Micro ships (Was Re: [Fwd: Full Thrust])

Actually, as the rules are written, you can do this with a MASS 1 ship, 
because you round up to compute usable mass. 8)

There are 3 solutions I know of to this little problem:

1.  Don't allow it.  If you look at some of the campaigns presented in 
MT, you'll see they have a requirement like "No more then 50% of the 
ships can be from any one size class."	While the micropod works fine in

a one battle situation, a navy made up entirely of them just wouldn't be

capable of doing all the things a navy needs to do.  It seems like an 
artifical restriction for a one shot battle, but reflects a larger 
reality.

2.  Submunitions have a range 12" (?, maybe 9", I'm at work and the 
book's at home), and missiles have a life of 3 turns.  Either of those 
can be defeated by good tactical movement and superior weapon ranges.

3.  Use ADAF.  No, not the things they call ADAF in the rules, but 
the REAL area antifighter weapons:  Nova Cannons and Wave Guns.  Those 
100 ships they built with 1500 points are going to have be crowded 
awfully close together.  And since they only have 1 damage point, 
anything a template touches is vapor.  The micropod fleet should never 
even have a chance to fire if they are using submunitions, and if they 
are armed with missiles, those will be destroyed just before the ships.

All in all, that's why people use balanced fleets.

Scott

Mark A. Siefert wrote:
> 
> Hello:
>	  Here is a question that James Butler,a new player, sent me
about
> tactics.  With his kind permission I post it here.
> 
> Later,
> Mark
> 
>     ---------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Subject: Full Thrust
> Date: Mon, 08 Jul 96 23:31:24 -0700
> From: JAMES BUTLER <JAMESBUTLER@worldnet.att.net>
> To: cthulhu@csd.uwm.edu
> 
> Okay... I just got into this game and already I've got a massive
problem.
> While trying to put together a little scenario for me and my friends,
> I've run into a snag. I was trying to put together some little missile
> frigates as conversions from Star Fleet Battles Kzinti ships to Full
> Thrust. Well, with the limitation that you can only fire on so many
> ships as you have fire control systems, it seems to me that the
smaller
> your ships the better. That way there are more of you and he can't get
> you all.
> 
> So here's the problem--how in the world do you stop a 1500 point force
> consisting of 100 Mass 2, 1 submunition armed, drive 12 craft?
Including
> an FTL drive, these little battlepods come out to 15 points total!
> 
> Double the size of the pod and instead of a submunition, you can carry
> a single missle and never even have to worry about casualties while
> closing with the enemy!
> 
> Please tell me there is a solution for this because I like what I've
read
> about this game and would like to play it.