[email removed] (John Bucsek) says:
>As for the questions about starports. As far as I understand the
>classification system is still the same as with CT/MT.
>As far as a short jump to make insystem travel quicker, GDW changed
>the M-drive mechanics in order to make the game more realistic.
>I agree with that viewpoint.
I think you misunderstand my point. I'm not griping about the change
in maneuver drive mechanics, I'm trying to square a major problem
that emerges from the change at the system strategic level.
To illustrate the point: under CT/MT, a Dragon-class SDB could
be reassigned from Earth to Neptune, and take up station within
a week. Under BL rules, even if it burned every last gram of fuel
accelerating and decelerating, it would take the same ship about
2.5 MONTHS to make the same transit.
Merchants need to move ships to generate revenues in excess of
their expenses. The Military needs to be able to redeploy ships
quickly. To move things around in a timely fashion, especially
outside of orbit #4, in-system ships NEED to be able to microjump.
Under the "standard" starport classification, most merchant ships
that operate in the outer system, as well as virtually ALL
military boats and monitors will have to be made at class A starports.
Not just in the New Era, but during the Rebellion, the Frontier Wars,
the Interstallar wars, at the dawn of Vilani star travel, during ALL
of the history of Charted Space.
That means most of the sorts of ships that class B ports built now
have to be handled by A-class ports. Like I said, that doesn't sit
well with me. My solution was to redefine the capabilities of
starports slightly to shift the relations between ports and
in-system craft back to what it used to be:
Class A's build _starships_ (ships with a jump number if 1+)
Class B's Buils _non-starships_ (ships with a jump number of 0)
and slightly different but it seems to be a natural progression:
Class C's can build non-_jump_ ships
in all cases provided the technical base exists.
John H Bogan