Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

Hi, I've been using the user systems option to create custom reactionless drives (to reflect some stuff I've heard about EM Drives). It lets me create them fine except there is no "afterburner" option on the drive I created. Is this a fixable thing or just a limitation of the user systems option? Still using Excel 2007 btw.

Thanks.

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

The "afterburner" option is a result of two factors; first, the "Unofficial Rules" campaign option is set (since it's an optional rule from my Unofficial Rules set) and two the name starts with "Reactionless Engine". So if you rename your drives to be Reactionless Engine - EM Drive they should have the Afterburner option available.

Incidentally, I have thought about changing the way that System Options work to allow user systems to be set up to be allowed to use the predefined options (in this case, it would allow you to use the Afterburner option without having to stick to the Reactionless Engine naming convention). It'd just take a bit of a rewrite and I haven't gotten around to devoting that much time to it.

In checking this out it looks like there is a bug in the Read User Systems function that causes it to read the Performance 1 column twice and then read Performance 3 instead of reading them 1, 2, then 3. This affects every time the sheet would read the data, including when it goes to save a ship to one of the save sheets. I'm going to have to push an Excel update shortly to fix that.

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

Version 2.0 Release Candidate 16
-Fixed a bug that caused the sheet to incorrectly read any User Systems from the User Systems worksheet. This would cause User Systems to be incorrectly saved in the save sheet. The bug was causing the Performance 1 column to be copied twice and Performance 2 wasn't read at all. This bug appears to have been introduced in RC12.

You can download the spreadsheet here:

Excel 2000 (RC16)
http://gurpsland.no-ip.org/zip/SpaceshipsV2.zip (4.9 MB)
http://gurpsland.no-ip.org/zip/SpaceshipsV2.7z (~2.4 MB)

Excel 2007 (RC16)
http://gurpsland.no-ip.org/zip/SpaceshipsV2-2007.zip (~6.1 MB)
http://gurpsland.no-ip.org/zip/SpaceshipsV2-2007.7z (~6.0 MB)

OpenOffice 3.3.0 (RC9)
http://gurpsland.no-ip.org/zip/SpaceshipsV2-Ooo.zip (~2.1 MB)
http://gurpsland.no-ip.org/zip/SpaceshipsV2-Ooo.7z (~1.9 MB)

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

Thanks a lot. Keep up the good work. I look forward to the updates.

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

I am currently using Office 2010 and can only open the 2007 version.
But since the RC16, I can't change the SM cells, the drop menu doesn't work.

Any ideas as to why?

Thanks in advance!

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

I started having trouble opening the Office 2000 version in 2007 a while ago; it has to do with the certificate I sign the sheet with. For some reason if I open the sheet in a folder other than one I've already designated as a Trusted Location the sheet crashes for me. So I started removing the self-signed certificate from the Office 2007 version.

I have no ideas. The cell isn't locked, and isn't generating an error that would prevent the cell from working. In fact, I haven't changed the code for the SM in a very long time. Is this affecting the SM in the System Options section of the sheet, the Design Table section of the sheet, or both?

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

I waited until I could check out the "Optional Rules" in RC16, but I still didn't see any rules for recharging Energy Banks. As I said before
P.S. Lithium-ion batteries in cell phones, e-cigs and laptops are in the news for catching fire or blowing up when over-charged, fast-charged or crushed. Similar problems for Energy Banks should be noted.

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

Both of them.

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

Possible bug:
On the spreadsheet, you can put them in any hull section.

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

The "FUEL USED" for a NEMA reactor is listed as "Hydrogen/Helium Isotopes" when according to GURPS Technomancer Also, NEMA reactors seem to have "Compact" and "Unshielded" options. What magical effects do these options mean (ie. mana levels in the hull section of an "unshielded" reactor, "hellgate" events for damaged "volatile" ones)?

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

According to the rules in Spaceships 7 NEMA are a variant magically enhanced Fission reactor. That means it's fuel use should probably be the same as other Fission reactors - Fissionables - it looks like I accidentally gave them the same fuel as Fusion plants.

Necronium is a setting specific magical/fissionable fuel and is not mentioned in any of the spaceships books.


Unshielded and Compact are standard power plant options. Exact effects are up to the GM for his setting; Unshielded NEMA would bathe those nearby in mana-enhanced radiation, so could cause magical mutations or magical radiation sickness. Compact simply makes the power plants Volatile - more likely to explode - but the exact effects of a mana engine exploding are up to the GM.

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

I've been thinking about applying the "Compact" option to Reactionless Engines and Stardrives. They would use twice the power to get twice the thrust for twice the price (at least) in exchange to being "volatile" while in operation. (Normal power could be used for normal thrust, but the system would still be "volatile" due to design compromises.) A "Compact" drive would also be more difficult to repair or maintain due to reduced access space. This would be in addition to any Afterburner or Super-Stardrive options, which could be applied to either normal or double power mode.

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

I am sorry to say, but the downloads don't seem to be currently working.

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

I got home from work and the backup battery for my server was sounding an alarm, probably because the battery is dead. I'm gonna eat dinner and then see about getting the server back up.

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

Downloads are now working as it should, but it seems that I am having consistent problems with certain areas of the sheet, including the SM in the design table.
It is giving me Error:502 on that cell, and on nearly of all cells of the unofficial ships
It is also giving me Error:504 on nearly of all cells of the official ships.

I have tried using the LibreOffice and the Microsoft Office Excel, nothing seems to work, I have habilitated macros, of course, and I don't know how all of this would even work without them. Since I have habilitated them every time.

