-----Original Message-----
From: Phil Pugliese (via tml list)
Sent: Saturday, October 25, 2014 2:49 PM
To: xxxxxx@simplelists.com
Subject: Re: [TML] Original CT LBB's scoutship vs CT HG scoutship?

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--------------------------------------------
Sat, 10/25/14:

[SNIP]

PHIL;

>> I looked at HG 2ed (I didn't see the 1st ed for quite some years as I
>> came
>> into Trav right after the 2nd ed came out & the 1st ed was superseded
>> after > only one year) as similar to the mil-spec requirements of the US
>> DoD, so I felt that those rules should be followed slavishly.
>> (I still wonder how the original 'Plankwell' BB design. with that wimpy
>> meson screen, was danced past the Procurement folks. Maybe someone
>> connected to it had high-level contacts/influence? "Hey we'll just use
>> them against foes with only low-level meson guns, or none at all! Right?)

TOM;

>>> Lucky you I got a good look at HG 1st edition and did not get past
>>> determining the weapon rating codes. Of course there are some things
>>> that HG
>>> 2nd Edition omitted, fighter squadrons and medical section are the
>>> biggest.

>>> Based on the number of real world warships that where built my take was
>>> the builder orally promised that the Plankwell class would have the
>>> meson
>>> screens upgrade at a later time and the later time or funding never
>>> arrived
>>> to do the job.

========================================================================================
> PHIL (new);

> Yeah, that'd work.

> Or it could've been analogous to various attempts to hold down US defense
> expenditures, like the way the early Spruance class DD's were initially
> criticized for having only anti-sub capability & little else but had lot's
> of spare room for future upgrades. Only, in the end, as in yours, the
> upgrades
> never happened.

Tom (new)
That is another possibility of why the Plankell class has lousy meson
screens. Basically, the shipyard's contractors somehow slipped one through
the procurement process and the government got less than they paid for.
==========================================================================================

PHIL;

>
>> With LBB2, & esp after the 'Annic Nova'
>> adventure indicated that 'non-standard'
>> designs *could* get an Imperial Registry,
>> I tended to allow a reasonable amount of
>> 'fudging' (post-commision non-standard refits?),
>> esp since I became aware of the diffs tween
>> the LBB2's when I bought that hardbound
>> Traveller Book, started using it, & noticed
>> right away some diffs w/ the original LBB's 1-3.
>> (and even some minor diffs w/ the 2nd ed LBB's 1-3)

TOM;

>>>  I have two copies, pamphlet
>>>  and in the FFE reprint, of JTAS 1 that as far as
>>>  I know is the first place the Annic Nova
>>>  appeared, unfortunately I only skimmed
>>>  through the details and never did anything else
>>>  with the design.

PHIL;

>> Still, one thing that remains 'hard & fast' is the large
>> volume of fuel required for jumping. (60% for J6!)
>> But, there is also the 'Annic Nova' example where
>> large solar 'sails' were used to charge the jump
>> capacitors. (Still can't see how that could actually
>> work though, It's such a large energy requirement)
>> Now there's a thought, maybe the Scout Ship
>> could have a J4 engine but carry only enough fuel for J3.
>> If J4 was wanted then drop tanks could be used if  avail
>> (note: I've always thought that the IN Tank-Rons also
>> performed the function of 'drop-tank' tenders) or a 'sail'
>> like the 'Annic Nova' used could be deployed.

>> [Note: As I recall the 'Nova had enough storage capacity to allow for TWO
> jumps. (one J3 & one J2, I think)]

TOM;

During my efforts to go
through and verify the original Traveller designs
I've been thinking about the jump fuel
requirement. Since the time in jump
space is
approximately 168 hours I think that half the fuel opens
jump space
at the outbound jump point and
the remaining half reverses the
process at
the inbound jump point. Per JTAS 1 page 30 the energy
collector
canopy takes between 1 and 6
weeks to charge the accumulators to make
a
jump. The accumulators, I guessing here, change the
collected energy into
right type of
electrical and begins charging the jump capacitors and
power
for the internal systems.

Per the design and
construction rules jump fuel tankage is calculated based
on the maximum jump rating, of course if one is
using the concept that the
if the rules do
specifically forbid not having a full jump fuel load then

the fuel load can be less than that needed
to make a jump four.

I'm not sure what IN Tank-Rons means, but
I'll take a swing at answering. My
guess is that an IN Tank-Ron is a squadron of
tankers used as mobile gas
stations similar
to the KC-135 inflight refueling tanker. In the case of a

drop tank tender I think that the ship
collects the jettisoned tanks
beginning
the refurbishing process while heading to the
port where they can be placed
in storage
until needed for the next run.

=====================================================================================
PHIL(New);

I first encountered 'tankers' in the original 'Imperium' board game from GDW
that covered the period of the 'Interstellar Wars' 'tween the Vilani &
Terrans that culminated in the end of the First Imp followed shortly after
by the est. of the 2nd.
'Tankers' were needed to be able to follow jump routes thru 'bachelor' star
systems.

There are actual tanker squadrons in the 'Fifth Frontier War' board game.
They can accompany a fleet & allow it to jump again in situations where the
fleet would otherwise have to pause to refuel

I envisioned them staying behind when the rest of the fleet jumped,
collecting the d'tanks, & then either following along or going elsewhere,
depending on their orders.

======================================================================================

TOM;

The Consolidated CT Errata

mentions that to fill and I think refine
the soup in the fuel tanks takes
about 8
hours when skimming a gas giant and then the time needed to
travel
to the jump point.  The Annic Nova
takes between 1 and 6 weeks to have
enough
power to charge the jump capacitors and then travel to the
outbound
jump point.

Several of my characters where Scouts and form
my point of view I would not
want to be in
a possibly unfriendly system for one to six weeks waiting
to charge the jump drive.

=====================================================================================

PHIL(new);

It seems to me that the A'Nova or a similarly equipped vessel, could deploy
it's 'sail' while it's inbound, thus it would already have some 'juice' in
the j'capacitors before it, or any other vessel, could otherwise begin
refueling.

Thus a scout ship equipped w/ something similar could actually be prepared
to jump sooner than one w/o a 'sail'.

And then there's also the very real possibility, if there are no gas giants
present in the system,  that the vessel may actually have to make planetfall
in order to refuel .  In that situation, having a 'sail' could make a
critical difference.
(note; I do believe that there are systems, though very,very few, w/o either
GG's or 'water', where the only refuelling option is at a facility. 'A
'sail' could be very handy in such a system)

Also, consumption of fuel for jumping also depends on what version of the
rules you are using.
The original rpg rules & the 5thFW boardgame used the original rules that
required vessels to use *all* their jump fuel to 'energize' the jump drives,
no matter how long the actual jump was. Hence, any  time a vessel jumped, it
used up all it's jump fuel, no matter what.

CT LBB5 HGv1 introduced the 'jump governor' which allowed a vessel to
calculate it's fuel usage as if it's J-drive were the same 'number' as the
jump distance. Hence, a vessel w/ a J4 drive could make, w/o refuelling,
four J1's, two J2's or any combo that added up to exactly four.
Now that really introduced a whole lot more flexibility into the rpg as well
as, if used (I don't believe it was ever actually put into the rules), the
above board game.

Personally, I would've preferred to have Trav stick w/ the original rule but
by the time I got into it, the jump governor had already been introduced,
leaving me to conclude for quite some time that the fuel usage rules in the
5FW boardgame were  introduced by the game designer to simplify the game,
rather than actually mirroring the earlier rules set.

==========================================================================================
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