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From: owner-traveller-digest@mpgn.com (Traveller-digest)
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Subject: Traveller-digest V1996 #776
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Traveller-digest     Thursday, December 19 1996     Volume 1996 : Number 776



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

The following topics are covered in this digest:

Reformation Coaltion Politicians
Re: Ship stuff
RE: High-tech Interrogation
New e-mail address
Wind Chill Factor
Re: Campaign Diary
I'm not anit-Foss reply
Re: Starship Design Philosophy
RE: Is T4 Innovative?
Re: Old Question
Re: Jumpspace and Psionics
SSDS FSY Crescent-class C/SIS
New weapons & systems
Starships Book
Re: IISS Anthem?
Re: SSDS FSY Crescent-class C/SIS
Starship Deckplans and External Dimensions
Central Supply and Aliens Archive in stores

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

Date: Thu, 19 Dec 1996 16:45:56 -0500
From: lewis@chara.gsu.edu (Lewis Roberts)
Subject: Reformation Coaltion Politicians

Hi,
The other day someone asked about RC politiicans. I deleted the original
message, so I can't send this the person directly, so I figured I'd send
it to the list.

Lewis Roberts

Robert Tyler MacBaen
565689-9			 Age:56	 Born in 1144

Skills
Admin/Legal 6/14
Climbing 3/9
Bargin 4/13
Liason 5/14
Observation 2/8
Persuasion 7/16
History 2/10
Biology 1/9
Physics 1/9


History:
MacBaen was born on Aurora in 1144, to a working class parents who worked
in one of the new automated factories.  After going to college, he joined 
a law firm and was on the fast track towards a full partnership.  After a 
few years of working in the office, he realized that something was missing;
his life had become dull and lacked passion.  MacBaen decided to enter politics 
to solve the problems that he saw around him.  His first campaign, was for
mayor of Briston, the largest city on Aurora.  He lost, and lost badly,
barely getting 10% of the vote.  He thought about quiting, but realized
that even though he lost, the campaign had  been the most fun he ever had. 
    In 1176 He ran for a seat in the World Assembly, this time he fared much
better, and won a close race over the incumbant. He helped start the funding
for the Auroran space program.  He has always had a passion for space, and
has often said he wishes he was a bit younger, and he could be one of those
rocket jocks.  Most Aurorans were fascinated by the space program and
they fell in love with this young brash senator.  
	In 1194 Hivers contacted Aurora. MacBaen resigned his post to act as
an ambassador. He took a six month cruise with the Hivers, helping them 
deal with the humans they encountered on Zloff, Hite and Fija.  He was
instrumental in helping craft the Dawn League Accords, which were the
documents which created the Dawn League.  After that he returned to 
the newly named Aurora, to help his people deal with their new neighbors.
He helped organize support for the Twelve, and was disappointed that
Aurora was unable to launch a ship of its own.  After the Twelve were
declared lost, he was heartbroken, he thought that the League was 
about to collapse. Others didn't give up hope and were able to push
the League into a new shape, the Reformation Coalition.  
	While MacBaen didn't have a hand in creating the RC, he realized that
it could succedd where the League had failed.  He ran for the single seat
that Aurora would have in the new Assembly of Worlds, and won easily.
He is a firm member of the Federalist bloc, like most Aurorans he believes
in personal freedoms, and that democracy is the most noble form of 
government.  He also realizes that only through compromise can a group of
worlds as diverse as the Coalition, hope to survive.  He often gathers
together moderates in both blocs to move legislation ahead.  He was a key
mover behind the recent compromise on the Ship Bill.
	He has also suffered a private tragedy. His son was a newly commisioned
Lieutenant on the Ashtabula.  He is deeply worried over its fate, and fears
the worst. If he hears any clues to its fate, he will move heaven and earth
to get his son back.  His son is the only relative he cares about. Both of
his parents died several years ago, and he has never married. His son was
born from one of the numerous affairs he has had throughout the years. 
Auroran citizens don't really care about his personal life, as long as
he does a good job as their represenative.  The Auroran press respects
the right to privacy of individuals, and doesn't intrude if at all possible.
	To help rebuild the civilization he has gathered together several
Auroran investors and they aquired a ship that was found by a group of 
Lancers working for the Auroran Navy. The Argo was floating 
around a gas giant in the Arvid system. It appeared perfectly intact and 
there was no clue to the fate of its former crew.  MacBaen has gathered 
together a crew, from all over the RC. The ship will perform missions in 
the Wilds and also private missions for MacBaen.  
	His hobby is rock climbing, and he often goes into the wilderness to
relax.  He used to do this by himself, but now that he is a member of the
Assembly, he is forced to take along an assistant.  He is also getting on
in age, and his staff is worried he might hurt himself.  He always access
to holophones, and his computers are tied into the global wireless network.

