Hello all,
I'm working with
Capt Dave on this; the
Fat Cat class Far Trader for the
Traveller universe. I'm working on the 2D plans now, which will lead to a 3D model later on.
He just wrote the specs and turned me loose (no, I don't know if he knows what he's in for :flippy: ).
Here's the general design - 300 tons, the main hull is roughly 30m by 14m.
WIP shot - the bridge, located in the main hull on the underdeck.
I'll post some of the specs shortly. Look for updates every few days or so!
Posts
This is my first Traveller ship, and I've never played - so comments are welcome!
Its a Jump 2 (parsecs per Jump), Thrust 2 (g's of acceleration), 300 ton Fat trader. It has a crew of 6, carries 8 passengers and 100 tons of cargo.
The concept behind the ship is that its a Fat trader built in the Versis Principalities (A stellar nation I'm writing for that exists within the HCS version of the Foreven Sector of the OTU). This ship, like many of their design, is designed to carry a good portion of cargo along with several passenger in descent comfort.
and you have a very nice ship started here!
With a scale of one map square representing a valume of 1.5m(w) x 1.5m(L) x 3m(h) (6.75 m3), two map squares would represent a single displacement ton (13.5 m3). So the bridge would be 40 map squares.
The missing .25 m3 per square (or 11.11 tons over the hole ship) is simply glossed over and assumed to be between decks where the power conduits and the like are hidden.
And if anyone want to grognard about these little inconsistencies (and they will) they can email me and tell me all about it. Your customer feed back is always welcome. (can't seem to find the smily for round file...)
There you go, now the pilots story is confirmed, whatever the fanboy rules monkeys think... Nice looking 2D plan. I assume this was done in illustrator as most of these deck plans seem to be. Guess only way I'm going to make deck plans is to buy that damned expensive application.... And a kitchen... and new roof... So, that's this years bonus spent, assuming I get one!
p.s. that's a big bonus if it'll cover illustrator and a new roof
Here's some of the design concept I'm working off of:
P.S If it is involved in smuggling, some interior space needs to be reserved for the goodies, lol
It does land. the main cargo holds are in the secondary hulls and will have huge doors. I'm debating on having the entire bays basically interchangeable modules, as well. we'll see where that goes.
For example, the Fat Cat can make a 2 parsec jump at its designed volume. If it strapped on additional cargo modules the ship would only be able to travel 1 parsec per jump, but it could strap on up to 300 additional tons of cargo modules; doubling the ships volume.
http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m245/fredd_007/model%20crap/cargo.jpg
Waaaay too much hauled cargo!
It was just a explanatory image, of the basic idea, traq
This project was started a while back, but the artist I had at the time changed jobs and then was unable to continue with the project.
The original concept model.
I was never truly happy with how the cargo containers were arranged, I felt that the ring should hold only 40 of the containers, with the remaining 5 containers attaching to the main hull. Two attaching to the main hull forward of the ring, one each to port and starboard. Two more attaching the same way aft of the ring, and one more attaching to the belly.
This design is 300 tons for the base ship, and up too 900 tons more in cargo containers. I have several stat designed all based off the same concept. All ranging from 100 ton base ships that can strap on an additional 500 tons of cargo, to a 400 ton base ship that can strap on 1600 more tons and still make jump 2.
But these ships would be aimed more toward background fluff, as they really aren't good for PC's as they are unlikely to be used for "adventuring", but rather strait cargo hauling, and where's the fun in that?
@Traq - If you want you can design for that, I would limit it to an extra 100 tons of cargo space. Say a 40 ton unit that docks with the dorsal of the main hull, and a 30 ton unit that docks with each of the secondary hulls.
But as I said above, I already have a concept for that type of ship.
Fre'dni: that's close to the idea I've got in my head for the secondary hull cargo add-ons, but expanding out from the hull instead of docking flush (they are, after all, add-ons).
That ring-cargo design has potential, too; maybe we can mess around with that one later. might be fun.
