Warship Design Rant

[Easterner]

WBNC

Either you can't see the forest for the trees or I've been unclear.

My objection isn't the detail, descriptions etc it's the content of the actual plans. I'm perfectly happy with a deck plan that has a number in each room telling me what it is for. My objection is the rooms needed to run a ship are missing from our deck plans.

Small craft are bare and sparse designed for short trips in and out of port.

Larger ships have specialized needs. In Trav that generally means Scouts and warships. Smaller ships can get buy with minimal amenities as the crew can get off every week after a jump.

However you look at Annic Nova, Kinunir and Leviathan. They have offices, libraries, chapels, stores rooms, mech shops, elec shops, part stores, waste disposals, pantries, refrigeration, ample cargo/storage areas, even brigs. These ships can travel through frontier or civilized systems with ease.

Then look at a Scout Cruiser from T20 and MJD. Designed to travel a year or two outside the Imperium. No rec facilities, swimming pools, gyms, offices, refrigeration, no laundries, no clothing machines, no cleaning rooms for janitoring, no shops to repair breakdowns or damage, no ships store to buy little goodies, no massive food storage areas, no secure meeting rooms for off-ship visitors; yet filled with redundancies like back-up J-1 and M-1 drives and in 1st version a spare Type S in a massive hanger. If they land on some backwater frontier world their only rec is throwing rocks at cans, and they have to bring their own cans. They can't even breath the atmo on many worlds and can't go for a stroll on deck like old sailing ships at least could do on Earth. Anyone cooped up on these cans would go space happy from the confinement and split with the petty jealousies and rivalries humans can't seem to do without. THEY ARE UNLIVABLE.

One free ship I got was a police cruiser from SJG, very interesting craft, pity it had no fresher. The designer couldn't even think to add that the only amenity this non-J ship needed.

I couldn't care less about the 12yr old blow things up mentality. I want realistic, liveable ships with the proper facilities to stay spaceborne not a 2000t ship with the amenities of a 20' outboard motor boat.

 

[AndrewW]

Something missing from the deck plans does not mean it isn't present at all. Every little detail isn't included in those.

 

[IanBruntlett]

Something missing from the deck plans does not mean it isn't present at all. Every little detail isn't included in those.

It would help me if the "missing from deckplans" things were commented upon for the benefit of people like me who know very little about ships.

 

[Anonymous]

I couldn't care less about the 12yr old blow things up mentality. I want realistic, liveable ships with the proper facilities to stay spaceborne not a 2000t ship with the amenities of a 20' outboard motor boat.

+1

 

[AndrewW]

Freshers are part of the stateroom, laundry facilities could be part of the stateroom or included within the common area found on most ships.

Workshops might be part of engineering, though a few ships do have separate areas for these.

 

[Reynard]

I believe MegaTraveller had more detailed ship design as well as both versions of Fire, Fusion and Steel but it also made ship comparatively bigger. Again, Classic and Mongoose keep it simple with many components and fixtures integrated into stateroom and cargo space.

 

[wbnc]

WBNC

Either you can't see the forest for the trees or I've been unclear.

I get your point. ou have been very clear. But I have been trying to explain why things can be stripped down to just the very very basic facts and figures...Not only that but most deck plans are forced to be very basic..since at best they are about the size of half a page, or smaller...even for larger ships.

It may be that I was not clear in what I was trying to say.

1) space in a book is extremely limited.
2)to increase detail, or add even the most basic descriptions of what is aboard a ship takes space.
3) a writer or designer has to find every spare line of space he can at the best of times.
4) a lot of what is 'missing'..isn't written up in older, or even some current books. O if it has ever been addressed in older texts, it is assumed to be understood.


Also you will be happy to know that I tried to address some of the things you are talking about when I wrote my book. By adding things like rec rooms, kitchens, and utility spaces to equipment that can be added to a star ship...in order to fit that section in I had to cut back on the ships I wanted to include in the book...

If Mongoose and Players like my work and Mongoose gives me a chance to do more work maybe I can work in more of the small details as I go.

If enough interest is shown in a more detailed book/supplement on whats on a starship, with sample diagrams, and generic layouts for various standard compartments, and facilities....maybe they will give someone a chance to do something like that.

Better yet, if someone put together some notes, and samples of standard layouts and diagrams of various shops and facilities for use by a starship. Then submitted it..who knows Mongoose might go for it...

Many of the ships I submitted started off as part of my own stable for table top, and online games...I wanted new ships..so I created them. It it so happens Mongoose liked what they saw. So, if you,, or anyone reading this feeling ambitious...go for it.