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

Date: Thu, 19 Dec 1996 18:37:42 -0400 (EDT)
From: Robert Flammang <FLAMMANG@vms.cis.pitt.edu>
Subject: Re: Ship stuff

Hi. 

Ahh, the good old days 8^)

> From: "William F. Hostman" <aramis@lunatic.asylumbbs.com>

>>        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 _ (Trillion Credit Squadron)

Also, adventure 1, the Kinunir, the first "large" military ship detailed
for Trav.

> CT Adv _ (Expedition to Zhodane) has a couple of references to ship
> construction (trival, yes, but there)

That adventure also contains an appendix with encounter tables and High
Guard USP's of Zhodani frigates, fighters, and close escorts. This is
the most comprehensive treatment I know of of Zhodani military might,
which isn't saying much.

> CT's Supplement 7 (Traders and Gunboats) has a few small military designs
> CT's Supplement 9 (Fighting SHips) has QUITE a few

Sup. 9 does have alot, all Imperial as I recall. It would be nice to see
some more of the opposition.

> Azhanti High Lightning details out one class.
> MT's Fighting Ships. (Poor, IMHO, use Sup 9)

"Shattered Ships of the Fighting Imperium." 8^)

> Battle Rider
> and (IIRC) Vampire Fleets has a few
> 

- -Rob

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

Date: Thu, 19 Dec 1996 17:38:41 -0600
From: "K.C. Komosky" <kc@mb.sympatico.ca>
Subject: RE: High-tech Interrogation

Tim Peter wrote:

>On a not-so-tech note, what about psionics.  Two Psionic Institutes
>(copyright A. Friend c. 1955 :-)) still have charters in 1100, and may
>provide "services" to the Imperium, when needed.

It just hit me - do we know what the status of Psionics is in M0? This is 
well before the Psionics suppressions, and before any real conflict with 
the Zhodani.

So what is the opinion of the new 3rd Imperium on Psionics? If it is 
positive, how does one prevent the game from revolving around psionics, as 
I'm sure everyone and their dog would be running towards the nearest 
Psionics Institute.

K.C. Komosky
kc@mb.sympatico.ca

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

Date: Thu, 19 Dec 1996 17:44:49 -0600
From: "K.C. Komosky" <kc@mb.sympatico.ca>
Subject: New e-mail address

Well folks, I'm moving out of Flin Flon tomorrow, and because of this, my e-mail address is changing.

Anyone who wants to reach me can get me at umkomosk@cc.umanitoba.ca

K.C. Komosky
kc@mb.sympatico.ca
umkomosk@cc.umanitoba.ca

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

Date: 20 Dec 96 11:16:42 +1100
From: Michael.Barry@FINANCE.ausgovfinance.telememo.au
Subject: Wind Chill Factor

     I also biked to work today. It was 28 degrees Celsius, and the wind 
     chill factor probably pushed it down to 25. 
     
     I was wearing a pair of jeans and a short-sleeved shirt, but halfway 
     through I wished I had worn a pair of shorts and a singlet instead. 
     
     The forecast says it will be over 30 degrees C on the weekend. I don't 
     know how much longer I can handle this. 

