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====== Tech Rating ======

The level of technology available when the vehicle is designed has a significant impact on what can be included in your vehicle.  The Drawing Board considers nine levels of technology, referred to as TR (Tech Rating).  TR 0 is the modern-day, 21st century world.  Negative TRs indicate more primitive technology;  positive TRs indicate higher, science fiction technology.

===== Tech Rating -5 =====

This is stone-age technology.  Contrary to popular opinion, however, stone-age people did have technology, and they did have vehicles.  Said vehicles were limited to rafts, dugout canoes, travois and sledges, but they did exist.  Some advanced communities used rollers to help transport heavy objects on land.

Examples from fiction include Earth's Children, by Jean Auel, or "Quest for Fire" (1981 film).

===== Tech Rating -4 =====

The Bronze Age saw surprisingly advanced vehicles, especially for ships and land transportation. While early sails were smaller and less efficient than later versions, skilled oarsmen powered many vessels. Animal-drawn land vehicles, such as carts, wagons, and chariots, became widespread. The chariot, a testament to the engineering and tactical thinking of the era, emerged as a powerful and mobile force on the battlefield.

Examples from fiction include The Sunbird or River God, by Wilbur Smith, or the TV series, Rome.

===== Tech Rating -3 =====

The Middle Ages witnessed a significant leap forward in shipbuilding with the introduction of improved sails, such as lateen sails, and sturdier hull designs like clinker-built construction. Advancements in harnessing techniques allowed for greater efficiency in animal-drawn vehicles. Winter travel also saw improvements with the development of sledges featuring better runners for easier movement on snow. Improved steering mechanisms on wagons and carriages enhanced maneuverability and comfort for passengers.

Examples from fiction include The Last Kingdom and its sequels, by Bernard Cornwell, or the television programme based on it.

===== Tech Rating -2 =====

Sails reached their pinnacle in design during this time period, but the seeds of change were sown with the exploration of alternative propulsion.  The introduction of steam power led to the development of paddle wheelers.  While this new technology wasn't yet sufficiently compact or efficient for land vehicles, new advancements in metallurgy led to better suspension, making land travel easier and more comfortable.  Perhaps the most significant change for vehicles was the rise of firearms. This revolutionized warfare, forcing a re-evaluation of vehicle design for both offense and defense.

Examples from fiction include Sharpe's Rifles and its sequels, by Bernard Cornwell, or Master and Commander:  The Far Side of the World (2003 film).

===== Tech Rating -1 =====

The late 19th and early 20th centuries witnessed a surge in transportation innovation, with the widespread adoption of steam-powered railways, the invention of the automobile and tank, and the early development of functional airplanes and submarines. This era marked a turning point in vehicle technology, laying the foundation for the diverse range of vehicles we see today.

Examples from fiction are widespread, covering World War I and World War II, such as The Cruel Sea, by Nicholas Monserrat, or Dunkirk (2017 film).

===== Tech Rating 0 =====

This is the modern era, the 21st century.  Aircraft fly faster than the speed of sound;  trains have been streamlined to operate at ridiculous speeds as well.  Spacecraft are still in their infancy, but have become common enough that people no longer view them as science fiction impossibilities.  Nuclear power allows ships to remain at sea for years, or allow submarines to remain submerged for weeks.

Much of Tom Clancy's writing examines modern vehicles in warfare, but The Hunt For Red October pays particularly close attention to the subject.

===== Tech Rating +1 =====

As space travel becomes more common, humanity begins to establish its first interplanetary colonies.  Rockets remain large and wasteful vehicles, but once a spacecraft leaves its gravity well, plasma ion thrusters allow for reasonable acceleration over prolonged periods.  On ground-side, vehicles of every sort have reached high levels of efficiency, both in terms of fuel consumption and in terms of weight.  For weaponry, lasers and particle acceleration guns finally reach maturity.

Examples from fiction include many of Heinlein's 'Teens In Space' stories, or his masterpiece, The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress.  The Stanley Kubrick masterpiece, 2001, is an excellent film example.

===== Tech Rating +2 =====

This is a level in which interplanetary travel has become commonplace.  Generational ships, or cryogenic "sleeper" ships, begin making the long trip between stars.  If FTL exists, it is primitive, slow and inefficient.  Maglev becomes much more commonplace with the introduction of room-temperature superconductors, and personal vehicles begin to recede in size once again.  Fusion is the most commonly used power source for any larger vehicle, whereas superconductor-based capacitors tend to be used for smaller personal vehicles.

Much of Isaac Asimov's early writings fit into this category, as does Rendezvous With Rama by Arthur C. Clarke, or Alien (1979 film).

===== Tech Rating +3 =====

The introduction of practical FTL is a game-changer in almost every way.  Fusion and capacitors remain the principal power systems, but the technological developments needed to attain FTL have refined every other level of technology.  If deflector shields or reactionless thrusters are to become a thing, this is where they will first begin to appear.

Examples from fiction include "The Caves of Steel" by Isaac Asimov, or the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica.

===== Tech Rating +4 =====

This level is characterized by the development of gravity control.  Aside from contragravity systems, this will also see improvements in fusion engines, FTL systems, shields, reactionless drives and, of course, weaponry.

Examples from fiction include the Honor Harrington series by David Weber, or Star Trek:  The Original Series

===== Tech Rating +5 =====

This approaches the Clarke limit:  technology at this level begins to seem like magic.  Molecular rearrangement allows for transporters, replicators, and the total conversion reactor.  Technology beyond this level is also beyond the scope of this document.

The novel Diaspora, by Greg Egan, reaches this level.  Many television shows or movies do not, as technology at this level is hard for us to grasp, but the Time Lords of Doctor Who, or the Asgard of Stargate: SG-1, would reach this level---especially because in neither case do we actually know their limits.