General Collector Discussion

[mike wightman]

Not edition specific at all - MWM Jumpspace article is common to CT and MgT2e, and T5 goes into the same detail.

As to exotic jump particles, Don and I had an email conversation back and forth, and at some point it made it into the T5 draft. So either MWM came up with the idea at the same time as we were discussing it (I think it came up in a T5 playtest thread as well) or Don mentioned it could work as a solution to the collector conundrum. Quite how collectors ended up functioning in empty hexes is beyond me - hence the multi-layering and Casimir like effect I mentioned earlier.

 

[Condottiere]

I was a little surprised when the restriction on energy sources was lifted; basically, the only restriction was drawing directly from solar panelling to energize the jump drive, which meant and in fact I think, the Express Boat uses a battery to kickstart it's jump drive.

 

[Spinward Flow]

Still think the notion of a Collector based "jump sled" arrangement that just stays out past 100-150 diameters from world destinations and uses "shuttle craft" to maneuver revenue tonnage between the ship and the world(s) makes for a compelling business model use case for merchant ship operations that intend to "spend a week" at each destination wheeling and dealing.

 

[Grav_Moped]

Still think the notion of a Collector based "jump sled" arrangement that just stays out past 100-150 diameters from world destinations and uses "shuttle craft" to maneuver revenue tonnage between the ship and the world(s) makes for a compelling business model use case for merchant ship operations that intend to "spend a week" at each destination wheeling and dealing.

This is a RPG/player-character oriented use case, not an efficiency-maximizing one. Which is why I like it.

 

[Condottiere]

The collector jump sled concept has already been, discovered, after the breakaway hull option was included.

The attraction is no jump tanks, and presumably economies of scale.

 

[Grav_Moped]

Odd thought based on the "it's kinda like a black globe" concept: Any energy weapon hits (laser, part-acc, plasma/fusion guns, meson guns) to the "fuel" or "power plant" locations (that is, to the collector canopy) get absorbed and dumped into the accumulator. Missile hits to any of those locations are power plant damage. If so, you're going to want all the antimissile point defense capability you can carry.

 

[Condottiere]

That was an option to bypass the fusion plant energy accumulation for jumping.

Personally, I prefer just having the battery pack.

 

[Grav_Moped]

That was an option to bypass the fusion plant energy accumulation for jumping.

Personally, I prefer just having the battery pack.

I'm seeing it as a way to "buff" the otherwise horribly vulnerable/fragile collector canopy.

 

[Condottiere]

You can always dive into the sun.

Or a planet, atmospheric friction would be energy to be absorbed.

Or maybe the Black Globe could turn gravity into energy? So a planetary slingshot.

 

[Grav_Moped]

You can always dive into the sun.

Or a planet, atmospheric friction would be energy to be absorbed.

Or maybe the Black Globe could turn gravity into energy? So a planetary slingshot.

At least in T5, exposure to atmosphere ruins the canopy.

A black globe shield would indeed convert atmospheric friction into energy.

Does a black globe block gravity? More interesting, does it block artificial gravity (repulsors, tractors)?

 

[Grav_Moped]

I'm seeing it as a way to "buff" the otherwise horribly vulnerable/fragile collector canopy.

That is, you can't really armor it (well, you could but that'd mean it'd need to retract into a bay of some sort) so you've got this incredibly delicate component that's not only a good fraction of the ship's tonnage but exposed to hostile fire. At close enough range, sandcasters could trash it! The way around that is to declare it effectively immune to energy weapon fire because it absorbs that energy rather than getting damaged by it (it'll have to take its chances against kinetics, but that's what lasers in the antimissile role are for).

Not positive I'm entirely happy with that, but the alternative is leaving the collector drive vulnerable. The problem with doing so is that destruction of "the power plant" releases the entire accumulator charge -- and that is a "Ship Vaporized" event whether you want it to be or not.

 

[Grav_Moped]

Still think the notion of a Collector based "jump sled" arrangement that just stays out past 100-150 diameters from world destinations and uses "shuttle craft" to maneuver revenue tonnage between the ship and the world(s) makes for a compelling business model use case for merchant ship operations that intend to "spend a week" at each destination wheeling and dealing.

If the shuttle craft is close to but under 100Td, I've got a useful but very expensive device that could help with hiding the "jump sled".

The Jump Flasher. It's a 2.5Td Jump Torpedo that doesn't work. (It's just a minimal Jump Drive, token power plant, and fuel tank.) What it does is, after being launched by the parent vessel, is to make an uncontrolled Jump, destroying itself in the process. This creates a Jump Flash and makes it look like the parent vessel has escaped into Jumpspace.

The shuttle craft then shuts down its drives and coasts; with luck, the pursuers lose interest. It can then power back up and rendezvous with the jump sled.

If the shuttle is over 100Td, it could have an actual Jump Drive and do a microjump to the jump sled's location -- but that would take a week.

 

[Condottiere]

1. I think high acceleration tends to trump microjumps insystem.

2. The Black Globe static electricity atmospheric pass would be to charge the capacitors, after exotic particle collection would be complete, so the canopy would be furled in.

 

[Grav_Moped]

1. I think high acceleration tends to trump microjumps insystem.

It does, for many trips. The jump flasher is meant to fake a jump for a shuttle that's not quite big enough to be jump-capable but looks like it is (in the 90-99Td size range). The goal is to convince observers that the shuttle has left the system so they don't bother following it to the Jump Sled waiting for its return, out in the outer system.

2. The Black Globe static electricity atmospheric pass would be to charge the capacitors, after exotic particle collection would be complete, so the canopy would be furled in.

Ok, I think I see where you're coming from. But then again, that brings something else up: would it be possible to get faster charging in a planet's magnetosphere (for example, orbiting within the Van Allen Belt)? Probably not, and it might be hard on anyone doing EVA work.

 

[Condottiere]

How much energy is in the radiation belts?

Probably, more importantly, any exotic particles?

 

[Grav_Moped]

How much energy is in the radiation belts?

Probably, more importantly, any exotic particles?

1. No idea.
2. Possible. They're science fictional exotic particles -- they could be anywhere!

 

[Condottiere]

Interdimensional mushroom spores - they do tend to get everywhere.

I think psionic powered jump drives are an option.

If you don't have a jump bubble, that hydrogen has got to go somewhere.

 

[mike wightman]

Some is used in the overclocked reaction to produce the energy for jump and the rest is vented as coolant.

 

[Condottiere]

I don't recall it ever been mentioned being vented, but maybe it's pre Mongosian.

 

[mike wightman]

It is in MWM's Jumpspace article:

When the jump drive is activated, a large store of fuel is fed through the
ship’s power plant to create the energy necessary for the jump drive. In
the interests of rapid energy generation, the power plant does not work
at full efficiency, and some of the fuel is lost in carrying off fusion byproducts,
and in cooling the system.

If it isn't vented then the ship has a whole lot of waste heat to deal with...