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

Date: 19 Dec 1996 23:49:58 -0000
From: "Paul Zumstein" <pzum@hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: Campaign Diary

>Campaign write-ups seem popular at the moment, so would anyone be 
>interested in seeing the diary I kept of my last campaign (Solomani Rim 
>c.1117-1119)? The TML's pretty busy, so if there's any interest I'll put 
>it on my web page. 

I'm always interested in stuff like that.  It's great for campaign
ideas and such.  It is interesting to see what other Traveller
universes are like.

PZ


- ---------------------------------------------------------
Get Your *Web-Based* Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
- ---------------------------------------------------------

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

Date: Thu, 19 Dec 1996 19:29:39 -0500
From: Neveron@aol.com
Subject: I'm not anit-Foss reply

A newbie reply: I feel like somebody's granpappy saying this but the effects
of high tech on civilization is the core of many a Larry Niven story, except
his ringworld weirdness. Look for "All the myriad ways", if you can find the
bloody thing anyplace, for his apt discourse on matter transport's effect on
society. 

                                           dsf-

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

Date: Thu, 19 Dec 1996 18:22:51 -0700
From: "David J. Golden" <goldendj@usa.net>
Subject: Re: Starship Design Philosophy

At 11:09 pm 12/18/96 -0600, Glenn Hoppe wrote:
>Dave Golden wrote:
>>At 10:17 am 12/18/96 -0700, you wrote:
>>>the temperate zones of the world(as I found out today...Brrrrr. 28 degrees
>>>(F) as I rode in to work. Yes, I know, I'm just another whining desert
>>>rat, so shut up already ;-) 
>>
>>        Try -5 degrees F, plus a few knots or so of wind chill... <G>
>
>Pah! Today I *biked* to work. It was -26 deg C (-15 deg. F for you Yanks) 
>Wait till January. That's when it gets *really* cold. :-)

At 11:34 am 12/19/96 -0600, K.C. Komosky wrote:
>	Don't get into a contest about who's the coldest when someone lives in
Flin Flon.
>
>	I *walk* to work, and every morning for the past few days its been -31C.
With a healthy wind chill.


        We're not worthy! We're not wor .... waitaminit, we're also not
frostbitten! <G>
- --________________________________________________________________
   Dave Golden                           PGP Public Key available 
   goldendj@usa.net     http://www.usa.net/~goldendj/default.html

 "He that would make his own liberty secure must guard even his
  enemy from oppression; for if he violates this duty, he establishes
  a precedent that will reach to himself" -- Thomas Paine

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

Date: Fri, 20 Dec 1996 01:39:48 +0000
From: Garry Ward <Garry.E.Ward@worldnet.att.net>
Subject: RE: Is T4 Innovative?

At 05:45 AM 12/17/96 +0000, you wrote:
<snip>
>
>        Good point; to which I'd add that there almost always is technology
>involved, and unless you're playing with a set of brainless twits, you
>can't use the tech in unrealistic ways without them rebelling...
>
>        I've gotta say that in this respect, Traveller does not lend itself
>to referees railroading players too badly...
>
>*-------------------------------------------------------------*
>| Roderick D. Elliott... rellio@po-box.mcgill.ca              |
>|                        elliot_r@lsa.lan.mcgill.ca           |
>*-------------------------------------------------------------*

Extremely true. The most fun I have ever had as a referee was to simply
layout a set of conditions and let the players make the problem worse by
their own misinterpretations. 

Garry

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

Date: Thu, 19 Dec 1996 21:31:47 +0000
From: Mused <marz@hotstar.net>
Subject: Re: Old Question

Andrew Boulton wrote:
> 
> After about 15 years of searching, I've never seen a definitive answer
> to this question:
> 
> What does AECO (the Terran North African starport) stand for?
> 
> Possibilities include Afro-European COnfederation, African Economic
> COmmunity, etc, but what's the *real* answer?

2 possibilities
1. All Earth Cargo Outlet
2. Aeco, ay-ay-ay-co, daylight come and me wan go home (it was the major cargo port)

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

Date: Thu, 19 Dec 1996 18:23:13 -0800
From: "Douglas E. Berry" <dberry@hooked.net>
Subject: Re: Jumpspace and Psionics

At 01:12 AM 12/20/96 +1100, you wrote:

>  Has anyone given any thought to using Psionics for Intersteller travel?
>Or even using telepathy to communicate from star system to star system?

