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From: owner-traveller-digest@mpgn.com (Traveller-digest)
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Subject: Traveller-digest V1996 #782
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Traveller-digest      Sunday, December 22 1996      Volume 1996 : Number 782



(R)1996. Traveller is a registered trademark of FarFuture Enterprises.
All rights reserved.

The following topics are covered in this digest:

Major oops!
Re: Lanthanum background
Vehicle Design System musings...
RE: The IG Web Site
Re: Ship Stuff from FASA -  Long ! 
RE: Bad news...
RE: JTAS cost
Central Supply Catalog Review
Imperium Games, Future Product
Re: Ship Construction
Re: Uncle Cleon the taxman...
Re: Lanthanum background
Re: Lanthanum background

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Sat, 21 Dec 1996 21:27:48 -0500
From: rellio@po-box.mcgill.ca (Roderick Darroch Elliott)
Subject: Major oops!

        Just realized that I made a major mistake in the following post:

>
>Date: Sat, 21 Dec 1996 19:58:00 -0500
>From: rellio@po-box.mcgill.ca (Roderick Darroch Elliott)
>Subject: Bad news...
>
>        R.I.P. Carl Sagan..:)
>


        That :) should be a :(.  I'm majorly bummed out over Sagan dying.
Despite his silly little tiff with Apple a while back, I have an enormous
amount of respect for his writing abilities and his work in popularizing
astronomy and the scientific viewpoint.  I greatly enjoyed everything of
his that I've ever read, and am saddened by his passing.

   ----------------------------------------------------------
| Roderick Darroch Elliott...     rellio@po-box.mcgill.ca      |
|--------------------------------------------------------------|
| Being afraid of monolithic organizations, especially when    |
| they have computers, is like being afraid of really big      |
| gorillas especially when they are on fire.                   |
|                  -Bruce Sterling                             |
   ----------------------------------------------------------   

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 21 Dec 1996 21:46:20 -0500
From: J_Lambert <72300.2131@compuserve.com>
Subject: Re: Lanthanum background

Bruce Johnson (at the Univ. of Arizona) asked
>...anyone have a source for a bit more up-to-date theory on the formation
of asteroids?<

The best sources for current theories and information on asteroids are the
books Asteroids and Asteroids II editted by Tom Gehrels, et al and
published by the University of Arizona Press. I think the first one is out
of print, but the second one contains the most up to date information. The
books are collections of papers presented at conferences. (There is also a
more recent book in the series from a conference on the hazards to the
Earth from comets and asteroids if anyone is still interested in dropping
rocks!) My copies are at the office, I can send more detailled information
to anyone interested.

The most accepted theory currently is that the asteroids formed as multiple
small planetoids that were large enough to have some internal thermal
processing. Collisions have broken most of the planetoids into smaller
pieces (our present asteroids), but the larger asteroids like Ceres and
Pallas may be the last of the original planetoids.

John Lambert

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 21 Dec 1996 22:47:08 -0500
From: rellio@po-box.mcgill.ca (Roderick Darroch Elliott)
Subject: Vehicle Design System musings...

        While I haven't got the CSC yet and so cannot comment on the final
version, something that had occurred to me was that perhaps the VDS ought
to take account of quality and design differences at different tech levels,
and reflect this in its pricing.  Obviously, a Honda Accord and a Yugo are
both TL-7 or so vehicles... however, one outperforms the other, and a
Porsche will blow the doors off both of them but costs far more.

        How about allowing an increase of up to 15% in either mass, output,
or volume in any system at any tech level, at the cost of increasing the
price at a gradually increasing rate; say 1% more expensive for a 1%
improvement, 2% for 2%, 5% for 3%, 9% for 4%, 14% for 5%, 20% for 6%, 27%
for 7%, 35% for 8%, 44% for 9%, 54% for 10%, 65% for 11%, 77% for 12%, 90%
for 13%, 104% for 14%, and 119% for 15%.  Thus, a power plant that had 15%
more output would cost (base price +119%) more than the base model, and one
that had 15% less mass, 15% more output, and 15% less volume would cost
(base price +357%) of the base model for that TL.  Repeat this increase in
price on chassis and propulsion, and you'd get a significant increase in
performance at a massive increase in price...

