More equipment! Now we've got the basics. Literally. Shelter and food. Hey, you can buy a tarp! It's tech-level 1, so anyone higher than 'caveman' can get this. Then there's the tent, the pressure tent, the pre-fab cabin, and the advanced base, which is tech-level 8 and holds up to 6 people. It's the Hab from The Martian, basically.
Next up is the food, which is not given any tech levels, thankfully. I mean, it's food. Even cavemen know how to acquire it. There's really not much to talk about on this page, frankly. So, I'm going to add another page, just because.
So, moving on to page 16, we get vehicles. Not the kinds we saw in Book 2, of course. We start out with primitive transportation (tech-levels 0-3). This is your wagons, sailing ships, etc. They can be expensive, depending on the local circumstances. You can also ride a primitive beast, and you can even store one in low passage for a long trip if you really want to ride it on another planet. I'd be calling the SPCA on that one.
Next up are land vehicles for higher tech levels (up to 7). Ground cars are level 5, and cost about 40,000 credits. That's actually pretty close to what they cost today. It can go up to 1000 km on a tank of fuel, which, again, isn't much better than today's cars can do. Oh, and they can go 150 km/hour. That works out to 94 mph. These ground cars aren't that impressive, are they? And, they're only worth using on the planet they were manufactured on, since they don't work very well on other planets.
ATVs are next, and holy crap, are they expensive. 3 million credits! 'Considerably more expensive,' says the book in a gross understatement. We bought an ATV a few months ago that only cost 14,000! Okay, so our ATV isn't designed to work in different atmospheres and gravities, but still. These will even protect you from an insidious atmosphere (the one that disintegrates your spacesuit), and can go for 5,000 km on a single tank of gas. They can only do 100 km/h, on a good road (half on bad terrain). It can hold eight people and has enough room for them to eat and sleep. So, it's a Winnebago. A souped-up Winnebago.
Next is the AFV, the Armored Fighting Vehicle. 7 million credits for this sucker; clearly, it's a government purchase. It's an ATV with guns, basically. Except that it doesn't double as a camper, and holds three people instead of eight.
Finally, there's the hovercraft. A bargain at 2 million credits, it's only good on worlds with an atmosphere of at least 4. They have the range of a regular car and the speed of an ATV, but they float. They can go over water as easily as land, and can handle a load of 15 passengers.
So, that's some pretty straightforward equipment. Next time...we'll see what's on the next page.
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