Traffic patterns for Space Travel

[GypsyComet]

The port vs world TL question is an old one. There is evidence back to CT that TL within a large polity is more a question of infrastructure than knowledge, while the reverse will become more true for worlds that are not within a larger organization. Worlds within the Imperium choose to grow or not on an individual basis, and for some the choice is more expensive than for others.

When you overlay the Imperial Ports onto this, you get the occasional mismatch that has to be interpreted much like the TL difference that drives the middle of Phantom Menace: If you land an ailing TL15 ship at a TL 11 port, you'll probably need to order your parts at the handy Sears Catalog Store and hope they get back to you from the nearest TL15 world in time, or get really lucky in a local junkyard.

 

[ShawnDriscoll]

This brings up an interesting point. Generally speaking, in the Imperium the only difference the local TL makes is availability of parts. But the ports themselves are, at least in inference, all equivalent (i.e. a class A starport on a TL-12 world is the same as a class A starport on a TL-15 world). The book explanations are based upon local tech levels. The 'average' for the Imperium is TL-12/13. Since all the listed ports are Imperial one would assume that every local port is at least Imperial norm (TL-12/13). Higher I guess if the planet's overall TL is higher than that.

I come from the school that Ford Pintos are not the only cars that people drive. So not all ports are the same either. Playing by the rules means each planet basically has one town on it with a generic rule-stat port. My worlds have many more ports on them (each large city could have one), unless they have crushing governments that restrict ports from existing. The Navy has their own ports on these same worlds, oftentimes next door to city ports.

 

[AndrewW]

Playing by the rules means each planet basically has one town on it with a generic rule-stat port. My worlds have many more ports on them (each large city could have one), unless they have crushing governments that restrict ports from existing. The Navy has their own ports on these same worlds, oftentimes next door to city ports.

The rules don't limit worlds to one port. There's just one starport per world, there can be other ports.

 

[ShawnDriscoll]

The rules don't limit worlds to one port. There's just one starport per world, there can be other ports.

Some will argue that there is one starport per system. Even one world per system, etc. Just like it says on the subsector map. Kind of like having only one airport on Earth. Some places are called air fields. Other countries have other names for them. Rules lawyers see "starport" and think only starport, as in only one of those. And when the referee talks in that way, so then do the players begin to. Those are the other kind of players of Traveller. It's just a boardgame pretty much then.

 

[Condottiere]

There may be more ports.

The extraterritoriality may be what attracts traders and shipping companies, as they won't have to deal with the caprices of system governments. System regimes may tolerate it, in order to have that trade access, but prefer to keep it very localized and singular.

The hinterland can be can be lower in tech level, but governments can establish special economic zones that are geared up to a higher tech level, and that shipyards can be manufacturing spaceships independent of the local starport facilities.

 

[Reynard]

"As regards to immigration, I'd say that worlds with more or less standard gravity and non-polluted atmospheres would be more attractive, whether young pioneer families or retirees."

The way Traveller creates such extremes in world codes, I look at each and come up with the whys for that particular place. Colonies aren't just a place to have more babies. Large populations on lousy habitats says there's something very important and able to sustain growth making import of necessary goods cost effective.

As to traffic patterns, it's again looking at the overall situation of each system, starport to handle flow and capacity, trade with neighboring world and most trade will be local clusters around Jump 3 or less plus the features of in system development. The vast majority of Jump traffic will be at the 100d spherical mark of the main world because that is the most efficient design for trade traffic. That traffic will try to hit the exit mark closest to where the port facilities can be estimated both high and downport so concentrating most ships in a particular region. Once detected, various flight control stations coordinate the newcomer with other inbound and outbound vessels and set a flight path. The majority of ship's will experience clusters of other ships in their same area.

Jump traffic is going to have regular scheduled flights with liners and freighters yet also must contend with a number of spontaneous influx making life more interesting so jump will receive safety space. That bring us to local in system traffic which, even with constantly moving destinations, will follow much more restricted spaceways closer to 3D highways. Jump crews will notice these the closer they get to the mainworld. As we can guess, the larger the starport, the more it will resemble orderly chaos around the ports.

 

[phavoc]

The rules don't limit worlds to one port. There's just one starport per world, there can be other ports.

