Condottiere
SOC-14 5K
How expensive would it be?
You set up a telescope, and pay off a couple of post graduate students.
You set up a telescope, and pay off a couple of post graduate students.
Vote Your Canon #1: Empty Hex Jumps (consensus: YES)
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Well, a few telescope satellites comprising a Long Baseline Array, but yeah. That's a thesis project right there!
... it's also a scenario hook. Grav drives make putting the scope-sats up cheap, and Jump means they can be parsecs apart for better triangulation, but someone's got to put them there in the first place, then check back on them to download image data.
Spinward Flow
SOC-14 5K
Correction.
Swap out the air/raft in a Type-S Scout/Courier for an astronomy/astrometrics styled workshop/lab space and you've got a mobile telescope observatory that can get all kinds of useful parallax for observations on the contents of a target hex from only a few parsecs away. When you can move the telescope observatory closer to what you want to observe, you don't need gigantic telescopes capable of resolving the edge of the universe anymore. High resolution "short range" telescopics (1-6 parsecs ideally) will provide a wealth of observational data for the researchers to pore over.
With "pulsar timekeeping" for time synchronization of observations and determination of positions (with a little laser rangefinder help for backup), you can even get to really wide baseline interferometry using 2 Scout/Couriers equipped with such workshops operating in tandem for high resolution survey mapping through electromagnetic spectrum observations. The researchers can even be hosted aboard as passengers while the observations are being taken.
Or you could just, you know, go there in person. LOL
Condottiere
SOC-14 5K
Flyover Hex, or is that Flythru Hex?
The point being, for some reason it's not a Stopover Hex, and the reason for that has to be explained.
The point being, for some reason it's not a Stopover Hex, and the reason for that has to be explained.
Spinward Flow
SOC-14 5K
Best part? The natives will never accept the answer no matter what answer you give them.
Would the average citizen really care about what is/is not going on in a system a number of hexes away?
No they wouldn't. They have a more vested interest on what is happening around them, what is happening on their planet, their town, their street. If it is close enough to them, then it could become a case of NIMBY/YIMBY.
Otherwise...If it is not back there, They don't care.
Only people who make money in dealing with multi system affairs (or for science!) will bother to care and only if the risk/reward ratio was in their favor.
No they wouldn't. They have a more vested interest on what is happening around them, what is happening on their planet, their town, their street. If it is close enough to them, then it could become a case of NIMBY/YIMBY.
Otherwise...If it is not back there, They don't care.
Only people who make money in dealing with multi system affairs (or for science!) will bother to care and only if the risk/reward ratio was in their favor.
The way I see it is the maps included in the printed materials and Traveller Map are fairly complete for the gamemaster, but what do the players have?
The players star charts, who made them? Are they commercial, scientific or military grade? Each version may or may not have certain levels of detail as each were made for different purposes. The base line data in the charts is encrypted, but one may overlay their own notes and whatnot onto it.
Some maps may be "incomplete" to certain users for some reason or another.
Let's look at commercial trucking maps on a GPS as a frame of reference,
Some may show you that there are many roads, but you are restricted from using many of them for various reasons or they may only show you the ones that you are cleared to travel upon. Hmm...why would they do that?
You can still make your own annotations (preferred stops, contacts and other notes), but your company may not want you wandering off the beaten path with their vehicle. It would raise a red flag and need some serious justification when you get back to the office. Other financial data I am sure would also be available.
Scientific charts: These would have editable portions, at least the section you are authorized to do so for what you are working on. That data would get reviewed and approved by someone else at another time.
Military charts: One would believe these would be the most complete, current and restricted to active duty vessels, but "Retired" Scouts may have exceptions made when they get called up.
Now a government may not want traffic in some areas. Hey, Would you want everyone to see where you are doing special weapons tests?
"Do we make it a red zone? Nah, that makes the location public. Just Black zone it."
This is also be a great way to hide a lost system from the Long Night or.... Forbidden Science of the Second Imperium.
www.travellerrpg.com
If it is not on the charts it should take a considerable decent amount of time and resources to map out a reliable jump route. That is the IISS's specialty (yes, megacorps do it to). They have the time and assets to do this. But they control the data...you think they would make the data available for purchase (legally anyways)?
The players star charts, who made them? Are they commercial, scientific or military grade? Each version may or may not have certain levels of detail as each were made for different purposes. The base line data in the charts is encrypted, but one may overlay their own notes and whatnot onto it.
Some maps may be "incomplete" to certain users for some reason or another.
Let's look at commercial trucking maps on a GPS as a frame of reference,
Some may show you that there are many roads, but you are restricted from using many of them for various reasons or they may only show you the ones that you are cleared to travel upon. Hmm...why would they do that?
You can still make your own annotations (preferred stops, contacts and other notes), but your company may not want you wandering off the beaten path with their vehicle. It would raise a red flag and need some serious justification when you get back to the office. Other financial data I am sure would also be available.
