Trade off of Older Ships: usable in GURPS, MgT2 and CE.

This Exercises the Sense of Technical DEBT of the GM and the Players. If you want to exercise your Total Cost of Ownership Calculations which includes Factoring Technical Debt ( as well as various BATNA and opportunity cost Calculations Intuitively; to create a Conditioned Response where the Player or GM reflexively looks at the Total Cost of Ownership, Technical Debt Trade-off, and Opportunity Costs). Sheet is here

I'm biased to Due Diligence, this is a Gaming Preference. This does not fit a lot of campaigns.  

The trade-offs of older ships are the following:

1. 2-2.9% Deflation and Inflation Value of the ship Based on its Age. GM can Roll 2d6-2 the Lower the Better. The value of the ship DEFLATES as the work to keep the ship running smooth INFLATES. 
1. This value is Unknown to Players, but it's not hard to figure it out, its just more complicated by their Negotiation and Sticker Price the GM puts out to make this challenging. 
2. on writing this I realize I really should use 4 significant values, not 2. If I can manage 6. 
3. The Technical Debt Inflates (In the form of Maintenance) as the Value Deflates. 
2. Increased Maintenance Costs and Manhours. Take the Maintenance cost and Manhours (of the lowest rank engineering crew) and multiply by 1.02^(Age of the Ship). You can move the value up by 1.020 to 1.029 and the additional manpower and cost can reflect Lemons and Values of old Models. (My brother and I use Honda and Toyota Cars at around 10 years old). You can measure this in percent "inflation" of WORK or deflation of value: 2% or 2.9% 
1. Assumptions are:
1. There are an Engineering Crew calculations
1. CE is p. 127. 
2. MgT2 on the Ships stats and on pg. 145. 
2. That this Maintenance Crew has duties that amount to 8 hours x 5 days preventive maintenance or more. 
3. This also increases the Coordinated Work needed to Jury Rig the ship during Combat. Use the Increase in Manhours as the Time Scale. 
4. This increases also the Consumption of Spare Parts. Multiply this to the Spare Parts for engineering consumption. 
2. a 60-year-old Free Trader has 3.2x more Engineering Crew. at the 0.2 extra this means their shifts may not just be 40 hours. Three (3) 43 hour shifts*. 
1. in MgT that's 3 Engineers instead of 1.  
2. CE's TL9 Merchant freighter now has 3 Engineers.
3. GURPS ISW  Hero-Class 200dton thats 1  Engineering (Maintenance with Mechanic or Repair Skills) that becomes 3, maybe 2 Maintenance Crew and 1 Engineer. 
4. GURPS spaceships Outlander Class TL10 (Traders and Liners) one Eng and 2 technical is now. 6-7 Technical. 
3. Lower Cost of the Ship. Always note the ship's Original Value (and Date of that Value; like 60 years ago).  You can measure this as % deflation of Value. x0.3 to the Cost.
1. MgT2 Free Trader at 13.5M.
2. CE TL9 Merchant 10M
3. GURPS ISW 3 Hero-Class 200dton 20.4M
4. GURPS spaceships Outlander Class TL10 (Traders and Liners) 14M

*This is interesting Role-playing and problem solving if the crew will ask for OT and if the ship can afford it. 

Benchmarks. 

My Honda Civic of 2007 which runs pretty well and fairly easy to maintain despite its quirks was when we originally bought it 16,000usd. Now 2020 its 4,000usd. 

How this Works: 

This is an ISSUE Track. You get 1d6 roll for an Issue Track when you get a ship. There are odds you get multiple Tracks. Use this for both COSTS and Hours

1. before the ship comes into use or in any time prior the GM can roll here. 1d6. 
2. if he rolls a 6 he rolls again + 1 additional time. Every time he rolls a 6 add 1 additional 1d6 roll. GM just notes that when he rolls a 6 roll an additional time. 
3. Roll until all the Rolls are used up. 
4. so if he manages to keep rolling 6s he can have 3 or all 5!  
5. NOW. the GM determines the Tech Debt Level of the Ship has. 

1. Take the Ships Maintenance Hours (and Cost) with 1.02 to 1.029 (GM can roll 2d6-2) Work Inflation Modifier. 
2. Take the Cost and Hours Maintenance Required per week and multiply to the Ship's 
3. Compare to the TABLE. to get the Effect on the Ships's Performance and Requirements.
4. GM can roll a 1d6 (can be modified by +1 or -1, or Boon or Bane) to get WHERE the ship is in its tech debt level of the ship.  

Examples Maintenance Hours.

