Re: more Graser observations

Apologies for the late reply on this one. I accidentally sent it to my
work 
address instead of to the list :-(

Glen wrote:

 >Oerjan, your statistics are lying to you.

But of course :-) You know which the three types of lies are, don't you?
<G>

 >How often do you USE the weapons at any given range?
 >I bet a lot more at ranges of 13-18 then 1-6.

Correct; range 0-6 is the least commonly used range band. However,
firing 
at range 18-24 is even more common than at range 12-18, firing at range 
6-12 nearly as common, and then there are all the 24+ shots as well.

Which is why your earlier statement about the G1 being superior to the 
P-torp "except for range" is meaningless: you *can't* ignore range the 
P-torp's longer range in the G1-vs-P-torp comparison. Particularly not
when 
you also claim that the *G1's* range advantage over the B1 makes damage 
comparisons between those two weapons invalid :-/

 >What is the most common range of "knife fights?"  Of "zoom & boom"
 >tactics?

For knife fights, 6-12. For Boom'n'Zoom, 24+ with occasional firing
passes 
at shorter ranges.

 >Ranges when weapons are actually fired should be considered, HEAVILY
 >CONSIDERED, for statistical analysis.

Correct. Which is precisely why I for the past five years or so (started

when the FB2 playtesting began in earnest)  have recorded the firing
ranges 
and damage inflicted for every shot fired in every playtest battle I've 
run; in most of them I've also recorded which arc the shots were fired
and 
how long each weapon survived before it was knocked out. As Dean, Indy
et 
al. have already said it's a chore if you do it by hand; if OTOH you
play 
FTJava PBEM battles you get most of the record-keeping 'for free' though
it 
takes some extra work to sort out the data.

 >The Graser-1 has a larger margin of maneuvering error than 4x Beam-1s.

5x B1, not 4x; otherwise you're ignoring the Graser's higher per-Mass
cost.

Of course the G1 has a larger margin of manoeuvring error than the B1s; 
that's why the 5x B1s' average damage is about 40% higher than the G1's 
(and a lot more consistent - far smaller risk of a complete miss, but
not 
the same potential for the occasional massive hit either). Same with the

G1-vs-B2 comparison and G1-vs-P-torp comparisons; the B2's and P-torp's 
respective margins of manoeuvring error are even larger than the G1's, 
which is why the G1 is allowed to outgun the them on a per-cost basis at

the ranges the G1 can reach.

 >It really should be compared to a Beam-2 + Beam-1. (all having 6 arcs)

Due to the Graser's higher per-Mass cost it should be compared to 1xB2-6
+ 
*2*x B1-6.

 >I started keeping a record of our battles today.

Good.

 >Have I mentioned I hate taking notes?

Tough. Yes, I know it is a chore, but it really is necessary in
playtesting 
to sort out impressions from dry facts :-(

 >I stopped after the 3rd round of weapon firing.

Unless the firing also stopped at that point, doing this sounds like
rather 
poor playtesting - if you stop recording when the data supports your 
previous opinion, you risk suppressing any data which could weaken your 
position!

 >This is what happened.
 >My Kra'Vak-style ship fired its K-guns and hit with
 >every one (I got lucky): 1x class-4 (doubled) + 2x class-3
 >(1 doubled) + 2x class-1 for a total of 19 damage, got
 >a double threshold.  (take that you graser-laden enemy
 >ship! :) ).  Then 3x class-1 Grasers fired from another
 >ship: 26 damage (a few rerolls).

Getting "a few rerolls" on 3 beam dice means that the Grasers got pretty

lucky too - you need at least 5d6 to roll 26, and 26 on 5d6 is itself
quite 
lucky. Without knowing the range for the K-gun shots (obviously 18mu or 
less, but that doesn't say much) it is hard to say who was luckiest :-/

 >I did not need to keep any more notes to know an overpowered weapon
for
 >its mass  (the Graser-1, more specifically, the 6-arc Graser-1).

In other words you stopped taking notes as soon as the data seemed to 
confirm your opinion :-(

 >Now, the Grasers didn't always hit,

And how often did they miss? With unscreened targets it should be about
50% 
of the time; but with Steve rolling higher than average I wouldn't be 
surprised if the number of misses was lower than expected.

Regards,

Oerjan
oerjan.ohlson@telia.com

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