WIP Discussion (Part 1!)

Discussion regarding the Outsider webcomic, science, technology and science fiction.

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Absalom
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Re: WIP Discussion (Part 1!)

Post by Absalom »

icekatze wrote:hi hi

I do have to wonder about Tiamat storage. If I were transferring a substance that explodes if not kept at super cool temperatures, I would either store it in fuel cells/honeycombs that are removed entirely and replaced with fresh cells, or I would use an umbilical that never goes anywhere near pressurized habitat. When even a thin residue can explode with a force of about 20 some kilotons per gram, it is something to handle with care, to say the least.
That is the big resupply-technology question, isn't it? If they use "hoses" instead of "autoloaders", I bet the "hose fittings" incorporate self-cleaning systems to clean up any spilled Tiamat before the fittings completely separate, precisely to prevent the sort of "only half the corpse is gone, so it was a minor accident" incidents that you're probably thinking of.
icekatze wrote:The 51st is supposedly being resupplied by a convoy. I would think that the time it takes for them to get underway would depend on how big the convoy is, and how long it takes for them to rendezvous. The Highland may only take 6 hours to reach the Clearbrook, but the resupply ships could just as well be on the opposite side of the system, just finishing up resupplying someone else. Or they might be resupplying the 51st right now, I don't think it's been said yet.
True, but I suspect that a convoy probably has enough ships to resupply all the ships of an average strike group in parallel, so whenever the resupply begins I bet it ends fast, a fast job can probably be finished in less than 3 hours (or less than 1 hour) after rendezvous.

Krulle
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Re: WIP Discussion (Part 1!)

Post by Krulle »

Nice.
A Barsam courier, if I interpret the text correctly.
Is that the ship our party is going to?

With a close-up view of the anti-collision defence system....
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charred steppes, borders of territories: page 59,
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dragoongfa
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Re: WIP Discussion (Part 1!)

Post by dragoongfa »

It reminds me a little of the human ships from the sword of the stars games.

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icekatze
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Re: WIP Discussion (Part 1!)

Post by icekatze »

hi hi

The group is going to meet up with the frigate Clearbrook. The previous ship sketch, the Blaze class frigate, is that kind of ship.

One of my favorite ways to make sci-fi ships look distinct, without throwing on random greebles, is to use cutaway shapes. So here, where the shape of a ring is implied, but half cut away, makes for a nice and distinct look. At least, that's my opinion. :)

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GeoModder
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Re: WIP Discussion (Part 1!)

Post by GeoModder »

The 'wings' of the Barsam courier remind me of the America class cruisers.
That ring structure on the courier, is it part of the shield generators, Arioch? At least, those blue 'windows' on the ring remind of a similar feature on the prongs of Loroi ships.
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dex drako
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Re: WIP Discussion (Part 1!)

Post by dex drako »

GeoModder wrote:The 'wings' of the Barsam courier remind me of the America class cruisers.
That ring structure on the courier, is it part of the shield generators, Arioch? At least, those blue 'windows' on the ring remind of a similar feature on the prongs of Loroi ships.
i'd say the rings are more likely part of the propulsion system, i could easily see them being some form of charge neutralizer, secondary accelerator units or something kind of magnetic confinement/thrust vectoring system.

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Arioch
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Re: WIP Discussion (Part 1!)

Post by Arioch »

The ring structure is the Barsam version of the control vanes that stick out the rear of the Loroi engines. This is the "floater drive" that uses an inertial amplifier to increase the effective reaction mass of the exhaust (as well as accelerating and/or vectoring it).

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GeoModder
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Re: WIP Discussion (Part 1!)

Post by GeoModder »

I see. Thanks for the explanation.
I asked because I wondered if this type of ship generates its shield 'aftwards' as to have better protection when on the run from Umiak gunboats. ;)
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Victor_D
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Re: WIP Discussion (Part 1!)