I believe it's been stated several times, both in background material and
the rules themselves that interstellar psionics is impossible.



+----------------------------------------------+
| Douglas E. Berry          dberry@hooked.net  |
|     Professional Driver - Traveller Guru     |
|        http://www.hooked.net/~dberry/        |
|**********************************************|
| "Life's a journey, not a destination."       |
|                                   -Aerosmith |
+----------------------------------------------+

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

Date: Thu, 19 Dec 1996 21:30:15 -0500
From: rellio@po-box.mcgill.ca (Roderick Darroch Elliott)
Subject: SSDS FSY Crescent-class C/SIS

        Here's yet another one; I figured that if fast smuggling craft are
going to be loose about the place, the authorities are going to want
something to chase them with.  Hence, the following.  It's essentially a
Moonshine with a 1251 Mj NPAW spinal mount, a bigger laser & power plant,
smaller jump drive, no cargo space, and accomodations for 12 Marines.


=46amille Spofulam Yards Crescent-class Customs/Smuggling Interdiction Stars=
hip

200Td Needle Airframe         Volume:  2800 M^3               Cost: 340MCr
Crew: 20                      Pass. Medium: 0                 Pass. Low: 0
Cargo: 5 Td                   TL-12 Milit. cntrls (cockpit)   TL-12

08 Size Rating                  01 Jump Rating
00 Fire Control Rating          09 G Rating (6G T-plates, 3G HEPlaR)
01 Heavy Laser 2/1/0/0          7.5 Power Plant Rating
01 NPAW Spinal 5/3/2/1          39.2 Fuel Rating (no scoops, no refine)
                                01 Sandcaster Rating (30 canisters)
                                10A/4P/10J EMM Sensor Rating

                                20 Armour Rating        15 Structure Rating


"Sylean Shipping News, Day 237 Year 2:

        Today, FSY released its Cresecent-class customs vessel.
Essentially a Moonshine-class RI/ESS modified for smuggler interception
duty, the Crescent carries a 1251 Mj Particle Accellerator gun in a spinal
mount and a military-grade 251 Mj heavy laser, plus accomodations for a
squad of boarding troops.  However, this increased offensive punch was
reached at the cost of reducing its jump capability to 1 parsec, and
minimizing its cargo space to almost nil.  As one industry observer who
insisted on remaining anonymous stated "Those boneheads at Spofulam didn't
leave enough in space for basic supplies!  On long patrols they're going to
have to eat their way into the cabins!".  Crew accomodations are indeed
reported to be spartan.

        Other, more cynical commentators noted that Spofulam essentially
created a market for the Crescent with their Moonshine-class sales policy,
described as "...selling the damn things to anyone with a title and a
suitcase full of credits and sometimes they don't insist on the title".
Indeed, resale numbers for the Moonshine class are unusual; FSY refused to
comment on the rumour that Baron Erghaan of Mu has bought and resold no
less than 15 Moonshines in the past year, stating only that "...freedom of
trade and property rights are one of the cornerstones of the Imperium and
=46amille Spofulam Yards respects both to the utmost, not to mention our
clients' confidentiality and privacy".  They did, however, most
emphatically deny that the Imperial Investigations Bureau has recently
subpeonaed all their client files..."


Some notes: The Crescent carries an increased crew; 1 captain, an extra
gunner for the NPAW, an extra engineer, and a 12-person boarding party.
The captain has a large stateroom; flight deck and senior crew sleep in
small staterooms, and everyone else bunks it.  There's a small crew
lounge/dining area.  I might do deckplans at some point...

*=3D~----------------------------------------------------------~=3D*
| 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                             |
*=3D~----------------------------------------------------------~=3D*

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

Date: Thu, 19 Dec 1996 06:00:11 -0800
From: JayStr <jaystr@best.com>
Subject: New weapons & systems

Hello, all and sundry. THIS IS A TEST. I have been receiving digests for
roughly a week now, but have been unsuccesful in my attempts to post to
them. I think I have got it straight now, so -- the gods of cyberspace
willing -- I should see this paragraph buried within the next few
digests I get.

