the shape of things to come

applications than anyplace else) to guide the craft’s course from take-off
to landing. Still, the progress of weapons technologies, sensor designs and
the added functionalities of VSTOL designs can allow today’s aerojock to
do things that no prop-driven crop duster ever could.
Today’s aerospace cockpits—even those employed by conventional
aircraft—feature life support systems and a broad suite of secondary
monitors used to keep track of everything from local weather systems and
satellite navigation data to the condition of the craft itself.
Small Craft, particularly those with long-range capability, even add
features designed for the long haul, including management of fuel control
systems, deep space navigation and a smart astrogational auto-pilot
that uses local stellar data (rather than surface topography) to identify the
vessel’s position and orientation. Because they are always designed for at
least two pilots, such cockpits tend to be more like miniature bridges than
fi ghter cockpits.
VEHICULAR CONTROL SYSTEMS
Introduced: Pre-spacefl ight
A vehicular control system, at its heart, is a driver’s seat and dashboard,
the same as one might fi nd in a personal automobile. While the
layouts may change, most are so simple that even a teenager with basic
driver’s training can adapt quickly from vehicle to vehicle. While the core
principles do not change all that much for most vehicles, however, units
designed for three-dimensional movement—such as submarines, airships
and helicopters—are a bit more complex in operation.
In the case of many larger vehicles—military craft or Support Vehicles
Introduced: Pre-spacefl ight
Though most common to rearguard military vehicles acting as battlefi
eld command centers, communications equipment is also seen in the
police, civil service, commercial and industrial sectors. Specialized “comm
gear” may be deployed in anything from a state-of-the-art newsvid van
to a rescue vehicle, to a traffi c control airship. The uses for such expanded
communications facilities can be almost infi nite, with direct point-to-point
operational ranges (without bouncing) averaging 50 kilometers on the
ground. Most complex systems can tap into satellite uplinks and communicate
with vessels and other craft in close orbit, and larger units may
even interface with HPG uplinks, to enter their transmissions into the local
interstellar communications queue.
massing 15 tons or more—control systems grow increasingly complex,
often requiring multiple crewmen to properly operate the vehicle. In most
combat vehicles, this allows for specialized positions, such as gunners,
sensor operators, loaders, engineers, navigators and co-drivers. Support
Vehicles without combat capability may require navigators or radar and
communications operators. The range of functions depends as much on
the vehicle’s size and function as on the manufacturer’s design philosophy,
but make no mistake about it: if all you need to do is get a vehicle to move,
you can usually accomplish that with just one driver or pilot.
COMMAND BRIDGES
Introduced: early spacefl ight (ca. 1960-2000)
In the case of DropShips and other large spacecraft, the modern bridge
or command deck evolved from the earliest days of human space exploration.
Essentially little more than a concentrated and upgraded version
of any large vehicle’s crew cabin, the command bridge of a spacecraft is
usually a small chamber fi lled with screens and stations, with a captain’s
chair conveniently placed either in the center or aft to take in all action at
a glance. Thanks to automation, computer controls and the hard work of
able bodies throughout the vessel, most operations from the bridge are
accomplished simply by pushing buttons, sending directions to the ship
via an internal communications and control network not unlike the nervous
system of the human body. These features allow a vessel commander
to focus more on the act of commanding than of actually performing the
various tasks involved in getting thousands of tons of DropShip to move
and—if necessary—to fi ght.
COMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT
The basic suite of this type of communications gear is intrinsic to the
normal systems found in military units like BattleMechs, aerospace fi ghters
and Combat Vehicles. Some of the most popular of these include our
own home-grown Achernar Electronics comm systems, or the Neil and
O/P series seen across the Inner Sphere.
These systems have their limits, and not all civilian and industrial vehicles
carry even this much gear. Combat and Support Vehicles that devote
tonnage to these systems, however, can vastly improve their tactical command
of a situation, either by monitoring remote sensors or by aiding fi eld
commanders in coordinating battlefi eld maneuvers.
Tech Base: Inner Sphere and Clan
Unit Restrictions: ProtoMechs may not mount communications equipment.
Game Rules: Communications equipment has no impact in Total Warfare; its use will be expanded upon in Tactical Operations. A unit’s communications
equipment is considered active in game play as long as the system is not hit in combat, the unit’s sensors and cockpit are undamaged,
the engine is not shut down and the unit is not destroyed. Otherwise, these systems continue to function even if the pilot/crew is unable to act.
Construction Rules: BattleMechs, Combat Vehicles and fi ghters of all kinds automatically possess a basic amount of communications equipment
(equivalent to 1 ton) as part of their cockpit and control systems. Small Craft and DropShips incorporate additional communications gear as well
(equivalent to 3 tons of such equipment) as part of their cockpit and control systems. IndustrialMechs and Support Vehicles do not carry communications
equipment more sophisticated than a radio unless they invest tonnage in such gear.
For all units, communications equipment must be installed in full-ton lots (to a maximum of 15 tons per unit). For BattleMechs and IndustrialMechs,
communications equipment requires 1 critical slot per ton and must be allocated to the Critical Hits Table in a contiguous series within the same body
section (equipment placed in multiple Body locations is considered to be separate communications units), and may be operated by 1 crewman.
Combat and Support Vehicles need to allocate only 1 equipment slot to the entire suite, regardless of its tonnage. Aerospace units may treat communications
equipment like cargo, allocating them to the Body/Fuselage location without occupying weapon slots. For these units, all additional
communications equipment adds 1 crewman to the unit’s minimum crew needs for every ton of communications gear.
Table Reference: Weapons and Equipment (Industrial, pp. 344–345
COMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT
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