Talk:Ship Creation

--BenofZongo 16:44, 13 March 2007 (MDT)Ion cannons = Plasma weapons. EMP's not a bad idea, I'll think about that. also, the pirating/S&R stuff are good ideas, I'll add those. Ion/Plasma works. They do blow shit up: energy contained in a magnetic field that is disrupted when it comes in contact with solid surfaces. I've added EMP weapons: similar equipment will be available for personal weapons.

--BenofZongo 01:01, 16 March 2007 (MDT)At comms of 4 or better you have a subspace connection, albeit a single line (which you need to keep open for comms/sensors while actually flying around). At 6 or better you have bandwidth available for data mining or other applications while in space. You do need a hacking rig for data mining: all the easy stuff that you could get with a regular computer is already gone. You can buy/improve your hacking rig with loot points/personal equipment points: there are several things (repair bay, med bay, etc) that also have this option, it just depends on where you want to draw from.

--Dieter the Bold 01:06, 16 March 2007 (MDT) What's the affect for ship & crew if we have comms at < 4? I.e., no subspace connection? Are there relay stations around besides actual habitations that transmit basic radio that we could use? What's the general range and ability of basic wireless internet? I mean, we can program probes on Mars from Earth now, so what's the limits on non-subspace communications in Gemini?

--BenofZongo 01:23, 16 March 2007 (MDT)None really, it just takes longer: since the waves have to travel through real-space, there is significantly more lag than for subspace links. This isn't too much of a problem unless you want to do things like Hacking, or you want very, very up to date information.

--Dieter the Bold 15:23, 17 March 2007 (MST) How much cargo space would serious mining equipment take up?

--Matts 12:24, 20 March 2007 (MST)You said "SDC"!!! I'm making a Glitter Boy with Juicer drugs and like 15 physical conditioning skills!!!

--Dieter the Bold 12:48, 20 March 2007 (MST) Bwahahahahaha. Nice Rifts reference, Matt. This is how the actual ship design will work out!! Question for Ben: With ship's extra armor, is that "usable once" mean once per combat, or once it's hit it has to be replaced?

--BenofZongo 13:04, 20 March 2007 (MST)yeah, I was waiting for that. As long as your ship has gymnastics, I'm cool with it. And thanks for the vote of confidence, dieter. If we have time and the desire, I'd actually like to try a slightly more thorough run through of the gemini character/ship creation stuff after Jin finishes on Friday. Also, my sister is coming to gaming april 6th, I think, so I think that would be a fun opportunity to run the Gemini one shot: any objections? As to extra armor: that means once per COMBAT: in general, most of the stuff you use during combat will need to be repaired, refueled, recalibrated, or re-whatever if you want it to work nicely the next time around. Also, note that you don't have to blow all the extra armor dice at once: you can supplement here and there.

--BenofZongo 20:18, 21 March 2007 (MST)yes and yes: for armor and weapons or other gear, you can always get it in slight variations, or try to mod it yourself.

--Dieter the Bold 21:58, 21 March 2007 (MST) And by mod I mean "give special bonuses/abilities",just so we're clear.

--BenofZongo 23:48, 21 March 2007 (MST)Well..."slight variation" typically means that you get a little more of one thing and a little less of something else: usually to get a little more of something without going up a quality level means you end up sacrificing more of something else, because there's only so much a given piece of equipment can handle. You can certainly give your equipment "special bonuses/abilities", but this will be neither easy nor quick: you'll need the right tools, a good enough piece of equipment to mod (typically, anything less than "good" quality won't cut it), raw materials, time, etc. Chances are that if you want to do anything more than superficial changes, it will take significant commitment from at least your character, possibly other characters (read, possible story arc) to get it done.
The reason for this is that because of the stiff competition between corporations, the margin on most things is surprisingly slim (there are always exceptions): unless you're very gifted/talented/clever in the technical arena, it's likely to be only marginally cost effective to mod a "good" weapon rather than go for an "excellent" weapon. The point is, if you try to add an extra mag-array to your "average" railgun to give it more punch, the gun's likely to rip itself apart in the process of firing: building a better railgun is surprisingly difficult, which is why a "good" weapon is so much more expensive.
All of that having been said, the short answer should just be "yes"; but i don't want you getting the wrong idea and thinking that a character with a couple of technical dots can build anti tank guns out of an uzi.

--Edmiao 08:58, 22 March 2007 (MST) Can I make a flame thrower out of a pipe, some hairspray and a roll of duct tape? Can I make Gabe's mom out of a pile o pubes, some lice, sixteen used tampons, and elmer's glue? Can I make any sense using twenty six keys on a computer? I thought not.

--Dieter the Bold 00:59, 22 March 2007 (MST) Sorry, I was being too generic. Except for Reflection and Stealth mods, it's just armor, with extra and EMP armor separately available. Is there composite/laminate armor available off the shelf? And for weapons, are there AP/HEAT/HESH rounds, Claymore-style warheads, tracking beacons, etc. also commonly available? This is specifically for ship weapons. Cyberpunk covers all man-portable weapons.

--BenofZongo 10:13, 22 March 2007 (MST)The system is generic to allow you to create whatever feel you want: if you have ideas for a "mod" that is really creative it will have a benefit outside of what is on the list. Composite/Laminate armor would be a way of getting "extra armor": in fact, probably the only way if you had an atmospheric ship, since too much extra weight would not be good. So if you wanted "composite/laminate" armor, that's what you'd call your extra armor and spice it up with some other descriptors. Obviously, if you find a precursor force field generator, that would not just be extra armor, that would have its own effects: does the difference make sense? For ship based weapons, those sorts of differences are again immaterial: what you have to realize is the scale of ship warfare. When you shoot a conventional or ramjet weapon in a round, that's not a single shot, or even a burst. It's a 'pattern' of several hundred to several thousand bullets covering most of the area the enemy ship could be in in a few seconds, based on your best judgement. The bullets/ramjet rounds are already in the 15-35mm range, propelled with chemical reactions that give them ridiculous muzzle velocity, etc. When two things collide at tens to hundreds of thousands of miles per hour, AP, HEAT, etc are going to make essentially no difference at all. Generally, Ramjet rounds are already exploding rounds, btw. For railguns, lasers, and plasma weapons, it's a moot point because you can't mount special ammo in any of those weapons at all.
As for type III weapons (missiles/other tracking weapons) those track automatically. If you want a special piece of ammo that will let you track an enemy ship, that will be very difficult: the reason is that again, at several tens to hundreds of thousands of miles per hour, you have to launch a teeny tiny beacon at a giant metal ship without destroying the very delicate beacon. This is essentially only possible with a very smart AI missile that can slow its speed to match the vessel it is chasing and then essentially latch on.
So, bottom line is: yes, you can get most of what you are talking about. For ships, almost none of it will make a significant gameplay difference because of the sheer scale of things. Just look at the cost for ship ammo: it's quite a bit (3-400 credits a shot, basically), and I may actually increase it.

--BenofZongo 19:51, 22 March 2007 (MST)I've thought about this some more, and I think I'm going to slightly alter my answer: if you want fancy mods, it can have practical effects, although they will probably be small. This will be something to work out in game (like finding special ammo, etc.). Also, NO ship weapons are available "off the shelf": another thing to keep in mind