I am getting a T4 campaign cranked up for sometime this next year, so I
guess you could say I'm in the R&D phase. One of the things I've been
putting together is a list of what I should call 'concept weapons.' I
am only using a couple of them in my nascent campaign (the cruise
missile & the sonar munition -- both of which are essential to the first
adventure), but thought I would throw the rest out here for you for your
own use & to look at, comment upon, and generally tell me what the
physics & game stats involved might be like. I'm afraid I'm an idea man,
not a science major. One of my potential gamers is in pre-med, while
another is a high schol science teacher, so the more internal
consistency my campaign has, the better...

My greatest enthusiasm is designing warships; I like 'em small, fast,
and highly specialized. I'll be posting them as I get them refined,
triple-checked, and stone-cold certain that the math works out. I'll=20
also be posting whatever I come up with in the way of conventional=20
ships's systems and weapons suitable for being plugged into SSDS=20
or QSDS. The more prefab 'off-the-shelf' tech we have floating=20
around out there, the better.

Oh, yeah -- I do have FF&S (had it for three years, in fact, but=20
never really bothered to read it until now), so if you want to give=20
me some tips on building one of my weirdo-weapons, you can refer=20
to it without confusing me.

Thanks in advance!

- -- Jay Stranahan



Optic bafflers

Would offer stealth capability vs. passive sensors only, plus degrade
the performance of lasers in the same way as sandcasters.
Presuppose some kind of magic field that would stop or seriously degrade
any and all laser fire, irregardless of frequency, tuning, or any of
that other arcane BS. Assume that the effect works both ways. What
effect would that have on your sensors? your missile guidance systems?
things like that? Would it make you invisible (a la the Romulan=20
Cloaking Device)?


Induced remote fission gun

A super-high-tech nightmare weapon (perfect for alien invaders &
dangerous relics! A great gift for Dad!). Basically a big weapon that
produces a nuclear mushroom cloud at the target, rather than merely
spitting superheated hydrogen molecules at it from a distance. (Would
not
go through solid matter like a meson gun, though... at least, I don't=20
think....) Would it grab a bit of the target & create a critical
mass out of it, or teleport a dinky amount of fissionable material to
the target and squeeze it there?


Tachyon gun

Another supratech gizmo. Hits the target virtually as soon as it goes
off; therefore -- if coupled with a tachyon sensor array -- highly
accurate. Pull the trigger and watch it blow up in real time. Fun for=20
the whole family. Big bonuses to hit. Acts like a meson gun, since
tachyons
(presumably) show no more respect for space than they do for time.
Perhaps depending on how you tune or equip it, a T-band emitter/receiver
can be commlink, sensor array (sampling the target before it fires), and
weapon all in one.=20

In a campaign with tachyon technology, the equipment you need to
fine-tune an emitter and turn it into a doomsday weapon would be verrrry
closely monitored, rather like fissionable materials today. Steal it!=20
Recover it! Fight over the componenents for it! Adventure
fodder galore!


Cruise missiles

A long-time pet project of mine. Not big conventional missiles, but
actual pilotless kamikaze planes with really big warheads, like a
high-tech spacegoing version of the Tomahawk. Not very fast for a
missile (has to putt along at a maximum of 6G like everybody else), and
can be engaged and shot down at any range like any other craft =96 not
just point-blank =96 but conversely, it could also dodge fire & take
damage & still function like an ordinary craft. And -- most heinous! --
if it misses once, it'll keep coming back and trying to hit you again=20
until it runs out of gas or you shoot it down.

And you can launch it from really mindboggling distances, too =96 from
unmodified launch bays! no upgrade costs!  -- then leave the
neighborhood
long before they arrive at the target (first there was "shoot-n'-scoot";
now there's "launch-n'-leave"). You could also seed them in an enemy
system, perhaps in conjunction with robotic sensor buoys, and use them
as space mines.

