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Old 03-17-2016, 10:24 PM   #1
oneofmanynameless
 
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Default Why is Flight so cheap?

Comparatively to Enhanced Move (20) + Clinging (20) [or you can substitute Super Jump 2 for Clinging in this equation], which costs the same number of points for dramatically less mobility. Or to Warp which can travel further distances quicker but has much less second-by-second maneuverability without a ton of enhancements, but is dramatically more expensive. No matter what combination of movement advantages I use Flight always grants dramatically better maneuverability with dramatically fewer limitations and comparable or superior amounts of movement speed for the same point total. Why is it so cheap? Shouldn't it be more like 80 or 100 points? In every game where I've seen it side by side with warp they've been functionally equivalent in value. What am I missing?
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Old 03-17-2016, 10:40 PM   #2
Peter Knutsen
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Default Re: Why is Flight so cheap?

Well, the best I can say, about Flight (which IIRC is 40 points) vs Enhanced Move and Clinging (which I'm pretty sure is a lot more than 40 for twenty levels of each) is that Flight is inherently noisy whereas Clinging is silent.

I don't know about Enhanced Move. But Clinging ought to let you position yourself somewhere and then wait, e.g. under a ceiling where people are unlikely to look.

Of course Flight can be made silent. This is GURPS. There almost certainly is an Enhancement already, and if there isn't then by definition a competent GM will provide you with one, e.g. if it's a supers world rather than a world with a more defined and "worldbuilt" theme and pattern. But unmodified Flight isn't silent, the way standing on a surface, or Clinging to a surface, is.
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Old 03-17-2016, 10:56 PM   #3
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Default Re: Why is Flight so cheap?

Where do you get that Flight is noisy? It doesn't seem to rule either way in its description on B56. In the description, it says that
Quote:
The “default” is fullfledged, self-powered flight without wings or gliding surfaces.
You are also able to hover and reach max speed immediately. While you could definitely interpret this as defaulting to something like a helicopter (which would be noisy), I think the most obvious interpretation is something like Superman, which is silent so long as he's not going fast enough the air resistance makes noise.

Edit: Also, note this from Powers (P50):
Quote:
Plane: Fixed-wing flyers ... generally have noisy propellers or jets that qualify for Nuisance Effect (-5%)...
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Old 03-17-2016, 11:00 PM   #4
Flyndaran
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Default Re: Why is Flight so cheap?

Flight doubles Move, but still requires time to accelerate just like running.
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Old 03-17-2016, 11:03 PM   #5
simply Nathan
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Default Re: Why is Flight so cheap?

What I really don't get is why it's keyed to Basic Speed instead of Basic Move. Were they not expecting people to sell down Basic Move and buy up Basic Speed to get better multipliers out of this?
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Old 03-18-2016, 12:21 AM   #6
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Default Re: Why is Flight so cheap?

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Originally Posted by simply Nathan View Post
What I really don't get is why it's keyed to Basic Speed instead of Basic Move. Were they not expecting people to sell down Basic Move and buy up Basic Speed to get better multipliers out of this?
Disadvantage Limit unless it's racial?
And this is because usually Aerial Move has nothing common in locomotion source with Ground Move.
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Old 03-18-2016, 12:29 AM   #7
David Johnston2
 
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Default Re: Why is Flight so cheap?

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Originally Posted by simply Nathan View Post
What I really don't get is why it's keyed to Basic Speed i
Because a bird's flight speed has nothing to do with it's ability to run. And no they aren't expecting a lot of players of humanoid characters to buy down their move so they comically duck walk on the ground.
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Old 03-18-2016, 12:30 AM   #8
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Default Re: Why is Flight so cheap?

I think the main reason why it's cheaper is because they want to encourage Flight. It's a common power for supers, and hell it's just common in fiction (and real life to if you count animals or technology). Two Advantages the same cost don't have to have an equally good effect, how cheap or expensive they are, are the incentive to buy or not.
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Old 03-18-2016, 12:44 AM   #9
David Johnston2
 
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Default Re: Why is Flight so cheap?

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Originally Posted by dfinlay View Post
Where do you get that Flight is noisy? It doesn't seem to rule either way in its description on B56. In the description, it says that You are also able to hover and reach max speed immediately. While you could definitely interpret this as defaulting to something like a helicopter (which would be noisy), I think the most obvious interpretation is something like Superman, which is silent so long as he's not going fast enough the air resistance makes noise.

Edit: Also, note this from Powers (P50):
Yeah that note means that flight by default isn't breaking noise pollution ordinances. But flight is an active power and that means by default it produces flapping noises or whining or whooshing or something
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Old 03-18-2016, 01:16 AM   #10
Flyndaran
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Default Re: Why is Flight so cheap?

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Originally Posted by David Johnston2 View Post
Yeah that note means that flight by default isn't breaking noise pollution ordinances. But flight is an active power and that means by default it produces flapping noises or whining or whooshing or something
No more sound than walking/running.
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