T20 Starship Design Spreadsheet v1.8

[BetterThanLife]

Falkyn,
Gawd I love playing with your spreadsheet.
I did notice a couple of things. If your jump drive is higher than your maneuver drive it uses the EP for the Jump-Drive to calculate agility. In most warship cases the Jump Drive is the lower number so it doesn't matter but for most merchants it does.

Some of the data numbers for weapon factors is incorrect. (Missiles being the one that jumped out and grabbed me first.) Missiles should be 1 1 2 instead of 1 2 3, or whatever it was.

It calculates engineers for ships by rounding, when T20 says that it is rounded down. (HG was rounded up, T20 says for ships with less than 35 ton of drives an engineer isn't required and it is one engineer for each full 35 tons of drive.)

Minor quibbles. But thought you should know.

(Now if I can figure out how to make the Chatl work.

)

Originally posted by Falkayn:
The T20 Starship Design Spreadsheet v1.8 is now available from my T20 Downloads page.

Amongst the changes are sample Far and Free Traders as per standard designs errata (with a small errata ) and some new trading stats to help you work out how good your trader designs are.

 

[savage]

Great job. Thanks for the upgrade!


Savage

 

[Falkayn]

Originally posted by Bhoins:
One minor glitch. I made up a ship based on the Sub-Liner on there. The ship had Jump-3 and Maneuver-1, no energy weapons and a Model-2BIS computer (No energy required). With the Powerplant producing 18 EP (600 ton ship) it had no agility.
Yet it shold have an agility of 1 or 2 depending on how you read the rules on agility. (Back in LBB5 your agility couldn't exceed your maneuver Drive.)

Hmmm ... just quickly glancing at the spreadsheet it should have Agility of 3. Not sure what is happening there, that's a pretty simple calculation - are you sure about the number of EPs left over?

 

[BetterThanLife]

It should have an agility of 2, because the Maneuver drive uses 6 EP. (But I don't think you can have more agility than thrust.)

It is using the EP from the Jump Drive instead of the maneuver drive. It cleared up when I changed the formula to just subtract the addition of the Jump Drive EP instead of picking the higher one. It won't check to see if it has enough power to run the computer and the jump drive at the same time, but then again I don't think it ever did. (It will under your formula check to see if there is enough power to power the jump drive, the computer and any other powered equipment you have at once, but if you are jumping the two you need is the drive and the computer. (Since you can't fight in Jump Space.

) And since that and minnimum life support is what you need to enter jump, (hence the tradition of Jump Dimming) whether you can power other systems or agility under jump drive are meaningless.

Originally posted by Falkayn:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Bhoins:
One minor glitch. I made up a ship based on the Sub-Liner on there. The ship had Jump-3 and Maneuver-1, no energy weapons and a Model-2BIS computer (No energy required). With the Powerplant producing 18 EP (600 ton ship) it had no agility.
Yet it shold have an agility of 1 or 2 depending on how you read the rules on agility. (Back in LBB5 your agility couldn't exceed your maneuver Drive.)

Hmmm ... just quickly glancing at the spreadsheet it should have Agility of 3. Not sure what is happening there, that's a pretty simple calculation - are you sure about the number of EPs left over? </font>[/QUOTE]

 

[endie]

If you alter x to equal 170 in the two export routines then the exports work correctly (in Office XP). It fixes the blank file save name (it saves as the name and class combo), and it exports all the way to the last comment, including the weapons block.

All in all, a really useful piece of work, which saved me a lot of time!

 

[Falkayn]

Originally posted by Endie:
If you alter x to equal 170 in the two export routines then the exports work correctly (in Office XP). It fixes the blank file save name (it saves as the name and class combo), and it exports all the way to the last comment, including the weapons block.

All in all, a really useful piece of work, which saved me a lot of time!

Thanks!

The latest copy of v1.8 should have that corrected already.

