Ship Design / Deck plan requests?

[whulorigan]

the problem with venting is having crew in Vacc-suits when the fire starts. If it takes say as little as five minutes to get a suit on, sealed , and activated they may be working in a toxic soup of combustion by products, and near combustion temperatures.

even with a soft suit, or emergency suit the time to unpack the suit, get into it, and get your mask on is not exactly a speedy process. fire retardant undergarments, and face masks will protect the crewmen for a few minutes but in blinding smoke, intense heat, and a very high level of stress even trained crews have a hell of a time getting into protective gear.

My contention would be (and this is supported by some canonical sources, though I do not have the references off-hand), that the standard shipboard duty-uniform would either be a Tailored Vacc-suit (TL14/15), or the earlier TL10 Body Pressure Sleeve/Light-Duty Vacc Suit (LDV - which is form-fitting to the point of being able to be worn under clothing, or even a more substantial vacc-suit). And this, in my opinion, only makes sense since humans have been in space for 10000 years and have certainly had time to work out these problems. Therefore, the only thing that would need to be "put on" would be a pair of sealed gloves and a collapsible soft-helmet (and a small air-supply or oxygen-tube to a duty-station port).

This would simply be part of the discipline of the various space-services.

. . . once the fire is out, you have to wait for exposed surfaces to cool, and the source of initial ignition to cool down to point where it wont rekindle the second fresh o2 is introduced.

Possibly there is a fire suppression system that can afterward flood the area with cold CO₂ to aid the cooling process.

 

[McPerth]

My contention would be (and this is supported by some canonical sources, though I do not have the references off-hand), that the standard shipboard duty-uniform would either be a Tailored Vacc-suit (TL14/15), or the earlier TL10 Body Pressure Sleeve/Light-Duty Vacc Suit (LDV - which is form-fitting to the point of being able to be worn under clothing, or even a more substantial vacc-suit). And this, in my opinion, only makes sense since humans have been in space for 10000 years and have certainly had time to work out these problems. Therefore, the only thing that would need to be "put on" would be a pair of sealed gloves and a collapsible soft-helmet (and a small air-supply or oxygen-tube to a duty-station port).

This would simply be part of the discipline of the various space-services.

While I see this posible in various non comercial services (after all, IIRC in MT WHB, ot's told that scount's standard uniform is Tailored Vacc Suit), I don't believe this to be true for the passenger carrying services, just for PR image.

Would you trust a passenger ship where you see all the crew wearing life jackets as standard uniform? I guess you'd ask at least one such jacker for you to wear too...

 

[Condottiere]

Or next to the easyJump boarding ramp, an entrepreneur has set up a stall, and is selling them.

 

[Condottiere]

Which reminds me, exactly what are planetoid hulls composed of, granite?

 

[whulorigan]

Which reminds me, exactly what are planetoid hulls composed of, granite?

Probably Nickel-Iron.

 

[McPerth]

Which reminds me, exactly what are planetoid hulls composed of, granite?

According various sources about belters, Iron-nickel ones are the ones sought for ship building.

 

[whulorigan]

Would you trust a passenger ship where you see all the crew wearing life jackets as standard uniform? I guess you'd ask at least one such jacker for you to wear too...

I think that would depend. If the "LDV-suit under ships-uniform" had become so standard/ubiquitous by the era in question, it might not even be given a second thought (in fact it might not even be seen under the other clothing unless you know what to look for). It might just be seen as the "tools of the trade", so to speak.

 

[McPerth]

I think that would depend. If the "LDV-suit under ships-uniform" had become so standard/ubiquitous by the era in question, it might not even be given a second thought (in fact it might not even be seen under the other clothing unless you know what to look for). It might just be seen as the "tools of the trade", so to speak.

I think precisely the opposite would happen:

As space travel becomes more common (and safer), seeing the crew wearing standard clothing (understood as not specially designed for space security) will be a sign of trust for the passengers.

More or less like aircrews no longer wearing flight suits with parachutes, but standard uniforms, reasures the passengers about they trust not to need them, and so that the aricraft will reach its destination.

 

[whulorigan]

I think precisely the opposite would happen:

As space travel becomes more common (and safer), seeing the crew wearing standard clothing (understood as not specially designed for space security) will be a sign of trust for the passengers.

More or less like aircrews no longer wearing flight suits with parachutes, but standard uniforms, reasures the passengers about they trust not to need them, and so that the aricraft will reach its destination.

Perhaps. But even modern aircrew on airliners generally run the passengers thru the "loss of pressure" and other emergency drills with the stewardess before the flight begins. If I were a passenger, I think I would like to know that if an emergency arose, the crew can be fully counted upon to have their attention not divided by putting on emergency gear while the crisis is unfolding. The ship's steward probably will go thru similar emergency drill contingencies with the passengers regarding rescue balls, et al., when they first board a spacecraft or starship.

 

[savage]

It completely depends on the science and culture.

It's easy to hand crew/passengers a life vest/belt on a small boat. And in many locations considered "good seamanship". Air travel is different. Putting on a parachute takes a little training. Parachutes use to be bulky, bulky. Today they're smaller, but the early efforts of giving them to passengers was not successful and economically achievable. If the plane is going down, 200 people cannot get the device on and get out the hatch quickly enough. Then the lawyers/accountants step in to these situations and our culture has made an economic/practical decision.

