launch facilities, though they can be a larger than you'd normally ratio, but far smaller than a launch tube.

 

[Condottiere]

Spaceships: Docking Clamps

1. Mongoose's version seems a bit off, but I find the one-tonne and twenty-tonne variants useful.

2. Everything else you probably want to explore customization, which below twenty tonnes you'll have to reckon with a one to thirty ratio.

3. Twenty tonnes has a one to a hundred ratio, which comes in hndy when you start considering the transportation of really large structures, like a whole bunch of battle riders or a crippled dreadnought.

4. Is there a upper limit for clamp size? I couldn't say, but you probably have a series of them to come to grips with really large vessels; I'd say the practical limit is probably one hundred or two hundred tonnes, with a capacity of ten or twenty thousand tonnes.

5. There probably is a minimum size as well, not necessarily that mentioned in HG, or there may be temporary or permanent attachments on the clamp that adjust to different sizes and/or configurations.

6. My take on it is the minimum size is half a tonne, which includes passenger access, to a certain extent; I think that it could handle upto fifteen tonne craft.

7. Then you have two-tonne two hundred fifty metre grappling arms, or rather large extended waldos, with a capacity of two tonnes.

 

[Anonymous]

OK, I'll bite.

Somewhere else you mentioned needing a hardpoint to deal with the stress of attaching a ship, agreed. I'd add to that saying once your clamp reaches a certain size it will need a barbette then a bay.

Working to the ratios suggested I've run with the minimum size as 1:10, costs I've pretty much left alone



Obviously enough, it's just a formula so the size of the clamp could be any number.

Spaceships: Docking Clamps

1. Mongoose's version seems a bit off, but I find the one-tonne and twenty-tonne variants useful.

2. Everything else you probably want to explore customization, which below twenty tonnes you'll have to reckon with a one to thirty ratio.

3. Twenty tonnes has a one to a hundred ratio, which comes in hndy when you start considering the transportation of really large structures, like a whole bunch of battle riders or a crippled dreadnought.

4. Is there a upper limit for clamp size? I couldn't say, but you probably have a series of them to come to grips with really large vessels; I'd say the practical limit is probably one hundred or two hundred tonnes, with a capacity of ten or twenty thousand tonnes.

5. There probably is a minimum size as well, not necessarily that mentioned in HG, or there may be temporary or permanent attachments on the clamp that adjust to different sizes and/or configurations.

6. My take on it is the minimum size is half a tonne, which includes passenger access, to a certain extent; I think that it could handle upto fifteen tonne craft.

7. Then you have two-tonne two hundred fifty metre grappling arms, or rather large extended waldos, with a capacity of two tonnes.

 

[Condottiere]

For a spacecraft carrier, might have to increase the number of hardpoints for a given tonnage, which might explain the popularity of launch tubes and internal hangars, though you'd still need to clamp down on smallcraft somehow if gravity field gives out, locally or ship wide.

Mongoose mechanics tends to make hardpoints agnostic, though I think the more it's expected to support, the more the area needed to be supported, possibly with bulkheads.

Of course, classic Traveller made you sacrifice ten hardpoints per bay.

 

[Anonymous]

(I rarely design large ships, I'm an adventure class kinda player/GM so the carrier side of things doesn't do much for me. I'm currently using clamps on small ships capable of towing slightly larger ships or 1 or more standard 30dT modules)

 

[Condottiere]

I think we've covered various permutations on towing, though the docking clamp could originate from the towee, while on the tower, you have:

 

[Condottiere]

Starships: Free Traders, or eBaying in the Sixth Millenium

You can set up your free trader like:

or:

 

[Condottiere]

Starships: To Infinity and Beyond

Anyone else notice that with a tech level eleven Core/5, you can transition a fifty thousand tonne starship three parsecs away? As long as you have big enough factor three engine prototypes.

You could have a tech level ten prototype fifty thousand tonne battlecruiser, let's call it Yamato, upgraded to tech level eleven factor three jump drive prototypes.

At tech level thirteen, it might be rerated as an armoured cruiser.

By tech level fourteen, it would be a museum ship.

