RE: Earthforce Sourcebook Question for Jon

>Sorry but I don't agree with you on this.  This may be applicable for
FT
>and MT but it falls down for B5.  Fighters make radical vector changes
>as standard procedure.  Cap ships are so cumbersome
>they have virtually NO chance to dodge fighters nor do they have any
>problems with fuel for the short time it takes for a B5 battle.  In
fact
>in "Severed Dreams" they have squadrons out for I believe (I'll have to
>look back and check on that)  2 hours doing manoeuvres before they were
>rotated to prevent using more than half their fuel.  Cap ships must
rely
>on their own fighters or anti-fighter weapons to keep them off their
>backs.  If you are afraid of upsetting play balance then you should
>change fighter strength or increase anti-fighter strength or even
>shorten fighter firing range  but I don't think I would change them.
>Change anything but fighters should move last.

If you read my post re: Imre's original message again, you'll notice
that I
WAS actually referring to FT/MT rather than to the B5 situation, as that
was partly what Imre was commenting on (at least that's how I read it).
I'm
not suggesting that you (or anyone else) should change the EFSB rules,
simply that I believe the MT sequence gives a more exciting and
involving
game. For what it is worth, I wholeheartedly agree with your
interpretation
of the way fighters operate in B5 - but sometimes, ESPECIALLY when
trying
to simulate something shown on-screen, compromises and alterations have
to
be made to make the game work better as a game (the Minbari ships and
weapons, for example, are quite massively toned-down in the EFSB - if
not,
they would be unplayable - or at least impossible to play AGAINST).

For the fighters, I proposed one way; CE decided to go the other. This
is
fair enough, as both methods work in their own way. If you think the
version as written in the EFSB works best, then stick with it - nobody
is
going to make you change from the one you prefer!

>
>I think Jon has done a good job with these rules and I like them.  I
>also like B5 Wars as a different type of game and plan to play it too.

Thanks for the kind comments. Glad you like the system. Agreed, B5W is a
very different game, and it has its merits - though IMHO it could have
been
much better (especially if they had listened to some of their
playtesters...)

Jon (GZG)