On the size Issue:

I would prefer the ships to keep the larger size. A Cobra class destroyer is currently 800m long, if it was 800ft long it would be the same size as the Yamato. I just don't see a ship of that size being big enough. The rear third is engines and thrusters and in the remaining two thirds you have to have missile silos (torpedoes) a weapons battery (imo greater than Yamatos) and enough supplies for many months in space. Already it is quite cramped and to be useful to rogue traders you would need additional space.

Crashed/landed captital ships have become basis of cities they would to be fairly large. How large is your CBD? Compare it to a cruiser about 3km long.

I would also like to keep the fluff consistent between sources. I think the Cobra was 800m and the Lunar 3600m before the Rogue Trader RPG.

On Components:

I too would would like components to be more clearly defined. I would see Barracks being support facilities for a company of troops.

On Crew:

I would like a way to improve crew ratings, even if only on select areas. For example getting a better Navigator or better trained gun crew. Maybe each ship or component should have a minimum crew amount and you can't voluntarily reduce the crew below that. You may have thousands of crew on the ship but most are a little busy keeping the ship running to help out dirtside.

On Crew:

I would like a way to improve crew ratings, even if only on select areas. For example getting a better Navigator or better trained gun crew. Maybe each ship or component should have a minimum crew amount and you can't voluntarily reduce the crew below that. You may have thousands of crew on the ship but most are a little busy keeping the ship running to help out dirtside.

I always wanted to have the crew divided up into sections like Engineering, Gunnery, Arms men etc... That way PCs could be in charge of their own little empire of people on board the ship and hits to certain components would diminish the crew in some areas yet leave the rest unscathed.

Rattlings would be unskilled crew, required in all areas and making up a large portion of the overall crew. They could be changed between areas at will but their crew skill maxes out at 25 (or something). Different areas could be upskilled or equipped as needed so Engineering might have a crew skill of 45 whereas Navigation might only have a crew skill of 35. Damage to the thrusters inflicts casualties to Engineering but not Gunnery.

I abandoned the idea because it got too complex but if someone could streamline it then I think it could really add something to the game, especially when the PCs start competing to have the best crew and best equipment for their section of the ship.

Ooooo.....somebody just used CBD. That's Central Business Distrcit for the uninitiated. Come on Tigey, get with the beat!

I'd completely forgotten about crew quality. Yes, that needs to be addressed, and I love the idea of fleshing it out some. We actually had one campaign where the flight crew was kep separately from the rest of the crew.

On the size Issue:

I would prefer the ships to keep the larger size. A Cobra class destroyer is currently 800m long, if it was 800ft long it would be the same size as the Yamato. I just don't see a ship of that size being big enough. The rear third is engines and thrusters and in the remaining two thirds you have to have missile silos (torpedoes) a weapons battery (imo greater than Yamatos) and enough supplies for many months in space. Already it is quite cramped and to be useful to rogue traders you would need additional space.

Crashed/landed captital ships have become basis of cities they would to be fairly large. How large is your CBD? Compare it to a cruiser about 3km long.

I would also like to keep the fluff consistent between sources. I think the Cobra was 800m and the Lunar 3600m before the Rogue Trader RPG.

On Components:

I too would would like components to be more clearly defined. I would see Barracks being support facilities for a company of troops.

On Crew:

I would like a way to improve crew ratings, even if only on select areas. For example getting a better Navigator or better trained gun crew. Maybe each ship or component should have a minimum crew amount and you can't voluntarily reduce the crew below that. You may have thousands of crew on the ship but most are a little busy keeping the ship running to help out dirtside.

Do you hear yourself? You don't think a ship the size of the largest naval battleship ever built would be large enough to be a Raider? I guess it really is a matter of taste! For the record, Raider and frigate hulls are not capital ships. They are considered escorts. BTW: Ships like the Yamato and other naval capitol ships are designed to remain at sea for months at a time as well. Also, Modern Ballistic missile submarines (Which are considerably smaller) also do entire patrols of 3 months or more submerged!

Errant: Where did you get those numbers? I have the original BFG books and nowhere as far as I can find do they define the sizes of any of the vessels. Maybe I'm missing something.

As to crashed capitol ships being a basis for colonial cities: What size ship? A Cruiser? Battleship? Even using my method, a Lunar class cruiser is over a statute mile long. That would make for a significant "downtown"! A Battleship would still take up most of the city!

On Crew Quality: Generally I agree but it would be hard to keep different "Divisions" from getting messy. Could be done if the Gm didn't mind the bookwork though! I definately agree that there should be some way of advancing the ships crew quality though!

Rad, what numbers? I looked back and didn't see that I'd posted any numbers where scale was concerned. In fact, I like the idea of scale being non-defined. Let GMs set how long a turn is, or how far a VU is, or how many crew per factor, etc.

I'm all for the players keeping track of things like crew quality. I'm keeping track of the rest of the Universe. It's the least they can do. Of course, we can always just count PC crews as Green if they prefer...

Actually Rad, modern ships (well, those from WWII, not modern nuclear-powered) are not at all designed to stay at sea for months, certainly not in combat condition. Ships like the Yamato could barely cross the Pacific Ocean, and only at a fuel-conserving speed. The German pocket battleships, with their diesel engines, were designed for longer cruises (they were specifically designed as commerce raiders, though), but the ones that burned fuel oil were generally not, and especially not the escorts, which often had ranges much less than their capital ship counterparts. The Washington Treaty, and those agreements that came before, specified a cruiser that was limited in numbers to each participating country. The British needed a different type of ship, though...one that was capable of dealing with commerce raiders and therefore didn't need the big armor-piercing guns of the capital ship, didn't expect big-gunned opponents and therefore didn't need the cruiser's armored belts, but it needed to be large enough to carry lots of extra fuel and ammunition in order to stay at sea while performing escort, anti-piracy, and sea-lane interdiction missions. Thus was born the light cruiser.

If you've ever played WWII miniatures, then you know that the ammunition carried on WWII ships can be expended in less than an hour of shooting. Capital ships intended for a shore bombardment mission were in no shape to engage in fleet combat because they'd be loaded up with the wrong type of ammo for their big guns. That's also why capital ships on troop transport escort duty would often only be firing their secondary batteries during a landing. That would the only guns with the proper ammunition to support a landing. And, modern ships are much the same where ammunition is concerned. While their nuclear reactors might be able to keep them at sea for longer periods, their magazine still expended quickly.

Still, I think scale is something the system can gloss over with a properly abstract system. Just have a system with factors. Let the GM fill in the numbers that suits the groups play-style.

Sorry Errant! You didn't post those numbers. It was Tygre. Same question though! Where did he get them?

As to range: the base system already covers that. With base range of 6 months and extensions of up to two years available. I think that's pretty well covered. Same is true of ammunition: For ammo using weapons like macro cannons the Gm is free to call for an upkeep check as often as they feel necessary. By your count, that would be after every 4 turns of combat. I personally try to do it after every 3 combats or so...

I personally don't have a problem with abstract size since I'm not trying to develop deck plans for multi km. long vessels. I do want things like crew size and ship capabilities defined though as these directly affect players and there available resources! Going back to BFG fluff, they stated that crews on imperial warships ran from a few hundred to thousands. That's actually an order of magnitude LESS than what's in RT (which has escort crews in the tens of thousands!) So I hope you can see my dilemma...

I would like a experience system/buying of a ships crew grade, pressed crew. green crew, navy crew, skilled crew, exceptional crew. It also bugged me that I really couldn't affect the morale of the crew much. Things like planet leave, holidays, extra rations, extra rum rations, transport of a holy person, should have positive effects on ships morale.