Artificial Gravity And Shipboard Activity Questions

[peteyfroggboy]

I know, I'm sure this topic comes up every two weeks, but from the searches I've done I'm not exactly sure of the answer. My main question is: does Traveller have artificial gravity on its ships? From what I can tell, it looks like the answer is no, except possibly at TL15-16 when you can maybe design inertial dampers and artificial gravity... somehow. I'm going to be running my first Traveller game of any sort soon, and I just want to make sure I'm prepared.

So, assuming that the general population isn't going to have access to AG, I'm assuming the following about starships:

1) If the ship is dead in space (or "moving" through Jumpspace), everyone is floating around.

2) If the ship is under anything near its rated acceleration (1G+), then unless the ship is designed skyscraper-style (which the vast majority I've seen are not), then everyone is sitting down in acceleration couches and facing forward the whole time, otherwise they'd be "falling" into the aft bulkheads.

3) Starships that are designed in the flat (decks parallel to direction of thrust) style are intended for operating and/or landing occasionally near the surface of planets, where local gravity will make the ventral deck a flloor.

So, some other questions:

1) If everyone is strapped into couches during accelleration (like in a pitched battle where ships are zipping around every which way), how does our heroic engineer get anywhere to do his life-saving repairs? Are there accomodations made in a flat ship for moving around when aft has become "down"?

2) For that matter, if someone is manning a turret, I suppose he would have to be strapped in pretty well, as the turret would be facing "up", then "sideways", then "down" as it turns. That assumes they are directly manned rather than remotely operated.

Most other stations (Comms, Sensors, etc.) could be done from stationary (and forward facing) positions, I suppose. Anyway, these are my basic questions. If there is no artificial gravity, then pretty much any shipboard activity (including, of course, combat) will be either at zero gravity or some weird sideways acceleration-induced orientation.

 

[Andrew Boulton]

Artificial gravity/inertial compensators become available at TL10.

 

[far-trader]

Depends on the version of rules you're using and of course subject entirely to your own (or the referee's) imagination.

TL10 as Andrew mentions is I think the TL given for MT and/or TNE. TNE had different levels of inertial compensation rated in Gs which depended on TL. CT has pretty much always assumed (afaict) that artificial gravity and inertial compensation parallel space thruster technology.

I handled it (in CT) that a ship with a functional thruster drive generates a field as part of the operation of it. The field isolates the ship from that thrust so no inertial compensation is required to compensate for it and externally applied inertia (like collisions and explosions) are felt (so you get the dramatic effects).

Artificial gravity also seems to be a given once you get Jump drives since a week of weightless during jump is not described and would be a gross oversight. The general design of the deckplans also suggests it. I pegged that at TL9 (in CT at least) but do not allow wide or rapid variations in the artificial gravity field (part again of the same thruster effects). It is usually just on/off with a gradual fade in/out and the effect does not extend much beyond the hull and if your thrusters are destroyed you lose artificial gravity.

That's my take on it for what it's worth

 

[Andrew Boulton]

MT, TNE, and T4 all agree on TL10. CT and T20 don't mention it at all, but you can infer it's somewhere between 7 and 10, based on other tech.

 

[Andrew Boulton]

MT, TNE, and T4 all agree on TL10. CT and T20 don't mention it at all, but you can infer it's somewhere between 7 and 10, based on other tech.

 

[Andrew Boulton]

MT, TNE, and T4 all agree on TL10. CT and T20 don't mention it at all, but you can infer it's somewhere between 7 and 10, based on other tech.

 

[Andrew Boulton]

Argh! It's gone mad!

 

[RandyT0001]

I think the T20 generally follows the Classic Traveller inclusion of AG and inertia compensators beginning with the space thrust technology as Far Trader mentioned above. It's exact mechanism are left for the referee to decide for his Traveller universe. There are no listings for AG and inertia compensators components in the T20 spacecraft design sequences. Other rule systems, TNE, Gurps, do include these design components and more specific rules to the use of AG and inertia compensators.

 

[mike wightman]

Originally posted by Andrew Boulton:
Argh! It's gone mad!

I thought it was those Bwaps getting you to post in triplicate again

 

[mike wightman]

The CT supplement Traders and Gunboats mentions that:

Most ships have grav plates built into the deck flooring... Acceleration compensators are also usually installed...