        Going the other way, for the Yugo end of the scale, you could cut
price by, say 0.5% for every 1% degradation in performance; thus, for a
power plant that was 15% bulkier, 15% more massive, and had 15% less output
than the base model, the cost would drop by 22.5%...  Repeat this for
chassis and propulsion, and you'd get a vehicle 67.5% less expensive than
the base model. Let's assign the following values using the S.W.A.G
Method*:


Vehicle: Volume:   Mass:     Output:   Accel.:  Top speed:   Cost:

Honda    100%      2.50 T    0.50 Mw   0.44 G   600 m/turn   20 Kcr

Yugo     115%      3.62 T    0.43 Mw   0.34 G   356 m/turn   6.5 Kcr

Porsche  90%       2.12 T    0.65 Mw   0.55 G   920 m/turn   234 Kcr


        First, the prices seem to be about right, and if my guesses as to
mass and output had been less off the top of my head I suspect that
performance would have been more in line with reality too.

        Second, the  beta system is gravely, gravely, and annoyingly broken
in that it does not take aerodynamics into account; there's no way that a
stock Honda Accord can do 360 km/h in an atmosphere (without JATO units,
that is :>), and a Yugo certainly won't do 213 km/h without being dropped
from a great height.  Anybody have numbers for how air resistance affects
speed, and how the system could be fixed to deal with it?

        Comments?



*Scientific Wild-Assed Guess Method; similar to the Wild-Assed Guess
Method, but incorporating corrections for verisimilitude during the
process.

   ----------------------------------------------------------
| Roderick Darroch Elliott...     rellio@po-box.mcgill.ca      |
|--------------------------------------------------------------|
| Being afraid of monolithic organizations, especially when    |
| they have computers, is like being afraid of really big      |
| gorillas especially when they are on fire.                   |
|                  -Bruce Sterling                             |
   ----------------------------------------------------------   

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 21 Dec 1996 22:01:23 -0600 (CST)
From: "Joseph E. Walsh" <ransom@connect.iconnect.net>
Subject: RE: The IG Web Site

Hi guys,

I just got the message below from Courtney Solomon regarding the status 
of IG's web site.  The message says it all, so I'm just forwarding it for 
your perusal.


- -Joe
______________________________________________________________________________
Joseph E. Walsh      |  Atari 8-Bit User and Programmer Since 1982
ransom@iconnect.net  |  Classic Traveller Referee Since 1983
Stuck in the '80s    |  Microsoft-Free and Loving It! :)
       .....Official Reporter of Imperium Games Product Info.....


- ---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Sun, 22 Dec 96 03:00:17 UT
From: Courtney Solomon <Sweetpea10@msn.com>
To: "Joseph E. Walsh" <ransom@connect.iconnect.net>
Subject: RE: The IG Web Site

Dear Joe,

We are in the process of updating the website and starting a program to 
ensure that in 1997 the page will be continuosly updated and managed on 
a daily basis.  Please let the fans know that we have great plans and 
that the page will be under construction for the rest of December, and 
that there will be a lot of good changes in the beginning of the year.  

Could you also please let the fans know that the office will be closed 
until the 31st.  So, if they send E-mails please ask them not to get 
disappointed when we don't answer immediately.  We will answer these upon 
our return. The same goes for phone calls.  I encourage them to leave 
voice mail messages and E-mails, though, because they WILL be responded 
to upon our return.

Courtney.

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 21 Dec 1996 19:13:38 -0900
From: Peter Newman <pnewman@alaska.net>
Subject: Re: Ship Stuff from FASA -  Long ! 

