Topic: Size comparsion charts?

is there a size comparsion chart for the ships in Starmada?  either measurements or even a silhouette chart?
thanks

Re: Size comparsion charts?

Not really...

Because of its 'universal' nature, I've resisted setting real-world scales for game values (e.g. "1 hull point = XX tons").

However, I will say that the assumption is that there is not a linear correlation between hull size and "real" mass. I've always functioned under the supposition that it takes progressively more mass to provide each additional hull point. At risk of opening myself up to (further) ridicule, something like MASS = HULL^(2/3) * CONSTANT is in the ballpark.

Daniel Kast
Majestic Twelve Games
cricket@mj12games.com

Re: Size comparsion charts?

In the campaign games I have played in (using VBAM for the economy), we have always used the SU as a calculation for mass. So a 2HS ship with 247 SU is more than twice the size of a 1 HS ship with 100 SU.

Using the HS^(2/3)*constant, with the constant set at 100 (to match SU at HS1) gives:
HS    SU    HS^(2/3)*constant
1    100     100
2    247     158.7401052
3    418     208.0083823
4    607     251.98421
5    811     292.4017738
6    1,028     330.1927249
7    1,255     365.930571
8    1,493     400
9    1,740     432.6748711
10    1,996     464.1588834
11    2,259     494.6087443
12    2,529     524.1482788
13    2,807     552.8774814
14    3,091     580.8785734
15    3,381     608.2201996
16    3,676     634.9604208
17    3,978     661.1489018
18    4,285     686.8285455
19    4,596     712.0367359
20    4,913     736.8062997
21    5,235     761.1662611
22    5,561     785.1424411
23    5,892     808.7579399
24    6,227     832.0335292
25    6,567     854.9879733
26    6,910     877.6382955
27    7,258     900
28    7,609     922.0872584
29    7,964     943.9130677
30    8,323     965.4893846

Using SU as an indicator of size (mass) makes the big ships a lot more massive.
/end ridicule

Re: Size comparsion charts?

oh Lord , i;m going  to have to sit down  use my brain  :shock: . ok i think i can use the forumal to figure out mini scale . ouch , ouch,ouch big_smile

Re: Size comparsion charts?

RavenstarStudios wrote:

oh Lord , i;m going  to have to sit down  use my brain  :shock: . ok i think i can use the forumal to figure out mini scale . ouch , ouch,ouch big_smile

Oh, PLEASE don't take this as Gospel of any sort... smile

Daniel Kast
Majestic Twelve Games
cricket@mj12games.com

Re: Size comparsion charts?

it's anti-gospel, which of course makes it a kind of gospel.

I always thought minis would be linear in size anyway, in spite of what the actual tonnage was.

Re: Size comparsion charts?

HEY!  DID I JUST HEAR BRAINS IMPLODING!?!   :shock:

lol

Re: Size comparsion charts?

Heh...

And to further stir the pot, consider that the actual physical dimensions have nothing whatsoever to do with mass.

Is your laser a gas-filled tube, a solid state semiconductor, or a cube of heavy metals encrusted with nano-tube circuitry?

Surely, this way lies madness....

big_smile

Re: Size comparsion charts?

thedugan wrote:

Heh...
And to further stir the pot, consider that the actual physical dimensions have nothing whatsoever to do with mass.
Is your laser a gas-filled tube, a solid state semiconductor, or a cube of heavy metals encrusted with nano-tube circuitry?
Surely, this way lies madness....
big_smile

Do we have any tables on the specific gravity of the materials used in constructing Starmada ships?
/end sarcasm

Re: Size comparsion charts?

japridemor wrote:
thedugan wrote:

Heh...
And to further stir the pot, consider that the actual physical dimensions have nothing whatsoever to do with mass.
Is your laser a gas-filled tube, a solid state semiconductor, or a cube of heavy metals encrusted with nano-tube circuitry?
Surely, this way lies madness....
big_smile

Do we have any tables on the specific gravity of the materials used in constructing Starmada ships?
/end sarcasm

Heh...

That being precisely my point.

