Re: [GZG] FTL Jump in Tunnyverse

[The Man in Black <mib.zero@xxxxxxxxx>]

On 12/30/05, Nyrath the nearly wise <nyrathwiz@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

 

       The master list of FTL drives in science fiction is at
       http://www.projectrho.com/rocket/rocket3v.html#stardrives

       In wargames, most favor using a "jump-point" system
       like the one used in STARFIRE or in the novel
       The Mote In God's Eye, for the simple reason
       that it makes strategically interesting wargames.

 

GURPS Space in it's various editions also gives a good overview of "all the myriad ways" to go FTL, with the added perspective of their gaming potential. GURPS was planning on using a revamp of the classic Tri-Tac as a space combat system, but those plans were altered for mysterious reasons known only to the Illuminated. I've never played Tri-Tac or even seen the rules, so I wonder how they compare to Full Thrust, which is my current favorite for Versatile Space Gaming. 

 

For my current project of simulating the new Battlestar Galactica with Full Thrust, the insta-jump drives seen on the show gives the Armchair Admiral in me a real headache. You can't really force battles because anyone at a disadvantage simply jumps away to safety. The only way to have a real battle is to strike strategically valuable targets, like an Asteroid rich in Tylium, or inhabited planets. The rest of the battles would be one or two turn potshot ambushes that always end with a hasty escape... perfect for a refugee fleet, but entirely unsatisfactory for a tactical wargame.

 

What the Cylons need to do is invent an Interdictor field like what the Star Wars Empire has. But that would spell doom for the Rag Tag Fleet, so it's dramatically inappropriate. Maybe there could be Teleport Beacons that would suck Jumps off course... or some kind of barrier like in the Last Starfighter.... I dunno.

 

The Man in Black is : Kenneth Scroggins
Novus Ordo Seclorum : Annuit Coeptus : E Pluribus Unum
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