Re: The GZG Digest V1 #608

In a message dated 12/9/99 8:54:50 AM Eastern Standard Time, 
oerjan.ohlson@telia.com writes:

> Doubling the cost of the SMs would have a measurable impact on the
>  game, but even that may well be too cheap for the ability it buys -
it
>  would allow me to hit NSL-style heavies with 90+% of the SMs I fire
at
>  them in Vector and Cinematic both (unless they fly faster than speed
>  ~24 in Cinematic, but not even I fly that fast with thrust-2 ships
very
>  often!). Sure, heavy ADFC/PDS outfits help, but they tend not to be
>  enough against the Missile Boat Swarm from Hell.
>  
>  No, I don't have any better solutions myself :-/
>  
>  Regards,
>  
>  Oerjan Ohlson
>  oerjan.ohlson@telia.com
>  

Having played both FSE and NSL, I have been following this thread pretty

carefully and feel it is finally time to weigh in--

First, I don't think that weapon or ammo costs should be increased--all 
weapons in Fleet Book cost 3x mass so why change that?	The way I see
it, 
there's two good solutions:

1.  increase the mass of each SM salvo by either one point or double 
(depending upon what playtesting reveals).  These increased-mass SM can
be 
fine tuned to only hit the LARGEST vessel within 6 MU of the target
point or

2.  allow a ship to use reduced radius missiles that can be set to
ignore all 
ships below size 50--and a ship must use either these or the old ones. 
By 
reduced radius, I mean that the targetting radius of the SM is only 3
(or 4, 
once again determined by playtest) MU instead of 6 MU.

#1 would work fairly easily and not slow the game down, as a ship could
only 
mount one kind of SM due to some PSB about launcher compatability (you
know, 
like a Harpoon tube not being able to launch an Exocet).  In our games,
we 
use numbered chits for marking locations of SM target points, so that it

would not take a great deal of effort to just use different markers for
the 
heavier missiles.  The same could go for #2.

The benefits:

#1 would reduce the missile load out of ships, but still not make the 
missiles too awsome (after all, an opponent could use a sacrificial BIG
ship 
during the approach to effective beam range--backed up by some ADFC/PDS 
equiped ships like the area defense version of the Kronprinz Wilhelm).

#2 would allow for easier dodging of missiles (or rather, would allow
NSL 
heavies to at least have a chance of dodging), yet would allow the
missiles 
to ignore escort class vessels.

And none of these would add a die roll or slow game play (though some
players 
may take a while deciding what their loads are going to be on various
ships).

Whaddyathinkaboutthemapples?

Rob