Because that doesn't sound like fun, and I am not running a simulation so I get to focus on what's fun for the players.
If they tried flying fighters they would very quickly cease having fun with those, too!
Should maned small combat crafts be deleted from chartered space?
- Thread starter Perkanis83
- Start date
If they tried flying fighters they would very quickly cease having fun with those, too!
Condottiere
Emperor Mongoose
It's sort of inferred that every spacecraft has to pay for every copy of their computer programmes.
The Imperium heavily discourages piracy.
Obviously, it's not fun or desirable. My position is that they should write the rules so that it is also sensible to do it the fun and desirable way, rather than idiocy. But this applies to a lot of things in the military space combat rules. Spinal Mounts are supposed to be decisive, battleships necessary for big battles, and various other things that are just untrue in the rules as written.
Traveller's rules should probably make TL matter more and not just be "ooh, I get a +1 for being better". Space Above & Beyond may well make sense at TL 8-10 and not make sense at TL 14-15.
Manned fighters can useful in patrol roles even if they are pretty stupid in giant space battles. In the level where players matter, six fighters patrolling from a deep space platform (ship or station) with human pilots can be fun and make sense where thousands of pilots getting swept from the skies by automated PD in a large battle does not.
Traveller's rules should probably make TL matter more and not just be "ooh, I get a +1 for being better". Space Above & Beyond may well make sense at TL 8-10 and not make sense at TL 14-15.
Manned fighters can useful in patrol roles even if they are pretty stupid in giant space battles. In the level where players matter, six fighters patrolling from a deep space platform (ship or station) with human pilots can be fun and make sense where thousands of pilots getting swept from the skies by automated PD in a large battle does not.
collins355
Emperor Mongoose
Good thread - but For the Love of all that is Holy - it is Charted Space!
I would point out that while the focus has been on fighters, armed small craft could just mean a utility craft with a laser. Those can be called upon to fight (and may be quite dangerous to civilian shipping), but their design is pitched at whatever usual job they have (interface transport, asteroid mining, remote sensor craft etc). Often it would make more sense for those to have a living crew than to install expensive automation.
I dunno... those Hivers look like the sort to set up cunning contracts to spread their soft power and control...
I would guess there are a few reasons living pilots are primarily still being used.
1) social: both the 3I and the solomani have a strong bias against Warbots.
2) Creativity: while a robot can probably pilot fighters easily you’re not going to get the insane creative problem solving in a chaotic environment like a battlefield.
3) cost: life is cheap while those robot brains not only cost more but are going to require more maintenance than the human pilots plus your probably going have to replace about a third of those pilots you don’t have with highly trained robot engineers which are going to add to your maintenance costs.
4) counter measures: we already see that every country in the world are developing anti-drone technologies I can’t see robots being treated differently. Plus what if the enemy figures out how to hack those same Robots than you have your own fighters attacking you. Live pilots can’t be hacked.
Like most things I don’t think there’s a single reason but instead a whole host of reasons.
1) social: both the 3I and the solomani have a strong bias against Warbots.
2) Creativity: while a robot can probably pilot fighters easily you’re not going to get the insane creative problem solving in a chaotic environment like a battlefield.
3) cost: life is cheap while those robot brains not only cost more but are going to require more maintenance than the human pilots plus your probably going have to replace about a third of those pilots you don’t have with highly trained robot engineers which are going to add to your maintenance costs.
4) counter measures: we already see that every country in the world are developing anti-drone technologies I can’t see robots being treated differently. Plus what if the enemy figures out how to hack those same Robots than you have your own fighters attacking you. Live pilots can’t be hacked.
Like most things I don’t think there’s a single reason but instead a whole host of reasons.
