Future Imperfect - Starship Operations

Starship Operations

During game play, most aspects of starship operations will be handled via minigames. This includes FTL piloting, TISA piloting, astrogation, engineering, repair, upgrades (jury-rigging) and maintenance. Each aspect will have its own nuances, but will evolve from the same rules kernel. As with other features of the rules set, each will be crafted to be configurable and extensible.

During tactical starship maneuvering, the distance will be calculated in LS (light seconds), which is the distance light travels in one second, and also the speed (per 5 minute combat turn) TISA engines are rated. The standard scale is in "cubes", which are 20 LS per side. Movement is always performed in full cubes, half cubic movement is not allowed.

Game designers note: You and your crew may not want to use cubes, and instead may want to use models and measure distance between vessels. That is great! The distances are easy to convert. We suggest 20 LS per inch (or 10 LS per cm for you highly evolved metric folks), but use any scale that works for your game. In this case, movement can be as granular as you prefer.

FTL Piloting

The standard method of travel between planetary systems is FTL or “faster than light” travel. Each trip is essentially a two step process, though each of these steps has many elements. The goal of the system as presented is to abstract the starship operations to a level where enough technical detail is used to whet the appetite of the Crew for immersion in a science fiction universe, while obfuscating the low-level details that bog down game play and cause logical brain freeze when considered too deeply. If your Crew enjoys those small details, they are easy to add without increasing the overall complexity of the rules set.

At a very high level all travel is the same: determine how to get where you want to be, then go there. Starship FTL is no exception. The first part of that process is called Astrogation, while the second part is the jump to FTL and actual movement.

Astrogation, or How Do I Get There?

Space is vast and almost entirely empty. Yet, even with this being so, randomly (or capriciously) jumping is a huge risk. Given the nature of the technology involved, FTL bubbles cannot exist near strong gravity wells such as those produced by stars, living or dormant. Routes which come to close to them may cause the FTL bubble to “burst”, dropping the vessel out of warp prematurely.

The job of the Astrogator (Space Navigator) is to determine the most efficient, safe path from origin to destination. The process involves envisioning a path through three dimensional Cartesian space between the points, then calculating the minimum distance from each gravity well in the path, and when the distance becomes too small, adjusting the route to accommodate the necessary course correction.

If this sounds tedious, it is. Some modern analogs are artillery firing solutions and complex amortization. On the surface they seem simple, yet in practice there is much more than meets the eye. Calculating a course is time consuming and detail driven.

During World War II, some of the first computer scientists the world had ever seen were the 6 women of the ENIAC, whose responsibility was to determine ballistic trajectories with the world’s first supercomputer. Their calculations went from 20 hours with a calculator, to 30 minutes via ENIAC.

Standard courses are available, and can be used as a starting point for plotting an actual course. Because of the chance of another vessel using the same course, they are not intended to be used without first being modified for the exact point in space where it will enter FTL. These courses assume that the astrogator is aware of any warp signatures (see below) which show other vessels entering warp space nearby, and within temporal proximity. Other similar jumps increase the complexity of the course.

Course Calculation

Courses can be calculated by hand (using a MiniComp, or even less in a pinch) or via the ships computer (a MultiComp). The length of calculation will vary based on the skill of the astrogator and the quality of the tools he employs. Obviously, no one (in his right mind) would plot a course by hand when they have a computer at their disposal, but given the nature of the universe, we must assume all possibilities are probable.

Plotting "By Hand"

For the purposes of these rules, any course plotting without the use of a MultiComp is assumed to be by hand. Whether it be a Mentat with a whiteboard or an egghead with a laptop, they are still heavily disadvantaged when compared to the immense processing power of a MultiComp. The main variable is time, for while a MultiComp is faster and more able to store manipulated data, the same can be accomplished by a skilled and determined astrogator with an abacus and a sheaf of paper given enough time.

The following chart assumes an astrogagtion skill of 3. For each level lower, add in another multiple of the given time, for each level higher, reduce the calculation time by 25%. It also assumes the character has access to accurate star charts for the area where the course is located. Without accurate star charts, the difficulty goes up dramatically (see below). With no star charts at all, it becomes impossible.

Sid Scorpio has an astrogation skill of 2, so he can plot a standard "galactic freeways" course of 500 light years in 6 hours. Tara 7 is more skilled at 4, she can plot that same course in 2 hours and 15 minutes.