Once the rules for vehicles & robotics come out, the design ought to be
fairly straightforward; what I need are rules for use. How do I
determine the damage such a weapon will do? Seeing that it's designed
for a one-way trip, it ought to have no trouble expending the full force
of its exposive power on the target, but it's going slower than an
ordinary missile might=85 And how do I determine the chances to hit, once
the thing closes with its target? Do I factor in the relative thrust in
G's of the target vs. the missile, or just go by pilot skill? (If we
find that out, we can also set ground rules for all kamikaze pilots
everywhere =96 including the desperate PC who locks his ship on a
collision course with the alien dreadnaught and ejects just in time=85)


Sonar munitions

Here's the question I've been grappling with: What do you do if you're
an average- to low-stellar civilization, your densitometer technology
(how far underground can those things see, anyway? Anybody know?) still
sucks or is nonexistant, and you want to invade a world equipped with a
subterranean meson cannon? Answer: you drop a bunch of armor-piercing
bombs all over the place -- each equipped not with an explosive warhead,
but a sonar emitter/receiver -- triangulate his position in three
dimensions, and blow him to smithereens with another meson gun or an
NPAW big enough to carve through the planetary crust.

(It's how they find Egyptian tombs and dinosaur bones; it ought to work=20
equally well in a higher-tech milieu for subterranean meson guns,=20
secret underground headquarters, and the like.)

The main problem would be getting the sensors to survive the impact
(perhaps by means of a very small inertial damper), not penetration. As
we saw during Desert Storm, a 2000-lb. bomb dropped from 10,000 feet can
go two hundred feet underground through pavement, rock, sand, and
reinforced concrete. Something bigger and heavier, composed of
super-science-fictiony megatough materials and falling out of the goddam
atmosphere at several miles a second should have no trouble making it a
mile or two underground. (You'd need at least two in the general
vicinity of the target for it to work, though. I'm not Mr. Science, but
even I can figure that one out).=20

I figured I'd just pull the stats and effective ranges for sonar sensors
out of FF&S=85 but as fate would have it, this is probably one of the ver=
y
few speculative or actual technologies not covered in that mind-bending
Bible of arcane game design. So come on, all you tech-heads! I'm at a
total loss on this one -- I need your help!=20

Things like mass, volume, etc. can be extrapolated, borrowed, or just
plain stolen from something roughly comparable, like radar =96 but how fa=
r
does sound travel underground? How powerful a set of sensors could you
pack into a disposable munition of several tons? How would a beast like
this function in game terms? How would it work, broadly speaking, at=20
different tech levels and in surroundings of different composition=20
(solid rock versus methane ice or something weird like that)? Would=20
there be an appreciable difference (i.e. one that would radically=20
affect game play)? Inquiring minds want to know!

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

Date: Thu, 19 Dec 1996 18:09:59 -0900
From: "William F. Hostman" <aramis@lunatic.asylumbbs.com>
Subject: Starships Book

I went to FNGS (Bosco's) and looked at starships. I was beyond
dissapointed. I withdraw all my comments about "Photocopiing" gids over it;
the ammount of "Black Space" on the page will give most copiers the fits.
Poorly laid out, lots of wasted space in the layout. I'm waiting for alien
archives and Psionics. If they don't meet my quality standards, IG can
bugger off, and I can make a little back off of my (unwisely purchased) t4
books.

Like most of my frozen friends, back to CT or MT; TNE wasn't it, and t4 is
rapidly proving that it won't be it either.

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

Date: Thu, 19 Dec 1996 22:15:12 -0500
From: CardSharks@aol.com
Subject: Re: IISS Anthem?

In a message dated 96-12-18 20:50:31 EST, you write:

> P.S.  Marc, it's yours if you want it.
>  
I like it. Thanks,

Marc

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

Date: Thu, 19 Dec 1996 19:56:27 -0800
From: "Peter J. Miller" <PeterMiller@youngmerlin.com>
Subject: Re: SSDS FSY Crescent-class C/SIS

Rod,

I just wanted to voice my love of your ship designs.  It's not even the USD
that impresses me, but the work around it, suvh as the extensive notes and
the press releases.  My favourite is the Moonshine press release...damn Ling
Standard products and their monopoly ways! :)

Well, Rod, you should seriously think of submitting some of these designs to
IG for JTAS or GRG as a ship book or something, they're _that_ good!

