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CRMcNeill Director of Engineering
Joined: 05 Apr 2010 Posts: 16320 Location: Redding System, California Sector, on the I-5 Hyperspace Route.
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Posted: Wed Jun 21, 2017 2:38 pm Post subject: Launch Tubes & Drop Launchers in the SWU |
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There is currently a lot of off-topic obsession in another topic with the concept of launch tubes (ala Battlestar Galactica) and drop launchers (ala Babylon 5). Since the ship in discussion is clearly not equipped with either (nor, in fact, is any other ship in the SWU), yet there is some interest in the concept, it deserves a topic of its own.
Frankly, I don't see a need for them in the mainstream SWU; landing bays aboard ships and space stations are obviously versatile enough to launch and land any craft small enough to fit into them. Something as specialized as a launch tube or a drop launcher would only take up room on a ship where floor space is always at a premium. The only place for such tech would be in cultures whose gravity manipulation tech is primitive compared to the rest of the SWU, or ships whose available volume wouldn't permit the carrying of a craft larger than a starfighter in the first place.
YMMV.
Well, that was easy... _________________ "No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.
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Last edited by CRMcNeill on Wed Jun 21, 2017 4:53 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Sutehp Commodore
Joined: 01 Nov 2016 Posts: 1797 Location: Washington, DC (AKA Inside the Beltway)
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Posted: Wed Jun 21, 2017 2:57 pm Post subject: |
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I agree, we've seen hangars multiple times in the movies and other Star Wars media, but SWU launch tubes I've only ever seen in the TIE Fighter video game, and that only from the short cutscene at the launch of a mission.
And I agree wholeheartedly that the SWU technology has advanced so far that launch tubes and drop launchers are long since obsolete.
Just my 2 cents. _________________ Sutehp's RPG Goodies
Only some of it is for D6 Star Wars.
Just repurchased the X-Wing and Tie Fighter flight sim games. I forgot how much I missed them. |
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ZzaphodD Rear Admiral
Joined: 28 Nov 2009 Posts: 2426
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Posted: Wed Jun 21, 2017 4:36 pm Post subject: |
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Apart from that I assume that the TIE fighter racks have some kind of lauching mechanism to quickly launch many fighters I have never thought about any chutes.. _________________ My Biggest Beard Retard award goes to: The Admiral of course.. |
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CRMcNeill Director of Engineering
Joined: 05 Apr 2010 Posts: 16320 Location: Redding System, California Sector, on the I-5 Hyperspace Route.
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Posted: Wed Jun 21, 2017 11:11 pm Post subject: |
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ZzaphodD wrote: | Apart from that I assume that the TIE fighter racks have some kind of lauching mechanism to quickly launch many fighters I have never thought about any chutes.. |
My theory on the other topic was that landing bays are equipped with a field of artificial gravity just outside the bay door that is oriented perpendicularly to the gravity field in the bay, so that "up" is toward the back wall of the bay and "down" is out into space. The strength of the field can be varied as needed, providing anything from a negligible push to a full power combat launch that can have a starfighter at Full Speed the moment it leaves the bay, and this would also work in reverse, slowing an approaching fighter down just before it enters the bay.
Basically, it's an invisible energy field that occupies no space on the deckplan (apart from the field generators, which can be hand-waved into the bay door mechanism) and performs the launch functions of a launch tube and/or drop launcher, just with greater precision and versatility, and also provides a landing arrestor function as well. _________________ "No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.
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Ray Commodore
Joined: 31 Oct 2003 Posts: 1743 Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, North America, Western Hemisphere, Earth, Sol, Western Arm, Milky Way
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Posted: Thu Jun 22, 2017 1:58 am Post subject: |
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CRMcNeill wrote: | ZzaphodD wrote: | Apart from that I assume that the TIE fighter racks have some kind of lauching mechanism to quickly launch many fighters I have never thought about any chutes.. |
My theory on the other topic was that landing bays are equipped with a field of artificial gravity just outside the bay door that is oriented perpendicularly to the gravity field in the bay, so that "up" is toward the back wall of the bay and "down" is out into space. The strength of the field can be varied as needed, providing anything from a negligible push to a full power combat launch that can have a starfighter at Full Speed the moment it leaves the bay, and this would also work in reverse, slowing an approaching fighter down just before it enters the bay.
Basically, it's an invisible energy field that occupies no space on the deckplan (apart from the field generators, which can be hand-waved into the bay door mechanism) and performs the launch functions of a launch tube and/or drop launcher, just with greater precision and versatility, and also provides a landing arrestor function as well. | Kind of like the way that some of the earlier books described how the gravity in turrets work... |
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