Food prepartion?

[coliver988]

I tend to allow players to choose - if they want to eat rations for a week, then I let them. If they want a kitchen they can have it but sacriface the necessary cargo space, sometimes, I even allow hi-tech wonders - a pill for each meal that contains all the necessary nutrition for that meal. At the end of the week in jumpspace they are more than ready for that groat roti and the motivation is enough to keep them planetside as opposed to pick up cargo and run off. Also, allows the seqway to the infamous Starport Bar.

I don't think pills a la the Jetsons would work: you need bulk and calories, and there is only so much of that you can stuff into a pill. The smallest I would use would be protein bars or something similar, and you will get awfully tired of that before too long. Another reason to visit the planet you are on - fresh food!

I like the scene in one of the Firefly episodes (or maybe the movie) when Shepard (the priest-like guy - I may be getting names mixed up, or even series...Book? anyway...) brings on-board fresh food. Everyone really enjoyed that, and it made the episode more 'real' in some way. So I'd opt that you have fresh food, but as the week goes by you may be relying on more ration-type foods (and as we know, lettuce does not last long!)

In my deckplans the commons usually includes basic kitchen stuff (fridge, stove/oven, etc) and cabinets/storage areas. And usually a stacked washer/dryer as well (to cross-link to that thread). Although I like Far Trader's version of the fresher that has that built in a lot as well.

 

[ThunderChilde]

Mmm, anyone else see the 5th Element and "Ding, Chicken!!" scene and think, hey I would have liked to have that available. Why not? it's the 57th century fer gosh sakes, why would they still be eating TV dinners on board ship?
For long duration missions, I can see the need to recyle for food. I've been reading the various posts about the scouts not needing much of anything, and I have to disagree. The Type S has a 6-8 week in system survey endurance before needing to refuel. That is also in light of some information to the effect that it can take many months to survey a system.

 

[Zowy]

Fresh Strawberries !!!!!! Yummmm

 

[PFVA63]

Hi

Hi,

I really like some of the ideas posted here, though I wonder if they are all applicable for ships meant to potentially carry "High Passengers" or if they are only meant for adventurer type ships?

Also, any thoughts on what tech levles you might assume for some of these options?

Regards

PF

 

[aramis]

Pretty much, until one hits about 20 crew & passengers, IMTU, it's a microwave, rehydrator, toaster overn, shelves and fridge. Luxuries would include autochefs, excercise euipment, bathtubs, etc.

So, on a basic budget run, mids only, one crewman ops the food system at meal times anyway, for the crew, and then the passengers.

On a steerage run (IMTU, about KCr5/jump, illegal in the 3I, Double Occupancy in half-sized SR's), the crew simply hands you the meal-packs, and lets you use the rehydrator and microwave.

 

[DaveChase]

Hi,

I really like some of the ideas posted here, though I wonder if they are all applicable for ships meant to potentially carry "High Passengers" or if they are only meant for adventurer type ships?

Also, any thoughts on what tech levles you might assume for some of these options?

Regards

PF

Most of my options were done assuming TL 12. As you go up in TLs you can change the prices and in some cases the weight or space in storage room needed.

Dave Chase

 

[whtknght]

I like the scene in one of the Firefly episodes (or maybe the movie) when Shepard (the priest-like guy - I may be getting names mixed up, or even series...Book? anyway...) brings on-board fresh food. Everyone really enjoyed that, and it made the episode more 'real' in some way. So I'd opt that you have fresh food, but as the week goes by you may be relying on more ration-type foods (and as we know, lettuce does not last long!)

That was the pilot episode. Yes, fresh food makes a big difference on your rep and on crew moral. Just remember, if you are serving freshly prepared meals, you need someone who can cook. I usually hire a "steward" even when it is just the adventurers onboard for the trip. I mean if you are going to put your life on the line, your last meal had better have been good.

 

[Hemdian]

Just remember, if you are serving freshly prepared meals, you need someone who can cook. I usually hire a "steward" even when it is just the adventurers onboard for the trip. I mean if you are going to put your life on the line, your last meal had better have been good.

Given the mind-boggling variety of edible things in known space, not having a steward is putting your life on the line.

Quote from B5 (charcter examines nobbly plant root he's just bought): "This is either an aphrodisiac or a floor polish ... but if it leaves a waxy buildup on anything then I'm having words."

 

[Ranger]

Last time I thought through this was a couple of years ago. First off, I figured there would be a difference between crew and passengers, but there is a basic scaling of options.

Basic rations: MRE type pre-packaged self contained single meals.

Improved rations: These would be more like French military rations (these are really nice). One day’s worth of food, which can be mixed and matched, so that even drawing the same box two days in a row means you can have different meals. They even come with 2 small bottles of wine (one for lunch and one for dinner). These are meant to be augmented with fresh baked bread to provide the complete calories for the day. (These are probably along the lines of the S-rations mentioned earlier.)

