A better subsidized merchant

[Spinward Flow]

It is spelled out:
"A non-starship described above can support its passengers for up to 30 days in space. Beyond that time, air, food and water begin to run out."

Okay, then that means ...

• Starship stateroom (single occupancy, commercial): 30 days
• Starship stateroom (double occupancy, non-commercial): 15 days
• Small craft stateroom (single occupancy, commercial): 15 days
• Small craft stateroom (double occupancy, non-commercial): 7.5 days

 

[kilemall]

Okay, then that means ...

• Starship stateroom (single occupancy, commercial): 30 days
• Starship stateroom (double occupancy, non-commercial): 15 days
• Small craft stateroom (single occupancy, commercial): 15 days
• Small craft stateroom (double occupancy, non-commercial): 7.5 days

Makes sense, proportionate to their per person size and thus life support ‘tonnage’.

 

[Spinward Flow]

Makes sense, proportionate to their per person size and thus life support ‘tonnage’.

Speaking just for myself I would personally prefer a tad bit more ... margin ... on those numbers (for safety, if nothing else):

• Starship stateroom (single occupancy, commercial): 32 days
• Starship stateroom (double occupancy, non-commercial): 16 days
• Small craft stateroom (single occupancy, commercial): 16 days
• Small craft stateroom (double occupancy, non-commercial): 8 days

Goes against the "30 days" citation provided above ...

"A non-starship described above can support its passengers for up to 30 days in space. Beyond that time, air, food and water begin to run out."

... but if you cross your eyes and squint hard enough ( ) you could creatively interpret "begin to run out" to really mean BEGIN (future imperfect tense) rather than HAS ALREADY (present perfect tense) with respect to the "drop dead" date on the exhaustion of life support.

Additionally, by the time you're down to "2/32=6.25% or less of consumable reserves remaining" you could easily argue (colloquially speaking) that you're "beginning to run out" of that something (such as life support) and that you'd really like to restock (before it's ALL GONE! ).

 

[spank]

I think the main consumable is going to be a giant syringe full of Fast Drug.

Speaking just for myself I would personally prefer a tad bit more ... margin ... on those numbers (for safety, if nothing else):

• Starship stateroom (single occupancy, commercial): 32 days
• Starship stateroom (double occupancy, non-commercial): 16 days
• Small craft stateroom (single occupancy, commercial): 16 days
• Small craft stateroom (double occupancy, non-commercial): 8 days

Goes against the "30 days" citation provided above ...

... but if you cross your eyes and squint hard enough ( ) you could creatively interpret "begin to run out" to really mean BEGIN (future imperfect tense) rather than HAS ALREADY (present perfect tense) with respect to the "drop dead" date on the exhaustion of life support.

Additionally, by the time you're down to "2/32=6.25% or less of consumable reserves remaining" you could easily argue (colloquially speaking) that you're "beginning to run out" of that something (such as life support) and that you'd really like to restock (before it's ALL GONE! ).

 

[spank]

I think I cracked it.
100.035 MCr, just like in the book.

 

[spank]

Streamlining was included, It comes later in the build process, step 10.
Good catch on the computer cost/ tonnage, I had them reversed. Once I corrected that the cost was 97.15 MCR, Discounted to 87.435. After adding the Launch the cost was 101.435 MCr.




Suspiciously 1.4 MCr over book price. Which is co-indecently 10% of 14 MCR.
Add the Launch into the cost before discount and you get 111.15 MCr, which discounts to........
Exactly 100.35 MCr !!!!!

Looks like they did include the Launch before discounting.

Streamlined hull is an additional MCr 4.
A m/1 comp costs MCr 2.
You don't get a discount on the already discounted Launch (according to TCS).