> From: aboulton@cix.compulink.co.uk (Andrew Boulton)
> Subject: Re: Ship stuff
> 
> In-Reply-To: <l03010d01aedf483b729d@[204.17.241.22]>
> 
> >        Likewise, I don't have any large military ship designs except 
>>	MT Fighting Ships. What other sources are there? (TNE Battle >>	Rider, for one,maybe?)
> >
> > Heres a list of what I remember.
> >
> > CT Bk 5 (High Guard)
> 
> CT Adv 1 (Kinunir) Deck plans etc
> 
> > CT Adv _ (Trillion Credit Squadron)
> > CT Adv _ (Expedition to Zhodane) has a couple of references to ship
> > construction (trival, yes, but there)
> 
> And Zho ship stats?
> 
> CT Adv 8 (Broadsword) Deck plans etc
> 
> > CT's Supplement 7 (Traders and Gunboats) has a few small military 
>>  designs
> > CT's Supplement 9 (Fighting SHips) has QUITE a few
> > Azhanti High Lightning details out one class.
> 
> IISS Ship Files
> 
> CT Alien Modules
> 
> > MT's Fighting Ships. (Poor, IMHO, use Sup 9)

None of the complaints about this supplement I have seen have mentioned 
its main problem.  The ships are_unnamed_!  It is true that the designs 
& art are nor that good but the primary way most players will interact 
with large Naval ships is to stay out of their way, obey their orders, 
or Jump out before they are destroyed.  Which scenario sound better to 
you?   "A 10,000 ton cruiser orders you to stand to & prepare to be 
boarded."  OR "The Lukasan LC-1052, a 10,000 ton Sarmonocci Class light 
cruiser orders you to stand by & prepare to be boarded."

> 
> MT Rebellion Sourcebook
> 
> > Battle Rider
> > and (IIRC) Vampire Fleets has a few
> 
> And probably others.
> 

> Andrew M J Boulton                  http://www.compulink.co.uk/~fubar/

	Ship Stuff from FASA includes:
	Please note that I have coverd all ships, not just large ones.

Action Aboard adventure - 
complete stats & deck plans to the 5000 ton King Richard Luxury Liner, 
as well as complete stats on crew & important passengers

The Trail of the Sky Raiders adventure -
 deck plans (no stats) for a five thousand year old, 500 ton, non jump 
capable, about TL 9, raiding ship of a minor human race.

Fate of the Sky Raiders -
This adventure takes place on a 5,00 year old giant sub light generation 
ship about 10km x 8km x 7.5 km (about 50 billion displacement tons) 
includes parial maps of this ship.
 
It also contains deck plans (no stats) on Jump capable scout ships in 
its docking bay.

High passage magazine Issue #1 -

The Solar Flare- Has a map (no stats) & an adventure set on board the  
abandoned merchant ship.

Star Dart Fighter-
Diagram & High Guard stats for the fighter, a TL 14 fighter formerly 
(starting in 992) used on Azhanti High Lightning class cruisers (before 
the RF-128 Ramparts used now) still used in training squads & on 
backwater worlds, includes 45 variants (without seperate stats).

Tral Wolf class Intelligence Cruisers -
Deck Plans, Book 2 stats, complete listing of all ships in the class & 
their current status.  This 800 ton TL 15, Armor 9, Jump 3 ship fills a 
very usefull role in a campaign.  These ships are run by the Ministry of 
Justice Special Branch.

High Passage #2 - I dont have it

High Passage #3 -

Star Class Armored Merchant -
Deck Plans, High Guard stats, & more for a 300 ton TL 15 Jump 3 armed & 
armored merchant ship.  This is a very nice & well designed ship.

Manta Class Escort Fighter - 
Drawing & information on a TL 15 10 ton light fighter.

High Passage #4 - A_very_good issue for starship designs.

