We are in control!

[StormBringer]

Hold the Red Sun proudly high in hand!

I am wresting control of this forum back from Ken!

Star Frontiers has been neglected for too long. You never call, you never write, Star Frontiers thinks you don't like it any more.

Star Frontiersman can't have all the fun, start whipping out some new technology! Those crappy atomic drives can't be the latest designs, someone out there has to have something better than those!

[pharaohmobius]

I used Star Frontiers as one of my reference points for my Star Sphere cosm revision for Torg (mostly for some of the alien species; the overall feel was more Traveller-influenced). I'll have to dig out my reference materials and see if I can post some stuff in actual Star Frontiers format. B)

[Corvus]

(4 Sep 09 01:40)StormBringer Wrote:  Hold the Red Sun proudly high in hand!

That's Red Star, comrade... *suspicious look*

(4 Sep 09 01:40)StormBringer Wrote:  Star Frontiersman can't have all the fun, start whipping out some new technology! Those crappy atomic drives can't be the latest designs, someone out there has to have something better than those!

I wrote some articles for the Frontiersman back in the early issues. I did some "technical journals", one expounding on gyrojet weaponry, one exploring how to interpret computers in a modern light (instead of the early 80's "hobby kit" style the game used) without changing the rules, and another exploring FTL, again with an eye toward interpreting it in modern ways without changing the rules. I also converted the Alternity alien species into Alpha Dawn rules. Sadly, nobody seemed to care. My last entry were a pair of minisubs aimed at expanding into aquatic adventures, but then I just decided it wasn't worth my effort anymore.

[StormBringer]

You still hole the rights to those articles? I would totally dig putting them in Chaos Ex!

[Corvus]

(23 Sep 09 01:24)StormBringer Wrote:  You still hole the rights to those articles? I would totally dig putting them in Chaos Ex!

I believe I still hold the rights to the articles, yes, since the Frontiersman is an informal effort of the fan community. However, I wrote them to support the Frontiersman, and I'd like to keep it that way. If you can garner more support for Star Frontiers material in Chaos Ex, I might be interested in producing some new stuff just for you, though.

[pharaohmobius]

Okay, here's how I'd do Star Frontiers starship drives:

Chemical Drive- Rarely used as a primary propulsion system apart from extremely short range craft due to the space needed to store fuel. May be employed for maneuvering thrust in dual-drive craft, though.

Ion Drive- This is the standard starship drive because of fuel efficiency and ease in fuel acquisition (hydrogen scoops, plus hydrogen is a ready byproduct of "cracking" water molecules for oxygen).

Plasma-Fusion Drive- More expensive than Ion Drives, but can be actually even more fuel efficient than those because plasma is a byproduct of the fusion process (which provides plenty of power for ship functions, as well as the production of more thrust plasma). Plasma-Fusion drives have a distinct advantage over older-style Atomic drives, in that if the drive fails it tends to just stop rather than explode violently (though there is still some danger of structural damage if plasma containment fails).

Traction Drive- Still considered fairly experimental, this drive improves upon the established technology of tractor beams by allowing the Traction Drive to actually latch onto a point in the fabric of space/time itself and then pull the ship toward the latch-point. Traction Drives are slower than other forms of star-drives, but do offer a few advantages over them as well. First, Traction Drives allow for absolute braking and very finely-tuned maneuverability, as two Traction beams may be engaged simultaneously (this is how the Traction Drive can achieve steady "thrust" in the first place; it fires a second traction beam as the ship nears the latch-point of the first). Secondly, the traction beams are much more difficult to detect at a distance than the emissions of other types of drives, which allows ships equipped with Traction Drives to be stealthier.

PK Drive The PsychoKinetic Drive, or PK Drive, is a highly experimental piece of technology. At its core is a non-sentient bioengineered creature capable of generating powerful pulses of psychokinetic energy. The "drive" itself is a suspension chamber that both sustains the creature and helps to keep it docile. Cybernetic control units have been linked to the creature's neural system, and these are used to control the timing and direction of its psychokinetic pulses. The primary drawback of PK Drives is that the PK creature is more delicate than the hard tech components of other drives, and requires more "maintenance" in the form of feeding and whatnot. Additionally, if the creature for any reason becomes "spooked," it may start thrusting wildly in its panic (hence the importance of keeping it docile).

[StormBringer]

(24 Sep 09 02:20)Corvus Wrote:  I believe I still hold the rights to the articles, yes, since the Frontiersman is an informal effort of the fan community. However, I wrote them to support the Frontiersman, and I'd like to keep it that way. If you can garner more support for Star Frontiers material in Chaos Ex, I might be interested in producing some new stuff just for you, though.

Well, the way we garner more support is by having people write articles.

If you have something in mind, shoot it over this way!