Hydrogen Fueled Jump Drives

[creativehum]

...and have unrefined fuel cause problems other than misjump: reduced M drive potential, computer failure (dirty power, don'tcha know), etc.

Just a note:

In Book 2 the use of unrefined fuel already increases chances of failure for jump drive, maneuver drive, and power plant. So, I utterly agree with you on this.

It's these kinds of threats that I see sadly lost once one implements the purifier rules from Book 5.

Tell me more about how you see the fuel interacting with the computer though!

 

[welsh]

Simply that unrefined fuel leads to unreliable power plant output. This has always been my explanation for why it increases the risk of misjump.

"Dirty power" is supposedly a leading cause of computer problems. Now, perhaps the ship has a UPS for its computer to get around this ... but why would you have a UPS, if you had reliable fusion power? I would say that any of the ship's delicate electronics could be harmed or at least could suffer from glitches and failures as a result of dirty power. Navy and Scout ships would be exempt ... you'd expect them to have tougher systems.

 

[creativehum]

I want to say quickly I don"t think any of these various options are "right" or realistic. We're dealing with a handwavium technology in a setting with setting details that contradict each other with each new, published book.

Each Referee is responsible for figuring out what he or she finds interesting amend compelling in terms of adventure potential for PCs. I'm addressing the details that will create the kind of setting that turns me on.

Justifications and things that "make sense" can be created from all sorts of pieces and details lying around any SF setting. The key is, any Referee can cobble together something that "makes sense enough" to justify the kind of setting they want.

 

[kilemall]

But if it were a qualifying requirement for a starport rating, then a desert world with no GGs in the system would be significantly less likely to have a class-A starport, and this is not the case. In fact the starport class is entirely random, being the first thing we roll for in system generation.

I see this as an arbitrary rule developed to facilitate TCS play, without bogging players down in nasty, boring logistics. The money to be made in the fuel business is better estimated based on port trade, I think.

The economics here are kind of broken. The quickest solution is to increase the annual maintenance costs for ships that use unrefined fuel, and have unrefined fuel cause problems other than misjump: reduced M drive potential, computer failure (dirty power, don'tcha know), etc.

I would agree that any TCS rule should be viewed as first a campaign support and secondarily a world view item if it makes sense.

The replenishment rate that I postulate is in proportion to the likely endpoint trade level, in addition to being native support for such services.

If one feels there is that much more trade or through traffic to support then the replenishment rate I propose, well then increase it to that level.

Doesn't appear broken to me, because when you get to national defense and subsidized facilities, commercial economics go out the window.

Besides, any planetary elite worth it's salt will want the fuel to be available for, er, 'governmental and strategic personnel relocation' in event of disaster.

I still think refined fuel only available for commercial vessels is the way to go to resolve the economics issue- like unleaded gasoline or ethanol regs here in the States.

Or perhaps it is a taxation mechanism- 50 Cr of those 500 Cr per ton prices go to satisfying the naval tax?

Now one could go the other way, say the empire in question was more laissez-faire/trade oriented.

So all million plus tons of that fuel is unrefined and everyone totes their purifiers around with them.

Well then, fuel costs are such that you could have a 900 Cr per parsec cargo hauling rate standard.

How much more trade would be stimulated by a 10% reduction in rates?

Plus, any planetary surrender with the fuel intact would still involve the conquering fleet having to take on the fuel then purify it. That would take extra hours, hours they may or may not have.

Not to mention if they have foolishly not provided enough integral purification or it has been destroyed in battle.

Of course the reverse obtains, a defending fleet will also be delayed fueling at friendly planets, perhaps when hours matter to beat the invaders to key systems or refuel points.

So, a lot of how this would play out depends on the resolution of commercial interests lowering costs vs. refined fuel franchisees vs. naval logistics/strategic fleet speed doctrine.

Heh, perhaps that is the dividing line between frontier space and civilized space- frontier starports all have unrefined fuel only, everyone has purifiers and the rates are cargo 900 Cr per ton per parsec. This stimulates trade and slows down invaders.

Civilized space is refined/1000 Cr per ton/parsec and rapid internal fleet movement, and the local commercial traffic is stymied without a 'proper' starport.

 

[kilemall]

I want to say quickly I don"t think any of these various options are "right" or realistic. We're dealing with a handwavium technology in a setting with setting details that contradict each other with each new, published book.

Each Referee is responsible for figuring out what he or she finds interesting amend compelling in terms of adventure potential for PCs. I'm addressing the details that will create the kind of setting that turns me on.

Justifications and things that "make sense" can be created from all sorts of pieces and details lying around any SF setting. The key is, any Referee can cobble together something that "makes sense enough" to justify the kind of setting they want.

This consideration should always be overriding.

I suppose it only matters to 'get the rules right' for OTU material publishers.