Vacc Suit Musing from TL9 and implications. Survival Rolls in Hard-Scifi Travel

I'm bothered by Vacc Suit and Combat Env Suit Stats of MgT2E. one is 10kg the other is 2kg and in the setting End+Str+Athl in Load capacity before Bane. I feel like having to correct this because it will lead to some Technical Debt - why use Vacc Suits if Env Suits by game mechanics is just as good. (So basically I learned to be constructive and talk about future problems of certain things that bother me). I don't like being caught off guard and having to make a poorly informed decision. 

The difference between a Vacc Suit and a basic sealed suit is that a Vacc Suit (Spacesuit) is meant for 8-hour stays (in TL8 EVMU) with enough life support and capacity for human waste management. this is a 60kg suit. Some are accessed through the back. Which has about 60kg of SUPPORT equipment that comes with it. For a total mass of 120kg. in the ISS the suit has more supporting equipment for long term use at 150kg. for about x2 its mass in support equipment. 

I never thought of that, the support equipment needed. It raises all these realizations like Workshops able to fabricate spare parts, equipment meant to test and check if the system works. Spare parts. 

Anything simpler like a counter-pressure suit would probably have special provisions for waste, but having no major container like an EVA suit it will.  Would probably way only slightly lighter like 30kg. 

Vacc Suit at TL 9 (10+ generations, or 50 years of development) 60kg to 40kg and the Carry-On support equipment would be 40kg. 20mh life support with 1-hour servicing per 20mh of use. It's going to be like some hardware - it's like you're renting as you always have to update and refresh. So even if you pay for a Suit good indefinitely with any workshop to fabricate parts you really need to update it every 3-5 years. Bleeding edge vs Main Lines of products which are designed to be supported indefinitely; while Disposable Bleeding Edge is bought with about 5-8 years of support before its a REALLY hard to support it. 

I could imagine someone replacing filters, screwing off and on panels and the system has a diagnostic check that tests its integrity. 

Heavy Labor. It may be zero-G but mechanical elements to reduce electronic malfunction because of radiation and space hazards. So many mechanical systems that will tire out the wearer. Imagine mechanical fingers with springs and purely powered by your own fingers and the devices breaking and needing replacement. your hands protected but the mechanical fingers are of a lower grade 

I realize Vacc Suit Manufacturing in the Ship's Workshop is very important. Every ship needs to be able to completely build a vacc suit from spare parts on hand and their workshop. 40-60% of users are using "Open Source" Locally fabricated Vacc Suits. 

Baseline EMU[edit]

• Manufacturer: ILC Dover (suit) and Collins Aerospace (primary life support systems)^[1]
• Missions: STS-6 (1983) to STS-110 (2002)^[1]
• Function: orbital extra-vehicular activity^[1]
• Operating pressure: 4.5 psi (29.6 kPa)^[1]
• EVA suit weight: 109 lb (49.4 kg)^[1]
• Total shuttle EVA suit weight: 254 lb (115 kg)^[1]
• Primary life support: 8 hours (480 minutes)^[1]
• Backup life support: 30 minutes^[1]

Enhanced EMU[edit]

• Manufacturer: ILC Dover (suit), Collins Aerospace (primary life support systems) and NASA (SAFER)^[1]
• Missions: 1998 to present^[1]
• Function: orbital extra-vehicular activity^[1]
• Operating pressure: 4.5 psi (29.6 kPa)^[1]
• EVA suit weight: 122 lb (55.3 kg)^[1]
• Total shuttle EVA suit weight: 275 lb (124.7 kg)^[1]
• Total ISS EVA suit weight: 319 lb (145 kg)^[1]
• Primary life support: 8 hours (480 minutes)^[1]
• Backup life support: 30 minutes^[1]

One of the things I realized is that - Belters will have a Smell. Space laborers will have probiotic creams used to cultivate and facilitate skin bacteria that act as a symbiot to reduce the infection rate and chafing in a 10-20 hour suit heavy labor. the bacteria feed off the sweat, heat, epithelial waste. Spacers will have a smell or if spacers are the norm, non-spacers will have a smell to the spacers.  

In a TRPG about TL9 space Pioneering - where characters develop the Infra (Skyhooks; Stations; a number of comets and asteroids orbiting HEO or LEO) that would be artifacts of future generations -, TIME scaling is an important part of storytelling. Particularly Casualties or Major Changes during the Extended Period rolls. The problem of Human sense of time and change - the Traveller "Survival" checks start showing up in GAME. instead of the Week Transit of Jump - the Week or Month Transit in System players roll SURVIVAL. 

A good roll is being able to train and practice and self-improvement. a bad roll is a Mishap. A TRPG set in pioneering TL9 or with hard science risks will be interesting as over the span of sessions PCs change A LOT. from being crippled and needing cybernetics, to being replaced by a new crewman. 

