Afternoon from the Pacific Northwest Phil
> On November 8, 2019 at 10:49 AM "Phil Pugliese (via tml list)" <xxxxxx@simplelists.com> wrote:
>
> > On November 7, 2019 at 9:15 PM "Phil Pugliese (via tml list)" <xxxxxx@simplelists.com> wrote:
>
> > > Yet, I do believe that the original CT LBB2 actually predates 'introduction' of the Xboat,
> > > doesn't it?
>
> > On Friday, November 8, 2019, 09:23:53 AM MST, Thomas RUX <xxxxxx@comcast.net> wrote:
>
> > CT Supplement 9 Fighting Ship 1981 7th printing page 12 as far as I know is the first
> > mention of the Express Boat (X-Boat). Per the Ship Information Sheet the X-Boat is a
> > Book 2 Design.
I need to make two corrections:
1. CT Supplement 7 Traders and Gunboats 1980 8th printing pages 8 through 17 covers the express boat system, express boats, express boat tenders, and scout/couriers.
2. CT Supplement 7 page 9 in the ship details block shows this bit of information: "Power Plant: None. Jump drives carry power plant capacities and functions." This bit of information explains why there is no power plant.
> > So the answer is "Yes" that both CT LBB2 1977, CT LBB 2 1977/1981, CT LBB 5 1979,
> > and CT LBB 5 1980 predate the X-boat presented in CT Supplement 9.
>
> In addition, the Xboat system was explicitly mentioned in the very first CT LBB 'Adventure',
> where it was 'announced' that the system was to be upgraded to J6 capability & that the
> route from Capital to Regina would get priority. The potential savings in commo time 'tween
> Capital & Regina was also detailed.
According to FFE 003 Adventures 1-13 The Classic Adventures 2000 the first CT Adventure is The Kinunir. CT Adventure 1 The Kinunir page 29 Ship's Vehicles has an entry for Capsules they are called jump capsules which is now called drop capsules, I think.
I recall reading about the jump torpedo somewhere, but I cannot remember which source book that was. I have done a quick search which shows information on jump torpedoes can be found at wiki.travellerrpg.com/Jump_Torpedo and http://www.downport.com/traveller/tml/tml-faq.html. Both links cite CT Adventure 4 Leviathan with a copyright date of 1980.
> I've always wondered why GDW just had to make the Xboat such a stripped down design,
> esp since a pilot was required onboard, & also esp since something like the, unmanned,
> J-torps from the later CT LBB (4?) Adventure 'Leviathan' could've worked just as well.
I think what happened is that the people who put CT Adventure 4 Leviathan made a home brew rule in order to have the jump torpedo as part of the story line even though CT LBB 2 1977, CT LBB 5 1979, CT LBB 5 1980 and CT LBB 2 1977/1981 had established that the smallest hull size that could use a jump drive was 100 tons.
> Since the design rules (take your pick) had already been established, why not come up with a "legal" design?
Consolidated CT Errata v 1.1 page 29:
“Page 10, Express Boat (type X) (correction, omission and clarification): The Xboat has a custom hull, model B jump drive and power plant, giving jump-4 capability but no maneuver. Fuel tankage is 54 tons, enough for a single jump-4 and ten days of operation. The ship has one stateroom for the single crew member; one passenger can be carried at double occupancy. The cost is MCr 78.3 including discounts. Under strict Book 2 (1981) rules, no 100-ton design capable of jump-4 is possible; this errata covers all requirements of the design, but comes in at 105 tons.”
Using a custom hull with a Power Plant-4 Type-B, one stateroom, and 1.5 weeks of fuel leaves no cargo capacity which matches the CT Errata of 105 tons. Of course some of the stateroom space could be used to carry cargo.
Bending the rules and using a small craft cabin you would have a ship of 103 tons.
Following the information provided in CT Supplement 7 my calculations using CT LBB 2 1977/1981 using a 100-ton standard hull with a J4 Type-B drive with 40 tons of fuel, Bridge, Model/4 computer, and two staterooms I get 13 tons of space available. With the remaining fuel tonnage the CT Supplement 7 entry of "Jump drives carry power plant capacities and functions." suggests there is enough fuel for almost ten days of power.
> Almost makes me think that whoever designed it didn't really read the rules!
I've got a couple of theories:
The person who designed the X-Boat used
1. an early version of the design rules.
2. used the wiggle room provided in the books to tweak the design to fit, basically creating home brew rules.
Tom Rux.