Re: ECM and hello

At 17:02 07/03/97 MST, you wrote:
>[I'm new to the list, so if all this has been rehashed a thousand times
>before, sorry.]
>
>First off, hello!
>
>Second, I took Mark Kochte's ECM ideas on the Unofficial FT Web Page
>(thanks Mark and Mark) and refined and expanded them a bit, and we
tried
>it out the other night.  I was pretty pleased -- it makes ECM and
>sensors an important part of the game, but not overwhelming.
>
>As experienced and wise (?)  players, I attach them here to get your
>comments.  One player suggested allowing a ship to loan sensors (ECCM)
>to another ship, but I can't think of a good way to justify being able
>to loan it to one ship but not everyone in your fleet, so I said "keep
>it simple and no loaning sensors".
>
>Thanks,
>Daryl
>poe@fc.hp.com
>-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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>Electronic Counter-Measures (ECM) rules additions:
>
>I addition to the intelligence-gathering functions of ECM and sensors
>listed in "More Full Thrust", ECM can be used to decrease the
effectiveness
>of enemy weapons fire.  Sensors are used to offset the effects of ECM.
>
>There are two types of ECM in the game -- Personal ECM (symbol "X") and
>Area ECM ("X in a box").  Personal ECM gives your ship, and only your
>ship, one level of ECM protection.  Each Area ECM System on a ship can
>loan one level of ECM to *one* ship or fighter group within 6"
>(including the ship itself).  ECM cannot be loaned to missiles.  The
>target of loaned ECM must be written in the orders for the ship -- if
>not written, the ship is assumed to be using the Area ECM system to
>protect itself.  The target is announced after all orders are written.
>
>The effects of personal ECM and Area ECM (or even two Area ECM's) are
>cumulative; however, no ship or fighter group can have more than two
>levels of ECM of any type.
>
>Enhanced sensors negate one level of ECM (in an ECM-free environment,
they
>have no effect).  Superior sensors negate two (all) levels of ECM.
>
>The effects on each weapon *per level* of ECM are as follows:
>   Batteries, submunition packs, mines, most fighters, PDAF, and ADAF
>     act as if the target had one additional level of screens.  (Though
>     the cumulative effect of screens and ECM cannot exceed level three
--
>     a "6" still does one point of damage.)
>   Pulse Torpedoes, needle beams, railguns, and torpedo fighters get -1
>     to hit.  (Yes that means needle beams cannot hit.  They need
>     precision!)
>   When a missile declares a target, it loses lock-on if a 1-2 on 1d6
is
>     rolled (1-4 if two levels of ECM).  When a lock-on is lost, the
>     missile cannot attack that target that turn, but may attack other
>     targets in the danger zone, or it may continue to move normally
>     next turn (if not out of fuel).  A ship targetted by a missile
that
>     has lost lock-on to that ship due to ECM may not use point-defense
>     weapons against that missile, though it may use ADAF normally.
>     Missiles are considered to have the same sensor capabilities as
their
>     launching ship, and control cannot be transfered to another ship.
>   Scatterguns, nova cannon, and waveguns, being area-effect weapons,
>     are not affected by ECM.
>
>When ECM or sensor systems are destroyed, they do not effect subsequent
>fire or missile attacks in the same turn.  So if Ship A successfully
>destroys my ECM, Ship B, firing later in the turn, will not be affected
>by it.
>
>(As a game aid, players may prefer to write down the current ECM,
screen,
>and armor levels on a large whiteboard visible to all players.  It
makes
>rolling for damage and picking targets much quicker.)
>
>
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			RESPONCE TO ECM SUGGESTION.
			===========================

	Having been on this list for a time I have not seen ECM
discussed, so well
done for starting one.

	Since the introduction of the Sencors and ECM, it has been a
house rule
that players only have to disclose the type of ship. If you require more
information you use sencors. If you fire at a ship and then forget which
one
it was, your hard luck. At the range that the battles would take place (
1,000,000 Km plus ) what else would you know? This can be taken as far
as
not disclosing when thresh hold tests are taken and so on.

	The idea to extend the use of ECM to decrease the effectiveness
of enemy
fire is execelent, so it the use of sencors to counter that. My own
experiments from your suggestion show a marked impact.

	I fear that the idea of loaning ECM to other ships is too
simple, any ship
can cover any other and if ECM may be loaned why not Sencors? To allow
for
this and to control the loaning of ECM I suggest the following system :

DATA LINK :

	Cost : 10

	Mass : 1

	The data link system consists of a communication system that
allows data to
be passed between of the Fire Control System(s), Sensors and ECM on
different ships. Both the sending and receiving ship must be fitted with
the
system. A data link system may send OR receive data. One data link
system
may send data to one ship only, like wise one system may only receive
data
from one ship. Any ship may be fitted with more than one system. The
Data
link system has a range of 12", this is reduced to 6" when ECM is in
use.

	Any ship fitted with a data link system may use the ECM or
Sencors on any
other ship fitted with a data link. Thus is may "Borrow" ECM protection
as
suggested above or It may "Borrow" sensor information and target it's
weapons as if it is fitted with same type of sensor.

	Note : that a ship fitted with two plus units may send data to
more than
one ship or receive data form one ship and send to a second, The up shot
of
this could be very interesting.

	Even with out the data link system I could fore see the
appearence of EW
ships to provide ECM cover. with Data link thay would become a vital
part of
the fleet.

	Under the present rules you could end up with a EW Cruiser with
the
following stats:

	Mass		36	( 18 H.P. )		 72
	Drives		4				 72
	FLT						 36
	Sensor ( Superior )			 2	 30
	ECM ( Area )				 3	 30
	ECM ( local )				 2	 20
	Data link		( 2 of )	 2	 20
	Shield ( Level 1 )			 3	 25
	PDAT			( 2 of )	 2	  6
	Beam 'B' ( 3 arcs )	( 2 of )	 4	 18
						--	---
	Totals					18	329 points.
						--	---

	This has the abbility to provide one level of ECM cover to any
single craft
with in data link range and sencor data for two craft. It also has an
equilvant shield level of 2.

	One methord we have used in some battles is for the person
firing to call
out the dice rolls, missing out the lower rolls, so you only call out
the
4's, 5's and 6's. The other person would mark up the charts accordly. By
this methord you would only know that the sensors would tell you. Makes
for
an interesting battle.

	Graham Tasker.

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