3 hours Sector center to sector center “Galactic Freeways”
5 hours Along proscribed “space lanes” within star sector
7 hours Within star sector, uncommon route “back roads”
9 hours Between star sectors, uncommon route “smugglers jump”

The above chart is per 500 light years of the course. Astute readers may notice that these times are equal to the difficulty numbers in making the jumps, in the piloting section. Conspiracy theorists among those readers may assume it is some kind of plot (and it is, since courses are plotted), but let me assure you that this is done intentionally, in an effort to keep the numbers simple and easy to recall.

Plotting via MultiComp

A expected, using a MultiComp reduces calculation time drastically. Calculate the "by hand" time as if the character's astrogation level is one higher (as long as he has at least one level in astrogation) and then divide that result by the MK value of the MultiComp, plus 1.

The Chain Lightning has a MultiComp VII, so Sid Scorpio can plot the course between Terra and Deneb (a distance of approximately 1510 light years) in 1.1 hours (9.1/8).

Pre-plotted Courses

It is possible to purchase "off the shelf" courses plotted between major destinations, or even to plot a course beforehand. These still need some adjustment, since they cannot know the exact area of space where the warp translation will begin, nor exactly when the course is used (the universe is not static, after all). They do provide much of the heavy lifting in an easy (and fast) to use package. These courses have a rating that is substituted for the initial entry time. So, a galactic freeways course rated 1.5 would reduce the programming time by half.

When pre-programming a course of your own, the TN is 3 +1/.5 of rating below the standard time. The time to write the program is equal to the time to plot the course by hand plus one hour per TN of the course. As above, this assumes a programming skill of 3, and has the same time adjustments as above.

Course Accuracy

What is listed above is the optimal time. In other words, if you have that much time, you can almost assuredly make the jump with little risk. Assuming the course is accurate, of course. All jumps carry some level of risk. Even when that risk comes to collect, it is almost always just a matter of a few hundred light seconds. Although, when something goes really wrong, the consequences could be devastating.

Once the optimal course computation time has been determined, the next step is knowing how much actual time will be utilized. When three Azuriach cruisers are on your tail, there isn't much time to be cute. Once that FTL kicks in on the run up to warp translation, there course must be entered soon, lest not only will the jump fail, but the drives will risk serious damage.

The standard TN for FTL jumps is 5 for freeways and space lanes, 7 otherwise (assuming it is within appropriate distances from gravity wells, 9 if these guidelines are violated). For each 10% the time to calculate is reduced, add one to the TN. If the star charts used in calculation are inaccurate, add +1-3 depending on the reduction in quality. If this TN is met, the course is considered accurate for the purposes of the FTL piloting check. If the TN is not met, add the difference to the FTL breakdown number for for purposes of Lost in Space only.

FTL Piloting, or Getting There

Unlike TISA and terrestrial piloting, FTL piloting is not about reflexes and reaction times, but instead is a function of careful implementation of rules and entry of commands into a console. Still, speed and accuracy is essential when attempting to enter warp space with an antagonist on your tail.

In an FTL trip, the astrogator provides a course to the pilot, who then accelerates the ship to the appropriate speed (generally around 300 LS) and then translates into warp. Most ships are not capable of maintaining such speeds for long, so if the FTL pilot fails repeatedly the engines may shut down and require a new acceleration be performed.

Whenever a Starship exceeds its design speed, an automatic FTL run up to light-speed and Hyperspace translation will commence. The astrogator must complete computations for an FTL jump before the ship attains 300 LS or light-speed, lest the ship’s destination be totally random.

In the case of an inadvertent hyperwarp translation (sometimes called lost in space), the ship will jump a number of light years equal to the FTL Cruise velocity multiplied by clock face value of an action card draw, in a direction determined using the random 360 degree, three dimensional procedure. It should be noted that such an error can occur only when maneuvering outside of the gravitic-disturbance zone of a star and/or major planet. The TISA drive would not be able to exceed the rated velocity within the gravity well.

TISA and FTL Engineering

How the hell does this work?

Each ship has two main engines for space travel, TISA and FTL. The TISA drive is used for sublight maneuvering, while the FTL drive is used to propel the vessel through tachyon hyperspace. For the FTL drive to engage, the sublight anomaly (the A in TISA) must reach its maximum compression, which occurs at 300 LS and causes FTL conversion. But in most ships, their TISA drive is not capable of reaching such speeds on its own. When the pilot pushes the accelerate sequence on a vessel already moving at maximum TISA, this engages the FTL drive which begins anomaly translation, thereby accelerating the trans-gravitic bubble where the ship is located.