 

[Condottiere]

Starships: To Infinity and Beyond

Or, for a truly historic ship, a tech level ten ten thousand-tonne fusion-powered armoured frigate, built with the new crystaliron armour plating that takes up twelve and a half percent of volume, and can probably accelerate at factor six, but can only transition one parsec. Or 9,284 tonnes, if the tonnage interpretation favours more inclusiveness

This could be the TCS Warrior, armed with ten particle accelerator hundred tonne bays, twenty six torpedo barbettes, and sixty four laser turrets. I'm also thinking lots of solar panel farms.

At tech level eleven, cargo gets squeezed to make place for another eleven percent for factor jump drive upgrade; the fusion plant can get replaced by a more efficient one.

It's usefulness as a warship has probably plateaued by tech level twelve.

 

[Condottiere]

Spaceships: Launch facilities and Weapon Bays

Weapon Bays are nice standardized into your basic fifty and hundred tonne varieties. But do they have to be?

Your standard cutter needs about sixty five tonnes of hangar space, and also happens to be nicely tubular. You could park him in a hundred tonne weapon bay, though that does leave thirty five tonnes over, and of course, there is the question of personnel, maintenance and cargo access from within the ship itself. Weapon bays can shrink in ten, twenty-five and forty percentiles.

Though, of course, the real issue is fast launch and recovery of strikecraft or fighters, and that would be normally ninety one tonnes for the bombers, and fifty two tonnes for the heavy fighters, which a hundred or sixty (shrink) tonne weapon bay could be provided for.

Launch and recovery times are undoubtedly slower than a launch tube, but once the pilot is in the cockpit, six minutes seems more than adequate.

 

[Condottiere]

Starships: To Infinity and Beyond

So basically, the Soviets constructed a tech level seven stealthed three thousand tonne communications satellite, the Красный Oктябр, with factor seven titanium steel plating, and for self defence purposes, armed equally with pulse lasers and missiles.

It's commander goes rogue, and the Americans destroy it. Or so it seems.

In fact, they hide it in their secret Lunar Base and examine it.

That's the problem with trying to tie in a historical timeline with Traveller, we're past tech level seven, and the Mary Rose would be a tech level eight three thousand tonne ship, that would have a fusion plant instead of a fission one, gravitated hallways instead of crew floating all over the place, and factor five acceleration.

 

[Anonymous]

There are some would say it's way past folly to try and tie in anything past the 1960s or 70s with Traveller, best just play in the time it's set (which is your collective imagination) and don't look back.

The comparisons between the numerous factions of 20th century earth and whatever time in whichever Imperium kinda fall apart at the seams too...

Just saying...

 

[-Daniel-]

There are some would say it's way past folly to try and tie in anything past the 1960s or 70s with Traveller, best just play in the time it's set (which is your collective imagination) and don't look back....

Back in the late 70's and early 80's some of us realized you couldn't, even then, tie in anything "modern" to Traveller. I agree, best to just think of Traveller as its own thing and let Real World be Real World.

 

[Condottiere]

Historically, the important spacecraft would be Sputnik I, Vostok I, Eagle, and one of the Space Shuttles.

Maybe V'ger, once they recover it.

 

[Condottiere]

Starships: Personnel

Anyway, I'm working out the kinks of the protected cruiser SCS Graf Spee, that at twenty thousand tonnes factored five has the optimal number of command crew. Or do they?


Celestial Department
. Commanding Officer
.. Commander

. Executive Department
.. responsible for collecting, cataloging, analyzing and distributing combat information vital to the accomplishment of the ship’s offensive and defensive missions
.. Executive Officer
... Lieutenant Commander
.... Discipline Officer
.... Safety Officer
.... Training Officer
.... Administrative Officer
.... Personnel Officer
.... Operations Officer
.... Intelligence Officer
.. Chief Pilot Officer
... Lieutenant
.. two Pilot Officers
... Sub-lieutenant
.. Chief Sensor Technician
... Chief Petty officer
.. two Sensor Technicians
... Petty Officers

