Quote from: TechnomancerThere Ain't No Stealth in Space

Atomic Rocket is really a good site if you're looking for some realism in your sci-fi.

Fascinating.  Simultaneously dis-spiriting and liberating.  

!i!

Quote from: TechnomancerI hate to break it to you, but stealth in space, barring some kind of handwavium cloaking technology, is virtually impossible.  A space ship against the backdrop of cold, empty space stands out like a neon sign.

There Ain't No Stealth in Space

Atomic Rocket is really a good site if you're looking for some realism in your sci-fi.

Heh.

First off, though I have participated in the source newsgroup from time to time, I am proud to say I realized many of these limitations on my own.

My SF game of choice is Traveller, and it features reactionless drive (which, due to a modestly handwavey but not entirely implausible conjecture by scientist and SF author Robert Forward, I am at peace with), the "torch in space" syndrome in not one that ever entered my calculations. I analyzed the problem entirely from a "masking your heat signature" perspective.

I pictured a cooled heat reflector that bounces your heat signature away from a known target. Of course, this helps you not if potential observers exist in many directions, and the thermodynamics of the situation are non-trivial. But some stealth if possible, if not trivial.

Which is why, in the final analysis, when I run pirate encounters in Traveller, it's usually of the "pirate hiding behind the horizon of a gas giant or moonlet of a poorly surveyed system" variety. Couple this with the fact that jumps near worlds is risky, the refuelling assumptions in Traveller is what, to me, makes space piracy possible.

Traveller FTW!

Quote from: Caesar SlaadCouple this with the fact that jumps near worlds is risky, the refuelling assumptions in Traveller is what, to me, makes space piracy possible.

Traveller has several assumptions that support piracy

1.  Population is unevenly distributed.  Some systems have only  a few hundred to a few thousand inhabitants.  These systems cannot afford a navy.  They are also not going to have tons of ships with valuable cargo (or if they do, they will be well armed/escorted) but thems the breaks.

2.  Refuelling is commonly available but has enough restrictions that fishing near a source is possible.   You don't need to go to a spaceport, just a gas giant or planet with water.  Pirates don't have problems refueling and can wait near a planet that is likely to have ships coming by.  

3.  Ships don't always go kablooey when severely hit.  If they did, there wouldn't be any profit.  But boarders would have to assume that atmosphere has been compromised.

For Nebuleon, we call them Raiders since very little ship to ship combat goes on in any form. The most likely form of piracy to occur would be more a case of infiltrating a crew to sabotage the ship or fooling the crew into thinking you are a legitimate authority in-system and doing a voluntary docking.

That said, stealth technology is not 100%. Mechanically, it has to do with the skill of the sensor officer on the hunting ship and the communications officer on the sensor scammed ship. Contested rolls figuring in the quality of each ships equipment.

Setting wise, being a space pirate seldom involves putting a very expensive piece of property (pirate ship or target ship) at risk. Usually, the booty is the ship and to a lesser extent the crew. Cargo can be profitable but the more it is worth the less easy to liquidate since the most profitable materials are controlled substances.

So, getting a ship on the ground is usually the best or infiltration. Ground raiders would fit the closest ideas of "Going in armed and stealing stuff". In practice it is not nearly as romantic as portrayed in our culture. They prey on new colonies or fairly poor settlements. If a colony or settlement is too well established, they will have a defense force, sensor nets and anti-ship guns. All of these the bane of pirates/raiders.

I could go on but that is the gist of it.

Bill

So...pirates might lurk on the surface of a water-bearing, uninhabited planet, eh...?  And you might put your ship down in the water, siphoning up, la-dee-dah, keeping the fish outta the intakes...when suddenly ZAP!  Holy Crap!  Pirates!

In a freaking BOAT!

Quote from: Ian AbsentiaPassive (and active) sensor arrays, placed on or near such moons and asteroids and maintained whatever government or polity held sway in the region, would also wreak havoc with pirates' plans to go lurking about.  Sauce for the goose...!i!

Good point, dammit! I'm gonna have to pull my ship out of orbit and seek ungoverned space.Toodlepip!

Space Captain Anthrobot:D

Quote from: Dr Rotwang!So...pirates might lurk on the surface of a water-bearing, uninhabited planet, eh...?  And you might put your ship down in the water, siphoning up, la-dee-dah, keeping the fish outta the intakes...when suddenly ZAP!  Holy Crap!  Pirates!

In a freaking BOAT!

Worse, pirates in a sub!!

Space Pirates > Space Ninjas

I would think explosive decompression would make space piracy a tough profession to succeed at. It would almost be more like space hijacking (i.e. inside job) if you wanted any hope of getting cargo intact.