Topic: Spacecraft design

[arakish]

So okay, it makes sense that an ICE would have to be quite large to propel a car at 9x Earth's escape velocity.

And there for a moment,

It should have been, "At first, an ICE would have to have been quite large to propel a car at 100mps."

I was thinking, "Wait, what? Going from km per second to miles per second doesn't improve things..." and then I reread it.

 

"Watch out for that bump in the road, if this car leaves the ground it'll never come back down again."

 

Thanks so much for that humor GOF.  +1 Laugh.

rmfr

[LonePaladin]

SM:P Vehicle Man is what you want. IMHO it is a good book but it does need an excel sheet to make it easy for GM's to quickly make large craft.

I'm putting one of these together at the moment, trying to aim for ease of use.

Given that I learned how to make Excel sit up and beg when I made HeroForge, this should be pretty simple.

[markc]

SM:P Vehicle Man is what you want. IMHO it is a good book but it does need an excel sheet to make it easy for GM's to quickly make large craft.

I'm putting one of these together at the moment, trying to aim for ease of use.

Given that I learned how to make Excel sit up and beg when I made HeroForge, this should be pretty simple.

 Great and as I am sure I said above many people will look forward to your work ... and hopes that it is free.
MDC

[daemonire]

I have a spreadsheet drawn up for vehicles, but since another player in my group plays a shipwright and they were already  used to doing it by hand before I made it, it hasn't seen any use.

I was wondering why crew spaces are so... Massy. Crew quarters are tiny... Assuming bunk beds and 3m ceilings (in case of bears!) you end up with 6 square meters of floor space, about 3 of which is consumed by the bed (again, if things are built so that any privateer race can fit). I get that, but the resulting, small room weighs six tons? 

Maybe that mass goes into some equipment some
where else on the ship. Like bear-rated dishwashers, or something...

[Marc R]

IIRC this is answered somewhere else on this board by Defendi as being a sum, including a share of the pipes, conduits, plumbing, fixtures like sinks and toilets, laundry, dining area, food prep, exercise space and equipment, etc, etc, etc that make up "Crew quarters".

[markc]

IIRC this is answered somewhere else on this board by Defendi as being a sum, including a share of the pipes, conduits, plumbing, fixtures like sinks and toilets, laundry, dining area, food prep, exercise space and equipment, etc, etc, etc that make up "Crew quarters".

+1
MDC

[Denalor]

There's been a whole plethora of threads about SM:P construction.
Most threads initiated by snrdg051306 I think.
There was even mentioning of an EXCEL spreadsheet.
Where would I be able to get my hands on that one ?
I found the one for SS and AA, but SM:P

Much obliged

[markc]

I do not know of one that is available for SM:P. If there was one then I think it would require $$$ as it would have a lot of stuff from the book.
MDC

[Denalor]

it would require $$$ as it would have a lot of stuff from the book.

You mean due to copy right issues ?
Uff, didn't even consider this 
Thanks for the reminder, was about to share my own (not yet finished) tool.

[markc]

If you do finish it then submit it to ICE and see if they will publish it.
MDC

[area51games]

I VOTE for the redue on the ship design, consider that what we here do, I would love to help redue the ship construction rules, because what we know now of science, I would like to introduce zero point tech and computers that nano elements and what we know of warp and worm holes ect.
Let talk some where about the really mind blowing Tech we are on the verge now of having look at such doc as the timemachines ideals and that very much up the line of space faring vehicle, let alone micro tech and nano tech , yes the cloning thing is addressed, but vehicles are very advance concept 5000 year into the future.
anti gravity is so underestamated it dose more then make stuff float. we are talk zero point sensors that can with a advance computer system use passive sensors to get a complete Over view of your Environment , even targets. advance weapons are more then just plus to OB and DB,  the ability to render a forward position even through cover and obstacles, shielding that allows for trans-location projections and so much more. simple weapons like sub orbital screens and starship hulls that are bigger on the inside then on the outside due to time space displacement- retro is fun but how about some current sci fi too? 

[Allen]

I've always shyed away from large ship construction, ok more like avoided like my ex-mother-in-law, because I could never get my mid wrapped around it. Let's be honest, every system I've looked at is complicated as hell. SM:P and SM for that matter are dated. Back in the day, that was probably a realistic way to look at and consider the construction of starships at the time it was written.
Times have changed. We have broadened our imaginations, new real world technology and materials, etc. have to be now taken into consideration.
Star Wars came out the summer of my 7th birthday...  and thus I have an addiction to starships. I just wouldn't ever undertake the actual construction, as it were, for one of my games beyond a visual representation.  Hats off to those who can or will or do!

[pyrotech]

I'm actually a pretty big fan of building ships with a reasonable ship construction rule set.  Plus I enjoy writing up histories explaining why certain aspects of the design is as it is.

I've tried several of the Spacemaster design systems and they aren't too bad (especially with a spreadsheet to speed the math).  They aren't Gurps Vehicles - but they are *way* faster and easier to use than that set of design rules.  Quickness and ease of use tend to be of more value than accurate simulation of non-existant dream machines in my experience anyway.  I think the current system is fine, but it could probably use a revision and update.

I'm waiting for the Harp Sci-Fi vehicle construction rules.  I've got about 15 or 20 designs I would like to try out for my Bughunters 2155 game, plus I have about a half dozen designs for "standard" Harp Sci-Fi ships.

[Allen]

  Quickness and ease of use tend to be of more value than accurate simulation of non-existant dream machines in my experience anyway.  I think the current system is fine, but it could probably use a revision and update.

I'm waiting for the Harp Sci-Fi vehicle construction rules.  I've got about 15 or 20 designs I would like to try out for my Bughunters 2155 game, plus I have about a half dozen designs for "standard" Harp Sci-Fi ships.

1- I cannot argue with logic like that.

2- if you are ever so inclined to share some ships....

asmy birthday is coming up soon, I'd decided the other day that I will be gifting the HARP  SF books to myself. I'm a great guy after all and all things scifi are always appreciated.