[Spaceships] High-End Spaceships

[cosmicfish]

One of the weaknesses in the way GURPS handles equipment (outside Weapon Quality and Gear as Characters) is that it has relatively few rules for either superior designs or subsequent improvements. If you look at WWII fighter aircraft, most exist within a very narrow design continuum, and yet some were clearly tremendous performers while others were all but deathtraps.

I would suggest one (or both) of two options:

1) Give them "match" equipment. There are tolerances in the manufacture of everything, and the more complicated a device is the more opportunities there are for some units to outperform others. Perhaps a small fraction of ships (the PC's) were assembled out of the "best" functioning components, resulting in small but significant performance increases in comparison to the remainder were just not as well matched.

2) By dint of superior maintenance or some measure of "tweaking", perhaps the players' ships have some post-manufacture superiority. Maintaining a ship at "peak" may simply be beyond what their rivals and opponents can manage. Alternately, perhaps they have some technical wizard who has done a Han Solo and modified their ships to a performance level not possible under factory specs.

Either way, it makes sense for said improvements to come with costs of some type - monetary, increased maintenance time, possible in-combat failure, or a dependence on unique assets (like your tech whiz).

[scc]

For those interested, here's a rough draft of the basic warrior bug, there will likely be version of this at SM's +4, +5, +6 and possibly +7. All bar the SM+4 version will be streamlined

Grub Warrioir
Front
1. Organic Armor
2. Organic Armor
3. Maw
4. Weapons, Major Battery, Beams
5. Weapons, Major Battery, Beams
6. Weapons, Major Battery, Missiles
Core: MHD Turbine
Center
1. Organic Armor
2. Organic Armor
3. Tactical Array
4. Defensive ECM
5. Ether Flukes
6. Fuel Tank
Core: Psionic Sapient Brain
Rear
1. Organic Armor
2. Organic Armor
3. Standard Reactionless
4. Standard Reactionless
5. Chemical Rockets
6. MHD Turbine

[Varyon]

Bit of a spoiler (OK, kind of a huge spoiler), but in the Ender's Game series sapients have a unique controlling aiua (basically a mix between a String Theory string and a soul). Jane is an artificial intelligence entity that has a particularly powerful and mobile aiua, and in the last book she temporarily transfers into a network of "smart" trees (think Avatar and you won't be far off). Her presence is visible in the form of light occasionally flickering out from between cracks and, more notably, the trees suddenly growing flowers and bearing fruit (she's activating long-dormant genes and the like within the trees).

What I'm getting at here is that, in a situation like what you're talking about, the idea that the presence of a sapient soul actually directly modifying the attributes of the bioship has some precedence in fiction. In that case, improving DR, weaponry, sensors, and so forth may be well within your Rivals' capabilities. If the Rivals can readily jump between ships (like Jane could), at least until a ship dies while they're still inside (which may kill them outright, or simply make them go dormant for a while), this could add an interesting dynamic to combats - the characters would need to choose between taking on the Rivals directly and hoping they can "kill" them quickly enough to prevent them from jumping, or try to avoid the Rivals and take out the dumb ships first.

[Randover]

I am not sure if this helps. But I had run space opera setting based on "psionics" used as core technology. Most efficient jump drive was ability of pilot. Pilots that could move larger vessels were rare. Conventional FTL was also good but it was far from instant.
Energy shielding and large anti-capital weaponry was also mostly done by pilots. This time group of lesser pilots can operate larger ships if they were trained.
Fights were traumatising for pilots because when there shield was hit badly there brain could get fried. They were basicly one with the ship.
Ships had realy hard shells - armor, structural intergrity. It was common that the crew died because of plasma fires, atmoshere leaks, radiantion etc. leaving there dead ship floating in space. The hull of the ship remained almost intact, like empty shell. Some or all systems fried beyond repair.

The Psi-pilots were explanation for mecha. I've basicly adapted the mecha from Macros Frontier anime. So they had typical warrior / fighter modes. But I could see using it with only warrior or only fighter mode.

One issue in particular arised after about dozen of sessions. Not all players liked and thus were effective in there Psi-piloting. Weapon loadouts and managment was also difficult not everyone could costumize his gear and stay effective. It became increasingly difficult to protect niche / team role for players that lacked experience or time to prepare for game. I could say the game was data / numbers heavy.

On the other hand it was realy easy to create plots in this setting. And I am pretty sure that I will recycle / restart it.

[Randover]

And one more thing to think about. EVE online, and new Battlestar Galactica series both have simple way of ressurection. If your body dies it is downloaded to replacement. Taking risks of diing became way to gain intell or regular procedure. I as a GM would not like such readily ressurection.
Star Trek series introduced long distance Psi-piloting. Pilot could sit hunderds of light years away at home piloting his vessel remotly. I could say that this could be easily addapted for several vessels at once. Or possibly low skilled pilots could give controll to there Ace pilot if his craft / fighter is downed.
Even better rare psi pilot doesn't gave to be present in his craft physicly. But once his craft is downed he can't shift readily to another.

[scc]

Originally Posted by Randover

I am not sure if this helps. But I had run space opera setting based on "psionics" used as core technology. Most efficient jump drive was ability of pilot. Pilots that could move larger vessels were rare. Conventional FTL was also good but it was far from instant.
Energy shielding and large anti-capital weaponry was also mostly done by pilots. This time group of lesser pilots can operate larger ships if they were trained.
Fights were traumatising for pilots because when there shield was hit badly there brain could get fried. They were basicly one with the ship.
Ships had realy hard shells - armor, structural intergrity. It was common that the crew died because of plasma fires, atmoshere leaks, radiantion etc. leaving there dead ship floating in space. The hull of the ship remained almost intact, like empty shell. Some or all systems fried beyond repair.

The Psi-pilots were explanation for mecha. I've basicly adapted the mecha from Macros Frontier anime. So they had typical warrior / fighter modes. But I could see using it with only warrior or only fighter mode.

One issue in particular arised after about dozen of sessions. Not all players liked and thus were effective in there Psi-piloting. Weapon loadouts and managment was also difficult not everyone could costumize his gear and stay effective. It became increasingly difficult to protect niche / team role for players that lacked experience or time to prepare for game. I could say the game was data / numbers heavy.

On the other hand it was realy easy to create plots in this setting. And I am pretty sure that I will recycle / restart it.

What I currently designing belongs to the Foes series as much as it does to the Spaceships one, these are designed to be the guys the PCs shoot down, possibly in large numbers

[The Benj]

I don't see much in the way of problems just giving the mooks lower skill and using the Mooks rules.

[MatthewVilter]

Side question:

What are the Ether Flukes doing for these guys that the Standard Reactionless Drives aren't doing better?

[scc]

Originally Posted by MatthewVilter

Side question:

What are the Ether Flukes doing for these guys that the Standard Reactionless Drives aren't doing better?

The flukes are powered by the brain and will work forever, the Reactionless are powered by the MHD turbines and will last no more then 12 hours, less if there's combat.

Plus these are supposed to be Bugs, and Bugs have wings

[MatthewVilter]

Originally Posted by scc

The flukes are powered by the brain and will work forever, the Reactionless are powered by the MHD turbines and will last no more then 12 hours, less if there's combat.

Plus these are supposed to be Bugs, and Bugs have wings

OH! Got it. Nifty. :)