Type SA Interdiction satellite -
This contains maps & High Guard stats for the interdiction satellites 
used to try & keep people (ie players) of of interdicted worlds.  This 
is an unmaned robotic 200 ton TL 15 automated warning satellite.  It has 
a model 7 computer & 2 triple turrets armed w/ nuclear missiles...They 
are_not_kidding when they say they want you to go away.

Arzhent Class Prospector/Surveyor -
Deck plans & High Guard stats for a 180 ton TL 15 Jump 2 mining & 
surveying ship, only 12 were ever made.

Orbital Tug -
Deck plans, drawing & High Guard stats for a 50 ton TL 10 craft designed 
for moving massive bodies in deep space.  Fills a vital role in any 
campaign.

Tempest Class Attack Cruiser - 
drawing & High Guard stats for a 50,000 ton TL 15 Jump 3, 6 G attack 
cruiser with a factor N meson gun spinal mount.  Intended for use on 
independent missions on the frontier or as the flagship for small 
squadrons, it can usually outrun anything it cannot outfight.  This is a 
very nice ship & if used properly can stop the players 
from_always_encountering Azhanti High Lighting Class Cruisers.

High Passage #5 - a very good issue -

Fortune Class Merchant -
Deck plans & High Guard stats for a 600 ton, TL 12, Jump 3 ship designed 
to operate in frontier areas.

Squadrons of the Old Expanses Sector -
This article looks a squadrons of ships in Old Expanses Sector

BattRon 490 stationed at Ultraneta/Jayna - "Composed mostly of aging 
first-line ships and a second line ship, the squadron is obsolete on the 
whole, although it is not usually reguarded as such."

1 Kokirrak class Dreadnought, the Menorrak (see Supp 9 Fighting Ships)

1 Uzshu Class Dreadnought, the Vodeambuth -
High Guard stats on this 100,000 ton TL 15, Jump 4, Manuver 5, Meson Gun 
factor Q spinal mount ship

3 Grormandocy class destroyers, the Oxma, the Leuthov, & the Gidth -
Drawing & High Guard stats on this 3,000 ton Tl 15 Jump 4 6 G ship.  It 
is a predecessor of the Midu Agashaam class destroyer & is now 
considered obsolete.  It is armed w/ a 50 ton missile bay & 20 beam 
lasers.

3 Chrysanthemum classs destoyers, the Capelo, Atamica, & the Espandon -
(see Sup 9 Fighting ships)

6 fleet couriers - not named or described.

Cruiser Squadron 87 based at Ultraneta/Jayna

8 Sarmonocci Class Light Cruisers - named -
High Guard Stats for this 10,00 ton TL 15 Jump 4, 6G ship with Factor 9 
Lasers, Particle Weapons, & Missiles 

3 Gormandoacy Class Destroyers - named

6 Chrysanthemum Class Destroyer Escorts - named

3 Workhorse Class Ordnance Carriers - named

Naval Gazzette 
	Reports the results of a battle between 
1 Tempest Class Attack Cruiser  
1 Gormandoacy Class Destroyer
2 Gazelle Class Close Escorts
1 Scout Courier
6 System Defense boats

On the Imperial Navy side- all named (except the SDB's) & with High 
Guard stats for all
These ships are convaying 15 undescribed 1 G Merchant ships

Versus

The Star Rider - the only copy of a 40,000 ton TL 14 Jump 3, 4 G
experimental Transport with a Factor G meson gun (more information & 
Library Data on this ship, famous for its role in the Solomani Rim War 
were provided in issue #4)

14 System Defense Boats - as above

	This article does not cover the Deck plans Fasa did for 2 basic 
reasons, I do not have most of them & it should be obvios that they 
provide Deck Plans & stats (often High Guard) for the ships.

	I do not have any extra copies of any of these items, I do not 
know where to get them nor do I have any intention of posting the 
complete information for any of these ships for reasons of bandwidth, 
copyright reasons, & my time.  Instead this article is intended to let 
you know what FASA did so you can decide if you want to get them for 
yourself.  As the whim strikes me & I feel like typing I may provide 
similar information for ships from other licensees.

