Vehicle Quirks and Disadvantages

**shadowcat1313** · Jun 5th, '04, 04:34 AM

was digging through some old files, and ran accross a couple of collections of ideas for vehicle designers.

VEHICLE QUIRKS AND DISADVANTAGES:
Version 5.0
March 4, 2002

For fleshing out vehicle designs, since we all know nothing is perfect.
These are borrowed and extrapolated from a wide variety of sources, real world and otherwise

DISADVANTAGES:
Roll for the affected Major System:
Then for the affects on it

1. Superstructure and Hull:
2. Drivetrain:
3. Fuel Systems:
4. Power Generation:
5. Defensive Systems:
6. Offensive Systems:
7. Electronics:
8. Miscellaneous Systems:
9. Environmental/Crew Systems:

Superstructure and Hull:
1. This vehicle was designed to be amphibious, but problems with the seals result in it sinking far too often when attempts are made to use it in an amphibious role.
2. A cramped hull design has resulted in increased maintenance times and increased operator fatigue.
3. The vehicles primary turret has been noted to require more frequent maintenance intervals than other vehicles of this type, increase maintenance by 25%.
4. The taller than normal sighting profile on this vehicle makes visual spotting and targeting easier.
5. This vehicle features an exposed turret ring, making hits that render the turret locked in place or even blown completely off easier.
6. This vehicle uses a new type of composite armor, and there were problems getting the plates to align correctly, this has resulted in small but dangerous flaws in coverage. This problem has been corrected but some older vehicles and those on the front lines may not have been fixed.
7. This vehicle uses a type of armor that has proven flawed, it tends to develop hairline cracks when used in extreme environmental conditions.
8. Problems with the traverse mechanisms on the main turret have been noted, quickly reversing it without stopping it first can result in it freezing in position.
9. Problems with the armor used on this vehicle can result in hairline cracks caused by high speed maneuvering.
10. This walker type vehicle was designed with one arm heavier and bulkier than the other was; this can cause balance and piloting problems, especially with new pilots.
11. This vehicle has an especially weak armor facing, due to the construction materials used, and cost cutting by the manufacturer.
12. Wartime shortages have resulted in the use of less strategic construction materials where possible, such as wood or canvas instead of metals.
13. Stress from the recoil of the main battery has caused cracks in the supporting superstructure, requiring extra maintenance time, and or replacement.
14. These Vehicles primary turret is mounted at the very aft end, and is poorly insulated against cold and vacuum conditions, It has a tendency to freeze up at extremely low temperatures.
15. This vehicle has had additional armor plating added to cover parts of the Drivetrain and the turret, this armor was added in the field, and has a tendency to shake loose or fall off if handled roughly.
16. This vehicles extremely long nose blocks forward vision when sitting on the deck, making it very hard to see ground control personnel to the front or front sides.
17. This vehicle has a 2 piece commanders hatch that hinges forward, requiring the commander to stretch over to one side to see the front of the vehicle, making the commander a fine target for snipers and such.
18. This vehicle while a standard design is a bit larger than most of its type, it takes an extra 10% volume which means it will not fit in a bay designed for standard vehicles of its type.
19. This vehicle has been fitted with an advanced composite armor, due to the advanced nature of this armor, production cannot be maintained at all locations, so standard armor is used instead on some production versions.
20. This vehicles unusual wing configuration has resulted in serious problems with control at low speeds, its stall speed being 40% higher than normal for its type.
21. This vehicles landing gear retraction system has serious problems, its not rugged enough for the constant use on rough fields this vehicle was designed for, it has a tendency to get stuck either half in or all the way in.
22. This vehicles nose was fitted for an observer position; the glazed nose fairing has proven prone to cracking.
23. The moulding and bonding process used in the manufacture of this vehicles hull has had problems with the bonding adhesive reacting to a coating used on the hull to prevent corrosion, this can seriously weaken the structural integrity of the hull.
24. This aircraft’s body is very tight and cramped; this causes problems in transferring crew or equipment in midair.
25. The early production versions of this aircraft had structural problems with the design of the tail assemblies, due to overstressing; these tail units had a tendency to fall completely off in high G maneuvers.
26. Early versions of this aircraft had weak tail assemblies, they have a tendency to collapse in a high speed high angle dive.
27. This aircraft has an extremely sharp leading edge to its wings, requiring covering while on the ground to avoid crew injuries
28. This aircraft was fitted with landing gear that doesn’t include shock absorbers, making rough field landings a risky proposition at best.
29. Early versions of this aircraft were noted to have structural problems with tail flutter, damaging the rudder and taileron controls.
30. This early tank design had a very long almost boat shaped hull that left a long overhang on both ends this causing problems with going over obstacles.
31. This vehicle was designed with a wider hull than usual for a design of its kind, it sometimes has problems passing through bridges and tunnels, and transportation issues can arise.
32. A major structural defect has been discovered in this vehicle after analysis of combat damage, the aft portion of the hull is susceptible to snapping off or severe damage from what should have been relatively minor hits.
33. A major chink in the hull armor leaves it severely vulnerable to plunging fire from above, especially over the powerplant and ammo storage.
34.

