Hello everybody,
I had mentioned some time ago that I'm thinking about the crew spaces in
GURPS Vehicles. A series of three research ships with the same
instuments and labs and different amounts of living space is coming up
soon. It is harder to get a grip on combat spacecraft.
Say you have TL11 technology with reactionless thrusters. I think that
means flying AFVs replace ground AFVs for most purposes -- vectored
thrusters and the necessary power plants are lighter than tracks or
wheels. It doesn't take much to make such an AFV orbit-capable, and then
adding a little hyperdrive (if it is available in the setting) is no big
thing, either. But I wonder if I'm rationalizing a desire to give the
player characters the mobility and survivability of a 'midget starship',
which can't possibly compete with the real Space Navy ... no crew
quarters, no maintenance workshops, no serious space-grade sensors and
point defense.
At this TL, what makes a proper starship is not a question of sublight
thrusters or FTL drives, it is a question of endurance and support
systems, and those are much more expensive than the drives. Keeping the
equipment the same and adding bunks or cabins misses the point.
Does that make sense?
Regards,
Onno
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