Starmada is what I call 'design for effect' - it just doesn't matter just how big the ship is, unless you're trying to correlate how much stuff from YOUR faction into YOUR faction's ships... SU's are relative to your faction, and may not be as big for ANOTHER faction.

At least, that's MY thinking on it...

Zentradi SU's are bigger then Micronian SU's....
big_smile

Re: Size comparsion charts?

thedugan wrote:

Starmada is what I call 'design for effect' - it just doesn't matter just how big the ship is, unless you're trying to correlate how much stuff from YOUR faction into YOUR faction's ships... SU's are relative to your faction, and may not be as big for ANOTHER faction.
<snip>
Zentradi SU's are bigger then Micronian SU's....

My take is the opposite..an SU is an SU is an SU. The tech levels in starmada means that the Zentraedi at TL+1 need less SU to equip an equivalent Hyperdrive than the TL-1 Micronians do. I alway took SU as a measure of mass, or size if you will. How an SU relates to your background material is open to interpretation. 1 SU could be x number of m^3 or whatever the GM decides but would hold true across all factions.

Re: Size comparsion charts?

A decent approximation for most "hull spaces" is 25 metric tonnes in a cube of roughly 100 cubic meters.

This gives a density roughly comparable to modern jets; I generally presume (unless the setting precludes otherwise) that the spaceships we're making are built out of diamondoid unobtanium laminate, reinforced heavily with pixie dust.

Some systems will be less dense than that (hydrogen fuel tanks come to mind).  Others will be more dense (your neutronium armor belts).  But as an average, it's plausible.

Re: Size comparsion charts?

I always assumed that a SU is a measurement of mass that is fixed across the races/ships.  Thus, a hull 2 ship is about 2.5 times bigger in terms of mass than a size 1.  Of course, this means a size 2 ship, each hull is worth 123.5 'mass points', but on a size 10 ship, each hull lost is 199.6 'mass points'. So a weapon that does a point of damage to a hull 10 size 'destroys' more mass than the same weapon hitting a hull 2 ship.  Of course, this doesn't mean anything in terms of the game, but it is a quark of the system.

Back on topic, the only thing that you would want to standardize ship hull size for mass/size would be ships in the same nation.  Isn't that how the initial Hull sizes for the Brigade ships determined? Taking the miniature and figuring out its mass and doing a conversion.  Taking the constant in "HS^(2/3)*constant" to be 10, you could use that as a basis for miniature ship size.  Thus a hull 1 ship is 10 mm (.3 inch), a 10 hull size would be 46.5 mm (~1.8 inches) and a hull 30 would be 96.5 mm (~4 inches).  Actually, those aren't bad sizes for current ships...

-Bren

Re: Size comparsion charts?

well thats getting closer to what i am looking for . so a indomitable imperial battleship would be about 1and 3/8th inches long? being Hull 12 ship.
I tend to like a little larger model for painting , as miniatures  battleships in the 2.5 " to 3 inch size works well. but with the formula you have that would make them in the fleet scale which is cool .

Re: Size comparsion charts?

RavenstarStudios wrote:

well thats getting closer to what i am looking for . so a indomitable imperial battleship would be about 1and 3/8th inches long? being Hull 12 ship.
I tend to like a little larger model for painting , as miniatures  battleships in the 2.5 " to 3 inch size works well. but with the formula you have that would make them in the fleet scale which is cool .

Probably fill a niche too from all the comments over on SCN.

Re: Size comparsion charts?

Yeah, I like the idea of fleet scale.  I don't have a lot of money so, resonable fleets sizes are needed.  I base most of my 'knowledge' on ship sizes on the "GZG miniature standard".

For HS^(2/3)*10
1HS = 10mm
2HS = 16mm
3HS = 21mm
4HS = 25mm (~1 inch)
[snip]
11HS = 49mm
12HS = 52mm (~2 inches)
and so on...

Of course, a size 1 HS ship is about the same size as a current fighter in fleet scale.  Not a bad thing in my opinion, but it might be a bit small to make a decent ship. Again, since the current trend is larger ship sizes, it might not be an issue.  Ships less than 4 HS don't last long in Starmada...