Shades of the _Buck_Rogers_ TV show, but I like the idea. The
idea of "jump" is pretty loosley defined in Traveller, and I
don't see too many problems in incorporating it.
What about the corporate aspects? Initially, they'd probably
be built by some of the big ship corporations. They've already
got a corner on the jump market. Those that couldn't copy,
create, or steal the production process would push heavily for
regulation. (The First Corporate Wars?)
If the process is pretty straight forward, what of the
expense? The organization that builds or commisions to build
one will have to recoup the losses. That'd mean that jumps
would probably cost a little more. Probably direct debit
stations at the gate - at widely varying rates.
It seems that if these are implemented, demand for higher jump
ships will drop. Are the prices on all ships going to rise to
cut expected losses? Or will the bottom drop out of the jump-6
ship market completely?
As a somewhat evil GM, I see all kinds of opportunities to
force traffic to or around certain places. Also, there's much
more opportunity for the tax collectors, mafia hit men,
corporate raiders, military police, etc. to trace those
characters and find them.
To use this thing as a player, you probably have to call in,
tell where you're going, what heading you have set, and the
approximate jump "strength" your ship will use. The
"gatekeepers" will then debit your account and match your
course with the additional power.
>
> Should the output field be controlled by the using ship's computer or
> by someone/something on board the gate?
The gatekeeper probably has the power to assist a much larger
ship than your 100 ton scout. He can put you practically
anywhere he wants to. If you were playing in my game would you
trust YOUR computer or MINE.
>
> The difficulty of using one of these should the the same as for making
> a normal jump of the total distance (not 1), if the pilot AND the
> navigator have experience. The standard non-profieciency penalties
> should apply; JOT should not apply.
Mis-jumps are much more likely - multiply your mis-jump rate by
that of the gatekeeper.