It asks me to update links in the files, but either way, it doesn't seem to make a difference, especially because it seems like it Fails to update the links.

If you could provide me with some guidance, it would be greatly appreciated.

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

Yup, same problem. Basically every single macro button throws errors. As far as I've seen most of the sheet still works, but some parts of the sheet simply say #Value! all over. Output Sheet doesn't work, neither do the (Un-)Official Ships sheets.

My main guess would be that the 2007 macros simply are not compatible with Excel 2016, which I use. Even the non-macro version has a lot of issues.

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

LiberOffice (or any other version of OpenOffice) isn't going to work on the Excel version of the sheet. If it were as easy as opening the file and habilitating the Macros I'd have provided updates to the OpenOffice version a while ago. There are significant differences in how the Macros are handled, and even differences in how some cell formulas work, which require a lot of work fixing for a conversion.

Have you tried both excel versions in Excel 2016?

I don't have access to Excel 2016. Only thing I can request is that you open the file, save it, and then zip and e-mail me a copy. I should be able to open it without recalculating, which may allow me to suss out why it's giving these errors. May.

I'm also going to post a 7zip archive of older Releases Candidate versions of the sheet. I'm curious if you two have any luck with any of the RCs.

http://gurpsland.no-ip.org/zip/OlderSpaceships.7z.001 (8MB, download both archives)
http://gurpsland.no-ip.org/zip/OlderSpaceships.7z.002 (8MB)

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

I couldn't extract the 002, no matter what I tried. Now, about what I managed to extract...

Well, the release candidate 16 didn't go much far either. Still same problems, with an addendum, however. the Error:502 and Error:504 has been replaced with #Value!

The others aren't looking very hot either, I got run-time error 1004 on the 15, 14. 12, 11 didn't have run-time error, but the problems are back...

10 still has the #Value! error, but I can now set the SM on the ship on the design table.

I stopped there for the time being, because I am a lazy person.

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

With 7Zip you just need to download both files into the same directory and open 001, it will automatically extract any files that are in archive 002.

The only thing I can think of is windows regional settings; do you have your region set up where windows uses a comma as the decimal symbol? That can cause all sorts of problems.

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

Alright, let's start off with the resaved latest one: https://www.dropbox.com/s/0vccsjtfno...Copy.xlsm?dl=0

Then about the old ones. Like Krasudreal already said: Every sheet after RC9 had about the same problems as the latest one. I had some luck with some of the older ones, except a lot of the sheets have the #Value! problem. I encountered the least problems with sheet 7a. No errors popping up, most cells seemed to work fine. Loaded ships still produce broken Outputs, though, and if I try to design my own, the data validation popups for the systems are empty. If I correctly type the name of a system in, it works, though.

Still not something I would call usable, but we are getting there.

About the , and . issue: My windows is set up to UK settings, but my keyboard uses the German layout. I had problems in the past with the decimal points being commas, so I set my region to UK with decimal dots. It might still be related, though, I'll investigate further on another machine with complete native UK settings for everything and see if this changes anything.

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

In the sheet you uploaded I see multiple places where a text string conversion of a number which should be outputting a "0" is outputting a ",0" which makes me seriously suspect regional setting issues. Most of those text strings are set up to output numbers as text in the "#,##0" format, so with a regional separator of a comma it's going to interpret that comma as the decimal separator and output ",0"

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

Interesting, because I double checked my regional settings and everything is indeed set up as UK and the decimal dot is specifically set. If I want to write a correct decimal number in any program, I need to type the dot and can't use my german keyboard layout number pad comma.

But funny enough my second PC has the exact same problem with the sheet and that does not even have a german kb layout. Everything was set to UK from the beginning.

Maybe Excel has it's own regional settings somewhere, I need to check this.

[EDIT] Indeed Excel has it's own settings and for some reason those were set to really weird values. I don't know how I never noticed that! I set it to the correct values and most of the problems with the sheet are gone. I tested the RC10 and could use it quite nicely. Now we still need to figure out why the macros throw errors after RC 10 (need to confirm later which update it was exactly that broke the macros)

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

Yup. For anyone else that's looking to go Excel Options -> Advanced -> under Editing Options there's a checkbox for Use System Separators. You'd need to either check the box if it's using something odd or uncheck the box and set the two separators to . for decimal and , for thousand.


I've done some significant updates in the macros since RC10, almost completely rewriting them. If you let me know what the specific error is and when it's coming up I may be able to figure something out.

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

Version 2.0 Release Candidate 17
-A couple minor bug fixes
-Added a rudimentary Regional Setting detection to the Office 2007 version.
--This checks the Regional Settings for Excel itself the first time the file is opened and if you are not using custom settings which set a . as the decimal separator and , as the thousand separator it offers a dialog to set these for you (this means even if you are using Windows Default Settings, and Windows Default Settings use these, you'll still get the dialog; AFAIK there is no way for me to check the Windows Default Settings to suppress the dialog).
--This dialog only shows up the first time you open the file and only if it detects you are not using the compatible settings. "First time" resets if you use Save As to save the file; the next time you open it after Saving As will be treated as the first time.

