More Shippy Stuff
Stemming from some CotI Q&A, I'd almost settled that the drives in LBB2 aren't fusion torches - if only because fuel goes to the jump drives and the power plant, but not the maneuver drives.
Except!
The P-plant is a fusion reactor, right? It's got a containment bottle and all that. Might not the M-Drive be considered an adjunct to the power plant, the mechanical/gravitic/handwavium apparatus for focusing and venting the plasma of the ship's power plant?
So looking at book 2 drives: Fuel goes to the J-drive for it do to its thing: fuel goes to the power plant as well, which does its thing. The maneuver drive may simply be powered by the plant, or it may use the power plant to provide thrust via plasma.
If maneuver drives are fusion torches, then that has an effect on starports: A and B ports on busy worlds will probably prefer that EVERYONE use the highport apart from shuttles and other small craft. C and D class ports, likely , are going to be a good ways out from settled areas (how far? dunno) and they'll be restricted to smaller ships for the most part: I'd say a limit of 400 tons isn't crazy.
It makes the smaller unstreamlined ships make a bit more sense. Military ships might be streamlined at the higher tonnages, but that's for fuel skimming more than landing.
***
I'm trying to decide on how I feel about contragrav on spacecraft for atmospheric maneuvering. It sorta bugs me when there's a system on shipboard that doesn't get costed out. I'd already made my mind up, pretty much, that LBB2 assumes artifical gravity and internal inertial compensation on shipboard. It's not specifically stated in the rules, but virtually every spacecraft design depends on it in deck plans/ etcetera dating back to the earliest adventures. I'm inclined to go with that. And by the same token, looking at your classic Scout and Trader designs, those guys don't have wheels, they have skids: they depend on some sort of CG for their landings. So I sorta have to shrug and say it's there, perhaps a subsystem of the M drive or power plant or something. Squishy, though, you know?
Except!
The P-plant is a fusion reactor, right? It's got a containment bottle and all that. Might not the M-Drive be considered an adjunct to the power plant, the mechanical/gravitic/handwavium apparatus for focusing and venting the plasma of the ship's power plant?
So looking at book 2 drives: Fuel goes to the J-drive for it do to its thing: fuel goes to the power plant as well, which does its thing. The maneuver drive may simply be powered by the plant, or it may use the power plant to provide thrust via plasma.
If maneuver drives are fusion torches, then that has an effect on starports: A and B ports on busy worlds will probably prefer that EVERYONE use the highport apart from shuttles and other small craft. C and D class ports, likely , are going to be a good ways out from settled areas (how far? dunno) and they'll be restricted to smaller ships for the most part: I'd say a limit of 400 tons isn't crazy.
It makes the smaller unstreamlined ships make a bit more sense. Military ships might be streamlined at the higher tonnages, but that's for fuel skimming more than landing.
***
I'm trying to decide on how I feel about contragrav on spacecraft for atmospheric maneuvering. It sorta bugs me when there's a system on shipboard that doesn't get costed out. I'd already made my mind up, pretty much, that LBB2 assumes artifical gravity and internal inertial compensation on shipboard. It's not specifically stated in the rules, but virtually every spacecraft design depends on it in deck plans/ etcetera dating back to the earliest adventures. I'm inclined to go with that. And by the same token, looking at your classic Scout and Trader designs, those guys don't have wheels, they have skids: they depend on some sort of CG for their landings. So I sorta have to shrug and say it's there, perhaps a subsystem of the M drive or power plant or something. Squishy, though, you know?
posted by Jwarrrlry at 8:47 AM
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