 

[RainOfSteel]

v1.9 suggestions:

1) Under "Accomodations & Fittings", I'd like an extra row for Staterooms. That way, I can have some staterooms be "Single Occupancy", and some staterooms be "Double Occupancy", both on the same vessel (officer and rating rooms, etc.).

2) Also, I'd like to see two or three "custom" compartment rows. Suite #1, Suite #2, and Suite #3. (Captain's Quarters, Admiral's Quarters, Imperial Class Suites, etc.) There would be open spots to enter the tonnage and cost of the compartment.

 

[Shadow Bear]

Originally posted by RainOfSteel:
v1.9 suggestions:

1) Under "Accomodations & Fittings", I'd like an extra row for Staterooms. That way, I can have some staterooms be "Single Occupancy", and some staterooms be "Double Occupancy", both on the same vessel (officer and rating rooms, etc.).

2) Also, I'd like to see two or three "custom" compartment rows. Suite #1, Suite #2, and Suite #3. (Captain's Quarters, Admiral's Quarters, Imperial Class Suites, etc.) There would be open spots to enter the tonnage and cost of the compartment.

I agree with both of these requests. I think they would make great additions to your sheet.

I would also request turret batteries to be set as the designer wishes. I know this is not an easy request but it is something that is needed.

 

[veltyen]

2) Also, I'd like to see two or three "custom" compartment rows. Suite #1, Suite #2, and Suite #3. (Captain's Quarters, Admiral's Quarters, Imperial Class Suites, etc.) There would be open spots to enter the tonnage and cost of the compartment.

Hmmm. I've been treating suites as multiple staterooms (ie, occupancy less then 1).

Captains room/Small suite - double stateroom (small office/assistants stateroom, and a normal stateroom)

Admirals room/Suite - Quad stateroom

Large Suite - 8 stateroom

Royal Suite - 16 stateroom

Though I can see the point for smaller size but opulently appointed staterooms as well. 2* cost luxury and 4 * cost opulent type thing.

The ability to set the battery size would be useful as well.

 

[RainOfSteel]

Originally posted by veltyen:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr /> 2) Also, I'd like to see two or three "custom" compartment rows. Suite #1, Suite #2, and Suite #3. (Captain's Quarters, Admiral's Quarters, Imperial Class Suites, etc.) There would be open spots to enter the tonnage and cost of the compartment.

Hmmm. I've been treating suites as multiple staterooms (ie, occupancy less then 1).

Captains room/Small suite - double stateroom (small office/assistants stateroom, and a normal stateroom)

Admirals room/Suite - Quad stateroom

Large Suite - 8 stateroom

Royal Suite - 16 stateroom
</font>[/QUOTE]How is this expressed accurately in the output description? You can always set the number of staterooms higher than needed, but on the descriptions, it comes out looking like there is more passenger capacity than there is.

And I'd like to point out that in the "custom/suite" line items I'd like to see, that there would be a spot for custom passenger capacity (I missed mentioning that, but then, it's already there). This way, when I enter "bunk-room" type compartments, I can enter in the largish number they would require.

When I think about it, I'd really like six to twelve custom compartment lines. When I put together passenger liners (real ones, not tramp freighters), they'll have a bunch of compartment types, just like real passenger liners.

EDIT--
But those suggestions of mine are just that, I can live without the changes, they'd just be "nice to have". The spreadsheet is still great as it is.

 

[veltyen]

How is this expressed accurately in the output description? You can always set the number of staterooms higher than needed, but on the descriptions, it comes out looking like there is more passenger capacity than there is.

I wasn't talking specifically about the spreadsheet

, more in general ship design.

For the spreadsheet I tend to calculate this into the occupancy settings. The spreadsheet happily accepts fractional stateroom occupancies.

 

[Falkayn]

I'm listening guys, although not spending much time doing anything just yet.

The ship descriptions are pretty much intended to be edited by you as needs. But I've done enough ships myself with split stateroom occupancy to understand the desirability of listing all the single, double and triple/quadruple occupancy staterooms separately, so I'll look into that.

