Jump Capable Small Craft
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GypsyComet
SOC-14 1K
None ever explicitly stated that I'm aware of. The implicit reason is that jump fields below a certain volume are not as stable (or not stable at all, or not creatable, depending on your take). As such, the 100 dton hull is the smallest "possible" starship.
TNE broke this rule and allowed for smaller starships, but the numbers will still limit you to larger hulls for most purposes unless you change other things like the duration of jumps. Passenger service in particular will require a lot of room if trip times stay at a week plus.
Sub-100 dton jump ships do not inherently break the background, interestingly enough, but do require that a few questions be answered if you continue to use existing designs. Most of these questions start with "why".
The other thing you'd need to do is examine the assumptions of your ship design rules of choice. Do you want jump-capable small ships to require the 20-ton bridge (under some systems)? That will pretty much guaranty that jump ships start at 35+ tons (with drives, fuel and computer). Does drive and fuel volume continue on the same curve for jump drives, or does it bottom out at the equiv of J-1 on a 100-dton ship? There will be a few others, but these are the two that will determine how economic, and thus how common, such small ships are.
TNE broke this rule and allowed for smaller starships, but the numbers will still limit you to larger hulls for most purposes unless you change other things like the duration of jumps. Passenger service in particular will require a lot of room if trip times stay at a week plus.
Sub-100 dton jump ships do not inherently break the background, interestingly enough, but do require that a few questions be answered if you continue to use existing designs. Most of these questions start with "why".
The other thing you'd need to do is examine the assumptions of your ship design rules of choice. Do you want jump-capable small ships to require the 20-ton bridge (under some systems)? That will pretty much guaranty that jump ships start at 35+ tons (with drives, fuel and computer). Does drive and fuel volume continue on the same curve for jump drives, or does it bottom out at the equiv of J-1 on a 100-dton ship? There will be a few others, but these are the two that will determine how economic, and thus how common, such small ships are.
mike wightman
SOC-14 10K
Then there is the jump torpedo from CT 1st edition and Adventure 4: Leviathan 
GypsyComet
SOC-14 1K
Yes, though the first edition of CT had no setting attached, and Leviathan was written outside GDW. Jump Torps are now, IIRC, considered no longer part of the Third Imperium setting.
The existence of "jump torpedoes" in a setting that still maintains the 100-ton minimum for "ships" does suggest that the reason for the 100-ton minimum has more to do with smaller jump bubbles not being safe for living beings.
The existence of "jump torpedoes" in a setting that still maintains the 100-ton minimum for "ships" does suggest that the reason for the 100-ton minimum has more to do with smaller jump bubbles not being safe for living beings.
fredofmars
SOC-12
Some people (including me) have tried to deal with the 100 dton minimum requirement for jumping small craft by adding a jump net system to provide for the 100 dton volume regardless of the actual size of the small craft. The link to my article on using jump nets is below (though it is on JTAS which is a for-pay site). I have a partially complete version of a jump torpedo design using this workaround. Perhaps I will finish it and post it.
<A HREF="http://jtas.sjgames.com/login/archives/2002/02.05.html">Jump Nets</A>: My
variant article on how to design and use jump nets in a Traveller universe,
published in the 5 Feb 2002 issue of the <I>Journal of the Travellers' Aid
Society</I>.
<A HREF="http://jtas.sjgames.com/login/archives/2002/02.05.html">Jump Nets</A>: My
variant article on how to design and use jump nets in a Traveller universe,
published in the 5 Feb 2002 issue of the <I>Journal of the Travellers' Aid
Society</I>.
I've always waved my hands in the air about jump torpedos. Assuming the jump field can't be stabilized below 100 dt, then a jump torpedo might never make it out of jumpspace. However, in a pinch it's a better message carrier than nothing at all.
I also decided that at TL16 and up, jump fields for smaller craft could be made stable. At a high enough TL, jump pods -- essentially battle dress with a jump drive -- could be built.
I also decided that at TL16 and up, jump fields for smaller craft could be made stable. At a high enough TL, jump pods -- essentially battle dress with a jump drive -- could be built.
Fritz_Brown
Super Moderator
Without my books in front of me, Where does TL16 sit in CT? Is that one below matter transport? Cause, robject, BD with jump would be awesome for Generals and it would suck big time for the grunt.
I have high-TL jump drives that work on the micro- scale (physics change at significantly lower power levels). This means I have a jump missile that is very nasty as a weapon, as it does not have a mechanism for compensating for the end-jump energy issues - resulting in an extremely efficient conversion of matter to energy.
I have high-TL jump drives that work on the micro- scale (physics change at significantly lower power levels). This means I have a jump missile that is very nasty as a weapon, as it does not have a mechanism for compensating for the end-jump energy issues - resulting in an extremely efficient conversion of matter to energy.
mike wightman
SOC-14 10K
How do you predict where the target will be in a weeks time for the missile to hit
But, seriously, at TL21+ why not have "psionic" missiles that can teleport inside the target instantly?
They could be targeted by "psionic" fire control computers with clairvoyance.
Oh, and matter transport begins at TL16 in CT...
