[FT] Mixing Tech

> >

What are you some kind of comedian Laserlight?

Little by little I am preparing to run a big FT game for my gaming group.
We've done a few small games; everything has gone fine. We've still got one
guy who can't figure out movement, but he *always* has problems like that, so
I'm not concerned.

But anyway. I am putting together four different fleets, and I am making an
effort to give each of them a substantially different feel. To that end, I am
making ships that specialize in various weapon systems. One of these systems
is the Heavy Beam Weapon, which I am considering giving 9 cm range increments
instead of 6 cm....

I am also considering using the K-Gun and the Phalon Plasma Bolt
Launcher on some of these ships. Does anyone have any input about how well
these
mix with standard human tech -- in play terms, I mean?  Are either of
them
significantly better/worse than the standard human weapons?  Will they
have a negative effect upon play balance? I don't have enough experience with
either of them to really judge.

And while I am on the subject of Plasma Bolts.... What effect, if any, do
Plasma detonations have upon fighter and missiles? Instant destruction, or no
effect at all?

> At 09:02 PM 4/7/01 -0400, you wrote:

I'm using NSL with the serial numbers filed off for the attackers, but the
rest of the fleets just aren't distinctive enough for my purposes. I'm trying
to wean these people off of Warhammer; I need some flash and
razzle-dazzle to do the job properly.  It's not like any of them are
going
to be buying the ships or rules in any case, I'm afraid -- one guy has a
fleet of NAC ships that has been in the process of assembly for nearly five
years now (The Drydock Fleet, as we call it), while another has an extensive
collection of beautifully painted Zocchi Star Trek ships.

I can't complain too much, really -- I've got six painted fleets of
various sizes, enough for all of us to use, and we've been getting a lot of
use recently out of the several thousand dollars worth of painted fantasy
armies that these lunatics have accumulated.

From: John Crimmins <johncrim@voicenet.com>

> Little by little I am preparing to run a big FT game for my gaming

Excuse me, if you're introducing these guys to FT, have you though about using
FSE, ESU, NSL, NAC?

> At 09:02 PM 4/7/01 -0400, you wrote:
I'm
> trying to wean these people off of Warhammer; I need some flash and

Warhammer? What's that? Okay, flash and flair. Well, sticking to Human tech,
you could use: 1) a fleet which relies on swarms of strikeboats with MTM or
SMR (eg the Islamic corvetee Khabar, mass 12, MD9, 1 FCS, 2 hull boxes, 4 mass
of weapons eg SMR); 2) a fleet with only superships (I'd recommend you use
whatever formula Oerjan suggested, where cost increases exponentially with
mass) 3) a fleet which comes at you in two waves, needle beams and boarders 4)
the Dutch fleet (all PTorps)

The main thing to make it memorable is--go to the extreme with

> At 11:42 PM 4/7/01 -0400, you wrote:

The way I'm planning it now, the four fleets look like this:

Fleet One (Attackers): Heavy armor, no screens, low thrust. Lots and lots of
beams. Basically stock NSL, although I will likely throw a Class 4 beam on one
or two of the capital ships, and will probably add in a few more SMLs as well.

Fleet Two (Defenders): Largest of the defensive fleets. High thrust, little to
no armor, screens. Every ship that can manage it will be carrying multiple
Pulse Torpedoes, backed up with a few beams. Similar to the Dutch, I would
guess.

Fleet Three (Defenders): Medium thrust, medium armor, no screens. Armed
mostly with Heavy Beam Weapons and MT Missiles -- which will, I think,
be renamed "Smart Missiles" for the duration. The BDN ship that I have
designed for this fleet looks like a lot of fun to play -- it makes me
want to find an opponent right now and get to work,

Fleet Four (Defenders): Smallest of the four fleets. Medium thrust, no armor,
screens. Ships carry mainly SMLs and Smart Missiles.

What I am thinking of doing is giving a few K-Guns to the attacking
fleet
-- Class 3 and 4s only, and only on a few of the capital ships -- and
putting a few Plasma Bolt Launchers onto the ships of the second fleet, to act
something like heavy Pulse Torps. The PBLs don't seem like much of a
problem, but I am assuming that the K-Guns are meant to be used with the
advanced KV drives, and I'm not sure if they are balanced for use on ships
with standard drives. I doubt that it's much of a problem, but it never hurts
to ask and hear what others have experienced.