Equipment: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 23:20, 11 November 2024

Ships can be retrofitted with a variety of different equipment to suit various roles, flight styles, and budgets. The standard loadout for most new ringdivers is a second-hand Rusatom-Antonoff K37 TNTRL mining barge outfitted with a mass driver. Many pilots will soon find this arrangement lacking, either in mining efficiency, agility, endurance, reliability, or any other parameter they find themselves optimizing. Modern technology has come a long way, and with the right choice of upgrade you may find your revenue climbing very, very quickly!

Thanks to a fairly high degree of convergent evolution (and the desire to maximize sales), many systems from most manufacturers can be installed into common ships without much trouble. Modularity has proven its worth in spaceflight. Engineers today can transplant the newest technology from modern ships into old ones – or vice versa. Enceladus Prime dockyards even succeed in retrofitting entire nuclear cores and main engines, though the highly integrated nature of these systems prevent such swaps from being simple (or low-cost).

The gear you'll find available and installed on mining ships in the Rings is somewhat limited compared to Earth or Mars, mostly due to practicality or legal restrictions. Obviously, civilians also do not have access to the full range of military hardware.

Note that some types of equipment can be damaged during a ring dive, and eventually require repairs. For example, thrusters are subject to wear from usage, and may become misaligned due to a high-velocity impacts, crashes or kinetic projectiles.

Hardpoints

External equipment is mounted onto hardpoints. They typically hold weapons, retrieval tools or detachable equipment.

Mass Drivers fire kinetic slugs and consume ammunition (damageable)
Energy Weapons such as lasers and microwaves that do not require ammunition (damageable)
Plasma Weapons fire superheated plasma by consuming propellant (damageable)
Manipulator Arm that can grab ringroids, ore, and salvage (damageable)
Drones can slow down and/or haul ore to your ship
Detachable cradled equipment such as Cargo Containers, the B8 Claim Beacon, the NT Mining Companion, and the External Impact Absorber

Different types of hardpoints – high-stress, low-stress, drone hardpoints, docking bays, and spinal hardpoints – can accommodate different equipment.

Internal Storage

Ships may hold several separate reservoirs and containers for dedicated purposes.

Propellant Tanks for the Reaction Control System, Main Propulsion, Powerplant (exc. Stellarator), and Plasma Weapons
Cargo Bay that stores retrieved cargo and raw ore, and may contain a mineral processing unit to refine ore.
Kinetic Ammunition used by Mass Drivers
Nanodrone Components used by Drones

Thrusters

Thrusters consume propellant and use heat and electrical power to accelerate the ship.

Reaction Control Systems provide fine maneuvering and rotational control (damageable)
Main Propulsion (damageable)

Power

Multiple systems required to provide thermal and electrical energy.

Nuclear reactor, which is ship-specific and houses the reactor core (damageable)
Reactor Core that provides thermal power used by thrusters, the powerplant, auxiliary generators, and some other equipment
Powerplant that consumes thermal power to produce electrical power
Ultracapacitor Array that store excess electrical energy to be used during peak demand
Auxiliary Power Unit either an additional electrical generator or an electrical energy storage system

Electronics & Sensors

Cabin electronics assist in controlling and piloting the ship.

On-board computer, which is ship-specific and performs necessary computations for the autopilot and the HUD (damageable)
Head-Up Display (HUD) to display to the pilot the status of the ship, its systems, and external sensors
Autopilot that maintains a stable velocity and orientation of the ship

Additionally, sensors help to navigate and provide a view of the area around your ship.

LIDAR provides a view of objects surrounding the ship in a spiral pattern
Reconnaissance Craft provide an external view of the ship

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-Most ships can be retrofitted with a variety of different equipment to suit various flight styles, roles, and budgets. The standard loadout for most new Ringdivers is a second-hand Rosatom-Antonoff K37 TNTRL mining barge outfitted with a mass driver for cracking asteroids. Many pilots will soon find this arrangement lacking, either in agility, endurance, reliability, asteroid cracking power, or any of the various other parameters they find themselves optimizing - the K37 might be robust but modern technology has come a long way, and once you start fitting some newer equipment you'll find your revenue climbing very, very quickly!
+[[Ships]] can be retrofitted with a variety of different equipment to suit various roles, flight styles, and budgets. The standard loadout for most new ringdivers is a second-hand Rusatom-Antonoff [[K37|K37 TNTRL]] mining barge outfitted with a mass driver. Many pilots will soon find this arrangement lacking, either in mining efficiency, agility, endurance, reliability, or any other parameter they find themselves optimizing. Modern technology has come a long way, and with the right choice of upgrade you may find your revenue climbing very, very quickly!
-See also [[:Category:Equipment]]
+Thanks to a fairly high degree of convergent evolution (and the desire to maximize sales), many systems from most manufacturers can be installed into common ships without much trouble. Modularity has proven its worth in spaceflight. Engineers today can transplant the newest technology from modern ships into old ones – or vice versa. Enceladus Prime dockyards even succeed in retrofitting entire nuclear cores and main engines, though the highly integrated nature of these systems prevent such swaps from being simple (or low-cost).
-Thanks to a fairly high degree of convergent evolution, many systems from many manufacturers can be installed into most ships without much trouble. Like the hot-rodders of Earth's history, engineers today can transplant maneuvering thrusters, turbogenerators, even avionics systems and autopilots from more modern ships into the old K37. Recently, Enceladus' engineers have even been working on retrofitting entire nuclear cores and main drive systems, though the highly integrated nature of these systems have prevented such swaps from being simple.
+The gear you'll find available and installed on mining ships in the Rings is somewhat limited compared to Earth or Mars, mostly due to practicality or legal restrictions. Obviously, civilians also do not have access to the full range of military hardware.
-While the range of engines and reactors and fuel pumps and radars and drones and armour and generators and flight computers available to the wider market around Sol is truly dizzying, the gear you'll tend to find available and installed on mining ships here in The Rings is a bit more limited. This is mostly due to practicality - there is little use for ion engines, solar panels or missile launchers here, though legal restrictions are also a factor - some of the most dangerous and interesting technology is kept away from miners by licensing and insurance requirements.
+Note that some types of equipment can be damaged during a ring dive, and eventually require [[repairs]]. For example, [[thruster]]s are subject to wear from usage, and may become misaligned due to a high-velocity impacts, crashes or kinetic projectiles.
-===== RCS Thrusters =====
+=== Hardpoints ===
-Generally, thrusters have three parameters you're likely to care about. Most important is thrust as this directly affects how your ship's maneuverability. Second is the exhaust velocity - higher exhaust velocities can be considered more "fuel efficient" - accelerating and turning require less propellant if your thrusters have a higher exhaust velocity. Third and finally, is energy consumption - all thrusters need some input power at least to power their fuel pumps, and most also need additional energy for various other mechanical purposes.
-With most thrusters, there are trade-offs between thrust (acceleration), exhaust velocity (fuel efficiency), and reliability. Because dV: Rings Of Saturn obeys real-world physics, thrusters have to obey some fundamental laws, some of which are obvious and some of which aren't, so we'll try to get into more detail on these rules in each of the relevant articles.
+External equipment is mounted onto [[hardpoint]]s. They typically hold weapons, retrieval tools or detachable equipment.
-A quick summary table of the RCS thrusters we currently have data for in dV: Rings Of Saturn is below:
+* [[Mass Driver]]s fire kinetic slugs and consume ammunition (damageable)
-^ Design ^ Manufacturer      ^ Model                         ^ Thrust ^ Exhaust velocity ^
+* [[Energy Weapons]] such as lasers and microwaves that do not require ammunition (damageable)
-| NTR    | Nakamura Dynamics | [[equipment:ndstr|NDSTR]]                         | 600kN  | 7km/s            |
+* [[Plasma Weapons]] fire superheated plasma by consuming propellant (damageable)
-| NTR    | Nakamura Dynamics | [[equpiment:ndvtt|NDVTT]]                         | 500kN  | 7km/s            |
+* [[Manipulator Arm]] that can grab ringroids, ore, and salvage (damageable)
-| NTER   | Rusatom-Antonoff  | [[equipment:ra-k37|RA-K37]]                       | 200kN  | 15km/s           |
+* [[Drones]] can slow down and/or haul ore to your ship
-| NTER   | Mitsudaya-Starbus | [[equipment:ma150ho|MA150HO]]                     | 150kN  | 30km/s           |
+* Detachable cradled equipment such as [[Cargo Container]]s, the [[B8 Claim Beacon]], the [[NT Mining Companion]], and the [[External Impact Absorber]]
-| NTER   | Rusatom-Antonoff  | [[equipment:ra-k44|RA-K44]]                       | 400kN  | 15km/s           |
-| NTER   | Elon Interstellar | [[equipment:eiit|Elon Interstellar Ion Thruster]] | 210kN  | 50km/s           |
+Different types of hardpoints – high-stress, low-stress, drone hardpoints, docking bays, and spinal hardpoints – can accommodate different equipment.
-There is no "best" thruster loadout - some pilots prefer the low thrust of the MA150HO for its stellar fuel efficiency and reliability, while some pilots prefer the raw power of the pure-thermal NDSTR, and just accept that they'll burn a prodigious amount of propellant.
