OK, now I've made these even MORE simple. One of the big differences is in
the effects section. I've eliminated all the screen-like effects and
made it solely range based: either combat or sensor.
Electronics Systems
To ensure that redesign of existing ships is NOT necessary, we'll give ALL
ships a Class 0 system with the hull.
Class 1 Electronics - Mass 1
Class 2 Electronics - Mass 3
Class 3 Electronics - Mass 9
Class 4 Electronics - Mass 27...
Point Cost is Total Mass x 5
The Class 0 system will be inherent to all ships, so it should give the same
info that we get now:
Range (Info): 24" 48" 72" 96" 120" Class 0 Passive All Size Bogey None None
Class 0 Active All All Size Bogey None
Ships using Active detect & are DETECTED at the listed ranges.
Ships using active mode roll a number of dice equal to their sensor class.
These dice are scored just like beam weapons, including re-rolls on a
natural 6. The "Hits" are then spent:
1 Hit - Increase/Decrease effective firing range by 3", OR
increase/decrease effective sensor range by 24", OR falsify Size
information by 1 size class*
2-3 Hits - Increase/Decrease effective firing range by 6", OR
increase/decrease effective sensor range by 48", OR falsify Size
information by 2 size classes*
4+ Hits - Increase/Decrease effective firing range by 12", OR
increase/decrease effective sensor range by 96", OR falsify Size
information by 3 size classes*
*Reported size class may only be altered for the ship mounting the electronics
system.
From: "Sean Bayan Schoonmaker" <schoon@aimnet.com>
> OK, now I've made these even MORE simple. One of the big differences
Like it already.
> Electronics Systems
IMHO this is too little, virtually every ship larger than a frigate should
have Class 1 at least, with bigger ships Class 2.
I'd like to see the size of the system vary a bit with the size of the ship.
For play-balance
reasons (obviously) but also because I like the PSB about having to devote
lots of mass
to "shielding" these super-sensitive-sensors from ownship's emissions.
Do you have any idea how much of a Flight II LA or UK T-Class sub's
internal volume and weight is spent on exactly such equipment? Good job, it's
supposed to be a secret, but it's a very significant consideration in
submarine (and increasingly, surface ship) architecture.
I would like to propose a cost of
Class x 10 % + Class in mass, with points cost either 4 (like an ADAF
or FC) or 5. Minimum size Class x 3 (ie 1 more than an ADAF system)
The% bit is for the additional damping material, baffles etc etc
The actual equipment is the + bit.
So:
Class 0 - 0% +0 mass, 0 cost
Class 1 - 10% +1 mass min 3
Class 2 - 20% +2 mass min 6.
Class 3 - 30% +3 mass min 9 and so on.
This will mean that you won't have scoutboats with more than at most
Class-1. The real
EW ships will be light cruisers with Class 2 or possibly 3. Bigger is reserved
for specialist EW capitals ships and base stations.
The Sensors are hit when the Bridge is hit. Even a repaired bridge will have
Sensor -0
thereafter.
> The Class 0 system will be inherent to all ships, so it should give
Looks good to me.
> Ships using Active detect & are DETECTED at the listed ranges.
Ditto.
> Ships using active mode roll a number of dice equal to their sensor
Again, looks good to me, but I'd restrict the +/- "to hit" to the ship
with the sensor suite on as well, rather than the whole fleet. Just on the
grounds of Play Balance rather than any specious rationale.
> I'd like to see the size of the system vary a bit with the size of the
This becomes problematic for smaller ships when you consider rounding to even
MASS, but since it does affect combat, it makes sense. I'll look into it.
> Again, looks good to me, but I'd restrict the +/- "to hit" to the ship
Good point. I'll make the change.
I like these, I do have a few comments.
> On 27-Apr-00 at 23:54, Sean Bayan Schoonmaker (schoon@aimnet.com) wrote:
Make it a Class 1 with the hull for 0 cost and for free, all merchant ships
get class 0, this lets you give merchants inferior sensors.
> Class 1 Electronics - Mass 1
The mechanic listed is pretty good, with a few things needing clarification.
First, we no longer have size classes. I would prefer to do this as an
absolute mass or maybe a% of mass. The second thing is does this need to be
rerolled every turn? One of the problems with rolling in a tabletop game is
your opponent gets to see your dice and, especially with size mods, knows what
you are doing. It would work great as an option for a PBeM game though.
> Make it a Class 1 with the hull for 0 cost and for free, all merchant
I would rather degrade the basic Class 0 system for merchants.
Why? Because that way, if you want to ignore sensors completely, you can. If
every ship has a free Class 1, somebody is going to demand his die roll every
turn. I intentionally made it so you'd HAVE to design special ships if you
wanted to make use of the die rolling bit. This keeps the rolling to a bare
minimum.
> The mechanic listed is pretty good, with a few things needing
I'd have to agree with you on this one. I was sort of hoping some sort of
"Official" size classes would emerge, but I don't think it's in the cards (and
at this point would rather they didn't).
I'll change it to a MASS related effect.
As for the rerolls every turn, see my comments above. Hopefully you'd only
have one or two EW ships per fleet max.