Quote:
Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl
Automation is not mandatory on capital ships. When it comes to long distance SM+4 or SM+5 spacecraft though, automation is mandatory because they cannot have habitats. In addition, smaller spacecraft only need to pay for automation if they have an Engine Room. If their designers are willing to accept a -1 HT (after all, who cares in the case of a drone), they do not need to pay for automation.
Since you automatically have automation for long distance SM+4 spacecraft and since SM+4 spacecraft are the fastest spacecraf in this scenario, conflicts end up being decided by whom can send the most antimatter warhead equipped drones against the other side. It would not be unreasonable for a TL10 developed planet to be capable of fielding multiple wings of ten thousand such drones, which would mean 250,000 16cm missiles with 25 kiloton antimatter warheads of each. Since they would travel faster than larger spacecraft, such a world could torch the worlds of their enemies and have their drones return for resupply long before the capital ships of their enemies reached their systems.
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No, you do not automatically have automation. What you have is minimal to no maintenance being done, which may or may not matter.
Nor, by the way, are they much faster than the enemy's slightly larger gunships, which will be breaking down less often.