Some will argue that there is one starport per system. Even one world per system, etc. Just like it says on the subsector map. Kind of like having only one airport on Earth. Some places are called air fields. Other countries have other names for them. Rules lawyers see "starport" and think only starport, as in only one of those. And when the referee talks in that way, so then do the players begin to. Those are the other kind of players of Traveller. It's just a boardgame pretty much then.

The rules have always talked about starports being the Imperial starport for the system, or in the case of really undeveloped ones, the ones that the Imperium recognizes as the "main". But there has always been the understanding that worlds may have multiple ports, but just one 'official' one.

And yeah, the idea that there's really only crap going at the starport on the world listed for the hex is something that really didn't addressed much till DGP started putting out some of their supplements that listed the entire system. I miss their quality work.

As to traffic patterns, it's again looking at the overall situation of each system, starport to handle flow and capacity, trade with neighboring world and most trade will be local clusters around Jump 3 or less plus the features of in system development. The vast majority of Jump traffic will be at the 100d spherical mark of the main world because that is the most efficient design for trade traffic. That traffic will try to hit the exit mark closest to where the port facilities can be estimated both high and downport so concentrating most ships in a particular region. Once detected, various flight control stations coordinate the newcomer with other inbound and outbound vessels and set a flight path. The majority of ship's will experience clusters of other ships in their same area.

Jump traffic is going to have regular scheduled flights with liners and freighters yet also must contend with a number of spontaneous influx making life more interesting so jump will receive safety space. That bring us to local in system traffic which, even with constantly moving destinations, will follow much more restricted spaceways closer to 3D highways. Jump crews will notice these the closer they get to the mainworld. As we can guess, the larger the starport, the more it will resemble orderly chaos around the ports.

I have modeled that by having specific jump zones allocated to every world within jumping distance. The inbound zones are regulated by the planet where the ship is departing. They get specific coordinates for a 'box'. The next ship jumping gets the next one, and so on. At a certain point, once all outbound ships would have arrived, the slots get re-used. Busier worlds get more. And worlds that don't have a departure authority get a single zone to use. I'd like to think that in the future planetary authorities would like to minimize the wild-west aspects of arrival/departures as much as possible.

 

[Condottiere]

I imagine that busy starports have terminals, some privately owned by major shipping corporations, and marinas for private ships.

 

[dragoner]

I imagine that busy starports have terminals, some privately owned by major shipping corporations, and marinas for private ships.

Traditionally, by CT Scouts book, you have multiple Starports and Spaceports, there might be a main terminal, which I have on that Gyre map, the high port, so it can act as choke point. But I also have fueling stations outside the starport, often run by a megacorp called "Fuelstar"; and I don't see why major carriers wouldn't operate their own terminals.

 

[Reynard]

Most editions of Traveller regard a star system as a whole. The non-mainworlds are part of the system's structure rather than independents. It makes sense for economy, security, trade control plus safety to regulate interstellar commerce and traffic centrally with the most important location. Other inhabited worlds are served with spaceports with just enough control capacity for spacecraft. Starships would need obtain permission and file flight plans to have direct flights to insystem worlds. Knowing where you are, what you have and why you need to go somewhere other the main world seems logical enough.

 

[dragoner]

We don't really do it here, only ~5% of cargoes are looked at by ICE, inspections are seen as a barrier to trade. I can see that in space, you might get scanned to make sure you are not selling a hold full of nukes, but maybe not. Generally ships do file sailing plans ... but then again how much paperwork do you want to do in game? I know as ref I'm leery of it, just because it often gets thrown back on me to do.

 

[Condottiere]

Which comes back to extraterritoriality.

Goods only get inspected once they go planetside. Or asteroidside. Besides checking for toxic chemicals and things that go boom by starport security.

 

[F33D]

Which comes back to extraterritoriality.

Goods only get inspected once they go planetside. Or asteroidside. Besides checking for toxic chemicals and things that go boom by starport security.

Yep. Sounds like the 3I alright.

 

[phavoc]

Most editions of Traveller regard a star system as a whole. The non-mainworlds are part of the system's structure rather than independents. It makes sense for economy, security, trade control plus safety to regulate interstellar commerce and traffic centrally with the most important location. Other inhabited worlds are served with spaceports with just enough control capacity for spacecraft. Starships would need obtain permission and file flight plans to have direct flights to insystem worlds. Knowing where you are, what you have and why you need to go somewhere other the main world seems logical enough.

