Here are my opinions, in semi-rebuttal to the original post.
As a general observation, I didn't see any skills in the skill descriptions that were "out of place" for a self-contained SF game (remember, this isn't a HARP supplement, it's a stand-alone). I don't yet have an opinion either way on which, if any, SF skills are *missing* from the game, even after re-reading the Spacemaster skill list.
Mathematics - a reasonable level of proficiency is required to plot courses, calculate travel times and fuel consumption, and so on when your computer has crashed, a fun plot twist (Arthur C. Clarke wrote an entire short story around this plot). It's also useful to have a skill where the *lack* of skill (e.g. primitive cultures) can be a plot point.
Astronomy - A good working knowledge of astronomy is required to figure out where the $^%&* you are after a hyperspace mis-jump. The definition as given could also be interpreted to include Astrophysics, and Astronomers are the specialists choosing targets for Translight Survey...
You're correct, Astrogation is covered by Navigation in the detailed text description. (I'm amused that you wish to drop Math and Astronomy but add Astrogation; this seems inconsistent to me, but hey, what do I know?
. Spacemaster separates them, but this is HARP (see below).
Computer skills - especially in cyberpunk environments, but also in other SF&F contexts, the three skills of operating a computer, bypassing computer security systems, and programming *are* different, even though they're related.
Psychology is Science; Psychiatry is the Medical practice of applied Psychology.
. In the context of the game, I would expect Psychologists to also be involved in the study of alien minds?
However, to moderate my opinions somewhat, I noticed that the choice of Scientific Specialties seemed somewhat haphazard compared to (e.g.) Spacemaster. Also, in the "simpler" world of HARP I can see combining many of these currently separate skills into a more general "Scientific Specialty" skill that includes Computer, Mathematics, Astronomy, Physics, Chemistry, Psychology, and so on.
On the gripping hand, the text is written, and is going to be published soon, and this would constitute a rather large re-write. So the bottom line for me is that the current setup is "good enough"?
Heraldry - one sentence, two lines of text. Hardly an offense against page space! Resistance: Magic probably belongs over in HARP, not HARP SF. But it too is only one line of text...
I don't have an opinion either way on the Zero-G thing; I can convince myself both that Zero-G is the same as flying or blind fighting (start with a penalty and add your skill), but I also like the idea that you can't do *anything* in Zero-G without Zero-G skill. I don't think the mechanic needs to be changed, but I'm not really attached to either outcome.
Scanners: P120 of Beta 0.1.1:
Successfully using a personal scanner requires a maneuver roll
by the character. This is resolved as a Hard First Aid or Medium
Medical Practice All-or-Nothing skill maneuver for Medical
Scanners (owing to the specialist knowledge required to interpret
their results). For all other scanners, a Medium All-or-Nothing
Machine Operation maneuver is required.
Tactics is a skill in both Rolemaster and Spacemaster, but not in HARP, so I'm not surprised it was also removed from HARP SF. I don't have an opinion either way. In both games, Tactics is a "Vocational" skill, so could be covered under that skill in HARP SF...
And finally, I agree that it would be "cool" to have Blasters. They're even mentioned (once) on Page 73 in the Technology chapter...
