Low Tech STL ships

[shield]

Does anyone have stats / ideas for TL7-8 STL in-system ships. I have the ones from Hardtimes / challenge 40something and the Deam files.

Several worlds IMTU have TL8 infrastructure and can build ships. I am also looking for a low grade TL8 SDB to sell to a local TED (to divert his attention elsewhere and use up his industrial base)

Cheers
Richard

 

[mike wightman]

I haven't got TNE stats for them, but I did find some "real world" examples of low TL battleships in an earlier thread (just in case you missed it ).

 

[fredofmars]

I have some TL7 and TL8 designs on my Web site. The large majority are CT/HG designs, so would have to be adapted for TNE use. Let me know if you decide to use any of them.

http://www.geocities.com/fredofmars/designs.htm

- Joseph

 

[wesleybrucecanberra]

I've studyed some TL 7-8 L5 stuff and the mini magnetosphere plasma sail. A super light sail type drive where the sail is just a plasma. I'll see what I can work up. I'm new to Traveller 20, only have the lite version untill next pay. But I could do a Fire Fusion and steel version. That'll take a week or so. I also have a TNE minelayer. A nasty little critter.

 

[Badbru]

Richard,
The biggest problem I faced at these TL's was the lack of decent sensors and maneuver drive.
Active/passive EMS doesn't start untill TL A. At TL 8 the biggest active is a 2hex/60,000km Radar, and it's BIG. You can go for Folding HRT but High res thermal's not as good as Passive EMS and folding sensors arrays represent their own problems.

As for maneuver drive/sub light the best FF&S one at TL 8 is AZHRAE in Rocket mode. I've had difficultly using these in designs due to the fuel use.

I did design a 200Dt SDB at TL 9 if you're interested I could post it up. It has a 1g Fusion rocket for thrust and a fixed 2hex HRT but actually fights with two 5Dt remote vehicles also with fusion rockets and HRT but 2g and 1 hex each loaded with two missiles. I found this to be the best compromise as the armed Drones increase the sensor range of the SDB and are slightly faster.
I initially hoped it would be cheap and nasty, alas it turned out to be neither but still could be a threat to some civilian vessels if used correctly.

On the whole though I think TL 7 & 8 is just a bit too low. At these levels the respective governments would be better served (IMHO) by building small, solar powered, missile armed, and sensor equiped orbital defense platforms laser comm linked to dirtside defense centers equiped with MFD's.

 

[shield]

Badbru,

Unfortunately my class B port is TL8 (high TL stuff being used elsewhere). My PE aim to sell the SDB to a TED to gain his assistance so it does not have to be very good, just enough to impress a TED on a TL6 world, and since they plan to topple him later, its probably better if its not too good. And the TED wants a ship not a satellite (probably so he can have flights in it).

Yes, the sensors will be at best 2hex, a TL8 laser only has a range of about 1 hex anyway. The SDB will be orbit only (friendly PE will do the maint - trust us we are your friend). The drive will probably be something crude like a TL8 Fission Thermal Rocket (from Peter Grey's expanded thruster table on the TNE mailing list or a MPD drive from Hardtimes). At best the SDB will be short range and 1G (if it gets to the nearest planet it will sell).

I have a spreadsheet for a TL8 shuttle, so I will modify that.

Thanks for everybody's help

Cheers
Richard

 

[Badbru]

Ok Richard that sheds some new light on it.

How about then an orbital base station then? But, market it to him as an "Orbital Palace" from which he can rule the world (Muhahhahaaaa) Doesn't need to be too flash, perhaps a few cutter modules strung together. Then sell him some much smaller, easier to manufacture, (and suggest heavily to him easier to duplicate) interface assault shuttles, or mere shuttles. That way you can leave an electronic back door into the computer center of his station so when the time comes to topple him: instant command paralysis.

I suggest this because the other thing I just remembered is the lack of contragrav and artificial gravity at less than TL9.

 

[Antony]

I don't know if it will be any use to you but I have recently uploaded a TL7 slow merchant to my web site. Wagoneer class, you can find her at
www.skaran.net/Banners/equipment/Craft/Misc/wagoneer.html

With a maximum of 0.3829 G Turns of fuel available obviously she will mostly coast. I also have a couple of TL6 and TL7 spaceplanes on site.

All craft were done with FF&S1

 

[shield]

Anthony / badbru

The idea of the orbiting palace is good, might be able to salvage one of those ring labships and fit it out with TL8 stuff, but keep the grav plates. The PE can sell him a couple of little renegade space planes. I think he will still want the ship. All this TL8 spaceships will tax his TL8 relic industrial base.

Anthony - thanks will look for those low tech ships.

The PEs plan is to sell the TED TL8 consumer goods in exchange for his TL6 industrial output (trains, refineries, trucks etc.) to allow the PE to upgrade a more useful friendly TL4 world. The PE will have a good exchange rate. The PE can sell the consumer goods to his population (he is in the middle of a recession and needs increased popularity). The PE will then upgrade his TL8 light indsutry to allow more consumer goods to be produced.

If he plays ball, the PE will slowly change his regimes operating methods. If he acts up they will cut off his consumer goods. His economy is now offworld supported and will collapse. The people and the industrialists will force him out of office (or atleast give the PE support in a raid). Anyone who has read the foundation novels will recognise the tactics used to subvert the Republic of Korell (Hober Mallow)

Cheers
Richard

 

[wesleybrucecanberra]

RichardP said:
>The idea of the orbiting palace is good, might be >able to salvage one of those ring labships and fit >it out with TL8 stuff, but keep the grav plates.

I thought the whole idea with the lab ship was you could spin it up to get centrifugal gravity without the gravitics. I think the idea was that gravitic tecnology messed up some sensor work on anchents toys.

 

[shield]

Yes, the labship can be spun up if the artifical grav interferes with the experiments, but the TEd will probably feel better with artifical grav, so just we will just turn the G plates on for him

Cheers
Richard

 

[wesleybrucecanberra]

badbru said:
The biggest problem I faced at these TL's was the lack of decent sensors and manoeuvre drive.

Try these little tricks:
Synthetic aperture fighter wings. By spacing your fighters out a few kilometres and synchronising their flight systems and sensors. You get one giant array that can track targets at very great distances. Resolution is unchanged but the tactic could add 2d6 on to passive range.

Grab tanks.
The catch with rockets is fuel endurance so why not create two classes of craft. A fighter or SDB and a fast Drop tank boat. The fighting boat swings round and grabs the tank in a nose grapple (ram) accelerates at 0.5G the fuel would drain into the fighting ships tanks in seconds and then toss the empty and its back in the fight.

Junk pile fighter.
The space station is space junk but there’s tons of it still up there so lets use it. Plant sensors on every chunk up to two tons, making a big array. Plant missile racks in any nook or cranny, add a drive, bunks, weapons and fire control to the biggest chunk of junk and include a escape pod so after the first 15 minutes they can get the hell out of there. The next biggest chunk of junk then takes over. If all else fails stick a nuke on a great lump of superdense steel and add a drive. Ram it into the enemy. To kill the drive or nuke they need to burn through several sheets of SD scrap. When the nuke goes off they get fragged in a big way.