Just started with Cepheus. 10,000 ton freighter

[AnotherDilbert]

In Cepheus freight is paid by the # parsecs carried not time. So this is the most efficient means for carrying freight over 1, 2 or 3 parsecs. No need for a J2 or J3 drive & PP and the huge dedicated fuel tanks that are useless during J1 runs.

That makes high-jump ships much more efficient, as you transport a lot more cargoes per year. Making a 3 Pc run in two weeks, instead of six weeks, you make three times as much money.

 

[Spinward Flow]

Higer jumps allow you to be more picky in your ports of call, and to carry those cargoes too (probably for a premium price, mostly in speculation), while, if, as you sway, they carry collapsible tanks in their cargo space, they can use their full cargo when performing J1.

This is one of the KEY INSIGHTS of my research into J2 and J3 Clipper ships, along with double jumping J2+2 and J2+3 Long Traders. Quicker transits make for faster turnarounds on speculative goods, not to mention more favorable biases in arbitrage between buy and sell points.

J1 merchant work really is mostly about selling tickets (passengers and cargo).
J2 merchant work substantially depends on selling tickets as well, but can realize some windfalls (occasionally) from speculative goods arbitrage.
J2+2 is kind of the borderline inflection point between selling tickets and becoming a speculative goods dealer.
J3 merchant work transitions into being "a different game" where speculative goods are the primary profit center, with selling tickets on the side.

Even if freight paid per jump, and so double for 2 jumps, speculative cargo (one of the main source of income in most merchants) goes per Port of Call, and while calling every 2 or 3 jumps (as you suggest) may give you the same money for freight, it will not for speculative cargoes.

@McPerth is completely correct with this analysis.

I'd also put some staterooms for passengers if they are for regular schedules, as they give you some more money per ton than freight if they are full, and if they mostly jump among decent population worlds (as they are the ones with better starposts, as I understand from your comments, they are likely to be full at most jumps.

Something of a roleplaying, rather than a balance sheet, benefit of having at least SOME passenger capacity (even if it's just 2) is that if you ship is "pure cargo" then you're basically driving a glorified box truck between the stars (or words to that effect). However, by adding even a limited passenger capacity, you make a variety of story hooks and patron encounters possible ... such as the industrialist/entrepreneur who is traveling with their prototype to another star system seeking investors in their venture to enable the acquisition of capital to expend on production facilities.

There are going to be certain cargoes that will need to be "accompanied by passengers" for reasons various and sundry. I know that the RAW doesn't reflect that reality (per se), but removing passengers entirely from a starship design has a variety of "indirect economic knock on effects" that can make a starship class "a LOT less interesting" to use as an ACS in a campaign setting. For the truly large bulk freighters (in the BCS category), things change yet again, because then you're up into the megacorp territory and the starship is "just a transport" for goods (and/or people).

 

[Marcatlas]

That makes high-jump ships much more efficient, as you transport a lot more cargoes per year. Making a 3 Pc run in two weeks, instead of six weeks, you make three times as much money.

ONLY if they are only doing only high jump routes. Otherwise they are more expensive

 

[Marcatlas]

This will limit their usefulness to very specific round trips or small clusters...


Then it's clear I missread it...

I'd suggest you to specify it to avoid others to do the same


Except for perishable/urgent cargoes and passengers...

Higer jumps allow you to be more picky in your ports of call, and to carry those cargoes too (probably for a premium price, mostly in speculation), while, if, as you sway, they carry collapsible tanks in their cargo space, they can use their full cargo when performing J1.

Even if freight paid per jump, and so double for 2 jumps, speculative cargo (one of the main source of income in most merchants) goes per Port of Call, and while calling every 2 or 3 jumps (as you suggest) may give you the same money for freight, it will not for speculative cargoes.

I'd also put some staterooms for passengers if they are for regular schedules, as they give you some more money per ton than freight if they are full, and if they mostly jump among decent population worlds (as they are the ones with better starposts, as I understand from your comments, they are likely to be full at most jumps.

In general, I see it a useful design for such adjacent (or even at J2, less so at J3) pairs/clusters of planets with good starports, but not so good as adventure ship.

So, a good background ship, but not the one I'd like to have with my character (personal opinion, of course, YMMV). Some staterooms might also allow (from gaming prespective) to be the scenario of an adventure itself, if something happens on it while the players are its passengers.

This will limit their usefulness to very specific round trips or small clusters...


Then it's clear I missread it...

I'd suggest you to specify it to avoid others to do the same


Except for perishable/urgent cargoes and passengers...

Higer jumps allow you to be more picky in your ports of call, and to carry those cargoes too (probably for a premium price, mostly in speculation), while, if, as you sway, they carry collapsible tanks in their cargo space, they can use their full cargo when performing J1.

