From: Richard and Emily Bell <rlbell@s...>
Date: Sun, 26 Nov 2000 22:12:22 -0500
Subject: Modular warships
Hello everyone;
I have been off the list since August, and am not sure how to go through the
archives, so I apologize if this topic has been resolved. The are two kinds of
modularity: plugins and sockets, and modules.
The plugin and socket is a simple substitution of systems of equal size, mass,
and arc (the assumption is that if they have the same mass
and arc, they are the same shape). The PDS, fire control, and class-1
beam batteries are all similar, so it would not be unreasonable to allow
them to be exchanged as needs warrant. The class-3 beam and p-torp
could also be interchangeable, for the same reasons.
The difficulty arises when someone wants to replace a weapon with another
weapon that does not conform to these assumptions. My proposal
is that you can replace a class-n beam with two class-(n-1) beams that
fire in the same arc as the original weapon (ie if you replace the
Komarov's class-4 beams with 16 class-1's, they only fire into two
arcs). This represents the assumption that larger beam batteries are recessed
into the hull further than smaller batteries. As the ganged weapons share a
mounting, they can only be fired at one target, and are
disabled/repaired as if they were one system (the more realistic method
is that if any fail, the mount fails and no fire is possible until at least
one is repaired). To represent the shared mounting, ganged
class-1's can not destroy more than one fighter or missile, but do roll
all the dice for the attempt. As a FC can replace a class-1, the ganged
mount can include its own FC.
Any class-n beam can be replaced by 2^(n-1) submunition clusters
firing through any of the beam's arcs (must be chosen at installation
[before the scenario starts]), but no more than 2^(n-2) can be fired at
once (minimum of 2). A class-n beam can be replaced with 2^(n-1) PDS
units that are limited to the arc of the original beam battery, but they can
engage multiple fighters, and get rerolls. The last substitution is
the one-for-one replacement of a class-2 beam with an ADFC (limited to
the arc of the class-2). There is no additional cost for socketting
equipment mountings.
Truly modular warships are ships with semipermanent, bolt on structures that
allow them to be tailored for specific mission profiles. They consist of a
core module that includes the core systems, FTL drives, and maneuver drives
(usually), and an array of attachments that include weapons, fire control, and
other special systems.
In my opinion the core module should be at least 40% of the maximum size of
the ship, and there are (depending on preferences) 6 or 8 possible places to
mount modules to the core. They are one for each firing arc, plus top and
bottom, or bow, stern, port, starbord, top and bottom. Also no single module
can be larger than the core module in a military vessel. Merchant container
ships are two drive modules joined by a series of cargo containers and tend to
be very long and changing their facing is difficult.
The maximum size of a module connecting to a core module's mounting point is
fixed during construction. It is assumed that all modules of the same mass
(except core modules) are the same shape.
The core module's FTL drive must be large enough for maximum total
mass, or past a point, it becomes non-FTL capable. The crew factor is
determined by the vessel's total combined mass. The core module's complement
of rew factors must be allocated on the core module's damage track.
Crewfactors due to the mass of modules may be assigned to any module with at
least 1 point of hull integrity. Modules with a mass of 20, or more, must have
at least 1 crewfactor (unless it has no hull integrity).
If the module mountings are not symmetrical, the asymmetric mount must have
its size specified during the design, and a module of that mass must always be
installed, for balance purposes. The ship must be balanced top to bottom, side
to side, and back to front. Drive modules not in the aft mounting point must
be balanced by a drive module on the opposite side.
Modules are designed and built using the same rules for starships, except
systems are limited to only three arcs (except top and bottom, which can have
any), they may not mount FTL, and hull integrity is can be any amount (even
zero). A core module with both top and bottom mountings for modules may not
have more then three arcs for any of its systems (unless the core module is
more than 10x the mass of the
bolt-on), because the bolt-on module will be in the way.
For the purposes of allocating damage, the modules are ordered by mass and a
d100 is used to allocate damage (simple example: BC consisting of a 40 mu core
module and six 10 mu modules would have the
table 0-39 core, 40-49 m1, 50-59 m2, 60-69 m3, 70-79 m4, 80-89 m5, and
90-99 m6). Modules take damage, make threshold checks, and are
destroyed seperately. If the module takes more damage than it can
withtand, it is destroyed and the rest of the damage is re-rolled (you
can either keep rolling until it hits something, or the mathematically minded
can recreate the d100 chart). Modules with zero hull integrity