Corsair Stats

[whartung]

Why should they be restricted? They are exclusively defensive devices.

Because that way the Imperium maintains military superiority over its citizens.

Meson screens and dampers frustrate Meson Guns and Nuclear Missiles. Ships without them, even at the same tech level, are at a severe disadvantage against Imperial ships, which DO mount Meson weapons and nuclear missiles.

What effective precludes them in most comercial ships is its price and volume and power requirments. Unless you really expect them to be needed (so, that you can confront nukes or messons), why to spend so much money on them?

Right, so banning them isn't an issue, is it?

 

[Ulsyus]

...Because that way the Imperium maintains military superiority over its citizens.

Meson screens and dampers frustrate Meson Guns and Nuclear Missiles. Ships without them, even at the same tech level, are at a severe disadvantage against Imperial ships, which DO mount Meson weapons and nuclear missiles.

An advanced military automatically has a massive advantage over a civilian force in most circumstances. Low-intensity rebellion where the insurgents blend into the population so the Impies can't easily target them? Difficult. Upgunned merchant, liner and cargo vessels against organised CRURONS and better? Not much of a stand-up fight there.

But banning meson screens and dampers would limit the number that could readily fall into the hands of pirates. Without them, they (the corsairs) are far more vulnerable to IN or local system defence forces.

If in YTU civilians are permitted to purchase screens for your vessels, a consequence is that corsairs are far more likely to mount them as well than in a campaign where they're restricted to the military.

 

[kilemall]

An advanced military automatically has a massive advantage over a civilian force in most circumstances. Low-intensity rebellion where the insurgents blend into the population so the Impies can't easily target them? Difficult. Upgunned merchant, liner and cargo vessels against organised CRURONS and better? Not much of a stand-up fight there.

But banning meson screens and dampers would limit the number that could readily fall into the hands of pirates. Without them, they (the corsairs) are far more vulnerable to IN or local system defence forces.

If in YTU civilians are permitted to purchase screens for your vessels, a consequence is that corsairs are far more likely to mount them as well than in a campaign where they're restricted to the military.

One likely place I could see civilian screens could occur is subsidized merchants and/or merchant marines subject to callup in war. A logistical ship that might not explode immediately when in range of raiders could be worth it's tonnage in gold.

Of course, those ships would be watched like hawks, which might be worth getting installed and losing paying tonnage just for the 'free escort' bonus.

 

[mike wightman]

The navy could always install portable screen modules and the power plants necessary to run them into subbies...