Mimetic paint coating for starships. How much?

[Vargr]

Hi all,

I came up with an idea for a ship I am currently designing. Mimetic outer hull paint jobs.

Basicaly it's a layer of applied plebothnium/handwavium/whatever that allows the external appearance of a ship's hull ot change instantly to pre-determined patterns...sort of like a James Bond car I guess.

How much do you think this should cost? And at what TL would it become avaiable?

The cost should of course depend on the size (tons) of the ship's. Different hull structure formats might chance this price but there's no need to be that nitpicky.

What do you figure is a reasonable price per ton for something like this?

 

[robject]

Hi all,

I came up with an idea for a ship I am currently designing. Mimetic outer hull paint jobs.

Basicaly it's a layer of applied plebothnium/handwavium/whatever that allows the external appearance of a ship's hull ot change instantly to pre-determined patterns...sort of like a James Bond car I guess.

How much do you think this should cost? And at what TL would it become avaiable?

The cost should of course depend on the size (tons) of the ship's. Different hull structure formats might chance this price but there's no need to be that nitpicky.

What do you figure is a reasonable price per ton for something like this?

An advanced electrostatic polymer thingy, eh?

It depends on the tradeoffs, I think. Or, rather, there should be tradeoffs which force designers to decide when this sort of coating is more suited to the ship than other sorts of coatings.

For example, if this is used, then it can't use stealth coatings or reflec, and perhaps it can't even have armor. Or, if it can have armor, then the armor is underneath this "false" hull, which therefore would be fragile to direct attacks... you get the idea. If it fits into this sort of family of tradeoffs, then it can have the same value (and therefore same cost) as the others.

 

[far-trader]

I think I'd approach it the way I recall MT(?) doing it. In that it is (iirc) equal to the MgT Stealth coating. The mimetic capability is just one of the features and methods of working. One that can with a little creative programming allow you to easily create any pattern you want.

There are canon references (as far back as CT iirc) to Corsairs using such a surface to appear as a simple trader until they are nice and close to their prey, then they change their hull to display the appropriate design (Flaming Eye, Skull and Crossed Bones, etc.) as they order the victim to heave to.

And other references imply that this is a basic (no real stealth capability) function of all starship and small craft hulls. Included at no extra cost.

 

[Vargr]

An advanced electrostatic polymer thingy, eh?

Yup. I guess so.

I think I'd approach it the way I recall MT(?) doing it. In that it is (iirc) equal to the MgT Stealth coating. The mimetic capability is just one of the features and methods of working. One that can with a little creative programming allow you to easily create any pattern you want.

I was thinking of something more primitive, less versatile and considerably cheaper.

Not something that is a part of outer hull itself. I envisioned it as a layer of "invisible paint" drawn in a pre-determined pattern on top of the normal hull's paint; it would be activated by some electrical/electronic process and fade away when the power is cut off.

Getting a new pattern would demand removing the original one and "painting" anew. The advantage vs. a hull that is actually mimetic in itself low cost and no need to acctualy fiddle with the outer structure of the hull.

 

[sabredog]

I higher tech version of Microsoft's Surface http://www.microsoft.com/surface/Pages/Experience/Showcase.aspx should do it.

It can be a liquid polymer prayed onto the hull and sealed in under some harder coating to keep it from getting damaged by dust or bird strikes. Link it into the ship's computer and you can have the computer operator input whatever colors/designs he wants. You could use programming skill to write an auto-mimetic camo program to mimic automatically background light and colors as a sort of default.

I'd figure it'd cost about 1% of the hull cost and wouldn't add any volume.

And think of the other uses: sponsors could litter ships with corporate ads, etc..

 

[WarriorKnight]

And think of the other uses: sponsors could litter ships with corporate ads, etc..

In our games its a normal part of the ship.Comes w/it right from the factory.One of our players was changing characters & when the old character was leaving on planetfall he changed the ship's apperance coming in for landing to that of "Maude's Ship of Ill Repute";complete w/Nude's(male & female;which just happen to be the crew ; ) ) ,prices & catchie pharases.Needless to say both the crew & the SPA were not happy.The crewman in question booked the 1st passage out he could find.
About a year later in game time the captain noticed the character's name on the board looking for passage/job & infomed the SPA(anomamosly of course)That he was a smuggler.The character spent the next week being searched(in every way known to man.). He got a message saying "now were even"

 

[sabredog]

I also have a higher tech for of camo film that is starting to be added to battle dress and "stealth" deep recon scout ships used to insert drop troop teams deep behind enemy lines (or spies). It's an active nanotech coating that not only changes colors, but mimics textures (to a certain level - just to add depth to the color patterns by roughing up smooth surfaces to try to match he background) to help the troopers blend in like a sort of high tech Ghillie suit.

The ship version doesn't do the texture thing, but will absorb and reflect back signals to match either the background radiation/light/color patterns...or whatever the EWO operator dials up. The downside to this wonder coating is that once it takes damage it doesn't work anymore. You end up with "shiny spots" radiating off your ship where the coat isn't able to function. Likewise, no power- no stealth. And it doesn't work as well on ships above 400 tons - too big a target to hit with scanners and the coating can't keep up when the freqs. change.

This stuff came up as a result of some reverse engineering the company the players were working for did with an old alien base the players found while doing survey work. The players still don't know the results of the stuff they turned over, but that will come up later in the campaign.