• Example 4.3x 40 hours = 172 hours per week. 
• Determine how many Manhours of Maintenance Hours Work Debt the ship has. 
• GM can just assign 2d6-2 Years x 52 (weeks in a year) x 172.
• GM rolls a 5 

Example Maintenance Cost

• Maintenance Cost = 45M x 0.001 /52 weeks = 870Cr;
• 870Cr weekly maintenance for BRAND NEW x 4.3 Work Inflation Modifier  = 3,741Cr per week 

Due Dilligence

A major Overhaul reveals this Problem. This is a 1D Man Week Timeframe/Time Scale activity. Use this to determine the Difficulty of the Engineer spotting the problems. 

In MgT2 and CE this is 1d6 Man-day makes this Formidable Difficulty. in GURPS that would be -10 if they have 1d6 days to inspect. The Broker and Talker is the one who can help the Engineer get the Time to do Due Diligence. 

 Technical Debt Table

		age of ship here			52 weeks * age of ship
		Weekly Hours of Work (1 + Inflation% ^ Age) * Engineering (typically 40 hours per week)			Weekly Cost (Brand New Cost of the ship/1000/12)
		Week Hours * Age of Ship in Weeks			Week Cost * Age of the Ship in Weeks
Tech debt level		Performance and Requirements Penalty (measure in Manhours per Month
d6		d6	1	2	3	4	5	6
1	100	Maintenance	Thrust	Jump Fuel@	Piloting Penalty	Power **	Power@@
2		< 100% required	-5%	5%	0	-5%	5%
3	0.8	up to 80%	-10%	10%	-1	-10%	10%
4	0.6	up to 60%	-20%	20%	-2	-20%	20%
5	0.4	up to 40%	-40%	40%	-3	-40%	40%
6	0.2	up to 20%	-80%	80%	-4	-80%	80%
		None	Malfunction	Malfunction	Malfunction	Malfunction	Malfunction
		*(thus reducing the Jump Range of ships with jump >1. so a ship with Jump 2 can only jump 1 if they cannot make the Jump Fuel Requirement)
		**(% Sections of the Ship Have no Power).
		***If Rolled Roll again and select an additional one. Every time a 6 is rolled select one more.
		@ Additional Jump Fuel required
		@@ Additional Fuel for Power

EXAMPLE

the GM determines, rolling a d6, to get a 2

the GM rolls how much technical debt the ship has with a d6 and rolls a 4 the ship. The ship needs 40% more fuel to Jump. The ship's cargo has additional Fuel Tanks installed to compensate as a Workaround.  

		60 yrs	3,120 wks
		172 hrs	$870
d6		Work hours	Cost	d6	1	2
1		536,640 hrs	$2,714,400	Maintenance	Thrust	Jump Fuel
2				< 100% required	-5%	5%
3	0.8	429,312 hrs	$2,171,520	up to 80%	-10%	10%
4	0.6	321,984 hrs	$1,628,640	up to 60%	-20%	20%
5	0.4	214,656 hrs	$1,085,760	up to 40%	-40%	40%
6	0.2	107,328 hrs	$542,880	up to 20%	-80%	80%
				None	Malfunction	Malfunction

Key Takeaways

Making this made me realize Taking on More OVERHEAD of an older ship is a young man's game. a Young crew "HUNGRY" are better off taking on an older ship. As we mature and move to higher-value work we delegate and give these jobs to the younger crew who need the experience and get Brand Newer ships having appreciated the Opportunity Cost of a Brand new ship. 

That handling NPCs or Real People - when modeled properly competes with the other Duties - Opportunities and special Operations. 

That Older ships - like my brothers OLD 2009 IdeaCentre Lenovo can be Upgraded - motherboard, processor, RAM, and drives - but will inherit problems like the old USBs and other such restraints. in the end, the Chasis is all that can be kept and the WORK finding something that FIT the Chasis is work that can be done to find new deals - its an opportunity cost. 

2020 May 13 Review of Old Traveller Notes

Digging up my old Traveller notes is a pain. Classic Traveller ship spreadsheets, Mongoose Traveller, Interestellar Wars, and now MgT2. 

The more detailed I go the more assumptions I find. These assumptions are a rule of thumb how things really work - Assumption log is an output in a Charter - and a Charter is part of a Biz Plan. 

There are ways to make the Assumptions easier for the GM - like building Taxes into Everything, no cost change, assume the modifiers to cost includes the Taxes and Regulations. 

PMP specialized in Charters would have a lot of useful notes on this.

 

Like that Self Sufficiency Video - its really the list of Trade-offs - part of the Assumptions Log the Decision Makers are going to accept. 

