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Pocket Empires |
Mark Bridgeman
The Subsidised liner is an Imperial licensed design and the governments answer to not having enough passenger service between distant or remote Imperial worlds, some of which can feel cut off and quite isolated without regular service or contact from their interstellar neighbours. The ship is large, has adequate cargo capacity, and thoroughly excellent passenger facilities, as one TAS reporter put it, 'The ship, though small by Liner standards has that big ship feel about, the staterooms are sumptuous and outfitted with the very latest in tasteful design, the passenger lounge is also rather luxurious and filled with every conceivable entertainment and well attended by the small crew of stewards… Meals are typically prepared in the galley and served in each stateroom, the lower deck has a small rear facing observation window and some comfy couches, designed so that passengers can look out and see their destination world as the ship decelerates toward it' (as ships typically reverse into orbit)
This class of vessel is expensive, but the government subsidy makes it the equivalent of a ship half of its price range, and hence very tempting, needless to say the best prices come from priority freight and selling high passage, if this can be maintained, making the most of its impressive jump range, then good profits can be made. Some members of this class have been sold under normal banking terms (no subsidy).
Rarely seen beyond the Imperial frontier, as this class of ship is unarmed, though it is fitted with Hardpoints should the need ever arise to up gun this vessel, (all subsidised vessels can be mobilised as fleet auxiliaries if need be, and when this done, make impressive troop carriers and logistic support units, especially this class with its 3 parsec rated drive, large power-plant needed to support jump operations giving lots of excess power that can easily be diverted to weapons in normal space operations.
This class of ship is semi-streamlined so cannot land on planets with an atmosphere greater than 1 though it can skim for fuel and process unrefined fuel, hence passengers either board and depart at orbital stations or are shuttled to and from orbit either by local transport or the ship's launch.
Corporations that operate these subsidised liners often have offices in the Starport that actively seek out priority freight and speculative cargos for the next stop along their service routes.
Imperial Subsidised Liner
Class: Subsidised Merchant Type M Ep Output: 18 Tech Level: 12 Agility: 1 Size: (Medium 600 Tons) Initiative: 1 Streamlining: Semi streamlined AC: 11 Jump Range: 1 x Jump 3 Repulsors: None Acceleration 1G Thruster Nuclear Dampers: None Fuel 198.0 Tons (Liquid Hydrogen) Meson Screens: None Duration: 4 weeks Black Globes: None Crew: 8-10 AR: 0 Staterooms: 38 SI: 175 Small Cabins: none Main Computer: Model 3 Bunks: none Sensor Range: close (model 2) Couches: none Comm. Range: close (model 2) Low Berths: 10 Cargo Space: 129.3 Tons Cost: Mcr: 273.622 (Mcr 218.897 in quantity) Atmospheric speeds Noe= 875 kph Cruising = 825 kph Maximum = 1100 kph Other Equipment: Fuel Scoops & Purifier (refines 198 tons in 7 Hour 55 minutes) 6 Hardpoints to allow upgrades. Launch stored in Internal Hanger (tl-8 version included in price) Crew Detail: (Minimum) 2 x Bridge, 2 x Engineer, 3 x Steward, 1 x medic (Recommended) 2 x Bridge, 2 x Engineer, 4 x Steward, 1 x medic, 1 x security Costs & Revenues (Mcr: 1.183) Per Operational Month) Life support: Cr 152,000 (Passengers & all crew/month) Crew Costs: Cr 40,000 (Assuming 10 well paid crew) Unrefined Fuel: Cr 79,200 (Cr 200x 198 tons x 2 including shipping cost) Mortgage: Cr 912,073 Totals: Cr 1, 183, 273 (Mcr 1.183) Revenues (Mcr: 0.702) Per Operational Month 28 x Mid Passage 28 x Cr 8,000 = Cr 224,000 x 2 = Cr 448,000 10 x Low Passage 10 x Cr 1,000 = Cr 10,000 x 2 = Cr 20,000 129 x Priority freight 129 x Cr 3,000 = Cr 387,000 x 2 = 774, 000 Total Cr 1,242,000 Expected Profits; Cr 1,242,000 – Cr 1, 183, 273 = Cr 58,727
Priority freight is normally charged at Cr1000 per ton per parsec of distance, the above example assumes that the hold can be filled full of such freight going the maximum jump distance of 3 parsecs, priority freighting at two parsecs or less will definitely not pay the bills… However the government subsidy has the effect of cutting the mortgage in half, giving the following calculation.
