Re: New Low Rates (shorter now)

Noam wrote:

> > Diaspora-G (Sinai) Colony ship:
> >  Screen / 1
>	 
>	Screens on a Fragile hull? As I said to Tony Francis, this is
simply
>	a waste of resources - the same Mass of armour gives at least >
twice
the protection against all weapons except needle beams and >	possibly
EMP missiles, and the armour is cheaper :-/
> 
> I did it for a couple reasons. Colony ships are non-military, and
most
> civilian hulls I have seen are weak or fragile. 

I don't mind the fragile hulls, only the screens :-/

> I also wanted something PSB-ish to denote that the ship expects to
face > more environmental dangers (e.g. radiation) than attack.

Why would the Sinai face worse radiation dangers than NI or NSL
warships?

> >  Cargo Space: C40 C40 C40 C40 Four colonial Drop Pods
> >  Cargo Space: HL40 HL40 SP34 Two Heavy Lifters and one 
> >  Station Pod 
>	 
>	You're mixing MT and FB design rules here, or else the HLs
aren't
>	supposed to be able to re-dock with the Sinai after they've been
>	launched (nor able to load cargo from the Sinai). Bays able to
carry
>	two Mass 40 ships have a total Mass of 120 in FB, not 80.
> 
> Yes, I am mixing rules to a point. FB rules don't really cover
non-military
> ships beyond a few freighter templates, nor do they detail things
like
> modular ships.

The FB design rules do cover non-military ship design, yes. They don't
cover the civilian costs or uses for the cargo these ships are
carrying.

Modular ships are not covered, that's true.

> All the pods and heavy lifters are secured onto the hull, not carried
in
> bays. Once they are detached, however, they can't be easily
re-attached
> outside a dockyard facility.

OK. That was my alternative interpretation of it, but given the cargo
shuttles already present in the outpost I didn't believe too much in
it.

It causes problems when you shoot at a Sinai with attached HLs, though 
- which ship is it you actually hit when you shoot at them?

>	> Gimel Class Colonial Drop Pod
>	> Dispolacement: 40
>	> Complement: 600 Colonists and equipment @ 15/Mass (well 
>	> stocked); 1000 @ 25/mass (moderate supply); 2000 @ 50/mass 
>	> (low supply). 
>	> Each pod is redundant.
> 
>	Um... English isn't my first language, but my dictionaries
translate
>	"redundant" roughly as "superfluous" with a touch of "...as long
as
> you
>	haven't lost the primary unit" - and I wouldn't be willing to
tell a
>	bunch of colonists that their landing craft is that, or that
they
> are
>	:-/ What does the word mean in reality?
> 
> In engineering terms redundant means repeated, backup, alternate. 

[snip]

That's pretty much what I thought, then. OK, you meant redundant in
secondary functions; but if you lose a pod you're pretty much
guaranteed to have lost the people inside too - and calling the pod
redundant is psychologically very close to calling the people in the
pod redundant as well, and I doubt me they'd like that very much :-/

> > Power/Locomotion: Unidirectional atmospheric entry. Grav/retro
> > assist. 
>	These should count as Streamlining - at the very least Partial,
>	probably Full. Even so, the indicated complete lack of
structural
>	integrity
>	makes it rather unlikely to survive atmospheric entry - even a
>	near-miss from a PDS would destroy it <shudder>
> 
> Perhaps I shouldn't have, but I assumed that basic one way stuff
could 
> be accounted for "off book". 

If they can, then starship landing drives can also be accounted for off
book. Makes the loads of Mass used by the various streamlined NI ships
look rather wasteful <shrug>

> As for susceptibility to fire, anyone who would try to colonize a
hostile
> planet (or hang around a warzone in a civilian ship) deserves what
they > get.

You misunderstood me. Atmospheric entry is likely to release much more
energy for such a big craft than a PDS near-miss, both in heat and in
physical stresses. If you're completely destroyed by the PDS near-miss,
you're also very likely to turn to cinders if you try to drop through
an atmosphere - completely regardless of whether or not there are enemy
combat units anywhere nearby.

Regards,

Oerjan Ohlson
oerjan.ohlson@telia.com

"Life is like a sewer.
  What you get out of it, depends on what you put into it."
- Hen3ry