A few miscellaneous things:
Skill Levels and their meanings (In my book)
(Using Ground Car as an example)
Ground Car-0 (Know how to drive, fill the tank, when to get routine
maintainance, knows when car is malfunctioning.)
Ground Car-1 Can Drive in bad weather, diagnose of minor faults, can
perform minor maintainance: change oil & filters
Ground Car-2 Can Drive in bad weather at speed. Perform most maintainance
Ground Car-3 Professional Racer. Can overhaul engine & transmission.
Ground Car-4 A.J. Foyt
Ground Car-5 Speed Racer
Ground Car-6 Racer-X
(Using Hand gun)
Hand Gun-0 Can point the gun and shoot it. Knows how to reload
Hand Gun-1 Can strip and reassemble it under battle field conditions
Hand Gun-2 Can strip weapon & reassemble blind folded
Hand Gun-3 Competition level marksman
Hand Gun-4 Olympic level marksman
(Please note, I am Ground Car-1, and Hand Gun-0.)
I have no military training what so ever. But it appears that the average
guy who goes though boot camp learns an awful lot about guns. And initial
training in Trav is Rifle-1. Any body with more experience in this please
speak up.
It herefore seems to me that Battle Dress-1, would give the user a damn
good knowlege of the system that is there to keep him ALIVE. Marines
would be sleeping in the things in boot camp. Probably the best thing
on the subject of training in battledress is in Joe Haldeman's "The
Forever War". Now it seems to me that a drill sargent ought to be able
to fix his men up in this stuff. His skill levels would be around
Battle Dress-2 or 3. (I would guess)
The system is gonna have to be easy to customize if you have the proper
tools. I don't think the Imperial Army is going to be expecting its troops
to be geniuses... So, as (Somebody who's name escapes me) suggested, it
is probably going to be an affair of different sized components.
(Different hand size, different arm size...)
Differing hip and chest units for different sexes. After all, different
relief tubes will have to be installed, and differing padding may be needed.
Problem! This idea of different sizes runs contrary to the spirit
of published stuff. In The Spinward Marches Campaign, the characters come
across containerized suits of Battle Dress and are allowed to use them if
they can. Well, I don't know what to think really... Maybe they are built
with sufficient variability of size that an experienced person can alter them
to size. (That is my best guess)
So, looking at the above, one might have to have a skill level of
at least Battle Dress-1 or 2 to look at another person in battle dress and
know if it is a woman or not.
Richard:
I do use a spreadsheet I built up with Lotus 1-2-3, unfortunately, it is a
major mess to use. I can use it becaue I know how it works. But, trying
to give it to someone else would be difficult. To explain how it works
would take quite some time. I'm sure there are other's out there with
better ones. (Rob Dean does all his calculations by hand though...)
(and yes, he does take top honors for TL8 :-)
Also Richard, Uhh... I'm afraid, I fall into the Laser Weapons-1 range.
Take an Argon Ion (or Krypton Ion) Laser, and I can clean it, run it,
change filters, change wavelengths, get a good beam out of it,
But as for designing a laser carbine? No way!
I'm just a laser jock, I can ride 'em, I know what they do, but don't
ask me how they work man! :-) (God!! I sound like a Vilani:-( )
Scott Kellogg
PS. The Tech-8 versions of the A-6, and the B-52, are for the updated
versions that are still in service.
Also, a Shakleton sure would look nice in the Confederate Air Force. Just
put 'em back into the Lancaster configuration...