Re: NI/NAC AAR & Stealth

On Thu, 28 Jan 1999, Noam R. Izenberg SRP wrote:
[snip]
> > Noam R. Izenberg SRP wrote:
> > > On Mon, 25 Jan 1999, John Leary wrote:
> > > > This assumes that sensor detection and targeting are identical.
I'm
> > > assuming that individual weapons require target lock to fire and
hit.
> > > Stealth frustrates the target lock.
[snip]
> Hardly. FCS targets the weapons. Stealth confuses the FCS. It doesn't
> matter whether the FCS controls all the weapons or one. Again, I think
> we're simply under different PSB assumptions. If mine are clearly
> violating the game spirit, I'll try to revise them, but I'm not yet
> convinced that's the case.
[snip]
> That's fine if you want weapons that can't target anything. ;-) I am
_not_
> advocating or claiming individual weapon FCSSeeing a target, and
knowing
> its general location is one thing - that's the role of ships sensors.
FCS'
> role is to pinpoint the target so that weapons can hit it. One or all
of a
> ships weapons use the targeting of the FCS. Again, if my understanding
is
> fundamentally flawed, so be it. I'll have to revise my PSB.

Hiya Noam!  I've been watching this discussion unfold, and I think I can
add a
useful point of logic here.  Your "stealth hull" *does* violate the PSB
for
the Tufflyverse in the following manner:

The FCS system in FT is, quoting from FT2 pg 7:

   "... a suite of sensor systems and computer facilities to direct the
fire
    of a ship's offensive weaponry ..."
   "Each FreCon system permits the ship to engage ONE target ..."

Now, while this is very basic stuff, it does very strongly imply that
the FCS
system work in a very similar manner as the Fire Control systems on
modern
jets.  Take the Hughes An/APG-9 that was fitted on the original F-14/A
as an
example.  That "FCS" is able to track up to 24 targets and actively
engage 6
targets for missile launches.  Whether the pilot is using the AIM-54
Phoenix
(range 150 km), AIM-7 Sparrow (range 45 km), or AIM-9 Sidewinder (range
8km),
the F-14's FCS can track 24 and actively engage 6 at whatever range.

In a similar manner the FT FCS can actively engage 1 target per module. 
The
range of the weapon used is independent of the range and
tracking/engagement
ability of the FCS, since you can use *any* FCS mounted on a ship to
fire
*any* weapon.

If your "stealth hull" affects the FCS of an opposing ship, then the
only two
main game effects that make any sense given the PSB of the FCS are as
follows:

1) It can degrade the ability of the FCS to "lock on" to the target at
all
   ranges. This would reduce the "to hit" roll of all weapons, not the
range
   (in a manner similar to standard screens vs beams).

2) It can "hide" the ship from the opposing FCS at range.  This is the
effect
   that you are trying for.  Unfortunately, in order to fit in with the
PSB of
   the FCS, this would have to be an *absolute* range hiding effect, not
a
   relative one, and should still affect the "to hit" roll to make any
sense -
   i.e. an FCS system can lock onto a stealthed ship in the 0->12 MU
range
   band without penalty, in the 12->24 MU range band the stealth ship
causes
   all attacks to be made with a -1 to the die roll, in the 24->36 range
band
   the stealth causes attacks to be made with a -2 to the roll, etc.
(assume
   "level 2 stealth" in this example :).

Unfortunately, the weapons range reduction as you have proposed just
doesn't
fit in using the PSB provided <g>.

===================================================================
Mark "Hauptmann" Shurtleff
  email: hauptman@sfcmd.com -or- hauptman@concentric.net
  visit the Gear Locker at http://www.sfcmd.com/HeavyGear/

 Finagle's Law:
   The perversity of the Universe tends towards the maximum.
===================================================================