Friday, June 1, 2018

Passenger Deck/Steerage Geomorphs and Illustration



Okay, so maybe I watched Titanic one too many times, but in my Traveller universe there is a passenger class between middle passage and low berth - steerage. A typical steerage compartment consists of a series of triple bunks, a communal galley/lounge, shared fresher facilities, and additional life support equipment. Quality and accommodations may vary widely from ship to ship, but the Imperium does have, and sometimes even enforces, minimum standards for passenger well being.

At minimum, each passenger is assigned a single bunk with a small storage locker - usually enough space for a suitcase or two. Fresh linens are provided at the start of the trip and changed weekly. Two meals per day are included, but are often not much more than unheated survival rations with appetite suppressants. Passengers are encouraged to bring their own food if they have special dietary needs. Access to toilet facilities is unlimited, but shower facilities are usually limited to once or twice per week. Bunks often only have a simple curtain to provide privacy, but some may provide a more secure, hardened and lockable screen panel.

Steerage passengers are often required to stay within the confines of the steerage compartment, except in the case of emergencies. Depending on the number of steerage passengers, the passenger's ticket price, and ship's amenities, some passengers may be allowed access to other areas of the ship during off hours. Steward services are not included, but a good captain will have a steward - or security personnel - do a walkthrough of the steerage compartment once a day to check on things.

Larger passenger liners may have a good portion of their ship dedicated to steerage compartments. With the increased passenger load per square meter, a shrewd captain can actually make more money with steerage passengers than with high passengers, although usually with considerable more headaches. The additional wear and tear of having large groups of people in a small area means stateroom fittings need to be replaced more often or more durable, and therefore more costly, fittings be installed in the first place.

Steerage compartments are generally open to any passenger, but some may be segregated by sex, alien species, families, etc. It is not uncommon for some groups to book an entire steerage compartment for their private use; corporations moving employees and their families to a new facility on another world, religious factions on a pilgrimage, student groups, traveling entertainers, or soldiers. Travelling steerage is a great way to meet a wide variety of travellers in a short period of time and a great source for news, rumors, and potential jobs.

Steerage passage typically costs between 2,000 and 4,000 credits per trip and is usually a "you get what you pay for" proposition.

15 comments:

  1. Oh my! A Landry for a starship! HEAVEN!!!

    Now if I could just find a starship with a proper janitor closet with a floor sink for mops! :)

    Very much thanks!

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    1. Funny you should mention the janitor closets. I had a variety of them in some of my geomorphs (with mop sinks!) and decided they weren't "sci-fi" enough. Just last weekend I replaced them all with janitor robots.

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  2. This is awesome work... absolutely spectacular. This fits right in with my OTU in that high passages are solely on cruise liners; the best one can hope for in another breed of starship is standard passage (or, thanks to this post, steerage) with low passage being the standard for anyone without the means to book passage on one of the ships constructed solely for the wealthy.
    This one is out of the ballpark, in my opinion.
    mactavish out.

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    1. Thanks. One of the surprising things I learned while researching this topic is that the Titanic had could take more 3rd class passengers than 1st class passengers (833 1st class, 614 2nd class, 1,006 3rd class, plus 900 crew). It made me re-evaluate my thoughts on what a large passenger liner in the Third Imperium might be like.

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    2. Seriously... how much longer do we have to wait for this geomorph book? Your teasers alone are having significant impacts on my alternate Traveller universe setting. Having not played Traveller in 25+ years, your site alone have filled me with not only a desire to play again, but to design my own ships to serve along with yours, which - as I believe I've written before - are fantastic.
      A soon as I read this post I, too, thought of steerage with all the Irish (and other "underclass" passengers) dancing and drinking and fooling about. That's a scene that I will definitely be replicating this summer when my new campaign takes flight.
      mactavish out.

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  3. Nicely done. The Steerage quarters geomorph reminds me a lot of many modern ships. Triple tiered racks and a common head.

    Also, showers should be pretty open. Cleaning 'Grey Water' should be trivial at interstellar tech levels; between Reverse Osmosis and flash distillation, getting the desired cleanliness should not be a problem. Just don't drink the bathing water...

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  4. Very Nice! I really like the whole steerage class option in a starship.

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  5. Awesome work. Also waiting for the geomorph book.

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  6. As always really nice. I too await for the geomorph book. As your wonderful illustrations and deck plans could be used for pretty much any modern / SF RPG there is a lot of potential. Kickstarter or a similar platform could gauge the demand - I know I'd back this and pay good money for it.

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  7. I can see the 'Small' secion of one of thses steerage plans being re-worked to turn the cute litlte "Hammer" class trader into a reasonably viable passenger liner out in the fringes. (^_^)

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    1. That's a really good idea. I'll put creating a passenger variant of the Hammer on my To-Do list.

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    2. (^_^)

      Um.. just a question? Do you do 'Requests'? I have an idea for a 'Re-worked' Safari ship (Yes, it's for the campaign I'm in) but I lack the photoshop-foo of a master such as your self. :3

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    3. Unfortunately I can't take requests. My work schedule is just too chaotic and I don't like making promises I can't deliver on. On the positive side, I had some free time this evening and am working on your idea for a Hammer passenger variant. I'll probably post it tomorrow.

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    4. *Nods* No worries. The 'Passenger Hammer' will be an awesome image.

      Hmmm... maybe a different class name might be in order...? (>_>)

      XD

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  8. Robert, I am really impressed by your work. This is why the Hammer-class is my go-to small (100-dTon) ship in my setting. I can't wait to see the new model!

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