Re: [FT] Wave Guns Redux (again!) [long]

Brian Bilderback wrote:

> Adam Benedict Canning Wrote:
>
> Or requiring more points to charge for small ships, but that
> would
> cause WG Destroyers to disappear on loosing a charge Wave Gun.

But that is not an unreasonable consequence of overgunning a small hull.
Charging should not really be determined by the dice, anyways.	Due to
the lack
of energy allocation in FT, the amount of charge added to the capacitor
should
be a function of the mass of available MD not used for thrust.	Large
ships with
powerful drives have a lot more divertible power than a small,
low-thrust
design.  Probably extra points should be allowed for classes-worth of
beams
designated as unpowered (in the orders phase) to divert additional power
to the
wavegun.

The reason that the points should not be subject to a die roll is that
the being
that added the weapon the the design knew how much energy it would
require and
had a spec for the charging time to meet.  The designer will have made
provisions for
meeting that spec.  The people that use the weapon will want something
that they
can depend on (ie: it will be ready when they expect it, and will accept
it
never being shorter, if it is also never longer).  Linking the charging
rate to
power diverted from beams and/or maneuvering gives the player control.