Ship Creation Questions/Issues/Errata

[LiminalMask]

I posted this in the T5 Errata Discussion Thread, but I fear it may have gotten lost in other discussions. So, I'm posting it here. These are all issues or questions I discovered as I went through the process of building a ship in T5.

If you have an answer for these, I'd love to hear it, BUT, please point to where in the rules you find this answer. My purpose here is not interpretation or house rules, but finding problems/confusing areas in the T5 master text, which can be passed on the DonM and Marc. Thanks!

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p. 358: The example of the Scout/Courier lists it as being a TL-10 ship and capable of Jump-2. However, the Tech Level Availability chart on p. 338 shows the minimum TL for Jump-2 as TL-11.

p. 336: The Hull Armor Layers table starts with layer 1, and has no tonnage cost associated with it. The Ship Fillform on p.250 lists a Layer0, which is not listed in the Hull Armor Layers table.

p.339: Clarification—The requirement for a ship's operational fuel tonnage (Y) is expressed as Potential x Hull tonnage / 100. Does this refer to the Potential of the Drive Letter, or the Potential based on the drive's Tech Level restrictions? I.e. A M-Drive type B in a 100 ton hull has maximum potential of 4. (p.340). However, if the ship is TL-10, its maximum potential is reduced to 3. For calculating Y fuel costs, should one use 4 or 3?

p.341: The rules may want to point readers to the "How Sensors Work" section on p. 379 for explanation of each of the sensor types. Similar signposts might be useful for other areas (i.e. "How Weapons Work", etc.)

p. 344: On table C, Life Support, the cost in both tons and MCr for "Luxury" life support is the same as "Standard" life support, and for the same number of people (10). Shouldn't Luxury Life Support be more expensive? Is this 'per stateroom'?

p. 345: Clarification: Every 'mechanism' requires a Control Panel. A 'mechanism' is defined as "A mechanism is any of the drives, sensors, weapons, defenses, or installations that equip a ship." This last item, "installation" is vague. What constitutes an installation? Do landing pads require a control panel? (I'm thinking no, as this is part of the pilot console.) Does additional armor ("installed" on the ship) require a control panel ? (I'm thinking no.) If you install an Air/Raft, does that require a Control panel? (Assuming to mean the controls for the berth and airlock, but that might mean every airlock requires a Ship's Control Panel, which is different than the controls needed to operate them, right?) Do Fuel Purifiers and Scoops require a control panel? (I'm thinking yes? But do you need one for each?) Does the ship's computer require a control panel? (I'm thinking no, it's included. Plus, you'd have to assign it to a Console after you'd already calculated the consoles you needed.) Anyway, clarification is needed.

p. 350: If more than one Console is installed on a ship, esp. of different types, there is insufficient space to record this on the fillform.

p. 350: There is insufficient space on the fillform to detail various stateroom and other payload considerations separately.

p.350: There is no space to record Cargo space on the Fillform.

p. 345: The section on Consoles specifies assigning various Control Panels to a Console, and writing a Console ID in the "Con Column for each CP". However, I can find no such place to record this information on the Fillform or the Ship Sheet.

 

[robject]

I'll try to answer some of these.

Scout. If I recall, TL11 has always been the point where Jump-2 shows up; however, the Scout has also often been shown as a TL9 design (and TL10 in T5). I don't know if there's a solution, except perhaps to suggest that everything but the jump drive is TL9.

Armor. Layer0 sounds like an old version of armor layer 1. I remember seeing this in a draft of the fules.

Operational Fuel. p.338, Tech Level Availability, shows maximum potential possible. Thus a Power Plant at TL10 has a maximum potential of P=3. So power plant B in a 100t hull has a rating of P=3. That plugs right into the operational fuel requirements. Tons = P x H / 100 = 3 x 100 / 100 = 3 tons per month.

Luxury Life Support. p.344. Table C, Life Support, "Luxury" entry, has no "days" limit, but it does have a "people" limit. Therefore, it appears to consist not of things which are consumed, but rather luxury equipment for use. Mixers, tableware, stateroom fridges, doilies and cloth napkins, perhaps some non-bank-breaking extras like flavored coffees? Sorry, this is close to speculation, but there appears to be no time limit on luxury life support, so...

Control Panels. p.345, top of the page: "Every ship mechanism (and function) has a Control Panel. Each is monitored by a Console under the supervision of a crew member." p.325 "Every mechanism on a ship has a Control Panel: a rudimentary input output device attached directly to the mechanism. The Control Panel directly controls the device." So every mechanism on the ship has a control panel of sorts. p.344 Table D: Vehicles. "Install an appropriate Vehicle Hull Connector for each Vehicle. Each Vehicle Hull Connector has a Control Panel." Presumably control panels includes fuel processing equipment... but there's precious little discourse AT ALL on fuel processing (that's an errata item)... aaand p.325 again: "If an installation is more than 35 tons, each 35 tons is treated as a separate mechanism." So if you have 70 tons of fuel scoops, that's two control panels - presumably.


