Nigel replied to me:
> > Increasing the number of drives would probably require structural
> > changes as well.
>
> [McE] Possibly. This is a colour item though - it depends on the way the
> hull grows - which is a designed function anyway.
Hello Nigel,
as David points out, multiple engines are a safety feature. The
3E rules don't penalize too many separate reactionless thrusters,
even if realism should give maintenance problems if you have,
say, a hundred 100-lb. thrusters.
I tend to give smaller shuttlecraft two to four thrusters, with
enough reserve power to fly on half the drives, while very large
ships might have a dozen thrusters, e.g. a 4-megaton ship with
ten 10-megaton thrusters.
The largest bioships would have fewer (but individually larger)
engines than a similar-sized metal ship, while the smaller
bioships get more (but individually smaller) engines than a
similar-sized metal ship.
> [McE] depends on where you draw the line between Hull and Superstructure.
> Are you building and Oenone{Peter Hamilton}, or a Moya?
>
> Moya appears to have a mechanical structure to her framing. Not so for
> Oenone.
> [Udat however...]
Visuals and/or game mechanics. If the superstructure has a
different material or strength, it must be a different
subassembly, and even the same material would get a
different subassembly if it is set visibly apart.
> > Also, leaving out most of the "small fry" would allow a small but
> > noticeable performance increase in the "main" systems -- a higher
> > scan rating, perhaps, or bigger force fields.
>
> [McE] ...does grow time get covered as a cost or is it a freebie? I mean,
> referring back to Oenone, she grew attached to an asteroid for 20 years
> before having superstructure bonded on and that cost enough that it takes
> years of naval service to pay for it. [for her and Syrinx.]
I'll list the calculated game mechanics cost, TANSTAAFL.
Growth time means you have to nurture your growing ship,
and the interest has to be paid on the initial investment
while the ship sits idle.
Regards,
Onno
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