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 22 Dec 1996 13:03:10 +0900
From: Armand Suarez <suarez@on.rim.or.jp>
Subject: RE: Bad news...

Roderick Darroch Elliott wrote:

>> R.I.P. Carl Sagan..:)


Really?  If so, I don't see what's :) about it.  If not, then your joke is in bad taste.

Armand

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 21 Dec 1996 22:30:55 -0600 (CST)
From: "Joseph E. Walsh" <ransom@connect.iconnect.net>
Subject: RE: JTAS cost

Hi,

Here's another answer from Courtney, this time about the cost of JTAS.


- -Joe
P. S. He also sent a message to me that said he would be meeting with Tim 
Brown regarding the constructive criticism that was recently compiled 
and shipped to him.  He expects to have a response for us after the first 
of the year.
______________________________________________________________________________
Joseph E. Walsh      |  Atari 8-Bit User and Programmer Since 1982
ransom@iconnect.net  |  Classic Traveller Referee Since 1983
Stuck in the '80s    |  Microsoft-Free and Loving It! :)
       .....Official Reporter of Imperium Games Product Info.....


- ---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Sun, 22 Dec 96 03:07:54 UT
From: Courtney Solomon <Sweetpea10@msn.com>
To: "Joseph E. Walsh" <ransom@connect.iconnect.net>
Subject: RE: JTAS cost

Joe,

Unfortunately, this is a problem we inherited from the previous 
management.  They neglected to mark on the website that there would be a 
shipping and handling charge of $1.95/issue for JTAS subscriptions or 
single issues.  I do realize that it is our fault for not informing 
everyone of the shipping charges sooner, and I apologize for that.  We 
are hoping that the fans will stand with us on this as we cannot afford to 
ship these issues without passing that cost on to our customers.

Unfortunately, there is a very small profit margin on the magazine until 
an advertising base is established.  At this point, the advertising base 
is virtually nonexistant, since it is a new magazine that caters to a 
niche market.  However, I nonetheless approved publishing the first 
issue this month, at a substantial loss, because I didn't want to 
disappoint the fans.  A letter will be included with that issue 
informing everyone of the shipping charges that have been added.  Please 
relay my remorse over this situation.  I wish it had been otherwise, but 
we have attempted to deal with this as best we could under the circumstances.

On a related note, all of the books are now being shipped via USPS Priority 
Mail, and they are being packaged in bubble envelopes.  I apologize for 
the shipping methods and packaging used for previous shipments.  We want 
every customer to have the best possible experience when making 
purchases of our products, and we're continuing to work toward 
improvements in all aspects of our business.

By the way, all of these issues will be addressed on the website after 
it's updated.

Courtney

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 21 Dec 1996 23:05:24 -0600 (CST)
From: "Joseph E. Walsh" <ransom@connect.iconnect.net>
Subject: Central Supply Catalog Review

The Central Supply Catalog (CSC) is one of two supplements just released 
by Imperium Games (the other being Aliens Archive).  CSC was designed and 
written by Greg Porter (of "Guns, Guns, Guns" and "Macho Women with Guns" 
fame).

When this supplement is first opened, the reader is greeted with the 
now-familiar Imperium Games title page, with several highlights of the 
work given, along with page number of where to find the relevant 
portions.  The next page has the standard IG credits page (including a 
well-deserved mention to the folks from GDW-Beta who helped with the 
design and playtest of the Vehicle Design rules), and biographical 
information about the author.  Following that is a spartan but effective 
Table of Contents.  Page four is a mood-setting introduction to the 
work.  So far, standard stuff for IG's supplements.