. Astrogation Department
.. brief the Commanding Officer and the Officer-of-the Deck on the position of the ship, the direction of travel and the safest space lanes to traverse
.. computations are made using celestial navigation, electronic machinery and visual reports
.. responsible for executing all military traditions, customs and honors onboard ship
.. Chief Astroigation Officer
... Lieutenant
.. two Astrogation Officers
... Sub-lieutenant

. Electro-technical Department
.. Information Technology Officer
... Sub-lieutenant
.. Communications Officer
... Sub-lieutenant

. Flight Department
.. Shuttle Pilot
... Ensign
.. Shuttle Maintenance Technician
... rating

. Security Department
.. Security Officer
... Master-at-arms
.... Sub-lieutenant
.. Regulators
... Ensign
... Chief petty officer
... two petty officers
... sixteen ratings
.. Solomani Security Navy Liaison Officer
... Lieutenant

. Medical Department
.. Medical Officer
... Lieutenant

. Service Department
... catering, spares for all of the weapons, general stores, sensors and machinery spares
... for all pay and accounting matters.
... running of ship’s wardroom(s) and messing spaces
... laundry and dry cleaning services, stores, barbershops, and recreation services.
... stocks spare parts for underway ship repairs
.. Supply Officer
... Lieutenant Commander
.... Paymaster
.... Recreation Officer
.... Morale Officer
.... Postal Officer
.... Public Affairs Officer
.. Catering Officer
... Lieutenant
.. Chief cook
... Chief Petty Officer
.. two Cooks
... petty officer
.. three assistant cooks
... ratings
.. Boatswain's Mate
... exterior maintenance
... "piping away" of different events over the ship’s intercom
... Chief petty officer
.. Ship Maintenance Technician
... interior maintenance
... laundry and dry cleaning
... rating
.. Chief Medical Orderly
... Chief Petty Officer
.. two Medical Orderlies
... petty officer
.. general service crew
... two chief petty officers
... six petty officers
... twenty ratings

. Engineering Section
... runs the main propulsion units that drive the vessel
... the electrical power supplies
... the ancillary machinery
.. Chief engineer
... Lieutenant Commander
.. Second engineer
... Lieutenant
.... Damage Control Officer
.. Third engineer
... Sub-lieutenant
.. Engineers
... Jump drive
.... chief petty officer
.... two petty officers
.... nine ratings
... Manoeuvre drive
.... chief petty officer
.... two petty officers
.... three ratings
... Power plant
.... chief petty officer
.... two petty officers
.... six ratings

. Warfare Department
.. basically "fights" the ship
.. direct descendant of the Seaman Branch which manned the guns in earlier generations
.. Chief Warfare Officer
... Lieutenant Commander
.. Meson Screen Officer
... Lieutenant
.. two Assistant Meson Screen Officers
... Sub-lieutenant
... Ensign
.. thirteen Meson Screen ratings
... chief petty officer
... two petty officers
... nine ratings
.. Nuclear Damper Officer
... Lieutenant
.. two Assistant Nuclear Damper Officers
... Sub-lieutenant
... Ensign
.. thirteen Nuclear Damper ratings
... chief petty officer
... two petty officers
... nine ratings
.. Particle Accelerator Spinal Mount Officer
... Lieutenant
.. Spinal Mount crew
... chief petty officer
... two petty officers
... eight ratings
.. Meson Bay Officer
... Chief Petty Officer
.. two Meson Bay Gunners
... Petty Officer
... Rating
.. Chief Laser Officer
... Lieutenant
.. assistant Chief Laser Officer
... Sub-lieutenant
.. eleven Laser Gunners
... chief petty officer
... two petty officers
... eleven rating
.. Missile Gunner
... petty officer

 

[Condottiere]

Starships: Personnel

Let's try this for a factored three fast freighter for the same tonnage.

