Re: Beam Weapons

I just wanted to ask people on this list...

  What is the rationalization for each battery type ect?  As in
STARFIRE, I
have always assumed that power requirements, personnel living space,
lifesupport, etc was implicit in the "modular" design.	I consider this
game
modular due to the fact that you do not need to create an "energy" unit
to
power weapon batteries, nor do you need lifesupport for the number of
people, nor staterooms... ect.
  By making the cost for mass go up to four per "A" battery, you make
the
design sequences a little more balanced.  In general, that might be the
better fix, but for now, I can't see limiting the ship to only X number
of
any one type of weapon based upon hull sizes.  Why?  Because you have to
have a ship that is twice the size, minimum, of the weapon system you
will
put into a ship.  This means that the smallest ship capable of handling
an
"A" battery will be a size 6 ship.
  In a recent battle, I just saw two cruisers with two destroyers, take
on
an identical force.  Force Agressor took a terrible pounding, and lost
on
the cruiser, two of it's forward firing batteries (out of 3) as a result
of
taking two threshold checks.  The defender, lost a like amount of
forward
firing batteries with only a single threshold check!  As happens in
battle,
sometimes it is better to have redunancy built in rather than heavy
firepower.  Imagine the frustration of a ship's captain, when the
targetting
arrays are shot out from under him, and all he has is one, coupled to an
"A"
battery.  Larger ships, with more fire control, can afford some minor
damage, but the "A" battery is expensive enough weight wise, to make for
a
"balanced" enough weapons over all.  I don't have a problem either way,
what
size the "A" battery finally ends up being...

Hal