Re: Thoughts on FT

On Mon, 7 Apr 1997, David Brewer wrote:

> I don't know how to say this without being rude, but perhaps you'd
> raise more debate if you weren't flogging horses that were dead or, 
> at the very least, exceedingly lame.

Gee, aren't we touchy? If you don't want to hear about it, hit the "next

message" button.

> Why don't thrusters with different ratings have different mass? 

I forgot about that. Thanks for reminding.

> It just isn't that important, really. 

I guess it is, as it's among the proposed rules amendments for FTIII.

> A simple rule might be to make beams ignore armour, and to 
> generally make all weapons ignore one or the other. This would
> also work towards balancing the Kra'Vak... a little. Just a 
> random thought.

It would be a logical explanation why humans have quit using armor...
 
> This is not ambiguous. C-batts do not inflict kills on a four,
> heavy fighters do not count them either. Discounting a four twice
> is the same as discounting it once.

By your logic, screen-1 stacked with armor-1 offers no extra protection 
against beams, since both systems discount 4's. It is one way to look at

it, but not the only one.

> Perhaps the following paragraph assumes we are not stupid. 

Then why repeat it? Unnecessary repetition is an editing nightmare.
If I'm refreshing my memory, I'll be looking at the specific paragraph. 
The "360" clause just happens to be under "Missile attacks". The more 
restricted "270" clause is presented under "Missile movement". Why would

I read up on missile movement if I'm interested in missile attacks?

> See the dead horse. Flog the dead horse. If you don't like 'em, 
> don't use 'em, etc.

Hey, the only real problem with our alien friends is that their point 
cost doesn't match their power. 
 
Finding the proper balance between wildly dissimilar systems is hard. 
Therefore it is IMHO very useful to note the similarity between PTTs and

railguns. Analysing this relation will give us a much better idea what 
the RG's should cost.

To cure the "masses of RG-1's" I propose the following amendment:

Scrap the different railgun classes. Instead buy RG-batteries. One 
battery is equal to the standard RG-1.

When firing, count all batteries. Roll to hit once. You either hit or
miss. Roll the damage die if you hit. On 1-3 you inflict damage equal to
the number of batteries, on 4-6 twice that. 

Take threshold rolls separately for each battery.

If you're interested in point balance, up the battery cost to 7 points.

While we're at it: KayVee drives cost 1.5 times normal. Armor masses 10%

of hull maximum per level.

>Pavlov knew how to treat powergamers. 

Actually, Pavlov's most famous experiment was about positive 
feedback.

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