modular cutter spaces
 

I'm looking at the specifications for the Modular Cutter, and I can't figure out how to account for the space. Here's what I can figure out, with dton spaces left:

50 SL Hull
12 Power & Propulsion
? Occupancy 5 RCS
0.5 Cargo
2.5 Basic Bridge
1.0 Life Support
0.5 Small Craft Add-On
30 Module

The items I recognize add up to 46.5 dton. I don't know what "RCS" stands for, but I also see "RS" in the "Occupancy" section; stateroom occupancy is just one to two per stateroom, without an abbreviation. Does the "RCS" account for the missing 3.5 dton? Or am I overlooking an implied component?

Re: modular cutter spaces
 

I'm pretty sure we've had this discussion before, but it was long ago. Probably on the Pyramid v2 discussion boards. And I absolutely do not remember the conclusion(s), other than that I looked into the matter a bit, and I found that I disn't like the degree of inefficiency inherent in GURPS' simulation of modular ships of the same type as Traveller's Modular Cutters, because in the end the only inefficiency was in monetary cost, with no penalty to performance stats vs hull size.

A 50 dton modular ship would cost a few credits more than a 50 dton non-modular ship but would be able to have the exact same cargo capacity, acceleration, et cetera.

Re: modular cutter spaces
 

In which book, for which version?

Re: modular cutter spaces
 

The stat block he's posting seems to be for the GURPS Traveller version. That is, GURPS: Traveller and GURPS: Traveller Starships, and of course GURPS: Traveller Modular Cutter.

Re: modular cutter spaces
 

That's correct.

Although I asked about the modular cutter, the question applies to any GURPS Traveller ship specification that includes the "RCS" and "RS" abbreviations. I don't see them in GURPS Traveller Starships -- and since I bought the PDF version I was able to search.

Curiously, the GURPS Traveller core book describes the module cutter with different language (though it may mean the same thing):

20-ton SL hull
1 Basic Bridge (2.5 dtons)
1 Engineering (1 dton)
12 Maneuver (12 dtons)
0.5 Cargo (0.5 dtons)

That only adds up to 16 dtons -- but since the SL hull has only 80% usable space, that's correct.

Going back to the statistics I originally posted, I see that the components other than the module space add up to 16.5 dtons -- exceeding the 16 dtons allowed by the 80% usable space rule. I checked the errata, which didn't show anything.

Re: modular cutter spaces
 

RCS is "roomy crew station". The bridge should account for the five stations.

And yes, streamlining means the core cutter has 16 tons (what do you get?) Available for components.

Finally, there may be differences between the version in the core GT book and GT:MC.

Re: modular cutter spaces
 

Thanks, Brandon.

The GURPS Traveller core book version of modular cutter adds up to the expected 16 dtons

However, the version in the Modular Cutter book doesn't seem to add up. The description there says that the 0.5 dton Small Craft Add-On substitutes for the 1.0 dton Engineering; the former includes a two-person airlock and full life support, while the latter has a six-person airlock (with life support not mentioned except in the context of limited life support with a Passenger Couch). It looks like the 1.0 dton I allocated to Life Support doesn't count, so the Modular Cutter version adds up to only 15.5 dtons. Unless I'm missing something, the core book version sounds better.

Off topic: Happy holidays!

Re: modular cutter spaces
 

I think there is a mistake with the GT:MC version that never made it to errata.

There is no reason for the cutter to have a Life Support module (1 dton). OTOH, the Accommodations module (0.5 dtons) used in the Slow Cutter and Fast Cutter makes far more sense.

I haven't tried to build the cutter from scratch, so I don't know if the listing of a Life Support module was the error, or if it was actually built with one (which would cause component tonnage to be 16.5 dtons).

Re: modular cutter spaces
 

If you like Modular Cutters check out my Cutter and module deckplans and some variants.

http://woolshedwargamer.com/?s=cutter

Cheers
B

Re: modular cutter spaces
 

I expect the cutter was designed using the Life-Support Module from T:S p59,126.

Full life support for five two bunks at TL10+, power plant slice, and 9.5 cf of storage for personal gear.

Life Support/10, 0.5 Spaces, 1 ton mass, 0.008 MCr, 0 Crew, 0.05 MW

At least at TL10 the statistics for this life-support module is identical to the T:MC Accommodations module.

Got to say that for an originally military design that can be expect to make interplanetary journeys on occasion possibly even sans module if deadheading pack after dropping a module off to in the back end of nowhere. I would want nothing less than full life support.