Even if freight paid per jump, and so double for 2 jumps, speculative cargo (one of the main source of income in most merchants) goes per Port of Call, and while calling every 2 or 3 jumps (as you suggest) may give you the same money for freight, it will not for speculative cargoes.

I'd also put some staterooms for passengers if they are for regular schedules, as they give you some more money per ton than freight if they are full, and if they mostly jump among decent population worlds (as they are the ones with better starposts, as I understand from your comments, they are likely to be full at most jumps.

In general, I see it a useful design for such adjacent (or even at J2, less so at J3) pairs/clusters of planets with good starports, but not so good as adventure ship.

So, a good background ship, but not the one I'd like to have with my character (personal opinion, of course, YMMV). Some staterooms might also allow (from gaming prespective) to be the scenario of an adventure itself, if something happens on it while the players are its passengers.

Can't get Quote working.

1: Cepheus Deluxe has more A & B's because of gen rules.
2: This isn't a spec ship nor a ship adventurers own. It's for Cargo on contract via established routes. Like in the real world. Although adventurers could prey on them.

 

[Spinward Flow]

This isn't a spec ship nor a ship adventurers own.

Ships that appear in the backdrop as a part of the setting have relevance and importance too. Even if they're just "showpieces" in a campaign, they're still an important bit of texture that helps to make a campaign setting "come alive" for the Referee and Players.

It's for Cargo on contract via established routes. Like in the real world.

So, basically ... a glorified box truck that just goes around making deliveries.
Hey, don't knock it ... someone's got to be doing it.

Although adventurers could prey on them.

Alternatively ... ... someone could be using one to smuggle contraband past local world customs enforcement ... and the Players get hired to figure out how the smugglers are operating to bust up the ring.

Still keeps the ship class as a backdrop setting for an "adventure" but uses one as a location rather than as a target.



Or ...

You could be looking at a specific ship that was bought on bank loans ... and the operator started skipping payments.
Enter the Players Starship Repo Team.

Point being, when you turn a 10k starship into a "prop" in your campaign, you can do a lot more things with it than get into a fist gun cannon turret fight with it.

 

[Condottiere]

So there's a camera team on the side, which the pilot doesn't notice.

And since it's now been televised, I find it doubtful that the pilot is going to be employable in private service.

 

[Grav_Moped]

Are you sure?
Try the counterfactual then.

Makes more sense if it's longer runs made up of sequential J-1s. These ships aren't trading at each stop; instead, they're slow boats long-hauling non-time-critical cargo in the least-expensive way available.

 

[Grav_Moped]

ONLY if they are only doing only high jump routes. Otherwise they are more expensive

Yep. Keep the high-jump ships on routes -- or, more likely, world pairs -- that can use (or need) their maximum range consistently. Cross-load from them to more-efficient lower-Jn ships for the rest of the trip, if needed.

 

[kilemall]

So there's a camera team on the side, which the pilot doesn't notice.

And since it's now been televised, I find it doubtful that the pilot is going to be employable in private service.

Depends. Questionable operations people won’t like him sure, but owner wasn’t paying bills and clearly was having the plane flown to avoid seizure. I think many will understand his turning on the ‘patron’ when being misled as to the state of the plane.

 

[Spinward Flow]

Yep. Keep the high-jump ships on routes -- or, more likely, world pairs -- that can use (or need) their maximum range consistently. Cross-load from them to more-efficient lower-Jn ships for the rest of the trip, if needed.

Classic "hub and spoke" type of operation.

 

[Marcatlas]

Yep. Keep the high-jump ships on routes -- or, more likely, world pairs -- that can use (or need) their maximum range consistently. Cross-load from them to more-efficient lower-Jn ships for the rest of the trip, if needed.

Yes, that's what the basic math says too. The only way to economically move the freight around a fairly large number of systems

 

[AnotherDilbert]

ONLY if they are only doing only high jump routes. Otherwise they are more expensive

Absolutely agreed, but high-tech, high-pop worlds with massive trade tend to be non-adjacent, with some notable exceptions.

In many systems you can build flexible ships with external loads and drop tanks that can get the most out of the expensive jump drive at several distances, but I don't know about that in Cepheus. You generally pay a price for that though, so the ship is even more expensive...

 

[Independence Games]

I may be mistaking my systems, but aren't ships greater than 2,000 tons hard to get through jump or whatever they use?

That sounds like you are mistaking Cepheus Engine for the Zimm Drive used in Clement Sector.

 

[McPerth]

This isn't a spec ship nor a ship adventurers own. It's for Cargo on contract via established routes. Like in the real world.

Nonetheless, I keep thinking some passenger capacity would be good for it. They give you some more money per ton, mostly if you can maximize your stewards by puting just enough staterooms for they to serve.

Serving those established lines among good trade planets makes you nearly sure you get the palces full.