Drivetrain:
1. The suspension system, while rugged, results in a very bumpy and uncomfortable ride for its occupants.
2. This Vehicle has a higher center of balance than normal, and is prone to tipping during high-speed turns.
3. This vehicles complicated systems result in driver/pilot training taking 20% longer than normal for a vehicle of its type.
4. This vehicles suspension system has proven prone to breakdown when not maintained daily. If not maintained and used in rough terrain, breakdown chances triple.
5. Poor weight distribution results in poor flight handling characteristics, especially at low altitude.
6. Problems with flight control systems results in a poor rate of climb, especially at low altitude
7. Consistent problems have been noted with the gravitic compensators aboard this vehicle, they tend to become unbalanced at high speed, possibly causing the driver to lose control.
8. This vehicles transmission and drivetrain assembly are badly designed, its easier to pull the whole engine assembly to replace some parts than to just work on the parts with it installed.
9. This Walker type design has problems with balance control due to poorly designed gyros, it has a worse chance of keeping upright in rough terrain or if damaged.
10. This Walker design has problems with stress to the hip actuator bearings causing them to fail if not maintained at 1/3 the normal intervals.
11. Flaws in the thruster housing design tend to cause overheating and can damage internal components
12. This vehicle design has problems with faulty tread locks on the inner drive wheels, they have a tendency to slip and throw treads when at full speed.
13. This vehicles auxiliary thrusters are an older design, that while reliable and easy to maintain, are much more costly than newer standard designs. These thrusters are usually replaced with newer models during major refits or if the originals are destroyed.
14. This walker type design has been noted to have severe problems with the knee actuators breaking down in rough terrain.
15. The driveshaft and transmission housing on this vehicle were not properly armored, and due to the vehicles low ground clearance, have proven especially vulnerable to mines and damage from rough terrain.
16. This vehicles control systems were designed to use bio and neuro feedback techniques, the interfaces were fitted with feedback filters, but theres still a danger of damage to the driver in some instances.
17. This Vehicles disc shaped hull has proven to be a major problem in atmospheric combat, it can be highly unstable in flight. Several pilots have been killed.
18. This vehicles vectored thrust nozzles were designed for variable output and directional control, however they have proved vulnerable to minor damage jamming the outlets, causing control problems
19. This vehicle has been noted to have a tendency to corkscrew left on landing, this can be disastrous, especially for new pilots.
20. This vehicles tracked suspension was designed with overlapping road wheels, rocks and mud or ice could damage or jam them, slowing or stopping the vehicle entirely. Ice and mud could freeze overnight or in really cold temperatures.
21. This heavy walker was designed to present a short and broad target profile; this has resulted in the ground pressure being quite a bit higher than normal, causing it to bog down and swampy and rough terrain.
22. This air vehicles oversized dive brake has caused problems with control flutter while in a steep dive, Possibly causing spinouts.
23. This aircraft’s propeller sits very low to the ground, rough landings have a tendency to break off the blades, causing serious damage.
24. This Aircraft was designed with a really small tail assembly; it has problems with directional stability in anything but straight and level flight.
25. This Aircraft is noted for its sluggish control response, its maneuverability being reduced by 20% from normal for its type.
26. This aircrafts early turbojet engine was known for compressor blade failures, and it took 3 complete redesigns of the assemblys to get one that worked properly
27. This aircrafts mid fuselage mounted engine and long extension shaft have resulted in vibration problems.
28. This vehicles drive was custom designed to fit in this vehicle only. Any atttempts to modify it or upgrade it to fit in another vehicle are very hard and expensive.
29. This walker vehicles transmission and gearbox assembly are unarmored and vulnerable to hostile fire due to their location. This assembly can only be targeted from very close range.
30. This fighter features 2 folding maneuver foils near the midpoint of the wings, along with a gyro-stabilized cockpit system, the cockpit system is prone to breaking down, locking the wings in position, amd making it nearly impossible to turn.
31. This slow moving vehicle isnt particularly stable, and its open decks can cause problems with people falling off if the vehicle rocks or tips.
32. This submersible was designed with a single propeller unit, while reducing noise and such, it leave It vulnerable to damage leaving it unable to move.
33. This submersible mounts its auxilary batteries between the pressure hulls, this results in time for maintenance and repairs taking twice as long as normal and requires special equipment only found in shipyards.
34. This air vehicle was designed using early stealth characteristics, while very hard to see with Radar and IR sensors… it handles like a pig at best, all piloting rolls are at –4, and spins are at –4 to recover
35.