You can download the spreadsheet here:

Excel 2000 (RC17)
http://gurpsland.no-ip.org/zip/SpaceshipsV2.zip (5.1 MB)
http://gurpsland.no-ip.org/zip/SpaceshipsV2.7z (~2.5 MB)

Excel 2007 (RC16)
http://gurpsland.no-ip.org/zip/SpaceshipsV2-2007.zip (~6.3 MB)
http://gurpsland.no-ip.org/zip/SpaceshipsV2-2007.7z (~6.2 MB)

OpenOffice 3.3.0 (RC9)
http://gurpsland.no-ip.org/zip/SpaceshipsV2-Ooo.zip (~2.1 MB)
http://gurpsland.no-ip.org/zip/SpaceshipsV2-Ooo.7z (~1.9 MB)

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

I recorded a small video going through all the options where I remembered some errors appeared. I think I found two or three different ones and some other minor bugs. I used the second-to-latest version (the one before you uploaded the new update just now).

I hope it helps in finding the errors: https://www.dropbox.com/s/c85b673hs5...video.mp4?dl=0

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

I just uploaded another version of v2.0RC17. This one, I hope, will fix the issue where the Save Sheets aren't showing any ships in them. This should also fix some of the issues you had with the Load Next Ship button, since that relies on loading the next visible ship in line from the target Save Sheet as well as the issue with the Save Ships portion of the Output sheet.

If not can I get you to Save the sheet and upload it again so I can suss out more errors?

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

Yes, the ship lists seem to work now (but the filters are not, or I am using them wrong, I don't know). Systems popup is still empty and some of the error messages still appear. The HTML output column is also still broken and clicking the Design Table macro button brings me to the Unofficial Ships list.

I also resaved the file: https://www.dropbox.com/s/hloc490hw3...Copy.xlsm?dl=0

We are getting there :)

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

What do you mean "systems popup" - do you mean the the drop-down menus on the design table for selecting Ship Systems?


Yes we are. The most frustrating part of this is that these aren't generating issues in Office 2000 or 2007, but I can see the errors frozen in the version of the sheet you save so long as I don't recalculate the sheet. As soon as I let it recalculate the errors clear, which makes it difficult to do more than a fix or two at a time because I need to get past one error to see if there's another.

So I just uploaded another fix for the Save Sheets which will hopefully get those and the output sheet working correctly now.

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

You might very well be right on the money. I am from Brazil and we indeed use... Y'know, commas. I'll try to fix this... Somehow...

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

Yes that's what I mean. As you see in the video, it's simply empty.

I can make more tests and resaves this evening after work (which would be early in the morning for you I guess? Well, around same time as yesterday).

Btw: Thank you for your hard work on this :)

[EDIT]
There is still the Sheet Size Error 1004 (when using the Zoom or Resolution buttons in the Design Table). Popups for the Ship Systems are empty on start, but as soon as you load a ship and reset, they work fine. Output seems also to be fixed. Only minor stuff remains :)

Latest resave: https://www.dropbox.com/s/i7vu6sm6cl...0220.xlsm?dl=0

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

A couple of bugs I've noticed recently:

1. Ever since I added a "Saved Ships" sheet for my own ships, whenever I use a top row button to get to another sheet I end up there. I have to use the sheet tabs to get the one I want.
2. I tried to add a "Vehicle Dock" as a "Smaller System" and got a recursion error message. The "Vehicle Dock" name ended up in the sub-system name cell but without showing any stats, joining with a following small "Vehicle Dock" or adding to the hull section's auxiliary vehicle space.

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

All of them? Or just the Save Sheets buttons? I'm not even sure how it's possible for all of them to stop working. The only ones that change target destination are the Design Table and Save Sheet buttons, the other buttons are set up to target specific tables.


This one I figured out where the error lies and I'm re-uploading RC17 with this error fixed.

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

Unfortunately I don't have the foggiest idea what's causing this error. I've made a few changes that may help with this, but it may not, as I'm just guessing right now.

Note that these are supposed to be blank until you input a ship SM & TL, because without knowing the SM & TL of the ship it's impossible to know what systems are available and which must be filtered. Do Ship System drop-down menus stay blank even after you set ship SM & TL? If they do can you set SM & TL and then save me a copy of the sheet?

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

Using the latest version, with Excel 2007, the cell (BB23, Design Table) in which one is supposed to manually enter a ship length claims it's protected. EDIT: I was trying to enter the number in the wrong cell. Ignore this bug.


Also, and this has never worked for me, the 'Electro-Mechanical Computers' option doesn't change the complexity of the Control Room computer. Note that 'Advanced Computer' (the Transhuman Space option) does.

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

Only the top row "Design Table" button redirects to the "Saved Ships 1" sheet, but it does this from any sheet except the "Design Table" one. Also, there is no "Saved Ships 1" button on any but the saved ship sheets.
And yet ...
Was that not enough to raise the RC number? ;)

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

Well, according to the microsoft documentation this has something to do with resizing cells with text inside. Their recommended fix/workaround is to set font size of the cell to 2 and back to the original font size after the resize.

If I would put workarounds like that into production code, my boss would kill me xD

From reading the documentation I don't really get why they throw this error in the first place. It feels more like a warning if anything. I mean if I want to resize a cell to a size where the text does not fit in anymore, I should be able to do that?

Latest resave if needed: https://www.dropbox.com/s/qgo2w8clkw...0221.xlsm?dl=0

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

I don't know how that could happen. It literally shouldn't happen at all.

That is normal. I'm just running out of room for buttons. However, if you want you can grab the tab at the bottom of the sheet and reorder the Saved Ships sheet tabs and the left-most two should appear on buttons on all other sheets.



Since I went back- and-forth with several small fixes I just updated RC17 rather than updating the RC number.