Already the Ships Morgage vs Maintenance vs Operations Cost ratios is changing. Mortgage is the largest, next is maintenance, and last is Ops. Now given more detail - it depends what is part of the mortgage  - is it like construction? Is it like Bare shell - Warm Shell - Fully Furnished/Fitout - Plug and Play. 

As I check the ships costs I'm tempted to look at the US budget on military presence for "regional Stability" which is pretty much getting the Trade Value the US has to the regions it is present vs the Military Budget. I know I can pull values out of thin air, but I'd like to have an informed opinion. 

There are Cost Ratios in Manufacturing and Construction, which hopefully gets better as we have more Predictive and high-agency AI. Its simple to apply it to the game, and then create a system that Violates these Assumptions per area. Capitalist-Feudalistic States vs AI-Driven Socialist Systems*


*The Answer to the Problem - What if the Pursuit of Power dehumanizes and normalize the harm we inflict on a larger and larger group of people?  That the Risk Aversion we gain as we age - creates apathy and the Risk Aversion Fuels Uncertainty which Fuels the desire for Power to deal with uncertainty. 

What if Idea of Sociopathy becomes a cultural Fear - the Fear of a person who will not FEEL in harming others - the fear of a non-conscientious person is a danger to Society and the human way to deal with them is to - give them generous reserves to pursue their sociopathic accumulation of power somewhere else or in a Walled Garden. 

How many TRPGers dabble with Game Theory and try to apply it. That Power is Zero-Sum and Welfare is Win-Win (Coordination Game). That monsters are normalized harm - the fear of a being that looks at other humans as prey or an asset to exploit. 

What if Cows and Pigs become sentient and wall off Humans from harming them. I should make an Alien Race of herbivores like the K'kree with the Biological Trade-offs of being a low energy herbivore. 

Survivorship Bias: you never hear about the losers; Traveller's Losers

Growing up wanting to be an Artist - I never heard about the losers - the people who failed to be artists. That's why I kinda like telling people I'm one of many who didn't make it, no one ever hears about or considers those who didn't make it. It seems society tends to turn a blind eye to it. 

Update. 

This basically means I should make all the Sample Spreadsheet of Ship Operations with Critical Flaws. I need to look at some old Accounting text books to look for some typical business problem while I do have a lot of real life problems to draw from. The challenge is that in Scifi TRPG the problems have data already - its symptoms are in the books, but not the cause. 

• Work in Progress Built-up, speculative cargo with no payoff or strategy. The Speculative cargo are all "great deals" relative to their prices have accumulated - reducing remaining cargo hold and occupying 
• Growing Overhead with no end in sight. The Maintenance Overhead of the ship keeps growing and the engineering crew is insufficient to manage the technical debt. 
• A crew working with smaller margins in competitive but safe areas, loaded out for frontier safety but operating near hubs.  

Cepheus Engine Tinkering - Scale, Size, Range, and Velocity.

So there are some Tailoring (PMBOK term) I want to do with CE to make it easier for me to run. Every GM is different as they all have their own baggage and what shunts them out of their immersion.
One of my main recurring problems in studying CE is referencing the Distance Scale. I want to draw from the GURPS lesson as Unifying all these into one system. Its this problem -thus- use this solution.

Scaling. 

Sensors and Ranges Bands can be better simplified with a single system.
I don't want to use a different range band for Personal Ranged Combat and Space Combat.
I don't want to reference at the table all the time or memorize a table.

