Re: The New Version of the Ship Construction Systemis Now Up

S. Wilson meandered fecklessly...

> Leroy, I'm so happy! :) :) :) Thanks a bundle.

    No problem.  (Well, okay, some problems  : )
 
> I haven't had the chance to go through the whole document yet, but there
> are a couple things I'd like to comment on. I like the new tonnages for
> internal weapons (makes sense that internal takes up extra space; and the
> shutters are something I hadn't thought of). I'm not completely sure
about
> the internal space thing; I'm interested in cargo ship, and as far as I
> can see the maximum capacity you can get is 65% of the ship (light frame,
> cramped compartments).  

    The internal space area is one a designer has a lot of leeway in, 
and that section is more guidelines than hard and fast rules.  I may
have to update it a bit to reflect this. 
    For example, while the default is listed as 2.5 times the minimum
number of riggers, there is no reason you couldn't remove some
of these, at .5 or .25 tons per man-capacity removed.  After all, some
of those spaces are jobs that may get spread out amongst the
men, like cooks.
    And on some ships, you can get away with very little space 
assigned to anything.  For example, IMC there are Cargo Barges,
which are little more than flying decks.  They are thicker, and 
reinforced, but are big and flat and have no lower decks.  It has 
one small building on one corner for the helm and the charts and 
such, but the rest is for piling on cargo.  Men sleep on the deck,
between cargo on strung hammocks.
    So it is possible to thin things out a bit more.  Even remove 
stuff completely.  It says only so much space can be saved, 
but for some ships this can be ignored.
    So 65% percent is the best you are going to do withough
deviating form the norm, but there is nothing wrong with doing
so.  There is only so much you can do and keep to a certain
common standard, but the system doesn't require you to stick
to that standard.

> The 30% internal crew space seems to be to
> accomodate the crew--2.5 times the normal riggers. Shouldn't the space
> then be tied to the rigging type?

    Your right, it does assume standard rigging.  I will have to add 
something in that points this out.  The default isn't based on 
the actual rigging since this clutters things, and the reference
is more a reference to the size of the ship than the actual
rigging itself.  Perhaps saying a ship has space for 2.5 men 
per 10 tons of the ship.  Or, just say 25% of the ship's tonnage.
    So, if the ship's default doesn't quite cover the required men,
more crew quarters will have to be added.  It all works out to the
same thing, really.  And if the ship has minimal or no rigging, space 
can be removed.

> For instance, an 80-ton Whaleboat might
> be a cargo ship designed with absolutely minimal rigging and crew, in an
> effort to get a full 60 tons of cargo space. 

    With minimal rigging Whaleship would have a minimum crew of
5 men.  If you add around 5 more for an additional helmsman, a
captain and a few extra riggers, you would need space for 10 men.
The Whale comes with space for 20, and so dropping it down to
10 would save 5 tons.  Making the remainder cramped, saves
you 5 more.  With a light frame you have 44 tons of cargo space.
Add in the 10 and you have 54... pretty close.  I think you will
reach a maximum cargo space if you want to retain some of the
basics on the ship.
    IMC I have Cargo Frigates that range in size, but are typically 
90 to 100 tons, to get the most out of a ship that already has to
have a major helm.

> Also, what rooms are included
> in the default 40%?

    Your right, it doesn't say.  Basically, it includes rooms for
the men, a helm room, a basic storage room and basic cooking
and eating facilities.  At least, usually.  This is the kind of thing
that will vary a bit, and will require a bit of eyeballing (which it
does mention).  A fighter, afterall, isn't going to have a kitchen.

    That said, the internal space section was the hardest to do.
It wasn't even in the first version (this is the third), since it took
me quite a while to do.
    The best way to do it, I think, would to be to eliminate the 
default configuration and make the designer buy all space used.
There are two reasons I didn't.  One, it would make ship design
a bigger pain.  As the system is now, ship design is actually
quite easy, depsite everything I have added.  But requiring every
room to be figured out adds quite a bit of work.  So I came up with
something designed to be a good middle ground.
    Second, it makes it harder to retcon other ships into the system,
since it would take way to much work to try and figure out 
the space usage for them. 
    Perhaps I need to come up with the more complicated
system, and make it an option.

> Bulkheads sound interesting, and I'm sure there's more stuff that I
> haven't found yet. I also look forward to the text on practical aspects
of
> ship construction. I got distracted for a bit by the new spells and race
> as well...

    Glad someone likes them... : )
    Thanks for the feedback.  Very good ideas that got me thinking.
And just when I though I was almost finished...

Leroy Van Camp III	
malacoda@???????.com 
ICQ #20039817

  "Well, it seems the people see you as something of an ogre, sir."
  "What?  Why, I ought to crush them and eat their bones!"
                        The Simpsons