Star Frontiers is not realistic, or haven't you noticed?

Star Frontiers spaceships are cutting-edge technology in the Frontier. Spaceship skills in the Frontier are like spaceship skills in a real-life spaceship: pushing the envelope of human (or other sentient species) ability. You've got to have The Right Stuff to work on a spaceship in SF, because as complicated as our space programs' technologies are to use, the Frontier's technologies are even more complicated, and do much more. You don't just hop into a spaceship, press the ignition button, and steer to where you want to go.

So long as the amount of money the characters can make offsets the cost of the spaceship, maintenance, and fuel, or whatever parts of those they paid for, what's the problem? The system is playable.

Well we all read the article where we found out the game was supposed to be more framework than actual setting so we should take it with a truckload of salt that many parts of it don't sink up with other parts.

Just relax and find your balance and play style.

I don't mind using the SFman article "Spacer Skills Revisited" it's a decent compromise between no prerequisites and prerequisites since it goes the route of graduated prerequisites. 

SFman #10

However, I just don't see the need for prerequisites for operating ship Bourne weapons. Piloting, astrogation, and engineering yes . 

I think he's referring to the interview with Zeb Cook.

There was also interviews done via conference call put on speaker with Kim Eastland and Lawrence Schich but we only got a recap of the phone interview not an actual transcript though there may yet still exist a cassette tape of it we have not been able to obtain a copy of the audio; non the less we did publish what we had in FE #2.

Taken together the interviews are a window into the creation of Star Frontiers and into the office politics of a gaming company in the '80s. 

Cooks interview is in SFman #18. The format of the interview was via email. I researched the hell out of Cook, located and read every interview given by him on the web, wrote out my questions and emailed them to him. I had his responses in a few days. Perhaps if it had been a phone interview I could have followed up on some of his answers but the nature of an email interview is what it is. I was uncertain that a blind solicitation for an interview wouldn't end up in his spam folder.

Like your suggestions on social status I think military rank can be handled the same way because it's actually past military service we're talking about. Rather than social standing on a planet it's in effect reputation or social standing with current or former military. Bonus for LDR/PER rolls is full for reactions by NPCs from same service ie Land Fleet but half for other service like Space Fleet vs Land Fleet. ( Half or simply -5 for different service ).

1 character point for NCO rank (Sgt.) 2 CP for senior NCO rank Chief or Senior chief. 

Same for officer 1 point for Lt. And maybe captain, 2 points for senior officer : major/ Col. 

I hesitate to make admiral, general, or Lord Commander available though if it were then it should cost several character points and the character should be quite advanced in skill. 

There are also intangibles like reputation: micro manager, political animal, martinet, deva, leader- mission first, leader troops first and etc. Though this would be for player to choose to role play. A military reputation table might be a good idea for NPCs and referee use. 

Note: prior military exp might be a liability when dealing with mercs or it might not depending on the mercenary in question having a chip on his shoulder against actual military and in this case the bonus for PER reaction might be a penalty. Or a society might be liberal anti war types and the PER bonus becomes a penalty. Conversely past military exp might be used to obtain significant aid from an NPC. 

Well most mercenaries had some type of formal military training and how they feel about serving militaries will vary greatly (Remember Arnold in Predator).

One thing is the comment that Spacefleet members are supposed to be highly respected. So what service they were in could be part of the point system. Think of it this way would Deadpool have gotten as much respect from being a member of the Rhode Island National Gaurd instead of Special Forces.

LOL

IIRC it had a whisper/PM feature along with basic chat and d% roller.