My thanks to Roger Sanger, the copyright holder, for granting me permission to host this article on my web site.  To quote him, "I was looking for a new home for DGP's 2300 AD articles, and naturally I picked the best fan sites on the Web for that purpose.  Kudos to Pentapod's World!  Enjoy!" - Kevin Clark - January 24th, 2000.

What is the standard rifle of American forces?  ( I suspect that it is probably a made-in-the-USA weapon similar to the SK-19 for Marines, maybe for all American forces.)

American Marines use an M-5 assault rifle, the statistics for which are given in Mission Arcturus.  Weapons for other American forces are yet to be published.

Is it possible to "stack" armor, to wear a rigid vest over non-rigid body armor, for example?

Stacking cannot be done with the armor listed in the basic game rules.  If, as referee, you wish to allow armor to be stacked, you should create variant types based upon those in the basic game.

{ This answer is incorrect, as the text and artwork on pages 52-53 in the 2300AD Adventurer's Guide ( 1988) show vests layered over the matching type of full-body armor.  Also the description of the French infantry's armor on page 97 of the Aurora Sourcebook ( 1987) has a rigid breastplate, as well as rigid knee/shin protectors, layered over the a full-body nonrigid suit.  Both of these examples predate this column's publication -- KevinC }

In the starship section, it is stated that MHD units require 75 tons of fuel per weak per MW, while fuel cells require 100 tons per week per MW.  Is this an official change from the first edition and Star Cruiser, in which rules fuel cells were more efficient than MHD?

2300AD is correct ( and Traveller: 2300 lists the same ratings): Star Cruiser is incorrect.  Therefore, MHD units use 75 tons and fuel cells use 100 tons.

{ This answer is also incorrect, as real world chemistry and physics research shows that fuel cells are more efficient than MHDs.  Star Cruiser's fuel ratings are correct.  The mistake instead must have been made in Traveller: 2300, which was then "cut and pasted" without being corrected into 2300AD. -- KevinC }

The "Director's Guide" states that gravitational scanner systems can detect operating stutterwarp ships out to about 150 AU.  What are the military implications of this?

You know that an operating stutterwarp is there ( which is one of the reasons for the black globes on the map), but you cannot gain target resolution until normal sensor range is reached.  Also, 150 AU is quite a distance insystem, so by the time you reach the spot where the stutter-warp was detected, the vessel may be long gone.

Section 6 of Star Cruiser's "Naval Architect's Manual" lists mass and volume for work stations and cockpits but no costs.  What should those costs be?

Work stations are Lv30,000; cockpits are Lv50,000.  But in terms of the ship design sequence, these prices are not added separately but are included in the cost of building the hull and mounting it with drives, sensors, weapons, and the like.

Section 9 of Star Cruiser's "Naval Architect's Manual" lists mess and volume for targeting computers, but gives no costs.  What should they be?

This is an oversight.  The cost for a +1 computer is Lv700,000; a +2 computer is Lv2,800,000.

Concerning the effects of screens in Star Cruiser combat, if a level 6 screen is attacked by two 10x2 detonation lasers in one phase, will it defend against all 20 attacks at level 6, or will there be some degradation?

Screen degradation occurs immediately after each shot, but simultaneous shots will be at the same screen level.  This means that in your example, 10 shots ( those from the first detonation laser) will all be against level 6 screens.  The next 10 shots ( those from the second detonation laser) will all be against what level the screens were reduced to by hits from the first missile.

Is the Martel fighter ( armor level 10!) really invulnerable to everything except surface fixture damage?

A roll of 10 against armor always penetrates, regardless of armor value.  This is essential, as armor values even higher than 10 are possible given the ship construction rules.  Why build a ship with an armor value above 10?  Because it retains a high armor value if breached.

Do Kafer ships uses UTES-type system?  Despite the designer's notes about the "limited number of directors" on Kafer ships, there is no mention of TTAs.

Kafers generally use something very similar to UTES.

Why do high-damage weapons have the same chance of penetrating armor as normal damage weapons?

If you like, you might try an unofficial variant in which 1d10 is rolled for each point a weapon can produce and one point gets through armor for each successful die roil.  This will change the balance of the game somewhat, however.

{ There is a better optional rule for penetrating armor.  You can find it in the sidebar on page 53 of the Invasion sourcebook -- KevinC }

The Star Cruiser "Rules Book" says on page six that "each group of three engineers ( or fraction thereof) forms a single damage control party", but page eight says that it takes a three man party to fix a point of damage.  Which is correct?

Page six is correct.

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