But, seriously, at TL21+ why not have "psionic" missiles that can teleport inside the target instantly?
They could be targeted by "psionic" fire control computers with clairvoyance.
Oh, and matter transport begins at TL16 in CT...
mike wightman
SOC-14 10K
Yeh, but jumps take a week. Teleportation is much faster.
As I have posted somewhere else, IMTU "psionics" are a result of TL21+ nano-tech, or bio-tech (or both ) machines that can access the higher dimensions that Dave Nilsen has mentioned.
TL21+ machines IMTU can therefore have "psionic" components - much like the Ancients robots and androids can.
Again IMTU, humans discoverd psionic abilities when exposure to jump or Ancient artifacts activate the machinery hidden within human cells as junk DNA, non-functional organelles and the like.
As I have posted somewhere else, IMTU "psionics" are a result of TL21+ nano-tech, or bio-tech (or both
) machines that can access the higher dimensions that Dave Nilsen has mentioned.TL21+ machines IMTU can therefore have "psionic" components - much like the Ancients robots and androids can.
Again IMTU, humans discoverd psionic abilities when exposure to jump or Ancient artifacts activate the machinery hidden within human cells as junk DNA, non-functional organelles and the like.
I don't remember the jump torpedo incident, but the first referee I played under had a Jump Missle platform. You set up in a adjacent hex to your target. The platform had robot crew programmed to jump in, attack specified targets then jump out. You timed your attack to jump say a hour after the platform jumped and to another area of the target system. Hopefully the missle platform had created enough of a diversion to allow you to acheive your goal. The key was that with a full load of missles it was a 200 tn unit and empty, only 100 tn.
Aside from that, why would you want something smaller than 100 tons? Figure out how big a 100 ton vessel would be. 100 tons = 1350 kl. In other words 1350 cubic meters if I remember my metric system right. You have to live in this area for a week during jump. This is not much more than a cube 11 meters per side (1331 kl). How much of that is actual structure and how much is living area? Suppose you have a standard on 3 meters between decks giving 3 decks with the rest going into structure. Take a football field and try to live in 1/3 of the area between the 10 & 20 yardlines for a week. That is a rough estimate of your usable living space for a 100 tn ship.
Aside from that, why would you want something smaller than 100 tons? Figure out how big a 100 ton vessel would be. 100 tons = 1350 kl. In other words 1350 cubic meters if I remember my metric system right. You have to live in this area for a week during jump. This is not much more than a cube 11 meters per side (1331 kl). How much of that is actual structure and how much is living area? Suppose you have a standard on 3 meters between decks giving 3 decks with the rest going into structure. Take a football field and try to live in 1/3 of the area between the 10 & 20 yardlines for a week. That is a rough estimate of your usable living space for a 100 tn ship.
I did some quick checking on some site that I ran across that just does conversions for you(conversions.com I think) 100 dtons =13.5 kl = 17.66 cubic yards = 476.75 cubic feet
Estimate at least 50% of that will be taken up by non-accessable space leaves you a cube 6.2 feet on a side to live in. Still want a smaller than 100 ton jump capable ship?
Estimate at least 50% of that will be taken up by non-accessable space leaves you a cube 6.2 feet on a side to live in. Still want a smaller than 100 ton jump capable ship?
Actually, if you think about it, you may be a week in the future, but the time it took you to jump is nearly instantaneous. This is how Traveller dealt with the Flash Forward effect of faster-than-light travel. I can't remember where I saw this, but if hard pressed, I can prolly dig it up. So, to continue your football metaphor, yes, i can stay between the 10 and 13.333 yard lines for the few hours it took to get out of the jump-sphere (100 diameters) jump, and then back in.
mike wightman
SOC-14 10K
100dt is 1350kl...
BetterThanLife
SOC-14 1K
I have never seen anything that says that there is a relative time difference and you spend less than a week aboard the ship. It certainly isn't in the CT Rule books, MT Rulebooks, T20 Rulebooks, Any of the dozens of supplements, adventures, or Challange Magazines I have on hand.
Add the fact that starships have staterooms, implies that you will be on the starship for a significant duration.
100dt is 1350kl...
</font>[/QUOTE]Sigh... You are so right. That's what happens when you come home after the closing shift and go to the computer instead of going to bed. 13.5 Kl = 1 dton So we try it again. a cube 28.75 feet per side which can roughly equal 3 decks with the standard of 3 meters high... 3 rooms about 25 by 25 by 12 feet high of usable space = 22,500 cubic feet x 2 = 45000 cubic feet compared with 47675... which means those 3 compartments = 47% of your original 100 dtons. Out of which you still have to take any cargo that you may carry.
Not as cramped I first thought, but still not very roomy. Trust me, having spent about 3 years living on the Enterprise and the Nimitz at sea, that isn't much living space. I understand that subs and destroyers are even more cramped and confining.
RainOfSteel
SOC-14 1K
<shuffles feet />
Ok, I'll bite, what's the "flash forward" of FTL?
Ok, I'll bite, what's the "flash forward" of FTL?
starwaster2
SOC-5
I think he's confused. There is no such issue with jump drive mentioned in canon that would require dealing with.
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