Thanks again!

/\___________________________Peter John Miller____________________________/\
||           "Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night..."          ||
||     Traveller, IG materials and the Home of the Imperium Games FAQ!    ||
||            On Peter's World - http://www.dragonfire.net/~pm/           ||
\/------------------------------------------------------------------------\/
   Great graphics, and the LOWEST prices on the net - www.youngmerlin.com

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

Date: 19 Dec 96 14:58:36 -0500
From: "Jeff Kazmierski" <odysseus@novia.net>
Subject: Starship Deckplans and External Dimensions

Calculating the actual dimensions of a starship is a simple matter of using
the formulae for calculating the volume of a solid of the ship's size. 
Once you know the dimensions of your ship, you can figure out how much
"comfortable" interior space you have to work with and go from there.

I'll assume a ship size of 100dTons, 1400 cubic meters.  The basic unit in
all these calculations is the cubic meter.  Each deck square will be
assumed to be 1x1x3.5 meters, unless otherwise noted.

1.  Spherical Hulls:  V = 4/3 * pi * r^3.  We already know the volume of
the ship; the radius is equal to half its length.  Thus, since a 100-ton
ship has a 14 meter diameter, if we assume 1x1x3.5m deckplans, we can
squeeze 4 decks of varying size into a ship of this shape.  Shorter decks
(1x1x2m,or somesuch) will produce more decks.

2.  Box Hulls:  V = L * W * H.  The lengths given on the Box Hulls table
are not based on a cubic structure.  Divide the total volume by the length,
then decide how many decks you want and how tall each deck is.  A 100 ton
ship is 17.5 meters long.  1400/17.5 = 80.  Assuming this is the "long"
dimension, We will try to fit three decks into the plans (10.5m).  17.5m x
10.5m x 7.62m =1400kl.  You can ignore the lengths on the hull table and
create a cubic structure by simply taking the cube root of the volume.

3.  Cylinders:  V = B * L.  B = pi * r^2.  A 100 ton ship is 28 meters
long, giving a base area of 50m^2, and a diameter (width) of 7.9788 (round
to 8) meters.  Figure about 2 decks, 3 if you use smaller plans.

4.  Wedge Hulls:  A wedge is basically a pyramid, but it can also be
thought of as a cone.  
	Pyramid:  V = 1/3 * B * h.  B = L * W.
	Cone:  V = 1/3 * pi * r^2 * h.
	Since the "classic" scout/courier fits the "pyramid" scheme, we'll use it
as our example.  According to SSDS, the scout has a length of 35 meters,
giving it a base area of 40 square meters.  Make it 10.5 meters tall (3
decks) and divide the base into two triangles of equal area.  
	The area of a triangle is A=1/2Bh.  The base of each triangle is 10.5m, so
the length of each triangle is 3.8 meters.  Thus, the base of the ship is
10.5 meters tall and 7.6 meters wide!  Obviously, we need to change our
plans, unless we want a ship with long, narrow decks.  Make it two decks
tall at the base (7 meters).  This gives our ship dimensions of 35 meters
long, 7 meters tall and 11.43 meters wide, a little more reasonable.  And
since the ship narrows toward the front, we may have to limit the deckplans
in the fore to make everything fit.  But at least it's workable.

5.  Needle Hulls:  A needle can be thought of as either a really long
cylinder, pyramid or cone.  The formulae for these are already given above.