What isn't standard - not even for role-playing supplements from _any_ 
company - is what follows those opening pages.  Greg has done a wonderful 
job.  He has included all the useful equipment you would expect, and all 
of it is well-designed and the entries are complete.  "But wait, there's 
more!" as they say in the TV commercials. :)

Greg has included a lot of extras in this book.  And the extras make all 
the difference.  Things like rules for survival in extreme conditions 
(cold weather, hot weather, exotic atmospheres, vacuum), useful 
rules-of-thumb (such as for the game effects of tool use at various tech 
levels), additions to T4's systems (vehicle combat, trade & commerce, 
using locks), a method for designing non-self-aware robots with the 
included Vehicle Design Rules, as well as how to use those same  Vehicle 
Design Rules to design armor!

There are also extras among the variety of equipment he chose.  The 
"Amaze the Natives" kit is great!  There are neat, new technologies like 
Plascrete and the Flashtray.  And he uses humor - sparingly - to good 
effect, as in the entry for "Sleeping Bag."  

This is an excellent, excellent volume.  The only quibble I have is that 
the editing was, while not at the level of T4 itself, less than perfect.  
IG is still in need of higher-quality editing.

Overall, I give this book a 92% (revised down from my initial score of 
95%, due to spotting additional, minor editing errors).  I highly 
recommend it - it will become one of the most-used volumes in your T4 
collection.

I can't wait for Emperor's Arsenal (which will also be by Greg Porter)!


- -Joe
______________________________________________________________________________
Joseph E. Walsh      |  Atari 8-Bit User and Programmer Since 1982
ransom@iconnect.net  |  Classic Traveller Referee Since 1983
Stuck in the '80s    |  Microsoft-Free and Loving It! :)
       .....Official Reporter of Imperium Games Product Info.....

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 22 Dec 96 06:04:00 GMT 
From: s.johnson107@genie.com
Subject: Imperium Games, Future Product

> Thoughts?  Comments?  Flames?
    Personally I'd like to see some more support material for the GM in terms
of worlds and the like.  I've been playing Traveller since the original three
little black books came out and Book 4 Mercenary was a wild eyed new product.
So I've got DGP World Builders Handbook and all the other stuff for a GM
designing a world or Star System.  But T4 is intended for a new audience, and
that new audience doesn't have access to any of that.  They need it and the
GM's need it now.  An example from the T4 world gen portion, look at the Tech
Level table description.  Arguably one of the most important points of
Traveller.  All that it gives you is some vague century and decade equivalent
to Terran History and no other explainations but that. :(
    If T4 is for a new generation of Players, and it truely is, then IG needs
to start supporting that new generations of GMs as well. ;)

Stephen

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 22 Dec 1996 03:56:14 -0500
From: Michael Nutt <misha@crossrds.com>
Subject: Re: Ship Construction

Thad Coons writes:

>Warships are expensive precisely because they require armor, weaponry, fire
>control, beefy maneuver and jump drives and power plants, which are less or
>not necessary in other craft.

Mmmmm.... yes to the weaponry, of course, but a hull of a given size only
needs a jump drive of a fixed size, regardless of the intended use of the
ship. A lot of the other components you mention here are also strictly
size-related, although military vessels will typically have more
capabilities than other vessels.

>Construction of starships (or anything else) cannot proceed faster than the
>pace of the slowest subsystem, and there are *hundreds* of potentially
>limiting factors. The tonnage of your shipyard is not necessarily even the
>most important.  

Um, I have to disagree with you on this point. Yes, it's true that thre will
be bottlenecks in production. Yes, there are some things that *have* to be
completed before other things can be built... for example, you can't install
grav plates in the floors until there are floors present, after all.
Still... there are a lot of components that *aren't* related. Why should the
maneuver drive be a factor in installing the laser turrets? The ship won't
be *complete* until all subsystems are done, true... but work can be routed
around shortages, usually. That's a job for the yard managers.

>Suppose you can only get so many cubic meters per week of
>hull material or lanthanum for the jump drive, or the superconductor plant
>can only fully supply one of your subcontracters at a time, or all the
>cargo shuttles are busy today...Somebody has to build that @#$&*% laser
>turret, and if perchance they can't deliver it on schedule, either your
>ship just got cheaper or it held up a berth in your shipyard for x hours.
>Same with every other component.

