well, maybe i WOULD want to tuck a lifeboat into my cargo hold if i was regularly flying around in systems that have worlds with breathable air and no provisions for space rescues. i guess that would be mainworlds with E class port and atmosphere 5, 6, or 8. i certainly acknowledge places like this exist within imperial territory.
outside the imperium too, proly in somewhat greater numbers.
not everyone flies there tho....
my point is not that a commercial ship should never carry a lifeboat, but that most don't have the need for it because of their routes.
now, if my ship is real big and i have lots of passengers, maybe sticking a boat in the hold isn't the best solution
so i'll acknowledge that big passenger ships flying around in the aforementioned areas proly ought to have the lifeboats designed in. i don't imagine that E class ports are high on anyone's list of desireable ports
, though, and stops that cut profit would TEND to be avoided by anyone whose profit margin is at stake.
as for folks needing a lifeboat instead of a lifebubble when rescue IS available,
don't be a wuss
kaladorn, IMTU lifeboats are as re-usable as any other craft. except for the holes they get in them when used to escape from pirates
i would think that time is a factor in most piracy, so i really think a pirate would rather spend a few minutes transfering easily removed high value items (like vehicles) than spend hours removing stuff like the electronics from the victim. if the ship was apprehended prior to jump (rather unlikely for a pirate), of course, the ideal would be to take the whole ship. hope you brought a prize crew! perhaps time wouldn't be a such factor if no-one knew the victim has problems, but i have been using an old TAS article, Piracy in the spinward main (or something like that) to guide my views regarding piracy, which, IIRC, indicates that authorites are likely to be en route right away.
hijacking is a substantially different type of threat (it comes from within the ship), and i don't really think lifeboats would help against it. seems like folks would get shot at (or even hostaged) while wandering to and fro in search of lifeboats during such violent happenings. not that cowering in a stateroom waiting to be spaced by victorious hijackers would be better. tough choice. lifebubble would still be just as good as a lifeboat in this case too, i think.
so, maybe a lot of ship designs have spurious subcraft
cargo capacity rules! let those who have the need, stuff a lifeboat in it. but as far as DESIGNING my fat trader or liner with vehicles, no
as for anyone who feels that i am maximizing my point and minimizing yours, well, yeah
now its your turn to do the same thing (again)
sure is fun discussing this