Routes and communication and other bits

[infojunky]

Consider the standard subsidized liner, it’s going to have a laid out route. Said route is going to be optimized for her drives I.e. Jump 3. The other factor is that she is a unstreamlined vessel. Thus the ideal port is A,B and sometimes C, with a up-station. Said ports will be the anchors of their routes for sure. The point here this J3 web of routes can be laid over the X-boat routes to get a better picture of communication flow.

I forgot to mention that we need to remember the Five dTon mail cargo area is a part of this.

The other bit on routes is to consider where the Annual Maintenance is going happen and the commercial Jump schedule of 25 jumps a year. A two cycle route of 12 or 13 worlds will hit world twice a year. But other combinations work as well.

 

[Spinward Flow]

The Subsidized Liner has J-drives.
J-drives are a TL=11 advancement, so their route will need to incorporate a type A or B starport with TL=11 to perform annual overhaul maintenance.

The Subsidized Liner will (under LBB2 rules) have a STRONG preference for type A and B starports ONLY as a source of refined fuel and the elimination of the threat of piracy.

And a point of clarification is probably in order.
The 2-12 worlds (2D6) included in a subsidy is not an explicit itinerary (go ABCDEFGHIJKL, in that order, with no variation) that must be followed without variance. Instead, the worlds in a subsidy simply is a list of star systems that need to be visited every interval (usually per year) with the number of visits and the routing around those systems being left up to the captain's discretion.

So here's a concrete example of this notion in action.
Let's say for the sake of argument and illustration purposes that a Subsidized Liner has received a subsidy from the government of Collace/District 268/Spinward Marches to link together the worlds of Tarsus, Collace, Motmos, Dallia and Mertactor.

• Tarsus and Motmos are both Agricultural, Non-industrial and Rich worlds.
• Collace is an Industrial world.
• Dallia is a Rich world.
• Mertactor is a Rich world and on the IISS Express Network, permitting communications to be extended into District 268 by this subsidy.

There is no "set route" between these 5 systems to follow, although at Jump-3 Collace becomes the obvious "economic hub" for any kind of hub and spoke route operation.

• Tarsus . Collace . Dallia . Collace . Motmos . Collace . Mertactor . Collace ... repeat
• Mertactor . Collace . Motmos . Tarsus . Collace . Dallia ... repeat

Another option would be to simply "tramp freighter" around between these 5 systems, occasionally going "off route" outside the specified 5 systems (for insert reasons here) for no more than 16 weeks per year in order to maximize profits on speculative cargoes.

Annual overhaul maintenance can be performed at either Collace or Mertactor.
Just make sure to allocate 5 tons of cargo space to a Mail Vault and arm the Subsidized Liner with offensive weaponry so as to be able to transport Mail Cargo.

Hmmm ...
Now that I look at this plan in more detail, this subsidy ought to be almost ridiculously profitable for a Subsidized Liner ... since the population codes on this route range from 6-9, and because the starship is Jump-3 you don't need to "waste time/money" on low profit worlds by getting stuck following the Spinward Main in order to get around. Instead you can cherry pick only the best/most profitable worlds and limit your jumps (and thus subsidies) to only those extremely profitable ports of call.

Looks like such a scheme could easily be used to promote not only a cultural/economic hegemony anchored around Collace but also help bring this collection of worlds closer to being absorbed into the Third Imperium of 1105, extending the border into District 268 with sufficient development and alignment.

Definitely a compelling case for a Subsidized Liner (or several) to be put to work under subsidy by the Collace government.

 

[mike wightman]

TL of world has no effect on availability of annual maintenance as per LBB2 rules. Any A or B starport will do.

Annually, a starship should be given a complete overhaul
in order to insure that it is kept in good working order. Such maintenance
costs 0.1% (1/1000th) of the cash price of the ship, and requires two weeks at a
class A or B starport.

 

[david.wendelken]

I remember reading some adventures (don't remember where) that stated that Collace and Mertactor hate each other because Mertactor wants District 268 to go into the Imperium and Collace doesn't, and that there is a trade (mostly cold) war between the two.

So, in this case, Collace wouldn't want the liner to go to Mertactor. If it did, it wouldn't file a direct flight plan there or back. They might even falsify documents presented to the government of Collace to show that they hadn't been to Mertactor. Think that's not realistic? It is. Saw it happen in the 80s with shipping lines carrying cargo to/from South African ports and also wanting to stop at ports in nearby countries, who didn't allow a ship to come to their ports that had been in South African ports.