Fuel Systems:
1. Design Flaws in the fuel systems design, result in a tendency for fuel to leak everywhere even when the system is well maintained.
2. This design uses a mix of highly volatile fossil fuels that even when mixed properly can explode without much warning.
3. This Vehicle has fuel tanks which are mounted on the inside of the rear loading doors, leaving them very vulnerable to penetrating fire from the rear.
4. This Vehicles auxiliary fuel tanks are in exposed mounts on the outer hull, making them very vulnerable to small arms or fragmentation damage.
5. This vehicle features several small fuel tanks instead of one large one, the distribution system system has proven vulnerable to minor hits due to its placement close to the outer hull.
6. This vehicles powerplant was designed to handle multiple types of fuel, but in practice, using anything but the standard fuel has resulted in fuel consumption tripling, and maintenance problems arising due to different tolerances.
7. Fuel consumption by the powerplant has proven to be much greater than designers had anticipated, due to differences in mass and power usage, Operational ranges have been reduced significantly.
8. This vehicles powerplant leaks oil and it sprays backward over the cockpit windscreen, thus reducing visibility. Later production versions have this problem fixed by redirecting the spray downwards.
9. This vehicle carries almost all its fuel in jettisonable tanks; it only carries a 5-minute reserve inside the craft itself. This is just enough for a safe landing.
10. This vehicle was intended to be able to use buddy or in-flight refueling, a design problem with the fuel system has resulted in this taking twice as long to transfer fuel than normal, it also requires a special probe connector.
11. Problems with fuel vapour leakage into wing sections has resulted in destruction of several vehicles of this type due to static discharges or battle damage.
12.

