Subject: Cloaking Device (was Re: Space Submarines . . .)
From: "Dr Kromm" <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 29 Aug 1997 11:40:00 -0500

On 29 Aug 97 at 8:27, Onno Meyer wrote:
Re: cloaking devices
> It is possible if you want it to be. Perhaps a variation of the
> forcefield technology. It is all a game, and the tech levels we're
> talking about are not even solid speculation :-)

Exactly. I mean, just whip up some technobabble, some crazy figures and
go with it:

    Cloaking Device (TL11): This device uses gravity manipulation
    technology similar to that used by the deflector field. A
    powerful gravitational lens bends the radiation emitted by
    active sensors around the vehicle, while the vehicle's own
    emissions are trapped within the "well" created by the field.
    This renders the vehicle *completely* invisible to both active
    and passive sensors. Gravscanners can detect this "phased
    gravitational anomaly," but at a penalty equal to (TL-4)x2.

    A vehicle can remain cloaked for (TL-4) hours before starts to
    leak emissions. After that time, it is no longer shielded from
    passive detection, although it remains invisible to active
    sensors. A vehicle must "decloak" for (20-TL) seconds to
    radiate its stored emissions, after which it can cloak itself
    for another (TL-4) hours. The sudden burst of radiation
    released upon decloaking gives a +10 to any attempt to detect
    the vehicle with a passive sensor! 

    A "cloaked" vehicle is incapable of emitting anything. This
    means that it cannot use weapons, active sensors, teleport
    projectors, reaction drives, et cetera. It may use passive
    sensors, deflector fields (but not force screens) and
    reactionless or FTL drive systems. Its communicators can be
    used to receive or intercept messages, but not to transmit.

    A cloaking device is worthless in atmosphere, where atmospheric
    displacement effects gives away the presence of the vehicle. It
    is therefore generally used only on spacecraft.

    Cloaking devices weigh 0.4 lbs., cost $5,000 and use 7.2 kW,
    all multiplied by the vehicle's total surface area. Their
    extreme cost and power consumption makes them rare except on
    large, powerful warships. Cost and weight are halved normally
    at TL12 and again at TL13+.

***

>   * Make it expensive and the cost dependent on the ship size.

Check. Note that I went with a Star Wars paradigm here. We all
remember, "No ship that size has a cloaking device." Apparently,
that's meant to be taken as, "No ship that small has a cloaking
device." In the SW universe, these devices are characteristic of
cruisers, not fighters.

> * Make it heavy.

Check.

> * Make it power-hungry.

Check.

> * Quite possible, any beam weapon fire disrupts the cloaking shell,
> it might even overload the system that attempts to 'dampen' the beam
> - instant burn-out.
> * You'd need more double-talk to prevent projectile fire. 

I simply said that weapons *could not* be used while cloaked.

> * The cloaking device might severely limit the sensor use by the
> cloaked ship.

Check.

> * Set a time limit on the operation of the cloak. Heat builds up or
> perhaps a technobabble charge that needs to dissipate.

Check.

> * Limit the use of drives under cloak.

Check.

***

Comments?

Kromm.

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