Baranski:
>Your assumptions first off assume that jump points are not used, and
merchant
>ships do not travel any predefined routes to anywhere else in the system.
IE
>there is no place to just hang around and expect another ship to come near
>you.
Of course, jump points won't be used. They are too vulnerable, and not
required by the technology.
>Most systems have installations/settlements other then the main world, and
>traffic going to and from them.
>
>I'm not sure on this, but I assume that with constant 1-6 G Maneuver, most
>courses are pretty straight line, as opposed to current low cost spiral
>courses.
Hmmm...
Terra to Jupiter, 1G - 155.16 hours.
Same trip, 10 degree offset to straight course - 158.81 hours.
This course adds 2.4% to yuor travel time, and increases the area to be
searched by a pirate by a VAST amount. Since pirate sensors can detect
things at about 500,000Km, just like the rest, then you'd need 4500 ships
to cover the possible line of approach adequately. And if you found the
target out there, you'd require 11.3 hours to match velocity, by which
time the merchant would again be lost to sensors (he'd be about .5AU away
by then). Assuming the target took no further evasive maneuvers, then
you'd catch him within a day. If he took the precaution of changing his
velocity by 10Km/s after he left sensor range, you'd never find him.
>Most merchants (at least the easy targets) have 1 or 2 G Maneuver. Most
>Pirates have 6 G Maneuver. Most Pirates do have better then average
sensors
>and EMM.
Where do all these pirates get these multi-100-MCr ships? You'd think if
they wanted to get rich, they'd sell their ship and retire, wouldn't you?
>Lastly, there are all kinds of possibilities for subterfuge:
> o hang around the jump point and pretend to have a drive failure,
After the first few times, no-one would come to rescue you. They'd all
assume "pirate". Including the SDBs.
> o maybe even ask your victims to come aboard and give you a hand.
They are merchants on a tight schedule, there is a starport a million Km
away. They'll let you take care of yourself.
> o beam a distress call to your victim when they are within sensor range
> and the navy is not.
And when is that? If you are at a "jump point", then the Navy is always
in range.
> o pose as customs inspectors.
It has merit. But only if your ship is indistinguishable from a Customs
ship. Minor vagaries like your oversized power plant are sure to be
noticed. And the first time a target gets away a message (which will be
the first target, probably), then that game will no longer work.
> o pose as someone with a hot/lucretive cargo to unload.
Sounds illegal. Sounds like CUstoms will KNOW you did something yoo
shouldn't, if they see you meet another ship in space for cargo transfer.
Sounds like an idea to avoid if you are a merchant. Of course, if
your target is another pirate, HE might be intrigued by the possibilities.
> o lie at a good intercept point powered down to escape detection.
The whole point of that post was that THERE ARE NO GOOD INTERCEPT POINTS.
>other factors:
>ships do not always have the fuel to jump, especially incoming.
Too true. This is your BIG chance. If the target pops out of jumpspace
real nearby. If he pops out at 250 diameters, he'll be out of sensor
range until he has built up enough velocity to get to the planet before
you can match position and velocity. And he'll only add 3 hours to a one
week voyage by doing so.
>ships do not always have jump calculations ready.
True. But it only takes 8 minutes to get one at TL12, one minute at TL15.
>notice that the difficulties you list for pirates, also apply to your navy
and
>customs inspectors. :-)
Not really. Customs people would just wait in orbit for you to stop.
If you don't, then you are no concern of theirs.
>Using what G Maneuver? Jumping from a relative stop is safer and easier
in my
>book...
one gravity. It's not safer if a pirate will jump you if you stop.
>I don't think directly ahead is the best intercept position, since you
have to
>hurry to get there, and hurry to catch up. I'm not sure, but I would
think
>that catching up from behind would be best.
From directly astern, same conditions - 3 hours. From any side,
slightly longer. You would have to detect the target at a range of
1,000,000
Km, to do that, though. Slightly beyond sensor range. And this run would
be unmistakably an intercept, after the first 1.4 hours of acceleration.
Which would give the target an extra half hour to prepare, and jump vectors
only take 8 minutes to compute.
>"5) A starship trying to match course like that is UNMISTAKABLY trying to
>match course."
>
>There is a lot to this point. Who was it that said that no battle ever
takes
>place in space unless both sides want to fight? This assumes equal
ability,
>though, and my pirates have a big advantage over merchants.
No. 6Gs is not really much of an advantage over 1G. Mostly they just make
an enormously valuable target for the merchant's weapons. The limitation
on a pirate is that most targets only are in range for 1,000,000 Km or
less.
And that sensors only work over about half that range.
If I re-analyze what I did yesterday to use the actual sensor ranges from
MT,
I find that the pirate locates you 53 minutes before you jump (IF he
detects
you right at the fringe of sensor range - rolls a 12 on a cautious task,
with a model nine computer). Unfortunately, a six gee pirate requires 101
minutes to match course. Better luck next time, eh? If the pirate is not
directly ahead, he probably never gets a detection at all. And if he does,
the time till jump will always be less than 53 minutes, and his transit
time will always be more than 101 minutes.
>Strange, your initial comment was that you can see a pirate coming from
too
>far away. I would think decreasing sensor range would help as well.
My original comment presupposed that the operating arena was the 100
diameter limit. In deep space, the picture changes. And making the pirate
blind will hurt him far more than it would hurt the merchant.
>Even better, expand the range difference between an at rest pirate with
>advanced equipment actively watching for a victim, and a short crewed
>merchant with basic equipment in flight.
The best sensor suite in MT only costs 6% of the price of the cheapest
merchant. It's a worthwhile investment. As is a crew member to watch
those sensors while in flight.
And, again, where are the pirates getting the money for all this ship?
BTW, a 400T 6G pirate would not have enough cargo space to offload the
cargo of a free trader, and could not carry enough crew to repair and
man one. Assuming it used a mixed laser/missile armament, it would have
room for no more than 8 crew, and no cargo. It would require six men for
it's own crew, and three (minimum) for the prize crew. Which it can't
carry. Assuming the free trader still had functional drives after the
capture.
Later...
- -- Via DLG Pro v0.985b
[email removed]
I have learned to use the word "impossible" with the greatest caution.
--W. von Braun