FTFB Spreadsheet v0.4 release

Hello all!

I've alluded to this several times, but now it's real.	I just mailed
out
the first copies of my version 0.4 FTFB Ship Design Spreadsheet.  A copy
has been sent to Tim Jones for posting on the FT Computer Core, so it
should be available as soon as he has the opportunity to paste it up. 
If
you contact me directly I'd be happy to send you a copy, as well.  Be
aware
that this is my work address, soo I don't check it over the weekend.

Just a quick rundown:

It is available for Excel 5 and above
Also for the PalmPilot (using Quicksheet or Tinysheet)
The Zip archive takes only 30k

There are 2 separate design methods:
Standard - input the mass and pick systems and it handles the math.  I
have
manually entered every design in the FTFB and they all came out
perfectly.
Mass and cost dead on.

Solve for mass - you designate the systems you want, and it calculates
the
mass needed to accomodate them.  This always produces valid designs, but
not always identical to the Fleet book -always close, though.  This can
be
a concern for small ships (say smaller that 30) where rounding
differences
can make up a significant portion of a ships overall mass.

For the record, the Fleet book contains 43 ship designs for the major
powers with mass equal to or above 30 (not counting the merchant &
support
vessels.)
Of these 43 designs, 24 had their mass computed dead on.  12 calculated
to
be smaller or more efficient that listed in the FB (1 at -3, 4 at -2, 7
at
-1), while 7 came out larger (1 at +1, 4 at +2, 2 at +3).

Check it out and contact me if you have any questions or problems.

shouts of praise go out to Schoon for the original spreadsheet design,
and
to several, notably Richard Slattery, for help in tracking down some
annoying bugs.

Enjoy!

Jared Noble