So ... taking all of the above into account ... how would I want to rework my understanding/interpretation of the starship design rules in order to "backport" the notion of a regenerative life support biome from MgT2 back into CT?
Well, first and foremost is that on the
Environmental Control scale laid out by Fire, Fusion & Steel ... I'm thinking along these lines for a CT context for the starship design/naval architect side of things:
- Type I: Minimal life support provides a sealed environment, heat, and light. The Air supply is open loop, meaning there's no attempt to recycle it. Stored air provides fresh oxygen while minimal air processing (filters and chemicals) removes the worst of the waste products from the air. Water and food are not normally provided but may be carried along. Normal duration is three hours.
- Type II: Basic life support provides heat, light, and short-term purified air. This is also an open-loop system but it provides better air processing to clean impurities out. Nether water nor food are included. Normal duration is 12 hours.
- Type III': Standard life support is so named because it's the standard system aboard spacecraft. It provides light, thermal control, closed-loop water recycling, and semi-closed loop air. Food is a carried consumeable, and given the duration it must be separately provided rather than carried on in the passenger compartments. Water is recycled and is basically unlimited. The air is purified and recycled, but filters have a limited life and slowly break down. Normal duration is two weeks.
- Type IV: Extended life support provides light, thermal control, and closed-loop air and water (indefinite). Food is still a carried consumable. Normal duration is limied only by food supply.
- Type V: Endurance life support provides full closed-loop recycling for air, water, and food through use of hydro/aeroponics, aquaculture, and even carniculture. There are several different levels of Type V life support, each representing a major improvement over the previous. These forms of life support are usually only used aboard space stations and generation ships. Since Type V life support systems are miniature ecosystems, they are vulnerable to sudden changes in population. A sudden influx or outflux of people can change the system balance and cause failures.
- Type V-a: At this level, air and food are provided by low-level plant life, usually algae which requires processing to create food.
- Type V-b: This level provides vats and gardens. The gardens provide supplemental foods to the majority algae vat food.
- Type V-c: This level relies more upon the gardens for providing food than the algae vats. It also incorporates small animals like chickens or fish (usually any edible herbivore up to about 10kg).
- Type V-d: This level relies entirely upon gardens to provide both air and food. At this level larger animals can be incorpoprated into the evironmental systems. This level is usually only found on the largest space stations or in domed environments.
- Type V-e: This level is a full working ecosystem incorporating several hundred species of plants and animals. These are usually only found in large domed environments.
Type I = vehicle scale overpressure
Type II = small craft acceleration couch life support
Type III = small craft and starship stateroom life support
Type IV = CT Beltstrike (p3) life support reserve consumables of 150 person/weeks @ MCr0.15 per 1 ton (1 ton per 3 persons equivalent for 50 weeks duration between 2 week annual overhaul maintenance cycles each 52 week year, requires replenishment at cost, uses cargo hold space)
Type V-a = 0.5 tons of Laboratory per person @ MCr0.2 per 1 ton (1 ton per 2 persons equivalent)
Type V-b = 1 ton of Laboratory per person @ MCr0.2 per 1 ton (1 ton per 1 person equivalent)
Type V-c = 2 tons of Laboratory per person @ MCr0.2 per 1 ton (2 tons per 1 persons equivalent)
Type V-d = 4 tons of Laboratory per person @ MCr0.2 per 1 ton (4 tons per 1 person equivalent)
Type V-e = 8 tons of Laboratory per person @ MCr0.2 per 1 ton (8 tons per 1 person equivalent)
So far so good.
![Cool :cool: :cool:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
But what about crew positions to maintain the more elaborate regenerative life support systems?
Small and big craft need pilots.
Starships (over 200 tons) need navigators.
Drives need engineers.
(High) Passengers need stewards.
Weapons and screens need gunners.
(Advanced regenerative closed loop cycle) life support above standard should require increasingly skilled medics is my thinking, now.
Type II through Type V-a life support makes no change to the LBB2.81, p16 medic rules that apply to ships 1000 tons or less:
Medic: Each starship of 200 tons or more must have a medic (medic-1 skill or better). In addition, there must be at least one medic per 120 passengers carried. If there is more than one medic, the most skilled is designated ship's doctor and draws 10% more pay. Non-starships and small craft do not require medics.
Type V-b = must have one medic (medic-1 skill or better) per 120 combined crew, troops and passengers carried regardless of craft tonnage.
Type V-c = must have one medic (medic-2 skill or better) per 120 combined crew, troops and passengers carried regardless of craft tonnage.
Type V-d = must have one medic (medic-3 skill or better) per 120 combined crew, troops and passengers carried regardless of craft tonnage.
Type V-e = must have one medic (medic-4 skill or better) per 120 combined crew, troops and passengers carried regardless of craft tonnage.
Note that medic-2+ offers a +1 DM to resuscitation checks when low berths are used, so Type V-c makes for an efficient inflection point of skill requirements in the medical department.
Medic-3 skill is considered professional doctor level (LBB1.81, p20) and 8+ DEX is required in addition to be a surgeon.
Xeno-medicine is considered to be a -2 skill level reduction (LBB1.81, p21) when dealing with alien species.