The Tempest thread (confirmed 100% weaponry free)

No one is asking that the Tempest have guns that can punch a hole in a dreadnought, they are asking for reasonable self-defense armaments like for example the GARDIAN laser defense system.

And yet this time he actually touched on many topics we have posted in this vcery thread

That was actually the most efficient way to know that you were actually using a sprint, because the actual speed left something to be desired...

I don't really have a problem with it. People seem to think the Tempest is just going to be showing up where there are massive battle fleets. Remember that there are no Relays so everywhere they go it's in FTL. Patrolling in the OT works because ships entering a system always do it at a Relay and can't go to FTL right away so they can be detected. In MEA they will be coming in from any possible direction, so detection is very unlikely. Especially for a small ship with stealth systems.

Where they go they will detect threats first. And their goal is to find an uninhabited planet for humanity. So they don't need to go to battle. They have a specific objective. There is nothing to say that other ships in the AI fleet don't have weapons. It makes sense to keep those around the Arks to protect them rather than send them off. Remember resources are scarce.

People seem to assume the Tempest could do everything it is meant to (explore, be super-stealthy, etc) and also have guns big enough to defend it. But because it's an exploration vessel it shouldn't really be in a position to defend a colony persay. That's for the defense ships. So if there is nothing to defend then running and hiding is an option.

There are just so many reasonable arguments for not having weapons. There are also reasonable arguments for having weapons. This means both are reasonable decisions and thus the AI choosing one doesn't make it dumb. It's like choosing Pepsi or Coke. I think choosing Pepsi is stupid, but it's still a valid choice.

I actually think it'll be used certain times in exploration as well. 
Beside, even if its function is only to move from point A to point B, being more fun to drive it makes the experience less boring.

But you can bet that if they could fly through space or go into stealth mode, they'd be armed as well.

As for the Shield Blast, my understanding is it's simply a knockback, not a damaging attack.

I don't really have a problem with it. People seem to think the Tempest is just going to be showing up where there are massive battle fleets. Remember that there are no Relays so everywhere they go it's in FTL. Patrolling in the OT works because ships entering a system always do it at a Relay and can't go to FTL right away so they can be detected. In MEA they will be coming in from any possible direction, so detection is very unlikely. Especially for a small ship with stealth systems.

Where they go they will detect threats first. And their goal is to find an uninhabited planet for humanity. So they don't need to go to battle. They have a specific objective. There is nothing to say that other ships in the AI fleet don't have weapons. It makes sense to keep those around the Arks to protect them rather than send them off. Remember resources are scarce.

People seem to assume the Tempest could do everything it is meant to (explore, be super-stealthy, etc) and also have guns big enough to defend it. But because it's an exploration vessel it shouldn't really be in a position to defend a colony persay. That's for the defense ships. So if there is nothing to defend then running and hiding is an option.

There are just so many reasonable arguments for not having weapons. There are also reasonable arguments for having weapons. This means both are reasonable decisions and thus the AI choosing one doesn't make it dumb. It's like choosing Pepsi or Coke. I think choosing Pepsi is stupid, but it's still a valid choice.

He also mentioned why not use a shuttle instead. I agree.

I think the Tempest is actually smaller then the first Normandy. It's not in the same ship class of the latter.

It's a scout ship. Scout ships by design and philosophy are unarmed.

 Snip
Also, historically, exploration ships were almost always armed at least to some capacity.