• a factor of 2 difficulties is 3x (3.334x) the previous difficulty. If I know 30m is difficulty 8 I just x3 or /3 every 2 difficulties. Also since the level is 2x the difficulty 
• Every Scale of 1000 is made up of 6 levels. from ones to the last hundreds before the next 1000. If I know if scale (three zeros) I can pretty much figure out the difficulty and level. 
• I can use this for Speed and Size and Distance. 
• So A Planet Travelling (Jupiter 70k km, level 10; travelling 13km/s = 9 Lvl), and I'm detecting it as far as (5.2 AU, level 25). 10+9 -25 = -6 
• Now I want it that any Civilian Ship entering a system like earth can immediately spot Jupiter when it arrives in a system its never been in. So I can say it offsets 12 difficulties (or 6 levels).
• Detecting a Car level 1, traveling or 2.6km per second level 7. from Pluto -25 = -17. Since the sensors can negate -6 the difficulty is -10 or 20 difficulty. (or -20 DM). 
• Everything in a Light Minute of the Ship (level 21), with civilian sensors (-6). at 19 difficulties. Any ship with 1G thrust accelerating at 10 hours is a velocity of 360km/s for a total of level 10. The smallest dimension of the ship is level 3. 13-19 = 6 = 12 difficulty to detect.
• Everything a light Second 18 (from 21). makes everything average to easier than a Light Minute. 
• Maybe I should make it higher than +6lvl bonus or +12 level bonus. Maybe 10 because its a computer its trying again and again per second (Hz). So like maybe the computer on the ship modifiers the Sensors. 
• Jump Points pre Calculates this. that the Jump point is the point in the System where the Factors are well understood. Anything beyond the Jump has a gradation of difficulty in making Jump calculations. It simplifies the GM's job of saying what Sensors can pick up when they enter a System. 
• As something Accelerates it becomes easier to detect. So I think I have to predefine the Accel. https://www.calculatorsoup.com/calculators/physics/velocity_a_t.php so 90km/s produced with 6 minutes of 30G (300m/s^2) = 10 or 11 level. I'll simplify it as a +6 to the level.   I'll figure it out and simplify it. 
• Active Sensors - how they work 
• in simplification
• Get Distance, Size, and Spd (m/s). Get the Level.
• in levels: ( Distance minus Sensor minus Size minus Speed )x2 = Difficulty. < 4 automatic. > 12 but its possible for the crew with sensor skills allow them to roll depending on the Time Scale.*
• Distance (light second) 18lvl minus Sensor 10lvl, Size 3lvl (200T ship), moving 10 (Accel 10ms^2 for 1 hour). Automatic detection. Rolling probably during Light Minute Distant.  

I also want to Combine Size (the smallest dimension) and Speed.
Basically using a uniform Scale,

	0	<	1
Diff	1	>	1		m
4	2	>	3		m
6	3	>	10		m
8	4	>	30		m
10	5	>	100		m
12	6	>	300		m
14	7	>	1		km
	8	>	3		km
	9	>	10		km
	10	>	30		km
	11	>	100		km
	12	>	300		km	Mili Light Second
	13	>	1	K	km
	14	>	3	K	km
	15	>	10	K	km
	16	>	30	K	km
	17	>	100	K	km
	18	>	300	K	km	Light Second
	19	>	1	M	km
	20	>	3	M	km
	21	>	10	M	km	Light Minute
	22	>	30	M	km
	23	>	100	M	km	Astronomical Unit	Earth to Mars
	24	>	300	M	km		Mars to Jupiter
	25	>	1	B	km
	26	>	3	B	km
	27	>	10	B	km
	28	>	30	B	km
	29	>	100	B	km
	30	>	300	B	km

*Time Scale

The GM determines what the Time Scale is before Players Act. 

So Scales are the following: 

Seconds, Rounds, Minutes, 10mins, hours, hoursx4, days, weeks etc...

So if automatic success happens in 1 minute then the time scale is rounds. 

I'll point out that Distractions Increase as Time-Scale increases. Which is my problem in REAL life lolz. So some tasks have diminishing returns after greater and greater time scale. 

I will definitely Break up sessions into Time Scales. So players get their Spotlight, Priorities are Priorities, I can add risks to multitasking (as time scale increases distractions increase and multi-tasking is harder). 

Computing 

I want the same Scale but in Hz. Program and Tasks are simple upfront calculations. Processing power from Personal Devices and Ships and Capital Ships are going to be around this Scale. The Computing Power of an Imperial Cruiser when entering a Jump Point of a System should be that actively hiding from the Jump Point (factoring Light Delay; you hid 10 minutes ago when Light takes 20 minutes to  get to the New Arrival lolz).

200504 GITB Blender Ship Design 2.8

So like the Earth Sea Drawing, I'm going to give modeling a go (I've done this before a long time ago). So I set up blender and build a low Poly ship based on Imphenzia's really helpful tutorials. I already did the screenshots of the tutorials and will probably upload it here when done setting mine up. 

My goal is to

1. Make a Low Poly Ships with a Vertical Axis or Thrust Axis Orientation. - if I can make this depending on how burned out I am I'll see if I will continue. Very simple design of a Hex Tube. 
2. Build the Templates and Settings that allow me to retry and Try. So failure and screwing up has low technical debt. 
3. Use the same UV-mapping to make 1.5m hex or square Cut aways of the ship. 
4. Open Source these Ships designs and Files. 
5. Time and Motion the Learning of this. How much time realistically and with what kind of low powered computer I'm using (Asus X555Q 2018 with AMD A12 or my 2009 Lenovo desktop lolz). 

Things I want to see (all low Poly). 