The domain of any planet only exists out to the 100D limit. Beyond that every planet, station and outpost in the system could potentially be independent of the main world. I think in reality you'll have some colonies operated by the mainworld, but not necessarily all.

Travel between worlds requires no permission from a central planet, as Imperial law rules the spaceways, and interplanetary trade is protected. That doesn't mean though a government that doesn't like the Imperials can't try to obstruct things, just that they have to be careful about it or else they may find themselves out of power courtesy of the Imperial armed forces.

As far as cargo inspection goes, that's hard to determine. I would suspect that traders who's destination was cargo delivery would transmit their bona fides and cargo manifest to customs who then may or may not require an inspection. It could take place too after it's been unloaded and before it leaves the starport (like in bonded warehouses today). Alternatively, if it was just being unloaded and passing through the system, orbital warehouses at the 100D limit might never have cargo inspected locally since it's not actually entering their space. Imperial customs and naval personnel could always ask for a look.

With the uprated tech for scanners it would be faster and easier to scan containers looking for smuggled goods. Though I'm sure smugglers will keep up with the times. Plus there's always having the outbound port customs people inspecting and sealing the cargo, kind of like how some places you pass through customs in the foreign country and not when your home nation. At least that's how some US customs occur at airports.

 

[Reynard]

If Earth ever got around to exploiting our system, how likely would they let outposts and colonies go totally independent? Earth has the resources to keep things a bit more honest and I believe the majority of non amber or red zone worlds follow a central authority especially to prevent chaos in the space lanes and reduce inefficient redundancy.

 

[F33D]

If Earth ever got around to exploiting our system,... I believe the majority of non amber or red zone worlds follow a central authority especially to prevent chaos in the space lanes and reduce inefficient redundancy.

Per the 3I regs that isn't the case...

"chaos in the space lanes"? You have NO idea how big space is. It is harder to hit something than to avoid it.

 

[Reynard]

You think far too small. I wasn't referring to just ship collision probabilities.

 

[dragoner]

If Earth ever got around to exploiting our system, how likely would they let outposts and colonies go totally independent? Earth has the resources to keep things a bit more honest and I believe the majority of non amber or red zone worlds follow a central authority especially to prevent chaos in the space lanes and reduce inefficient redundancy.

There are a lot of variables, such as what type of colony: scientific, commercial? What nation founded the colony could have something to do with it too. A corporation might want it's own extraterritoriality, build a habitat off earth and say they are independent. But with enough traffic, I think there would be traffic control, like at airports.

 

[phavoc]

If Earth ever got around to exploiting our system, how likely would they let outposts and colonies go totally independent? Earth has the resources to keep things a bit more honest and I believe the majority of non amber or red zone worlds follow a central authority especially to prevent chaos in the space lanes and reduce inefficient redundancy.

That's a good question. And one that would have to be resolved by law, or by force of arms at some point. Maybe there is a magical number (1million, 5million?) that Imperial law allows for self-determination. Maybe not. I guess it's however you want to set it.

I would suspect that it depends on the system, and the government of the founding colony/station. Lots of questions here and no good answers aside from what you wanna make of them. On Earth we've seen all the variations (as well as the re-occupation). So pretty much anything goes.

If our own history tells us anything, it's not always up to the government that starts a colony to say if it gets independence or not...

As far as the red/amber zone and central governments, (shrug). Worlds don't typically request those statuses. The books say the scouts tend to use them to protect worlds while the navy is more punitive. I don't think any world is red zoned that has star travel, as the Imperium would have to pound them back below TL7 to stop them from leaving. Amber zones are usually because of localized dangers, red zones because they don't want you going there.

Not sure there would be any chaos in the space lanes. Worlds can make war on each other so long as they leave non-aligned shipping alone and don't make a mess that annoys the Imperium. That's allowed under the law (as long as they follow the rules of war that is). And there's plenty of redundancy all over the place since corps and megacorps are constantly jockeying for power in the marketplace. It keeps PC's employed!

 

[Condottiere]

Independence would probably revolve around the strategic value of the place to the main world, especially if it's in the goldilocks zone, or has something that can be commercially exploited.

You could have a system regime planting flags on anything larger than a kitchen sink, something that the Chinese seem enthusiastic about in the South China Sea, while the Russians sent a submarine down to the bottom of the Arctic Ocean.