This is where *planning* on the part of the yard management would come into
play. When they take the order for ship construction, they'll have a
flowchart showing what tasks need to be done, and in what order, and which
ones will affect others. If there's a holdup on one area, then you divert
effort into another area. Instead of running connections to that laser
turret, the electronics section works on the sensor runs or wires control
panels for a few days, until the turret *does* come in. They won't just drop
their tools and drink coffee until it gets there.

>The bigger and more expensive your ship is, the more likely it is that some
>costly special equipment you *must* have could be in short supply at the
>exact moment *you* need it.

Um... how does this follow? I'd grant it, if it said "the more special
equipment you need", rather than "bigger and more expensive". Cost alone
doesn't reflect that.

>Economically, there is a tradeoff.
>On one hand, your more expensive ship of the same tonnage could take longer
>to build. The greater burdens of warships on the same industrial base other
>ships use, gives slower supply rates and more delays (Ideally foreseen and
>included in scheduling).
>OTOH, you can spend money (one way or another) to get people and their
>resources to leave whatever else they might be doing to get all the
>specialized military subsystems in the same time that a less demanding
>civilian or auxiliary ship would take.
>Most often, you will compromise so that a warship will take only *somewhat*
>longer and use *somewhat* more resources than any other kind.
>The same factors work in reverse for cheaper ships.
>All these factors thus make MCr a better measure than tonnage alone for
>ship construction rates and shipbuilding capacity. 

In my opinion, you're overestimating the strain that ship construction would
put on the industrial output of the world. That industrial output is where
the construction numbers come from, anyway. The system you're describing for
speeding up the construction times is the one detailed in TCS, where every
10% extra you spend on construction gets an extra 10% work done for that
week. The TCS rules also allow for speeded-up consruction by doubling the
yard space allocated to a particular vessel (+40%), with a bonus for
familiarity of the design, too.

I've said before, though, and I'll say again... there ought to be *some*
sort of break for ships more simply designed. TCS didn't cover it, because
it was a military-oriented supplement, but in my game, I'd be willing to
give a "civilian ship" an extra 40% bonus on construction time, as a
top-of-the-head number. The only flaw there is that it would fiddle with the
total cost, and I'd want to avoid that.

Michael

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 22 Dec 1996 03:57:26 -0500
From: Michael Nutt <misha@crossrds.com>
Subject: Re: Uncle Cleon the taxman...

K.C. wrote:

>I wrote:

<assorted slightly-more-optimistic financial assumptions>

>> That would give 2025 Cr per head,
>>significantly higher than the numbers listed in TCS.
>
>Yes, but all of that money does NOT go 100% to new ship construction. 
>Remember the other arms of military service get their fair share.
>
>Not to mention I would bet that only a small percentage of military 
>spending goes towards construction of new ships. Most would go towards 
>maintenance of existing ships, and personnell costs.

<grin> Quite true... but remember, the Navy *is* the principal service.
Also, that TCS number just gives the budget... annual maintenance of 10%
listed cost has to come out of that. You're not going to be able to spend it
all on new construction unless you've just lost your entire fleet... perhaps
to an idiot Emperor who snarfs it up for duty somewhere else. As someone
else pointed out, in a sustained situation, only a very small percentage of
the budget goes toward new construction.

Michael

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 21 Dec 1996 15:53:05 PST
From: shadow@krypton.rain.com (Leonard Erickson)
Subject: Re: Lanthanum background

In mail you write:

> On Fri, 20 Dec 1996, K.C. Komosky wrote:
>
>>       Well, I was sitting around with very little to do at wok
>> yesterday, so I decided to do a little research for Traveller. Since
>> I work for a mining company, I got to wondering about how you'd mine
>> Lanthanum...

