Condottiere
Emperor Mongoose
If there's no rationale for the pilot in particular, and human crew in general, half the game is gone.
High Guard Update 2022 - Now on PDF and Pre-Order!
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Condottiere
Emperor Mongoose
I always thought that Dark Matter jumped the shark with Transfer Transit technology.
Arkathan
Emperor Mongoose
At which point you might as well ditch the character creation paths and just buy what you want from the Robot Handbook.
Recall that this is the game that inspired the memes about not living until you've died during character creation... before memes were even a thing.
There doesn't seem to be much point in roleplaying a wafer jockey. Might as well just play a wargame, and there are better space wargame systems out there if you are going to take the RPG element out of Traveller.
Recall that this is the game that inspired the memes about not living until you've died during character creation... before memes were even a thing.
There doesn't seem to be much point in roleplaying a wafer jockey. Might as well just play a wargame, and there are better space wargame systems out there if you are going to take the RPG element out of Traveller.
Perkanis83
Mongoose
thing is that the reason for human crews on the ships are simply due to culture IF the 3I wanted they could turn most if not all its ships into wafer personality piloted ships which would be the humane thing to do to avoid seeing crew getting turned into vapor before they were even close to being able to fire their own pea shooters, I mean sure if you want fighters to be ineffective then do not build Carriers and fighters as part of your official line up of ships just be honest and delete them from the setting and replace them with 100-200 dton gun boats that are carried instead of fighters
Condottiere
Emperor Mongoose
I can't comment on the current iteration of High Guard.
If Bayraktars are the future of space combat, so be it.
My point being, that the reason navies would still use human pilots is because it would be cheaper to do so.
If Bayraktars are the future of space combat, so be it.
My point being, that the reason navies would still use human pilots is because it would be cheaper to do so.
Sigtrygg
Emperor Mongoose
Wafer tech is now intrinsic to the OTU - Agent of the Imperium, Names, T5.
Until players and referees begin exploiting the rules that is...
I don't think you could run a wafer personality in a robot brain until high TLs, but you can certainly construct biological synthetics and clones. You can also run wafer personality as main computer simulation routines and slave robot bodies to them.
You could even run your personality/memory wafer through a training program to learn new skills then overwrite your original...
T5 mentions that any ship autodoc is capable of recording memory/personality wafers, and that wafer tech is used in some insurance policies - if you die you can have a clone grown and download a previously made "back up".
I don't see how playing a wafer personality that thinks it is a person crewing a ship is any different from playing the actual character, the only difference is when the fighter becomes a ball of incandescent plasma the player doesn't have to generate a new character.
The T5 Third Imperium is a very different place thanks to Agent of the Imperium and the T5 rules themselves..
Until players and referees begin exploiting the rules that is...
I don't think you could run a wafer personality in a robot brain until high TLs, but you can certainly construct biological synthetics and clones. You can also run wafer personality as main computer simulation routines and slave robot bodies to them.
You could even run your personality/memory wafer through a training program to learn new skills then overwrite your original...
T5 mentions that any ship autodoc is capable of recording memory/personality wafers, and that wafer tech is used in some insurance policies - if you die you can have a clone grown and download a previously made "back up".
I don't see how playing a wafer personality that thinks it is a person crewing a ship is any different from playing the actual character, the only difference is when the fighter becomes a ball of incandescent plasma the player doesn't have to generate a new character.
The T5 Third Imperium is a very different place thanks to Agent of the Imperium and the T5 rules themselves..
NOLATrav
Cosmic Mongoose
Sure. Wafers are on the muster tables. But MgT isn’t necessarily limited to the OTU. And the “OTU” is clearly a moving target, as you yourself have pointed out.
The best part of MgT IMO is that it embraces and supports the “OTU” (whatever that is) but also encourages new modes of play and interpretation.
NOLATrav
Cosmic Mongoose
So yeah Wafer pilots. Sounds cool. Seems like a boring ttrpg experience. “Whoops you got killed. Load into Rampart Fighter 23 and try again.”
I like the idea as a one-off scenario tho, you have to download your personality into a ship/robot/drone and go into an environment you would otherwise never survive…
I like the idea as a one-off scenario tho, you have to download your personality into a ship/robot/drone and go into an environment you would otherwise never survive…
Condottiere
Emperor Mongoose
I love ShadowRun.
I'm a little sceptical of SolomaniRim.
I'm a little sceptical of SolomaniRim.
Just a quick question regarding computers.