Power Generation
1. Poorly designed air intake filters result in the intakes clogging easily during sand or dust storms causing severe performance and overheating problems.
2. Placement of the vehicles engine requires removal of the turret to perform some maintenance duties or to change it entirely.
3. Design modifications after the prototype stage have resulted in an increased maintenance cycle, and certain specialized parts to be in short supply.
4. This vehicles engines are susceptible to burnout, mostly due to pilots and commanders overdriving the engines to often for too long. This has put more vehicles out of action than combat losses.
5. Poor shielding around the crafts fusion plant results in a need for bulky protective suits while doing maintenance of the powerplant or drivetrain.
6. This vehicle suffers from a poorly designed cooling system, it cannot properly vent the waste heat its weapons and other systems produce.
7. This vehicles waste heat reduction system vents it externally in such a matter that it can generate a bright aurora around the vehicle, while harmless, it does make for an eerie light show, and can make the vehicle a better target.
8. This vehicles engine was mounted off center to make room for other special components, this causes problems with mass distribution, and control issues.
9. Equipment shortages due to war or other situations have resulted in this vehicle being fitted with a smaller or less efficient powerplant, than it was originally designed for.
10. Part of the vehicles waste heat dispersion system is externally mounted and serves a secondary purpose of some kind, while a good idea, it makes a great target.
11. The cooling system for this vehicle makes use of large heat radiators; the filters on them have a tendency to clog if not cleaned at least weekly. This tends to be an all day job, and requires a crane or lift of some kind.
12. This vehicle produces considerable excess heat from its engines, and it stands out on IR/Thermo/UV like a sore thumb, making it a very good target for IR guided weapons.
13. A flaw in the reactor shielding leaves it vulnerable to enemy fire; a hit to the shielding automatically causes overheating, and has a 25% chance of causing an automatic shutdown.
14. This vehicle has a problem with power distribution, it cannot move faster than half speed while rotating its turret, or the turret locks in whatever direction it was facing. The turret can be hand cranked but this takes 3 crew a 30 seconds per 60 degrees of facing change.
15. This vehicle has been refitted with engines that produce a significantly greater amount of thrust than originally designed for, this has caused problems with some of the internal components of the thruster nozzles and afterburner units, requiring more frequent maintenance or replacement.
16. This vehicles powerplant is in an exposed mount, which while aiding in cooling and maintenance, makes it an easy target for enemy fire and shrapnel.
17. This vehicle is equipped with fire extinguisher units in each engine compartment; the sensors attached to the engines have proven faulty, sometimes setting the extinguishers off without need.
18. This vehicles engine driven generators have proven inadequate to the task of powering all the electrical equipment carried aboard her, major refits have been ordered to change over to more standard actuator or hydraulic systems.
19. This aircraft’s turbocharged engines have been plagued with overheating problems, and these problems have caused catastrophic turbocharger explosions.
20. This vehicles engine was manufactured from experimental high temperature ceramics, which have proven to be extremely brittle in field use.
21. This aircraft had its designed role switched shortly after entering service and its new role required much different flight characteristics. Resulting in serious problems with engine failures due to overheating at low airspeeds.
22. This Aircraft cannot complete negative G maneuvers due to the use of carburetors instead of fuel injection or other more modern systems.
23. This vehicles engine mounts were poorly designed, resulting vibrations can cause serious structural damage unless reinforced or replaced.
24. This aircraft has a noted tendency to vent exhaust fumes from the engine into the cockpit at low speeds.
25. This aircrafts early variants were fraught with engine problems later traced to poorly formulated fuel clogging the carbeurators or injectors.
36. This vehicle uses 2 separate types of engines, to allow for various factors such as fuel economy or faster startup. This results in the powerplant arrangement taking twice as much space, and costing half again as much.
37. This vehicle uses a modified version of a powerplant intended for a very different use[sports car engine in a tank, or aircraft engine in a boat for example]. This has caused a variety of minor headaches due to different operating tolerances and such.
38. This vehicles maintenance manuals contain a major error, and not all models have been issued a corrected version, this problem regards part of the powerplants cooling system, and will cause poor performance until corrected. The engine tends to overheat or just not run properly, if run at more than 50% capacity.
39. This vehicles has known problems with its power generators, They have a slower rate of recharge, and a limited storage capacity, both are at 60% of normal for equipment of its type.
40.

Defensive Systems:
1. The Vehicles point defense system has a marked tendency to jam, requiring complete field stripping to clear.
2. The vehicles PDS has an alarming tendency to shoot down the vehicles own outgoing missiles and incoming missiles. This has been noted to happen no more than once every 100 firings.
3. The placement of the PDS mount on this vehicle has left gaps in its coverage.
4. This vehicles primary defensive weapon is in a remote mount at the very back of the vehicle, while it has a good firing arc, the visibility from the remote monitor is poor at best, this weapon can be fired manually, but is treated as an open mount.
5. This vehicles shield generators have a marked tendency short out in really foul weather, this requires rebooting of the system, and about 5 minutes of time.
6. This Vehicles screen generators give off an excessive amount of waste energy, while its not a danger to the ship, it does give a +1 to sensor rolls for detection.
7. This Vehicles screen generators are mounted externally on a huge command tower above the center hull. This can make them a good target for enemy gunners, or even fighters at close range.
8.

