Onno, Your comment about flanking got me thinking...you don't need to use the entire suit to flank. Even now we have grenades that can flank. I'd think that a single non-flying human supported by a cadre of drones would be more effective than a single man in a flying suit. I think another question is how much cover helps. If I can hide behind a concrete wall and it provides cover and concealment, great. If I'm in an environment that's so lethal that the car doesn't matter and I can expect to be detected anyway...that sort of negates the whole purpose of hiding behind it.
On Wed, Dec 30, 2015 at 2:23 AM, Onno Meyer <[email protected]> wrote: > Using the old Vehicles rules, at TL10 and below flight capability for > powered armor or battlesuits comes with serious drawbacks. Ducted fans and > power cells are heavy, fusion rockets have a bad infrared (and visual) > signature. At TL12 and above contragrav and reactionless thrusters are so > effective that any suit would have either internal or detachable flight > packs. > > That leaves TL11. Flight capability will take a serious bite out of the > mass for armor, stealth, or armament, but it can be done. Is it worth it? > > A related question is how much stealth a 'credible' battlesuit needs. With > stealth, I mean radar stealth, emission cloaking, sound baffling, etc. With > an area of 45 sf, basic stealth, basic emission cloaking, basic sound > baffling, and intruder chameleon are 81 lbs. Almost the weight of four > spare rE cells on hardpoints ... > > Scenario 1: Flight is suicide, and stealth stops to work the first time > the suit goes prone in the mud. Armor and armament are the main priorities. > > Scenario 2: Flight is still suicide, but TL11 stealth should be workable > for suits. Perhaps it includes some self-cleaning top layer. Being unseen > is at least as important as being bulletproof. > > Scenario 2a: As above, but with maneuvering thrusters for zero or very low > gravity. The Space Marine variant? > > Scenario 2b: Flight packs are an optional extra, they can be swapped for > heavier weapons or more endurance. > > Scenario 3: Two-dimensional maneuver is outdated. If you cannot fly, you > will be outflanked by those who can. > > Any thoughts? > > Regards, > Onno > _______________________________________________ > GurpsNet-L mailing list <[email protected]> > http://mail.sjgames.com/mailman/listinfo/gurpsnet-l > -- Stephen Rider _______________________________________________ GurpsNet-L mailing list <[email protected]> http://mail.sjgames.com/mailman/listinfo/gurpsnet-l
