Re: Conversion reasons for FT...

On Mon, 9 Dec 1996, Hal Carmer wrote:

>   The main reason I even began to contemplate the idea of putting
values
> on FT's ships (ie weight and volume) is for what Mike just mentioned -
as
> an adjunct to roleplaying games.

Fine - but if you set values according to one RPG background, those same
values may be completely off for another background. Crew sizes and ship
masses in, for example, the Honor Harrington universe are something
very,
very different from crews and masses in FASA's Renegade Legion universe. 

I have no problem with universe-specific conversion rates, but you have 
to keep in mind that they are just that - universe-specific. If GZG 
starts specifying exactly what a MASS unit is, or how large crews are,
FT 
gets less generic - which is a Bad Thing <tm>.

<snip>

>   But I too am a veteran of Starfire, Starfleet Battles, Squadleader,
> PanzerLeader, etc... and look forward to seeing a campaign structure
> evolve for FT...

However, a campaign structure doesn't really need specific mass/volume 
ratios and crew sizes. How big is one Hull Space in Starfire? How many 
people are there in a Personnel Point? Neither is really specified, 
although you can determine rough sizes for at least pps. Once again, 
leave enough for many different backgrounds - don't fix the campaign 
system to one single background. It is quite easily done, unfortunately.

Regards,

Oerjan Ohlson

"Father, what is wrong?"
"My shoes are too tight. But it does not matter, because
 I have forgotten how to dance."
- Londo Mollari