Re: Fw: Weapons for Newtonian based FTIII

On Thu, 15 May 1997, Joachim Heck - SunSoft wrote:

> In
> a campaign, however, things are different.  In a campaign, expendable
> munitions need to be restocked before the ship can use them again.
> That means that the former defenders, now unthreatened due to the
> unarmed status of their opponents, can rush into enemy territory and
> destroy the supply depot from which the munitions come.

While I agree with the basic idea, I think it depends on background 
variables like is FTL travel traceable, how long does reloading take
etc.

>   So yes I think this can work with freely selectable forces in a
> campaign.  If you rely too heavily on expendable munitions (not just
> missiles but also fighters, submunitions, scatterguns) you run the
> risk of having your supply lines cut 

The operative words here are "too heavily". I haven't proposed composing

your entire fleet of pure missile boats. I *have* proposed using an 
overwhelming concentration of them when they're best suited for the
task. 
As it is, they suck for defense, so you'd best have something else too.

It all boils down to point balances. Assume two sides of equal points,
X. 
Each side also has an armed base worth 25% of X. Assume it takes 12% of
X
points worth of launcha-tubs to massacre the base. 

Ok. A has 12% missile boats and 88% "normal" ships. B has all normal 
ships. 

A attacks B's base with his missile force. The base is destroyed but the

launcha-tubs have expended their ammo. Meanwhile B executes a perfect 
counter-attack against A's base.

However, A has the rest of his ships waiting. The balance for the battle
is:

B: X points of ships
A: base + remaining ships = 113% X points 

Sounds like a losing deal for B to me. He lost his base, he's facing a 
battle against a superior enemy and there's even more enemy ships coming

in for a reload.

It boils down to the exact numbers in the end. Even if you assume the
missile force is destroyed in launch (i.e. they're unable to reload at
all), an even trade is worth considering. And with most vanilla setups,
it
takes far less than equal points to missile-fry a base... 

> by a fleet that can operate
> independently of any logistical support.

I must say I'm not overly fond of the "lasers have unlimited ammo"
school
of thought. All forces need logistical support. You need reaction mass,
food, replacement parts, maintenance checkups and just plain rest every
once in a while. True, some units have better endurance than others, but
there's no such thing as unlimited endurance. 

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