6.  Domes and Discs:  A disc is just a squat cylinder, where the hull
length is equal to the diameter of the craft.  A dome is half a sphere (or
oblate sphere).  The formula for figuring the volume of an oblate sphere is
V=4/3*pi*a^2b, where a and b are the semimajor and semiminor axes of the
spheroid, respectively (the semimajor axis is 1/2 the long dimension, in
this case the length of the hull, and the semiminor axis is 1/2 the short
dimension).  For domes, calculate the dimensions of a volume equal to twice
that of your ship, with the semimajor axis being equal to half its length. 
Then halve the result.  Discs can be calculated in much the same way, if
you want a rounded disc (just don't double the volume before calculating).

7.  Open Frames:  These ships look like the Nostromo from Aliens or the
Bulk Cruisers from Star Wars.  Building them is pretty simple:  Just build
your components, add some walls, strap on fuel tanks and put armor over the
important points.  You should end up with an odd looking craft that matches
your original volume specs almost perfectly.

8.  Close Structures:  I /think/ this is similar to the "Dispersed
Structure" of High Guard, a layout similar to the "Enterprise" on Star
Trek.  For these, just decide how you want your ship to look, then put the
components where they will fit.  These types won't have the "random" sort
of look that Open Frames have, so they should be somewhat orderly and
logical.

Hope this helps.  I apologize for the change in tone throughout the
message; I started this in the morning and didn't finish it until
midafternoon, so my train of thought was interrupted.

Jeff Kazmierski

- ---------------------------------------------------------
                +
                |\      "Anybody got a Q-tip?"  
                | )      /       
                | )       _      
       _        | )      /@
        \ ______|/______/
_________\ @@@@@@@@@@@@/__________
        odysseus@novia.net
  http://www.novia.net/~odysseus/
- ---------------------------------------------------------

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

Date: Fri, 20 Dec 1996 04:33:49 GMT
From: John H Bogan Jr <jbogan@pipeline.com>
Subject: Central Supply and Aliens Archive in stores

The Central Supply Catalog and Aliens Archive showed
up at The Compleat Strategist today.

I'm still reading, but I'll give a quick view of
Aliens:

Twelve minor races detailed. These include the four
from the main rulebook (the Asym, Denaar, Graytch,
Hresh, and Bye-ren), seven additional new minor
races (The Controlled, Hanna Saka, Nunclees, 
the Providers, Tekundu [human minor], and Trakii),
and our old friends, the Newts!

Each race has a section on its origins, physiology,
homeworld, psychology, history, society, character
generation, other game rules, starships and travel, 
quick role-playing tips, and two "casual encounters",
one Imperial, the other native or extra-Imperial.

Cover art is by Foss, and while nice, isn't really
related to anything inside. In the text section for
each race there is an illustration of it's skeleton, 
but the fully-fleshed illustrations are in a four-page
color section by Ashe Marler and Ray Van Tilburg.

There's also six pages of B/W art, the "Wildstorm
Art Gallery". This is a mixed bag, since while some
drawings show some of the aliens at different angles
(aiding us in getting a sense of what they look like), 
some of the "concept" sketches were obvious early stabs
at getting the "look" or proportions and, while possibly
interesting, don't really belong here and the space 
should have gone to additional poses of the finished aliens.
(Hell, the "Newt concept" is just a human with a tail!)

Don't panic at that last sentence, though, the Bwaps
retain their classic form, with only small adjustments
(for the better, IMHO. Here the Bwaps look "kinda
like newts" rather than EXACTLY like upright 
terrestrial newts).

Two bits of bad news: they say the Newts are from
Old Expanses when from context they mean Empty Quarter;
and "the Controlled's" history seems a bit fuzzy as
to which time period the author is in (it would make more
sense if the the viewpoint were in the 1100's rather than
year 0), and some of the encounters for some other races
also have this problem (Dingir? in M0?).
Also some minor typos that should have been cleaned up,
but not many.

The good news is: the whole point of the module.
TWELVE GOOD, "CONTACT"-STYLE, _TRAVELLER_-STYLE
ALIENS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Your milage will vary as to just how "good" or
useful they are to you, but this beats Santa-cap-
wearing-Monty-Python-quoting Ithklur ...to a pulp!

- ----------------------------------------------
John H Bogan Jr

jbogan@pipeline.com

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

End of Traveller-digest V1996 #776
**********************************

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