SV: One shot-kill weapons

> Michael wrote:

[snip]

> Consider the following two ships classes:

Again, the use of Cloaks depend entirely on what cloak house rules you use. If
you use the MT cloaking rules (ie, determine beforehand how many turns you're
going to be cloaked, then write your orders for those turns without
having the model on-table) I'm not too sure I'd want to combine it with
WG/NC weapons. I'd rate the odds against your having someone directly in
front of you when you drop out of cloak as pretty high, except in sizable
battles. And see below:

> A beam-equipped Cruiser would inflict 8-9 points at 12"

The problem here is that Waveguns (and Nova Cannon) can be difficult to
achieve hits with - thanks to their being straight-forward only. I know
I'm
a bit biased - since I measure in cm instead of inches the templates are
_very_ small, and it is an occasion to be remembered if a Wavegun shot
hits
more than one enemy ship. (I've seen close-range WG shots pass straight
through a dense - ie, base-to-base - formation without hitting
_anything_
:-( ) The beams on the opposing ship, however, have a much wider fire
arc and are thus more likely to be able to fire back.

On a smaller board (ie, one where you can't very easily maneuver out of the
way), or if there are many of them, Waveguns (and especially Nova Cannon)
can be very effective - five templates side by side can cause a huge lot
of
damage! :-)

> Lets compare defenses:

According to errata posted to this list (a long time ago, though) by Mike
Elliott, the Kra'Vak Scatterguns are all-arc. SMPs are single-arc,
though.

> How easy this will be depends on several factors:

Um... no. There are eleven positions split between three areas where it can
be: Straight ahead (+0, +1, +2, -1, -2), Left Turn (P1, P1+1, P1-1) and
Right Turn (S1, S1+1, S1-1). Within these groups, the distances between
the
different positions is pretty small - the biggest is 4 mu between the
Straight Ahead +2 and -2, unless my math failed me entirely; not enough
to dodge a missile aimed at the correct general area.

> The dodge field consists of 3 hexes under (2)

"Hexes"?

> The difference in the positional variation at the end of

Yep.

> A Thrust 8 Escort could generate enough positional sideways

> The movement system used and the house rules then play a

Yep.

> Also, a Thrust 2 Battleship is an easy target under

Um... Yes, its location and course are predictable. Now line your WG or NC
up exactly on that position from 24+ mu away - that isn't very easy. At
least not to me :-/ (Heck, even at 12 mu it is difficult...)

> Also, I am working on some tactics and fleet doctrines

> I have a few solutions to the Wall v Wall slugging matches

Is 2 points of damage vs lvl-3 screens for several turns in a row worth
an average of killing one system during the single turn the enemy is within 9
mu and in the right fire arc? No, not IMO. Very large ships (Mass 100+)
with lvl-3 screens and no offensive weapons except Needles are effective
once they get into range, but not before then.

> How close do your Dreadnoughts get to the enemy Dreadnoughts?

Depends. At the speeds I most often use - 15-20 mu for capitals, but
often
higher too - the battle-lines don't stay at short ranges for very long
unless one side manages to match vectors with the other.

> One FCS

> I'm not sure what some people actually object to about

6-8 turns? Only if you stay at really close ranges (ie, within 12 mu of
the enemy), for those heavily screened ships. Yes, I might be able to keep the
range close - but I usually don't want to (since that keeps _my_ ships
very
close to all of _theirs_ too <g>).

> In that case, play with Wave Gun Cruisers and Sub Space

Yes. _When_ they hit, which usually takes me a while (or even _if_ they
manage to hit before losing their weapons).

Regards,