>>       It is a common accessory mineral in granites, syenites and
>> gneisses. It is also somewhat resistant to weathering, so it can be
>> concentrated in fluvial or marine placers (monazitic sands).

> Now come the questions...
>
>         This seems good only for planetary deposits of lanthanum, since
> IIRC all of the above are metamorphic rocks, implying tectonic processes,
> no? Also, fluvial anything isn't going to happen without water, right?

I don't know about syenites, but both granites and gneisses are
*igneous* rocks. But the grains of monazite will be pretty scattered.
That's why the sources are deposits where weathering has concentrated
the grains.

>         Now for the fun part...what would this look like in an asteroid
> deposit? Unfortunately, my 'knowledge' of where asteroids come from is
> still in the old Willy Ley era of a shattered Planet X...anyone have a
> source for a bit more up-to-date theory on the formation of asteroids?

Check my posts a few months back for ideas on how asteroids form and
what sort of compositions they have.

The short answer is that you won't find such deposits on asteroids. The
long answer is that since mining asteroids is going to amount to
passing the whole thing thru a smelter, it not that much extra effort
to seperate out the "trace" amounts of things. After all, if you are
processing cubic kilometers of "rock" or "nickel-iron", a one part per
*billion* impurity is going to amount to a cubic meter of material
(going by volume). Going by mass it's even more favorable. A km^3 of
"rock" masses about 2-4 billion tonnes. For nickel iron it's closer to
8 billion tonnes.

Now consider that things like lanthanum are more likely to be parts per
*million* or higher, and you begin to see why it's worth the trouble.

- -- 
Leonard Erickson (aka Shadow)
 shadow@krypton.rain.com        <--preferred
leonard@qiclab.scn.rain.com     <--last resort

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 21 Dec 1996 15:42:21 PST
From: shadow@krypton.rain.com (Leonard Erickson)
Subject: Re: Lanthanum background

In mail you write:

>         Well, I was sitting around with very little to do at wok
> yesterday, so I decided to do a little research for Traveller. Since
> I work for a mining company, I got to wondering about how you'd mine
> Lanthanum...

>         So here is more info than you ever wanted to know about where
> lanthanum appears in the universe.

>         The only mineral I cound find containing lanthanum (there are
> probably others, but very, very rare) is Monazite. Chemical formula
> is (Ce, La, Nd, Th)PO(4). Its a rare earth phosphate.

>         Monazite appears in stubby to tabular prismatic crystal, and
> is yellow to brownish-red in colour. However, it is usually
> disemminated  in microscopic granules.

>         It is a common accessory mineral in granites, syenites and
> gneisses. It is also somewhat resistant to weathering, so it can be
> concentrated in fluvial or marine placers (monazitic sands).

A semi-local company (Teledyne Wah Chang) produces various rare earth
and exotic metals. They have some rather *large* waste ponds where the
"leftovers" from processing are allowed to settle out. 

This led to a real mess about 10 years back. Due to the presence of
things like Th (thorium) and the like in the waste, the waste is
somewhat more radioactive than normal rock. This makes sense, as if you
take out all the common, and generally *non*-radioactive components of
a material, what's left will be "enriched" in the radioactive ones.

Anyway, the waste (basicly sand with a weird elemental makeup) is
*just* radioactive enough to count as low level waste *if* you try to
apply the standards for nuclear waste to waste from ordinary industry.

Some groups didn't like the company because it makes things like
compnents used in nuclear reactors (and weapons). So they got a law
passed forcing the company to move the waste by making them, and them
only, subject to the tighter rules used in the nuclear industry....
<sigh>

Anyway, a lanthanum *mine* won't look like much other than a deredging
operation or a sand and gravel pit. The place where they ship the sand
to be processed will be more interesting.

- -- 
Leonard Erickson (aka Shadow)
 shadow@krypton.rain.com        <--preferred
leonard@qiclab.scn.rain.com     <--last resort

------------------------------

End of Traveller-digest V1996 #782
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