> It depends whether you want "boat vs boat" or "plane vs. boat". > > Eric Funk
As Roger pointed out, the usual GURPS tech doesn't give you the choice. Tech that works for a fighter works for a large cruiser, and PT boats are not just large fighters. What can you do to justify small starfighters? * Cut the flight and engagement ranges. When the range is measured in lightseconds, big weapons and sensors allow a big ship to target a little fighter before the little fighter can close, and swarm tactics are no solution unless you use a FTL drive to bypass the approach. But when fighters dodge among a cluster of asteroids or habitats, ranges will be shorter. A little ship with a sufficient sensor and weapon can defeat a larger, more expensive ship with 'overkill' and 'overreach'. * Introduce restrictive rules of engagement to prevent 'beyond visual range' kills. No military force would accept such rules unless it can afford it and tries to gain the 'moral high ground', but non-military forces (like cops or bounty hunters) might well be forced to close to knife range before they can open fire. Again the extra capability of big ships will be wasted. * Remove large, organized groups that could afford big ships (i.e. governments and their military). If each unit is purchased by a single anarcho-capitalist or at best by a company, there will be no big ships. * Make it necessary to cover a large volume with a limited budget. When all is said and done, I could see little fighters either with a suitably advanced FTL drive or operated by non-state-actors in a L5 or belt community. Of course I know what's supposed to come out, and that might skew my analysis :-) _______________________________________________ GurpsNet-L mailing list <[email protected]> http://mail.sjgames.com/mailman/listinfo/gurpsnet-l
