[FT] Stealth was Re: [FT-AAR] comment NAC/NI AAR

(mass snippage, then Oerjan wearily muttered:)
>OK, I'll bite. What would "stealth" mean for you? Obviously something
>else than making the ship harder to aquire (which is what this stealth
>version represents, with a very simple mechanic), but I can't figure
out
>what...?

I didn't start this but I was thinking about it anyway and since Oerjan
kindly provided me with an opening....

We've been discussing Sensors, ECM, and Stealth.  The sensors we've been
discussing have mostly been Active--Passive has a 36" range; Basic
Active
has a 54" range, and so forth, and Enhanced and Superior increase the
range
of the Active scan.  I submit that we ought to call ECM effective
against
Active (whether area or individual ECM); Stealth should help against
both.

To recap what has gone before: Sensors "fire" as beam weapons at various
ranges.  The greater number of hits, the greater amount of information
you
get about your target, ranging from 0 ("is anything really there?") to 5
("what's their captain's middle initial?").  Using active sensors means
you
are automatically detected.

OK, let's refine this.	Stealth tech works to reduce the effective range
of
your sensors.  Pay 5% for 1 level (reduce sensor range to 3/4), 10% for
2
levels (reduce sensor range to to 2/3).  (No, powergamers, you can't buy
three levels and outfit a 3000 Mass ship with it).  Now, once you've
been
acquired  by a firecon, you've been tagged, so the sensor doesn't have
to
keep rolling every turn.  This does NOT reduce weapons range--but you
can't
fire unless you have a firing solution (which means, I think we decided,
2
sensor "hits").

Let's say Basic has Passive/Active mode range of 36/54 (as in the book);
Enhanced is 48/72; Superior is 60/90.  Thus a Superior ship can detect a
Basic while both are in Passive mode, and the Superior won't be
counterdetected unless he gets closer.	If the Basic has stealth,
however,
he can get closer before being detected--possibly even slip through a
piquet
line.

Questions:
1)  Is the ratio of Basic/Enhanced/Superior about right? (ie 3:4:5)
2) Is the benefit of Stealth (against Active as well as passive,
remember)
at the right level to justify the cost?
3) Does any of this make sense? (I have a fever as I'm writing--I will
assume a chorus of "we can tell", no need to clutter the list :- )	
 ).