Subsidised Mortgage Cr 456,036 Life support: Cr 152,000 (Passengers & all crew/month) Crew Costs: Cr 40,000 (Assuming 10 well paid crew) Unrefined Fuel: Cr 79,200 (Cr 200 x 198 tons x 2 including shipping cost) Totals Cr 727,236 Against expected revenues of… 28 x Mid Passage 28 x Cr 8,000 = Cr 224,000 x 2 = Cr 448,000 10 x Low Passage 10 x Cr 1,000 = Cr 10,000 x 2 = Cr 20,000 129 x freight 129 x Cr 1,000 = Cr 129,000 x 2 = 258, 000 Totals: Cr 726,000 Cr 726,000 – Cr 727,236 = loss of Cr 1, 236 (Can you imagine how much worse this would have been without the subsidy) If half of the passage sold was high passage… 14 x High Passage 14 x Cr 10,000 = 140,000 x 2 = 280,000 14 x Mid Passage 14 x Cr 8,000 = Cr 112,000 x 2 = Cr 224,000 10 x Low Passage 10 x Cr 1,000 = Cr 10,000 x 2 = Cr 20,000 129 x freight 129 x Cr 1,000 = Cr 129,000 x 2 = 258, 000 Totals Cr 782,000 – Cr 727,236 = profit of Cr 54,764
Hence the government subsidy is important and so is the need to sell high passage, the more the better… other ways of showing a profit include charging more for freight (if you can get away with it i.e. no competitors in system etc) or a mixed cargo hold of priority freight, speculative cargo, and high passengers, with normal priced fright being the last resort.
In summary then, these ships are best used on jump 2 to 3 routes, and thanks to the government subsidy can get away with charging normal freight rates and hence distant worlds can be an important part of the interstellar community and are not unduly penalised by high shipping prices, provided of course that a steady stream of high passengers can be found to increase revenue. Mail contracts and priority freight can of course increase revenue when you can get it.
Design Worksheet.
Installed Component Tonnage MCR Ep Notes.
Hull +600 36.0 ---- Close Structure
Bridge 20 1.0 ----
Computer 0.3 9.3 ---- Model 3
Avionics 0.4 (0.9) ---- Model 1
Sensors 0.6 (1.2) ---- Model 2
Commo 0.4 (1.0) ---- Model 2
M-Drive 12.0 18.0 -6.0 1G Thruster
Jump Drive 24.0 96.0 -18.0 Jump=3
Jump Fuel 180.0 ---- ---- 1 x Jump 3
Power Plant 27.0 81.0 +18.0 Fusion Tl-9
Fuel 4 weeks 18.0 ---- ---- Liquid Hydrogen
Hardpoints ---- 0.6 ---- 6 Hardpoints
Fuel Scoops ---- 0.6 ----
Purification Plant 6.0 0.032 ---- 44 Tons in 1hr 45 minutes
28 x Stateroom 112.0 14.0 ---- High/mid Passage
10 x Stateroom 40.0 5.0 ---- Crew Quarters
Low Berths 10.0 2.0 ---- 20 Passengers
Launch Hanger ----- 0.04 ----
Launch 20.0 10.05 ---- TL 8+ Launch
Cargo 129.3 ---- ---
Totals 600 ---- 18.0
273.622
Excess Power = 12 in normal space operations, none whilst jump drive activated.
Original T4 Design: Not Credited
Design re-designed for T20, by Mark Bridgeman.
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