Iris valves

[abomination]

Something occoured to me the other day. Most deck plans feature floor & ceiling mounted iris valves. These are often plonked in the middle of a room. How the hell do you get through them?

Ok getting through one in the floor would be easy enough, although crashing into the deck below would quickly become tiresome. Getting through a ceiling mounted one? Without so much as a ladder? That'd be tricky.

Given that a permanently fixed ladder would be often be right in the way how would it be done?

Some sort of grav field?

 

[Border Reiver]

Ladders.

Trader & Gunboats illustrated them and I've seen references elsewhere too.

 

[jfetters]

Yep. If the Iris valve is adjacent to a wall, then the ladder can be assumed to be mounted there. If the valve is in the middle of a room, then a ladder can be assumed to be mouted on the floor somewhere on the circumference.

 

[Gadrin]

Something occoured to me the other day. Most deck plans feature floor & ceiling mounted iris valves. These are often plonked in the middle of a room. How the hell do you get through them?

Ok getting through one in the floor would be easy enough, although crashing into the deck below would quickly become tiresome. Getting through a ceiling mounted one? Without so much as a ladder? That'd be tricky.

Given that a permanently fixed ladder would be often be right in the way how would it be done?

Some sort of grav field?

:rofl:

Ladder, they just often don't spell everything out because it's another detail they think is obvious; or the art budget was full

Seriously in other space-RPGs I usually go with a little more flair and use those "hover tubes" that Futurama has.

 

[jawillroy]

Ooo! I've an idea: the Iris valve closes on a centrally-mounted pole. Grabbing the pole from the upper level allows you to slide down. Grabbing it from a lower level actuates grav nodes in the pole, and slides you up.

Not really for luxury passenger use, that. Passenger areas would be fitted with lifts IMTU. Good for getting belowdecks in a hurry though.

 

[Gadrin]

I'm surprised no one said the obvious: grav belts !

 

[Andrew Boulton]

You can just see the hatch and ladder in the background:

http://www.travellerrpg.com/CotI/Gallery/images/992/1_corridor-4.jpg

 

[jawillroy]

You can just see the hatch and ladder in the background:

http://www.travellerrpg.com/CotI/Gallery/images/992/1_corridor-4.jpg

AHA! I see it now.

 

[Icosahedron]

Something occoured to me the other day. Most deck plans feature floor & ceiling mounted iris valves. These are often plonked in the middle of a room. How the hell do you get through them?

Ok getting through one in the floor would be easy enough, although crashing into the deck below would quickly become tiresome. Getting through a ceiling mounted one? Without so much as a ladder? That'd be tricky.

Given that a permanently fixed ladder would be often be right in the way how would it be done?

Some sort of grav field?

I asked this very question of a guy drawing deckplans only a few weeks ago. He said that was the way it was done in canon - intimating that if it was good enough for Marc Miller it was good enough for him.
Good enough answer I suppose.

Personally, I don't use canon deckplans - most of them are wrong anyway. I put my hatches by a wall so you can have wall-mounted rungs. I just can't see fifteen men sidestepping a ladder in the middle of a gangway when the klaxon sounds, nor can I see them shooting through the ceiling in a grav field when someone steps on the wrong floor tile - lifts, ladders and hatches should be out of the way. They are when I draw 'em.

 

[minipainter]

I just can't see fifteen men sidestepping a ladder in the middle of a gangway when the klaxon sounds, nor can I see them shooting through the ceiling in a grav field when someone steps on the wrong floor tile - lifts, ladders and hatches should be out of the way. They are when I draw 'em.

thats why I move them in my plans as well except for on one ship where i have an access to a top mounted pinnace that has a colapsable lader mounted on the roof of the cargo hold. The ships history does say that it wasnt a popular design :smirk:

 

[dean]

The gravity controls in the column above and/or below the iris valves and floor hatches are set to 33% normal, so you sink to the next level down if you just stand there and if you jump vigorously from the deck below, you can shoot right through to the next level up....

 

[Ishmael]

in zero - G, we don't need no steenkin' ladders... just push off and float
none of this sissy grav-tech stuff

ladders are for climbing 'down' in a rotating habitat

 

[Icosahedron]

The gravity controls in the column above and/or below the iris valves and floor hatches are set to 33% normal, so you sink to the next level down if you just stand there and if you jump vigorously from the deck below, you can shoot right through to the next level up....

Can't picture it precisely, but I suspect 33% would be too strong. Lunar gravity is 1/6, and I thnk maybe you'd need less than that. I'll stick with ladders and lifts though.

 

[Mithras]

Hey man, to me, every Traveller ship looks like the Nostromo:

Check out an iris valve to upper and lower decks:

Be cool!

 

[Mithras]

Unfortunately I failed to Google up a photo of the actual iris valve in the Dallas-gets-eaten-in-the-ventilation-shaft-sequence. But its there!

So ... what came first? The iris valves in Traveller, or the 'iris valve' in Alien? Hmmmm

 

[Supplement Four]

Unfortunately I failed to Google up a photo of the actual iris valve in the Dallas-gets-eaten-in-the-ventilation-shaft-sequence. But its there!

So ... what came first? The iris valves in Traveller, or the 'iris valve' in Alien? Hmmmm

Alien came out in 1979. Traveller came out in 1977.

 

[Fritz_Brown]

Ooo! I've an idea: the Iris valve closes on a centrally-mounted pole. Grabbing the pole from the upper level allows you to slide down. Grabbing it from a lower level actuates grav nodes in the pole, and slides you up.

And, in the meantime, it can be used for entertainment purposes... :smirk:

 

[far-trader]

And, in the meantime, it can be used for entertainment purposes... :smirk:

That was my exact same thought :smirk: but I didn't go there (first).

I think we're treading the "trouble" line :devil:

Wait! I've got a save. Sorta...

...I know I've read a description of an iris valve fucntioning in some sci-fi story. Maybe Golden-Age? But I just can't quite peg it. Starship Troopers? This is bugging me now :nonono:

 

[Mithras]

When were iris valves mentioned though? Traders & Gunboats? That was 1980.

Not that there can't be cross-overs. If you look at the Sulaco and dropship in Aliens, damn it if it doesn't fit the stats in a broad sense for the Type C Mercenary Cruiser: two dropships, each capable of dropping a squad and AFV. Always thought Cameron had a copy of Traveller in his hand when he wrote that up.

Alien came out in 1979. Traveller came out in 1977.

 

[Mithras]

I've not read ST, but don't the suits have iris valve closures in the limbs that close, severing the limb and retaining suit integrity if a limb gets shot?

...I know I've read a description of an iris valve fucntioning in some sci-fi story. Maybe Golden-Age? But I just can't quite peg it. Starship Troopers? This is bugging me now :nonono: