Re: FTL Mines

In message <3477722A.6401@sj.bigger.net>
	  John Leary <realjtl@sj.bigger.net> wrote:

>      Nothing personel here, I JUST HAVE AN INTENSE DISLIKE FOR
> MINEFIELDS IN SPACE!	 
> 1) Lets face it, where/how do you hide a mine in space?
> 2) If you can hide a mine in space, the same tech that hides the
>    mine from detection can be used to hide a ship from the mine!

Except the mine is stationary, probably only using passive
sensors. The ship is probably using its drive (easy to detect),
and may be using active sensors. Also, the ship is a lot
bigger than the mine.

> 3) Mines in orbit around a planet can cause a lot of bad PR when
>    the mine falls out of orbit.

That's true of any mine (not them falling out of orbit,
but bad PR when some child steps on it twenty years later).

> 4) Consider the amount of mass that would have to go into a mine-
>    field around the solar system (or even a few planets) and buying
>    a few thousand superdreadnaughts is much more cost effective.

A nuke powered gamma ray laser might be able to cover
a large area. The 'mine' might also be a cluster of
missiles which are launched at ships which come within
missile range.

You could also hide them in a ring system, or even an
asteroid belt if you're using Hollywood rules (a realistic
belt isn't going to be dense enough to be useful - I think
it's something like a million km between asteroids on
average)

> I have always considered the mines in 'Star Fleet Battles' 
> SILLY at best.  (I do not wish to imply that I have never used
> one in SFB, just that minefields reguardless of game title are
> SILLY, SILLY, .....

They're not necessarily silly, they just require a bit more
thought on their design and deployment.

There're are a lot sillier things in FT than mines.

-- 
Be seeing you,
Sam.