Does RT mention them? If so could someone tell me what page so I can look it up when I get home?
The Original RT and other Archeo-Canon and fluff references mention them in passing, but as they weren't ship-combat rules they weren't really detailed out, just sort of mentioned as a standard ship component like Teleporters (used to be).
The reason I mention Tractor Beams is...
Ships take decades or even centuries to build...
Warp-capable ships are near priceless....
Many ships have served for centuries or even millenia and have been retrofitted scores of times...
So and so defeated whatsisname and hauled the Forbidden Fantasy back to Holy Terra as his prize...
Sound familiar?!?
Ok, so apart from some short games to test game mechanics (ship battles and soforth) with my kid, we haven't actually started our Campaign yet. I KNOW my players aren't going to want to scrap components off the Emperor's Bounty, they're going to want to HAUL IT HOME. In Dark Frontier there's a perfectly good Space Hulk just dying to be brought back and refitted. In the adventure at the back of the RT book, there's a couple good ships if the PC's can figure out how to bust them loose from the ice....
From obscure references to ancient 40k text it can be done. If I remember correctly the Gellar Field could cover more than one vessel and that was how they towed crippled ships through the warp. But even so, could you tow a larger ship with a smaller ship?
So there's a couple questions I'm sure at least one of you has already encountered.
How? Is there a giant winch on the back of the ship with gargantuan tow chains? Here, put on your Space Suit and hook this to the bumper...
Tractor Beams? What was your home-brew rules for them? Should they be Archeotech? Does RT mention this and if so, what page?
What about Profit Factor?
Certainly a functioning ship is worth more in the long run than simply scrapping components off a ship and selling them. I KNOW my players, given the difficulty of Acquirring Ship Components won't want to sell them, they'll hoard them in a warehouse until they have enough to outfit a Hulk they've salvaged. My players will think "It may take a decade or two, but it'll be worth it."
Can or should Tractor Beams have a combat function? I've lost many Star Fleet Battles games by underestimating the power of being able to stop or change another ship's direction... Maybe they're just so short-ranged they don't have a feasible combat application?