I played Traveller many years, to sum it up, was Star Wars designed ships, before the movie every came out. For some odd reason the jump design was based on volume displaced by the craft, not mass involved. It techno babble, but i guess traveller people today enjoy their babble, as much as trek fans do. So include the volume of the externally mounted cargo pods, along with the ships volume, specified for the jump/volume ratio. I bet the fussy traveller fans will appreciate it
Here's some work on the belowdeck cabins; the captain's to port and the crew's to starboard.
The captain's berth is larger (naturally), and the cabin door is inside the corridor (giving it secure access to the bridge, aft).
The XO has a separate berth in the crew cabin, which can be partitioned off for privacy. I will be placing a small food preparation area in the crew cabin as well. The crew has their own refresher and a day head. The bunks are either going to be doubles, or singles and the crew will be hotbunked (this hasn't been decided yet.). Either way, the bunks will be able to be folded up/back into day seating. There is a single large display / terminal at the end of the room, which will be linkable with portable terminals for crew use.
Forward, you can see where the airraft launch bay will be, and I'm planning on having an access stairwell in the cargo bay as well.
As a side note, I have lengthened the forward section of the main hull by one meter. This has a minimal effect on tonnage (I think it's actually more accurate, now), but really helped a lot with laying out compartments.
I also have a "Sector Guard" patrol ship (with the alternate Versis FTL drive) thats designed for long range patrols throughout Versis "secured" space. Its also designed on a 300 dTon ship design. It could potentially be based on the same basic hull, but with a different configuration on the insides.
@Traq - I might point out that traveller doesn't have any form of "force fields" like you see in star trek. So the cargo bay must be sectioned off with a wall and portal that can withstand hard vacuum if it is to preform a space drop for cargo.
Also, as I said above, if the add-ons are designed as small craft, they can have their own everything systems independent of the "mother ship". This is a slight stretching of the rules, but its still legit in my book.
I like that. I was imagining several different modules (cargo, passenger, maybe even a "skylounge" for rich owners... ), but docking an auxiliary craft would be great. Would it be "legit" to do that as-is, or would the hardpoints need to be re-positioned to accommodate dockings like that?
I'll stat them up and email them too you. I also need to restat the main ship for the docking systems. I think I'm going to split the volume between the main ship and the add on.
To make it work, I have to dump 44 tons of cargo space to expand the fuel capacity, upgrade the jump drive, power plant and maneuver drive. At which point the ship starts to take off in a hole new direction. And its in a direction I've already decided was for a different ship.
So for this ship, Sorry if you all got your hopes up, but I got to pull the plug on the add ons.
The main hull cargo / airraft bay. I also moved a few things around, most notably the forward bulkhead in the crew cabin. A little less space, but better use of the space.
The airraft (which will not look much like what I have drawn currently, other than being a similar size) will dock from below, in a form-fitting drop bay. Most of the airraft will be contained within the floor of the cargo bay, with the space doors slightly higher. When docked, the doors can be opened for boarding / loading, but are generally kept closed.
The port and starboard hulls, so far. Still working on the engines. The forward third of each hull is fuel tankage, and the middle is devoted to cargo. (Keep in mind that the secondary hulls are almost two decks tall, so there's a lot more volume than there appears to be.)
I'm not sure if I'm satisfied with the inner/outer cargo bay configuration. It doesn't sacrifice too much space, and I can see other advantages to the design.
The driving idea here is that, when landed, the outer bay actually swings out and extends down to the ground (with a ramp extending between the inner and outer bays) to facilitate cargo staging and loading. While I love the concept, I'm not sure it'll work. I need to play with it on the 3D model a bit.
Comments welcome
The way you have the cargo bays I can see working. But ya I'd have to see something in 3D to make a call one way of the other.
As for the hole modular bit, you will get to have all the fun you want with it the next ship(s).
For the volume, is it 10% of total volume for each parsec jumped, in fuel cost?
Kinda, but not quite. we'll see.