[Shipyard] Scout/Courier

[robject]

Scout/Courier S-AL22 Murphy MCr52.2 [Delvani]

Disposition: In Service

Using a 100-ton Lifting Body hull, the scout/courier is intended for exploration, survey, and courier duties, with many in service throughout known space. It mounts drives giving it jump-2 and 2-G acceleration. Installed on its bridge is a computer Model/1bis and attack-range sensors. Detached duty versions have an open lounge where survey sensors would typically go.

There are four staterooms and no low berths. The ship has one hardpoint; installed on the hardpoint is one double turret beam laser. There is one ship's vehicle: an air/raft. Cargo capacity is 3 tons. The hull has scoops, bins, and a purification plant for wilderness refueling.

The Scout, by its nature, is built as a one-person operation: a single crew person can handle all operations, albeit inefficiently. On the other hand, the Scout can carry three non-commercial passengers in relative comfort, or up to seven with double occupancy.

    Tons  TN  Component                             MCr  Notes
--------  --  --------------------------------- -------  --------------------
     100  12  Lift body Hull, lifters                17  L, lifters
       0  10  Jump Grid                               1  
       1  10  Landing legs with pads                  1  
       0  10  AV=5. 1 Kinetic Shell                   0  
      20  12  Jump Fuel (2  parsecs)                  0  J2, 10t/pc
       2  12  Plant Fuel (one month)                  0  one month
       1  8   Fuel Scoops 100t/hr                   0.1  100t/hr
       1  8   Fuel Intakes 40t/hr                   0.1  40t/hr
       1  8   Fuel Bins 20t/hr                      0.1  20t/hr
       1  8   Fuel Purifiers 4t/hr                    1  4t/hr
       4  10  PowerPlant-2 (A)                        4  P 2
       2  10  Maneuver Drive-2 (A)                    4  2 G
      10  11  Jump Drive-2 (A)                       10  J 2
       1  11  AR Ant Communicator                   1.5  
       1  11  AR Ant Scope                          1.5  
       3  16  AR Ext EMS, imported                  2.7  
       1  9   Vd T2 Beam Laser                        1  
       2  10  Clinic                                  1  treats common injuries
       1  10  Life Support Standard                   1  10 person-months
       1  12  Computer Model/1bis std                 3  
      14  12  Spacious Controls                       0  
       8  10  Crew Single Stateroom (4)             0.4  #4 1 crew
       1  10  Crew Common Fresher                     1  10 crew
       9  10  Crew Lounge                             0  
       4  10  Forward Lounge                          0  
       3  12  Cargo Hold Basic                        0  
       1  10  Mail Vault                              0  for express contracts
       4  9   Air/Raft Enclosed                     0.1  
       2  10  Vehicle Hangar Overhead                 0

 

[Vladika]

Life support (80 people/month)

Could we assume that with a crew of 1 that Life support would last for quite some time? Plenty of food. Recycled water. This could explain air quality though...

 

[copperhamster]

Analysis/Commentary

As a Lifting body(L), Floatation Hull and Fins gain no benefit. (Pg 334)
Also, from the same page, the hull type must be a 'Shell' not 'Plate and Frame', which lowers the base armor value to TL/2.

As 'Shell' is tech level 9, this could be converted to 'Improved' for +2 armor with no additional cost. (Pg 336)

I would consider a lifter for NOP operations on a scout/survey ship. That would only affect cost.

You skipped Jump field. I would think the scout would at least have Jump Plates. It's .1 Mcr and relatively easy to repair.

As a Tech Level 10 design, the Jump-2 would need to be imported (Pg 338, TL for Jump-2=11), adding a 10% cost surcharge. (Pg 314).

The P-Plant could be either Improved, increasing it's Efficiency at the same cost, or Generic, lowering it's Efficiency at half the cost. This would also affect it's QERBS.


Personal note: Ok at tech 10 we can put a Jump Drive model A in a 200 ton hull but not a 100 ton hull. I'm... not sure how I feel about that. I guess it has to do with the technobabble of compressing the jump field and such. The Power Plant is where things get really strange imho. Ah well.

Given such a cramped hull and small fuel tanks I don't see the real advantage in the upsized (8 T/hr) fuel processing plant. Matter of taste I guess.

Personal Note: As an aside since fuel bins imply a very manual refueling process of dumping ice or slush (they specifically mention handling semiliquid slush), as a Referee I'd be willing to accept that bins could be used for liquid refueling as well by simply bucketing the liquid into the intake hoppers. It would be at the slower rate compared to a water refueling system and be far more labor intensive but if you were scraping for every spare ton, it's a thought.

Life support seems like you made a few typos (Pg 344).

80 persons for a month would be 8 tons. 80 person-months (8 ppl for 10 months) would be 8 tons as well. (Some would argue 10, as 10 months of standard life support would take 10 tons). If you use long term support you get 30 person months per 2 tons, giving you 6 tons for 90 person-months.

Now let's assume you meant 8 person-months.
If it's 8 person-months, it should be 1 ton unless you are including Adaptable or Luxury support. 2 Tons could also be Long Term Support (24 person-months) Not out of the realm of possibility for a scout ship, adaptable might be reasonable too. I don't see the ISS springing for Luxury support for their Type-S's though.

Personal Note: As a Referee I'd allow for most ships, and especially 'wilderness' ships such as this to store the full capacity of the ton. 10 person-months of long term life support, giving a full 4 person crew (Pilot/Astrogator, Engineer, Gunner/Sensor Operator, Survey Specialist) the ability to operate for seven and a half months.