What this means is that for a ship to use FTL drives, the TISA drives must be functional (among other things). As soon as the TISA rating is exceeded, maneuvering is restricted and FTL translation begins. The ship will now move in a straight line until FTL translation. Other ships in the area will be able to detect engagement of the warp drives via their sensors with a standard sensors task (if in range, of course).

Once a ship accelerates past its rated TISA velocity, it is almost irrevocably committed to a high speed run up to 300 LS (light-speed) and FTL translation. Such a run cannot be aborted without grave risks to both the TISA Maneuver Drive units and to the FTL Warp Drives. Any attempt to shut down it is a difficult TISA Engineering task followed by a difficult Warp Engineering task. Any failure indicates breakdown in the appropriate drive.

However, naval vessels typically have auxiliary TISA and FTL drives capable of delivering about 5% of the main units’ performance, so a vessel can still limp home while the crew is attempting to repair the damage (if possible).

System

In game terms, all of this is simultaneous. Both the pilot and astrogator draw cards at the same time, and apply the results.

Standard Difficulties
3 Sector center to sector center “Galactic Freeways”
5 Along proscribed “space lanes” within star sector
7 Within star sector, uncommon route “back roads”
9 Between star sectors, uncommon route “smugglers jump”
Modifiers (cumulative)
Var Masking jump signature
+1 Jump is more than 1000 LY
+1 Plotted course inaccurate
+1-3 Narrow jump window
-1 Computer MK greater than standard difficulty
Var Jumping from/to near a gravity well

Narrowing the Jump Window

When the destination of a jump is precisely required, the pilot may attempt to narrow the jump window. What this does is ensure that if an inaccurate jump situation occurs the distances from the intended emergence zone are smaller.

Masking the Jump Signature

Much information is contained in the warp disturbance that is left behind from an FTL translation. It takes a skilled sensor operator to find it, and an even more skilled FTL pilot to utilize it, but the risk is still there. If a pilot believes he may be followed (see Tailing, below), he may choose to incur extra difficulty on his jump. Each extra +1 to the TN the pilot incurs will add +2 to the TN for tailing.

When the pilot checks for success, keep the jump signature mask portion separate. As long as the TN exceeds the necessary result to make the jump the jump itself will go off normally. For the signature mask to work also, the full TN must be met or exceeded. This means that if the pilot attempted to mask at +2 (to give his pursuer a +4 TN), and the jump difficulty was 6, he would need an 8 to successfully mask his jump. If the result is 6 or 7 he would jump normally, but the signature would not be masked.

When a signature mask fails the penalty that was attempted to be added instead becomes a bonus. In effect, the mask becomes a beacon.

Lost in Space

If the FTL pilot fails his jump TN the jump is considered inaccurate (see below). Most of the time, this will just mean a straying of a few hundred light seconds from the intended course. If, however, the breakdown number shown on the FTL pilot's card is equal to or less than the breakdown number of the FTL drive plus all modifiers from course, maintenance and damage, utilize the lost in space system.

First, shuffle the entire action deck. Draw an action card. If the breakdown number is equal to or less than the breakdown number shown without modifications for course, but including those for maintenance and damage, then check for catastrophic drive breakdown (see Future Imperfect - Starship Engineering). If the number is equal to or less than the breakdown number with all modifications, and catastrophic drive breakdown did not occur, the ship will warp in a random direction and emerge.

To determine the new location, first determine how far the jump is by multiplying the impulse value of the card by the maximum warp speed of the vessel. If that value is zero, the ship does not move, and instead initiates a cold shutdown (see Future Imperfect - Starship Engineering). Otherwise, determine a random direction and place the vessel that many light years along that vector.

Tailing

If a pursuing ship is able to properly sweep the warp signature of another ship, it may be able to duplicate the route and make the same jump. This can be risky, given that the pursuing ship’s computer does not discern the nature of the jump, its FTL drive just utilizes the same path. If the pursuing ship is significantly faster, it might actually arrive ahead of the other ship.

Before attempting to tail another vessel, the warp signature should be scanned. This is a difficulty 7 action for the sensor officer, modified by range.

