Re: Ablative Shields

At 01:30 PM 7/31/96 -0400, you wrote:
>Greetings all, 
>
>When I first picked up FT, one of the few things that I didn't like was
>screens; most sci-fi defensive shields are portrayed as being ablative
(ie --
>shot away bit by bit), and FT screens didn't seem to fit the "image."
After
>playing FT a while, I've changed my mind about screens, but I still
thought
>it might be interesting to try and simulate "conventional" sci-fi
shields.
>Whether these shields absorb damage from torpedoes, missiles, etc. is
up to
>you. 
>
>Scott Field
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------
I have been fiddling with this as well. I like the idea of peeling a
ships
defensive systems like an onion. I have been thinking that ablative
shielding should regenerate automatically between turns, kind of like
charging a wave gun, instead of being repaired by damage control
parties. As
ablat shielding can only be 'regrown' when not absorbing damage, you can
only recharge the shielding on a turn you took no hits. 

What do you think of this:
inferior ablat shielding recharging = 1d6 divide by 3 (round down) with
a 1
minimum
standard ablat shielding recharging = 1d6 divide by 2 (round down) with
a 1
minimum
superior ablat shielding recharging = 1d6

I do like your costing and mass data.

I like this better than putting standard shields on a specialist ship
that
would most likely hang back, do its role, hopefully not engage in direct
combat, and get the hell out (like a pure missile cruiser, which will
fire
everything then warp off table).

Questions? Comments? Suggestions?

Jay
_______________________________________________________________
Concerning record keeping in miniatures: "I pay that little lead fellow
with the Star to keep track of all that stuff. That's his little job. My
job
is to get his little lead butt into trouble. I just want to know if he
is
standing, advancing, fleeing....or if his little lead butt is dead"	 

jay.haygood@mindspring.com    -or-	 SnailMail:
jhaygood@mindspring.com 			     Jay Haygood	
     
Senior Programmer Analyst				6662 Wildwood
Court
Georgia Baptist Health Care System		Lithonia GA USA 30058
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