From: Bif Smith <bif@b...>
Date: Thu, 15 Feb 2001 14:37:52 -0000
Subject: Re[FT]-starfire
On the 11/02/01 Brendan Robertson asked- > Has anyone collected weapon lists for the human ship classes from the > Neath Southern Skies -http://home.pacific.net.au/~southernskies/ For the starship stats/weapon loadouts, you need to ask someone with the actual starfire system, because I beleave there is given stats for the ship classes somewhere (although I could be wrong). The ships in starfire are not directly comparable to FT ships (they have a lot more weapons per class), but the general weapon loadouts/design phlosophy could be used. Some of the discriptions of weapons used would be useful in FT weapon system ideas (WOTW discusions). I`ll try a quick list of the weapons used in the 3 novels so far, just from memory- CRUSADE 1-Force beam Opperates just like the beam batts. in FT. 2-Primary beam A tightly focused force beam, that punches a hole through sheilds/armour/ships without any chance of being stopped. Slow firing. Opperates just like the needle beam in FT, except they`re longer ranged versions avalible. 3-X-Ray laser Long ranged laser weapon (same as force beam) that does a lot of dammage, but totally ignores sheilds. Uses a nuclear warhead detonated to produce the x-ray laser, but can also missfire, destroying the ship. No FT equivalent. 4-HET laser Responce to the x-ray laser. Less range and dammage than a x-ray laser, but almost half the mass, due to not using the nuclear bombs (and no chance of a back fire destroying the ship). Equivalent FT weapon-HET laser (by me). 5-Missiles Long ranged, missiles used in almost all ships. Also became even more deadly due to the introduction of anti matter warheads. The only disadvantage of the am missiles is the fact that if hit by enemy weapon fire, they could destroy the ship. Equivalent FT weapon-(ER?) SML`s (am warheads, say double cost/double dammage). 6-SBM`s Strategic Bombardment Missiles, a long ranged, high dammage missile. Can be used outside the range of most normal weapons. Equivalent FT weapon is the MT missile (also used am warheads). 7-Capitol missiles A large, heavy missile, with built in ecm/eccm, designed to penitrate enemy point defence. Range is not given, but probably same as normal missiles. Equivalent FT weapon, probably a modified sml, with greater cost but harder to intercept (say, use hvy fghtr pds rolls)?, or maybe p.torps? 8-Fighters. Same as fighters in FT, except using specialised fighter varients more (torp, interceptors, and long ranged fast fighters for scouting duties). 9-WARPHAWK PODS A small,unmaned robotic pod designed to jump through a warppoint and deploy missiles on the far side. Expensive to use due to the requirement to use freighters to transport them, and are designed to be used in mass attacks in overwhelming numbers. Equivalent FT weapon is none. FT doesn`t use warppoints <G> 10-AFHAWKS Anti Fighter missiles, fired out of standard missile launchers. Exchanges standard range and warhead for a shorter duration high performance drive to catch the highly maneurevable fighters. Carries a powerful seaker system to lock onto the small targets, and only carries a small warhead, incapable of dammaging a starship. Equivalent FT weapon is the AF-SML discussed at the end of last year on the list. 11-Cloaking device A cloaking device that allowed a ship to close to within extream range of sbm missiles without detection. Not a perfect system, can be detectected if unlucky (or lucky, depends which side you`re on<G>). Equivalent FT system is at present non. May be posible to work out something using sensor rules and cloaking device? IN DEATH GROUND 1-Plasma gun A short ranged, high dammage weapon, that isn`t too heavy. Is affected by sheilds, and can be used in pds mode against fighters and missiles. Equivalent FT weapon is a pulsar in c mode (12 mu range, 6D6 dammage). 2-Gun boats A small craft that is partway between a fighter and a spaceship. Not as fast as a fighter with a full weapon loadout, but can carry more weapons and has a pds system mounted onboard. Large enough to make warppoint jumps unaided, but also large enough to be targetted by starship weapons, not just pds. If using in FT, these have to be big enough to fire a sml missile (or two, not the entire salvo), but small enough to fit on a starship in place of a external missile rack (as were used later in the novel). 3-AAM Advanced anti matter warheads. A more distructive version of the am warheads used on the first generation am missiles. Cannot think of any more from IDG, but if I`ve forgot anything, someone will point it out <G>. INNSURECTION 1-Cutting primarry beam A version of the primary beam that can maintain the beam`s duration for longer than a normal primary beam, causing more dammage. Equivalent in FT is probably the heavy needle beam (?), which can cause 2 critical hits at once instead of just 1. 2-Variable focus force beam A version of the force beam that can be used as either a force beam, or at close range as a primary beam. For FT, best used as a Cl.3 beam batt with a extra 2 mass, x4 cost, and can be used as either a Cl.3 batt or a needle beam (only a idea, one for the weapon of the week discussion?). 3-Heavy bombardment missile A larger, heavier, more distructive missile that can be reprogrammed in flight. Only fired from a internal launcher. A version of the MT missile rules using fighter movement, with greater endurance (thinking along the lines of the MT missile rules given by Derek/beth fulton, but with 6 turn endurance, more dammage (6D6 for example), and fired from a internal laucher (say, launcher mass=4, +1 mass per arc)). 4-Resetting sheilds Allowed a ship to take more dammage, due to being able to reset the sheilds, instead of them just overloading when their dammage potential has bean reached. Some varient of the dammage sheilds in the weapon defence archive is probably sutable for this.