The thing is, the zoom function doesn't change cell sizes at all (except the 75%, which may force the resolution to bump up from the lowest, since there's an issue with 75% zoom and the 800px res). What is getting resized is the checkboxes across the top section of the sheet, and I can force the 1004 error to pop up there - but only if I am trying to resize a checkbox on a sheet that is not currently active, which shouldn't be happening since the resolution only changes the column width and checkbox widths in the active sheet.


In fact, you can do that. Excel doesn't have a problem with you making cells so small that text doesn't fit. Like I said, I'm not sure why exactly it's pitching this error, especially for you but not for me.

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

Well, if I'm the only person with this error - and actually it does not seem to prevent anything from happening - and the rest of the sheet works fine, then don't sweat it! You already did quite a lot to make the sheet work better on newer Excel versions.

Maybe if I have some time on the weekend, I'll go into the macros and do some brute force debugging to find out which line is causing the issue.

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

Well it does, and still is. Not a big problem; that top row of buttons isn't really needed since the sheet tabs can be used. (Maybe a drop-down list control would work instead.)

Some "Auxiliary Craft" Questions:

1. What is the purpose of the "Auxiliary Craft" sheet, and how do I use it? I tried to load a cargo lighter I designed there from my "Saved Ships 1" sheet, but nothing showed up on the ships list for that sheet.
2. I noticed that a non-superscience ship can't have TL^ auxiliary craft. Is that filter really necessary? Shouldn't size be the only qualifying factor?

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

Sorry for the long delay.
Just want to say that so far, it has worked like a charm! thanks! Everything works!

Edit: I take it back... I spoke too soon, I have to mark the "Don't filter system by SM"... And the automatic calculations doesn't seem to take effect once I choose a system

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

Two things you can do with Auxiliary Craft:
1) Create ships that are smaller SM than can be designed using the Spaceships rules. The three canonical examples in the existing ships are the Life Pod, Drop Capsule, and Stealth Capsule from the Designers Notes.
2) Create "dummy" ships to fill your Hangar Bays and Vehicle Docks without having to fully stat them up using the Spaceship rules. Especially useful for creating a Carrier and then fleshing out the small craft later.


Superscience ships also can't have Superscience Force Screens and Reactionless Engines. Auxiliary Craft are just another accessory, and if you install one on a non-superscience ship you are essentially stating that the ship is Superscience. So, yes, I like the filter. If you don't then either make the ship Superscience or click the checkbox "Don't filter systems by TL" in the upper-left corner of the design table sheet.

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

Okay, that makes sense. An "Auxiliary Craft" has to be created there and saved to a "Saved Ships" sheet before it can be loaded from one. A few things though:

1. On the "Design Table" when you enter the TL and SM values the other stats cells are filled with default values that are adjusted later by adding systems, design features and switches. Why can't these default values be generated on the "Auxiliary Craft" sheet too? (Empty cells only, of course.)
2. AFAIK the Lwt. is always determined by the SM. It shouldn't be adjustable.
3. There should be a validity check on the load so it doesn't exceed the LWt.

I guess that means no aircraft carriers equipped with secret flying saucers then. Pity. (Although I suppose they would give the carrier a superscience capability. ;-) ) And hangars don't have a "concealed" option ... yet. (Hint, hint.)

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

Those default values are generated based on the rules in Spaceships. While they hold true for the Spaceships design system the general GURPS rules don't require a given SM ship to have a specific Mass. In fact, the vehicles in various GURPS source books, or future vehicles for that matter, will not necessarily follow the SM -> Ship Mass paradigm from the Spaceships rules. I suppose I don't see an issue with filling in a default Lwt based on SM if the Lwt hasn't already been filled out, however I see no reason to "lock" it to the ship mass from the Spaceships rules.

I guess that's probably true, and easy enough to implement.

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

Minor HTML Output bugs: 2 of the   indents for sub-system locations don't have closing semicolons. Also, there is a weapons table header output when there are no weapons.

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

Version 2.0 Release Candidate 18
-More bug fixes, most notably the HTML output bugs
-The Aux Craft sheet will now set craft Lwt when you select SM if a value isn't already set; the Load will be limited to values between 0 and the Lwt.

You can download the spreadsheet here:

Excel 2000 (RC18)
http://gurpsland.no-ip.org/zip/SpaceshipsV2.zip (5.1 MB)
http://gurpsland.no-ip.org/zip/SpaceshipsV2.7z (~2.5 MB)

Excel 2007 (RC18)
http://gurpsland.no-ip.org/zip/SpaceshipsV2-2007.zip (~6.3 MB)
http://gurpsland.no-ip.org/zip/SpaceshipsV2-2007.7z (~6.2 MB)

OpenOffice 3.3.0 (RC9)
http://gurpsland.no-ip.org/zip/SpaceshipsV2-Ooo.zip (~2.1 MB)
http://gurpsland.no-ip.org/zip/SpaceshipsV2-Ooo.7z (~1.9 MB)

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

Just loaded it up. Weird. Before I imported my saved ships, I clicked the "Design Table" button while on the "Optional Rules" sheet and ended up on the "Unofficial Ships" sheet. Went to the "Design Table" via tabs, added a saved ships sheet, imported mine from the old file, clicked the "Design Table" button and ... ta-da ... actually ended up on the "Design Table". So that's one bug fixed. I think. :( Nope, it's back.

Quick question about Collapsible Fuel Tanks: Can it be pumped into a normal Fuel Tank while it's being used?


