SV: 3 arc cost

John Leary wrote:

>      At present the 'A' is simply not that much better than 3
> 'C' batteries at short range to justify an increase in mass.

At short range, no. But, but, but... as long as I have the thrust to
stay
more than 12 mu from the enemy, my single A battery is infinitely better
:-) Those 24 extra mu of engagement range are worth quite a lot -
certainly
enough to warrant a higher Mass than the three C's, even if you take
their
limited point-defence capabilities into account. However, the single A
is
far more vulnerable to treshold checks if I should get hit.

> (Caution: Big Guess follows) Or perhaps I should ask, is one
> three arc 'A' better than 12 one arc 'C's.

I'd say that it is worth about 8 single-arc C-batteries. My preferred
Mass
ratio between the three battery types is 4:2:1 for A:B:C of the same
number
of arcs. I've found a Mass ratio of 1:2 between single- and three-arc
batteries of the same class to be pretty well balanced IF you allow a
"roll" maneuver (ie, spend MPs to roll the ship upside-down and thus
swap
places on left and right sides).

The tactics needed for the different configurations are  quite
different,
though - a broadside ship has to plan its movements a lot more to make
sure
it has something to shoot at, and if it isn't allowed to roll... well,
it
isn't that uncommon to lose the majority of one broadside's weapons
while
the other side - usually the one facing away from the enemy - is unhurt
<g>

Later,

Oerjan Ohlson

"Life is like a sewer.
What you get out of it, depends on what you put into it."
- Hen3ry