Non-Commerce, Non-Military Ships
- Thread starter coldwar
- Start date
Scout and survey ships are non-commerce, but recon ships in a time of war. Lab ships. Safari ships are basically a Yacht for hunting. Couriers don't need to be commercial - if they are transportting dignitaries. How about the Family Starship (a.k.a. the LoneStar Mobile) Is there an RV of starships?
Dameon
Dameon
IMHO, there should be a number of styles of yachts available running the range of tunnage and performance. Some would be streamlined, others not. Some capable of wilderness refueling, others not. There shouldn't be any limit to the options available until you get into military type hardware.
You should have your cigarette boats, fast with very sparse accomodations, up to your Britannias, Sequoias, or Potomacs; sizable, slow, with rare wood inlays and guilded interiors. Some could even be outfitted para-military style, depending on the buyer's connections and bank account.
I would expect a number of yacht hulls to be based on the canon designs; I'm really surprised there aren't more variations on those themes, meeting the plethora of possible consumer needs.
You should have your cigarette boats, fast with very sparse accomodations, up to your Britannias, Sequoias, or Potomacs; sizable, slow, with rare wood inlays and guilded interiors. Some could even be outfitted para-military style, depending on the buyer's connections and bank account.
I would expect a number of yacht hulls to be based on the canon designs; I'm really surprised there aren't more variations on those themes, meeting the plethora of possible consumer needs.
far-trader
SOC-14 10K
How about disaster relief ships? There was a thread a while back about them iirc. Hospital ships, humanitarian supply carriers, and refugee resettlement ships (probably huge bulk low berth transports).
Prisoner transports and the supply ships for those prison worlds might apply too.
EDIT - Just noticed that while the heading is "non-com non-mil" you also mention "private" in the first post. The above probably fit the non-com non-mil" bit but not likely the "private" bit in most cases.
Prisoner transports and the supply ships for those prison worlds might apply too.
EDIT - Just noticed that while the heading is "non-com non-mil" you also mention "private" in the first post. The above probably fit the non-com non-mil" bit but not likely the "private" bit in most cases.
I'm still thinking the Family RV Starship would be a hit...
far-trader
SOC-14 10K
I was going to say RV too but at the costs and wages proposed in Traveller the only "people" who could maybe afford it would be the wealthy and/or nobles, so that makes the RV a Yacht
RandyT0001
SOC-13
What about an educational starship for high school or college students? The ship has a high jump factor to bypass the more "mundane" (read low tech/ low law level, less than 3) worlds. It goes from world to world and the students get a "traditional 3 R's" education and get to experience a wide diversity of cultures and civilizations. Tuition is high so most of the students are from wealthy families and the Imperial nobility plus a few (say 1% of total students) are granted scholarships to attend this space school. One per sector?
far-trader
SOC-14 10K
Interesting Randy, kind of like the fancy boarding schools of old Terra. I like it.
Andrew Boulton
The Adminator
If you use HEPLAR rather than thrusters you can build a 100-ton, J1, M1 "RV" for just over MCr11.
far-trader
SOC-14 10K
And you know a lot of average folk who go caravaning in 33 Million dollar RV's? When the price comes down to less than 1% of that, then maybe we start to see the merely wealthy owning them.My image of the "commoner" luxury RV is a small space craft, likely no more than 20tons. When the owners wish to stike out for another star system they ship their boat (just Cr20,000 and passage). Still, a simple launch is MCr so it's even out of reach, if new at least. I figure there's a market here for very old but still functional small craft. Something that's depreciated to the point that it can be had for a song (comparitively) but hardly used, like that launch on the 400ton subsidized merchant. It sits there seldom used since the whole ship is streamlined but it gets maintenance every year anyway. Eventually the ship is worn out but the launch still has years left in it. With a little work on the interior voila, you have a very luxurious space vehicle for a retired couple or two and they can be off to enjoy their sunset years seeing the home system and even a few nearby ones on the cheap.
Scott Martin
SOC-13
You have all missed the other obvious application (shame on you!) Deep Space Construction, Salvage and Repair vessels.
