That too is a point that I have some issue with. I'm pretty sure there's no vertical entry into a cruise ship's engineering spaces. Similarly their bridge, unless there's a topside hatch to a flying bridge or some such above the bridge/wheelhouse.

Now, you do need ways to escape. You also need ways to get in if the primary way in is screwed up due to damage or enemy action or whatever. That said, any place that contains key assets would seem to suggest not too many approach paths.

I'm noting that I'm playing a game now where we're dealing with borders on a liner and I noted hatches right next to the bridge... hmmmm... not the best security design.

Here's some of the things I would do:

Install a some number (N) 4 bunk small staterooms near the bridge or any other key areas so that, when in critical situations, your crew can be hot-bunked and be right at hand. It'll be less comfortable and have virtually no storage, but it'll let you bunk 12 to a small stateroom for short periods (in 3 shifts, or if you do 2, 8 crew on 12 hour rotations). That also keeps them at or near stations.
I'd install a captain's day cabin with a cot connected to the bridge or the flag bridge in the commodore/admiral's case. They'd have normal quarters but they'd also have one so they could always be steps away from the CIC or bridge.
The only approaches to the bridge or engineering spaces would have good sightlines for any defenders and would have appropriate preparations (gas dispensers, variable grav plates, maybe other means). There might on major military ships be pop down turrets with laser rifles, an accelerator-based support weapon (accelerator gatling anyone?) or some such. Microwave barrier could be nasty too.
All hatches to engineering, bridge, crew section, areas containing ship's computers, armoury/arms locker, vaults/lockboxes, the chief purser's office, security chief's office, security offices, etc. would be reinforced and very tough to compromise.
To ensure escape from some of these limited access ports, there would either be rigid life ball launchers (if you figured they'd just need to leave the area of the ship that was in trouble and then get picked up) or actual individual or small group life pods.
For bridge or CIC, when you strap in and the securing frames drop around you, it may be that your seat can become its own drop away escape pod.

This is mostly for military or paramilitary (or perhaps criminal, paranoids aka... player ships) vessels vs. smaller vessels or civilian vessels. Those can be a little laxer on security because boarders may be less likely. Or at the least, the designers may want cheap ships and not want to allocate space and so on to provide greater internal security.

On Tue, Oct 20, 2020 at 10:43 PM Thomas RUX <xxxxxx@comcast.net> wrote:

Hi kaladorn,

Ladders and lifts make good choke points against borders. Unfortunately, most airlocks appear to be located right next to the bridge and often in the engineering space.

Tom Rux

On 10/20/2020 4:28 PM xxxxxx@gmail.com wrote:

I suppose if we had Andromeda Ascendant with a singularity for a power source, that would limit the issues of fuel for a variety of purposes.

The one nightmare I have is the notion that I would try to make a sensible deckplan for the Andromeda... the whole 'lose ball of bailing wire that's been sat on' makes for something fun for 3D printers, but no fun for 2D deckplans I imagine.

One thing I find interesting in traveller deckplans (yeah, tangent): I see ladders and lifts. I've NEVER seen anyone use a simple ramp to run between levels like the Andromeda does here and there. A ramp would not be subject to power outages or getting stuck, like lifts do, nor is it a bear to get through as a vertical iris or manual hatch could be. I suppose it takes up more dTonnage which is precious in most Traveller designs so that might be a part of it.

On Tue, Oct 20, 2020 at 3:46 PM Jeffrey Schwartz < xxxxxx@gmail.com> wrote:

Makes sense

Without the fuel for sacrificial mass, you can have enough energy in
the caps and still not be able to generate a sufficiently steep grav
well to make a jump

On Fri, Oct 9, 2020 at 12:41 AM < xxxxxx@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> From Traveller's Digest 11 p 38 (Just ran across this, so sharing... and pardon any transcription errors... I have to type it)
>
> Q: Can energy accumulated in the jump drive capacitors from a black globe generator in combat be used exclusively to power a jump or must jump fuel be used in any case? - J.K.
>
> A: As stated in both HG and the MT Ref's Manual, a starship's jump drive capacitors can be used to divert or "Bleed Off" the energy absorbed by a black globe when the screen is hit in combat. The rules, however, are unclear on thiss point, largely because of the word 'capacitor'. Because the jump drive capacitors are being used, many have assumed the energy could be used to charge the hull jump net, and thus send the ship into jump. Unfortunately that does not work. The jump drive must still be used to charge capacitors and and power the jump.
> The energy from the black globe is of a low grade, while the energy generated by the jump drive is of a much higher grade. The jump drive capacitors are able to absorb the black globe energy, but they cannot use it to effectively power the jump net in the ship's hull. The low grade energy allowed to leave the ship after the black globe is off exits the ship via the jump drive hull net as ordinary heat energy. It is useless for propelling the ship into jump space. (Incidentally, note why the black globe generator has to be off to allow the heat energy to leave. Were the energy allowed to leave while the globe was on, the heat build-up inside the black globe sphere would melt the ship's hull.)
> The statement in the rules that says "If the ship absorbs enough energy to make a jump, and is supplied with sufficient fuel, it may jump" is misleading. The jump drive must still be used as normal to enter jumpspace. Whether or not a ship has a black globe really has nothing to do with going into jump. - Marc W. Miller.
>
> -----
> "Low grade energy/ high grade energy"? Really? And you didn't want lightsabers, Marc?.... <roll my eyes>
>
> Still, if you wanted the official dogma, now you have it.
>
> TomB
>
> --
> “The only stable state is the one in which all men are equal before the law.” ― Aristotle
>
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