Post by Victor_D »

Arioch wrote:The ring structure is the Barsam version of the control vanes that stick out the rear of the Loroi engines. This is the "floater drive" that uses an inertial amplifier to increase the effective reaction mass of the exhaust (as well as accelerating and/or vectoring it).
So this is how they achieve these insane acceleration levels (nearly 30 gees), interesting. So I assume the Terran ships have so "low" acceleration rates because they lack this kind of technology...?

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Arioch
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Re: WIP Discussion (Part 1!)

Post by Arioch »

Victor_D wrote:
Arioch wrote:The ring structure is the Barsam version of the control vanes that stick out the rear of the Loroi engines. This is the "floater drive" that uses an inertial amplifier to increase the effective reaction mass of the exhaust (as well as accelerating and/or vectoring it).
So this is how they achieve these insane acceleration levels (nearly 30 gees), interesting. So I assume the Terran ships have so "low" acceleration rates because they lack this kind of technology...?
The Union engines have much greater power (matter annihilation vs. fusion), and the floater drive does get additional thrust by continuing to "push" on the exhaust after it has left the drive aperture, but the main advantage of increasing the reaction mass is to increase the efficiency of the drive, allowing high acceleration for extended periods. Increasing the mass of the propellant does not by itself increase the acceleration of a drive.

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GabrielGABFonseca
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Re: WIP Discussion (Part 1!)

Post by GabrielGABFonseca »

Blue, Yellow, Orange and White - Now, where have we seen this colour scheme applied to spaceships before...? ;)

It is a beauty, that much I can say. Good job, Arioch!
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Krulle
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Re: WIP Discussion (Part 1!)

Post by Krulle »

Yes, she is a beauty.
And I have scrolled through the Patreon pages again, and 'lo, she is there too (even in a public post).
And she has a name:
"Prophet's Reason", is armed (as can be seen in the sketch), and belongs to Rigai Mozin.
Well, either the name or the captain would've been sufficient, as above-linked page 57 includes the information of Rigai Mozin's ship name as well.
Vote for Outsider on TWC: Image
charred steppes, borders of territories: page 59,
jump-map of local stars: page 121, larger map in Loroi: page 118,
System view Leido Crossroads: page 123, after the battle page 195

Whale
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Re: WIP Discussion (Part 1!)

Post by Whale »

Image
"Roughly to scale."

Huh, I assumed the barsam ship would be smaller. How big are those windows and containers?

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GeoModder
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Re: WIP Discussion (Part 1!)

Post by GeoModder »

Whale wrote:Image
"Roughly to scale."

Huh, I assumed the barsam ship would be smaller. How big are those windows and containers?
I think Barsams need high ceilings. ;)

Btw, Arioch, did you know the tactical panel on page 123 spells Gora as 'Garo' in Loroi Trade alphabet?
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Arioch
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Re: WIP Discussion (Part 1!)

Post by Arioch »

It's just a concept sketch, man. :D
GeoModder wrote:Btw, Arioch, did you know the tactical panel on page 123 spells Gora as 'Garo' in Loroi Trade alphabet?
Thanks. Typing backwards in a foreign script is problematic.

Quazel
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Re: WIP Discussion (Part 1!)

Post by Quazel »

Maybe someone can work on a babble like script for you?
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Arioch
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Re: WIP Discussion (Part 1!)

Post by Arioch »

Quazel wrote:Maybe someone can work on a babble like script for you?
Siber just made one, and it works nice.

http://hwat.pathstoeat.com/tradeify/

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Siber
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Re: WIP Discussion (Part 1!)

Post by Siber »

I understand the font doesn't work on all browser/system combinations, not much I'll be able to do about that, but it'll reverse the text. might make the page a bit prettier eventually.
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Hālian
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Re: WIP Discussion (Part 1!)

Post by Hālian »

The lines of text also flow bottom-to-top instead of top-to-bottom. It's Loroi Trade, not Alternian. :P
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cacambo43
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Re: WIP Discussion (Part 1!)

Post by cacambo43 »

Are the letters not getting converted because they don't exist in Trade? But both C and K had no Trade counterparts - is this just a glitch on my system/browser? How do Loroi make "K" sounds?

CJSF

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