Quote:
Originally Posted by Mailanka
Right, yes, I should clarify. I'm thinking of a system that doesn't use radiators, because it's a ridiculous super science space opera, so the question becomes "How do I justify having a powerful reactor without the IR signature?" So far I'd been using fuel cells, but this discussion of coolant tanks (good catch) made me wonder.
So, you argue that the IR signature comes from the radiators, which makes sense. The rules discussing retracting your radiators seems to be discussing them from the perspective of avoiding damage. If I read you correctly, though, it would also lower your IR signature, because the reason we have radiators is that ships don't radiate IR energy well enough on their own.
Thus, for a spooky, super-science, radiator-less ship, the ship radiates heat well enough without an exposed radiator, but you make the case that it could, instead, choose to dump its heat into a coolant system, reducing the IR signature to, say, +3 for 30 minutes, after which the system starts to overheat
(Super science can, of course, mean anything, but if the only assumption we make is "no exposed radiators" does this pass the smell test?)
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I'd say the
typical space opera treatment just outright ignores the issue of the heat from the reactor. You can usually detect ships with reactors running more easily, but you do it based on neutrino emissions or something even more hand-wavy, not on the basis of the ship being so hot it glows.
That'd require some fairly heavy reconsideration of Spaceships, though, and doesn't seem to be what you're trying to do.
If you're deciding that the ships do still emit the amount of heat they should be, into normal space, just somehow doing so without anything recognizable as a radiator...which is what Spaceships
defaults to, really...I'd agree that having it act like it can retract its mysteriously non-existent radiator for a low-profile mode makes perfect sense.
Optionally, you could make that capability a design option that costs extra, and/or make it a feature only of ships with a Stealth Hull.