FT: % or Fixed Mass Screens etc?

I was playing around with a spreadsheet for Full Thrust III (I know it 
is not out until spring but I wanted to see how it would work) when 
several points occurred to me:

1.	There are fixed mass items such as weapons and others whose mass
is % 
based such as drives. Are screens fixed or % based? If they are fixed 
they let off big ships too lightly and if they are % based they might be

practical in small ships, and I would hate to see small ships with 
screens.

2.	I would like to see armour replacing screens. The same comments
apply 
as for screens. 10% per armour level (if 1 to 3) or even 15% does not 
seem too much to pay. See table II below.

3.	The number of fire-cons a ship can be exploited in other ways
than 
fire control. Make it the number of sensor rolls a ship can make 
(already effectively the case in FT II). So small ships overloaded with 
fire-cons and sensors make useful scouts (anyone for trawlers in 
space?).

4.	An expanded weapon selection. I like this. One type I would like
to 
see are Spinal Mounts. Expanding the progression used by the A, B and C 
batteries upwards should produce weapons so big that even a BB can only 
have one firing in one arc only.

5.	Now a really odd suggestion, why not invert the battery ratings,
so a 
C becomes an A and an A becomes a C. This allows easier upward 
expansion, so the AA Megabattery becomes a D (or maybe an E) and so on.

6.	Is it unreasonable to give the AA Megabattery new range
increments of 
12", the only reason for this is because it would be an easier fit on my

quick reference sheet (something like table I below) and it seems to be 
a better 'fit' with the other batteries.

7.	Streamlining should cost Mass, eg. semi-streamlining uses 10% of
a 
ships mass and full 25%. Why? It seems reasonable and it would be useful

in campaign games.("Streamlining is for shuttles").

8.	I assume that a ships uninteresting bits such as crew, life
support 
and the like is included in the Mass of items, so a gun includes the 
mount, the crew, the power supply and so on. SO are we going to see the 
mass of everything doubling to allow for this? Probably not but it could

be a way of balancing some items such as screens.

Table I. Beam Batteries
	Mass		Damage at range:
	FT2	FT3	12"	24"	36"	48"	60"
C	1	1	1d	-	-	-	-
B	2	2+1	2d	1d	-	-	-
A	3	4+2	3d	2d	1d	-	-
--------------------------------------------------------------
D			4d	3d	2d	1d	-
E			5d	4d	3d	2d	1d
F			6d	5d	4d	3d	2d
G			7d	6d	5d	4d	3d
H			8d	7d	6d	5d	4d

I assume that 60" is the maximum possible range due to limitations of 
fire-control technology.
	I think I would prefer lower damage at all ranges but some other

effect, such as improved penetration for the big guns.
	Shotgunning does not seem very sensible if the targets are even
several 
km apart let alone thousands of km, but it is very manga, still we have 
the Nova Cannon for that.

Naval architecture was a fight between protection, speed and firepower 
so I am very glad to see acceleration costing mass, with luck we might 
be able to build proper battlecruisers!

Curiosity about how a ships mass was allocated led to a little research 
(about 5 minutes) and produced the table below. Interesting is it not? I

would like to see more data but this will do to be going on with. It is 
tabbed so I hope it works out when you receive it.

Table II. WW II British Warships
Tons (Deep Displacement)
Ship		Nelson	KGV	Vanguard	Roberts Ark Royal      
Illustrious	Fiji	Tribal 
Class	J & K Classs
Type		BB	BB	BB	Monitor CV	CV	Cruiser
DD	DD
Main		9 x 16" 10 x 14"	8 x 15" 2 x 15" 	       
12 x 6" 8 x 4.7"	6 x 4.7"
Secondary	12 x 6" -- 16 x 5.25" --
TT								6      
8 x 21" 10 T
DC									
       45 DC
Hull		13830	18657		13651	12724	3819	938    
876
Protection		12413	14741		2854	4941	1289
Equipment	1050	1149	1847	656			643    
166	142
Machinery		2768	3251	298	2468	2464	1413   
596	530
Armament	6900	6567	7606	1552	1042	997	1188   
272	243
Fuel		4000		4925	554	4443	4854	1700   
521	484
Misc			510	627			123	39     
45
Aircraft					1629	1186	174
Armour & Hull	14250			6030
Total		35000	36727	51537	9717	27721	28619	10354  
2532	2320

Percentages
Hull & Protection	41	71	65	62	60	62     
49	37	38
Hull			38	36		49	44	37     
37	38
Protection		34	29		10	17	12	
       
Armament	20	18	15	16	4	3	11     
11	10
Aircraft		0	0	0	0	6	4      
2	0	0
Fuel		11	0	10	6	16	17	16     
21	21
Machinery	0	8	6	3	9	9	14     
24	23

From
The Design and Construction of British Warships 1939-1945: Volume I, 
Major Surface Warships.
D. K. Brown (ed.). Conway Maritime Press. 1995. ISBN 0 85177 673 6

		 Michael R. Blair
************************URL************************
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Zone/1070/index.html
************************URL************************

______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com