9 Pursuing vessel attempts jump no more than 15 minutes after quarry

Modifiers
+2 Pursuing vessel has not successfully scanned signature
Var Difference in computer MK between vessels
+1 Each bump in success scanning signature
+1 Each 15 minutes since the initial jump.

Inaccurate Jumps

Given the nature and vastness of space, a jump may be technically inaccurate, but still not much worse than a temporary inconvenience. Unless time is a factor, this detail may be ignored. In those situations where deadlines are apparent, the following rules can help determine the outcome. In most cases, the exact location of the jump miss is irrelevant. All that will matter is the spatial displacement. When determining the exact spot is not necessary, just draw a single card and refer to the impulse value for number of “cubes of space” which are added to the distance from the gravity well.

example

Without a critical fail, jumps will never send vessels closer to large gravity wells. The fail safes in FTL engines ensure that this is the case. To determine the nature of an inaccurate jump, consult the clock face for two dimensional orientation, and the impulse value for number of “cubes of space” the jump is off. If the toggle value says YES, also draw a second card and do the same for a 3rd spatial dimension. In this case, a draw of 6 or 12 on the clock face should be redrawn (this would move along the same plane). If the given vector places the vessel closer to a nearby gravity well, rotate along the z axis 180 degrees (in other words, move the clock face value 6 steps clockwise).

example

TISA Piloting

Maneuvering the vessel via TISA is a more familiar pursuit. Each ship has a TISA value, which is the maximum safe speed their drives can support, as soon as acceleration exceeds this threshold a warp translation begins (see above). Ships are also rated for their deceleration, which is the maximum safe deceleration that can be attempted each combat turn. Increasing the deceleration by one multiple of the maximum is an easy piloting task, with difficulty increased one level for each multiple thereof.

Maneuvering

Piloting a vessel at TISA speeds is a straight-forward operation when there are no distractions. Like with atmospheric piloting, takeoff and landing are the most difficult parts of the endeavor, and given the nature of starship computers, these situations have been simplified greatly.

Complication is introduced during the performance of maneuvers, especially when opposing parties are working against the pilot. Competitive situations such as combat or space dueling introduce variables that even the best computer cannot foresee (or can they…), and this is where the skill of the pilot shines.

Triumph

As with social conflict, starship conflict and competition is based on the concept of intentions, where each party may want something different from the interaction. When one party reaches that stated intention, it is said they have “Triumphed”. Each round (which may encompass one or more starship combat turns of 5 minutes each), all participating parties will resolve a task determined by an action card draw. Because the nature of the task is unknown until the card is drawn, this interaction is a minigame.

Why a Minigame?

In many, if not most, RPGs, interactions between opposing parties result in almost certain combat. Dice are cast, shots fired, and damage dealt. In Future Imperfect, we want to empower gamers to effectively solve a wide variety of problems without the use of deadly force. By abstracting the resolution and varying the causes, this aim can be realized.

Game designers note: In games, fear is rarely considered. Our heroes are larger than life, and they attempt (and succeed!) things that would terrify virtually everyone. These exciting actions bring thrill to the narrative, and are an integral part of why we play the game. The last thing we want to do is paralyze players (and Heroes) with a series of bravery checks when life and limb is at stake. Consequently, combat becomes an extremely viable alternative in many situations where we would otherwise abhor violence. Heroes rarely die, and players have little reason to experience fear, especially when the excitement and thrill are essential building blocks to our story.

By introducing the concept of the minigame, players can no longer rely on their ability to bulldoze their rivals into submission through violence. This mechanic allows crafty social maneuvering, tactical movement and brilliant thinking to bring uncertainty to any conflict, violent or otherwise. Heroes will tend to be more diverse, and stories will gain a depth and richness that will bring satisfaction to all who participate.

Intentions

At the beginning of any interaction, the Master and Crew should declare their intentions. In some cases, parties will not know the nature of their adversary’s intentions and will have to deduce them from their actions.

Starship Combat

All standard combat will occur below the speed of light (300 LS per 5 minutes). The rules assume that a starship will literally “cease to exist” the moment it begins to touch the speed of light, the vessel being “translated” to FTL hyperspace.

Range

In space, the ranges are immense. Because of the incredible power of the computers that run the starships, range for weapons and maneuvering can be truly great distances. Range is also relative. Since the targeting is done via computer, it is the power of the computer that determines the range band.