Your idea of a Class "A" or "B" Starport

[sandmanninja]

Your idea of a Class "A" or "B" Starport

I'm considering laying out a starport. I've considered it for a long time. I don't mean a HUGE one over Regina, but perhaps a Class "C" that has been upgraded to a "B" or maybe even borderline "A".

I'm thinking it would be in a system that use to have a high-volume of traffic passing through it, but for whatever reason (war? new trade route bypass this world?) business has fallen off. And as business has slowed down, some regulations has been eased up a bit. So, a lower-than-average law level (no open wars, but smuggling is acknowledged and bribes are accepted more than they should elsewhere).

It should have a shipyard capable of repairs as well as building a new ship (if someone has the money).

I have an architect's guide to designing airports and while dated, it has a lot of things worth considering to make it seem fairly realistic.

I'd like to ultimately model this in 3D - not everything but the external hull, shipyard(s), and some of the more common areas internal to the port: the bay for smaller ships, the external tubes and docking clamps for the bigger ships, the Defense Pods positioned at key points (Nothing says 'Play Nice' like a Particle Accellerator Weapon), the passenger debarkation area, the Arcade (merchant shops and food courts), as well as some other areas.

Does anyone have any ideas of how a Starport should look? WIth artifical gravity, no need to have a spinning wheel configuration. Cylinders are an interesting design - with each level round with a central shaft for the elevators. The wheel shape could be kept by having the guts in a cylinder in the centre with spokes leading out to an outer ring. The residential section could be in the ring. Attached to the outer ring could be a couple of ship yards and some bays for the smaller ships. Larger ships could dock along side the ring. Defense bubbles/pods could be one 6 points on the outer ring, with maybe one running up from the cylinder.

Any opinions on a 'traditional' shipyard? A lattice structure like from the Star Trek movies? An enclosed spheroid? Lots of small Worker Bee one-man craft buzzing about the place, moving girders and welding hull plates together?

 

[G. Kashkanun Anderson]

Well, for a start, here's a brief example of what appears to be a Class 'A' Up Port facility from one of Andrew's Traveller mini movies.

 

[samuelvss]

One idea to which I have subscribed is the parking orbits. This assumes, then, that more gets done with small craft, so that lots of either external docking for small craft, including some standardized craft to do most of the tending might be in order.

Also, internal automated cargo handling and routing equipment; does for a 4 dton standard container what the USPS does for a letter.

Something about t defensive pods; the port will not be able to maneuver like a ship, so defensive batteries should have the maximum fields of fire.

Also, repulsor batteries are a must: defense and "tractor beams" for those pesky traders who don't pay their landing fees...

 

[DaveChase]

Since you are upgrading

You could mix in a bit of old and new looks.

It could have an old ring that may or may not be still rotating to maintain gravity.
If rotating it is used for the low rent people.
If not rotating it could be for ship docking and storage.

Different styles of between old and new would be interesting look also.

Open frame is the way to go on repair docks. If section of the ship needed an atmosphere then a localize pressure bubble is set up.

Way cheaper than having a dry dock. I believe that only Class A or AA space ports will have a true dry dock or docks.

Dave Chase

 

[far-trader]

Your idea of a Class "A" or "B" Starport

In Traveller terms what you want is a Class A to support building ships. That's a given. For the rest of what you want, that falls into the realm of referee embellishment. In other words feel free to make it up

My own take has long been that Starport size is related to the population of the world. So a Class A Starport on a backwater low pop world (like Pixie in Regina subsector UWP A100103-D) is perhaps much like what you are describing...

It was once a major trade port, something worthy of a Class A Starport rating and it used to be a bustling trade and construction center. Now however it's just an outpost, not much than a Lighthouse and a family is charged with keeping the beacon on and providing limited services. Limited in quantity/volume that is. They can no longer supply services to the mega-liners that used to stop there but they can to a small Free-Trader or Detached Duty Scout/Courier now and then, but they rarely see even those stopping.

Sure the shipyard facilties are still there, mothballed, and without the population to operate them or materials on hand. Theoretically it could be reactivated easily enough with the required people and materials. So if you wanted to build a starship on Pixie you'd have to bring in your own people and materials, and probably get permission from the Imperium, unless you were doing it on the sly. Kinda hard to do on Pixie though, what with the Imperial Navy having a base there :smirk:

I'm considering laying out a starport...

