• Welcome to the new COTI server. We've moved the Citizens to a new server. Please let us know in the COTI Website issue forum if you find any problems.

General How does maneuver drive propel?

For the very latest definition of how the m-drive works then take a look at the new MgT SOM.
In the past it went like this
CT pp tied to m-drive makes thrust, using a certain amount of fuel for each burn.
CT HG79 m-drive is a fusion drive that can be used as a rocket
CT HG80 undefined
CT 81 undefined
MT every bit of handwavium you can throw at it
TNE HEPlaR (a plasma rocket)
T4 thrusters similar to MT, and HEPlaR
T5 gravitcis handwavium
MgT gravitics handwavium.

Mike, thanks for that! I started with CT early on, and that's where my thinking comes from. If fuel is consumed for thrust then there are limits, and limits are fine.
 
You know how there is no stealth in space? There is no dogfighting either. At least not without cartoon action hour cinematic non-Newtonian physics. Even Traveller gravitic drives obey Newton's rules.
 
Are there any non-Traveller based work(s) of fiction, print or film, that use the Traveller M-Drive "accelerate half way there, turn around and decelerate for the other half"?
2001: A Space Odyssey
2010: The Year We Make Contact

Bonus: 2010 also features an aerobraking scene to avoid using fuel in order to decelerate the Leonov into orbit around Jupiter on course for Io and Discovery.


Granted, these films use nuclear thermal rocketry, rather than M-Drives ... but the physics involved that dictate why the maneuvers are done remains the same.
 
You know how there is no stealth in space? There is no dogfighting either. At least not without cartoon action hour cinematic non-Newtonian physics. Even Traveller gravitic drives obey Newton's rules.
How can we say there is no stealth in space when we don't have an actual agreed upon definition of how things work? I would counter that there is stealth in space because there are multiple components required for detection, and each component has its limits. For example, sensors have range, thus a ship that accelerates (a measurable phenomenon) outside of the sensor's range is "stealthy". If the ship shuts down most of its emissions before it hits sensor range, then the signature will be reduced. Not perfectly stealthy, but not blatantly obvious, either. It then depends on the quality of the sensors versus the stealth capability of the target. A TL 8 sensor might not see much of anything of a TL 15 stealth ship, since the emissions at TL 8 are different than TL 15.

To say there is no dog-fighting presupposes a deep understanding of advanced TLs that we haven't gotten to yet. Just like jump drive; the game needs it, so it exists. There is no working model for Traveller's jump drive at our current TL.
 
2001: A Space Odyssey
2010: The Year We Make Contact

Bonus: 2010 also features an aerobraking scene to avoid using fuel in order to decelerate the Leonov into orbit around Jupiter on course for Io and Discovery.

Granted, these films use nuclear thermal rocketry, rather than M-Drives ... but the physics involved that dictate why the maneuvers are done remains the same.
Cool, I'll have to watch 2001 again, haven't seen it for a long time.
 
Thermodynamics.

You miss the point about no dogfighting in Traveller - no edition has yet dumped Newtonian movement (although MegaTraveller came laughably close) and MgT is trying its best because they want Star Wars fighters in their Traveller universe - the OTU so far remains Newtonian so no dogfighting.
 
Thermodynamics.

You miss the point about no dogfighting in Traveller - no edition has yet dumped Newtonian movement (although MegaTraveller came laughably close) and MgT is trying its best because they want Star Wars fighters in their Traveller universe - the OTU so far remains Newtonian so no dogfighting.
I get the point, I just don't care. I don't use the OTU because it's not the story I want to tell. I thought I could reconcile the "turn around and burn" thing in MTU, but so far it seems I'm wrong. I'm happy to be wrong about being wrong, though.
 
That’s your opinion. Plenty of thruster type appliances strapped onto virtually every classic ship illustration and deck plan. Just have to change the mindset from reaction only to smokestack first/push second.
No, that's per the rules description of the M-rives. An artists drawing has ZERO to do with the RAW.
 
Are there any non-Traveller based work(s) of fiction, print or film, that use the Traveller M-Drive "accelerate half way there, turn around and decelerate for the other half"?
All Sci-Fi I've read that uses thrust based drives for non FTL travel uses Newtonian physics for getting from A to B. The largest example being Niven's Universe and all the books
 
All Sci-Fi I've read that uses thrust based drives for non FTL travel uses Newtonian physics for getting from A to B. The largest example being Niven's Universe and all the books
Understood on sci-fi that uses thrust based drives, but that's not M drive in the game, is it?
 
For the very latest definition of how the m-drive works then take a look at the new MgT SOM.
In the past it went like this
CT pp tied to m-drive makes thrust, using a certain amount of fuel for each burn.
CT Book 2 has nothing about using fuel per burn for the M Drive. It wasn't designed as a reaction drive that burns fuel
 
Understood on sci-fi that uses thrust based drives, but that's not M drive in the game, is it?
Trav calls it "thrust" to measure the G's of the M drive. "It has 3Gs of "thrust". Some Trav versions use reaction drives. Some don't.
 
How can we say there is no stealth in space when we don't have an actual agreed upon definition of how things work? I would counter that there is stealth in space because there are multiple components required for detection, and each component has its limits. For example, sensors have range, thus a ship that accelerates (a measurable phenomenon) outside of the sensor's range is "stealthy".
Passive IR has no range. At least it encompasses within a solar system
 
I get the point, I just don't care. I don't use the OTU because it's not the story I want to tell. I thought I could reconcile the "turn around and burn" thing in MTU, but so far it seems I'm wrong. I'm happy to be wrong about being wrong, though.
Why can't you reconcile accelerate turn and decelerate?
 
Passive IR has no range. At least it encompasses within a solar system
As I often say, Traveller is a story sim not a space sim.

IMTU that highly disruptive m-drive field messes with all outgoing incidental EM including IR/UV such that detection gets limited to million km or less ranges. That is a deliberate choice for specific game effect.
 
CT Book 2 has nothing about using fuel per burn for the M Drive. It wasn't designed as a reaction drive that burns fuel
The 77 edition does, and interviews with Frank Chadwick and Dave Nilsen have them tell us the reason they went with HEPlaR for TNE is that reaction drives were the intention all along for CT - it's why the HG79 m-drive is a fusion drive that can be used as an energy weapon.

Ships maneuver using reaction drives, referred to as M-Drive or maneuver
drive.


A power plant, to provide power for one trip (internal power, maneuver drive
power, and other necessities) requires fuel in accordance with the formula: 10Pn.
Pn is the power plant size rating, determined from the maximum drive potential table
by cross-referencing power plant letter and hull size. The formula indicates
amount of fuel in tons, and all such fuel is consumed in the process of a normal trip.
A fully fueled power plant will enable a starship an effectively unlimited number of
accelerations (at least 288) if necessary to use the maneuver drive during the trip (as
when miniatures combat is used to resolve a ship to ship encounter).

Fuel is also used by
the maneuver drives of non-starships. When used in such
vessels displacing under 100 tons (ship's boats, shuttles, pinnaces, etc) 10 kilograms
(1/100th of a ton) of fuel is sufficient for 1G of acceleration for 10 minutes.
Note that 288 turns is the equivalent of 48 hours of continuous thrust.
 
Back
Top