Seems to me that control panels are Map Only As Really Necessary....

 

[pendragonman]

I'll try to answer some of these.

Scout. If I recall, TL11 has always been the point where Jump-2 shows up; however, the Scout has also often been shown as a TL9 design (and TL10 in T5). I don't know if there's a solution, except perhaps to suggest that everything but the jump drive is TL9.

Armor. Layer0 sounds like an old version of armor layer 1. I remember seeing this in a draft of the fules.

Operational Fuel. p.338, Tech Level Availability, shows maximum potential possible. Thus a Power Plant at TL10 has a maximum potential of P=3. So power plant B in a 100t hull has a rating of P=3. That plugs right into the operational fuel requirements. Tons = P x H / 100 = 3 x 100 / 100 = 3 tons per month.

Luxury Life Support. p.344. Table C, Life Support, "Luxury" entry, has no "days" limit, but it does have a "people" limit. Therefore, it appears to consist not of things which are consumed, but rather luxury equipment for use. Mixers, tableware, stateroom fridges, doilies and cloth napkins, perhaps some non-bank-breaking extras like flavored coffees? Sorry, this is close to speculation, but there appears to be no time limit on luxury life support, so...

Control Panels. p.345, top of the page: "Every ship mechanism (and function) has a Control Panel. Each is monitored by a Console under the supervision of a crew member." p.325 "Every mechanism on a ship has a Control Panel: a rudimentary input output device attached directly to the mechanism. The Control Panel directly controls the device." So every mechanism on the ship has a control panel of sorts. p.344 Table D: Vehicles. "Install an appropriate Vehicle Hull Connector for each Vehicle. Each Vehicle Hull Connector has a Control Panel." Presumably control panels includes fuel processing equipment... but there's precious little discourse AT ALL on fuel processing (that's an errata item)... aaand p.325 again: "If an installation is more than 35 tons, each 35 tons is treated as a separate mechanism." So if you have 70 tons of fuel scoops, that's two control panels - presumably.


Seems to me that control panels are Map Only As Really Necessary....

Maybe scouts have early jump 2 drives?

 

[copperhamster]

If they had earlier drives they'd require more fuel, and also not have jump governors.

 

[robject]

Interesting point, though, and one worth testing.

It would work, although not having a governor would be annoying. A Scout would have to use his Astrogation skill to plot a Jump-2 course which intersects a star 1 parsec away, and he'd have burned all his jump fuel.

...I like it. It seems unreliable for most purposes, but I like it.

Unfinished design. Sensors not installed. Hybrid turret not installed. Armor not configured. And the prices are wrong in places. But it seems that the concept at least would fit in 100 tons:

Scout/Courier S-AA22 MCr48.2

Actual volume: 95.5 tons
Crew comfort: 0

    Tons  TN  Component                             MCr  Notes
--------  --  --------------------------------- -------  --------------------
     100  12  Airframe Hull                          10  A
       1  10  Landing legs with pads                  1  
       1  10  Flotation hull                          1  
     0.5  10  Fins                                  0.2  
      22  12  Jump Fuel (2  parsecs)                  0  J2, 11t/pc
       2  12  Plant Fuel (one month)                  0  one month
       1  8   Fuel Scoops 100t/hr                   0.1  100t/hr
       1  8   Fuel Intakes 40t/hr                   0.1  40t/hr
       1  8   Fuel Purifiers 4t/hr                    1  4t/hr
       4  10  PowerPlant-2 (A)                        4  P 2
       2  10  Maneuver Drive-2 (A)                    4  2 G
      20  9   Ear Jump Drive-2 (A)                   20  J 2
       1  11  Computer Model/1 std                  1.5  
       1  10  Life support (10 people/month)          1  10 people/month
      10  12  Spacious Controls                       0  
       8  10  Crew Single Stateroom (4)               2  #4 1 crew
      12  10  Crew Lounge (3)                       1.5  #3 
       4  12  Cargo Hold Basic                        0  
       4  9   Air/Raft Enclosed                     0.1

 

[copperhamster]

Hmmm now that I look closer, Early Jump-A would produce Jump 1.8 which rounds down to 1. OTOH it says you can import parts at TL+1 for a 10% cost penalty. So it could be produced, just at slightly higher cost.

 

[robject]

That indeed seems more likely.