Offensive Systems:
1. The extreme recoil of this weapons system requires that it only be fired straight forward or straight backwards, otherwise theres a good chance it will tip over.
2. The Vehicles Missile launchers are mounted in the sides of the vehicle, and vent the exhausts out the rear sides of the vehicle, this can injure anyone standing near the vents when missiles are fired.
3. This vehicles primary laser array is prone to hairline barrel cracks with prolonged use, this can cause the barrel to explode, causing severe damage to the system and surrounding equipment.
4. Vibrations caused by firing of the main gun can cause the turret traverse circuits to overload, causing it to lock in place. This takes 3-4 hours of heavy use.
5. The weapons systems used on this vehicle are widely known for being unreliable and having some of the poorest in service rates of any in current use.
6. The main gun on this vehicle is mounted on an external swivel mount, this gun is remotely operated, and the traverse mechanisms are poorly armored, often resulting in ricochets or minor hits knocking out the traverse mechanisms and freezing it in place.
7. This weapon has a pronounced backblast, which is vented out the rear of the vehicle; this can injure nearby personnel, or start small fires.
8. Energizing this weapon causes brief interference with sensor and communications systems. Solutions have been attempted, but none successful so far.
9. This weapons power cables run through a tight area of the chassis, and tight maneuvers, or interior damage can cause the weapon to malfunction or fail completely.
10. This vehicles missile launchers feed reloads from a different compartment, and the feed mechanism is easily jammed.
11. This energy weapons cooling jacket is placed in close proximity to the vehicles powerplant or other heat producing equipment, this results in fast deterioration of the jacket, causing it to have to be replaced every 100 firings.
12. This weapon, while very reliable and accurate is very heavy and bulky compared to most weapons of its type.
13. This Energy Weapon has a cooling system that is not robust enough to handle the waste heat generated by it, this tends to cause damage to the power feed housing, and the weapon can explode if fired continuously for long periods without being allowed to cool down.
14. This crafts primary weapons are placed on either side of the cockpit, and firing both at once can overtax the crafts environmental systems due to the waste heat generated. This can cause the life support system to malfunction or shut down completely.
15. This weapon is an older design from an obscure manufacturer; not all techs are familiar with it, so maintenance tends to take longer than normal.
16. This vehicles ammo storage area is poorly protected, it has proven vulnerable to minor interior explosions and the blowout ammo bins don’t always work correctly.
17. This vehicles main weapon produces a static backblast, which while harmless, lights up the immediate area, and can silhouette the vehicle for enemy gunners.
18. This vehicles secondary energy weapons have a complex power coupling arrangement which is prone to disconnecting if jarred excessively.
19. This vehicles laser array has proven to have an annoying habit of quickly melting its heat jackets, causing the weapon to overheat and shut down, or to explode. Extra venting was added, along with moving the laser mounts to allow for better cooling, the best solution is simply replacing the weapon with another design completely.
20. This Weapon requires specialized reloading equipment only found at a base or maintenance shop.
21. Some of the cable runs for this systems are exposed on the outer hull, while they aren’t a very good target, they are susceptible to ricochets and fragmentation damage.
22. The recoil from the firing the main battery is heavy enough that it actually moves the vehicle several feet, which can cause problems if the pilot has not braced for it.
23. This Vehicle was designed with the capability to use modular weapons, but the connectors for power and control were not modularized, so not all weapon systems can be used without changing out connectors and cables. This generally cannot be done as a field refit.
24. This energy weapon design has proven problematic since its recent inception, it generates large amounts of waste heat, and tends to produce static discharges when fired, causing interference with other vehicle electronics, and sometimes even injuring or killing crewmen.
25. This Vehicles main gun requires a tremendous amount of power to fire, thus draining power from most other systems when in use.
26. This vehicles main energy weapon has been found to produce feedback to the sensors in the form of static in the Ultraviolet spectrum, this can disrupt the vehicles UV sensors if any. New production vehicles were fitted with filters, but not all older vehicles have them.
27. A flaw in the fusing system for this weapon has resulted in poor reliability of detonation, this is easily correctable, usually by using a different fusing system, but shortages and politics internally have resulted in problems obtaining replacement fuses.
28. This missiles guidance system was fitted with a ring of lights to allow the operator to see the missile easier when guiding it to its target, this also can make it an easier target for enemy gunners.
29. Problems with the ejection mechanisms on the bomb racks under the belly of this aircraft have resulted in the bombs dropping forward instead of down, and destroying propellers in the process.
30. This aircrafts dorsal turret wasn’t well designed, if skewed to any position but the front or rear, it tends to cause severe buffeting.
31. This vehicle has a modified turret, due to being fitted with a very different weapon than originally intended, this new weapon has been mounted off-center and upside down. This causes maintenance headaches, and doubles manual loading time in cases where the autoloader ceases to function.
32. This vehicles secondary weapons mount is located atop the turret, and has no automated traverse or leveling systems, any such corrections must be made from the exterior of the vehicle by hand.
33. This missile weapon was fitted with a small magazine[25% of normal load] due to space constraints caused when the weapon was added after the original design stage.
34. This vehicles primary energy weapons were fitted with smaller power accumulators then were needed, causing them to have half normal range for a weapon of its type, a refit has allowed them to fire with normal ranges, but this will cause an automatic system overload on a critical failure.
35. This vehicle was fitted with a secondary missile weapon in an external pod, this pod causes extra drag and reduces maneuverability.
36. This vehicles heavy energy weapons use an older technology base, they do as much damage as there newer counterparts at the same range, but they have half the rate of fire and use 3* as much power.
37. This vehicle was designed without proper computer support for its fire control systems, resulting in the vehicle only being able to fire 25% of its weapons capacity at one time. This problem has been partially solved by linking batteries to increase its capacity.
38. This vehicle was designed to accept modular weapons pods, but after its delegation to reserve and other duties, availablity of pods has proven to be a problem in some areas.
39.

