Alternate Force Fields

[Rahnd]

How about different forms of countermesures, a little probe that just gegts in the way of the shot (no idea who originaly came up with the idea, think the first time i saw it was on Sea Quest)...or if using the magnetic shelding, just a large hunk of high density metal.

 

[mike wightman]

Nice idea. T2300 had much better rules for sensor drones and fighters acting as decoys for large ships, even the ship to ship missiles could be fitted with folding arrays and the like to better mimic a ship.
Now some of those rules made it into TNE ship combat since sensors play such an important role in that system.
I wonder how easy it would be to produce rules for countermeasures and decoys in all the other versions of Traveller ship combat?
Or, to put it another way, has anyone already done it?
This could become a new thread if there isn't one already .

 

[Rahnd]

I would imagine that the decoy coutnermesure would greatly depend on the TL. Computers may be able to control the movement of the drones, but how much input from a pilot or sheild tech would be needed, would their skill level affect it?

Another antimissile system might be a idea of a little turret...and if altered a bit, or well, just another turret altogether designed to spray out the same marerial as used in a sand caster. aim at where your suspected to be hit and spray the stuff out. missile comming in, shoot it with the small cannons.

 

[Hecateus]

Electrostatic armour exists IRL. Bradley fighting vehichles will sport them soon. Similar stuff is being developed for war ships.

Similarly: > Cold Plasma <

There is another whose name I can't remember, BUt it involves have powerful electromagnets active to shield a ship from particle radiation...electrons, protons, whole atoms etc...not photons. Useful aslo as an alternative reentry system or somesuch.

Beyond that, anyone remember > Star Blazers < ?

If so you will recall a magnetic shield made by the engineer guy who fell in love with that alien chick....okey that is the plot of many a sci-fi, but you may still remember him.

The shield system involved the magnetc control of iron heavy rocks to block incoming fire. Any hope of using something similar to this in Traveller, perhaps involving Sandcasters? Smart SandCasters?

 

[TheDS]

Thanks for finding that link, Hec, that's exactly the thing I was talking about (not the Langston field, the Plasma shield).

 

[The Oz]

Originally posted by Gaming Glen:
Hmmm, Sand Casters tossing out lots of debris. I can't help but think how dangerous a solar system would be after a battle. Besides the ship and missile wreckage, there's all these clouds of sand flying through the solar system.

I wonder if the space navy employs some sort of clean up vessels? Otherwise you might have some angry planetary governor(s) or trading megacorp(s) complaining about the restriction to trade due to the dangers of space travel.


Glen

The sand is probably not too serious a danger: I once calculated the amount of impact a standard TRAVELLER ship hull could withstand and got quite a high figure. The most sand would usually do (assuming usual in-system velocities) is scrape off your paint job, which might be enough to upset some people.

Wreckage and large debris is another story altogether. While any armored ship will be protected from collision with all but the biggest chunks, unarmored ships would be at risk in the volume of space where a major battle had taken place.

I can imagine volumes of space marked off on navigator's maps: "DANGER!!! Navigational Hazard: Debris." Of course, those volumes will slowly move (and disperse) under the influence of gravity, original vectors, the explosions that created the debris, etc. Over time the debris density would be low enough to allow passage.

Roland Green mentions this problem in his STARCRUISER SHENANDOAH series of books. If you've not read them, try to find them in the used bookstores. They were very useful for TRAVELLER. The first series were even set on a planet named Victoria (JTAS #2). Green's Victoria isn't that much like the one in the Spinward Marches, but hey....

 

[Hecateus]

IIRC Traveller vessels are 'skinned' with sensors, heat dissapators, and other sensitive 'stuff'. A concentrated blast of sand/micrometeorites could easily leave these things useless while leaving the ship in otherwise good condition.

Sand and micrometeorites would also have velocites which would put them in more or less stable orbits. Leonids are here right now btw...good luck viewing them.