Travellers Needed! High Guard Updates

[tytalan]

I think one of the things that needs to be fixed is spinal mounts in the exotic weapons section. As you can see from these screenshots the Neutron Laser and Super Laser are identical except for damage. Now the Super Laser is probably included like hyperdrive for settings other than Charted Space. That said the Neutron Laser definitely fit Charted space except its stats are completely broken. The Tonnage should be 2,000 Dt not 20,000dt, the Power should be +600 not +6,000, the cost should be 2,500MCr not 25,000MCr this make much more sense for a weapon that’s a weaker version of the particle spinal mounts (the range probably should be increased to Extreme ) yes it has a unlimited size but it’s also 5 TL higher than the particle spinal mounts. With disintegrator spinal mounts being increased to TL 20 the Neutron Laser make sense intermittent spinal mounts.

So someone pointed out that the source of the Neutron Laser might be 40k, while I believe that might be a source (there are Neutron Lasers in other sci-fi games some predating 40k) I still think it needs to be fixed since it’s included in the erotic section of HG (there are many other purely Traveller techs in that section) or replaced with another spinal mount in the 16/17 TL range. I feel this is needed because among other things the disintegrator spinal mount was jumped up by 3 TL to TL 20 ( in both MegaTraveller and LBB it was much lower) now don’t have a problem with this but it does leave a whole especially if the Rebellion is done in the future.

 

[Terry Mixon]

So someone pointed out that the source of the Neutron Laser might be 40k, while I believe that might be a source (there are Neutron Lasers in other sci-fi games some predating 40k) I still think it needs to be fixed since it’s included in the erotic section of HG (there are many other purely Traveller techs in that section) or replaced with another spinal mount in the 16/17 TL range. I feel this is needed because among other things the disintegrator spinal mount was jumped up by 3 TL to TL 20 ( in both MegaTraveller and LBB it was much lower) now don’t have a problem with this but it does leave a whole especially if the Rebellion is done in the future.

High Guard has an erotic section? Spicy! *rushes off to read all about spinal mounts and how little ships are made*

 

[Condottiere]

At one hundred ten percent, I rather doubt you can do external maintenance, and chances are, the docking space was designed specifically for a specific hull configuration and tonnage.

And, some may feel hard done by.

 

[mavikfelna]

At one hundred ten percent, I rather doubt you can do external maintenance, and chances are, the docking space was designed specifically for a specific hull configuration and tonnage.

And, some may feel hard done by.

There have been enough good reason given that I wouldn't use it on normal builds, but on jank build builds I might. And if you take it to double the tonnage, then by the rules as I understand them for vehicles in cargo it will function as a docking space. And it will still be cheaper than docking space, which is important in most jank builds.

 

[Condottiere]

As long as the substituted item is within the dimensions of the dock.

 

[tytalan]

High Guard has an erotic section? Spicy! *rushes off to read all about spinal mounts and how little ships are made*

Smartass

 

[Terry Mixon]

Smartass

Every day, all day.

 

[Condottiere]

 

[CordwainerFish]

High Guard has an erotic section?

I ever tell you my mnemonic for the UWP?

 

[IanBruntlett]

I ever tell you my mnemonic for the UWP?

World Builder's Handbook (Glossary) solved that for me:
Starport Quality
[Physical description] SAH Size, Atmosphere Type, Hydrographic percentage
[Social description] PGL Population, Government Type, Law Level
Tech-level

 

[Radwraith]

Things That need help in High guard: (This may be a bit long so bear with me!)

Small Craft (Specifically fighters!) need to unnerfed and probably redesigned! The cuurent edition of high guard limited the numbe of "Firmpoints" to an unreasonable level. One need only look at a fully loaded F16 (Current day TL-7) to realize how ridiculous it is to suggest a "Starfighter" would only have one firmpoint! I suggest (At a minimum!) removing that restriction. better would be to suggest that fighters (Specifically) are their own class of small craft that are only limited by tonnage for weapons carried but are primarily limited by endurance and overall tonnage (Probably 30 to fifty tons) rather than the arbitrary system in place now.

