Re: Xboats

Brent Woods writes:
>  In message: [email removed] Bertil Jonell writes:
>  >
>  >[email removed] writes:
>  >>      I just took a look at Supplement 9, Fighting Ships, and the Xboat was
>  >> listed as a *TL10* design.
>  >
>  >The major difference would be that it couldn't be jump4! The TL-Jump
>  >progression is something like this (typing from memory, but 90% certain :-):
>  >
>  > Jump1  Jump2  Jump3  Jump4  Jump5  Jump6
>  >  TL9    TL11   TL12   Tl13   Tl14   TL15
>
>      I just took at look at my original copy of Book 2 (eleventh printing)
> and I noticed something...  Tech levels aren't mentioned at all in reference
> to drives.

They are in Book 3, "Worlds and Adventures".  At TL9, you can have drives A-D.
At TL 10, you get drives E-H.  And so on.  Going to book 2, this means that a
100 ton ship can be given a jump 4 at TL9!  All it needs is a drive class B.
This, however, takes no account of computers.  For a jump 4, you need a model
4 computer, and they first appear at TL 10.

>  >The Powerplant is heavily dependent by TL.. but it will be very small on an
>  >Xboat.
>
>      Didn't the original Xboat design *not* have a power plant?

Correct.  It took power from the jump capacitors, which were charged up by the
X-boat tender.  If an X-boat misjumped, it was up a well known creek without a
paddle.

There is one problem which MegaTraveller has overlooked.  It's great fun
designing all these ships at TL 15.  You get super-powerful scout/couriers,
X-boats with power and manoeuvre, nice neat power plants, etc.  Until your
nice neat TL 15 power plant breaks down.  Then you have to find a nice neat
TL 15 starport to fix it.  And there aren't that many.  On the other hand,
the good old TL 9 scout/courier can get its spares anywhere that can make a
jump drive.

 "Keyboard? How quaint!" - M. Scott

 Adrian Hurt			     |	JANET:  [email removed]
 UUCP: ..!ukc!cs.hw.ac.uk!adrian     |  ARPA:   [email removed]

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