 December 27, 2012 - 10:24am | So Star Frotniers is really different from Star Trek and this is one of the reason I always like it so much is those differences and the aliens too I suppose. With the news of the decommission of the CVN 65 Enterprise and comparisions to Star Trek's Enterprise it got me thinking about exploration ships in Star Frontiers. We have the very cool, classic and beloved assualt scout which fit the real role the designers had in mind: a star ship vehicle for the player character party that would have some punch and be able to land on planet. This is the true design role of the ship but its only something you consider on the meta game level. From its name we can deduce that its design roles in setting are military and scouting (scouting is also a military role as well) assualt implies a hard hitting shock trooper kind of heavy cavalry kind of attack that is usually followed by more steady units that can stand and occupy. I think a wave of assualt scouts can fulfill this role well enough and there low hull points does require a slower 2nd wave that will occupy after the first assualt (much of that is metaphorical way of describing space combat) However, as a scout ship its a little pitiful as its engines enforce an overhaul every jump so they jump into a system and discover something they should report right away and they cant- because overhaul and astrogation computations just take time- time that such a small ship might not have. Eleanor Mores is a assualt scout trimmed down on the military role with its own logistics tail left in orbit. its ok for what it was used for but I dont really like it for an exploration craft. So that got me thinking about a KHs design for a Star Trek ish exploration vessel. something that can truck its own supplies and go on a log term exploration mission like the enterprise. Something big enough to have labs like the KHs book lists as possible ship equipment. One consideration is does it have weapons and how many? I suppose light stuff just for defense- no torps Something at least frigate sized with a lander? Thoughts? I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 December 27, 2012 - 2:49pm | Just to throw it in the Sathar had a pretty good exploration ship in the Face of the Enemy module. Large in orbit ship with four system ships to do the exploring and landing. I would consider something like this and use the Command a Titan article for adventure ideas and maybe Battlestar Galactice (both old and new). Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
December 27, 2012 - 5:03pm | I originally thought a frigate hull but rat t is right a ship big enough to have a substantial boat bay might be called for almost comparable to the Leviathan in the traveller adventure of the same name. IIRC in star fleet battles a federation hvy cruiser had 6 labs which was pretty much a free hit on the damage table. But in this case we'd want an extensive lab section. Perhaps probes that are better than those in the KHs book. For instance i could see customizable satellites being used- set up as a weather sat or for geo scans or as a com sat. So i'm thinking that landers and mother ship all have atomic fuel just because lots of it can be transported for little mass and vollume. On top of that size B or bigger atomic engines are a good deal for the fact that they hold more pellets and go longer between overhauls. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 December 27, 2012 - 5:28pm | However, as a scout ship its a little pitiful as its engines enforce an overhaul every jump so they jump into a system and discover something they should report right away and they cant- because overhaul and astrogation computations just take time- time that such a small ship might not have. In my game the exploration scouts have ion drives and stern mounted chemical thrusters for planetary duty. No overhauls on the ion drives and a much greater range --- 10K units of fuel per engine can take it far at 1 unit/ADF/engine consumption rates (what does it take to reach jump velocity, 200ADF points on each leg?) versus the three pellet capacity of the equivalent sized atomic drives. As for an "exploration cruiser" a.k.a. scientific research starship in KH (HS:3-7), anything HS:5 or above should have no issue with an external docking collar to accomodate a shuttle or scout. When you have 100+ meters worth of unstreamlined hull, you don't have to search far for 30-50 meters of free space for such a set-up. |
December 27, 2012 - 6:35pm | I'm starting to think of something big with room to store stuff for supplies and a docking bay, and labs and what ever we come up with as being good for an explorating ship to have. what about a hydroponics section or perhaps a dome like an age ship so that specimens and habitat might be preserved for return to the Frontier? Despite size it will likely get by with a small crew. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 December 27, 2012 - 6:54pm | This is my approach to exploration ships for SF games. Basically take an old freighter, refit/upgrade it, and use it for long range exploration. ANTIAGO [UPF Explorer #37] The ANTIAGO, similar to other long range exploration ships commissioned by the UPF post 115fy, was converted from a long haul bulk freighter. It is 160m in length and has an operational range of 16 standard months. Typical crew is 20 command/flight/engineering/support and 30 scientists. The foreward section (standard freighter layout) has 7 standard decks, excluding the bridge, for living and recreation. The mid section has 12 decks created within 8 permanently attached 20x10x10 meter shipping containers, primarily utilized for lab space and storage. The aft section contains engineering, isolated science stations, and support for the shuttles. During retrofit in spacedock the engines, navigation, sensors and life support were upgraded to mil-spec. Two sets of 4 standard 20x10x10 meter cargo containers were permanently attached to the central hull. The remaining space, where another set of containers would normally attach, was used for mounting tanks to carry additional reaction mass and life support material. Mounts for 2 atmospheric shuttles are located at the aft of the vessel. The shuttles are capable of land or water landings. While refueling is typically performed at an orbital station, the shuttles are capable of "scooping" reaction mass from gas giant class planets using a tethered balloon. Optional armament for this class of vessel is 2 fixed forward mounted 6" lasers and 4 (2-fore, 2-aft) turret mounted 3" lasers. In addition to light hull armor, for defense this class of vessel can deploy a shroud of ice around critical components to assist in deflecting lasers. This is a quick sketch of the ship that I did. Have not filled in a lot of detail or created a deck plan for it at this time :  |
 December 28, 2012 - 7:16pm | Wow, I like that. I may use a similar concept. These two yazarians and this vrusk walk into a bar... |
December 29, 2012 - 1:35am | What i like about it is it looks like a UPF frigate or light cruiser so its easy to imagine it being built on a decommissioned navy hull I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 January 11, 2013 - 6:59pm | Also, the KH fleet list shows there's still one of those ancient heavy cruisers in service, probably on it's last legs before decomissioning. Depending on it's career, there'd be a lot of public presure not to send it to the scrappers. It might be converted to a living museum, or... converted into science cruiser. If it's the government doing it, they'd save several million credits by refitting an existing ship. If it's a corporate or private firm doing the exploration, I'm sure Spacefleet wouldn't mind picking up some extra cash off a surplus ship sale. Heck, with the way some of the UPF appears to do things, they might even discount the price as a charity contribution. Back that up with a public-driven fund-raiser and you might be able to get the basic ship for free. It'll still put you way out-of-pocket to do the conversion, but the most expensive parts of the ship are the hull, engines and computer systems, and they'd still be intact. Ctrl+Alt+Smite |
