12-21-2017, 07:51 AM | #1 |
Hero of Democracy
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: far from the ocean
|
A freighter really shouldn't have 15% of its mass dedicated to armor
Huh, some interesting decisions here:
I'm not sure why you're using a fusion torch instead of a fusion rocket. the rocket has 4x the delta-v. Do you need the speed? I'm surprised to find out that using water is cheaper than hydrogen, but the math holds up. Even counting transport costs, water is half the dv for 1/50th of the price, and you only decrease cargo space by 25%, so it makes sense. And you probably don't even need pure water: melted ice from an icy moon like Europa will work. I'm sad to see you drop the FTL "emerging at rest" mechanism. I was having a lot of fun with it. A freighter really shouldn't have 15% of its mass dedicated to armor, but spaceships always buts it in, so I can see not rocking the boat.
__________________
Be helpful, not pedantic Worlds Beyond Earth -- my blog Check out the PbP forum! If you don't see a game you'd like, ask me about making one! |
12-21-2017, 07:55 AM | #2 |
GURPS FAQ Keeper
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Kyïv, Ukraine
|
Re: [Blog] n-Body Politics
If you build a ship from, say, Control Room, Fuel Tank, Engine, and the rest filled with Cargo Holds, what are the Cargo Hold walls made of given their price and mass?
|
12-21-2017, 08:32 AM | #3 | |
Hero of Democracy
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: far from the ocean
|
Re: [Blog] n-Body Politics
Quote:
Of course, what I usually do when I build ships is use three subsystems of armor.
__________________
Be helpful, not pedantic Worlds Beyond Earth -- my blog Check out the PbP forum! If you don't see a game you'd like, ask me about making one! |
|
12-21-2017, 08:37 AM | #4 | |
GURPS FAQ Keeper
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Kyïv, Ukraine
|
Re: [Blog] n-Body Politics
Quote:
|
|
12-21-2017, 09:13 AM | #5 |
Hero of Democracy
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: far from the ocean
|
Re: [Blog] n-Body Politics
Where might those be found? Also, this might be derailing the thread. Shall we take it to a new one?
__________________
Be helpful, not pedantic Worlds Beyond Earth -- my blog Check out the PbP forum! If you don't see a game you'd like, ask me about making one! |
12-21-2017, 09:22 AM | #6 |
GURPS FAQ Keeper
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Kyïv, Ukraine
|
Re: [Blog] n-Body Politics
SS1:42 mentions that for smaller ships "If [...] a cargo bay door is opened, the entirespacecraft is affected", while larger ships are compartmentalised into three or twenty sections depending on size. The next page talks about what size are the cargo bay doors and in what situations that can be relevant and how. Those doors have dDR based on the hull (armour) of the section.
|
12-21-2017, 09:39 AM | #7 | |
Join Date: Aug 2007
|
Re: [Blog] n-Body Politics
Quote:
Lack of real exterior walls is acceptable for a ship that never enters atmosphere or otherwise experiences stress. But if you start looking at TL6-8 ocean freighters you'll find that their hulls are made of (at least) half an inch of mild steel (c. DR 25). If you built these ships in Spaceships you'd find that listed under "Armor" even f it's not intended to protect from attack.
__________________
Fred Brackin |
|
12-21-2017, 09:44 AM | #8 |
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: traveller
|
Re: [Blog] n-Body Politics
Open frame armor is a thing (SS7, p. 21). I would expect that designs with no armor systems still have a few DR of hull -- just not enough to register on a dDR scale. Cargo strapped to the outside would be carried on external clamps, I would think.
Micrometeorite and radiation shielding is still important on a freighter, especially one with significant delta-V and a need to routinely traverse the Van Allen belts. |
12-21-2017, 09:48 AM | #9 |
Join Date: Dec 2017
|
Re: A freighter really shouldn't have 15% of its mass dedicated to armor
Use the rules for smaller systems (GURPS Spaceships 7) and you have enough armor to give adequate structural strength and pressure integrity. 1/3 DR is sufficient for most space going craft. I would be disinclined to even allow a ship with less than that, if it had any significant acceleration at all--.1 G or more--or would ever land anywhere.
|
12-21-2017, 10:30 AM | #10 | |
Hero of Democracy
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: far from the ocean
|
Re: A freighter really shouldn't have 15% of its mass dedicated to armor
Quote:
Once you're SM 10 or larger, you have more leeway to say "I just strap it on", as it says it has doors separate from the cargo system.
__________________
Be helpful, not pedantic Worlds Beyond Earth -- my blog Check out the PbP forum! If you don't see a game you'd like, ask me about making one! |
|
|
|