First decision is Highport or Downport? Or both.

My take is Class A = Highport and Downport minimum TL9. Class B = Highport (if TL9+) and Downport minimum TL7. Class C = Downport minimum TL5. Class D = Downport minimum TL3.

Then you have to decide on size. As noted I gauge mine based on the world population. At the upper end Pop A allows millions tons of ship capacity annually. At the lower end Pop 1 allows hundreds of tons of ship capacity annually. Variable to a degree based on TL for automation and reliability.

I also limit Downport size based on the World Size as a factor (lower of Pop or Size)

How it should look will depend on your take of the Imperium's Starports. Is it a hidebound traditionilistic monopoly, or does each world get to build it's own starport? In the first case they will all be identical in general layout if not specifics. In the second just about anything goes.

I figure a lot will be spheres, being the best overall hull choice. The waist will be the docks for berthing, repairs, and building. The poles will be the command centers and weapons installations. The subsurface at the waist will be warehouses and manufacturing. The core will be the power plant and fuel. Above and below the waist will be shops and hotels at the surface, and station residences at the subsurface levels.

Shipyards are likely to be a mix of "drydock" (where components or whole craft (if small enough) are constructed in shirtsleeve environment, possibly with variable gravity), and "spacedock" (a skeltal frame exposed to space in zero g). The Spacedock is likely to be a ship in it's own right, with a bridge, quarters, workshops, small craft bays, and maneuver drive and powerplant, possibly even defensive weaponry.

 

[jfetters]

If you haven't already, you may want to check out GURPS:Traveller Starports for some good ideas.

You just need to translate the GT starport code into "normal" Traveller.

 

[sandmanninja]

Thanks for the suggestions, guys.

Wow - Didn't know Andrew did animation, too. Gives me new respect for Cinema 4D.

 

[samuelvss]

My own take has long been that Starport size is related to the population of the world. So a Class A Starport on a backwater low pop world (like Pixie in Regina subsector UWP A100103-D) is perhaps much like what you are describing...


Sure the shipyard facilties are still there, mothballed, and without the population to operate them or materials on hand. Theoretically it could be reactivated easily enough with the required people and materials. So if you wanted to build a starship on Pixie you'd have to bring in your own people and materials, and probably get permission from the Imperium, unless you were doing it on the sly. Kinda hard to do on Pixie though, what with the Imperial Navy having a base there :smirk:

. . . .

I think Far-Trader's got an excellent view, but I just point out how I interpret the population/starport contradictions. The world is the world, and the starport is the starport. If you have an A starport in system with a low (or no!) pop world, IMTU, that still means you have full-up class A starport; it just dos not have much dealings with the main world in the system. You can have ten (or a thousand) times the population in a high port as your do on the surface. That port exists for reasons other than that world's population. UPP does not direct the in-port characteristics, but it may affect them. The population of Panama does not determine the volume throught the canal.

If you lay down the money for (at least) any standard hull, you don't need to bring the workers. They're there (live or automated) because it's an A. Possibly, some are indeed shipped in. That's the nature of contracts. Anyway, F-T's got a lot more miles than me, but that's my .02Cr.

 

[sandmanninja]

Looking at today's world might give us some insights into how we plan our Traveller games (much like how Scientists study living animals and apply their patterns of living and hunting to extinct species).

When Dubai was at the peak of their building boom, they could not get enough workers. For whatever reason, the local populous was not viable. So they sent recruiters to a wide variety of countries, promising high-paying jobs in far-away & exotic Dubai.

If a Starport needs people to work there, I'm sure they'd be able to hire them from somewhere.
Ideally, the local population of the nearby world would be great. But if the population won't support the employment requirements, then I'm sure there's an Employment Office in the immediate vicinity of the 'Port Admin offices. "Fed up travelling from world to world? Want to settle down AND continue working in your preferred industry? Visit our Sophant Resource Department today..."

But if a 'Port use to be Class A and business has moved on elsewhere, I imagine that would affect the planet's population, too. I could see the families of workers living on-world and the 'Port Employee working something like an Oil Rig worker - 4 days on, 4 days off.

So, can a low-pop planet support a Class A or B 'port? In my opinion, yes. In fact it may stimulate the local planetary economy by bringing in more people. More people means more taxes.

