Starship and Drives Question

[JFGarber]

I am working to understand the T5.09 ship design rules.

The current design project is a 100-ton vessel (Type A), optimized for rapid and detailed examination of a single system. It is intended to travel between systems via tender. (That project is in the future.)

The TL of the shipyard is 13. Per table W on page 294, TL=13 can build an M-drive up to Potential = 7. That's pretty quick--Oort cloud to H-zone while your coffee cools.

Going to Table Z1 I see that a Type A hull gets "Accomplishment" M=6 with Drive = C and "Accomplishment" M=8 with Drive = D.

M=8 is beyond TL=13, so that's out. Selecting Drive=C, I return to Table Y and see that an M-drive, category C, displaces 5 tons. This generates 6G of acceleration.

I think I have the part above sorted out--it's applying tech level effects that I'm uncertain about. 6G, according to table W, is TL=11.5. Call it TL=12, so that's one TL short of my shipyard. Can I go to table X and select either "Improved" or "Generic", thereby effectively increasing the M-drive to TL=13?

 

[robject]

Stage Effects drives me crazy. It's the one thing that's backwards to how I and everybody I've talked to, except Marc, see it.

But you appear to get it right. You take your current TL (13 in this case), and you therefore know you have Improved TL12 equipment available.

 

[Magnus von Thornwood]

By Jove, I think I've got it!

Stage Effects drives me crazy. It's the one thing that's backwards to how I and everybody I've talked to, except Marc, see it.

But you appear to get it right. You take your current TL (13 in this case), and you therefore know you have Improved TL12 equipment available.

I think Rob our problem is the way it is laid out on tables.

Standard is at the mid point with Experimental above at the top and Ultimate below at the bottom.

I think it would work better for understanding if it were reversed on the tables. It also might not hurt to adopt a horizontal aspect.

Ultimate - Advanced - Modified - Improved - Standard - Early - Prototype - Experimental.

Just a thought.

 

[robject]

Huh. You may be right, Craig, I think that *would* help.

 

[pendragonman]

So, Mags, your thought would be "place your current TL under the box, the further to the right you are, the earlier you are in the development process"?

 

[JFGarber]

Stage Effects drives me crazy. It's the one thing that's backwards to how I and everybody I've talked to, except Marc, see it.

But you appear to get it right. You take your current TL (13 in this case), and you therefore know you have Improved TL12 equipment available.

Thank you.

It also might not hurt to adopt a horizontal aspect.

Ultimate - Advanced - Modified - Improved - Standard - Early - Prototype - Experimental.

Concur with the horizontal. But I'd start at Experimental and progress to Ultimate.

 

[Magnus von Thornwood]

Indeed my good man.

So, Mags, your thought would be "place your current TL under the box, the further to the right you are, the earlier you are in the development process"?

Yeppers. That is about the size of it.

 

[atpollard]

Concur with the horizontal. But I'd start at Experimental and progress to Ultimate.

As a practical matter, when playing Traveller, wouldn't it actually be better from Ultimate to Experimental?

Which is more common ...
TL 9 Starships or TL 15 Starships?
Hand Cannon or Gauss Pistols?

I vote for:
Ultimate - Advanced - Modified - Improved - Standard - Early - Prototype - Experimental.

 

[kilemall]

What's the opposing axis to the Ultimate-Experimental range on the table?

 

[atpollard]

Guns to butter?