Re: [GZG] More advanced screens

_______________________________________________
Gzg-l mailing list
Gzg-l@vermouth.csua.berkeley.edu
http://vermouth.csua.berkeley.edu:1337/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/gzg-lOn
Thu, May 29, 2008 at 5:19 AM, Hugh Fisher <laranzu@ozemail.com.au>
wrote:

>
> Advanced screens are those that can protect against
> beams and other weapons as well, eg Langston Fields
> from the Mote in Gods Eye.
>
>
Langston fields were very peculiar pieces of kit.  The tuffleyverse
analog
would be ships with a phantom first row of damage.  While the field is
operating, the ship takes no damage, but a first level threshold check
is
made whenever the phantom row is filled (to model burn through).  If the
Langston field generator fails a threshold, while the filed is active,
the
ship is lost with all hands in a cataclysmic explosion.  Ships with
Langston
fields also have a heat track with one box per row.  Each time a
threshold
is inflicted, one box is ticked.  One box on the heat track is
regenerated
each turn.  If a threshold is inflicted, while no empty boxes are
available
on the heat track, the field overloads, and the ship is destroyed.

Ships destroyed by field failures leave no survivors and no wreck. 
Naval
combat is complicated that when a ship surrenders, it is only lightly
damaged.  As the field was a side effect of the hyperdrive, piracy was
difficult and may have been extremely rare.

Naval combat is possible because hyperspace can only be entered/exited
at
certain points and travel only went from one star to its nearest
neighbours,
with each route having its own entry point.