EDIT: Thanks for the recharging rules for "Energy Banks". But you lost the label for that optional rule section. ;) Also, how do we apply power profiles to the different modes (charging, discharging, neutral)? BTW, reading from the "Jump Drive" rules (SS1 p.41) a 1 FTL jump requires 1PPh (Super Stardrives charge their internal capacitors twice as fast). An pre-charged external fast discharging Energy Bank could remove the charging time from this. This could be applied to other Stardrive types too; 1 PPh/FTL to enter/leave hyperspace or initiate warp drive.

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

Today, some questions I somehow missed in our earlier discussion of Modular sections.

1. What is the difference between a "Dual Standard" and "Large" module?
2. How long does it take to attach/detach modular sections?
3. Can a "ship" module be tele-operated after separation from a control room in the other section(s)?
4. Could a module have an "Extradimensional Interface" (SS7 p.8) to reduce its external size and mass so it could attach to a smaller main ship?

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

A "Standard" module is -1 SM smaller than the ship and takes up either the entire Front or Center section of the ship. A "Large" module is -0.5 SM smaller than the ship and takes up both the Front and Center sections of the ship. A "Dual Standard" is exactly what it sounds like - it is two "Standard" modules each -1 SM smaller than the ship and it takes up the Front and Center sections of the ship.


I could make up some numbers for this, but my made up numbers aren't going to be any better than your made up numbers.

I don't see why not. It would need an engine and a Control Room (with or without control stations), but a module could certainly be designed to be an independent ship designed to operate on it's own or to be tele-operated. Think, for instance, the Enterprise-D from Star Trek: The Next Generation. Or the Prometheus Class from Star Trek Voyager.

Dunno. Depends on how you think Extradimensional Interfaces work. I don't see why a module couldn't have an ExDI, the main issue with calculating performance is whether or not the ExDI stuffs the mass away into the extra dimension or not. If the SM+1/+9 ship still has the mass of a SM+9 ship then it's going to be extremely difficult for it to be mounted on a SM+1.5 or SM+2 ship, since it'll act like an anchor slowing it down (unless the larger ship also has an ED interface, packing away enough engines to push the SM+1/+9 ship)

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

Okay, two modules instead of one. Perhaps the description should be changed from “A "Dual Standard" module takes up the entire Front and Center Hull sections,” to “"Dual Standard" modules take up the entire Front and Center Hull sections,” to clarify this.

Right, GM determined. You know, maybe I should stop complaining about sci-fi series that don't predetermine all their tech limits up front.

Or the original Enterprise in the classic series (according to the first Technical Manual and blueprints anyway). Uhmm, am I showing my age?

I think that covers normal space operations. How the extradimensional mass/size of an ExDI module would be handled by external Stardrives, Exophase Fields, Parachronic/Time Flux Drives or ExDIs would very much be another "GM determined" decision. ;)

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

Ehh, that wasn't really designed to be a ship with modular sections so much as it was a design for continued operations after a catastrophic failure, allowing the saucer to detach from the engine section.

Do you want to implode the universe? Because that's how universes implode.

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

Version 2.0 Release Candidate 19
-Reworked the macros that deal with the Design Table navigation buttons, hopefully fixing the issue with it going to the wrong sheet.
-Fixed a couple minor issues on the Optional Rules sheet

You can download the spreadsheet here:

Excel 2000 (RC19)
http://gurpsland.no-ip.org/zip/SpaceshipsV2.zip (5.1 MB)
http://gurpsland.no-ip.org/zip/SpaceshipsV2.7z (~2.5 MB)

Excel 2007 (RC19)
http://gurpsland.no-ip.org/zip/SpaceshipsV2-2007.zip (~6.3 MB)
http://gurpsland.no-ip.org/zip/SpaceshipsV2-2007.7z (~6.2 MB)

OpenOffice 3.3.0 (RC9)
http://gurpsland.no-ip.org/zip/SpaceshipsV2-Ooo.zip (~2.1 MB)
http://gurpsland.no-ip.org/zip/SpaceshipsV2-Ooo.7z (~1.9 MB)

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

Sorry, it's still not working for me. I think it may have something to with my adding a "Saved Ships" sheet to import my own custom designs to. Either adding the sheet or importing my ships must be screwing with the macro behind the button somehow. I'd be willing to email you a copy of my sheet as it stands so you can check it out.

Also, could you please set the default "Calculate Troop Strength" option value to off? I haven't needed it yet, and it's slightly annoying that I must uncheck it every time I reset the design sheet to start a ship from scratch.

Finally, could you please include a "Spin Tether" option (SS7 p.22) in the Gravity section of the "Ship Options"? It should have a numeric input field for the gravity value requested validated as greater than zero and (maybe) less than or equal to 1 which would be the listed capacity of an External Clamp. The stats could be calculated from this and the ship's Lwt. and added to the notes and the ship's cost.

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

This isn't a case of the sheet changing, this has something to do with working memory. It's kind of complicated, but which sheet the particular button points to can be somewhat variable, and apparently Microsoft messed with one of the function that accesses sheets from within the macros. Without seeing how it is doing what it's doing on your version of Office I have no way of figuring out what is going wrong. All I know for sure is that it works perfectly fine on multiple computers of mine running Office 2000 and Office 2007.

I'll take a look at these when I get some time.

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

I just re-uploaded the RC19. The only change is that I basically hard-coded the button Macro for the Design Table navigation button. If this doesn't fix the problem then I really have no idea what is going on.

