[GZG] HDC madness

["Richard Bell" <rlbell.nsuid@xxxxxxxxx>]

I was looking at the IJN playtest rules for the HDC and realised that
there was some room for abuse.  Not that I seriously consider the
HDC to be broken, only that you should be careful of accepting
challenges for 20,000 point fleets.

What you get for your 20,000 points is a 5600 mass, thrust2,
ftl-capable battlestation with enough HDC-3's around its periphery to
cover the entire 360 degrees by only firing half of them.  Simply
because I like round numbers, there is an extra pair so that the
spacing is every 2.25 degrees.  Each turn only half are intended
to fire, so the centerline of firing weapons are 4.5 degrees
apart.  The hull has 1024 damage points and 256 points of
armor.  The first threshold check is unlikely to cause the
catastrophic chain reaction of enough HDC's going up to cause the next
threshold check.  Lots of armor is pointless against Kra'Vak
heavies, but Kra'Vak score few hits at 24-30 and take gobs of damage
closer in.

I assume that both the intention to fire and the direction must be
recorded in the orders phase, or the battlestation is obscenely deadly
in the 0-24 range band, as it adjusts the firing angle of weapons for
maximum effect.  Every line of bearing can be swept by six HDC's
(for 3 degrees out of every 4.5, a seventh can also fire), at the cost
of two 15 degree gaps in coverage (one on each side of the
concentration zone [not necessarily adjacent], or a single thirty
degree gap).  Opening a 15 degree gap will allow another 15 degree
sector to be doubled up.  Opening two 15 degree gaps will allow a
15 degree sector between them to be tripled up.  With some good
guesses, even pre-plotted firing angles will deliver a world of hurt to
an incoming attack fleet.  Surprise! Surprise! This vessel will
often spend alot of its time with its MD not in use to allow for firing
in the aft arc

Although a tough nut to crack, it is hardly invulnerable-- especially
if the HDC, as implied by its description, has no effect on PB's
(unless they are netted by the "damages every target" catch-all
phrase).  

I suppose my question is really "Can you take this out without building another one?"
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