Someone seriously needs to rethink how big a missile is! A current day Aim-120 AMRAAM (NATO primary Standoff air to air) missile has the following dimensions:
Key Dimensions & Specs:

• Length: ~12 ft / 3.6 m
• Diameter: 7 in / 17.8 cm
• Wingspan: ~21 in (A/B/C), ~19 in (C/D)
• Weight: ~348 lbs (A/B/C-4) to 356 lbs (C/D)

I make that to be about four in a 1 ton VLS cell (Turret) and they are certainly NOT single man Portable! I also question their damage value given that it's a LOT more than any of the Vehicle carried missiles in the CSC 23' (Maybe reduce to 2 or 3d6.)
Aim-54 Phoenix (Famously carried on the F-14 Tomcat) is probably closer to what I envision as a spaceborn missile but it was even bigger! The Phoenix has the following dimensions:
Key Dimensions & Weight:

• Length: 13 ft (4.0 m)
• Diameter: 15 in (38.1 cm)
• Wingspan: 3 ft (0.9 m)
• Weight: Approximately 1,000–1,024 lbs (450–460 kg)

So that maxes out at maybe 2 per turret but at least makes a little more sense in terms of damage delivered! Of course one could view the Phoenix as a Torpedo since it's about the same size as the AGM-84 Harpoon!

Key Dimensions & Weights (Typical)

• Length: ~12.6 ft (3.8 m) (Air-launched); ~15 ft (4.6 m) (Surface/Sub-launched)
• Diameter: 13.5 inches (34 cm)
• Wingspan: 3 ft (0.91 m)
• Weight: ~1,500 lbs (690 kg) (with booster)

Also, The new rules should clarify that Small craft (especially fighters) actually require a far larger crew than just one pilot! They require weapons techs, drive and reactor technicians and ordinance handlers and hull mechanics to keep them healthy and operable! I'm sure that some of these functions could be performed by robots but the labor need is still there! Similar to the current rules for Battle dress; It's the logistics of maintainig a large number of small craft that's difficult! Not just the tonnage of carrying them! A single maintenance crew could service multiple small craft since they aren't always in service but I would generally require at least one crew per 4-6 craft assuming you're not repairing battle damage! (Which would require e dedicated crew while repairs are being performed.)

A key point about small craft maintenance crews is they don't all ride with their craft. But they must still be accounted for (Essentially as passengers) on the small crafts parent Carrier!

I'll be posting more on other High guard issues but I thought this was a good start!

 

[AndrewW]

Also, The new rules should clarify that Small craft (especially fighters) actually require a far larger crew than just one pilot! They require weapons techs, drive and reactor technicians and ordinance handlers and hull mechanics to keep them healthy and operable! I'm sure that some of these functions could be performed by robots but the labor need is still there! Similar to the current rules for Battle dress; It's the logistics of maintainig a large number of small craft that's difficult! Not just the tonnage of carrying them! A single maintenance crew could service multiple small craft since they aren't always in service but I would generally require at least one crew per 4-6 craft assuming you're not repairing battle damage! (Which would require e dedicated crew while repairs are being performed.)

A key point about small craft maintenance crews is they don't all ride with their craft. But they must still be accounted for (Essentially as passengers) on the small crafts parent Carrier!

This is covered on the Crew Requirements table:

Engineer: "1 per 35 tons of drives and power plant of ship and small craft"
Maintenance: "1 per 500 tons of ship and contained small craft"

 

[Condottiere]

I don't know if it was accidental, or actually thought out, but Sword Worlds would confirm that the default Traveller missile chassis is fifty kilogrammes.

In theory, a default torpedo chassis remains one third of a tonne.

 

[Terry Mixon]

I ever tell you my mnemonic for the UWP?

Tell me.

 

[Ol'Weedy]

As much as I hate to admit it, Wayne McComber of Facebook did make one good point, the docking space is likely more armored against accidental bumps by the craft using the space and has a cradle of some sort for securing it. Now, an airlock could contain tiedown points as part of the design without any real cost, but that's not a full security cradle/locking frame.

So now I think there is a valid reason for the cost of the docking bay, but I see no reason to limit airlocks from the use for budget builds.

Oh, and for anything that wants to launch tubes or recovery bays, those you have to use docking space or hanger for. And that does make sense.

I have no debate with having a cost for a dedicated docking space. My point about showing how much cheaper an alternate system could be, was more to point out that the cost was just too high. For playability, I'd much rather just abstract down to 'docking space', rather than having to design something from scratch. But the 'from scratch' airlock solution, even using the aforementioned docking clamp, to bloat the cost/silence the naysayers, shouldn't cost THAT much more.
Even if you drop the cost of docking space to just .2M/ton, and full hanger to .15M, there'd be a lot more incentive to use non-streamlined hulls, and it would make more sense in comparison to .1M for airlocks.

 

[CordwainerFish]

Tell me.

"Seeking Some Arousing Hiver Porn? Good Luck, Traveller!"

 

[Radwraith]

This is covered on the Crew Requirements table:

Engineer: "1 per 35 tons of drives and power plant of ship and small craft"
Maintenance: "1 per 500 tons of ship and contained small craft"

Thanks! I missed that! But it still doesn't cover weapons techs and is probably a little short of actual needs. I mean, do you really believe 2 people could service 50 Rampart interceptors?

