[HG] Designing a TL8 STL Colony Ship

[Golan2072]

Admit it - High Guard was built with jump-capable ships in mind and a jump-drive-based universe. That is understandable as most Traveller settings take place in many solar systems (unless you go in the Firefly direction and use only one solar system) and STl travel times are damn looooooooong.

However, I'd like to design a few STL colony ships, carrying a large number of cryo-frozen colonists to the distant stars. They would be TL8, and probably (but not nescerily) planetoid-based. I need help with the following areas of the design:

1) I need a big hull using TL8 computers, which is beyond the HG computer-to-hull limits.

2) The power plant would probably be fueled by a Bussard ramjet, to ensure prolonged performance (several decades to several centuries); any ideas about the HG stats of such a device?

3) The ship would probably have to function without an awake crew along most of the trip.

4) The manouver drive would probably be a fusion one as well; any changes needed from the HG grav-plate drives?

 

[Pickles]

White Dwarf 32 had an interesting little article on STL ships for Traveller. It featured ramships, lightjammers and asteroid ships.

Ramships use a massive magnetic 'funnel' to suck up stray molecules to feed its reaction drive. Speeds go up to 0.8C. They still need a secondary system to get up to speed, though.

Lightjammers use solar sails, and can only get up to 0.01C at most.

Asteroid ships in this case were buffered planetoid hulls using fusion bombs for propulsion.

 

[CliffBates]

The White Dwarft art

Does anyone have access to White Dwarf 32? I used to until my sister sold off my Traveller stuff a few years back. I would like to get the STL ships article.

 

[kilemall]

I have the rules in my IMTU, but personally I wouldn't go beyond the build limits, among other things you are taking these things past comfy speeds, and it would make more sense to run many ships separated in space and time so its not an all or nothing proposition running into space debris at frac-C and there is time to react to threats ahead for the whole group.

Think less Titanic to the stars, and more wagon train.

Since I never bothered with having an all-grav drive universe most of my ships have reaction drive at some level, mostly because of Oort clouds but also because of the frac-C scouting. Just use E-M for fuel issues, limit accel to 1-G, anything else requires fuel.

Got to have some answer to debris threats. Grav tech is too low to get repulsors, possibly you could go with charged shields for ionized particles and of course lasers and missiles for bigger can't avoid destroyable objects, probably best to go big asteroid for the most part at TL8- they might survive the small stuff.

Because of that limitation you are going to have a definite speed limit to allow for your countermeasures to occur (avoid/shoot/warn following craft).

 

[tjoneslo]

I need a big hull using TL8 computers, which is beyond the HG computer-to-hull limits.

Be careful with this assumption. As you say, the HG rules are formulated to the J-Drive universe. If your design isn't paying the 10%-40% penalty for the J-Drive fuel, the space can be used for other things. Like low berths for more passengers.

On the other hand, I might add a rule that says you can compensate for lack of computer power by adding additional engineering crew. The reason for the size limit would be the ability of the computer to monitor all the systems (including hull, and other systems not explicitly mentioned but obviously present like life support). So having the computer limitations supplemented by organics rather than more electronics.

HG also deals with building ships with well understood design and engineering standards developed over decades or centuries, and less well with brute-force engineered experimental designs. I'm willing to be less strict about rules interpretations for the latter.

 

[CliffBates]

I am thinking about solar sailing as a sport, like America cup races are... that the nobles engage in. I would like to make an adventure about a noble and a race, and thus need to find the old white dwarf article about STL ships as I remember when I read it in the 80s there was something about solar sails.

 

[pendragonman]

Be careful with this assumption. As you say, the HG rules are formulated to the J-Drive universe. If your design isn't paying the 10%-40% penalty for the J-Drive fuel, the space can be used for other things. Like low berths for more passengers.

On the other hand, I might add a rule that says you can compensate for lack of computer power by adding additional engineering crew. The reason for the size limit would be the ability of the computer to monitor all the systems (including hull, and other systems not explicitly mentioned but obviously present like life support). So having the computer limitations supplemented by organics rather than more electronics.

HG also deals with building ships with well understood design and engineering standards developed over decades or centuries, and less well with brute-force engineered experimental designs. I'm willing to be less strict about rules interpretations for the latter.

Further, there is the multiple computer idea. Each computer controlling the max tonnage they are allowed.

And there is the dispersed structure idea. One computer handles the "spine" of the structure and the drives; and each attached pod controls just the pod, even if a pod is just a giant fuel purifier/tank.

 

[Condottiere]

And controlled and coordinated by a central computer.

But starshps tonnage would be capped by the maximum tonnage of one computer, if it attempts to transition.

 

[flykiller]

hg2 sublight interstellar ship

http://www.travellerrpg.com/CotI/Gallery/index.php?n=1963

 

[Theophilus]

Does anyone have access to White Dwarf 32? I used to until my sister sold off my Traveller stuff a few years back. I would like to get the STL ships article.

Back issues were available for download from http://www.games-workshop.com/

Don't know if there still available.

 

[CliffBates]

Back issues were available for download from http://www.games-workshop.com/

Don't know if there still available.

Thanks. I could not find it there on the website, so I emailed them and asked about being if the older back issues are available. Someone should suggest to them perhaps in cooperation with FFE for them to put together the all the White Dwarf Traveller articles into special volume for next year 40th Anniversary of Traveller.

 

[Shadowrunner]

I tried to design a TL8 Colony Ship of 10,000 tons. I gave it a speed of Maneuver 4G with TL8 scoops and purification and no Jump Drives. I gave it 24 TL8 sandcaster turrets, 12 TL7 laser turrets and 12 TL7 missile turrets, 2 x Model 2/bis computers. All this needed 91,710.Mw of power and 2445 tons of fuel.

This left me with 700 tons for cargo, 2000 colonists in cryogenic berths, 177 crew, 10 x TL8 Cutters, 10 sickbays, 170 crew low berths or 85 small staterooms, plus 17 small staterooms and one large stateroom (Either 10% of crew might be awake during stages of the flight or cabins would be necessary once the colony ship was orbiting the new world). Total environmental space works out at 789 deck plan squares.

K404?S3-080000-30004-0
TCJMPCC-ASMNGR-LEPMI-F