Affording a spaceship?

[vicky_molokh]

Originally Posted by cosmicfish

(1) Where?

Spaceships 2, IIRC.

Originally Posted by cosmicfish

I confess that I am not a huge fan of the Spaceships line - I do not like being told that all ships must contain X systems any more than I would like being told all characters must have Y skills.

Then use smaller and larger systems. 20 is just the default way to split the mass of the ship.

Originally Posted by cosmicfish

(2) This is only for spaceships, I would like it for other things as well.

Given that right now the SS-based system is also used for other vehicles (boats, subs, giant humanoid robots etc.), sure, go for it.

Originally Posted by cosmicfish

(3) Maintenance costs can vary wildly based on a number of parameters. It should really be that maintenance is its own parameter for each item, to be improved (or degraded) individually. F-22's are extremely expensive and require a TON of maintenance, a light cargo plane the same mass is both cheaper, lower quality, and MUCH lower maintenance. There should be a way to say "this item needs to be low-maintenance, here is the SWAP (size, weight, and power) and cost associated with doing that" or "I just need something that will last a week - how cheap or light can I make it?"

Well, cargo planes are mostly Cargo Holds, so they can afford to not take the discount on the production cost in exchange for modified 'sturdiness'.

Meanwhile, F-22s are, as far as I understand, 99% made of cutting-edge stuff (at the time of invention), and it would take decades and billions of dollars to make them as sturdy and reliable as a chunk of cargo space.