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Old 06-12-2019, 09:59 AM   #18
Ulzgoroth
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Default Re: Approaching TL9?

Quote:
Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl View Post
One item does not make a TL, as you can development experimental technology through the normal invention rules, which can be a TL ahead of the baseline technology. A TL8 ion drive for a SM+4 vehicle (six times as large as Dawn) should cost only $30k. The ion drive on Dawn ended up costing as much as 100x as much, meaning that it is experimental technology, so you could just as easily say that it is a TL8 experiment from a TL7 technology.
It is experimental technology to an extent, but that's not why it's expensive. It's expensive because there's next to no demand and no standard models either. Any space probe, and most of the equipment inside any space probe, is a one-off custom build. Boosters and some manned capsules and satellite constellations might be limited series production. Probably nothing except ICBMs (and maybe ASAT missiles if you count those) has really been mass produced.

That has nothing to do with tech level.
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I don't know any 3e, so there is no chance that I am talking about 3e rules by accident.
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