Re: [OFFICIAL] new ideas!

>>  Date: Sat, 22 Feb 1997 09:58:29 +0000
>>  From: jon@gzero.dungeon.com (Ground Zero Games)
>>  Subject: [OFFICIAL] new ideas!
...
>>  1) We intend to do away with the artificial distinctions between
Escorts,
>>  Cruisers and Capitals, and have a single "sliding scale" of ship
designs

Excellent.

>>  2) Under the new system, you will have more MASS per ship to play
with in
>>  the design (probably = to total mass rather than 50%), but out of
this you

As long as it stays fairly simple, this is a good idea. I don't want to
see it 
get as complicated as Hight Guard or any of the other Traveller
ship-design 
systems, though.

>>  3) Battery mass will be C = 1 (including all-round fire - it is in a
small
>>  turret); B = 2, plus 1 per additional fire arc over first; A = 4
plus 2 per

Sane enough.

>>  4) Rear-arc fire MAY be allowed (for weapons that bear there), but
ONLY in
>>  a turn in which the ship uses no thrust from its main drive...
should

Fine, but ...

For some backgrounds or ship designs, it ought to be fine to fire to the
rear 
all of the time (Frex., Star Trek's Klingons & Reliant-class ships, Some
Star 
Warts ships, some B5, etc.). Perhaps that can just be campaign specific,
or
perhaps it's a special extra cost to the drives, because they're either
better
shielded, different design, mounted on otherwise silly pylons, etc., to
allow
firing while under thrust?

>>  5) Fighter movement may stay basically as per FTII, but with greatly
>>  increased fighter move distances (24" or 36"?) and making the
revised turn

_Hate it.

>>  sequence from MT a standard basic rule (ie: fighters move after
order
>>  writing, but before ships move, so you have to anticipate the
enemy's
>>  move). 

Make them use Ship rules, but not have to plot, and allow them to move
after
all plotted ships have moved.

>>  6) Instead of four equal 90 degree fire arcs, we may change to
fore/aft
>>  arcs of 60 degrees each and side arcs of 120 degrees - this brings
the arcs
>>  in line with the 12 course directions, and makes fire arcs easy to
judge
>>  from a hexagonal model base (1 base side = 60 degrees, 2 = 120). Do
you
>>  think this will make a great deal of difference to the game, other
than
>>  (perhaps) making broadside mounts a little more acctractive?

I'd definitely stick with even-sized arcs. Whether they're 90 degree, 60
degree,
or whatever, is of no real importance. Perhaps keep them 90 degree, and
have 8
arcs, which have overlap zones? (12:00-3:00, 1:30-4:30, 3:00-6:00,
4:30-7:30, 
etc.)

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