For the TL12 suits, my assumption was that invaders with interstellar craft have suppressed the planetary defenses enough to make a landing possible. Battlesuits have contragrav and reactionless thrusters, so in theory they can even drop from space, or launch from the surface to board ships in orbit. (In practice that is a job for faster shuttlecraft.) The defenders mobilize their suits in to repel them.
TL9 suits can be flight-capable, but I wonder if it is worth the bother. * Are they just for Earth or one very earthlike world, or are they designed for interstellar deployments? Stardrives are in their infancy at TL9, will there be interstellar invasions or does that have to wait for TL10? But they don't have to make opposed landings to fight on an alien world. If the battlesuit design must cope with higher gravity or lower air pressure, flight capability gets more expensive in terms of weight and volume. Where does it end? 1.2 G? 1.5 G? 0.3 G and trace atmosphere? * Flight could be ducted fans (compare the suits in GURPS Ogre), jet engines, or fusion rockets. Chemical rockets will be limited to brief jumps. Jets and fusion rockets are a big "shoot me" sign, ducted fans and their power system are heavy. Are TL9 suits designed for use in vacuum, underwater, or in weird atmospheres? Can they use internal combustion engines and air filters instead of bottled air? Roger argued that battlesuits don't need suit-sized IFVs or APCs. Assuming he is right for TL9, how do you deploy battlesuits? They won't walk from the airport or the seaport to the frontline. * Ordinary flatbed tractor-trailers, painted green but otherwise not very tactical. If they come to the end of the paved road, it is time for the suits to get off. * Big 8x8 trucks. Part of the tactical datanet, perhaps with a point defense laser on the roof and anti-mine armor, but not designed to take fire. Each of these trucks could transport a squad. * Hummer-sized 4x4 trucks, with one or two suits in the rear. Two suits are 'deuce and a half', but I'm assuming better suspensions at that TL. * Are those trucks just ordinary utility transports or dedicated battlesuit support vehicles? Regards, Onno _______________________________________________ GurpsNet-L mailing list <[email protected]> http://mail.sjgames.com/mailman/listinfo/gurpsnet-l