I recollect similar games were played by airlines that travelled to/from Israel and nearby Arab countries.

 

[whulorigan]

I remember reading some adventures (don't remember where) that stated that Collace and Mertactor hate each other because Mertactor wants District 268 to go into the Imperium and Collace doesn't, and that there is a trade (mostly cold) war between the two.

So, in this case, Collace wouldn't want the liner to go to Mertactor. If it did, it wouldn't file a direct flight plan there or back. They might even falsify documents presented to the government of Collace to show that they hadn't been to Mertactor. Think that's not realistic? It is. Saw it happen in the 80s with shipping lines carrying cargo to/from South African ports and also wanting to stop at ports in nearby countries, who didn't allow a ship to come to their ports that had been in South African ports.

I recollect similar games were played by airlines that travelled to/from Israel and nearby Arab countries.

I believe that was Collace and Trexalon, not Mertactor. Collace is a pro-Imperial Client State (and seen as a likely candidate for Subsector Capital when District 268 is integrated into the Imperium), and the Trexalon Trade Consortium is in a cold war with Collace (and allied with Sword-Worlder interests) because it sees the Imperium (and by extension Collace) encroaching into its trade-sphere.

 

[Spinward Flow]

I believe that was Collace and Trexalon, not Mertactor. Collace is a pro-Imperial Client State (and seen as a likely candidate for Subsector Capital when District 268 is integrated into the Imperium), and the Trexalon Trade Consortium is in a cold war with Collace (and allied with Sword-Worlder interests) because it sees the Imperium (and by extension Collace) encroaching into its trade-sphere.

This is the correct answer.
Hostile relationship is between Collace and Trexalon, not Mertactor (links provided to wiki pages with relevant info).
More information can be found through the wiki pages for the worlds.

 

[david.wendelken]

I believe that was Collace and Trexalon, not Mertactor. Collace is a pro-Imperial Client State (and seen as a likely candidate for Subsector Capital when District 268 is integrated into the Imperium), and the Trexalon Trade Consortium is in a cold war with Collace (and allied with Sword-Worlder interests) because it sees the Imperium (and by extension Collace) encroaching into its trade-sphere.

Thanks!

 

[robject]

Good notes, Mr. Flow, thank you for your analysis!

 

[Grav_Moped]

This is the correct answer.
Hostile relationship is between Collace and Trexalon, not Mertactor (links provided to wiki pages with relevant info).
More information can be found through the wiki pages for the worlds.

I wouldn't characterize Mertactor as "friendly" toward Collace, though they're not actively hostile. They have slightly divergent interests, that's all.

Mertactor would prefer that Collace not accede to Imperial membership, as once that happens Collace would replace it as the capital of District 268. At present, being "the subsector capitol" mostly amounts to serving as a go-between, with the actual authority at Glisten/Glisten. Once Collace joins, other Imperial client states will likely also petition for accession, resulting in the new subsector capitol gaining significant influence.

The status quo is perfectly acceptable to Mertactor. They'll happily trade with anyone, and having Collace tied up by Trexalonian perfidy suits them just fine.

 

[infojunky]

The Subsidized Liner has J-drives.
J-drives are a TL=11 advancement, so their route will need to incorporate a type A or B starport with TL=11 to perform annual overhaul maintenance.

The Subsidized Liner will (under LBB2 rules) have a STRONG preference for type A and B starports ONLY as a source of refined fuel and the elimination of the threat of piracy.

When you start figuring routes you see where a C port with up station occasionally is handy.

And a point of clarification is probably in order.
The 2-12 worlds (2D6) included in a subsidy is not an explicit itinerary (go ABCDEFGHIJKL, in that order, with no variation) that must be followed without variance. Instead, the worlds in a subsidy simply is a list of star systems that need to be visited every interval (usually per year) with the number of visits and the routing around those systems being left up to the captain's discretion.

While I was thinking of routes When laying out the idea the local tramp is also valid.

I was looking at how long a regular route could stretch when I started this. I was looking at liner traffic rather than tramp traffic in model that a small worlds liner should stop once every period. Thus making liner stops where people a goods would congregate for further passage. Also note overlapping route are important to this model as well.

I also have been pondering other J3 ships, there probably a Cargo only version of Subsidized Liner. There are two J3 military vessels, Im considering the J3 Yacht right now. Actually a whole bunch ships, in that the imperial average TL is 12.

Definitely a compelling case for a Subsidized Liner (or several) to be put to work under subsidy by the Collace government.

See how easy game back ground falls out of this idea.

