Brian B said: The reason this doesn't necessarily transfer well to FT is
simple: Space isn't full of water. From what I remember, the ability of larger
ships to fo faster than smaller ships, at least in the Age of Sail, had to do
with drag and the dynamics of the hull interacting with the water.
Tomb: Well, it might. Yes, you are right that it has to do with inertia, hull
shape, etc. But in the FT world, maybe larger mass FTL drives are inherently
more efficient. Hence your SDN, even paying the same 10% mass for FTL, still
has a more efficient (from a campaign standpoint) drive. This is one of those
economy of scale factors. Smaller ships can do FTL too, but perhaps they are
either slower (smaller mass of drive) or else capable of less endurance
(lighter mass drive can't hold the field up as long... insert other
goobledigook PSB wherever you feel necessary). So this effect could be
obtained in a campaign, if it was desirable. Or perhaps, if you wanted to, you
split those theories in two: Smaller ships (lighter fields) can go further in
hyper, but larger ships can go faster. Or vice versa. So thus you'd create a
class of ships that can move quickly in FTL and another that can execute
longer ranged manouvers in FTL.
> On 1/17/06, Thomas Barclay <kaladorn@magma.ca> wrote:
From: "Thomas Barclay"
> Well, it might. Yes, you are right that it has to do with inertia,
I'd much prefer it the other way round -- smaller ships are faster, or
can get to places that large ships can't.
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Message Received: Jan 17 2006, 10:06 PM
From: "Thomas Barclay"
To: gzg-l@lists.csua.berkeley.edu
Cc:
Subject: [GZG] Cruisers and Destroyers in the FT World
Brian B said: The reason this doesn't necessarily transfer well to FT is
simple: Space isn't full of water. From what I remember, the ability of larger
ships to fo faster than smaller ships, at least in the Age of Sail, had to do
with drag and the dynamics of the hull interacting with the water.
Agreed, with feeling:)
Tomb: Well, it might. Yes, you are right that it has to do with inertia, hull
shape, etc. But in the FT world, maybe larger mass FTL drives are inherently
more efficient. Hence your SDN, even paying the same 10% mass for FTL, still
has a more efficient (from a campaign standpoint) drive. This is one of those
economy of scale factors. Smaller ships can do FTL too, but perhaps they are
either slower (smaller mass of drive) or else capable of less endurance
(lighter mass drive can't hold the field up as long... insert other
goobledigook PSB wherever you feel necessary). So this effect could be
obtained in a campaign, if it was desirable. Or perhaps, if you wanted to, you
split those theories in two: Smaller ships (lighter fields) can go further in
hyper, but larger ships can go faster. Or vice versa. So thus you'd create a
class of ships that can move quickly in FTL and another that can execute
longer ranged manouvers in FTL.
I see endurance as being more important than speed in the larger ships
Just thinking over various product lines or bumpf, there've been settings
where ships have to pay a heavy premium to go off the beaten track (typically
a 'jump lanes' style of system). The cost in extra sensors and superior FTL
capability mean only dedicated exploration
craft and rare/elite combat ships can go exploring or get to those hard
to reach places.