The desciption of the Kinunir in adventure one contains the same details. So, while not there in the design process, they are there in the background

 

[peteyfroggboy]

Thanks, all. I've only got T20 to go by, and there are some things that it doesn't do a very good job of explaining, background-wise. There's hardly anything on the specifics of the Imperium, for example. Fortunately, there's a big community out here to help us newbies.

Anyway, since it looks like AG is pretty much standard by TL10, I guess I didn't need to design my TL12 orbital research station with rotational gravity after all. *sigh*

 

[far-trader]

Except for the precedent of the CT ring hull Lab Ship. I always imagined it was so that it could as an option have spin gravity for comfort while experimenting with stuff sensitive to the artificial gravity. So I'd say keep it as is. Throwing the players a curve once in a while is good

And besides the crew of the station will be laughing when research proves that AG causes mutations leading to munkinism

 

[Whipsnade]

peteyfrogboy wrote:

"... doesn't do a very good job of explaining, background-wise. There's hardly anything on the specifics of the Imperium, for example."


Mr. Frogboy,

T20 doesn't contain anything on the specifics of the Imperium? Well - if that is true - then T20 is simply following the example of ever other edition of Traveller.

After 25-plus years, we still have no official specifics about how the Imperium is governed and taxed. We don't even know how many credits are in the Imperial budget or how they are spent.

On a metagame level, this 'lack' of specifics is a Very Good Thing . It allows you; the GM, to tailor your game to the needs of your players. Traveller's greatest strength is its malleability. Traveller is what you and your player's want it to be.

"I guess I didn't need to design my TL12 orbital research station with rotational gravity after all. *sigh* "

Don't throw out those plans! The single canonical Traveller ship with rotational gravity just so happens to be a research vessel. What's more, the Classic Lab Ship write-up even states that the vessel was purposely designed to use rotational gravity because artificial gravity will adversely effect some of the experiments taking place aboard.

Please save those plans and share them with us.


Sincerely,
Larsen

 

[Hal]

Originally posted by peteyfrogboy:
Thanks, all. I've only got T20 to go by, and there are some things that it doesn't do a very good job of explaining, background-wise. There's hardly anything on the specifics of the Imperium, for example. Fortunately, there's a big community out here to help us newbies.

Anyway, since it looks like AG is pretty much standard by TL10, I guess I didn't need to design my TL12 orbital research station with rotational gravity after all. *sigh*

There was supposed to be a book put out by Steve Jackson Games titled "Third Imperium" or so rumor has it, but I suspect that project has been shelved. While I tend to agree with Larsen in most things, I myself tend to go with the other viewpoint - that the OTU should be BETTER defined. We already know that once a book is published, what the fans do with it makes the Traveller universe that they run uniquely theirs - it still helps in my opinion, to have a baseline official Traveller Universe described in enough detail for those who don't have the knowledge/creativity/time to build their own baseline. In addition, by having a baseline to work off of, you can stave off some of the more "acrimonious" debate that has unfortunately come into being at other Traveller communities.

As Larsen pointed out, there are a LOT of things that have not been detailed, which means that you get to have the fun of approaching others with a smile on your face saying "hey, got any ideas I can use?"

In any event, good luck and remember, this is for FUN - so have at it with enthusiasm and don't let anyone make the game less than fun for YOU.

 

[peteyfroggboy]

Originally posted by Larsen E. Whipsnade:
T20 doesn't contain anything on the specifics of the Imperium? Well - if that is true - then T20 is simply following the example of ever other edition of Traveller.

Heh. I thought that might be the case. I can deal with that. I was thinking it was like the Dragonlance book and didn't make complete sense unless you already had a fair amount of knowledge about the setting.

Don't throw out those plans! The single canonical Traveller ship with rotational gravity just so happens to be a research vessel. What's more, the Classic Lab Ship write-up even states that the vessel was purposely designed to use rotational gravity because artificial gravity will adversely effect some of the experiments taking place aboard.

Please save those plans and share them with us.

That makes sense, I suppose. Since AG technology is only vaguely defined, it's entirely possible that it has some sort of side effects. The station is used for agricultural research; perhaps they keep the gravity at a certain level to work on experimental strains for lower-gravity worlds.

Anyway, the plans are here.

 

[jasper]

That a great station. Especially from a uplifted frog from GeneAssist.

Yes very little of campaign is detailed. It is very much like early 1980 Greyhawk where certain adventures tell you about a specfic location but the general world is blank left to you to fill.
If you see some of my questions it maybe a little help.