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

It was odd. Immediately after importing my old ships to the newly added "Saved Ships 1" sheet, clicking the "Design Table" did bring up the "Design Table" sheet. Every time I clicked it after that though, it went to the new "Saved Ships 1" sheet. Maybe my computer is cursed.


EDIT: I did have a reverse compatibility error message crop up when I first tried to save the file (apparently it didn't like some external sheet cell links) but I ignored it and it hasn't caused any other problems.

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

Some fuel usage issues:

• The fuel usage duration calculation for reaction engines seems to assume constant thrust rather than constant acceleration. This means at engine burnout the actual acceleration = a × 20/(20 - number of tanks used up) where a = nominal acceleration. Fuel duration for constant acceleration = ΔV × K/a hours where K=0.045 for liftoff and 0.0455 for space. There should be an engine (or ship) option as to which is constant.
• If the ship has more than one reaction engine that use the same fuel tanks, ΔV and duration for each engine is calculated using the entire fuel supply. Could you set up a "fuel profile" entry like the "power profile" entry that could assign a fixed amount of fuel to each engine's use?

  Example: A Mars Shuttle I recently designed had both NTR ram-rocket (for liftoff to low orbit) and VASMIR (for high efficiency space maneuvering) drives that used 5 hydrogen fuel tanks. It needs 4.4 tanks for the NTR to boost from top air speed (0.5 mps) to low Mars orbit (2.48 - 0.5 = 1.98 mps), leaving 0.6 tanks for the VASMIR. (This is 6 mps in high efficiency or 0.3 mps in low efficiency mode.)

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

I am currently designing a Mars base that is largely underground, and I have several suggestions:

1. All propulsion systems should be filtered out when a "Building" Orientation Design Option is selected.
2. Systems that should not be "Underground" include Solar power systems (this includes panels, mirrors and boilers), Weapon systems
   Quote:

   unless either the entire building is underground (in which case top-facing fixed mount or any turret weapons can be installed in upper level section of the basement), or unless they’re a third of a spinal battery or a ghost particle beam. Pyramid 3/43: Alternate GURPS, Alternate Spaceships p.10

   and Enhanced/Multipurpose/Tactical Comm/Sensor Arrays (they need a line-of-sight). Some Hangar Bays may be underground if at least one isn't (or 3 if you want a larger door) in the current or a connecting section.
3. Quote:

   Armor: A building requires a minimum of one Armor system per section, representing its structural composition. Pyramid 3/43: Alternate GURPS, Alternate Spaceships p.10

   Can this Armor use the Spread dDR option.
4. If any system in an Upper or Middle section of a "Building" is "Underground", shouldn't the systems in the sections below it automatically be set to "Underground"?

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

The problem is that the way filtering works I can't add filters for specific locations, only hull sections. Since part of a section can be underground and part above this means I can't effectively add filtering without a complete redesign of a large portion of the sheet and a probable slow-down of the calculations. The Propulsion System filtering may be slightly less problematic, but would still require a lot of work for very little gain (how many "spaceships" are buildings; and of them how annoying is it to have to scroll past the propulsion systems vs how much work it would require to filter them out).

By a strict reading of the rules I'd say no, as it says that "each section" must have an Armor System. However, I rarely use the Spread dDR rule anymore since I mostly use Smaller SM Armor Systems to fill that niche; Personally I wouldn't have a problem with using either Spread dDR or Smaller SM Armor Systems so long as there was at least 1dDR per hull section.

Maybe, but being an abstract system there's no rule stating that Hull Section 6 is automatically below Hull Section 5; in fact many ship systems are likely to be distributed around the vessel, or to at least have components that are distributed around the vessel. The hit location numbering is just a convenient abstraction for targeting during combat.

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

I don't think he's talking Hull Section 5-6, but Front/Top, Middle, Rear/Bottom. I think he meant to say that marking Front/Top as Underground should make Middle and Rear/Bottom Underground by default.

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

That makes sense, and looks like it'll be extremely easy to implement.

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

This is a direct result of the way that the rules calculate the amount of fuel for calculating delta-V; the rules essentially multiply the amount of fuel available based on the number of tanks installed; by extension, the duration is multiplied by the same factor. This results in the duration being calculated by the first method. The second method may be possible, but would take some work to do.

It is true that duration and delta-V is calculated as if all appropriate fuel tanks are assigned to each engine (or the set of identical engines). Again, while it may be possible to set up a fuel profile, this would take a bit of work. The biggest issue here is that the number of tanks, and thus the delta-V tank multiplier, ends up needing to get calculated for each profile based on which tanks are assigned to which engines. That gets messy and complicated; not impossible, but messy and complicated.


I don't see why you couldn't pump fuel the from the collapsible tanks into main tanks while using the fuel from the main tanks. The main reason for the limitation is to prevent a ship from using only collapsible tanks, as the standard fuel tanks also include the pump machinery and fuel lines to the engines while the collapsible tanks are meant to be just the tank itself, set up in a cargo bay.

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

I suppose it depends on whether you calculate ΔV before or after fuel endurance. This might require a ship or campaign option as to which calc is preferred.

I didn't really expect this one, since it would require a significant structural change. I just wanted to put it on the wish list for future consideration during a major rewrite.

