Starship log books?
- Thread starter Enoff
- Start date
I always thought of it more like a flight plan for an airplane.
Throw in:
Departure World
Jump Entry (Ship's Time)
Jump Exit (Ship's Time)
Destination World
I'm surprised there isn't a TAS Form for this.
Throw in:
Departure World
Jump Entry (Ship's Time)
Jump Exit (Ship's Time)
Destination World
I'm surprised there isn't a TAS Form for this.
Note that actual forms are unlikely to be used. It's more likely to be a database with similar fields, perhaps even a unix-log style text log... with cumulative crypto checksums.
The Navigation log is likely to add a line any time a new course reference (Jump or N-space) is entered. A separate position log likely exists, too.
The Drive logs any time a drive changes thrust or angle, plus power-up/power-down.
The weapons logs likely log every time the guns are accessed, repointed, etc.
The logs probably use a crypto checksum in every entry (based upon the previous X entries plus this one) to prevent easy tampering.
Hell, there's likely a door log, logging each door opening and closing.
And a toilet log. And a log for every filter.
Cargo logs will record the tonnage, ownership, port and date of onload, port and date of offload, declared contents, declared value, declared hazards, and quite possibly price data and amount owed upon delivery, as well as who entered the data, and who reviewed it. It's also possible that an event field may be present - just in case it's damaged or opened in flight.
The Navigation log is likely to add a line any time a new course reference (Jump or N-space) is entered. A separate position log likely exists, too.
The Drive logs any time a drive changes thrust or angle, plus power-up/power-down.
The weapons logs likely log every time the guns are accessed, repointed, etc.
The logs probably use a crypto checksum in every entry (based upon the previous X entries plus this one) to prevent easy tampering.
Hell, there's likely a door log, logging each door opening and closing.
And a toilet log. And a log for every filter.
Cargo logs will record the tonnage, ownership, port and date of onload, port and date of offload, declared contents, declared value, declared hazards, and quite possibly price data and amount owed upon delivery, as well as who entered the data, and who reviewed it. It's also possible that an event field may be present - just in case it's damaged or opened in flight.
I wonder about this. Absolutely, for higher TL starports/worlds.
But what about the places where you couldn't expect to even read a txt file? What rang this little bell for me is how this relates to the ideas of an Imperial ID I've been percolating ( I know there's been some prior discussion on this, here and on TML ).
Maybe even on the lower TL backwater with the Class E port, there's someone lurking around with a reader who walks out to the ship and processes such stuff. But the idea of having to roll with lower TL variants of documentation across the Imperium ( or outside of it ) is interesting to me.
Enoff
SOC-13
I wasn't thinking of official papers for the Starport or Planetary authorities but that is a whole interesting thing itself plus the different TL of documentation. When I started playing around with "Trader" I wanted to record what had happened at each turn. Then I starting thinking about the sci-fi and historical nautical books I have read and I thought, I need a log book!
MThompson016
SOC-12
The USN uses electronic logs extensively these days. Weapons systems logs and deck logs are what I saw used.
Use of modern nautical logs can bring flavor, but so can the use of big green notebook. You'd want things like posistion in system when entering/exiting jump, time into and out of atmosphere, refuelings, cargo loaded/discharged, personnel matters (Mast, discharge, hiring), and ship's condition. The logs themselves could be something the lienholder on a free trader wants to examine from time to time.
Or else they could be a Macguffin to drive further adventures.
Use of modern nautical logs can bring flavor, but so can the use of big green notebook. You'd want things like posistion in system when entering/exiting jump, time into and out of atmosphere, refuelings, cargo loaded/discharged, personnel matters (Mast, discharge, hiring), and ship's condition. The logs themselves could be something the lienholder on a free trader wants to examine from time to time.
Or else they could be a Macguffin to drive further adventures.
Enoki
SOC-14 1K
I'd think you'd need something more akin to a ship's set of logs than an aircraft flight plan. Starships stay operational for weeks at a time, not just a few hours per flight like a plane.
I could see this being necessary for reasons like insurance, maintenance, and customs.