Of course, families don't have to go dirtside. If there is room on the High Port, they can move in 'upstairs' and completely ignore the planet. Plenty of things to see and do in a nice facility like a Class A or B 'Port - shopping, school, jobs.

With high tech comes automated machines that can do our manual or dangerous tasks, freeing us up to do the safer and smarter jobs. While a ship yard will never be 100% automated (someone has to push the button), I can see lots of pilotless 'bots buzzing around half-assembled ships welding hull plates, riveting, installing hugely heavy/massive/bulky objects that a Sophant would need mechanical assistance to lift anyway. Cut out the middleman! And they never get tired or hungry.

If you own the 'bots and business is slow, then pack them away or hire them out to ships that are staying over a few days. Surely a Merchant Captain can see the business sense of hiring an Engineering 'Bot for 2 days and getting 5 days worth of work done! Quicker turn-around times means more money for the ship (and Captain).

Naturally if the activity that brings the most business in for the 'Port falls off or dries up, that will have a trickle-down effect and other businesses will close up shop and move on to greener pastures. I could see a shadier element moving in where the reputable merchant use to be, and that's why I was saying the average law level would possible dip a bit to below the normal levels. And if Pistol Pete is in 'Port to move some wares that fell off the back of a Far Trader, surely he might be interested in some 'upgrades' to his shipboard systems, too...

Before this turns into an Economics class (which I flunked), needless to say the relationship between the world and the High Port can be complicated. Meaning there are norms (high pop = busy port), and there are situations that a GM can justify (Class A High Port with a low-pop planet).

 

[far-trader]

Part of it boils down to a long standing debate (not quite flame war) on just what the Pop code means. In my interpretation the Pop code (in CT Book 3, curse Book 6 and it's ilk for seeding more population with little or no thought to the ramifications ) means the total population of the system. The bulk of which is on the Mainworld*.

* interchangeable here with World and System, capitalized or not

So no, a low Pop Mainworld does not mean there are another 100million people (or however many you need) in orbit or on other worlds in the system or commuting from other systems to work there.

So no, a low Pop Mainworld cannot support a Class A or B starport. Quite aside from the direct employment needed there are all the supporting employment roles needed.

And no, you can't completely automate it either, not in the OTU anyway with it's general distaste for advanced robotics. Certainly a lot of it can be automated but there will always (in the OTU*) be people in charge. And maintenance to be done on the automated systems. So again, no Class A or B starport for low Pop worlds.

* they've had their taste of "Rise of the Machines" survived it and will never allow it to happen again (until The Rebellion )

In my opinion you need a minimum of Pop 4 for even a small Class A Starport*. Automation (TL) will allow that pop to build, repair, and service larger and/or more ships.

* my take fwiw is Pop 3 = max Class B, Pop 2 = max Class C, and Pop 1 = max Class D; also factoring in a minimum TL9 for Class A, TL7 for Class B, TL5 for Class C, and TL3 for Class D

Finally I don't think you get to be a Class A or B starport (despite the die rolls not requiring it) without having a significant importance and something more than a low Pop. My explanation* for Pixie aside, it simply shouldn't be. Period.

* more an excuse for a set of random rolls that should have been adjusted, though certainly not the worst case, and a rare odd world wouldn't be a bad thing to fire the imagination with exceptions to the norm, but it happens far too often if you slavishly adhere to randomly generated worlds, Pixie should really be rated a Class D starport imo

 

[far-trader]

I should mention that another irritant in the Pop code is Bases. Do they count in the Pop code? Presumably not.

Which offers another suggestion for Pixie, the Class A starport is a military installation, no civilian traffic allowed. So you get the IN with a nice high tech shipyard, and for everyone else it is a Class E or X system with a few people living there. And no friendly native shore leave to speak of, just the base NEX and rec facilities.

I could almost live with that one more easily than the previous. Or a blend of the two. And that's the beauty and ugliness of the simple UWP. So much room for imagination to work

 

[sandmanninja]

Good stuff!

I like the idea of Pixie being a pure Military Installation. Perhaps it use to be Civilian and things turned bad, the Imperium 'bailed out' or 'rescued' the 'Port, took a controlling interest, and closed it off for military purposes...

Or maybe a slight variation - have one section for Civilian Traffic, but it's an incredibly isolated section and maybe only for emergencies?

"This is Beowulf, declaring an emergency. Request docking permission and please have medical staff standing by..."