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Logistics Ships

I recall some canon (I think) on how the emergency lowberths are actually modelled on livestock lowberths (the size) and always imagined the smaller personal ones were the same tech, just dressed up a little nicer (for confidence in the survival rate
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So, it wouldn't surprise me in the least


Hmm, when did the saga start? And is it over yet? Haven't followed it for ages
 
Hmm, how to model logistics in FFW...

some initial thoughts:

you'd need supply unit counters

how about making the bombardment factor one use, resupply needed to reset

reduce the attack factor by one after each combat

supply units can be gained from certain planets that surrender

supply units can be generated each turn by naval bases and high pop/industrial worlds, they can be moved along the x-boat route or using supply squadrons (more new counters) or tankers or assault squadrons

ships could carry supply units in place of troop counters
 
Redesign the game from the ground up ;)

About the only other advice I can offer is using HIGH GUARD to determine the odds of successfully engaging in combat and surviving combat - little stuff like that.
 
It could be easier to adapt Battlerider, where the counters (though for individual vessels) already track missile use.
 
Originally posted by Bill Cameron:
- What is our continued fascination with tankers? Has oil really infected our thinking that much?
A tanker for Traveller warships IMHO is more similar in role to a tanker aircraft than to tanker ships insofar as it increases their reach for combat missions.
A tanker can enable warships to make "standoff raids" without the need to bring a fuel source under their control. In systems which have only few or just one convenient fuel source (Gas Giant or accessible water/ice), this can be rather essential.
For example, I designed the Iadiadlsiz fleet tanker (in Power Projections) to be able to make two jumps-3 itself, as well as refueling one battleship or battle tender for a jump-3. So you can make a jump-3 "standoff raid" or a jump-6 deep penetration of enemy territory with jump-3 ships.
As constant companions to warships, tankers are unnecessary, I agree. Their roles are more mission-specific.

Regards,

Tobias
 
I always see fuel tenders as specialist fuel collection vehicles.

Scoops and a very large refinery. This makes wilderness resupply a whole lot faster, rather then sending large numbers of small craft scooping which requires far more coordination and time.

If you are just carrying spare fuel then that's a cargo vessel.
 
space is big, even within a system. it can be a long way from a battle scene to a fuel source. I see tankers as freeing up the combatants to be combat ready while the fuel tenders do the mundane housekeeping work.

tankers also enable recovery of combatants immobilized by fuel loss. damage can be repaired but fuel must simply be replaced.
 
Tanker units in Imperium and Dark Nebula could manufacture fuel from stellar atmospheres - technology that the 3rd Imperium seems to be keeping quiet ;)
 
Cherry-picking a few nuggets from the excellent discussion.

Tankers: I think the real purpose of these ships in the TU is to provide the option for rapid transit when you really, really need to minimize your travel time. Harking back to the FFW PBEM, by using tankers the Zhodani were able to "blitz" a few fleets fairly deep into Imperial space. This let their unstreamlined BatRons keep up with the skimmers. The other fleets lagged far to the rear. I don't think there would be a lot of tankers about, and drawing on the FFW boardgame (perilous, I know) there aren't very many in the OTU. But each navy big enough to have a need to move fast - or which thinks it does - will have a few TankerRons around to enable those strike forces.

Hospital ships: Good points about low berths, Bill. I will point out that we still use a few hospital ships today (Google about for the hospital ship Comfort, home-ported in Baltimore[/i] for those situations where we don't yet have the hospital or evac-to-Frankfort capability in place, such as the early stages of the current conflict in Iraq.

I see a possible role for hospital ships in treating those middle-ground cases during long-running planetary operations in order to return these troops to combat status, at least in the early stages before dirtside hospitals are in place, or perhaps on the tail end when they're being evacuated (though at that point, you're probably just tossing them into the low berths as you prepare to scoot). Consider the Zhodani sieges of Efate or Jewell. Sure, you could just freeze these cases until you landed your Army medical teams, but perhaps you could return the soldiers to their units more quickly by treating them. Dunno.

Hospital ships also support disaster relief missions (as the Comfort has done on occaision). ISTR some mention of the IN helping out after a disaster in a JTAS item somewhere.

Still, I think you're probably correct that we're thinking of MASH, or perhaps of the extensive use of hospital ships in WWII.

Consumables: Well, you certainly can't resupply a squadron of Tigresses and their escorts at a lot of worlds in the Marches, for example, so just like the tankers, there is probably a small number of dromedaries to support those times you really need to move fast.

I think the real need for logistics vessels is to support planetside operations. Ground troops in combat go through simply amazing amounts of specialized supplies, and chances are you're shipping that stuff in, at least in the areas the Imperium expects to fight. Sure, you can potentially find food locally, but how about battledress spares? Tankers might provide "secure" havens for refuelling Army areospace fighters in orbit. Might be a small need for orbital repair facilities as well, though I think a case could be made for the Army to actually have a few "jeep carrier" ships to handle these needs. (Boy, there's a curve ball to throw! "Yes, this ship's crew is UA. Got a problem with that?")

Cheers,

John
 
Originally posted by Bill Cameron:
<snip> - Walt Smith at the 'ct starships' Yahoo group posted some logistical rules a few years ago. IIRC, he based them on Beltstrike and other references. I don't recall the precise details, but I do recall they 'fit' my view of things. The materials even took into account 'supply heavy' weapons like missiles. Sadly, the link I have to Walt's pages is dead. Google may be able to resurrect the material though.<snip>
Walt's Traveller site is:

http://users.hartwick.edu/smithw/traveller.htm

Walt's Logistics rules are at:

http://users.hartwick.edu/smithw/fleetlogistics.htm

Please note that while I (and some other people) think Walt's logistics article is interesting, well written, and seems to be about right, Walt considers it a first draft rather than a finished product. I suspect he would appreciate almost any serious look at what he has created, with an eye toward making it better.
 
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