Using HG2 for hard sci fi

[mike wightman]

A few of the recent threads have highlighted the unrealistic elements of traveller ships.

Is it possible to hand wave more realism using the same design system and not break the setting?

Course it is

Use High Guard 2 as written with the following changes.

1. acceleration is now measured in tenths of a g, so a 1g drive is now a 0.1g drive etc.

You'll have to allow for longer real space trips

2. jump fuel requirements are now used as reaction mass for the manoeuvre drive rather than the jump drive - a 0.1g drive requires 10% of the hull for fuel etc.

3. hull armour equal to the maneuver drive rating is required

4. power plant fuel requirement becomes heat sinks and radiators

No artificial gravity - you may put staterooms in a spinning configuration - lab ship - or get used to much lower ship gravity due to constant thrust.

 

[Hal]

Another thing you can do if you're interested...

Make it so that the physics behind "reactionless drives" loses "phase" with normal space once velocity attains a given limit. A limit might be 10% the speed of light for instance, or it might even be as little as 1% the speed of light.

One thing you might want to do, it take a look at GURPS SPACESHIPS for GURPS 4e. It is a PDF book and as of recent, I think a PoD book. It keeps ship building relatively simple in the sense that each "Slot" (and there are 20 of them - a Front, Mid, and Rear, each with 6 spaces, except for two that have an extra "central Core") constitutes roughly 5% of the ship's mass. If you're interested, let me know and I'll get you the URL for the product and you can view it yourself. It does have heat sink rules in it, rules that you might be able to adapt for use with Traveller.

 

[mike wightman]

There is no reactionless drive here - that's why you need 10% of the hull as fuel for each 0.1g of manoeuvre drive.

I've got GURPS 4th edition Spaceships by the way - and all the supplements