Supplement Four
SOC-14 5K
OK, bear with me.
I'm looking at the LKW deckplans for the 20 ton Launch. In the text, the ship is described as having 2G performance. In the stats, the ship is listed as having 1G performance (except the combat gig, which is listed at 5Gs).
So...I take this as evidence of the Escape Velocity rule.
I started wondering...should all small craft be upgraded to 2Gs when operating in space? What about the vessels that are already listed at 6Gs? Is it just the 1G crafts that need to be upgraded?
But, then, I thought, "That doesn't make sense." You'd list your M-Drives one way or the other. Since most Traveller adventures take place in space, M-Drives in starship descriptions must reflect their performance in space. Subtract 1G from that to see performance in atmo (or, more specificaly, just subtract the G rating of the planet listed in the STANDARD WORLDS table in Book 2 to find the ship's performance close to that planet's surface). This is supported by other CT sources, including the specific mention of it in Striker.
So, a 20 ton Launch only produces 1G of thrust when operating in space.
But...
But...the text in LKW's says, in more than one location, that the drive is rated at 2Gs...and the stats of the vessel are rated at 1G....
...and this is when I remembered something.
Plop out your copy of Sup 7: Traders and Gunboats. Look at pg. 24 where the stats of the Far Trader are listed.
See the Performance listing? It reads:
Acceleration: 2G. Normal operations and crusing at 1G.
Looking at the text description of the Type A2, it reads:
"Using the type 200 hull, the far trader is capable of 1-G acceleration and Jump-2."
Well...what does that mean? Has the ship got a drive that produces 2Gs of thrust or 1G of thrust? Has it got some M-Drive "helper", like the 20 ton Launch, that produces 2Gs when close to a world? Or does that "2Gs" refer to some variation of the Type A2 not mentioned in the variant section of the ship's description?
Keep bearing with me...
Then, I remembered seeing something like this for other Classic Traveller stats.
I turn to pg. 10 of the IISS Ship Files, and for the 300 ton Heyan Rose class Freight Tractor Vessel, I see:
Acceleration: 2G constant (1G)
I know the "(1G)" means the ship has altered performance under certain conditions mentioned in its description, but what does the word "contant" mean? Why put that tag in there when most CT descriptions just list a G rating?
I see that word "constant" popping up here and there.
Look at the Kinunir in Adventure 1. It says "constant". There are other instances of that popping up as well. I'm wondering what the difference is between a ship listed as "1G" and a ship listed as "1G constant" is.
So, what are we talking about here? Are these all "left overs" from 1st edition Traveller?
Or, is there some M-Drive description in CT someplace that I haven't read?
And, that doggone 20 ton Launch. Does it perform at 2Gs in space or 1G? Does it have some other drive "helping" it when it's close to the surface of a planet?
Care to ponder the mystery of the M-Drive?
I'm looking at the LKW deckplans for the 20 ton Launch. In the text, the ship is described as having 2G performance. In the stats, the ship is listed as having 1G performance (except the combat gig, which is listed at 5Gs).
So...I take this as evidence of the Escape Velocity rule.
I started wondering...should all small craft be upgraded to 2Gs when operating in space? What about the vessels that are already listed at 6Gs? Is it just the 1G crafts that need to be upgraded?
But, then, I thought, "That doesn't make sense." You'd list your M-Drives one way or the other. Since most Traveller adventures take place in space, M-Drives in starship descriptions must reflect their performance in space. Subtract 1G from that to see performance in atmo (or, more specificaly, just subtract the G rating of the planet listed in the STANDARD WORLDS table in Book 2 to find the ship's performance close to that planet's surface). This is supported by other CT sources, including the specific mention of it in Striker.
So, a 20 ton Launch only produces 1G of thrust when operating in space.
But...
But...the text in LKW's says, in more than one location, that the drive is rated at 2Gs...and the stats of the vessel are rated at 1G....
...and this is when I remembered something.
Plop out your copy of Sup 7: Traders and Gunboats. Look at pg. 24 where the stats of the Far Trader are listed.
See the Performance listing? It reads:
Acceleration: 2G. Normal operations and crusing at 1G.
Looking at the text description of the Type A2, it reads:
"Using the type 200 hull, the far trader is capable of 1-G acceleration and Jump-2."
Well...what does that mean? Has the ship got a drive that produces 2Gs of thrust or 1G of thrust? Has it got some M-Drive "helper", like the 20 ton Launch, that produces 2Gs when close to a world? Or does that "2Gs" refer to some variation of the Type A2 not mentioned in the variant section of the ship's description?
Keep bearing with me...
Then, I remembered seeing something like this for other Classic Traveller stats.
I turn to pg. 10 of the IISS Ship Files, and for the 300 ton Heyan Rose class Freight Tractor Vessel, I see:
Acceleration: 2G constant (1G)
I know the "(1G)" means the ship has altered performance under certain conditions mentioned in its description, but what does the word "contant" mean? Why put that tag in there when most CT descriptions just list a G rating?
I see that word "constant" popping up here and there.
Look at the Kinunir in Adventure 1. It says "constant". There are other instances of that popping up as well. I'm wondering what the difference is between a ship listed as "1G" and a ship listed as "1G constant" is.
So, what are we talking about here? Are these all "left overs" from 1st edition Traveller?
Or, is there some M-Drive description in CT someplace that I haven't read?
And, that doggone 20 ton Launch. Does it perform at 2Gs in space or 1G? Does it have some other drive "helping" it when it's close to the surface of a planet?
Care to ponder the mystery of the M-Drive?