Space travel could be very different. In Star Trek, Wrath of Khan, engineering suits seem to be a half way approach. In Jupiter Ascending, the emergency suit is dummy proof. Battlestar Galactica they didn't bother with emergency suits (aka your dead anyway) and even their fighter pilots aren't wearing suits. TV economics plays a role in that, as well. Star Wars had suits on Empire pilots and soldiers, but not for the Rebellion.

So, Traveller RPG is IMTU based. Whatever rules you apply works as long as scale is applied.

 

[Patron Zero]

Not that popular films are canon about the safety of travel in space or between stars but the general consensus is style seems to preclude the presence of safety gear with crews of such vessels.

The Fifth Element had those very chic stewardesses, as did both the Orion space plane and Ares moon shuttle in 2001: A Space Odyssey.

That said, passengers taking transport on a freighter are likely to encounter crew members in coveralls or other working man's garb than matching or otherwise stylized outfits.

 

[Shadowrunner]

I've never given it much thought, I've always been guided by the CT drawings and their similarity to the "Alien" Nostromo's flight crew uniforms. A spacesuit wouldn't be much use if the atmospheric pressure is going to crush the hull or a leak exists, or the radiation is lethal. Cost is often the reason airlines don't include safety features that are available, so I could imagine sometimes equipment is missing for no other reason than profit.

 

[Patron Zero]

Drifting back to the thread's original path, I don't believe there are that many non-starship/non-spaceship deckplans that concern orbital or deep-space facilities.

Jump-point stations or 'lighthouses' should be commonly encountered at the outskirts of most populated systems, further out would be navigational points or 'buoys', still more distant would be communication relay stations.

With a few exceptions, not much has been available to better depict and describe the way-stations found along both main trade routes and lesser-traveled spaceways.

I tend to see the major commerce 'roads' as being reasonably developed as the interstate highways, having 'off-ramp' located amenities for fuel, lodging and supplies.

Having a few sets of deckplans of such to provide players new and possibly familiar places to visit would offer additional resources for expanding their adventures.

 

[savage]

... I don't believe there are that many non-starship/non-spaceship deckplans that concern orbital or deep-space facilities.

...Jump-point stations or 'lighthouses' should be commonly...

I'd tend to agree with TL 13+ systems. Yet, we have a few space facilities from CT and very little after that. Gurps and MgT might have something.

If a ref leans towards common jump points its a good assumption that asteroids could be adjusted in solar orbit to provide resources near those points. It would be a good business market. The trader in a hurry might even be willing to sell at a slight discount at these points to avoid the hassle of going to the planet.

 

[kilemall]

I'd tend to agree with TL 13+ systems. Yet, we have a few space facilities from CT and very little after that. Gurps and MgT might have something.

If a ref leans towards common jump points its a good assumption that asteroids could be adjusted in solar orbit to provide resources near those points. It would be a good business market. The trader in a hurry might even be willing to sell at a slight discount at these points to avoid the hassle of going to the planet.

Or, deal with customs to unload a 'hot' or locally illegal cargo.

 

[aramis]

Drifting back to the thread's original path, I don't believe there are that many non-starship/non-spaceship deckplans that concern orbital or deep-space facilities.

There is an entire MGT book on stations.

There isn't much prior, but the best is Exonidas Spaceport, in Dragon #59. No internal plans, but a full HG UWP.

There are a couple of external station views in various issues of Traveller's Digest and Traveller Chronicle.

 

[Ulsyus]

I've never given it much thought, I've always been guided by the CT drawings and their similarity to the "Alien" Nostromo's flight crew uniforms. A spacesuit wouldn't be much use if the atmospheric pressure is going to crush the hull or a leak exists, or the radiation is lethal. Cost is often the reason airlines don't include safety features that are available, so I could imagine sometimes equipment is missing for no other reason than profit.

That could also come down to regulation. I found that domestic air-travel in the US didn't include life-jackets, just holding onto the seat cushion if the plane went down in water (yes yes, assuming best case there and it not scattering like confetti over a large area), but in Australasia the airlines carry life-jackets and the safety brief covers their fitting. I'm not sure if that's a geographical thing or a regulatory difference, but seat cushions would be cheaper than tested, checked life jackets.

 

[aramis]

That could also come down to regulation. I found that domestic air-travel in the US didn't include life-jackets, just holding onto the seat cushion if the plane went down in water (yes yes, assuming best case there and it not scattering like confetti over a large area), but in Australasia the airlines carry life-jackets and the safety brief covers their fitting. I'm not sure if that's a geographical thing or a regulatory difference, but seat cushions would be cheaper than tested, checked life jackets.

life jackets are only required for over-ocean flights. Most US carriers have the, but don't mention them for over-land-only flights. They tend to be under the seat cushion.

 

[Condottiere]

My assumption is that for major routes, the megacorporations would establish their own private terminals to facilitate transferring good and passengers, and turnaround the ship as fast as possible.

 

[whartung]

That could also come down to regulation. I found that domestic air-travel in the US didn't include life-jackets, just holding onto the seat cushion if the plane went down in water (yes yes, assuming best case there and it not scattering like confetti over a large area), but in Australasia the airlines carry life-jackets and the safety brief covers their fitting. I'm not sure if that's a geographical thing or a regulatory difference, but seat cushions would be cheaper than tested, checked life jackets.

We were on a plane once, to, oh I dunno, Las Vegas or Phoenix.

And when the Flight Attendant got to the part about using your seat cushion for floatation, he was basically riffing on how you should hold on to it as you jump in to the sand, since we were pretty much never going to be over water at all on this flight. It was a nice change to the standard announcement we normally get.