THANK YOU! My first Mars Trans-Orbital Taxi had two hard tanks (LH2 and CH4) for VASMIR and NTR(RR) drives, and 8 collapsible methane tanks in the middle and rear cargo holds for Mars launch. My rationale was the Earth/Mars trade imbalance during the early years: 165 tons imports vs. 45 tons exports. (Also, reducing the ship's effective mass by 45% on takeoff extends the LH2 tank's ΔV by 81%. ;) )

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

More wish list stuff:

1. Campaign options to define non-standard operating environments. Examples:
   1. Local gravity. Could affect liftoff and ground movement.
   2. Solar irradiance. Affects solar power systems.
   3. Atmosphere molecular weight* and temperature (°K). Affects gasbag lift. (See below.)
2. A "hot air gasbag" system that uses 1PP to heat the gas inside and thus increase the lift. Option: List of lifting gasses used to inflate gasbag. Each has its own lift potential. Default to Earth air.

I'm considering a Martian Blimp design and discovered that the higher Mol. Wt. of the Martian atmosphere would increase gasbag lift by 53%. (Assuming H₂ is used; CH₄ would have about the same lift on Mars that H₂ does on Earth).

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

There are no rules for 1a, 1c, and 2, nor am I sure where to start in making such rules. 1b doesn't actually have rules, but the Luminosity and inverse square of distance won't be hard to calculate so is something I may do something with.

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

Version 2.0 Release Candidate 20
-If you delete a Ship System the sheet will now automatically delete all System Options associated with that system.
-If you select the Ship Orientation to be Building and then select a ship system to be Underground then all systems in Hull Sections below that system will also be set to Underground (that is, if you make one Front/Upper system Underground then all Center and Rear/Bottom systems will be set to Underground; if you select any Center system to be Underground then all Rear/Bottom systems will be set to Underground).

-Added two new buttons to the System Options section. Copy Options and Paste Options.
--When you select any cell within row in the System Options section and click Copy Options that system's options will be used when pasting; note that even if you change the options after you click Copy Options the sheet will use whatever options are most current.
--If you select a row and click Paste Options the sheet will:
---Check to see if the System names match; if so it will paste the Options into that system
---If the System name is blank it will paste the System name and all the Options into that row
--If you select a range of rows and click Paste Options the sheet will go through each row, as above, and paste the System Name and Options as appropriate.
---This will automatically skip Core systems if two Core systems are already installed.
---Multi-Row Pasting does not work on Sub-Systems (Smaller SM, Reconfigurable Systems, and Mixed Mount Weapon Batteries). You can still select one row at a time and Paste the System/Options into it.
---Pasting may allow you to paste Systems or Options into sections of the ship where they are disallowed. If so this will generally generate an appropriate error.

You can download the spreadsheet here:

Excel 2000 (RC20)
http://gurpsland.no-ip.org/zip/SpaceshipsV2.zip (5.1 MB)
http://gurpsland.no-ip.org/zip/SpaceshipsV2.7z (~2.5 MB)

Excel 2007 (RC20)
http://gurpsland.no-ip.org/zip/SpaceshipsV2-2007.zip (~6.3 MB)
http://gurpsland.no-ip.org/zip/SpaceshipsV2-2007.7z (~6.2 MB)

OpenOffice 3.3.0 (RC9)
http://gurpsland.no-ip.org/zip/SpaceshipsV2-Ooo.zip (~2.1 MB)
http://gurpsland.no-ip.org/zip/SpaceshipsV2-Ooo.7z (~1.9 MB)

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

Well, I've had some thoughts on gasbags, so you might want to reconsider 1c and 2. As to 1b, the calculation you are talking about requires two numbers rather than one, and I really wasn't talking about a complete planetary definition; just some external constants that would affect vehicle performance (now we are using the spreadsheet to design more than spaceships ;) ).

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

So, it's been some time since I last checked here, so, I would like to know if it is possible to add the function to design "spaceships" SMALLER than SM+3, for use by smaller SM characters, or as unmanned drones?

I am sorry if someone has asked this already, or if it is already included on the latest versions.

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

I just tried to add some "Steerage Cargo: Partial" to my SM+5 habitat slots with RC20, and it wasn't there. What's happening?

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

Could someone please tell me where the "Hydroponics Bay" habitat came from? I checked all the Spaceships books, the optional rules and all the connected Pyramid editions I have, and the few times the word 'hydroponics' came up was in indirect references. I even searched the forum for references, but I didn't see any Habitat definition. What is the source of the "4 person production,1 staff" per cabin formula? And why doesn't it reduce the demand for food (by subtracting the production from the life support requirements)?


EDIT: And why could I add it to my ERV but not my Mars Lander?

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

Both are from my Unofficial Rules, and you need that option selected in the Campaign Options to use them.

I don't recall where I got the stats for the Hydroponics Bay from; I think I cribbed the basic stats from another book, or maybe based them on a similarly sized "Open Space." I don't honestly recall.

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

I recall some talk about it on the Forums. Maybe that's the source? (For all I know could still be you)

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

Okay, that seems to work. I designed my ERV from scratch but my lander/ascent vehicles were based on the Lowell-class (SS5 p.13-14) and so they didn't use the Unofficial Rules.

It seems reasonable to me, which leads me to believe I heard the reasoning behind it at one point. (Maybe you equated it with "Total Life Support" so the production equaled one bunkroom's food requirements.) I still think the "production" should be subtracted from the life-support requirements when calculating food stores duration, and the "staff" added to the crew count. (I can "reduce" them out if I have to.)

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

A question on SM+3 systems:

Mecha Operations (Pyramid 3/40, page 7) say that an SM+3 Control Room costs 10% of an SM+5 one, and has one control station. But when I add a Control Room to an SM+3 craft, it has 0 Control Stations. Can this be fixed on my side, or is this a bug?

