[FTFB] More on Fighter Bays and Hangers . . .

It's nice to see the list discussing the possibility of separating the
Launch
Bays from the Fighter Hangers, as this has been one of the more
disappointing
aspects of the FT & FB rules for me.  Most fiction - and starfighter
computer
games (Wing Commander, anyone? <G>) - that deals with the subject of
starfighters and carrier ships have 'catapult damage' as a pivotable
part of
the storyline.	Currently, there is no game mechanism in FT that can
properly
simulate this.

What I'd like to see is fighter hangers and launch bays designed around
the
launcher/magazine idea that the SMLs currently use - every hanger has a
specific launch bay that it is connected to, and this launch bay is
subject to
threshold checks and needle beam attacks in the standard manner.

Proposal: 
*  Fighter hangers and launch bays are included in the standard costs on
a 3:1
   basis (1->3 hangers = 1 free launch bay, 4->6 hangers = 2 free launch
bays,
   etc.).
*  Fighter hangers must dedicated to specific launch bays.
*  Extra launch bays can be bought for 5 mass & 15 pts each.  
*  Each launch bay can launch 1 fighter group per turn, and can handle a
   maximum of 3 fighter hangers.  
*  A fighter hanger cannot be serviced by more than one launch bay (same
   restriction as SML launchers & magazines - in reverse <g>).	
*  A ship can recover 1 fighter group per turn for every 2 launch bays
(or
   fraction thereof), this restriction is more a function of 'traffic
control'
   and logistics (it always takes more time to recover fighters than it
does
   to launch them).

These rules would allow all of the current FTFB ships - with the
exception of
the FSE's Jeanne D'Arc - to function as is without change.  These rules
do
allow the Jeanne D'Arc to launch 3 fighter groups per turn and recover 2
per
turn, but this increase in functionality is more than offset by the
launch
bay's vulnerability to threshold checks IMO.

Comments?

===================================================================
Mark "Hauptmann" Shurtleff
  email: hauptman@sfcmd.com -or- hauptman@concentric.net
  visit the Gear Locker at http://www.sfcmd.com/HeavyGear/

 Finagle's Law:
   The perversity of the Universe tends towards the maximum.
===================================================================