Back then, we used Traveller for our Star Frontiers ship design and combat system. This was the release year of Star Frontiers, back in 1980, and we really had two options: Traveller or Space Opera. Traveler was the easier game for our young minds, so it won. Knight Hawks hadn't been released yet, and by the time it was, we had standardized all our designs on Traveller variants, and the game hummed along nicely without us caring enough to convert everything over.
So, the thought of a GURPS: Star Frontiers game running on the Cepheus Engine starship rules with GURPS for the starship engine really isn't that radical for me, since that is exactly what we did back in the day. Converting GURPS skills to 2d6 equivalents for the ship combat system is very easy, and both games run on a d6, so you don't even need to switch dice.
One thing I love about this combo is I get ship designs and combat back, which was a big part of our games, being OG-Star Wars influenced, with my brother playing a small starship captain with his crew. He was always off to somewhere new and dangerous, tangling it up with pirates, Sathar, space criminals, Streel mercenaries, and other bad guy groups. The ships weren't invincible; his ship often took heavy damage, and he was always down somewhere for repairs while he got into all sorts of trouble planetside.
Earning credits to pay for all this was a high priority, so he did his share of looting, taking cargoes others would never touch, and getting rewards from Star Law by bringing in wanted space criminals. The crew had stories and troubles of their own, and he would often step in to keep them happy or things on an even keel.
He also had colony investments that would pay out returns (based on a random events roll), and he would need to jet over there to make sure his investments were not getting raided by pirates, claim jumpers, too-aggressive space corporations, Sathars, and other threats. Other times, the colonists in colonies he bought shares in would call him up, telling him they found something strange, and they trusted him to check it out.
Sometimes, very stupid pirates would announce a shipping blockade of a system, and that would stir up a lot of trouble as ambassadors would arrive and try to calm things down, and the more go-in-blasters-flying crowd would want to clear them out. He was often a part of the latter; no negotiating with pirates, and he would join any merchant ships trying to break the blockade to take it out on the pirate ships, grab ships to sell for salvage, and help pay for things with merchant rewards for helping out.
The UPF was always busy with the Sathar fleets, so militia ships and merchants had to roll up their sleeves and take matters into their own hands. If you want something done, you gotta do it yourself. This also led to NPC ships and crew making repeat appearances, along with a few militia fleet officers who got to know him as a reliable gun for hire, and squarely on the side of the good guys.
Star Frontiers has this wonderful UFP/militia/mercenary split in space forces, and it gave ship encounters and the entire universe a better assortment of factions and interests with different goals and tolerances for danger. Sometimes militia ships were hampered by planetary defense budgets and UPF commitments, so relying on them for support was not always a sure thing. If you knew buddies you could call up in a pinch, and they were in-system, that is what making friends is for and why you ran a strong social game in our campaign.
And there were even times when local criminal syndicates provided information and resources; of course, they were never to be trusted, but pirates blockading a space route they had illicit cargo running through didn't work in their favor, either. There is always a shady deal to be made, but that is like making a deal with people you really don't want to be associating with.
The closest thing the setting has to an "Imperium" is the UPF, but they are more like a NATO defense alliance than a galaxy-wide government. So you still deal with megacorporations and planetary governments a lot here; no nobles come along ordering planets around, and no Imperial fleet comes in to dictate defense matters or engage in space politics. The setting is very much a loose collection of planets, local governments, and (pre-Cyberpunk) megacorps. The UPF is there, but it has to focus on the Sathar threat and any new wars that may flare up. The UPF won't waste ships on internal matters and will let PGC, Streel, the militias, and merchants work things out inside the Frontier as long as no Sathar involvement is detected.
This is why starship combat matters to me in science fiction, especially the aftermath of starship damage and repairs, which often dictated the action and focus of the next few sessions. One of the main engines is down, so we are stuck in the middle of nowhere for a while while we get it repaired, at least enough to get us back to a hub world and a new one put in. All that costs money and time. Time means we will be here for a while, and we need to find money to keep this thing flying.
That means a trip to the starport bar and hitting up a few contacts, or making a few new ones. So, what's going on around here?
A remote research station is still out of contact? The people sent to check on it have not reported back?
Really...?
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