 

[RainOfSteel]

Originally posted by Falkayn:
I'm listening guys, although not spending much time doing anything just yet.

The ship descriptions are pretty much intended to be edited by you as needs. But I've done enough ships myself with split stateroom occupancy to understand the desirability of listing all the single, double and triple/quadruple occupancy staterooms separately, so I'll look into that.

I'm happy with whatever it is you do . . . I can't imagine the amount of work that went into that.

 

[BetterThanLife]

Originally posted by Falkayn:
I'm listening guys, although not spending much time doing anything just yet.

The ship descriptions are pretty much intended to be edited by you as needs. But I've done enough ships myself with split stateroom occupancy to understand the desirability of listing all the single, double and triple/quadruple occupancy staterooms separately, so I'll look into that.

Actually single and double are probably enough. Everything is esoteric enough to be typed in, in teh starship description lines. Besides trip and quad staterooms aren't exactly canon anyway.

Though I guess a trip stateroom that was created out of 1.5 staterooms is canon.

That in reality is simply double occupancy.

I would still like to see desiginated batteries. (Because my next project is conversion of Supp-9 to T20.)

And if the printed output would call itself a TAS Form 3, Ship's Papers that would be cool as well.

 

[vutpakdi]

The starship design spreadsheet was invaluable while working on a joint project with Michael Taylor. Saved me quite a bit of time, and I thank you for it.

I do have a few issues:
</font>

• The bridge calculations don't seem to work if a non starship is being created: the bridge tonage is always 4 dTons irrespective of the actual size.</font>
• I wish there was a way to add empty turrets (with space and cost allocated).</font>
• I wish that size and cost breakdowns for avionics, sensors, and communications were included an not rolled up in the computer information.</font>
• The in atmosphere speeds seem rather high for non airframe craft.</font>

All that said, thank you for doing the spreadsheet and providing it for public use!

Thanks again,

Ron

 

[RainOfSteel]

v1.8 again.

The Weapons description block does not seem to accurately show ammo for mixed turrets (doesn't show anything for sandcasters, and ammo reads 0 missles all the time).

 

[BetterThanLife]

Ammo has to be added under magazines.

FIrst you enter how many magazines then how many missiles of which type. You can add sand without magazines.

Originally posted by RainOfSteel:
v1.8 again.

The Weapons description block does not seem to accurately show ammo for mixed turrets (doesn't show anything for sandcasters, and ammo reads 0 missles all the time).

 

[LcKedovan]

Originally posted by RainOfSteel:
v1.9 suggestions:

2) Also, I'd like to see two or three "custom" compartment rows. Suite #1, Suite #2, and Suite #3. (Captain's Quarters, Admiral's Quarters, Imperial Class Suites, etc.) There would be open spots to enter the tonnage and cost of the compartment.

I had previously mentioned this idea to Angus a few years back when I converted a bunch of Aslan ships to T20 in order to add things like a "Shrine of Heroes" etc.

Unfortunately when Angus and I last started chatting a few months ago about updates he was between jobs and I was moving so no idea what is in the new version .

-W.

 

[RainOfSteel]

Originally posted by Bhoins:
Ammo has to be added under magazines.

FIrst you enter how many magazines then how many missiles of which type. You can add sand without magazines.

</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by RainOfSteel:
v1.8 again.

The Weapons description block does not seem to accurately show ammo for mixed turrets (doesn't show anything for sandcasters, and ammo reads 0 missles all the time).

</font>[/QUOTE]The magazine cell had a positive value.

 

[Falkayn]

Hey guys, I'm currently looking at starting my own business ... so less time than ever before!

So post any fixes here in the meantime, it may help everyone else out, and it will give me something to start with when I get time.

On the plus side, the new webhost I am now paying for has let me stop the annoying popup ads that my site was getting when I hosted on 50megs.com.