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No rules for FCS or BCS?

Wol

SOC-12
Just in case I missed it. In 800 pages there are no rules for the use or construction of FCS or BCS?

Nothing equivalent to HG or TCS?

Just mightily puzzled.

regards:confused:
 
Just in case I missed it. In 800 pages there are no rules for the use or construction of FCS or BCS?

Nothing equivalent to HG or TCS?

Just mightily puzzled.

regards:confused:


I seem to recall it being mentioned that BCS rules are forthcoming.
 
Just in case I missed it. In 800 pages there are no rules for the use or construction of FCS or BCS?

Nothing equivalent to HG or TCS?

Just mightily puzzled.

regards:confused:

At least the ACS rules allow you to go up to 2400 tons (and higher tech levels).
 
Just in case I missed it. In 800 pages there are no rules for the use or construction of FCS or BCS?

Nothing equivalent to HG or TCS?

Just mightily puzzled.

regards:confused:

I apologize for my ignorance, but what do "FCS" and "BCS" stand for?
 
You can construct BCS ships with the ACS system in the book by ganging together components. The main thing you will lack are spinal scale weapons.
 
Book 2 page 33 defines:

ACS - Adventure Class Ships (100-2400 tons)
BCS - Battle Class Ships (2500-100,000 tons)
FCS - Fleet Class Ships (bigger than that, first defined in T5.10)
 
You can construct BCS ships with the ACS system in the book by ganging together components. The main thing you will lack are spinal scale weapons.
Maybe. I limit my ACS app to 2400 tons max. I think a BCS design system will abstract out a lot of the details like Control Panels (no stems, no seeds, that you don't need).
 
T5 only covers construction, operation and combat for ships at the PC scale of things. The capital ships are beyond the scope of a PC group - although I wouldn't go along with this sentiment.
Starships for characters and for role-playing have specific requirements in
terms of size, affordability, and crew requirements. Adventure Class Ships are
perfect for most character activities: characters can (alone, or with companions, or
with hired help) acquire, operate, and benefit from ships of this size.

Broadly speaking, starships are divided into three types based roughly on size: Adventure Class Ships (with tonnage between 100 and 2400 tons), Battle Class Ships (2500 tons upward to about 100,000 tons) and Fleet Class Ships (the largest of ships at hundreds of thousands of tons).

Of the three classes, the crew and support requirements preclude the two larger classes from most player interactions. When characters do encounter them, they are usually background, or derelicts to be explored.
 
BCS & FCS

I just used the ACS System to create the BCS and FCS ships in my game. Most everything follows a clear formula and I am not really worried about the specific prices or crew requirements at that size, just getting a rough idea for comparison between ship types and sizes.

The main change I apply to BCS and FCS is having multiple ships's computers. In game, I represent this as still having one master computer, with multiple localized sub-systems. This allows larger vessels to cut down on crew requirements significantly, especially when combined with (effectively enslaved) androids/robots. This all leaves more room for marines and hangers. Or common areas on cruise ships. Or cargo on bulk freighters. or workshops on mobile manufactorums.

My rules for comps are 1 per 2500 tons, just to keep things from getting ridiculous. Creating stations are basically the same, without jump drives or greater than 1g engines.

I did have a 'battle' between one 40000 ton battlecrusier and the party's 1300 ton long range scout. After months of dealing with small time pirates and the like where their 5-shot spinal mounted railgun could cripple with one well placed hit, watching their faces as they were little more than a thorn in the BCS's side was priceless. They were brought low when a battery of 20 PA barbettes blistered the side of their ship and nearly penetrated the hull in one shot. They stopped feeling invincible FAST. The captain ordered a double hasty jump with no backcheck. Ended up misjumping into dead space. 10/10 would do to players again.

I cant wait for proper rules to make terrifying city ships with MAXIMUM EFFICIENCY!
 
Here's hoping that, when the rules eventually come out, they at least mention WCS - World Class Ships - too, even if they leave those vague. (Generation ships with populations of at least a million sophonts are more plot devices and locations in themselves than ships going from A to B.)
 
I see no value in specific rules for WCS. At that point you may as well use the world building mechanics, but selecting rather than rolling for size, atmo, hydro, ect.

When you get to the point of a McKendree cylinder (size of Australia plus the Continental shelf), its specific design is unimportant from a roleplaying or even broad economic standpoint. It will be a port that moves from planet to planet in-system, or jumps around a small cluster.

I have done something similar in my homebrew setting. A portable capital using a massive collector drive, although you could use hydrogen storage under the 'oceans', or between the habitat area and a secondary counter-spun cylinder.

I highly recommend watching Issac Arthur on Youtube. He has a load of videos on megastructures and space habs (WCS).
 
A few years ago I was thrashing around some design system outlines for my version of BCS.

1 select TL for construction
2 select hull size and mission/ship type
3 you have 66 points to allocate to ship systems - some systems have a minimum cost per desired rating
The ship has the following systems
jump drive (6pts per jump), maneuver drive (3pts per g, BCS weapons systems (spinals and bays), armour, defensive weapons and screens, carried subcraft, troops, specialist equipment, cargo

Combat factors would be determined based on hull size, points allocated and TL.

I assume due to their size and them being the pinnacle of a world's ship construction capability that they have a power plant that can fully power them, crew and crew facilities to man the ship systems, the best computers and control systems money can buy etc.
 
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