Squadron / Multi-ship Jumps

[phavoc]

In the related thread ("We Got Ourselves a Convoy") people were again talking about multiple ships coordinating their jumps so they all arrive, more or less, at the same time. Very useful for convoys and fleets.

According to Sector Fleet, which was somewhat updated to fit into the Mongoose universe (but not totally... they missed a number of things), ships are equipped with "squadron jump systems" that coordinate the jumping of multiple ships. So in Sector Fleet, it would appear that only military ships would jump as multiples, but that kind of flies in the face of civilian transports and para-military ships jumping together as small groups. For them its just as important to arrive at roughly the same time as it is for the Navy. A small convoy of merchanters who've paid for an escort ship expect that escort ship to arrive and protect them.

And from the various conversations I've read on the board, it would seem that everyone has their own view of exactly how this should work. Should it be a device? Should it say a software package installed on a regular ships computer? Just how much variance would be allowed or appropriate for civilian ships?

Excerpted from Sector Fleet
Squadron or Fleet Jump
Jump mechanics are not properly understood. Two similar vessels can enter Jump at the same time and place, with the same destination, and come out 2 days apart. This is not acceptable for fleet operations. The Imperial Navy gets around this in two ways. Jumps are made, where possible, into points distant from the projected location of enemy forces. This gives time for the fleet or squadron to reorganize itself upon arrival. However, it is not always practicable.

For this reason, all Navy vessels are fitted with Squadron Jump systems. These generate Jump parameters for a group of ships rather than a single vessel, and slave the systems of all ships to a central initiation circuit. The standard unit (which is very expensive) can cover a squadron of ships (or a convoy and its escorts). Fleet flagships are fitted with an even more complex system which can coordinate the Jump of a number of squadrons.

There is still variation in emergence, however. Using a linked Jump reduces variation in time to about an hour either way in most cases. Position variance is minimal. This means that fleets can Jump en masse and be ready for combat at the far end, but a fleet emergence is still an exciting time for all concerned, as vessels emerge in the wrong order, on slightly different vectors, and dispersed in time by up to 2 hours. The variance is greater for large fleets. A single vessel and her escorts are likely to emerge all together. Larger forces are not.

 

[Rikki Tikki Traveller]

Sounds like a nice computer program to allow (if you want). Several versions could exist, at different tech levels, allowing larger and larger numbers of ships to jump together.

Probably needs to start with a Rating/10 and go up... This program would have to run in parallel with your Jump Control software, so big computers (Core sized) are needed. Make the rating high enough and you keep it out of the hands of smaller ships, but very usable for larger kilo-ton freighter convoys.

 

[phavoc]

My personal views on this would be:

Any two (or more) ships can perform coordinated jumps. One ship must be designated the 'master' controller and all ships slave their systems to the 'master' ship to ensure they jump at the same time. A coordinated jump requires 1hr of plotting, per jump number. So a Jump-1 would require 1hr, and a Jump-6 would require 6hrs. Higher computer numbers allow for faster computations. Vessels must come to a halt relative to the system they are jumping from in order to properly calculate the jump parameters.

The higher Model number of computer being used, the lower randomness of the jump. Roll a D6 and subtract the variability of the computer used to plot the jump to determine when each individual ship emerges from jump. Jumps plotted with Model/1 or /2 computer may return to realspace within 1D6-2 hours of each other, Model 3/4 roll 1D6-3, and Model 5/6 roll 1D6-5.

An alternative is to add in the Nav skill of the person plotting the jump. For every 2 levels of Navigation, they reduce by 1hr the randomness of emergence. For example, a person on a ship with a Model/5 computer, with Nav-3 would be able to plot a coordinate jump whereby all ships would emerge simultaneously (assuming he makes his normal jump roll).

I thought about putting in restrictions around Computer models, military vs. civilian... but I think simple is better. Plus it's much easier to remember the rules!

 

[AndrewW]

The higher Model number of computer being used, the lower randomness of the jump. Roll a D6 and subtract the variability of the computer used to plot the jump to determine when each individual ship emerges from jump. Jumps plotted with Model/1 or /2 computer may return to realspace within 1D6-2 hours of each other, Model 3/4 roll 1D6-3, and Model 5/6 roll 1D6-5.

Should also allow for capital ship computers Core/3 - Core/9.