Electronics:
1. The vehicles fire control system is prone to maintenance problems caused by rough handling or being jarred, maintenance times are doubled, and if not maintained properly, the system is at ½ effectiveness.
2. This vehicles fire control system is older and hard to find parts or replacement units for. It’s also prone to spoofing and newer countermeasures.
3. Faulty software for the targeting computer results in glitches and ghost images being commonplace.
4. A flaw in the navigation/terrain following computer can result in grounding damage or crash landings
5. Problems during the design stage of this vehicle resulted in communications and sensor equipment taking triple the normal size and mass.
6. Designers placed the primary sensor arrays in close proximity to the powerplant, this resulted in the need for extra shielding to prevent interference, and this was not entirely successful.
7. This vehicles main sensor array has an exposed and unarmored antennae, making it a tempting target for enemy gunners.
8. This vehicles computer system has various voice warnings, that while useful tend to be rather annoying after the first 2 seconds, and are usually shut off immediately.
9. This vehicles primary control computer system has been reported to give false damage readings and to eject its crew without warning.
10. This vehicle has been noted to have problems with its primary tracking computer, when initially energized it creates enough interference to jam other sensors and communications for about 5 seconds.
11. Problems with the electrical system have been noted, it tends to overload when hit by particle weapon fire. Dampening circuits were added, but are not entirely effective.
12. During a systems upgrade/refit, this vehicle was fitted with a new fire control computer, that has proven inadequate in handling tracking multiple targets, especially high-speed targets.
13. A poorly designed electronics bay on this vehicle results in not enough airflow for proper cooling of the systems inside. This can result in flaky performance or shutdowns.
14. This Vehicles primary sensor array is housed in a rotating turret, while effective, the small size of this turret has caused problems with keeping the array cool enough to operate properly.
15. The electronics systems on this vehicle have a very distinctive electronic signature, easily discernable by most detection systems if the main array is functioning in active mode.
16. This vehicles communications and sensor systems are extremely complex, and require extra training for its operators for it to be utilized to its full potential.
17. This vehicle has no radio or other communications equipment, requiring hand signals or flares, or even flags to communicate with other units.
18. This vehicles intercom for crew use has proven balky and unreliable, crewmen have to resort to hand signals or yelling most of the time.
19. This military aircrafts advanced stealth capabilities have required it to be fitted with a civilian transponder for peacetime training use.
20. This vehicle doesn’t have exterior viewports, the crew is forced to rely on its electronic sensors, if these fail, the crew must open hatches to see.
21. This vehicles hyperspace navigation computer is very limited in focus, it can only store a limited number of coordinates.
22. These vehicles were designed to operate in coherent squadrons, and share group datalinks, this could allow an enemy to take control of the vehicles computers.
23. This vehicles electronic systems have interfaces that were designed with a specific race in mind, and due to their unusual configuration, are very hard for beings of other races to use.
24.

