Re: Real Space Combat Help:

>	1.  Which would be better suited for space combat: lasers or
particle
>beam weapons?

>	2.  How does a directed energy beam weapon damage a target?
from what I understand (very little) the damage is done through thermal
transfer, heat it up quick enough and you will explode something. (I may
be
totally off base on this)

>	3.  Which sort of missile warhead would be better suited for
space
>combat?  Nuke or kinetic kill?

Nuke, see #5, but the best way to hit a fast moving starship is with an
area or proximity weapon. ex: in WWII hitting an aircraft with a AA
shell
was at best chancy, if you threw enough lead at it you would it. Once
proximity fuses started to be used cances got much better because you
didn't have to hit the plane, just get the exploding shell close enought
to
do enought damage to bring it down. same principle applies here.

>	4.  I've heard that it would be a good idea to depressurize a
warship
>before going into combat (the crew would be in space suits).  Why would
>that help?
explosive decompression. if the ship is hit and is pressurized (sp) your
valuable crew could get sucked out of the damaged section. Fires could
start (from what my Navy friends tell me that is a bad thing). and the
very
fragile firing solution goes straight to hell, because of all the yawing
and pitching as your atmosphere vents into space.

>	5.  How would one target a enemy ship in space (realistically
that is)?
using radar/IR/Visual and advanced computers, combat would have to be
close, due to the relative slowness of weapons. the ships could probably
be
as fast as the missiles they are firing. you would have to be careful to
plot where the ship would most likely be when your weapons reach it.
this
firing solution is very fragile, the farther out you go the more likely
you
are going to miss, I would say anything beyond a 100km range would be
impossible. All the target ship would have to do is move slightly and
you
would miss.
	A combination of the three types of Sensor would be needed
because one is
easy to jam, but all three add redundancy.

hope this helps.

marshall
 Marshall Grover

"A Jedi's greatest enemy is himself." - Obi-Wan Kenobi