Hot rations: Semi-fresh food prepackaged along the lines of US Army T-rations, bulk meals in easy to heat trays that are heated and served as fresh food (kind of like super-sized TV dinners, only one tray per menu item). Available in various sizes (6,12,24 servings), just heat and serve, buffet style.

Fresh rations: Actual, fresh food, which of course requires someone to prepare it.

For passengers, obviously the high passengers get the best food available, probably a mix of hot rations and fresh rations. Even the smallest ship would need a dedicated passenger dining room (it could be just one larger table) to rate offering high passage, though high passengers could always chose to eat in their cabins instead.

Middle passengers would have a choice of buying a pre-packaged set of 21 improved meals before boarding or buying basic rations meals or “TV dinners” one at a time on board ship. Basic prep facilities would be available in the passenger lounge.

For the crew of course, it all depends upon how well things are going and how the captain does things.

Of course, this system is mainly for smaller ships. Dedicated liners would be more like modern cruise ships or larger long range ferries.

Just my take…

 

[Madarin Dude]

Nice thoughts on this. Well I had to look up French military rations. so for those of you interested here they are. http://www.mreinfo.com/international/france/rcir-pictures-2.html

 

[Bishop Odo]

I think the subject of food in Traveller is a great one. I’m not up on the cannon, but really it would make all those agriculture planets worth something, along with the fresh produce trade routes. I always thought of food and culinary needs, not nutrient, as a key Social Class benefits. Also, I find it funny that we, or some of us, are willing to accept the instant meals, or algae fish food snacks, yet balk at other tech as an anathema. Even, Star Trek made some comments about replicated food and fresh food.

 

[Ranger]

Nice thoughts on this. Well I had to look up French military rations. so for those of you interested here they are. http://www.mreinfo.com/international/france/rcir-pictures-2.html

That MRE info site is great. That should give everyone enough ideas about different ways to do pre-packaged meals for any situation.

As for the Hot Rations, its been a while since I was in the Army, so I did some poking around to see what's new with T-rations.

This little contraption( http://www.babingtontechnology.com/tray_ration_heater_system.htm)can cook 18 trays at once:

"The TRHS is simple to use. In fact no cooking experience whatsoever is needed. Simply place 18 tray packs of food in the TRH, add 15 gallons of water, close the lid and turn on the switch. When the tray packs are heated, remove, open, and serve delicious hot food. Done!"

Each tray has enough food for 7 to 10 people (at least that is what they claim), but it take 4 trays for a full meal (main course, starch, vegitable, and desert) but you can usually serve the desert cold, so one of these heaters can crank out a meal for 45 to 60 people in short order. A smaller version would work well in a smaller ship.

And now they are working on T-rations that heat themselves (http://www.gizmag.com/go/2625/), so no need for any equipment, just a space with ventilation to let them heat up.

 

[Zowy]

I would think most of the items would be what you could get at a "Big Box" type superstore, most class A, B, and C starports have them as a way to make extra money from passing starships. The food prep area could be as simple as storage space with Refigirator / freezer, hot / cold water and a Microwave / infrared cooker of some type..... all the way up to a multi-cook kitchen and dedicated dinning room.

If you want to mess with a crews food supply, low tec worlds are good for that.

 

[shadowdragon]

.....(href=http://www.gizmag.com/go/2625/), so no need for any equipment, just a space with ventilation to let them heat up.

your link? its broken.....:toast:

http://www.gizmag.com/go/2625/

this one works

 

[Ranger]

your link? its broken.....:toast:

http://www.gizmag.com/go/2625/

this one works

Thanks for spotting it! I fixed it in the original post, so it should work there now too.

 

[aramis]

You can buy camping main courses for single servings that you pull the string on the bag, set off the side and come back in 5-10min and you have hot food.

Dave Chase

I've seen a couple that were "Open Pouch, add water, wait 5 minutes"... they had a gore-tex type one-way barrier to a water-catalyzed exothermic reaction... it resulted in a nice toasty, warm, and light ration pack for hiking. (I used it at home during a power outage; it arrived in a basket from the food bank....)

 

[rancke]

And just think about all the as-yet-uninvented kinds of food storage options there's going to be at TTL12+. Somehow I don't think preserved as-good-as-fresh food is going to be much of a problem. Though individually packed freshly cooked meals in stasis containers would still be above current Imperial technology .


Hans

 

[Maladominus]

"Computer: Tea, scalding hot, Earl Grey."

 

[coliver988]

I've got my TL-21 pocket universe larder ready-packed...

(somewhere there was a book about future Gypsies that could actually reach into pocket universes. They actually cooked food, stuck it in there while hot, pulled it out later when they needed it. No time passed in the pocket universes. I want to say Robert Silverberg, but I can't really remember now)

 

[Darkhstarr]

For military vessels & smaller merchantmen I tended to go for an arrangement like Corbin Dallas' apartment in Fifth Element & on old sailing ships. Everything folds up, slides or drops down, or raises up out of the way. In Bette Noire's captain quarters on the Aarabella, her fresher unit, wardrobe, & portable shrine recede into niches in the wall. Her workplace & desk converts into a bed.