The Problem:
(1) the Megatraveller starship design sequence depicts sensors as
being the size of a briefcase, completely ignoring the physics that require
a certain effective collector size for a given sensitivity. (yes, I know
that there are ways of cheating, such as using 2 radiotelescopes 8,000
miles apart as if they were one 8,000 mile wide dish, but a starship's
sensors are limited to an effective size of the width of the ship, and they
still must have collectors of a certain minimum size.)
(2) Under the present rules, there is no reason for the cheapest
tramp freighter NOT to mount as good a sensor suite as the Imperial Navy's
newest 500,000 ton battlewagon. There are no tradeoffs. (And the
merchants can detect the pirates before the pirates can "get" them ;-) !)
Our Solution:
Make MegaTraveller sensors more like the ones in the real world, or at
least like the ones in 2300AD -- they require a certain amount of hull area
to mount collectors/arrays on. We are using the following modifications to
starship construction involving sensors:
1. Sensors require Sensor Arrays to collect signals; the more
sensitive the sensor is to be, the larger the effective collector must
be. We approximate this by requiring sensor arrays to take up Hard
Points, just like weapon mounts do.
a. Sensors of Planetary range or less do not require hard points.
b. Sensors of greater than Planetary range take up one hard point
per range band beyond Planetary range. For example, a Far Orbit range
Active EMS array takes up one hard point. An Interstellar range
Passive EMS array takes up 6 hard points.
2. Sensor arrays may be mounted on booms. One boom provides area
equivalent to five hardpoints for the purpose of mounting sensor
arrays
ONLY. One boom may be mounted per hard point. Sensor booms
may be either (a) fixed, or (b) retractible.
a. Fixed booms make the ship unstreamlined, and raise its Object
Size category by one; e.g., an ObjSize=small ship with one or more
fixed booms is now ObjSize=Average.
b. Retractible booms take up 135 kl per boom, but the ship is
only
unstreamlined while they are extended. It is also one ObjSize larger
as per fixed booms, but only while the booms are extended; it reverts
to normal ObjSize when they are retracted.
3. Densitometers - MUST be mounted on booms on any ship that uses
artificial gravity in any form (Thrusters, Grav maneuver, Grav plates,
inertial compensators) so that the densitometer can be properly
shielded from the Artifical Gravity fields on the ship.
4. Neutrino sensors are entirely internal and do not take up booms or
hardpoints.
Option: apply these rules for wide-band communicators (receivers only).
Naval J6 Courier TL15
The typical Imperial Navy Fleet Courier; one known example is the Fleet
Courier "Ahrimani" (pay attention Phil!). Notice the tradeoff of some
offensive capability for Passive sensors that are not mounted on booms
(hence, no increase in detectability when in use), and the lack of active
sensors (good active EMS arrays required too much defensive capability to
be sacrificed, and the ship's primary mission is NOT offensive.)
CraftID: Fast Courier, TL15, MCr180
Hull: 360/900, Disp=400, Config=1SL, Armor=40G, Loaded=2481.5,
Unloaded=2265.5
Power: 5/7, Fusion=900MW, Duration=33/99
Loco: 11/15, Maneuver=1, 38/51, Jump=6, NOE=40kph, Cruise=810kph,
Max=1080kph, Agility=1
Comm: Radio=System x3, LaserComm=System x3, MaserComm=system x3
Sensors: EMM, EMS Passive(Far Orbit)=Hardpoint, Neutrino Sensor (10Kw)
PassEngScan=Routine, PasEngPin=Rout
Off: Hardpoints=4
Missile=x03
Batteries 1
Bearing 1
Def: DefDM+9
SandCaster=x04
Batteries 2
Bearing 2
Control: Computer Mod7fib*3, 1*HeadsUpHoloDisplay,50*HoloLink
Accom: Crew=4 (2 bridge, 1 engineer, 1 gunner),
Passengers=16, Staterooms=20,
Env=Basic env, Basic ls, Extended ls, Grav plates, Inertial comp
(grav and Inertial Comp not in fuel tankage)
Other: ECP, Fuel=1890Kl(refined) 1310Kl(unrefined), Cargo=216Kl,
1* Hurakan grav sled.
Fuel Purifier (80Kl/hr), Fuel Scoops, ObjSize=Average,
EmLevel=None
- -- Via DLG Pro v0.985b
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