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Old 02-09-2019, 11:38 PM   #4
Rupert
 
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Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Wellington, NZ
Default Re: Structural Bracing [Space

Quote:
Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl View Post
Right now, GURPS Spacecraft have very much a 'eggshells with sledgehammers' problem that is not easily fixable with the current rules.
At the moment two hardened TL10 armour systems will just about stop an average laser hit from a major battery. TL11 is a bigger problem, because X-ray lasers will go through four hardened armour systems.

Missiles are a problem, and probably force a small ship universe. Making an arbitrary statement that PD is too good for missiles to be useful is probably the only useful solution here, though making proximity attacks less useful would be a start - halving damage and making them (0.5) attacks would at least make saturation attacks with smaller missiles not so useful (unless you can get their closing velocity suitably high, of course).

The thing is, if one doesn't want eggshells vs sledgehammers, you have to accept that there's going to be superscience or some other form of handwaving going on. Without insanely good point-defence nukes will rule unless armour is assumed to scale much faster than seems likely, or there are dampers, or strong force screens, or whatever. Without that amazing PD or armour, kinetic impactors will also rule, and so on.
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