 

[Spinward Flow]

I also have been pondering other J3 ships, there probably a Cargo only version of Subsidized Liner. There are two J3 military vessels, Im considering the J3 Yacht right now. Actually a whole bunch ships, in that the imperial average TL is 12.

Could I perhaps interest you in a J3 2G TL=13 Rift Courier ...?
Although, if TL=13 isn't your style ... there's always the J2 2G TL=11 Rift X-Courier instead ...

Nothing quite like having flexible options depending on planned use cases like these ships provide ...
You'll also be hard pressed to find starships more capable of reliable profit margins in the low end commercial market space, regardless of where you go.

{snippity slightly used starship salesman pitch}

 

[McPerth]

o here's a concrete example of this notion in action.
Let's say for the sake of argument and illustration purposes that a Subsidized Liner has received a subsidy from the government of Collace/District 268/Spinward Marches to link together the worlds of Tarsus, Collace, Motmos, Dallia and Mertactor.

• Tarsus and Motmos are both Agricultural, Non-industrial and Rich worlds.
• Collace is an Industrial world.
• Dallia is a Rich world.
• Mertactor is a Rich world and on the IISS Express Network, permitting communications to be extended into District 268 by this subsidy.

Given all of this, and seeing Collace as the de facto capital of this hub, I'd bet there's regular line among Collace and Mercator, as mercator, being in the X-boat route means also being in the Al Morai route (according SMC, as they follow the x-boat routes), and I guess other Corporations too, so being the "final stop" of the Imperial "railroad", and sure Collace wants to be linked to it.

 

[Spinward Flow]

Given all of this, and seeing Collace as the de facto capital of this hub, I'd bet there's regular line among Collace and Mercator, as mercator, being in the X-boat route means also being in the Al Morai route (according SMC, as they follow the x-boat routes), and I guess other Corporations too, so being the "final stop" of the Imperial "railroad", and sure Collace wants to be linked to it.

Ee-yup.
That's about the size of things and the way they shape up, given the map and the resources at stake.

 

[Grav_Moped]

Given all of this, and seeing Collace as the de facto capital of this hub, I'd bet there's regular line among Collace and Mercator, as mercator, being in the X-boat route means also being in the Al Morai route (according SMC, as they follow the x-boat routes), and I guess other Corporations too, so being the "final stop" of the Imperial "railroad", and sure Collace wants to be linked to it.

Collace might also be the anchor of an unofficial (to the point of being covert) XBoat/trade link into Rimward Five Sisters via Inchin/D268. (That route being Collace-Inchin-Wonstar/5Sisters.)

This could explain why and how the perpetually failing starport project at Inchin never actually fails outright.

 

[Spinward Flow]

Collace might also be the anchor of an unofficial (to the point of being covert) XBoat/trade link into Rimward Five Sisters via Inchin/D268. (That route being Collace-Inchin-Wonstar/5Sisters.)

This could explain why and how the perpetually failing starport project at Inchin never actually fails outright.

There's a problem with that plan ... Inchin/District 268 is 4 parsecs away from Wonstar/Five Sisters, and the Subsidized Liner is only capable of Jump-3.

If you want to link Mertactor/District 268 through Collace/District 268 to Wonstar/Five Sisters via Subsidized Liner (600 tons), the better "play" from a mercantile navigation perspective is to go Tarsus <-> Mewey <-> Wonstar.
Ochecate has a captive government controlled by Kuai Qing, which in turn is aligned with Trexalon (who are opposed to Collace), so probably best to avoid Ochecate between Wonstar and Tarsus.

However, such an addition to the subsidy collective of Tarsus, Collace, Motmos, Dallia and Mertactor (5) to include Wonstar and Mewey (2 more) introduces two potential hazards at Mewey, only one (and a half) of which a TL=11 Type-M Subsidized Liner can do anything about.

The first hazard that can be dealt with completely via aftermarket modification of the Subsidized Liner is the fact that Mewey's type D starport does not have refined fuel available for sale. This problem can be dealt with by installing a 7.35 ton (210 ton capacity) TL=11 fuel purification plant into the cargo bay (reducing cargo capacity to 121.65 tons) at a cost of Cr 35,700. This specific aftermarket modification is HIGHLY recommended simply because of the windfall in overhead cost savings (210 tons of refined fuel costs Cr 105,000 at a starport!) over the operational lifetime of the starship (the installation pays for itself at the first wilderness refueling!).

