Using real world ship building to explain Traveller

[Terry Mixon]

You mean after the Traveller jump drive and fuel already robs them of most of the space in their ship for cargo?

Time for drop fueling!

 

[MasterGwydion]

In the US, maintenance makes up about 65% of all money spent on infrastructure and about 35% is spent on new projects, including complete replacement of non-repairable older infrastructure. About 3% of the GDP.

 

[Fluffy Bunny Feet]

You mean after the Traveller jump drive and fuel already robs them of most of the space in their ship for cargo?

Cut their cargo you cut their income. Your proposal is to take their income away. Ends the same way they have less money to do anything with.

 

[MasterGwydion]

Cut their cargo you cut their income. Your proposal is to take their income away. Ends the same way they have less money to do anything with.

It isn't though. My way gives pirates more cargo to go after. Your way does not. All mine does is change the money. It changes absolutely nothing else. Your way seems to have more collateral consequences.

Whatever works in YTU though, as long as everyone is having fun, who cares.

 

[Fluffy Bunny Feet]

I don't think pirates are very practical. You pretty much need to sell your cargo somewhere within 1 jump of your ship. Too much of your ship is taken up by the extra weapons, defences and crew to carry much so you need to know precisely what ships to hit with worthwhile cargo. This means an intelligence system which raises costs and vulnerabilities making it even less possible to be profitable.

It isn't like the old privateers who could just sail home and sell the cargo, most everywhere they go there will be either no one who would be able to buy it or observers going "suspicious lack of documents on this cargo lets do an audit and send to the systems they trade with to cooperate with us" and next thing you know your ship is impounded or destroyed by a cruiser.

 

[MasterGwydion]

I don't think pirates are very practical. You pretty much need to sell your cargo somewhere within 1 jump of your ship. Too much of your ship is taken up by the extra weapons, defences and crew to carry much so you need to know precisely what ships to hit with worthwhile cargo. This means an intelligence system which raises costs and vulnerabilities making it even less possible to be profitable.

It isn't like the old privateers who could just sail home and sell the cargo, most everywhere they go there will be either no one who would be able to buy it or observers going "suspicious lack of documents on this cargo lets do an audit and send to the systems they trade with to cooperate with us" and next thing you know your ship is impounded or destroyed by a cruiser.

IYTU pirates may not be practical, but in Canon they must be otherwise they wouldn't have so many pages dedicated to writing about them and how they ply their trade, including a whole campaign written about being pirates and other campaigns about hunting pirates. Also, q-ships wouldn't exist. Most Patrol craft wouldn't exist either.

Edit - I have to say, I'd rather be a pirate in Traveller than in Star Trek. lol

 

[Fluffy Bunny Feet]

In Star Trek their ships are really fast and have a quadrant wide system for selling the stolen materials. I'd rather be a pirate there where the intelligence network says "They've sent for a task force to hunt you, here is where you should go for better hunting while things are hot here".

 

[MasterGwydion]

In Star Trek their ships are really fast and have a quadrant wide system for selling the stolen materials. I'd rather be a pirate there where the intelligence network says "They've sent for a task force to hunt you, here is where you should go for better hunting while things are hot here".

Ummm... Almost instantaneous communication for law enforcement across Federation Space and all of the damn cops have faster ships, better sensors, and better weapons and shields than I do. lol Romulan or Cardassian Space? Tal Shiar and Obsidian Order? No thanks. lol

I'll take my chances with slow communication, slower ships tactically, faster ships strategically, better weapons, but equal shields (none). Also, Imperial Intelligence? Staying ahead of them isn't hard. Just ask the Ine Givar.

 

[ross]

As for specialty engineering and large ship construction, the Imperium Navy already has large installations like Depot that probably serve this function. It’s just not mentioned explicitly in Canon.

 

[Fluffy Bunny Feet]

Ummm... Almost instantaneous communication for law enforcement across Federation Space and all of the damn cops have faster ships, better sensors, and better weapons and shields than I do. lol Romulan or Cardassian Space? Tal Shiar and Obsidian Order? No thanks. lol

I think you are forgetting all those time Kirk's Enterprise was weeks round trip communications away and only received permission to act long after they had acted. Pirates can come and go while the communications asking for help are still on the way let alone the actual help arriving. The pirates were also far faster than Enterprise when they wanted to be.

 

[MasterGwydion]

I think you are forgetting all those time Kirk's Enterprise was weeks round trip communications away and only received permission to act long after they had acted. Pirates can come and go while the communications asking for help are still on the way let alone the actual help arriving. The pirates were also far faster than Enterprise when they wanted to be.

Star Trek did always have a problem with consistency.