I wanted to Run also 2200 in Interstellar Wars (GURPS ISW) where there are Hard Scifi Ships with Micro-Jump Drives and Delta-V budgets.  Finite Jump points, Jumping requires a lot of calculations and happens instantaneously. Players are up for something scary: traveling from Jump Points and destinations - and the Players have to roll SURVIVAL. Imagine a 4-20 week trip. That's enough to learn a new skill (or lose a skill) and the players all roll Survival 4+ with your professional skills ( complying with safety measures). 

GURPS Traveller ISW Operating Costs Review

Here is my ISW Ops Cost.
The future has a lot of costs.

from $700 to $7,000 per 1dton per parsec from an independent trader but it costs about half as much from a Imperial monopoly Freighter unfortunately these don't go outside main routes (major and minor).

Increase the occupancy of Low berths by 2.5. So a 1dton low berth can contain as much as 5 medium sized persons.

Cryo is $400 (which is a cell phone or a tablet these days) is now $400 (4x the cost of a two way trip half around the world) and the technology is no 5 sleepers per 1dton (like the bunk). Moving from System to System is a whole career move.

Work in exchange for Bunk Space - if you have Worker Unions so that credentials can be easily verified, there are some that allow people to work for their bunk space.
4000 Cryo or Bunk Hibernation. Bunk hibernation is not covered by any insurance and is not allowed by Megacorps despite how draconian they may be.
10,000 Standard (like every class above economy, these are mostly profit and almost most often not fully occupied)
15,000 Single
20,000 Luxury

From $2,500 standard ticket to $10,000 per jump on a liner or a quarter as much on a Trader or Courier. Note that in a Liner there is entertainment and social activities. One standard liner ticket $10,000 / 7 days translates "Travelling Expense" cost for Very Wealthy. This means 2 or 3 people can travel in double-occupancy staterooms. Like in real life there are many instances where there are discounts, subsidies, and privileges where these costs are covered by another party.

I currently trying to make a GM cheat sheet and trying to update the Commodities
Genegineered Livestock - will replacing livestock and x5-x10 more expensive. Designed to survive, thrive and reproduce in target biome/environment
Living materials - will replace wood and x5-x10 more expensive. Designed to self maintain in and thrive in a target biome/environmen.
Robots - Computers, Machinery, and Tools have the chance to be robots in a 5-6 in 1d6 roll.
Mecha - From exo-skeletons, lifters, to grav-bike variable armor* (inspired by the cyclone armor in robotech but grav-bikes make more sense given the terrain). Will be 5-6 in a 1d6 roll when results of  Ground Vehicles, Fire-Arms, Machinery comes up.

Can't knock the practicality of a gav-vehicle with a built in battledress. Its a battle-dress you bring around with you which you don't have to wear constantly, and is in easy access when responding to a scene.

 My GM cheat sheet Draft


Homebrew Rules
Stealth Modifier only provides an EW bonus, since there is no stealth in space.

Hull HT affects only the cost of the Hull, not the entire ship. The Quality modifier for all the other parts to be HT9, 10, 11 and 12 will affect performance limits. HT8 cannot move beyond its performance range, the others allows a 100% temporarily increase in performance for 4 hours or stretched out up to double the duration but 1/4 the performance improvement (8 hours 25% increase). Every increment increases the boost by another 100%. 9 is +100% (x2), 10 is +200%(x3), 11 is +300% (x4) or 12HT for +400% (x5). HT of a ship that wishes an engineer take advantage of its improved performance requires a -2 per 100% improvement check. Failure means the engineer will have to try again, another 20mins or space combat turn to try. So it takes a very good engineer to max out HT12 (-8). The ship still needs to make an HT check when red-lining, but the margin of success +3 adds to the roll. On a failed engineering/mechanic roll the ship has a penalty equal to the margin of failure -1.

Failure greater than Margin of 1, is dDmg to PP or M-drive (1d6 1-4PP, 5-6 M-drive).

The strategic trade off of High Quality Equipment is that without sacrificing space, the powerplant and m-drives can double its performance if needed. paying x10 more for HT12 allows a ship to x5 their performane at no additional mass and space cost. A really good engineer hacker can hack an engine to perform past its limits but in carefully limited and time usages.

Hull HT allows a ship to be strong enough to weather extreme atmospheres

HT 8 Roll against Extreme Weather in Standard Atmosphere. Can do a emergency water landing.
HT 9 Roll against Extreme Weather in Dense Atmosphere. Can take off from Terra Sea.
HT 10 Roll against Extreme Weather in Very Dense Atmosphere. Can submerse in Terra Sea 100m
HT 11 Roll against Extreme Weather in Fluid Atmosphere. Can submerse in terra sea 500m
HT 12 Can suberse in terra sea in 1000m

The ability to go into very dense atmosphere allows for Warships to take advantage of atmosphere, dust clouds, and cosmic storms.

My Attempt at Traveller's Dishaan

Could not find any art about it so here is my first attempt.
using Note 2. This is an arboreal predator and carrion feeder with lower limbs that manipulate tools and upper limbs that give it mobility.