I presume there are no actual restrictions, other than cost, on placing a Computer Core on a small craft?
Can programs operate at a lower level? For example, a Computer/35 Has Evade/3 and Fire Control/5. it couldn’t run both at once but could it downgrade Evade/3 to say, Evade/2 and Fire Control/5 to Fire Control/3, leaving 5 spare processing in this instance or does it need to buy all the versions you might want to use?
I presume there are no actual restrictions, other than cost, on placing a Computer Core on a small craft?
Can programs operate at a lower level? For example, a Computer/35 Has Evade/3 and Fire Control/5. it couldn’t run both at once but could it downgrade Evade/3 to say, Evade/2 and Fire Control/5 to Fire Control/3, leaving 5 spare processing in this instance or does it need to buy all the versions you might want to use?
Geir
Emperor Mongoose
There's a general statement that you can run lower bandwidth version of the same software on a computer (p. 110 of the 2022 Core book) , so while I can't find an explicit statement for ship software, I think you can assume that the same applies.
And there's nothing in the rulebook that says you can't put a Core computer on a small craft, though the computer might cost more than the rest of the ship. There's also nothing in the rulebook that says an elephant can't play ball... (okay with that, I'm either dating myself to a certain era of Saturday morning cartoons - we came to America and not only did the TV work all day long, but there were choices! - or categorizing myself as slightly unhinged.)
I have to wonder about some of the design choices on some of the military craft here. For example: The Light fighter. These are supposed to be fast interceptors almost completely dedicated to high performance! And yet, 17% of the craft is dedicated to...Cargo? 12% is dedicated to armor and it lacks the thrust to overtake a heavier strike fighter or troop transport (Which is also a questionable design!). Wouldn't it make more sense to lose the armor, downgrade the sensors to a miltary suite (These ships are going to be directed from some sort of base or AWAC type ship anyway!) and add an aux thruster? You should have more than enough tonnage to install an Aux booster with a mind numbing 12G of thrust! THAT would be an interceptor and wouldn't even affect the TL!
As ships get larger many of the design choices seem...strange.
If any developers are reading this, I love the system and the choices presented! It's pretty obvious that the designs are basically lifted from the 1E green pamphlet. But I think you've missed an opportunity to evolve them to your own Vastly improved design system!
As ships get larger many of the design choices seem...strange.
If any developers are reading this, I love the system and the choices presented! It's pretty obvious that the designs are basically lifted from the 1E green pamphlet. But I think you've missed an opportunity to evolve them to your own Vastly improved design system!
Reisender
Cosmic Mongoose
In the CRB 2016 the Light Fighter had TL-9. Reaching Thrust-6 at this TL would only be possible with a R-Drive. Thrust-6 at TL-9 is quite good. The change to a M-Drive with an equivalent thrust rating requires an TL increase to TL-12. Thrust-6 at TL-12 is not so impressive anymore. Keeping to the R-Drive a Light Fighter could potentially have a thrust rating of 16 at TL-12.
Cargo is just the remaining tonnage not used by any installed system. It does not necessarily mean that you can put cargo in there. This space could be reserved for future systems to be installed.
Thrust 16 is indeed possible although I wouldn't want to be the Pilot of that ship! (10G's uncompensated is going to be painful!) You would only have enough fuel for about thirty minutes at max burn but let's hope you didn't need it for more than that! (My ribs are hurting just thinking about it!) At that lvl of thrust, The Pilot is going to making END checks every turn to avoid passing out! (And a fairly strong likely hood of stroking!)
My base contention (In this case at least!) is that 17% cargo or wasted space is WAY too much for a fighter/interceptor! Especially when the design system allows for much more efficiency!
Arkathan
Emperor Mongoose
IF the small craft has long term life support (stateroom) and a multi-person crew, that cargo tonnage can hold food and repair parts, which can either get a damaged hero fighter back into the fight, or back to base.
Otherwise, its space available for end user mods, like a small weapons pod for use in the delousing of friendly ships of boarders, for instance.
I realize that. The fighter in question is only 10 tons and has no such facilities. (Only a cockpit). Also remember, A fighter is not really an "Adventuring" vessel nor is it designed for such. A fighter has one mission: To pursue, overtake and destroy enemy craft! In the case of a light Interceptor, this is primarily enemy smallcraft and perhaps some smaller starships. The TL-15 heavy fighter is more designed along the lines you're talking about and is intended as a Strike fighter. Meaning, it will be used against larger vessels and ground targets.
