RE: MT missiles

>
>
> Please, no, don't screw up the game again!
>
> MT missiles (and level-3 screens, and "no sense to buy anything but
> A-batts") was exactly the reason that turned me off FT back then...
>
> If anyone is really serious about bringing them back, try this
exercise:
>
> - Make one normal fleet, say vanilla FB1 designs
> - Make one fleet of equal value, composed entirely of "bathtub
launchers":
> MD8, one MTM, FTL, minimal hull, nothing else.
> - Start the battle in the normal way. The launcher fleet enters at
maximum
> allowed velocity.
> - On the first turn (assuming table depth about 60" or less), the
launcher
> fleet launches all missiles and executes a hard turn away. (Cinematic
--
> tactics vary a bit in vector, but the essence stays the same)
> - On the following turns they continue running and FTL away at first
> opportunity.
>
> Play that out a couple of times. No, don't just figure it out in your
> head, *play* it out, one game per night, including breaking out and
> repacking all the minis. Then play it out a couple times more. Then
come
> back and tell just how much fun you had, and how many bathtub
launchers
> you managed to shoot down. (My guess is none on both counts)
>
> You're saying they didn't cause that much damage either? Well, I have
news
> for you: A kill ratio of something to nothing is *infinite*! It is
exactly
> what certain real armed forces today try (very hard) to achieve, yes,
but
> IMHO it makes for an incredibly boring game.
>
> (Yes, I know they technically never went anywhere, but now that it is
> actually cost effective to field PDS against them it's not quite the
old
> ogre anymore)
>
> I have a word of advice to all those who like to design new systems:
When
> it comes to testing, forget "reasonable". Try it all-out. See what
happens
> when go *really* overboard with it. Try to answer these two questions:
>  - why would anyone use your system at all
>  - why would anyone use anything but your system
> If you can answer these *without* referring to "honor", you might be
onto
> a winner...
>

I would say the only answer to this, as it is with just about every
space
combat game where one side has a range or speed advantage, is that
scenarios
need to be generated to make it interesting.

Put the "Bathtub Launcher's" homeworld right behind their fleet on the
map
and see if you get a different action.

In my opinion, endless "meeting engagement" scenarios become unbearably
dull
after a while, no matter what weapon systems or rules sets you are
using.

Chris