1. With the Volume Plug in I want to know how much Reaction mass and how it would look like.
1. how much and how cheap do drop tanks have to be for it to be standard?  
2. What if it had Modular Components. See Video showing that its Easier to Extend a cruise ship than building a bigger one.  (assuming the Spine is reinforced). 
3. Model Maintenance Drones with 360" orientation. 
4. Model Vacc Suits. (I share MrEverything's gripe lolz; but I am aware there is a Type of GM who runs traveller - the world builder can have very particular tastes. )
5. Peripheral Equipment in 5-10 minutes and upload it in my public drive. 
6. What if just a Live (google meet recorded session) Modeling Session with another Tinkerer-World Bulder who will use Imphenzia's techniques to do a quick 5-10 minute model. A fellow noob who will try to build simple things. 20 mins max, compare notes, and make more stuff. If this works I'll probably do requests (within reason and the low Poly anyway there is a Ghibli 3d Inspired model aesthetic Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch). Imagining traveller in Cartoony 3d of Ghibli (Nausica) aesthetic would be pretty awesome and will sustain me for a bit. 

Spreadsheets and Gaming. Cepheus Engine and MgT2.

Lessons Learned after reviewing Traveller and Cepheus Engine after my long hiatus.

1. Traveller is a game where you make a Biz Plan as part of due diligence. Unfortunately, when you make a biz plan you realize the "Standard" Passage and Freight Rates is ruinous for an Independent Biz Owner with a Mortgage (Ship /240). That's when you realize... #2
2. The prices on the book for Passage and Freight should be only applied for Commercial Liners and Gov't Monopolies. 2,000T to 1000T Liners who move goods and people normally in major trade routes. When to apply standard costs is very nuanced and has to be the GMs fiat/setting assumptions
1. 2.1 that Players and Gms really should just use Cost+Margin (Margin being Contribution Margin and Breakeven Analysis). this is Financial Literacy expected for people in r/Frugal r/Povertyfinance; this is very Working Class or getting out of Poverty basic knowledge which I hope doesn't give people stress)
1. Due Diligence (basic Research and Asking all the questions - "How would a Reasonable Person go about this). 
2. Cost-Benefit Analysis 
3. Contribution Margin
4. Breakeven Analysis
5. BATNA and  Opportunity Cost
2. 2.2. If the GM makes it Cost+Margin then Taxation becomes the next question. This is where Greek City-States Politics arise (Currently Listening to "The Last Greek" of Christian Cameron) - those capable of arming their Vessels have a tax and a duty to Serve the States. 
3. That the GM and Ref should have a sample set of Expenses as part of learning to run the Trade part. As well as assumptions other GMs have built-in and why. 
4. That shareable spreadsheets make the Job of Players and GMs easier and the that the easier to share system can ultimately have workarounds faster. 
1. 4.1 We quickly get to the part where Players and Gm both use their own business Literacy to build the WORLD. How the economics work and how some people are NOT THE SAME (corporations and their privileges and the margins they command). 
5. That Speculation is a Different Biz than Owning a Ship. Having realized #2 and subpoints and EXPLOITING that broken system speculation becomes the better option. Don't own a ship, owning a ship is for Suckers (if the GM doesn't use Cost+Margin

Fun things to do - Quick Model of Ships.

1. Making them vertical orientation like in the Expanse and Children of the Dead Earth. A lot of semi-streamlined Cylinders, Square/Hex-Tube ships. being a 3d Modeler was a farther lifetime ago.  
2. and Having a Gdrive folder sharing these models and Tutorials 
3. The 10 min one will take probably 1-2 hours in a week. the 90 min one will take a few of weeks of 1-2 hours which is beyond my attention span. The goal is to have a number of ships with sufficient lighting and Scale. 200T to 1,000T to 30,000T. There is a plugin that calculates Volume. about 15cubic meters for 1dton.

A lifetime ago i could draw

What did I learn?

1. Using an Ipad6 with 2GB ram of about 500usd would take twice to thrice as long as an Ipad 12.9” with 2000usd (philippines). But these are not as good as having a Cintique worth 3,000-4,000usd plus the tools. I cannot stand the hard tip of the Apple pen clicking against the surface of the tablet and the lack of friction. RAM, feedback and the creation and management of Layers is a skill in itself. 
2. Doing this only about 4 hours is nothing compared to someone who does this for 50-80 hours a week. As well as having had the 10k hours of experience since their 30s. 
3. It is possible to do art in the Ghibli style inspired but there are a lot of Detail Compromises. Looking at Miyazaki’s comics vs his Anime - armor is will have to be caped or cloaked over.The real masterpieces are the setting Paintings which can be rendered from 3d and applied filters.  
4. I really cant do 3-5 more pictures without really investing more in equipment. The speed and feedback matters, too difficult and its frustrating and draining. Put in perspective this is just me trying to have fun. This was fun-ish till it wasn't.