Tuesday, October 19, 2021

Problem and Opportunity: Why less Efficient and Cheaper Boosters First?

Question:  Should Referees require players to calculate how many and how big the Boosters do they need to Escape a 1G world? 
Answer: No. The Referee only needs to know the Price of the Services to get them out to orbit, if their Ship is not Full-Escape Velocity Capable. its basically the Mass Tons of the Ship and the factor of the Gravity. 

Questions: Ships Cannot just land and Escape 1G Worlds? 
Answer: Yes. Some TL9 and everything below cannot simply escape 1G. In fact the Types of Starports and Economics will change a bit. Mathematically its just adding a couple of Zeros in the Population and the Size of the Economy of Worlds with Down Ports that Expect Interstellar/Intrastellar Trade. 

TL9 is special, the way metal is special in DarkSun, or Gunpowder is special, or Magic is Special. 

Questions: What are the Implications. 

  1. I have to use the UWP of the world to determine the Administration Cost to Orbit. Notes in the World Codes to help the GM price the Admin fees. 
  2. Orbit Capable Downports in 0.6G+ worlds will have a huge Economy around it. Worldbuilding wise this is as important as a Space Elevator. (Space Elevators are TL8). Just adding 000 or 00,000 zeroes to the Populations and the economics of the worlds. 
  3. Remaking all the "Common Ships" using the Spreadsheet in the new Shipbuilding Rules for TL6 to TL8 ships. The spreadsheet has gone through 4 Versions already, niccos MGT2, my MGT2, my CE, and my Current mass-based Shipbuilding which will be called Mneme Ship Design Variant for Cepheus Engine.  
  4. Adding the Space Infra of Heka KTon and Mega Ton Habitats, Networks of Tethers, etc... 
    1. How to use the Ship Building Rules for this. 
  5. Changing Combat Doctrine with Auto-Cannons, Gyroc EM Cannons, TL7 and TL8 Lasers, ECM, Mass Launchers and Receivers, Point defense Missiles and Cannons, Grapeshot Missiles and Missile clusters (100mm missiles bundled in a 400mm case). I did something like this before basically I took Ultra Tech and Examine all the Optimal Strategies and their costs and Mapped out every increase of potency and effectiveness one can squeeze out of a TL. Probably 4 pages of equipment and 6 pages of Doctrine Notes - a table of all the options so the GM and the players are not Blind Sided by Best Industry Practices (this takes out of immersion if the Doctrine or the Best practices and where they breakdown is not known by the designer; its hard to prepare a Military campaign when the unknowns and knowns are not clearly laid out).   
  6. The hardest parts the Change in Operations 
    1. Launching into Orbit are the Nailbiter rolls.
    2. Pushing the Limits of the Ship are the Nailbiter rolls. 
      1. Gravity Slingshots and Skidding on the atmosphere
      2. This would be maxing out the KM/s of the ship and using AIR BRAKES to slow down! 
      3. Entering Rad belts to Cut corners. 
    3.  Making the Cost-Benefit Analysis of the Ship a spreadsheet that takes less than a Minute to Fill up or a Written process that takes 5 minutes to do the quick math (back of the envelope math)
    4. I'm making sure Trade and Operations Notes are in one place and all the Tables are there. 
  7. All the 3d Assets are available for GM and instructions how to render it into scenes for your game. 
    1. Includes a Crew Suit I made (TL8) free and Creative Commons for people to use for their games - it comes fully rigged for posing. 
    2. The ship is Rigged for Posing also, from opening bay doors, and landing gear. (Nicco will do commissions for custom ships and animations for games). 

Kickstarter Milestone. Number of sales is for bonus material. I'll see if I can do this model where I use the number of sales to fund future improvements. All old and future versions will be sold to people who already bought it - i will just keep adding more files to download - (the price might increase though so those who got in early get the best deal  - like mount and blade when it came out in Beta and i was able to participate). I can do this because I have a day job as an IT head and Plant head so (Not much i earn less than working class in the US, but comfy enough to afford services to make this better, my project management skills are what makes this RPG project different). 

Current Challenges
  1. Why is the Less Efficient Thruster used to Boost? I don't understand the logic? I don't know how to model it in a Cost Efficiency method - controlling for the factors of Fuel Costs why is it better to use a less Efficient Booster and save the more efficient boosters for 50-100km up? I know the players don't need to be bothered by that but its distracting not to know. 
  2. recovering from a flu, I tested negative in an RNA-TPCR test. Still feeling unuaully sleepy earlier in the night. 
  3. the Anxiety on my Art investment - It seems Im doing the art first because I need to see a "200dton" or a 1400m3 ship really does fit 10 cabins and enough fuel, engine, and cargo to reach orbit and transit. 
    1.  a 1400m3 Ship Docks to its 200mT spinhab powerplant, radiator, and ion drives, and Nuclear Thermal Rockets it all has to make sense on paper and on the 3d. One of the mistakes made was not fully visualizing the process and the assets would be awesome to animate using Lightning Boy's Cell Shader if I can get it to work. I need the Books Ready to play not just Ready to build worlds
    2. Fortunately, Nicco can help me write once he's done with the art. But I'm tempted to start counting my chickens before it hatches by funding his Lightnin Boy Cell Shader studies so we can do it for all the assets. 

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