The second hazard that can't be completely eliminated is the potential for pirate activity at Mewey. Per LBB2.81 p35, there is the possibility (2D6=9) of encountering a Type-S Scout/Courier that has gone rogue/pirate. The best response to this threat is to arm the Subsidized Liner and hire Gunners for the turrets, with triple missile turret, triple beam laser turret and triple sandcaster turret (for the three available hardpoints) being the optimal solution (costing MCr 9 total to install the turrets) and requiring 3 Gunners. Adding 3 Gunners would increase crew size from 9 to 12, reducing high passenger accommodations from 21 to 18 ... at which point the 3rd Steward becomes relatively superfluous, so a better mix would be to drop 1 Steward, settling on a crew size of 11 (including 3 Gunners) with accommodations for 16 high passengers, 3 middle passengers and 20 low passengers. With Gunners aboard and the starship armed, 5 tons of cargo space could be set aside as a mail vault to further improve profit margins by xmail deliveries, reducing available cargo space to 116.65 tons after installation of the fuel purification plant.

A final coup de grâce optional aftermarket modification to the stock Subsidized Liner would be to install a 115 ton inflatable fuel bladder into the cargo hold, at a cost of Cr 57,750, enabling up to a reserve Jump-2 after a Jump-3 capability in the event of an empty cargo hold (or a need to transit 5 parsecs to get somewhere, like ... say ... a Jump-5 Rift route ) reducing cargo capacity down to a convenient 115.5 tons plus 5 ton xmail vault.

All of these aftermarket modifications can be yours for the low low price of MCr 9.09345 ... a +3.84% price increase over the base construction cost for the Subsidized Liner! What a deal!
And if you get the turrets installed at Collace with TL=13 weaponry, you get a +1 code factor DM on the Beam Laser and Missile Launcher triple turrets. The Sandcaster turret can be TL=11 (like the rest of the Subsidized Liner) and still get a +2 code factor DM.
Triple TL=13 Beam Laser = code: 3+1=4 single battery
Triple TL=13 Missile Launcher = code: 2+1=3 single battery
Triple TL=11 Sandcaster = code: 2+2=4 single battery
Computer model/3
Note that doing this would require annual overhaul maintenance be done at TL=13 Collace only, not at TL=11 Mertactor, due to the higher technology levels in the Beam Laser and Missile Launcher turrets.

That ought to be enough to deter a 100 ton Type-S Scout/Courier with a model/1bis computer and delusions of piracy from making a direct attack on your Subsidized Liner.

A ruse de guerre of faking a distress call (Signal GK anyone?), however ... in order to attempt a surprise boarding action using a prize crew of 8 attackers ... ... could potentially work since the pirates would have a local advantage in concentration of forces against the scattered crew onboard the Subsidized Liner (who may also need to divert crew members to "protect" panicked passengers and otherwise be "slow" to respond to the assault).
And if the one (or more) of the passengers aboard the Subsidized Liner are in league with the pirates (the 3 middle passengers who were not being attended by the Stewards perhaps? what kind of concealed weapons are in their 100kg baggage allowance kept in their staterooms I wonder? ) then a boarding action becomes a matter of 8+(0 to 3)=8 to 11 pirates attacking the 11 crew of the Subsidized Liner from 1 or 2 directions, presumably with the element of surprise in their favor (otherwise the boarding action would have been aborted).

So like I said ... arming the Subsidized Merchant can reduce the risk of piracy attempts at Mewey, but doing so cannot eliminate the threat/risk of piracy completely at Mewey ... and getting to Wonstar from Collace (and back again) requires transiting the Mewey system twice.

Other Traveller books will have other potential scenarios for encountering pirate activity at a type D starport like Mewey has ... so your mileage may vary.

 

[Grav_Moped]

There's a problem with that plan ... Inchin/District 268 is 4 parsecs away from Wonstar/Five Sisters, and the Subsidized Liner is only capable of Jump-3.

I was positing the use of J-4 ships. If done with shorter-ranged ships, they'd travel in escorted convoys.

The big issue with Subsidized Liners is that they (like everything over J-1 until TL-15) can't cover cargo or passenger costs under LBB2 at Cr1000/Td/Jump. If you're going to subsidize J3, there's no reason not to subsidize J-4.

 

[Spinward Flow]

I was positing the use of J-4 ships.

Ah. That understanding was not clear.
The trick is that Wonstar is 10 parsecs away from Mertactor and 7 parsecs away from Collace. That little detail of astrogation is going to make the Mertactor through Collace to Wonstar route less than ideal no matter what you do.

