[FT]Variable Fire Arcs...

Ok everyone...after I asked about those extra arcs,  I got to thinking
(I know -- very dangerous!).  So I threw togather some ideas, and here
they are:  I am braced for the commentarys...8D

This is an ascii text file I typed up on my laptop.  It has some
drawings in it.

Donald Hosford

Firearcs.txt		      Variable Firing Arcs	Written: March
19,1999
				       by
				 Donald Hosford
			 (Email: Hosford.Donald@ACD.net)

Purpose:  This is my take on a system to allow players to setup the
firearcs
  of their weapons any way they like.  This is totally unofficial!  If
you
  don't like it, don't use it!	If you want to change something, go
right
ahead.	It might even be fun..:)

(A note...never tell someone that something isn't possible...they will
often
 prove you wrong the moment you turn your back...8D)

Fire Arc Illustrations					       Clock
Face
						 Circular	  12
   New System  Old System	Half Arcs	    Arc        11  |  1
							     10, \ | /
,2
     \ F /     ,   FQ  ,      FH	  |	     C		'-\|/-'
   FP \ / FS	'-, ,-' 		  |		     9 ----O----
3
   ----O----   PQ  O  SQ   ----O----  PH  O  SH      O		,-/|\-,
   AP / \ AS	,-' '-, 		  |		      8' / | \
'4
     / A \     '   AQ  '      AH	  |			7  |  5
								   6
Arc Values:
   2 per arc   3 per arc   6 per arc  6 per arc  12 per arc
 (In increments of 30 degrees.)

Buying a weapon:

1) Add up the "Arc Values".

2) Index the Arc Value, and Weapon on the table.  Result is the mass of
the
weapon.

Weapon Mass Table  (Numbers in ()'s are original values from the Fleet
Book.)

				Arc Value
Weapon		    2  3  4  5	6  7  8  9 10 11 12
Class 1 Beam	    1	  -	-     -     -	 (1)
    Class 1 costs: \Cost 1 /\  Cost 2  /\  Cost 3  /
Class 2 Beam	    1	  -    (2)    -     -	 (3)
Class 3 Beam	   (4)	 (5)   (6)   (7)   (8)	(10)
Class 4 Beam	   (8)	(10)  (12)  (14)  (16)	(18)
Submunitions pack  (1)	  1	1     1     1	  2
Needle Beam	   (2)	  -	2     -     -	  3
Pulse Torpedo	   (4)	 (5)   (6)    7     8	  9
Nova Cannon	  (20)	 25    30    35    40	 45
Wave Gun	  (12)	 15    18    21    24	 27

Base cost for all weapons is 3 x the weapon's mass.
(Note: Class 1 beam weapons use the row below it to find it's cost.)
Inbetween arc values:
   Weapon mass: Use next higher mass.
   Weapon cost: Use next lower mass, x 3, add 1 per arc value higher.

Example: Class 2 beam, Arc: FP, AP, FQ.  Arc value is 7.  This puts the
weapon
1 spot higher than 2 mass.  The next higher mass value is 3.  So this is
the
weapon's mass.	The cost is figured from mass 2 (the next lower mass
value),
and add 1.  So the cost is 7 points.

Notes:

  NO ship may carry NO MORE than 2 weapons with 12 arc value! (Means it
can
      shoot in any direction).

  Reason: The laws of physics state that no two objects may occupy the
same
    space at the same time.  No weapon may fire through the ship it's
mounted
    on without damaging it. (If a weapon could do this, then logically
it
    couldn't do any damage to anything else, because the ships would be
in
    one reality, and the weapon effects in another...)	The end result
is
    this: weapons with a 12 arc value can be mounted in only two
places...The
    very highest unobstructed spot, and the very lowest unobstructed
spot.
    And only one weapon in each of those places.  If the players are
using
    specific ship miniatures to represent specific ship designs, then
the
    player must be able to point to the spots on the mini where the
weapons
    are mounted. Note, that this means some ship designs can't have 12
arc
    weapons...too many things in the way.

These weapons are exempt from these firearc rules:
  Salvo Rack, Salvo Launcher, MT Missle, Point Defence System

  Reason: These weapons are either guided missles, or are in small
    emplacements scattered all over the ship.  In the case of guided
missles,
    they can be let off any side of the ship.  Then they maneuver to
their
    target on their own. The point defence system, I allways assumed
that it
    was made up of a number of very small, short ranged
missles/lasers/pellet
    launchers/ect (take your pick). And that these were spread evenly
around
    the ship.  When a PDS is hit, it could be said that the control
lines to
    this network of weapons is damaged or distroyed.

(A note to Jon (GZG):  It isn't possible to abuse these arcs by buying
all 360
  degree weapons...First the weapons would be very large, so a ship
couldn't
  carry more than a few. And would be radically outgunned by the
opposition...
  Second, the laws of physics says so...Anyone who insists on using
ships with
  more than two 360 degree weapons and is using these rules is
CHEATING!  Enough said!)

END!