DEPARTMENTS

Friday, September 11, 2009

Albedo Anthropomorphics - Spacecraft

EDF Cruiser
EDF scout ship Flanked by two ACV (Autonomous Combat Vehicles)

Spacecraft in Albedo were about as hard scifi as you could get and still be scifi. Big, useform and about as plain as you could get without being lame. They came in tow forms - glorified space shuttles and large cylindrical FTL vessels. In either form, they remind me of the ships from Traveller a lot.

From what I can tell, offensive weapons fall into two categories - Autonomous Combat Vehicles (ACV) and direct fire weapons (laser, particle beams, masers). Each has its role in combat depending on the type of engagement.

The most universally useful is the ACV which is a non-explosive, self-guiding, hyperkinetic smart weapon. Capable of coordinating with one another and the launching vessel, ACVs juke and dodge, dogfighting with one another until one of them can score a hit on an enemy vessel. They do not carry payloads, hitting with enough velocity that they can inflict severe damage or even destroy another vessel with the sheer force of their impact alone. Such weapons are useful during planetary assaults and closing engagements where speeds are too great for the effective use of energy weapons.

Energy weapons are most useful during chasing engagements, orbital encounters or in other situations where ships are in closer proximity to one another or where the encounter is such that greater speeds have not been reached or where maneuvering space is limited. The nature of energy weapons in Albedo requires them to have time to chew away at the armor and hulls of opposing vessels.

Ships in Albedo are equipped with advanced sensors and navigational tools as well as a plethora of computer-assisted navigation and helm controls. Internal systems, like many things in the Albedo universe, are heavily automated and computer-assisted. Everything from crew quarters to engineering and sickbay facilities are equipped with computerized systems and robotic tools.

As the ships in Albedo do not benefit from artificial gravity, their decks are stacked with up and down only relative while the ship is under thrust and generating its own "gravity". When at a stop, the ship interior spaces are under zero-gravity conditions, Interior spaces are kept clean, useful and uncluttered. Vecro patches, anchor hooks, and push-through portals are numerous to facilitate low and zero-gravity conditions.

The two ship diagrams below show the relative arrangements of decks and ship components between an FTL scout and destroyer type vessel.

Destroyer Cross SectionPhotobucket
(Click on pictures for larger images)

Shuttles and other interface craft are fairly standard fair in Albedo being mostly aerodynamic shapes using vectored thrust for maneuvering in the atmosphere. Most of them function like huge aerodynes in the atmosphere. There are exceptions and various heavy-lifting vessels also exist, looking much like the spheroid dropships from the Battletech universe.

I'm not sure where to go with Albedo from here. I think I've touched on most of the really cool tech and style bits. There is a lot about the setting and the cultures portrayed in it that I could go into, but outside of the context of the comics, I'm not sure they are really all that exciting. If I think of anything else about the Albedo setting that is post-worthy, I'll be sure to do so.

Hope you've enjoyed reading about Albedo.

Take care,

-Eli

7 comments:

  1. Wow I am out of the loop for a few days and you go crazy with posts. Interesting stuff though. I like the spaceships, as you say a bit bland but realistic.

    Devon

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for the posts on Albedo, a game I knew very little about. Interesting stuff. I, for one, would like to hear more!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks for chiming in guys. My own productivity has been a but low, of late, but I didn't see any need to let the blog lay idle.

    Anonymous, if there is something in particular you are interested in knowing about Albedo, I'd be happy to post on it if I can. For now, however, I am pretty much done with posting about it.

    At least for now...

    -Eli

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  4. Eli,

    There wasn't anything really specific, I was just enjoying your posts on the topic. I like the hard sci-fi vibe and the aesthetic. When you've played the game, do your players have any issue with the 'furry' aspect? Or does it fade into the background?

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  5. It's been ages since I've actually played but back then it didn't seem to matter. None of my players were either pro or anti furry.

    I think it comes down to the maturity of the players and how you present the game.

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  6. I remember the comic series Albedo and love it for that very reason, it's hard sci-fi approach for what is now called a furry series. Any sci-fi ship ideas I usually come up with for stories or games end up based on 3 sci-fi series. Albedo, Legend of Galactic Heroes and Star Frontiers. Because those seem to have the better concepts.

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  7. Sargonarhes,

    Thanks for the comment. I very much agree that Albedo only marginally belongs in the realm of "furry" comics.

    Your favorite ship designs also mirrors some of my favorite influences, though I must through the Star Wars styled designs in there.

    -Eli

    ReplyDelete

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