Collace might also be the anchor of an unofficial (to the point of being covert) XBoat/trade link into Rimward Five Sisters via Inchin/D268. (That route being Collace-Inchin-Wonstar/5Sisters.)

Inchin still strikes me as a less than ideal choice at either Jump-3 or Jump-4 for a connecting route between Collace and Wonstar, especially given that Mewey is right there as an alternative.

Inchin has TL=10, but a type D starport (so not much help to the IISS for starship support aside from fuel) and population code of 3 on a Poor, Desert (Hellworld) of Non-industrial mainworld. Not exactly a growth opportunity, even with a starport upgrade.

Mewey is only TL=5, also a type D starport (basically relevant only for fuel) while boasting a population code of 7 on an Agricultural, Rich (Garden) mainworld. Totally a growth opportunity, and a symbiotic relationship with the locals can be established for consumable supplies and raw materials (that the IISS could collect via Scout/Courier to shuttle out the the Express Tender(s) on station). Upgrade the starport and Mewey could become an important access hub along the Collace Arm of the Spinward Main. A bit of a "fixer upper" opportunity but one with a lot less downsides than trying to establish an XBoat link through Inchin.

Jump-3 Subsidized Liner (other systems in the subsidy in white)

Considering that Collace already has an Imperial Scout base and Motmos has an Imperial Navy base, running XBoats from Mertactor to Collace is basically a no brainer for Express Network expansion into District 268, with an option then extend from Collace to Motmos. After that, all you need is to establish an Express Network link through Mewey and you're all set.

Add a mere 2 systems to the Express Network (Mewey and Collace) and Glisten's cooperation with Collace in the administration of District 268 would go up. Also, the Five Sisters would have an alternative route to Glisten, Lunion Trin and Mora subsectors ... with Collace (and Mewey) the major beneficiary (economically and politically) of expanding settlement of District 268 and the Five Sisters subsectors.

If that happened, it's basically checkmate for Trexalon, while the Mewey Empire begins its rise as a result of the increase in communications and commerce and Collace is well on its way to becoming the subsector capital.

 

[McPerth]

There's a problem with that plan ... Inchin/District 268 is 4 parsecs away from Wonstar/Five Sisters, and the Subsidized Liner is only capable of Jump-3.

Most main routes are for J-4 ships, as they coincide with the X-Boat ones. See that Al Morai ships are described as J-4, and I guess most large corporations ships are too.

As said before, those routes are the "railroads" of the Imperium, and the J-1/J-2 tramp freighters the delivery vans going from their stations to the specific places. The J-3 subsidized liner is a rara avis that falls between both categories...

 

[Grav_Moped]

Most main routes are for J-4 ships, as they coincide with the X-Boat ones. See that Al Morai ships are described as J-4, and I guess most large corporations ships are too.

As said before, those routes are the "railroads" of the Imperium, and the J-1/J-2 tramp freighters the delivery vans going from their stations to the specific places. The J-3 subsidized liner is a rara avis that falls between both categories...

In canon. In "reality" as reflected in the ship-building rules, most freight will move at J-1/J-2 as those are most cost-efficient per parsec-ton. High-value cargo may utilize higher J-numbers where the cost of capital (value of cargo) or time-sensitivity outweighs shipping costs.

The XBoat routes with J-3/J-4 corporate ships aren't railroads, they're the flight paths between international airports. The railroads (and sea lanes) carry large-to-huge J-1 and J-2 freighters.

But then, the OTU doesn't concern itself much with such details -- and probably shouldn't. The fast liners and freighters make for better storytelling.

 

[McPerth]

In canon. In "reality" as reflected in the ship-building rules, most freight will move at J-1/J-2 as those are most cost-efficient per parsec-ton. High-value cargo may utilize higher J-numbers where the cost of capital (value of cargo) or time-sensitivity outweighs shipping costs.

I disagree in this point.

While it's true that most published ships are J-1/J-2, those are not, IMHO, representative of the commercial lines of the imperium, but adventurer's tramp ships and the like. There are many hints (and ITTR some more specific notes, but I cannot give you exact reference) that most of big level resource and passenger movements are by large corporations that have and use J-4, ships following the X-Boat routes.

In the analogy with the "railroad and vans" given before (BTW, not mine. IIRC the first time I heard about it was by Hans, God have him), I guess those adventurer ships would be from the usual cars to the smallest vans, with ships going from the fat trader to about 1000 ton being the most usual for medium pop planets.

Again, see that Al Morai ships (sorry to insist, but it's the most canon example I know about) are 3000 dtons and J-4, with 1200 dtons cargo and 30 passengers capacity...