 

[Endie]

Things That need help in High guard: (This may be a bit long so bear with me!)

Small Craft (Specifically fighters!) need to unnerfed and probably redesigned! The cuurent edition of high guard limited the numbe of "Firmpoints" to an unreasonable level. One need only look at a fully loaded F16 (Current day TL-7) to realize how ridiculous it is to suggest a "Starfighter" would only have one firmpoint! I suggest (At a minimum!) removing that restriction. better would be to suggest that fighters (Specifically) are their own class of small craft that are only limited by tonnage for weapons carried but are primarily limited by endurance and overall tonnage (Probably 30 to fifty tons) rather than the arbitrary system in place now.

Someone seriously needs to rethink how big a missile is! A current day Aim-120 AMRAAM (NATO primary Standoff air to air) missile has the following dimensions:
Key Dimensions & Specs:

• Length: ~12 ft / 3.6 m
• Diameter: 7 in / 17.8 cm
• Wingspan: ~21 in (A/B/C), ~19 in (C/D)
• Weight: ~348 lbs (A/B/C-4) to 356 lbs (C/D)

I make that to be about four in a 1 ton VLS cell (Turret) and they are certainly NOT single man Portable! I also question their damage value given that it's a LOT more than any of the Vehicle carried missiles in the CSC 23' (Maybe reduce to 2 or 3d6.)
Aim-54 Phoenix (Famously carried on the F-14 Tomcat) is probably closer to what I envision as a spaceborn missile but it was even bigger! The Phoenix has the following dimensions:
Key Dimensions & Weight:

• Length: 13 ft (4.0 m)
• Diameter: 15 in (38.1 cm)
• Wingspan: 3 ft (0.9 m)
• Weight: Approximately 1,000–1,024 lbs (450–460 kg)

So that maxes out at maybe 2 per turret but at least makes a little more sense in terms of damage delivered! Of course one could view the Phoenix as a Torpedo since it's about the same size as the AGM-84 Harpoon!

Key Dimensions & Weights (Typical)

• Length: ~12.6 ft (3.8 m) (Air-launched); ~15 ft (4.6 m) (Surface/Sub-launched)
• Diameter: 13.5 inches (34 cm)
• Wingspan: 3 ft (0.91 m)
• Weight: ~1,500 lbs (690 kg) (with booster)

Also, The new rules should clarify that Small craft (especially fighters) actually require a far larger crew than just one pilot! They require weapons techs, drive and reactor technicians and ordinance handlers and hull mechanics to keep them healthy and operable! I'm sure that some of these functions could be performed by robots but the labor need is still there! Similar to the current rules for Battle dress; It's the logistics of maintainig a large number of small craft that's difficult! Not just the tonnage of carrying them! A single maintenance crew could service multiple small craft since they aren't always in service but I would generally require at least one crew per 4-6 craft assuming you're not repairing battle damage! (Which would require e dedicated crew while repairs are being performed.)

A key point about small craft maintenance crews is they don't all ride with their craft. But they must still be accounted for (Essentially as passengers) on the small crafts parent Carrier!

I'll be posting more on other High guard issues but I thought this was a good start!

Starship scale weapons are limited to their firmpoints:



. You can add as many AIM-120s as you like while allowing, naturally, for their mass, since they mass less than 250kg:


For the likes of AIM-54s, it's perhaps a bit strict, sure, since at the top end of the scale small craft are very roughly comparable to a B-52, but the description doesn't say that you can't have several tons of munition attached to each fixed mount, say in a rotary mount or a bomb bay:

 

[Condottiere]

That would be missile(s), plus launcher.

Multiple missiles are likely part of a set, like tac missiles.

 

[Radwraith]

Starship scale weapons are limited to their firmpoints:

View attachment 7044

. You can add as many AIM-120s as you like while allowing, naturally, for their mass, since they mass less than 250kg:
View attachment 7045

For the likes of AIM-54s, it's perhaps a bit strict, sure, since at the top end of the scale small craft are very roughly comparable to a B-52, but the description doesn't say that you can't have several tons of munition attached to each fixed mount, say in a rotary mount or a bomb bay:

View attachment 7046

I think you're missing what I was trying to get at. Traveller uses volume as it's unit of measure in spacecraft. High guard says that missile turrets have sufficient space for 12 missiles PER LAUNCHER in a 1 ton (14 cubic meter) space! You'll note that I gave the example of the AMRAAM to illustrate how big a modern day missile actually is! And you're certainly NOT going to fit 36 of them in a 14 cu. Meter turret! My assumption is that Starship missiles would probably be at least as big as a modern era missile!

The whole discussion of weapon mounts on fighters was to say get rid of the limitation you sited above! (At a minimum!)