Given the construction deck, manufacturing plant, mineral refinery and smelter tonnage in MgT2e High Guard, what is there to stop a properly equipped ship from annual maintenance anywhere, given a source of raw materials? Just a passing thought.
Starship Self-Maintenance
- Thread starter Spartan159
- Start date
Condottiere
SOC-14 5K
Nothing, if you have the requisite materials, tools and qualified personnel onboard.
Possibly, it should be cheaper.
Possibly, it should be cheaper.
Timerover51
SOC-14 5K
As you are talking about High Guard, so primarily military ships, I see nothing that would prohibit a large repair ship capable of doing such maintenance. The US Navy had several large repair ships in the Pacific that could handle a wide range of major repairs, especially in conjunction with a big floating dry dock.
kilemall
SOC-14 5K
The logistical construct of the Mobile Shipyard in Starfire allowed for major repair. But it was not entirely self-sufficient, believe it required a supply link.
That would be my break point, instead of just repair or even shipyard work, carrying on an effectively independent B starport would involve a lot of industrial engineering and workers. It SHOULD be expensive and have to be justified.
Now then, if this is common then that would feed into the sort of reality that
Even if your setting doesn't do that as a rule, don't be surprised if your players make one or more of the above happen.
If you are good with that effect, go for it.
That would be my break point, instead of just repair or even shipyard work, carrying on an effectively independent B starport would involve a lot of industrial engineering and workers. It SHOULD be expensive and have to be justified.
Now then, if this is common then that would feed into the sort of reality that
- doesn't have a public A/B starport in six parsecs but many private concerns have their own bases,
- deep space exploration and conquest is closer to the get out there and go culture of the Age of Sail, and
- pirates are based everywhere and impossible to get rid of permanently.
Even if your setting doesn't do that as a rule, don't be surprised if your players make one or more of the above happen.
If you are good with that effect, go for it.
Maintenance and repair are usually two separate issues in Traveller; A or B starports can do both, but the former is much quicker and cheaper than the latter. Likewise availability of the latter seems to be contingent on the TL of the starport being at least as high as that of the starship in question, while the former does not share this limitation.
There was a rule back in the day in GT:Starships that permitted vessels to carry, as prepaid and prepared materials, all the necessary overhaul supplies with them -- in the same way the CT adventure Beltstrike let ships carry stockpiles of life support supplies for extended expeditions -- with the idea being that the Engineering crew could perform the annual maintenance "in the field" as necessary. I adopted this rule a while back for MTU, but as a practical matter it has rarely come into play.
Recollecting GT off the top of my head, for one year of overhaul kit the cost was 0.05% of the ship's value and the materials displaced 0.5% of the ship's tonnage; with the basic Engineering support (and repair) facilities already built-in aboard, having these extra supplies in inventory would let the ship's crew overhaul her regardless of local startport and TL. At starports A or B, annual maintenance would take the usual fortnight; at starport C it would take 4 weeks, and otherwise it would take a whopping 8 weeks at starport D or less (since the poorer startport facilities would have little to offer in the way of machine-shop-style support).
In general, I have found the up-front costs and the time sink to be reasonable accommodations, and typically, additional life support supplies are usually the larger concern when outfitting for a long-duration expedition or deployment.
If you want to allow self-maintenance, go for it. If you don't want to, here are some plausible reasons not to allow it or make it difficult:
* Starport facilities have human resources and operations processes to perform annual maintenance all of the time; they are good at it because they are experienced at it. A startship crew doing its own maintenance once per year cannot have the same level of experience/expertise that a full-time maintenance facility will have, leading to slower work pace and inefficiencies from mistakes, rework, missed items, etc.
* Annual maintenance requires inspection & test equipment that is not ordinarily carried aboard ship. If you plan to do your own maintenance, you must make special arrangement for this specialized equipment. (Allocations of cost & tonnage. Perhaps the cost is significant and reasonable to share over many ships in starport maintenance facility, but not economical to put on every vessel...)
* Annual maintenance requires calibration equipment that is not ordinarily carried aboard. (Perhaps jump calibration equipment cannot go through a jump without itself needing to be re-calibrated, making 100% self-maintenance impossible...)
* Starport facilities have human resources and operations processes to perform annual maintenance all of the time; they are good at it because they are experienced at it. A startship crew doing its own maintenance once per year cannot have the same level of experience/expertise that a full-time maintenance facility will have, leading to slower work pace and inefficiencies from mistakes, rework, missed items, etc.
* Annual maintenance requires inspection & test equipment that is not ordinarily carried aboard ship. If you plan to do your own maintenance, you must make special arrangement for this specialized equipment. (Allocations of cost & tonnage. Perhaps the cost is significant and reasonable to share over many ships in starport maintenance facility, but not economical to put on every vessel...)
* Annual maintenance requires calibration equipment that is not ordinarily carried aboard. (Perhaps jump calibration equipment cannot go through a jump without itself needing to be re-calibrated, making 100% self-maintenance impossible...)
Dang, I need a "Like" button.
Condottiere
SOC-14 5K
Theoretically, you could pass the spaceship through the carwash, which uses nuclear dampers to clear off accumulated radiation on the hull.
Dang, I need a "Like" button.
I liked it for you and for me. Another thing to file away to use at some point (re: self maintenance and having a crashed ship adventure ready).
The Gooberment requires it. They get a cut of the fees.
Some maintenance should be always ongoing. Some stuff will need to be checked weekly, monthly, quarterly, annually, or every few years - it is the responsibility of the crew to oversee that.
