Re: Fire Control lock-on

I maybe just a glutton for punishment but I have a house rule that gets 
around the problem of small fast ships been just as easy to hit as large

slow ships.  I used to use a percentage die (from my very old Runequest
RPG) 
but now use a PC and spreadsheet to test to see if a target is
targetable by 
anything that can't target fighters or missles (the assumption been that
if 
they can hit a hypervelocity missle then a ship should be no problem.

Its speed divide by its present speed rounded of to the nearest whole
number 
(sounds complicated but thats why I got the spreadsheet - everything is 
instant).  The resulting number just has to be rolled under to make it 
targetable.  This can produce results of zero which means the target
can't 
be fired at even though it may be at point blank range

This avoids a problem I have with FTJava and had with FT in general. 
When 
my high-speed attacks get shot to pieces because they end their turn in
the 
enemy's fire arc.  I like my light ships ripping through the enemy
formation 
causing havoc.	 I watch far to much B5 in case your wondering.

In the real world Motor torpedo boats can (and frequently have) suceeded

against far heavier ships (destroyers were invented to specifically
combat 
MTB's  in the early 1900's because the battleships of the time were
sitting 
ducks).

I KNOW that when a flotilla of small fast torpedo boats attacking "the
side 
of a barn" they should easily make life unpleasant for it until it's
light 
escorts get involved - thats what they're there for.   To destroy
anything 
smaller than them and keep tabs on anything larger than them.

Any naval history will point out that big slows ships where there to
kill 
other big slow ships, not mix it with the piranhas.

It would probably be easy to include the various stealth and special
weapons 
rules using this method.  I know its an extra step but its one I thought
was 
necessary for my peace of mind.  PSB just wouldn't cover the gap in
realism.