RE: Range in FT

	Whew - you've asked one of the BIG questions.  The answer: It
Depends.  On 
how much playspace you have, how you feel about space combat, etc.  I
use a 
15 min/1000 km scale.This is not based on much besides a little science
and 
interfacing with DS2.  15 min turns are so each FT turn is a DS turn as 
well.  1000 km/MU lets planets be rather large (Terra is 13 MU dia.),
and 1 
thrust figures to about 1/8 g (I LIKE slow speeds, go figure :).  Even
at 
those ranges, there will rarely if EVER be a visual contact (eyeballing
out 
a porthole).  Advanced optics may make it easier to see/ID a target, but

most firecon will be done by radar or some electromagnetic
spectrum-sensing 
device, both passive & active.	If you like your battles close & dirty,
use 
1 km/MU - there will be excellent visual contact at short ranges, much
like 
Star Wars/Trek.  It's pretty much scientifically unsupportable to have
any 
weapon range restrictions at this scale, but again, it's a matter of
taste. 
 Starfire has probably the largest tactical scale I've seen - and it
must 
assume some awesomely good firecon & prediction to even have a 10%
chance 
of hitting effectively at 60 tac hexes (30 light-secs?) with a
lightspeed 
weapon.
	One of the better range systems I have seen is Traveller New
Era: 
30mins/30,000 km.  1 thrust = 1g.  They addressed the laser problem (to
get 
a good tight spot on a long-range moving target, and deliver damaging 
levels of energy, you need to have a HUGE mirror and pico-degree fine 
aiming).  They fudged by having a small, powerful grav field in front of
a 
smaller mirror, able to acheive such feats.  Particle beams (& meson
guns) 
did not have such problems - spray particles at the target, and each one

will still do damage - it would decrease by range due to beam spread. 
This 
is the reason that I assume that Beam batteries are particle beams, and
PDS 
are lasers.  Lasers are great weapons - excellent penetration, good
damage 
levels, but short ranged.  But for a PDS, they only have to penetrate so

far, so building big lasers is not a priority.	Things like railguns & 
plasma/fusion weaponry have such a low velocity that they are not even 
considered for ship weapons.  But then again, I have used arguements
that 
Beams should be considered lasers, and a new Particle Beam weapon needs
to 
be made up.
	The problem with larger scales is that objects (planets,
asteroids, stars) 
stop becoming obstacles to avoid/use, and start becoming a terrain
factor 
for a general area.  At 30,000 km/MU, Terra is just shy of 1/2 an MU
across 
- and that looks pretty cheesy next to a 3-inch SDN.  I kept the
1000km/MU 
range, bacuse it allows use of multiple weapon types in a
pseudo-scientific 
mileu, planets are attractively large, and actual thrust rates are low
and 
easy to figure.  But again, it's a matter of taste.

Noah V. Doyle

-----Original Message-----
From:	Los [SMTP:los@cris.com]
Sent:	Tuesday, July 07, 1998 07:49 PM
To:	FTGZG-L@bolton.ac.uk
Subject:	Range in FT

Just curious. At what "real range" does everyone see engagements
happening 
in FT?
What does one inch apporximate out to in kilometers? I wa sthinking this

because
someone estimated KV rg velocity at 3 to 10k a second. That seems Very
low 
and
ineffective a great distances unless all the engagements are taking
place 
at very
short range. (I'm sort of used to Starfire where enagements ranges are 
measured in
Light seconds which means vast ranges. In those fights it's rare to get 
into visual
range).

Los



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