Environmental/Crew Functions:
1. This vehicles environmental systems have been proven to be not completely effective when dealing with exotic atmospheres or chemical attacks, so the crews tend to suit up in sealed armor when expecting to deal with such.
2. This vehicles cramped interior design results in they’re being little room for extra equipment or parts, or even personal gear for the crew.
3. Problems with the crew escape hatches have been noted, they tend to freeze shut in a power failure, thus trapping the crew inside.
4. Placement of the escape hatches has resulted in poor crew survivability
5. Placement of the power plant in the center of the vehicle between the crew and troop compartments results in cramped conditions, and problems transferring personnel or equipment.
6. A faulty design in the ejection seat can cause the mechanism to misfire and or explode when used.
7. This vehicle was originally designed for training or civilian use only, and the life support and environmental systems are inadequate for heavy combat use.
8. Problems with the environmental systems design have resulted in high interior temperatures; this can be hard on the crew and some electronics.
9. The cockpit design provides poor visibility to the rear and sides, forcing pilots to rely on cameras and on mirrors and other vehicles to spot targets to the rear and sides.
10. This vehicles environmental systems were designed to be used for short durations, and are not rugged enough to handle prolonged use.
11. This vehicles environmental system has a marked tendency to vent noxious odors from the powerplant and other systems to the interior of the vehicle, this problem was fixed by using small filters in the air intakes, these filters require changing every 100 hours of use, otherwise the smells return. These filters are the size of a quarter and cheap, but easily lost or misplaced.
12. This vehicles cockpit is sealed when the pilot enters it, it cannot be opened from the inside without breaking the windows.
13. This vehicle isn’t sealed or fitted with environmental systems, requiring the crew to be suited if the situation requires operating in a hazardous environment.
14. This vehicle was designed with a larger crew complement than its life support systems can handle, thus either shortening its combat duration, or forcing some of the crew to rely on suits.
15. Early production models of this vehicle were plagued by failures of the cabin/cockpit pressurization system, this has been fixed, but not all older vehicles have the modifications.
16. This vehicles cockpit is mounted directly under the forward end of the engine pylon, thus making it difficult to eject or bail out from safely.
17. This vehicle was designed with a very narrow fuselage; some of the instrumentation is actually mounted on the engine cowlings where the pilot can see them.
18. This vehicles crew compartment isn’t properly insulated against various sounds the vehicle makes while in operation; specifically a couple of high pitched whining noises.
19. One of this aircraft’s turrets is mounted in the belly, and is retractable; its very cramped for the gunner who actually sits in the turret, and is pretty much stuck there in flight.
20. This Aircraft has an open mount that hangs below the aircraft on the carriage of its fixed landing gear; this is reached by climbing down a metal ladder.
21. This vehicles crew compartment has individual sections for each crewman; this makes communication and other tasks difficult.
22. This vehicles unusual tri-wing configuration has a configuration situated so that the vehicles windscreen is split in half by its verticle stabilizer, hampering visibility.
23.

