Vile
SOC-12
Why would you want to? Shades of L Ron Hubbard's Mission Earth ... :devil:
Modular Cutter Magazine
- Thread starter Lochlaber
- Start date
I think the idea behind relying upon small craft is to avoid hazarding the entire starship when deploying the troops in a hot LZ.
To that end, the unstreamlined configuration may be desirable -- with a nod towards TCS -- to allow any number of subordinate craft launch and recovery operations to occur simultaneously, as the craft are attached to easily-accessible external mounts/cradles/facilities, rather than carried in some internal bay(s).
It's not needed. IMTU, the performance of reactionless gravitic drives is dependent upon volume as well as mass; loaded spacecraft tend to perform similarly to unloaded ones. When a Cutter is operated without a Module, the overall vehicle displacement is reduced along with the mass, resulting in higher performance from the drive. When a Ship's Boat is flown unloaded, its volume remains the same, and hence so does its performance.
As a result, tugs do indeed perform better when unloaded, but the 6G limit is still in effect, so it's never really a problem.. what issues do you have with tugs zipping around while they're unloaded?
1G inertial compensation.
Sure you can fly at 6G, but you may not survive it and 'stuff' WILL go flying.
BlackBat242
SOC-14 1K
Modular Cutter Magazine
So, you guys are getting so into your designs that you are starting a pulp rag to feature them?
A devoted fan-base to be sure, but I'm not sure you'll get many subscribers, though.
So, you guys are getting so into your designs that you are starting a pulp rag to feature them?
A devoted fan-base to be sure, but I'm not sure you'll get many subscribers, though.
far-trader
SOC-14 10K
far-trader
SOC-14 10K
That's probably the thinking, but then we have canon illos of just that happening
And starships are pretty much immune to battlefield weapons, especially of less than TL8ish.
It just seems to me that the trade off would be worth considering, seriously. And any potential problems (landing in a hot LZ) will be easily mitigated by an inbound pounding by a type C.
And if you're going to carry small craft there are other good reasons to have them internal rather than external (though arguably none covered well in most of the rules).
far-trader
SOC-14 10K
Luckily for you nobody is running Anti-thread-Hijack
It's always bugged me. Too little to hold the module and not enough to keep the nose and tail attached without the module in place. And talk about unstreamlined without the module. So many problems with the design. A cool idea but not well thought out by some imo.
That said there are canon illos and the old mini that suggest it was much more than a simple skinny spine. See my thread here for the results of my research:
Dart class Modular Cutter
Nope, or yes.
Yes: The canon version is allowed 6G without the module in the Broadsword description in the adventure of the same name. See above for why it won't work imo.
Nope: Because even with the module deployed it is still 50tons to maintain it's hull integrity and streamlining, so performance is the same imo.
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When I ran a marine game, the Cutters provided several functions: (I gave the BnCT 3 modular cutters: one hospital, one supply, one maintenance).
I deemed that the shop modules had one "full up" shop, and 2 "tipout shops". the full-up has 14 tons of internal bay, and when expanded, the tip-outs have 8 ton work bays, one on either side, but can't be used unless tipped out (I gave the 8 ton shop a 50% volume break for being useable only when opened out and not stowed for thrust.)
The Hospital was a 2 theater (4 Td SR, x2 cost), plus 1 lab (4td), plus 5 SSR (2ea), plus 6 bunks (1 Td Ea) MASH... with 2Td of stowage; one for supplies, and one for tenting for dirtside use to provide 20 cots pre-op and post-op.
I treated modules much like the Army used the Sikorsky Sky-Crane equivalents: brought in by cutter, deposited, the expando stuff is set up (takes an hour or so), and it's used as "instant camp".
Hostile Env. Bunking module is an expando as well; the 30 SSR are folded down to coffin for transit, and then expanded on landing to provide a central bay.
Cutters deployed wiht the troops; Drop ships dropped then retreated back from dirtside.
As for maintaining SL when module-less: fabric sides, and the spar has two smaller sub-spars that get locked down to provide support.
I deemed that the shop modules had one "full up" shop, and 2 "tipout shops". the full-up has 14 tons of internal bay, and when expanded, the tip-outs have 8 ton work bays, one on either side, but can't be used unless tipped out (I gave the 8 ton shop a 50% volume break for being useable only when opened out and not stowed for thrust.)
The Hospital was a 2 theater (4 Td SR, x2 cost), plus 1 lab (4td), plus 5 SSR (2ea), plus 6 bunks (1 Td Ea) MASH... with 2Td of stowage; one for supplies, and one for tenting for dirtside use to provide 20 cots pre-op and post-op.
I treated modules much like the Army used the Sikorsky Sky-Crane equivalents: brought in by cutter, deposited, the expando stuff is set up (takes an hour or so), and it's used as "instant camp".
Hostile Env. Bunking module is an expando as well; the 30 SSR are folded down to coffin for transit, and then expanded on landing to provide a central bay.
Cutters deployed wiht the troops; Drop ships dropped then retreated back from dirtside.
As for maintaining SL when module-less: fabric sides, and the spar has two smaller sub-spars that get locked down to provide support.
Vile
SOC-12
Never mind the readers, feel the page count!
Andrew Boulton
The Adminator
Never mind the readers, feel the page count!
And the big pull-out section in the middle...
Vile
SOC-12
Icosahedron
SOC-14 1K
A personal preference, I suppose. It just doesn't seem 'right' somehow, like using a fork truck as a getaway car; shouldn't be possible - players hijack a tug and outrun the planetary defences...
I like this, but maybe it's a tad too easy to retrofit? Add in low grade sensors and controls leading to instability at speed though, you could make it cheaper to buy a fighter...
Good to see what others do. Cheers.
Well, laser beams and pulses travel pretty fast (with particles and plasma close behind), and with at most a rudimentary onboard computer to protect it, if your entire planetary defense grid can't at least disable a hijacked tug within the first few seconds of combat, I'm thinking a round of courts-martial might be in order, yes?
Ganidirsii O'Flynn
SOC-12
What, no centerfold of a custom 'hot rod' cutter?
With the latest Luriani hottie draped over the nose, maybe?
