CT Only: HG2 Screens: Force Field/Black Globe generator

[snrdg082102]

Hello all,

The details on the force field generator per HG2 page 31 sends the captured energy to a starship's jump drive's capacitors or/and to any additional jump capacitors installed. One ton of jump capacitors, inside a jump drive or not, hold 36 EPs.

Today the idea of putting a force field generator on a non-starship pop-up into my head.

Can a force field be installed on a non-starship?

If yes, is one ton of jump capacitors the minimum amount that needs be installed on a non-starship?

If one ton is not the minimum, what would be the minimum number of tons that need to be installed?

 

[Carlobrand]

Hello all,

The details on the force field generator per HG2 page 31 sends the captured energy to a starship's jump drive's capacitors or/and to any additional jump capacitors installed. One ton of jump capacitors, inside a jump drive or not, hold 36 EPs.

Today the idea of putting a force field generator on a non-starship pop-up into my head.

Can a force field be installed on a non-starship?

If yes, is one ton of jump capacitors the minimum amount that needs be installed on a non-starship?

If one ton is not the minimum, what would be the minimum number of tons that need to be installed?

I don't see any reason why not. There's no specific rule about it. However:,

Book 5, Page 31: "Black globe generators are not available commercially; they are recovered artifacts installed on a makeshift basis or experimental versions installed on tech level 15 Imperial warships."

Canonically they're artifacts or experimental. If you're sticking with the canon milieu, you'd have to ask why an experimental defense is being used on a nonstarship, the nonstarship having a slightly lower chance of escaping battle. If you're not sticking with the canon milieu, the rules put no limits on their use in nonstarships other than the need to install capacitors.

As to the minimum number of tons of capacitors, keep in mind that the power hitting the globes is going into the capacitors. "Turret and bay weapons inflict a number of energy points equal to their factors times the energy point requirement for one such weapon installed in a turret. Non-nuclear missiles inflict two points times their factor; nuclear missiles inflict 100 points times their factor; meson guns inflict 20 points times their factor." Four factor 9 laser batteries fills up the 1 ton capacitor. Two factor 9 HE missile batteries will as well. A single factor 9 nuclear missile volley puts down 900 points, enough to fill 25 dTons of capacitors. Even adjusting for flicker, it's still pretty easy to fill up one dTon of capacitor in a fight, and, "If a black globe absorbs energy and the ship's capacitors are already full, the ship is destroyed."

The turn sequence doesn't let you turn off the capacitor whenever you want. Black globe is turned on or off or set to flicker during the pre-combat decision step, after which you must weather combat and make it to the next pre-combat decision step before you can turn it off or adjust the flicker. You can bleed off energy while flickering, but you still need enough capacitors to get to that point. Unless you're mounting this on something small that isn't expecting to fight anything bigger than a destroyer, the issue of the smallest size capacitor isn't going to come up. Even if you were thinking of putting it on a fighter, I'd want at least a ton of capacitors and more if I could manage it.

However, there's nothing that puts a lower size on capacitors that I know of.

 

[snrdg082102]

Evening Carlobrand,

I don't see any reason why not. There's no specific rule about it. However:,

Book 5, Page 31: "Black globe generators are not available commercially; they are recovered artifacts installed on a makeshift basis or experimental versions installed on tech level 15 Imperial warships."

Canonically they're artifacts or experimental. If you're sticking with the canon milieu, you'd have to ask why an experimental defense is being used on a nonstarship, the nonstarship having a slightly lower chance of escaping battle. If you're not sticking with the canon milieu, the rules put no limits on their use in nonstarships other than the need to install capacitors.

The scenario that popped into my mind is something like this:

A minor backwater system's biggest military asset is a non-starship warship. Somewhere in the system someone stumbled on a force field generator that after some tinkering worked. The government decided to install the force field generator on the pride of their fleet.

As to the minimum number of tons of capacitors, keep in mind that the power hitting the globes is going into the capacitors. "Turret and bay weapons inflict a number of energy points equal to their factors times the energy point requirement for one such weapon installed in a turret. Non-nuclear missiles inflict two points times their factor; nuclear missiles inflict 100 points times their factor; meson guns inflict 20 points times their factor." Four factor 9 laser batteries fills up the 1 ton capacitor. Two factor 9 HE missile batteries will as well. A single factor 9 nuclear missile volley puts down 900 points, enough to fill 25 dTons of capacitors. Even adjusting for flicker, it's still pretty easy to fill up one dTon of capacitor in a fight, and, "If a black globe absorbs energy and the ship's capacitors are already full, the ship is destroyed."

The turn sequence doesn't let you turn off the capacitor whenever you want. Black globe is turned on or off or set to flicker during the pre-combat decision step, after which you must weather combat and make it to the next pre-combat decision step before you can turn it off or adjust the flicker. You can bleed off energy while flickering, but you still need enough capacitors to get to that point. Unless you're mounting this on something small that isn't expecting to fight anything bigger than a destroyer, the issue of the smallest size capacitor isn't going to come up. Even if you were thinking of putting it on a fighter, I'd want at least a ton of capacitors and more if I could manage it.

However, there's nothing that puts a lower size on capacitors that I know of.

I was considering a minimum of one ton also.

Thanks for the reply.

 

[mike wightman]

The formula is 0.5%MJn

A 100t jump 1 ship has 0.005x100x1 = 0.5t of capacitors.

There is your lower limit for capacitor size.

 

[snrdg082102]

Howdy Mike Wightman,

The formula is 0.5%MJn

A 100t jump 1 ship has 0.005x100x1 = 0.5t of capacitors.

There is your lower limit for capacitor size.

Thank you for saving me the time, I was thinking something along that line and just haven't gotten around to doing the math.