Some maintenance may require some downtime - the ship may need to rent a hanger or someplace to land. Engine modules may come pack in a special shipping container that actually contains all the necessary equipment aside from cranes/forklifts needed to swap out a failed module with a new or rebuilt replacement module.
In any event, performing any major maintenance/repairs in the field will always take longer, for many of the reasons already stated above - better facilities like drydocks that offer cranes and equipment not usually carried, large trained crews that can work around the clock, access to greater amount of supplies.
A refit will almost always go faster in a shipyard.
Some maintenance may require some downtime - the ship may need to rent a hanger or someplace to land. Engine modules may come pack in a special shipping container that actually contains all the necessary equipment aside from cranes/forklifts needed to swap out a failed module with a new or rebuilt replacement module.
In any event, performing any major maintenance/repairs in the field will always take longer, for many of the reasons already stated above - better facilities like drydocks that offer cranes and equipment not usually carried, large trained crews that can work around the clock, access to greater amount of supplies.
A refit will almost always go faster in a shipyard.
Self maintenance should involve time you could be spending on other important tasks but often it's a jump time event. Time should be longer than what can be accomplished at a port because you aren't as well equipped then you need a task check at least a step more difficult than a port. The Effect determines how well or how bad you did and what detriment you may face such as a critical effect on a system until fixed at a port.
You take yer chances.
You take yer chances.
Time could also be a factor. It may not be a critical issue for naval elements that are not involved in a conflict, as they could spend the time, if they had the kit, to do it themselves. But every day that a merchant vessel is not available for work is money lost. Scheduling it while on a layover looking for cargo could mitigate the risk of accumulating costs not balanced equitably by income, but it could still be an issue.
Naval vessels in a conflict zone would most likely want it done ASAP so they're available to the TF/TG/Fleet commander within the time frame given by them to the skipper. If doing it themselves is going to take only a week, while getting to a facility that will get it done in three days but are one jump away, then the boss will have to do the risk assessment about the likelihood of equipment failures if it's done by his own crew rather than experts back in port.
Naval vessels in a conflict zone would most likely want it done ASAP so they're available to the TF/TG/Fleet commander within the time frame given by them to the skipper. If doing it themselves is going to take only a week, while getting to a facility that will get it done in three days but are one jump away, then the boss will have to do the risk assessment about the likelihood of equipment failures if it's done by his own crew rather than experts back in port.
Back to the OP.
In particular, I think cruisers and dreadnoughts for example are designed for extended campaigns and power projection, far away from a friendly starport, and that includes maintaining auxiliary vessels as well. Rather than rely on the component rules, I would say this is implicit in the mission requirements of such large ships.
In particular, I think cruisers and dreadnoughts for example are designed for extended campaigns and power projection, far away from a friendly starport, and that includes maintaining auxiliary vessels as well. Rather than rely on the component rules, I would say this is implicit in the mission requirements of such large ships.
khadaji2002
SOC-12
Self-maintenance should always be an option. I like the idea that in most Imperial space there will need to be certifications completed, signed off on, and documentation carried with ship's papers. Here's how I would run this in my games:
In border areas especially I could see starports carrying kits of everything needed to extend a ship's travel for a full year or more if they are heading into unknown/independent areas. If you're heading out of Imperial space, have the money and cargo space, and want to pay a bit of premium to have Imperial supplies on board you can buy the supplies and parts to take with you. No hassle, but likely very expensive up front.
In the heart of the Imperium? My players would find themselves hassled about missed maintenance checks. If they don't allow the starports to do the scheduled maintenance the hassles would get more and more intrusive. Who wants a free merchant needing rescue because the crew wasn't doing upkeep?
In border areas especially I could see starports carrying kits of everything needed to extend a ship's travel for a full year or more if they are heading into unknown/independent areas. If you're heading out of Imperial space, have the money and cargo space, and want to pay a bit of premium to have Imperial supplies on board you can buy the supplies and parts to take with you. No hassle, but likely very expensive up front.
In the heart of the Imperium? My players would find themselves hassled about missed maintenance checks. If they don't allow the starports to do the scheduled maintenance the hassles would get more and more intrusive. Who wants a free merchant needing rescue because the crew wasn't doing upkeep?
Good points.
I would also consider adding an insurance liability that comes with not having a certified third party eventually vet the overhaul process.
IMTU one way I prevent excess PC wealth is by directing paid-off merchant characters toward the purchase of their own insurance to cover loss or damages to the expensive vessel that they now own and the precious (maybe to somebody) cargos it carries. The rates for this insurance are adjustable based on higher-risk features of the vessel (including being loaded-down with as many mounted offensive weapons as possible, having an M-Drive larger than its J-Drive, mounting a computer bigger than the J-Drive requires, and so on) and/or high-risk behaviors on the part of the crew (such as not using Jump Cassettes when they are otherwise readily available, frequently operating outside patrolled space, or insert your favorite campaign anecdote here).
So, shippers are going to be reluctant to have their goods carried as freight on a vessel whose maintenance certification has lapsed and is therefore a bad risk, and the Hortalez et Cie underwriter/adjuster may bump the ship's monthly premium up substantially... or even deny a claim, unleashing a flood of lawsuits and liens from unsatisfied customers whose cargos (or relatives/employees) have been delayed or even lost.
For exploratory/scientific/recreational vessels not in commercial service but on deep wilderness expeditions, this commercial certification matter is much less of an issue; they can just square everything up once they return to civilization, if they feel the need. Their insurance premiums will be higher to begin with anyway since expeditions are inherently categorized as risky activities (and therefore sponsors are typically sought to specifically cover such).
