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Old 04-29-2018, 06:53 AM   #32
munin
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Vermont, USA
Default Re: [Spaceships] Paying more for better system?

I'll add one of my house rule options: Compact Systems. Sometimes 20 "slots" just isn't enough for some concepts, or you're willing to pay for more features. Cost is a Spaceships-friendly extrapolation of the Compact option for computers (UT23) and the Expensive option for equipment (UT15):

Miniaturization and engineering advances can allow systems to occupy smaller spaces without reducing their capabilities. A Compact system occupies a smaller system slot (see Smaller Systems, GURPS Spaceships 7: Divergent and Paranormal Tech, pp. 4-5), but provides the same benefit as a standard-sized system. The GM decides which Compact systems are available in the setting.

Compact systems become available one TL after the standard system becomes available (e.g., Force Screens are TL11, so Compact Force Screens are TL12). If a system’s statistics vary with TL, a Compact system uses the statistics of a system one TL behind (e.g., a TL11 Compact Standard Reactionless Engine provides only the 0.5G acceleration of a TL10 Standard Reactionless Engine).

A Compact high-energy system has the power point requirements of a standard high-energy system. A Compact system has the workspaces of a smaller system. Despite being one SM smaller than usual, a Compact system costs three times as much as a standard system (i.e., a Compact system in an SM+7 slot provides the capabilities of an SM+8 system and costs three times as much as an SM+8 system).

Some systems require special treatment:

Control Room or Sapient Brain: A spacecraft with a Compact Control Room or Compact Sapient Brain has no penalty to its Handling or Stability Rating (or DX for a Sapient Brain). A Compact Control Room has the control stations of a smaller system.

Power Plants: A Compact Power Plant system provides power points which can power a standard-sized system, a compact system, or three smaller systems.

ST-Based Systems: Compact systems whose capabilities are based on the spacecraft’s ST – such as Maw, Robot Arm, and Tail systems – use the spacecraft’s standard ST.

Banned Systems: Armor, Reaction Engines, and systems with mass or occupant capacities – including Cargo Hold, Digestive System, Engine Room, Fuel Tank, Habitat, Hangar Bay, Jump Gate, Open Space, and Passenger Seating systems – can be Smaller but cannot be Compact. The GM might allow systems with mass rate capacities, such as Mining, Factory, and Refinery systems, to be Compact. A Compact Comm/Sensor Array determines its array level as if it were one TL less, which provides no benefit over simply using a cheaper Smaller system.
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