Currently checking with the Excel 2000 version of the latest one.

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

Not exactly a "bug" as such, more a choice I made and never noted. There's an issue with Mecha Operations with regards to Control Rooms, Passenger Seating, and Life Support. The article states that SM+3 Passenger Seating has no Life Support but doesn't mention the same for SM+3 Control Rooms. This means that, by the rules, a SM+3 Passenger Seat contains only the Seat & Passenger while a SM+3 Control Room contains a seat, the operator, control thrusters/surfaces, a computer, sensors, and life support.

There's a disconnect there, and initially I fixed that disconnect by having a SM+3 Control Room contain 0.5 seats - so adding two Control Rooms would add 1 Control Station. Now I'm unsure if I want to address it in this manner or not, but I really don't like that inconsistency.

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

In my own fiddling, I ended up treating SM+3 extrapolations for control rooms as also having 0 stations - basically, it's a dash with a set of controls or a computer that can run programs to do what needs to be done, but if you want a human to be messing with those controls, assign a passenger seat to it.

To that end, the house rules I've been using for passenger seating are that you can use a design switch to Passenger Seating to allow installation of a Harness, which allows for a very simple strap-in system with only 1/3 the builtin life support (8 hours) but with 3x the capacity, so in a SM+3 vehicle you could use 1 harness per location. It's not a perfect solution, but I think it's a fair trade against the stats for SM+4 and up.

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

The rules in Pyramid 4/40 for Passenger Seating actually mesh alright with the rules from Pyramid 3/34 for the No Life Support Option. In Pyramid 3/34 No Life Support doubles the number of seats in Passenger Seating; in Pyramid 4/40 a SM+3 system has 1 seat per system but with no Life Support; which means that if you treat SM+3 Passenger Seats as having 0.5 seats per system they can either have 1 seat per two systems installed with Life Support or 1 seat per system if it has No Life Support. The problem arises when you throw in the Control Room rules from Pyramid 4/40, which don't mesh with the Passenger Seating from the same article.

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

Is there any chance we could get an updated copy of the Optional Rules PDF? It's currently at RC13, which doesn't include Energy Banks at the very least. I honestly don't really use the spreadsheet, it's complicated enough that I prefer my own tooling — but the optional rules are great!

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

I've been intending to release this update for a while, but real life got in the way. There aren't a lot of big changes, just a few small ones and a few minor improvements. In addition to updating the Excel sheet I've released the Optional Rules PDF to the latest version.

Version 2.0 Release Candidate 21
-Added Gravitic Focus option for Comm/Sensor Arrays per Pyramid 35, p. 20.
-Added Solar Power Options allowing you to set Solar Luminosity and Solar Distance. This will multiply Power Points produced by a Solar Array or Solar Boiler; PP are rounded down to the next lower Power Point (or 1/3 of a Power Point if Combining Larger & Smaller Power Points).
-Added option for Armor Facing from Pyramid #3/34, p. 8.
-Added footnote for Exposed Systems
-Added Ship Option/Switch for Spin Tethers (note: Cost is based on loaded mass of both ships, and per 100 yards of tether)
-When Resetting the Design Table the ship TL will only reset if Campaign Options is selected; conversely the TL will not be reset if Campaign Options is unchecked. However, when Loading a ship the ship TL will still be loaded with Ship Systems, not Campaign Options.
-The Troop Strength checkbox will now be saved, loaded, and reset with Campaign Options. It will still default to checked when reset; however if you Reset the Design Table and uncheck the Campaign Options checkbox then the Calculate Troop Strength checkbox will remain in whatever state you choose for the last ship you were working on. Similarly, if you load the Campaign Options from a previous ship the Calc Troop Strength checkbox will be loaded along with the other Campaign settings from the previous ship. Note that this only affects the Calc Troop Strength checkbox; the individual Mass Combat option checkboxes remain a part of the Ship Switches & Features, and will be reset and loaded with that section of the ship.
-Ships without Space Performance will have Hnd/SR & Move of Air Performance displayed on the stat table, then Ground, then Water.
-When installing Habitat cabins in the Habitat portion of the Design Table the sheet will now list the number of slots used by the chosen item and number that are installable under the notes until you add the quantity, after which it will display the standard notes.

You can download the spreadsheet here:

Excel 2000 (RC20)
http://gurpsland.no-ip.org/zip/SpaceshipsV2.zip (5.1 MB)
http://gurpsland.no-ip.org/zip/SpaceshipsV2.7z (~2.5 MB)

Excel 2007 (RC20)
http://gurpsland.no-ip.org/zip/SpaceshipsV2-2007.zip (~6.3 MB)
http://gurpsland.no-ip.org/zip/SpaceshipsV2-2007.7z (~6.2 MB)

OpenOffice 3.3.0 (RC9)
http://gurpsland.no-ip.org/zip/SpaceshipsV2-Ooo.zip (~2.1 MB)
http://gurpsland.no-ip.org/zip/SpaceshipsV2-Ooo.7z (~1.9 MB)

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

I have problem with "Output". When the sheet starts, its values are removed. With what it can be connected?

Re: GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet
 

For whatever reason, ticking the 'Electromechanical Computers' box does nothing. This is in the latest Excel 2007 version (and it's been the case since forever). I can't tell if the OpenOffice/Libre Office version doesn't do anything too, because my Libre Office 6 install doesn't like the sheet at all - it's not formatting it correctly.