GURPS Spaceships Series

[dataweaver]

While we're waiting: GURPS Spaceships mentions that Traders, Liners, and Transports will deal with trade and passengers; would that be GURPS 4e's counterpart to GURPS Traveller: Far Trader, much like the world design system is 4e's answer to First In?

Also, Warships and Space Pirates is going to include hex-grid combat; is that going to be limited to STL combat, or is the system going to be flexible enough to be adapted for warp combat and hyperspace combat (setting assumptions permitting, of course)?

Finally, it's mentioned that each volume in the series will provide supplementary rules, and it gives examples for the two mentioned above. What about the others? Obviously, Fighters, Carriers, and Mecha will provide systems that make mecha designs possible; but that hardly seems like it will be the core of the supplementary rules. What else will it have?

[Infojunky]

Originally Posted by dataweaver

Also, Warships and Space Pirates is going to include hex-grid combat; is that going to be limited to STL combat, or is the system going to be flexible enough to be adapted for warp combat and hyperspace combat (setting assumptions permitting, of course)?

Wow, I just asked this question in the Gurps board.

I have a brand new player, my son have been asking to play and his interest is in SF a`la Halo, Star Wars and other action adventure types of play. Which in his description includes fighter/small ship combat, so having a hex based solution would be great.... Ok dad wants it too.....

I guess I'm back to bouncing on my hands for two more supplements.....

[David L Pulver]

Originally Posted by dataweaver

While we're waiting: GURPS Spaceships mentions that Traders, Liners, and Transports will deal with trade and passengers; would that be GURPS 4e's counterpart to GURPS Traveller: Far Trader, much like the world design system is 4e's answer to First In?

Also, Warships and Space Pirates is going to include hex-grid combat; is that going to be limited to STL combat, or is the system going to be flexible enough to be adapted for warp combat and hyperspace combat (setting assumptions permitting, of course)?

Finally, it's mentioned that each volume in the series will provide supplementary rules, and it gives examples for the two mentioned above. What about the others? Obviously, Fighters, Carriers, and Mecha will provide systems that make mecha designs possible; but that hardly seems like it will be the core of the supplementary rules. What else will it have?

(1) Far Trader is far more ambitious (and longer) than Traders and Liners, which follows the Spaceships mandate of fairly simple rules. That said, it does cover trading operations and cargo/passenger tickets.

(2) Warships and Space Pirates in the written draft basically has a Spaceships conversion of the GURPS Traveller-style vectored combat rules. However, I have been thinking that it would be useful to cover non-vector STL/ FTL combat as well and during the playtest (whenever that happens) may propose a short rules section that effect.

(3) Fighters and Carriers is mostly, well, fighters and carriers. It has a few pages of supplementary design notes (e.g., for smaller SM+4 ships, legs, etc.) and few pages of cinematic combat rules.

[dataweaver]

Ah; thank you. So "Fighters, Carriers, and Mecha" will essentially be built around presenting the likes of Battlestar Galactica, the Macross and Valkyries from Macross, and the Dropships, Aerospace Fighters, and Mechs from Battletech. ("It must be mine!") Oh, and the smaller stuff. :P

And what are you planning for Exploration and Colony Spacecraft, besides the sample spacecraft (which will presumably include a USS Enterprise knock-off)? i.e., what's the concept behind the supplemental rules portion?

[Agemegos]

Originally Posted by El Guapo

I'm bouncing up and down for the next five. That's a lot of bouncing.

I seem to have been attached up to a generator and hooked up to the power grid.

[Highland_Piper]

Originally Posted by dataweaver

Ah; thank you. So "Fighters, Carriers, and Mecha" will essentially be built around presenting the likes of Battlestar Galactica, the Macross and Valkyries from Macross, and the Dropships, Aerospace Fighters, and Mechs from Battletech. ("It must be mine!") Oh, and the smaller stuff. :P

And what are you planning for Exploration and Colony Spacecraft, besides the sample spacecraft (which will presumably include a USS Enterprise knock-off)? i.e., what's the concept behind the supplemental rules portion?

MECHS!

Oh I've been waiting so long! I have two different groups. One wants to try Battletech and the other Macross. I have GURPS Mecha 3e but have been waiting for a 4e version.

[David L Pulver]

Originally Posted by dataweaver

Ah; thank you. So "Fighters, Carriers, and Mecha" will essentially be built around presenting the likes of Battlestar Galactica, the Macross and Valkyries from Macross, and the Dropships, Aerospace Fighters, and Mechs from Battletech. ("It must be mine!") Oh, and the smaller stuff. :P

And what are you planning for Exploration and Colony Spacecraft, besides the sample spacecraft (which will presumably include a USS Enterprise knock-off)? i.e., what's the concept behind the supplemental rules portion?

This one is mostly sample spacecraft, but it also includes a brief generic version of the Interstellar Wars exploration rules tailored for the Spaceships systems.

Much of the Exploration/Colony ship book is devoted to ship designs that "push the edge" of the envelope - things like multi-stage interplanetary rockets, sublight interstellar vessels, generation ships, and so on. I rather like the intergalactic FTL generation ship, intended to visit other galaxies.

[dataweaver]

Originally Posted by David L Pulver

This one is mostly sample spacecraft, but it also includes a brief generic version of the Interstellar Wars exploration rules tailored for the Spaceships systems.

Ah. Since I don't have (and haven't seen) Interstellar Wars, I can't comment.

Originally Posted by David L Pulver

Much of the Exploration/Colony ship book is devoted to ship designs that "push the edge" of the envelope - things like multi-stage interplanetary rockets, sublight FTL vessels, generation ships, and so on. I rather like the intergalactic FTL generation ship, intended to visit other galaxies.

"sublight FTL" appears to be a contradiction in terms, unless either "sublight" or "FTL" means something other than what it appears to mean.

[David L Pulver]

Originally Posted by dataweaver

Ah. Since I don't have (and haven't seen) Interstellar Wars, I can't comment.


"sublight FTL" appears to be a contradiction in terms, unless either "sublight" or "FTL" means something other than what it appears to mean.

Meant "interstellar" sorry. Typo.

[Professor Phobos]

What other books are in the series?

I just picked it up for Battlestar purposes and found it unsatisfying, but I enjoyed building space-ships so much I figured I might as well discard the BSG-campaign idea and bust out a GURPS Space homebrew.