RE: Space Stations, Structural Shells, and Jump Drives

[xenoscepter (OP)]

In C# Aurora, can a Space Station (i.e. a Ship with a Structural Shell) use a Jump Drive? The C# Changes say "No engines", but don't specify whether or not a Jump Drive counts. Jump Drives don't confer thrust after all, and a Space Station w/ a Jump Drive still needs a tow PLUS it needs enough mass to serve it's intended role, so it (probably) wouldn't be too broken. After all, a 1,000,000 ton rated Commercial Drive strapped onto a metric F Ton of crew quarters would still need a tug for it's massive 1,000,000 Ton self.

EDIT: Jump Drive Tonnage is no longer dependent on Ship Tonnage, so the 1,000,000 Ton Jump Station in question would not need to be 1,000,000 Tons itself. I still think Jump Drives on Space Stations would be cool, since a CIWS is currently the only weapon that counts as a Commercial System, making them vulnerable if unsupported.

[Father Tim]

Interesting. . .  I mean, we've certainly built bare-bones giant civilian ships in the past, with the intention of parking them full-time at jump points to ferry other ships back-and-forth.

I can see arguments for both allowing or dis-allowing jump drives on structural shells.

[Steve Walmsley]

Yes, you can add jump drives to space stations.

[Garfunkel]

Steve created Jump Stations in one of his C# test campaigns. They were space stations with just a Jump Engine on them and were towed to Jump Points, where they then acted as stationary Jump Tenders.

[Tikigod]

Steve created Jump Stations in one of his C# test campaigns. They were space stations with just a Jump Engine on them and were towed to Jump Points, where they then acted as stationary Jump Tenders.

One of the ideas I have had for a while is to do one campaign with a empire that forgoes all jump gates (and most Jump drive usage) in favour of policed stations that handle all ship tenders and have a on-board fighter crew, even potentially have each one handle minor refuel duties depending how much the more recent changes covered would inflate their build costs.

Essentially there would likely need to be a continuous work flow that keeps all these stations operational and able to support the rest of the empire, and resource disruptions could bring chunks of the empire to a halt as entire node branches become isolated (if they continue to be isolated after a period, then probably make any colonies in the isolated area independent and hand off as a NPR)

[Garfunkel]

I've been thinking of doing the same thing. The stations would act as customs and border control points as well.

[Jovus]

That reminds me: civilians can use jump tenders now, correct? I swear I read that somewhere, but I can't find it now.

[Tikigod]

That reminds me: civilians can use jump tenders now, correct? I swear I read that somewhere, but I can't find it now.

hmmmm good point, can't remember reading anything specifically about that in the change posts but maybe it was something Steve mentioned in a offhand topic somewhere else.

Certainly hope so, otherwise there goes a lot of ideas. 

[Father Tim]

That reminds me: civilians can use jump tenders now, correct? I swear I read that somewhere, but I can't find it now.

Commerical shipping lines will not plot routes through Empire- (i.e. player-) controlled jump ships, since you (the player) might move them at any time and leave the commercial ship(s) stranded.  (You can plot your own moves through them -- regardless of which side of the jump point they're currently on -- on the theory that you'll remember doing so and not take away the needed jump ships.)

I do not know if commercial shipping lines in C# Aurora will build freighters, colony ships, or luxury liners with their own jump engines.  I'm pretty sure that (at least in ver 1.0) they won't build 'permanently-stationed jump ships to act like jump gates' of their own.

Currently, C# Aurora commercial ships will not plot routes through Empire-controlled space stations with jump engines -- but it shouldn't be too hard for Steve to code the ability to do so, since space stations are an easily defined class and can't move under their own power.

- - - - -

It is unclear (to me) how interested Steve is in effectively replacing unremovable and undestroyable Jump Gates with easily-removable and easily destroyable jump stations/tenders that are under complete player control.

[clement]

It might be interesting if the civilian lines got a new ship type, a jump tender or jump station. They could then charge a toll fee to ships making the transit, both civilian and empire ships.

It would still put at risk a civilian ship getting trapped in a sector of the empire. But I am not sure if that is a true problem. As the player, if a civilian jump tender was destroyed trapping a bunch of civilian ship in a system, that would be motivation to either get an empire jump tender to the jump point or to secure the area so a new civilian tender can take position.

[SevenOfCarina]

Regarding the whole issue of commercial shipping getting trapped, maybe movement orders for classes that are explicitly marked as 'civilian jump tender' in the class design tab could be restricted - you could issue them movement orders, at which point all commercial ships that are not already underway would stop routing through them, but the jump tender will not actually move till the last ship that is already underway has transited through it.

Or maybe movement could only be allowed if there are no commercial ships on either side of the jump point, or if there are commercial ships, that side has another active jump tender or stabilised jump point. You could pair this with an 'evacuate system' order which will force civilian shipping to rally at the nearest large colony (>10 million) with significant military defences.

[Father Tim]

Sure, all of these suggestions are possible. . .  but Steve went the 'Jump Gates are permanent and can't be destroyed' route for a reason.  Given that, I have no expectation that he would then code up a system to easily bypass or replace jump gates with manned ships and/or stations.

And frankly, I'm fine with that.  I think players already have too much control over the activities of commercial shipping lines.  I have a whole bunch of thoughts on reforming commercial shipping lines, but I'm saving all that for version 1.1.