Scientific charts: These would have editable portions, at least the section you are authorized to do so for what you are working on. That data would get reviewed and approved by someone else at another time.
Military charts: One would believe these would be the most complete, current and restricted to active duty vessels, but "Retired" Scouts may have exceptions made when they get called up.
Now a government may not want traffic in some areas. Hey, Would you want everyone to see where you are doing special weapons tests?
"Do we make it a red zone? Nah, that makes the location public. Just Black zone it."
This is also be a great way to hide a lost system from the Long Night or.... Forbidden Science of the Second Imperium.
Forbidden Science of the Second Imperium
Ok, this started over at the T5 Cybernetics thread, but rather than hijack it I'm moving stuff over here. I'm just curious what y'all think of a Forbidden Science Mystery Archeology Campaign for Traveller. Originally posted by Flynn: A number of the DGP products speak about the role of...
www.travellerrpg.com
If it is not on the charts it should take a considerable decent amount of time and resources to map out a reliable jump route. That is the IISS's specialty (yes, megacorps do it to). They have the time and assets to do this. But they control the data...you think they would make the data available for purchase (legally anyways)?
Condottiere
SOC-14 5K
Starships ignore everything except hundred diameter spheres of influence from gravity wells along the flight route.
So you would maintain sensors in a flyover hex to check for icebergs.
So you would maintain sensors in a flyover hex to check for icebergs.
Straybow
SOC-14 1K
No, coliver had it right. When jumping to a particular planet or station, bumping into the 100D shadow of a planet or the star means you will stop in the correct neighborhood, rather than dozens of AU away. In an empty hex it doesn't matter where you stop, there is nothing to do except jump out (and bump into the shadow to precipitate out near the destination).
Oort density is exceedingly low. Like a single 1 km iceball in a volume the size of the orbit of Neptune by one AU thick. One 20 km iceball in a volume larger than a sphere containing the orbit of Neptune. We've spotted about 30 TNOs large enough to be considered gravitationally self-compacted minor planets. They move so slowly that if one were recorded by the first Vilani scouts it might have completed one orbit in the 5k yr since.
Condottiere
SOC-14 5K
I think the point is not to bump into gravitational wells, as I believe that may cause damage.
Might not be too healthy for the crew, either.
Might not be too healthy for the crew, either.
You can safely "bump" in to gravity wells, you just pop out of jump at 100D. No harm, no foul. It's not a misjump.
Arguably, navigators should aim for that to help compensate for the +/-10% jump window. Always a better chance of being 100D out than potentially farther away.
I really like this variant. This means we get tonnage for a large sensor mount.
For example, a Deep-Space ranged antenna -- call it a radar dish I guess -- at 3 tons and MCr 3.5. (T5 numbers). That doesn't even use up the hardpoint.
Basically the antenna seen on the front of the Judges Guild "M, C & S Engineering" modular ships.
Sure, get me looking at those outlines… I so want to make in to tail sitters.
Shadowrunner
SOC-12
I'm rusty but my understand is that you can Jump-1 to an empty hex but it will take 1-6 weeks to get back on M-Drive depending on how fast your M-Drive is. As mentoned, risk of navigation error increases if jumping back.
Also if your ship's cargo bay is modified and you have the pumping equipment, there's nothing to stop a Jump-6 ship going 9 parsecs in 2 weeks, how else would you cross the Rift sector for example where there are journeys of 7 parsecs. Maths was never my strong point though and I'm not even aware of gravity-wells. I also think the reality of FTL travel through oort clouds means in future we will likely travel by generation ships and not very far, it might be like Interstellar, the vast majority of people will die trying and probably it will be like "Don't Look Up", billionaires and politicians mostly with some good looking females for breeding.
Also if your ship's cargo bay is modified and you have the pumping equipment, there's nothing to stop a Jump-6 ship going 9 parsecs in 2 weeks, how else would you cross the Rift sector for example where there are journeys of 7 parsecs. Maths was never my strong point though and I'm not even aware of gravity-wells. I also think the reality of FTL travel through oort clouds means in future we will likely travel by generation ships and not very far, it might be like Interstellar, the vast majority of people will die trying and probably it will be like "Don't Look Up", billionaires and politicians mostly with some good looking females for breeding.
Unless I missed the context of this repsonse somewhere . . .
If you Jump-1 to an empty hex, you are ~ 1 parsec (~ 3.26 light years) away from your originating hex. At lightspeed you would take ~ 3.26 years to get back. An M-Drive is much slower than lightspeed (and cannot exceed lightspeed in any event), even if you continuously accelerate until fuel depletion.
Condottiere
SOC-14 5K
How much is the penalty to the astrogation check?
Shadowrunner
SOC-12
Gosh my maths is that bad
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