Although there is no difference in cost or tonnage, I would specifically mention double staterooms normally used as single occupancy.

Sensors: EMS sensors are Tech level 12 (Pg 341). As TL 10 they either have to be locally produced Prototypes or imported Early units. (Pg 336, imported components are TL+1 in a non mapped situation). Imported Early would be better all around:

Consider adding tech level stage effects to other sensors: (Pg 341)
Modified Communicator, AR, Ant mount: TL10, Tonnage 1, cost 1MCr, range S=10 (Compare Range S=8, cost 1.5 MCr). Also QREBS Q,+2,+2,-2,+2
Improved Scope, AR, Ant mount: TL 10, Tonnage 1, cost 1.5MCr, Range S=9 (Compare Range S=8). Also QREBS Q,+1,+2,-1,+1

Also consider additional survey sensors, at least surface mount
Improved Analyzer/Sniffer, Vd, Surface mount: TL 10, Tonnage 0, Cost .05 Mcr, Range R=8, QREBS Q,+1,+2,-1,+1
Improved Deep Radar, etc.
Note that each sensor requires a Control Panel and Console assignment.(Pg 345).

May need Errata/Bugfix/Exploit: Throwing money at a sensor, you can use a surface mount sensor to generate very long range sensors with no additonal mass:
Example:
Improved Communicator, LR, Surface Mount: TL 10, Tonnage 0*3=0, Cost: 1*1+(0.5)*3=2.5 MCr, S=10, QREBS Q,+1,+2,-1,+1
Compare to Com-AR-Ant S=8, cost 1.5 MCr, 1 ton, QREBS Q,0,0,0,0 or
the above stage affect unit.

Vehicle: (Pg 344) It's not classic but the Air/Raft could be attached in a Streamlined Bracket. Advantage: Saves 1 Ton in the normal configuration. Disadvantage: Costs 2 MCr more, can't remove the Air/Raft to reclaim the 5 tons of cargo space.

Controls: (Pg 345) I saw somewhere else a comment that a bridge is so many tons+ consoles and such. I have searched the pdf book and errata sheet for the word 'Bridge' and find no mention other than (in various forms) The Bridge. A cluster of adjacent Pilot, Astrogator, (all) Sensor Consoles, and Ship’s Computer is called the Bridge (Pg 348). Similar comments on other pages.

So, if you're using the tonnage (I think it was 8?) for a bridge + consoles, you've got 3 spacious consoles. Reasonable for the ship design. If you are not we've got 7 spacious consoles. Seems a bit much. I'd break it down like this:
Bridge: Pilot/Astrogator Spacious Console (2T), Two Spacious Sensor Consoles (4T), Gunnery controls (Included in turret space) and Computer (1 T included in the separate line.)
Engineering: Single Spacious Console for managing all 3 drives (2T)

Personal Note: I take the PoV that at higher tech levels, especially on ships like the scout, most consoles are general purpose for input and displays and networked, meaning that the Sensor consoles can be used to manage the drives from the bridge, and the Pilot console can be used to manage anything. Only the Pilot and Gunnery consoles would have special control requirements. (The Starship Operator's Manual went a step further allowing 3D reconfigurable controls at a certain tech level. You could fly the ship from the Engineering console...)

If you are willing to go completely 'generic input' (Think ST:TNG, or 'mouse and keyboard) even for piloting and gunnery, you could fly the ship from engineering.

That's all I have for now.

 

[robject]

EXCELLENT! Thank you for those suggestions. I thought I had installed a Jump Grid. Maybe I forgot.

As for survey sensors: for Scouts in regular service, the 9-ton lounge is the sensor room, piled to the gills with sensors.

I also forgot the more versatile landing legs.

OP edited with fixes.

 

[copperhamster]

I think the Extendable EMS is only 2 tons.

I added up what you had an your current total is 99.5 tons

The 1/bis computer should be 1 ton, not 1.5? Am I missing something?

I assume you are trying to hit the CT marks for the Type-S? That's why you seem to shoot for '3 tons' of cargo?

Also wouldn't the classic Scout mount the 'Type Y' M/L/S hybrid triple turret?

 

[Murdoc]

I'm confused, when has the scout ever come armed by default? I'm also curious why there is a clinic with so few crew?

 

[aramis]

I'm confused, when has the scout ever come armed by default? I'm also curious why there is a clinic with so few crew?

I'd have to check, but ISTR that it was armed with a laser by default in TNE.

On checking... A 150MJ laser is implied in the entry (by having its data in the ship data block), but it doesn't say it's actually installed.

 

[robject]

@copper: yes, I'm aiming for the T5 description, plus one of the old canon descriptions.

The 1/bis computer should be 1 ton, not 1.5? Am I missing something?

You're right. OP edited.

 

[copperhamster]

@copper: yes, I'm aiming for the T5 description, plus one of the old canon descriptions.

Your AR Ext EMS should be two tons unless there's errata for the table on Pg 341 (13C)
With that and what you've got, either you can have 2 more tons in the lounge converted from sensor suite, upgrade your other sensors to extendable (the description does not say either way, after all) or go for absolute maximum terrain versatility and give it a submergence hull for 2t.


Or I suppose I could quit nitpicking and let it stay undertonnage. :rofl:

 

[robject]

Your AR Ext EMS should be two tons unless there's errata for the table on Pg 341 (13C)

I don't know. I think EXT is a modifier. I've logged errata against the "Extendable" modifier in general, as I don't like the way it interacts with the mounts. As an Extendable Antenna for sensors, it seems fine. But it creates a little chaos between the Triple Turret, Quad Turret, and Barbettes in weapons.