Celestial Department
. Commanding Officer
.. Captain
.. Master
.. official representative of the company
.. acts as the manager of the vessel
.. must also comply with all the pertinent regulations regarding the operation of the ship
.. must ensure the safety of the ship, crew, cargo and the environment

. Deck Department
. Officers of the Watch
.. possess the certifications needed to occupy these positions
.. expected to know all bridge instrumentation, including computer, sensors, communications, flight controls
.. known as ‘licensed crew’
.. First Mate
... First Officer
.... Discipline Officer
.... Safety Officer
.... Training Officer
.... Administrative Officer
.... Personnel Officer
.... Operations Officer
.. Second Mate
... Second Officer
... ship’s astrogator
... responsible for maintaining efficient astrogation equipment
... updates all the charts and publications
... prepares the ship’s passage plans
.. Third Mate
... Third Officer
... most junior officer
... accomplishes tasks as instructed by the Master and the First Mate
.. three Sensor Operators
... ratings
.... lookouts

. Security Department
.. Security Officer
.. Assistant Security Officer
.. twelve Gunners

. Medical Department
.. Medical Officer
... Ship's Doctor
.. Medical Orderly
... Medic

. Service Department
.. Purser
... Paymaster
.. Ship's Cook
.. thirty eight crew

. Engineering Section
... runs the main propulsion units that drive the vessel
... the electrical power supplies
... the ancillary machinery
.. Chief engineer
... responsible for all the equipment on board
.. Second engineer
... responsible for the everyday operation of the engine room
.... Damage Control Officer
.. Third engineer
... responsible for the maintenance of the engine room equipment
.. Fourth Engineer
... similar duties to the Third Engineer
.. Engineers
... Jump drive
.... chief rating
.... seven ratings
... Manoeuvre drive
.... chief rating
.... two ratings
... Power plant
.... chief rating
.... four ratings

So a commercial freighter has about eighty three crew.

 

[Condottiere]

Spaceships: Launch Facilities

1. Under some configurations, you could have the launch tube open at both ends, with an elevator at both ends.

2. The smallcraft is line up in front of the elevator shaft on the hangar deck below the launch tube.

3. The smallcraft is positioned, or pushed on the the elevator, walls rise up from the floor first and seal off the area like an airlock; or it's enclosed already on two or three sides, and the doors just shut.

4. The lift rises and the hatch on top opens iris-like.

5. The smallcraft is pushed forward and the blast deflectors or shields pop up.

6. The lift descends for the next smallcraft.

7. Recovery is from the back.

8. Once the smallcraft enters the launch tube and settles, it's gripped and shuttled forward, to the forward elevator.

9. The elevator descends into an eclosed airlock and the hatch on top irises shut.

10. The airlock opens and the smallcraft is pushed out.

11. The airlock closes again, the lift ascends for the next smallcraft.

 

[Condottiere]

Spaceships: Hulls and External Power Source

System Linkage: This allows connections between the various systems (sensors, bridge, power and so on) of two or more ships. Can be used between craft in a hangar or using docking clamps. With the link in place all data is shared between the two craft. This is a complete connection, one craft’s bridge could be used as the bridge of the other craft for example, though this only allows limited control if the bridge is smaller than that required for the other craft. The connections are set up so they can be easily severed. This costs Cr. 50,000 and both ships must be equipped this way for the connection to be made.

Personally, I don't think you could transfer the required power to energize the complete ship systems of another hull, at least not for no extra tonnage and certainly not at fifty thousand schmuckers.

However, it's mentioned.

So basically, your jump drives and most of the fuel tanks are smashed during the battle, but you spot, for convenience, a sister ship of the same class with it's power plant destroyed, but fuel tanks full and jump drives in tact.

You make your way over there, hook up through the systems link and transition.

 

[wbnc]

Spaceships: Hulls and External Power Source



Personally, I don't think you could transfer the required power to energize the complete ship systems of another hull, at least not for no extra tonnage and certainly not at fifty thousand schmuckers.
.

I think your have a good point about the tonnage, and cost angle. But if you simply purchase an extra docking clamp, and require both the external power source, and the ship beginning powered to both have a modified docking camp and system linkage you can cover the tonnage/cost issue.

Its just a matter of clearly noting that the clamp is a power transfer coupling and cant be used for any other purpose. so no you account for both central control systems, and power transfer systems without need for any complex additions.