Was Re: Starship! and FT, from the author

[I *hate* having a backlog of 500+ messages to wade through and no time
to do it in...]

Charles Stanley Taylor wrote:

>>The main problem is that the efficiency of a particular weapon
>>depends on a lot of factors, like the size of your gaming table or
which
>>weapons your enemies like to use. What balances in your group
>>doesn't necessarily balance in other groups... it all adds to the fun
:-7
> 
>Good point - I guess it applies to all the _published_ systems as well
>(I think there's proof of that in this list :-).

You don't say <g> 

Though having played a number of games on "CanCon"-sized tables I
*still* don't know how they manage to get C-configured Phalons into
close range before taking crippling losses...

>>>Assume that the Charged Particle Beam (CPB) has half the range >>>of
a normal beam (so each band is 6 mu, rather than 12).
>>> 
>>>I've done some maths that imply that such a CPB is half as effective
>>>(and hence, for balance reasons, should be half mass & cost) as a
>>>normal beam - but I don't think I took everything into account
(guess
>>>I'll have to play test it then - when I get time!).

<g> Yes :-) Maths (and math-derived rules-of-thumb) can do much of the
design work for you, but you always need to playtest as well. Or,
better still, let someone else playtest it - if something in your new
rule or system description can be misunderstood or exploited, they're
far more likely to spot it than you are yourself...

>>My experience with variable range bands, almost all of which is on
>>large tables, is that half the size balances pretty well with 2/3 the
>>range. (The reason it's not "half range - half size" is that the
range
>>*in itself* doesn't help you hit more targets; it is the extra *area*
>>in which you can look for targets which counts. With twice the range,
>>the long-ranged weapon covers four times the area... provided your
>>table is large enough that the *short*-ranged already covers most of
>>it!)
>
>Arrgh! flaw in my math spotted - the shame! the shame!

<g> It took me several years to spot it :-/

>>>Also, has anyone any ideas on the cost breaks / penalties of
>>>'combined' systems - such as:
>>> 
>>>Multiple Class-1's combined to give a weapon that has a range of 12
>>>mu, and does multiple beam dice - and probably looses the PDS
>>>capability.

...BTW, did you pick the Pulser-C example deliberately, or was it a
coincidence? :-)
 
>Thanks for the advice.

You're welcome.

Later,

Oerjan Ohlson
oerjan.ohlson@telia.com

"Life is like a sewer.
  What you get out of it, depends on what you put into it."
- Hen3ry