adam_grif wrote:The guns, gunships, ammunition and so on were all built on-location. The only thing they'd have to procure Earth-side is (maybe) licensing for it if it existed. The gunships they use were more than 90 years old and severely out-of-date, they only used them because high tech stuff reportedly wouldn't work on Pandora. I doubt they would have had to fork much out for the rights to use a gunship that nobody on Earth was using any-more, and a similarly "primitive" bomber would be unlikely to be that costly due to lack of demand.
How do we know that ALL of the guns, gunships, ammunition and everything were built on-location? Do those in-situ factories build EVERYTHING, or do they have to import some of the more critical parts (computers, advanced radars whatever) from Earth? Do their in-situ factories have the capability to build fancy-shmancy radars and missile seekers and stuff? Well, we don't know. But I don't think their in-situ machines are Star Trek replicators, they probably have limits.
And just because their in-situ machines can build guns, gunships, ammunition, plus other facilities and those cars doesn't mean that their in-situ machines can build ANYTHING and EVERYTHING. Yes, their in-situ machines can build choppers - but these toolings might be different from what's needed to build, say, a fixed wing aircraft. I mean, I certainly doubt those in-situ factories have the necessary tooling to manufacture one of those Venture Star shuttles of theirs.
And, like you said, they might have not thought of buying or downloading or programming designs for other vehicles that they didn't need at the time. So if they tried to improvise, that might entail a whole lot of trial and testing and shit if they wanted to invent their own stuff.
Not only that, but if they built MORE kinds of vehicles on Pandora... then they're just wasting time constructing Frogfoots and Fishfaces or whatever. Not just time, but resources and energy too. If they build more military crap that they don't need, they'll take more time to build them, they'll have to mine more minerals and lumber for construction material, and those in-situ factories probably need power and shit. Do we even know what the RDA uses to provide energy for its facilities? They'll probably have to construct additional pylons or spawn more overloads or supply depots or something.
Those in-situ factories probably have more important things to construct, like bulldozers and backhoes and transport trucks and indoor lavatories, than stupid pieces of military shitware that the Quarritches are pouting about.
But again, it's less "why didn't they use it?" and more "why would they think they would need to use it"?
Yeah, yeah. We agree on this, mangoes.
"
