Re: Troop Capacity

On 20 Jun 98 at 12:05, John Atkinson wrote:

> You wrote: 
> 
> >> Usually, you sit outside their max range with your carriers, and
> >> send them in like you would an airstrike on an enemy fleet.  
> 
> >In the space invasion version. You look up, and other than a few 
> >clouds, there is not much between you and the airstrike. Perhaps ECM,

> >and stealth are good enough to make it worthwhile.
> 
> Umm. . . do remember that weapons have a max range, and you can
> situate your carriers so they can't be shot down. . . 

I said the *airstrike*, not the carriers. Obviously the carriers stay 
out of range, the airstrike can't, because it has to come to you to 
attack you.

> >Then you have to climb back out of the gravity well, being shot at by

> >the planetary defenses again (unless you were very successful). But 
> 
> Either you were sucessful, or you're dead already.  

That is rather an all or nothing scenario. 
In the wet navy scenario a failed attack doesn't mean all the 
attackers died, it means they didn't knock out the defenses, most of 
them will return to rearm and try again. (depending on the success of 
counter strikes of course.)

> >Not targeted by the SML's themselves, but by the associated 
> >batteries of longer than battlefield range point defense weapons 
> >mounted with/near them. SML's to fire at starships, beam weapons for 
> >anything else. Unless those nasty beam weapons don't work properly in

> >atmosphere, which would help us out a lot  here.
> 
> Come on, if you're using PDSes from Full Thrust (naval AAA based
> near naval main weaponry seems to be a reasonable basis for any
> Orbital Defense installation) they miss half the time.  And you can
> target them seperately, unlike the the ship's AAA.  Bang, you're
> dead.

Yes, but on a planet you can bother with having a LOT of them. 20 at 
a defense site don't miss very often at all, 40 miss even less. etc. 
etc. Ships run out of space, planets don't.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Richard Slattery	     richard@mgkc.demon.co.uk
Reader, suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of
Congress. But I repeat myself. 
     Mark Twain
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