Misc. Systems and other problems:
1. Scandals involving procurement or design of this vehicle have resulted in poor quality control or hidden design flaws, roll again on these tables.
2. Damage or destruction of a component manufacturer for this vehicle has resulted in problems obtaining repair parts or new vehicles.
3. This Vehicle while being long outmoded still serves in significant numbers due to the political influence of its manufacturer.
4. This new vehicle design has become very popular and is in high demand by frontline units, this has resulted in shortages in parts and maintenance equipment while the manufacturer gears up to meet this higher demand.
5. Cost overruns and design problems resulted in the bankruptcy of the original manufacturer, thus resulting in an orphan design, or a design that’s very hard to get parts or support for.
6. This vehicles modified alien design can cause maintenance problems, due to unfamiliarity with some of the layouts and placements.
7. This vehicle has gotten a bad reputation among its crews for reasons that while well founded are not quite all they seem, and this has caused problems with morale.
8. This vehicle uses a wide variety of parts and systems from various contractors, thus making spare parts a problem sometimes.
9. This vehicle was a peacetime design for a civilian craft that has been adapted for military use; not all of its equipment and design specs are up to military standards.
10. Not all the components for this vehicle are manufactured in the country, or on the same planet, this can cause lengthy delays due to waiting on component shipments.
11. The first test of this vehicle in battle, while a success, was a major defeat for the unit involved, due to poor execution and tactics, the commanders desperate to avoid blame, blamed the new vehicles.
12. This Vehicle has been used as a test bed for new technologies, and a lot of its internal working were kept under wraps all the way until its initial deployment, this has lengthened training times and maintenance time, as crews are not always familiar with the design, and the manuals are still considered classified.
13. Political considerations have severely limited deployment of this design, due to fears of certain technology falling into the wrong hands or it being considered an escalation of tensions.
14. This Vehicle design was the result of information from a mole in the government who provided data to the manufacturer about the design study that enabled them to produce a prototype months ahead of anyone else, when caught, several executives and the mole were imprisoned.
15. Some of the equipment this vehicle uses is either black market or flat out illegal technology.
16. Early production runs of this vehicle were hoarded for use by special units, and thus vehicles have been slow reaching front line units.
17. The original engineering specifications and blueprints for this vehicle were lost when its primary factory was destroyed, the current version is a retro-engineered copy, and not all of its design specs are up to the original designer’s intentions.
18. Some components in this vehicle use toxic or hazardous fluids as coolant or lubricant, this fact has caused problems with both crew injuries, and in disposal after maintenance, this vehicle has a bad reputation with various environmental groups.
35. This Vehicle was built to very tight tolerances with cost saving in mind, thus theres very little room left over for later modifications and updates.
36. This very common vehicle has been produced in so many variants and by so many factories that even 2 vehicles of the exact same version might be very different layout and equipment wise. Resulting in maintenance and other headaches.
37. This vehicle was produced as a result of a civilian experimental design that was then adopted for military use.
38. This vehicle while not a completely military design requires special permits and approval to purchase or to even salvage.
39. Vehicles of this class are considered to be military vehicles, and while not illegal to own, generally get frowned upon beyond the planets starport.
40. Politics have resulted in governmental limitations on who can buy this vehicle, or some of its components.
41. This vehicle is considered by most to be a second class vehicle, and not worthy of a real soldier, this has made finding volunteers for crews a problem.
42. This vehicle was shipped with very poor documentation concerning maintenance and repair, this increases maintenance times by 20% on a failed skill roll.
43. This Vehicle was designed with ample room for expansion and upgrading, this can cause problems as it has given the vehicle a reputation for its use by smugglers and other less than reputable characters.
44. This vehicle was rushed into production as a stopgap to replace serious losses among vehicles of its type, poor assembly and design have resulted in it requiring 35% more maintenance time and parts than other vehicles of its class.
45. This vehicle type requires special training for maintenance crews, and not all crews have been trained on this, so deployment has been severely limited.
46.

NOTES:
Real world vehicle problems taken from the following craft.
BTR-70 APC
Tiger 1 Tank
ME-163 Komet, rocket fighter
MI-24 Hind helicopter gunship
Dual Drive Sherman tank
Various SP Artilery pieces
M1 Abrams MBT
M551 Sheridan LBT
Various 20th Century Soviet Tanks
Ontos assault vehicle
Mitsubishi A6M Zero
Battleship New Jersey
Various WW2 Aircraft
Various Nuclear Submarines
WW2 US torpedoes with magnetic exploders
B-52 Bomber
F4U Corsair
Panzer IV Tank
T-34 Tank
M4 Sherman Tank
Supermarine Spitfire
V-Weapons and early Radio guided bombs
EZ Rocket Website
Various WW1 Aircraft
German WW2 Warships
British WW2 Warships
Various Diesel Submarines

Non fiction Reference sources:
Jane’s fighter aircraft of WW2 reprint
EZ-Rocket Website
Barnes and Noble Encyclopedia of the Worlds Aircraft
Jane’s Fighting Ships of WW2 reprint

Gaming and Fiction References:
Battletech technical readouts
Renegade Legion Centurion Vehicle Briefing and Technical Update
GURPS WW2
Heavy Gear Books
Shatterzone Stock Ships
Star Wars: Tramp Freighters
Star Wars: Vehicle and Vessel Guide
Red Storm Rising by Tom Clancy

Gaming Reference Sources:
Battletech 3050 Technical Readout
Battletech 3055 Technical Readout
Battletech 3058 Technical Readout
Battletech 2750 Technical Readout
Centurion Vehicle Briefing and Technical Update
Heavy Gear: Southern Gears and Striders
Heavy Gear: Vehicles Book
GURPS WW2
Shatterzone Stock Ships