For example, you land your 40 year old far trader at an A class starport with an anal retentive bureaucracy on the world and they demand to see your logs. You show them, such as they are, and the bureaucrats say you can't depart for safety and insurance reasons until you do 250,000 cr worth of maintenance on your ship and get your logs straight...
I could see this being necessary for reasons like insurance, maintenance, and customs.
For example, you land your 40 year old far trader at an A class starport with an anal retentive bureaucracy on the world and they demand to see your logs. You show them, such as they are, and the bureaucrats say you can't depart for safety and insurance reasons until you do 250,000 cr worth of maintenance on your ship and get your logs straight...
Expect to be letting the inspector read the files...
Delightfully nasty! You may find this thread interesting. In it Marchand shared a nifty visa system and Doyle Hunt explained real world zarpe and pratique requirements. Log books and other paperwork would definitely play a role in whether the authorities will issue those documents.
For example, you land your 40 year old far trader at an A class starport with an anal retentive bureaucracy on the world and they demand to see your logs. You show them, such as they are, and the bureaucrats say you can't depart for safety and insurance reasons until you do 250,000 cr worth of maintenance on your ship and get your logs straight...
While in a 3I/OTU setting local planetary bureaucrats wouldn't be enforcing rules inside the extrality lines, that doesn't mean the Imperial SPA officials assigned to Arglebargle Downport wouldn't have a similar anal retentive reputation. After all, the Bwaps are canonical!
As Wil notes, there will be any number of specialized logs kept aboard. Most of the "minor" types like hatch logs, equipment operation/run time, and such will be gathered automatically.
IMTU general equipment and operation logs can, with proper access codes, be downloaded onto hand comps. For example, in the Chamax Plague adventure I often mention - the one in which the players killed off the bugs with their ship's sandcaster - the players had earlier dumped a "ship status" log for the Shaarin Challenger which told them they wouldn't be able to fly off the ship as they first planned.
Enoff
SOC-13
I was looking through the Forms and Charts section and noticed Nats had made an excel cargo manifest, I suppose a cargo log would best be a spread sheet but I don't know if that satisfies me.
I was looking over these cargo forms and I don't know why the ship information would be needed at the top of every page.
I was looking over these cargo forms and I don't know why the ship information would be needed at the top of every page.
Enoff
SOC-13
Nats had also posted a pdf of his excel spreedsheet and it was so clean I was able to run it through the Acrobat form wizard and make it interactive with no fuss. Made me realize how easy it will be to make a form interactive if its setup correctly. I just made up stuff to fill out a couple fields.
Timerover51
SOC-14 5K
For shipping cargo, you want to know the footprint (length and width), the cubic volume as shipped, weight, does it contain liquids or material that can leak or shift, and is any special handling required. If radioactive or boihazard, then is isolation required from other cargo or personnel.
If individual high-value items, such as vehicles, power units, Jump Drive capacitors, Jump Drive units, and maneuver drive units,then condition with photographs and serial numbers will be needed.
I would expect a requirement for hard copy documents to be presented and also filed away.
If individual high-value items, such as vehicles, power units, Jump Drive capacitors, Jump Drive units, and maneuver drive units,then condition with photographs and serial numbers will be needed.
I would expect a requirement for hard copy documents to be presented and also filed away.
mike wightman
SOC-14 10K
I thought this was going to be about navigational logs and the like, not cargo manifests and insurance documentation 
IMTU the ship's captain keeps an operations log, while the navigator keeps their own jump rutter.
Some of the forms that have popped up on this thread are going to be really useful.
IMTU the ship's captain keeps an operations log, while the navigator keeps their own jump rutter.
Some of the forms that have popped up on this thread are going to be really useful.
Condottiere
SOC-14 5K
In theory, the dungeon master has to log everything, for consistency and coherency.
Then there's the Bill O'Reilly school of live broadcasting.
Then there's the Bill O'Reilly school of live broadcasting.
Enoff
SOC-13
Well the thread has evolved on its own, which is good but my first object was while playing "Trader" to log what was happening. I was thinking of Captains log (events), Navigators (movement) log and Cargo Masters log.
Insurance, officials checking documents, what type of media the data is being stored on etc. etc. is this threads evolution on its own.
Insurance, officials checking documents, what type of media the data is being stored on etc. etc. is this threads evolution on its own.