+=== Internal Storage ===
-===== External modular equipment =====
+Ships may hold several separate reservoirs and containers for dedicated purposes.
-Currently there are several completely different classes of equipment which can be fitted to heavy hardpoints like those on the K37's dorsal surface. Most commonly, ships in the rings will be seen with some kind of mining equipment. The current state of the art in asteroid cracking consists of high velocity coilguns, specially tuned microwave emitters, and high-intensity mining lasers, while various designs of drones and accompanying drone bays are available as utility devices. As with thrusters, there is no absolute "best", only what works best for your mining operation.
-==== Asteroid cracking ====
+* [[Propellant Tanks]] for the [[Reaction Control System]], [[Main Propulsion]], [[Powerplant]] (exc. [[Model E|Stellarator]]), and [[Plasma Weapons]]
-You can't make a fortune without breaking some rocks! Regardless of how you like to fly, sooner or later you're going to have to split some asteroids apart to get at the precious minerals inside. Saturn's asteroids are made mostly of nearly worthless water ice, so engineers across the system have produced an array of powerful tools to help you get the minerals you need to pay the bills. The destructive power of this equipment can't be denied, so be careful when mining! While directed energy weapons like the mining laser and microwave will dissipate at range, you still won't make any friends by firing any of these at other ships.
+* [[Cargo Bay]] that stores retrieved cargo and raw ore, and may contain a mineral processing unit to refine ore.
+* [[Kinetic Ammunition]] used by [[Mass Driver]]s
+* [[Nanodrone Components]] used by [[Drones]]
-  * [[equipment:emd14|EMD-14 mass driver]]
+=== Thrusters ===
-  * [[equipment:erfmd17|ERFMD-17 mass driver]]
-  * [[equipment:mwg|MWG microwave emitter]]
-  * [[equipment:cl-150|CL-150 Mk3 mining laser]]
-==== Utility equipment and drones ====
+Thrusters consume propellant and use heat and electrical power to accelerate the ship.
-It's one thing to dive into the rings and shatter every asteroid within a kilometer radius, but a good Ringdiver is able to do more than just pop rocks. Using modern drone systems, you can prevent those precious ores from escaping, and patch up all sorts of ship damage, everything from the benign misaligned thruster to the dreaded reactor leak. While these drone bays will take up a valuable hardpoint on your ship, there's no denying the importance of being able to patch yourself up in the field if you catch a stray mass driver round, or the pleasure of watching a swarm of tug drones catch all those minerals you'd otherwise be scattering around the rings for everyone else to take.
-  * [[equipment:tug-drones|MPI tug drones]]
-  * [[equipment:haul-drones|MLF haul drones]]
-  * [[equipment:maintenance-drones|OME Maintenance Drones]]
-===== Avionics and autopilots =====
+* [[Reaction Control System]]s provide fine maneuvering and rotational control (damageable)
-The K37 might be an old gem, but spacecraft get their foresight from sensor packages and computers, not from the wisdom of age. Since the ship's introduction at the tail end of the 22nd century, it's fair to say the state of the art has advanced a little.
+* [[Main Propulsion]] (damageable)
-Today's flight computers offer obstacle detection and tracking, collision alerting, adaptive controls to compensate for shifting center of mass, emergency thrust overrides for autopilots, and more. With one of these avionics suites installed, you'll be able to fly around The Rings with confidence the K37's engineers could only have dreamt of!
+=== Power ===
-A very brief summary of currently available sensor suites and autopilots for the K37 are below:
+Multiple systems required to provide thermal and electrical energy.
-^ Manufacturer ^ Model ^ Notes ^
-| Minding LF | Basic Autopilot | Capable of maintaining a target orientation and velocity |
-| Mitsubishi-Airbus | Adaptive Autopilot | As above, plus improved handling and includes proximity alert overlay on HUD |
-| Nakamura Dynamics | Military Autopilot | Improved handling plus trajectory analysis and collision alerting on HUD |
-===== Sensors and recon drones =====
+* Nuclear reactor, which is ship-specific and houses the reactor core (damageable)
-While the density of the rings makes it very difficult for a pilot to see anything useful with their own eyes, The Rings are - perhaps surprisingly - a very thin disk only about 10 meters thick. Because of their 2D nature, the most popular way to observe the nearby area around a ship is using remote camera drones. Most such drones are quite minimal - just a high resolution camera with powerful optics, a modest propulsion system, and a data link to the parent ship - though more advanced drones are available.
+* [[Reactor Core]] that provides thermal power used by thrusters, the powerplant, auxiliary generators, and some other equipment
+* [[Powerplant]] that consumes thermal power to produce electrical power
+* [[Ultracapacitor Array]] that store excess electrical energy to be used during peak demand
+* [[Auxiliary Power Unit]] either an additional electrical generator or an electrical energy storage system
-Currently only two drones especially popular among Ringdivers are the Recon Drone and the Microseismic Drone, both manufactured by Obonto Micro Engineering.
+=== Electronics & Sensors ===
-===== Factory-fitted K37 systems =====
+Cabin electronics assist in controlling and piloting the ship.
-Please see [[ships:k37|Rusatom-Antonoff K37-TNTRL]] for full information.
-[[equipment:raw_data_dump]]
+* On-board computer, which is ship-specific and performs necessary computations for the autopilot and the HUD (damageable)
+* [[Head-Up Display]] (HUD) to display to the pilot the status of the ship, its systems, and external sensors
+* [[Autopilot]] that maintains a stable velocity and orientation of the ship
+Additionally, sensors help to navigate and provide a view of the area around your ship.
+* [[LIDAR]] provides a view of objects surrounding the ship in a spiral pattern
+* [[Reconnaissance Craft]] provide an external view of the ship
+See also: [[:Category:Equipment]]