What do you do when your jump drive breaks down in a system with a type C-F port, abandon it? Sell it to the locals for interplanetary use? Call the "interstellar tow truck" and have them send a mobile shipyard! Sure it costs some serious money to jump those repair parts in, but are you going to take the chance of misjump? (no carrier will insure you after you do that! Imagine how much your monthly payments will go up!) Sure it's expensive, but WAY cheaper than building a new hull!
This is also a *critical* piece of equipment for any "deep penetration" naval action, so that you don't have to scrap those vessels that have reduced drive capability from damage.
It's also an *awesome* adventure seed for MT or TNE games, since (by definition) one of these has enough manufacturing capability to *build* a class "A" starrport given enough time, and it would act as a type "B" right out of the builders slip.
Scott Martin
What do you do when your jump drive breaks down in a system with a type C-F port, abandon it? Sell it to the locals for interplanetary use? Call the "interstellar tow truck" and have them send a mobile shipyard! Sure it costs some serious money to jump those repair parts in, but are you going to take the chance of misjump? (no carrier will insure you after you do that! Imagine how much your monthly payments will go up!) Sure it's expensive, but WAY cheaper than building a new hull!
This is also a *critical* piece of equipment for any "deep penetration" naval action, so that you don't have to scrap those vessels that have reduced drive capability from damage.
It's also an *awesome* adventure seed for MT or TNE games, since (by definition) one of these has enough manufacturing capability to *build* a class "A" starrport given enough time, and it would act as a type "B" right out of the builders slip.
Scott Martin
Andrew Boulton
The Adminator
"And you know a lot of average folk who go caravaning in 33 Million dollar RV's? When the price comes down to less than 1% of that, then maybe we start to see the merely wealthy owning them."
The drives are the problem. For a 100dt/J1/M1 ship you're looking at ~MCr15 minimum. Using HEPLAR brings it down, as does building at TL15.
You can do a 10dt, M1(H) boat for MCr0.9.
The drives are the problem. For a 100dt/J1/M1 ship you're looking at ~MCr15 minimum. Using HEPLAR brings it down, as does building at TL15.
You can do a 10dt, M1(H) boat for MCr0.9.
This may blur the lines a little between commercial and military, but it's not pleasure either. Most definitely personal. Not "commercial" in the traditional sense. I have two designs and working on a third. A Bounty Hunter's ship.
Another would be a ship built for pure speed and sport. The sport of rich younger nobles.
A racing yacht.
High jump, high maneuver, and not much else. Built with a variety of courses in mind, both Jump and Non-jump. Open space, dense asteroid courses, close orbit to stars, sector to sector races, etc...
I REALLY love the idea of a "University" ship. Spend a semester travelling... but never leave your campus... I LOVE IT!
Another would be a ship built for pure speed and sport. The sport of rich younger nobles.
A racing yacht.
High jump, high maneuver, and not much else. Built with a variety of courses in mind, both Jump and Non-jump. Open space, dense asteroid courses, close orbit to stars, sector to sector races, etc...
I REALLY love the idea of a "University" ship. Spend a semester travelling... but never leave your campus... I LOVE IT!
archhealer
SOC-12
And you know a lot of average folk who go caravaning in 33 Million dollar RV's? When the price comes down to less than 1% of that, then maybe we start to see the merely wealthy owning them.My image of the "commoner" luxury RV is a small space craft, likely no more than 20tons. When the owners wish to stike out for another star system they ship their boat (just Cr20,000 and passage). Still, a simple launch is MCr so it's even out of reach, if new at least. I figure there's a market here for very old but still functional small craft. Something that's depreciated to the point that it can be had for a song (comparitively) but hardly used, like that launch on the 400ton subsidized merchant. It sits there seldom used since the whole ship is streamlined but it gets maintenance every year anyway. Eventually the ship is worn out but the launch still has years left in it. With a little work on the interior voila, you have a very luxurious space vehicle for a retired couple or two and they can be off to enjoy their sunset years seeing the home system and even a few nearby ones on the cheap. </font>[/QUOTE]For the record, there is a company on modern day, RL earth that manufactures amphibious, all terrain RVs. They start at a mere 800,000 dollars, but go as high as about 11 mil. So, not so unrealistic a comparison...
