ECM and hello

[I'm new to the list, so if all this has been rehashed a thousand times
before, sorry.]

First off, hello!

Second, I took Mark Kochte's ECM ideas on the Unofficial FT Web Page
(thanks Mark and Mark) and refined and expanded them a bit, and we tried
it out the other night.  I was pretty pleased -- it makes ECM and
sensors an important part of the game, but not overwhelming.

As experienced and wise (?)  players, I attach them here to get your
comments.  One player suggested allowing a ship to loan sensors (ECCM)
to another ship, but I can't think of a good way to justify being able
to loan it to one ship but not everyone in your fleet, so I said "keep
it simple and no loaning sensors".

Thanks,
Daryl
poe@fc.hp.com
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Electronic Counter-Measures (ECM) rules additions:

I addition to the intelligence-gathering functions of ECM and sensors
listed in "More Full Thrust", ECM can be used to decrease the
effectiveness
of enemy weapons fire.	Sensors are used to offset the effects of ECM.

There are two types of ECM in the game -- Personal ECM (symbol "X") and
Area ECM ("X in a box").  Personal ECM gives your ship, and only your
ship, one level of ECM protection.  Each Area ECM System on a ship can
loan one level of ECM to *one* ship or fighter group within 6"
(including the ship itself).  ECM cannot be loaned to missiles.  The
target of loaned ECM must be written in the orders for the ship -- if
not written, the ship is assumed to be using the Area ECM system to
protect itself.  The target is announced after all orders are written.

The effects of personal ECM and Area ECM (or even two Area ECM's) are
cumulative; however, no ship or fighter group can have more than two
levels of ECM of any type.

Enhanced sensors negate one level of ECM (in an ECM-free environment,
they
have no effect).  Superior sensors negate two (all) levels of ECM.

The effects on each weapon *per level* of ECM are as follows:
   Batteries, submunition packs, mines, most fighters, PDAF, and ADAF
     act as if the target had one additional level of screens.	(Though
     the cumulative effect of screens and ECM cannot exceed level three
--
     a "6" still does one point of damage.)
   Pulse Torpedoes, needle beams, railguns, and torpedo fighters get -1
     to hit.  (Yes that means needle beams cannot hit.	They need
     precision!)
   When a missile declares a target, it loses lock-on if a 1-2 on 1d6 is
     rolled (1-4 if two levels of ECM).  When a lock-on is lost, the
     missile cannot attack that target that turn, but may attack other
     targets in the danger zone, or it may continue to move normally
     next turn (if not out of fuel).  A ship targetted by a missile that
     has lost lock-on to that ship due to ECM may not use point-defense
     weapons against that missile, though it may use ADAF normally.
     Missiles are considered to have the same sensor capabilities as
their
     launching ship, and control cannot be transfered to another ship.
   Scatterguns, nova cannon, and waveguns, being area-effect weapons,
     are not affected by ECM.

When ECM or sensor systems are destroyed, they do not effect subsequent
fire or missile attacks in the same turn.  So if Ship A successfully
destroys my ECM, Ship B, firing later in the turn, will not be affected
by it.

(As a game aid, players may prefer to write down the current ECM,
screen,
and armor levels on a large whiteboard visible to all players.	It makes
rolling for damage and picking targets much quicker.)