marginaleye
SOC-12
Here's a scenario:
Suppose you want to conduct a really long-range exploration/colonization mission, across a couple of thousands of parsecs of uncharted wilderness (which means no refined fuel, and no regular overhauls). Suppose, furthermore, you're in a big hurry, so the slow-but-safe approach (some combination of low berths, hydrogen ram-scoops, and sublight propulsion) isn't a viable option -- the colony ships have just got to be jump-capable. Is this even possible?
According to the rules, as written, it probably isn't. If a starship's jump drive doesn't get overhauled every year, the risk of misjump begins to go up. A voyage through a couple of thousand parsecs of wilderness would involve several decades without an overhaul, making a misjump (or worse) unavoidable.
Can anyone suggest how to make a voyage like this possible, without screwing up the rules for "mundane" starship operations and maintenance. I'm envisioning some combination of (a) "ruggedized" jump drives (which cost more, and take up a lot more space), (b) lots of space dedicated to spare parts, onboard testing and repair facilities, and so forth, (c) at least one extra jump drive (so the voyage can continue while the one is being inspected, scrubbed out and recalibrated), and (d) extra engineers (more than the canonical 1 per 100 dtons of drives installed).
Does this sound like a fair "hand-wave" around the problem of travelling very long distances without visiting starports? Yes, in theory, anyone (including player characters) could do this sort of thing, but who really wants to lose a large fraction of one's starship's internal volume for a benefit of dubious value? Ships equipped as I describe above would be at a severe disadvantage both for hauling cargo and fighting!
Suppose you want to conduct a really long-range exploration/colonization mission, across a couple of thousands of parsecs of uncharted wilderness (which means no refined fuel, and no regular overhauls). Suppose, furthermore, you're in a big hurry, so the slow-but-safe approach (some combination of low berths, hydrogen ram-scoops, and sublight propulsion) isn't a viable option -- the colony ships have just got to be jump-capable. Is this even possible?
According to the rules, as written, it probably isn't. If a starship's jump drive doesn't get overhauled every year, the risk of misjump begins to go up. A voyage through a couple of thousand parsecs of wilderness would involve several decades without an overhaul, making a misjump (or worse) unavoidable.
Can anyone suggest how to make a voyage like this possible, without screwing up the rules for "mundane" starship operations and maintenance. I'm envisioning some combination of (a) "ruggedized" jump drives (which cost more, and take up a lot more space), (b) lots of space dedicated to spare parts, onboard testing and repair facilities, and so forth, (c) at least one extra jump drive (so the voyage can continue while the one is being inspected, scrubbed out and recalibrated), and (d) extra engineers (more than the canonical 1 per 100 dtons of drives installed).
Does this sound like a fair "hand-wave" around the problem of travelling very long distances without visiting starports? Yes, in theory, anyone (including player characters) could do this sort of thing, but who really wants to lose a large fraction of one's starship's internal volume for a benefit of dubious value? Ships equipped as I describe above would be at a severe disadvantage both for hauling cargo and fighting!