Re: Operational Level Game with Sensor Rules

At 13:48 22/06/98 -0700, you wrote:
>	Here's my proposal, generate an Operational level game.
>	While the Full Thrust rules give a strategic map for a campeign,
we can
>introduce an operational level map that show the solar system.
>	Take a hex map with an overal hex shap and put the star in the
center with
>the planets at different distances.  Include gas giants, trojan points
for
>heavy asteroid fields, Rings with debris, etc.

	Sounds very much like the System maps/level from Starfire.
Between this
and the table top they had another level called the interception scale.
Couldn't really see the need for it (interception scale) myself.

>	Now comes the importance of sensors and fast ships.  Ships move
a speed
>proportional to their slowest ship.  Take the slowest ship in the group
and
>divide by two rounding down.  This is how far the group moves per
>Operational Turn.  All ships must be in a task group.	Neutrino streams
>will tell a task group at any range where a task group is and how many
>ships are in it, nothing more.

	In my campaign rules ships moved hexes on the system scale equal
to their
thrust ratings (nice and easy). No more than three task groups could
occupy
a hex. Any number of fighter groups could occupy a hex with or without a
task group. Fighters moved 12 on the system map but couldn't be more
than 6
hexes from their carrier or base unless they were transferring/rebasing.
Fighters had to return after 3 system turns (fighter endurance
basically).
I took a hex to be 6' across (which could roughly be an 8'*4' or 6'
games
table).

>	Sensors will tell the owner a bit more as they get closer.  The
range of a
>standard sensor is within its own hex, Enhanced one hex out and
Superior
>two hexes out.  The information gained is the mass of each ship rounded
to
>the nearest ten.  However, weasel systems can be used to inflate the
size
>factor of a ship.  In the FT3 rules for each mass devoted to the Weasel
>system 10 mass factors is portrayed.  Weasel Systems cost 4 * Mass.
>	Therefore, a task force has the effective range of its best
sensor.
>Fighter screens could be used one hex out from the task force, but then
>would have to be recovered and reloaded for combat.  I even imagine
patrol
>craft that are fighter sized and have a 1/2 mass enhanced sensor aboard
>(Viking/Hawkeye).

	I had basic senors 2 hexes, enhanced 3, superior 4 with SWACS
(Spacebourne
Warning And Control) fighters having a range of one hex less. An SWACs
group replaced a normal fighter group but could operate as indiviual
fighters. Fighter groups could act as escorts for the SWACs but a single
SWACs with fighter group was represented as a single fighter group. The
idea behind all this was that such games could be played double blind
with
both (or more) players only seeing on their maps what their fleets could
"see", the ump having a central map with all the info on it. Recording
moves and changing player maps might take a bit of time with large
fleets.
	With sensors and ECM I had so that if Sensor and ECM level equal
you got a
fix on the enemy his numbers, speed and heading. If sensors 1 above ECM
then you knew number of escorts, crusiers and capitals (this was before
FB
which is going to cause a rethink). If sensors two levels higher then
you
got the actual mass of each ship. If enemy ECM was 1 level higher you
knew
where he was (plus speed and heading) but not his numbers. If ECM 2
levels
higher then 1 in 3 chance of false reading, half the time registering a
contact, half the time they would get missed. Aquisition of such targets
was only done each time a new task group came within range of the
target.
	All groups within adjacent hexes were assumed to be "visual"
contacts and
numbers, indiviual masses, speed and heading were known.
	You could spice these up with rules about your Level Of
Infomation that
IIRC Schoon posted.
	Hope this all helps.

	Tony.
	twilko@ozemail.com.au