Re: Ftl tugs, mass and psb question

> The basic idea is to have a modular ship with an ftl core and non-ftl
> strikeboats that fall off when the ftl journey is finished.
> 4* 100 mass non-ftl strikeboat
> Total mass is 500, with 90 mass used for ftl
>
> However, with the same mass I could also do
> 4* 125 mass ftl strikeboat: 12.5 mass ftl
> Total mass is 500, with 50 mass used for ftl, leaving an extra 40 mass
> for extra goodies. Not all of this extra mass is free, as some of it
has
> to go into extra hull integrity and such, but some will be left over.

I suspect the PSB is to make the FTL field extensible to another hull. 
I've
built most of the Islamic Federation's smaller ships to be non-FTL, but
it
really isn't efficient if you have to povide a tug--even a 10% Hull,
Main
Drive 1 civilian tug.  If you have a campaign, though, you can use 1 tug
and
keep ferrying non-FTL's with it, or you can go pick up ships which have
lost
FTL (due to needle beams, for example).