hanospalk
02/02/23 08:02 AM
161.156.113.38
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We all love mech combat. I know that.
But I came to the idea that being in command of a ship could also be interesting. Battletech has no rulebook on how to manage a spaceship. Crew must go to sleep, must eat, must go to the bathroom, they get tired. And when things get rough you need to reassign people do do things. So I came to think that a game to micro manage let's say 50 crewmen would be interesting.
I see RPG rules about operations in zero G but I see no rules that actually refer to space ship management.
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Requiem
02/02/23 10:50 AM
1.158.193.188
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Have you considered https://www.sarna.net/wiki/BattleTech:_The_Animated_Series may contain snippets of information as to life on a Jump-ship / Drop-ship ?
Get thee to Coventry … Now is the winter of our discontent, made glorious by this daughter of Tharkad … Our army shall march through. Well to New Avalon tonight.
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ghostrider
02/02/23 12:59 PM
45.51.181.83
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The game lacks a lot of things outside of combat, and the combat is focused on ground combat.
Dropship management was kept as simple as they could, as each dropship has so many variables to deal with. The size of the crew has a lot to do with how they run. Then add in what each does, changes a lot as well.
A cargo ship will not have as many gunners, and probably less marines to protect it over a similarly sized military carrier, which will still not have as many marines as an assault dropship. We will stay away from warships in this one, as they are even more of an issue.
Food, water, fuel are big things to have to stock in the ships. Fuel isn't consistent either. Each ship uses different amounts of fuel in flight, as shown in their burn/day stat.
The crew has to have at least one pilot. Someone needs to be able to fire the weapons, even if they don't have to use them often. A couple of engineers/techs to keep it flying and perform upkeep it. An no. These people do not have to be different people. One person can perform multiple tasks when needed.
The more people you have, the more variations in work shifts can happen. Someone needs to be awake at all times when in space, so that becomes an issue on small vessels. If you only have 6 people, you can see the problem.
So you keep something in mind, depending on the dropships duties, Zero-g may not the normal situation. Basically sitting away from a gravity well, such as attached to a jumpship or not using any thrust is about the only time you will be in low/zero gravity situations. And yes. Some jumpships do perform gravity burns to keep the crew healthier, though it is not the norm.
Ground side, is something that can be a bag of worms.
Security is required, even in the best space port, as someone will more then likely try to board and steal things. Keeping 'buttoned up' can help alot, but not remove all potential. And this isn't going into someone trying to seize the ship.
People to move any cargo, even just loading food and water are needed, though it is likely some of the crew will be doing all or most of the work.
So making up some routines will take a little thought, as things you don't realize are done, need to be covered. And in space, you can't just decide to 'call in' food or water deliveries often. It gets expensive quickly, if even available. In enemy territory, it is likely not going to happen.
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Cray
02/02/23 01:18 PM
136.226.19.185
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The mercenary/force rules in Campaign Operations would cover ship management. You could build the force (government, merc, or pirate) just around the spacecraft rather than 'Mechs. These rules cover:
1. Force construction process - getting the ships you want
2. Costs (fuel, parts, maintenance, ammo, wages)
3. Getting and running contracts/missions
A couple of the example force builds in Campaign Operations include large spacecraft, itemizing the big vessels' various costs and showing how they impact contract budgeting.
Strategic Operations, the older Explorer Corps, and the yet-older DropShips & JumpShips includes fluff details of daily life and operations of large spacecraft.
Mike Miller, Materials Engineer
Disclaimer: Anything stated in this post is unofficial and non-canon unless directly quoted from a published book. Random internet musings of a BattleTech writer are not canon.
Edited by Cray (02/02/23 01:26 PM)
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