I get:

R1-4111111-000000-00000-0        MCr 101         400 Dton
bearing                                            Crew=5
batteries                                            TL=9
            Pass=8 Low=9 Cargo=200 Fuel=50 EP=4 Agility=1

Nominal Cost        MCr 111,15    
Class Cost          MCr  10,69    
Ship Cost           MCr 101,44

Spoiler:

Single Occupancy    LBB2 design                   200,5     111,2
                                     USP    #     Dton       Cost
Hull, Streamlined      400 Dt          4          400      
Configuration       Needle/Wedge       1                     20
Scoops              Streamlined                            

Engineering                                        15      
Jump Drive          C                  1    1      20        30
Manoeuvre D         C                  1    1       5        12
Power Plant         C                  1    1      10        24
Fuel, #J, #weeks    J-1, 4 weeks            1      50      
                                                           
Bridge                                      1      20         2
Computer            m/1                1    1       1         2
                                                           
Staterooms                                 13      52         6,5
Low Berths                                  9       4,5       0,5
                                                           
Cargo                                             200,5    
                                                           
Empty hardpoint                             2       2         0,2
                                                           
Launch              20 Dton                 1      20        14
                                                           
Nominal Cost        MCr 111,15           Sum:     200,5     111,2
Class Cost          MCr  10,69          Valid      ≥0          ≥0
Ship Cost           MCr 101,44                              
                                                           
                                                           
Crew &               High     4        Crew          Bridge     2
Passengers            Mid     4           5       Engineers     1
                      Low     9                     Gunners     0
                 Extra SR     0      Frozen         Service     2
               # Frozen W     0           0          Flight     0
                  Marines     0                     Marines     0

About MCr 0.4 over the LBB2 price...

 

[AnotherDilbert]

Add the Launch into the cost before discount and you get 111.15 MCr, which discounts to........
Exactly 100.35 MCr !!!!!

Great!

Looks like they did include the Launch before discounting.

LBB2 didn't say anything specific, TCS did say not to...

 

[spank]

Looks like that was the standard with LBB2,
all the designs that carry vehicles include them before the discount.
I worked all the LBBs vehicles and got them all to work out exactly as in the book.
Some had errors that had to be figured out, such as the Subidized Liner, which priced a Launch at 4 MCr instead of 14 MCr. And the Mercenary Cruiser which seems to have priced an Air Raft at 28 MCr!

I was working of the LBB '81,
I found that the Facsimile Edition has the correct price for most of these, except the Mercenary Cruiser. Which corrected the 28MCr air raft, but does some odd things like it seems to charge extra for ATVs even though the ATV modules include them, and seems to have an Error of +3.0 MCr before discount.

And the Yacht which changed from a price of 51.057 MCr in '81 to 51.097 in the Facsimile.
Turns out they inserted an error when adding the Errata.

 

[Spinward Flow]

Turns out they inserted an error when adding the Errata.

{ shrug }

Pytos happen.

 

[spank]

So, to get back on task,
Now that we know how the math works, We can start with the Merchant's un-discounted price, 111.15 MCr and modify it as we please.
All prices are discounted:
With no Launch: LBB stats, except 220 tons of cargo and cost of 87.435 MCr.
With B/B/B Drives & Launch: LBB stats except 25 tons for drive upgrades and cost of 80.235 MCr
With B/B/B Drives & No Launch: LBB stats except 220 tons of cargo, 25 tons for drive upgrades, and cost of 67.635 MCr
With a custom 400 ton hull: LBB stats except, no space reserved for drive upgrades, 245 tons of cargo, 89.235 MCr
With 2*200 ton Hulls & B/B/B drives: LBB stats, except 5 tons for drive upgrades, 240 tons of cargo, 67.635 MCr.
With Asteroid Hull * B/B/B drives: LBB Stats, except no space for drive upgrades, 165 tons of cargo, No stream lining. 49.959 MCr

 

[Spinward Flow]

With a custom 400 ton hull: LBB stats except, no space reserved for drive upgrades, 245 tons of cargo, 89.235 MCr

Still thinking that a 300 ton J2/2G Far Trader with C/C/C drives is a better option.
Although, admittedly, that's a different topic (and needs a bit of house rule help).
I mean, the 200 ton J2 Far Trader is already paying for a custom hull ... so ...

and modify it as we please.

One of the first things I would want to do is spend 9 tons (Cr38,000) on a TL=9 fuel purification plant, no matter what else you're doing. The "pays for itself" factor in a streamlined hull is just too much of a NO BRAINER.