Re: Those annoying aliens...

Robert writes:

>	 I know this sounds simplistic but the way I have been thinking
of
>balancing out the Kra'vack MDs is give screens a defensive bonuses
against
>them.	I worked it out like this, for every level of screen that the
target
>ship has subtract one from the rail guns to hit role.	This makes mass
>drives effective only at closer ranges and gives the humans a chance to
get
>their licks in first.	The PSBS reason that I gave to justify it is
that
>screens are localized masking systems that make it harder for a ship to
be
>targeted rather than energy fields that block shots.  The higher the
ships
>screen rating the less like the chances of that ship taking a hit
become.
>As mass drives require very percise targeting solutions to hit their
>targets, they become very vulnerable to the effects of the masking
systems.

I think either this or Stuart's idea about using *DAFs to intercept
railgun
rounds makes sense; it'll be interesting to see how it plays. 

As for the PSBS explanation of screens affecting railgun rounds, here's
another take: some sci-fi authors have speculated that true spaceflight
will
not be practical until we develop some kind of matter-deflecting energy
field. Space is full of small particles of matter, and hitting these
particles at near-relativistic speeds could cause serious damage to
ships; as
a result, some sort of energy field is needed to deflect these
particles. If
you buy this explanation, then charging that energy field up higher
could
deflect larger particles, up-to-and-including railgun rounds. Of course,
if
you buy that, then screens should also affect missiles and the like....

Scott