Re: [FT] Gunboats - points cost??

On Thu, 18 Feb 1999, Oerjan Ohlson wrote:
[snip]
> > 2) They mass 3 each for hanger space requirements.
> 
> So a GB bay is Mass 18 if you use them. Hm... Well, OK - you don't
have
> to use them, since the GBs can jump in themselves. Or are you thinking
of
> external GB racks here? <g>

This is more of a operational level concern, of course. :)  For extended
deployments you'll want to use either orbital/system bases (system
hopping) or
carriers as mobile support centers for the gunboats.  Gunboat pilots
need
someplace that they can bunk in comfort every now & then.

> > 3) Their base movement is 16 MU, and they get no secondary move.
> > (rationale: they're a bit heavier & slower than regular fighters)
> 
> Works OK if you use Vector movement, but it'd be pretty hard to catch
my
> ships in a Cinematic battle. (Using the GBs as a close-in screen might
> work... might. I still have bad memories from battles between MT
fighters
> and ships racing around at speeds of 20-40 - if the fighters were
lucky
> they got a single shot off during an entire battle...)

You must be playing on the floor in a large room <g>.  We're normally
restricted to a couple of store playing tables for area (4' x 8' or 4' x
12'),
and lately we've been playing on a single 4' x 6' Starscape map.  Since
we use
Cinematic movement at a scale of 1" = 1MU, any ship racing around at 20
or 40
tends to leave the table after a single turn . . .

> > 4) Their endurance factor is 12.
> 
> Unless your opponent completely forgets to bring PDS, Class-1
batteries
> or fighters, I'd be very suprised if they survive that long -
especially
> since they can't use secondary movement.

True, although I'm going to be incorporating Sean's suggestion of tying
the
FTL range to endurance point usage - again an operational level concern.
 If I
allow gunboats a secondary movement factor, it would be 1/2 the base
movement
range just like fighters.  This would give them an 8" secondary move. 
I'll
have to think about it.  

> > 5) When engaged by fighters in a dogfight, gunboats always take 
> > damage from the fighters first before any return fire is allowed.  
> > (rationale: fighters are quicker than gunboats - gunboats were
> optimized > to attack ships, not fighters.)
> 
> Ie, they always lose initiative - and worse, since they don't even
> alternate fire in larger furballs. Ouch - you'd better not get hit by
> enemy Interceptors :-/

Very true, and a deliberate design decision.  Fighters are simply
murderous
when attacking gunboats.

[snip]

> > 9) Strategically, a gunboat may make 4 FTL jumps before jump-engine
> > refueling is required.  A gunboat may replace one or both torpedo 
> > launchers with extra jump tanks - each jump tank so added extends
the >
> gunboat's range by 2 jumps.
> 
> Depends completely on your background, of course.

Agreed.  I was trying to specify the game mechanics so that both 'jump
space'
and 'jump point' drives could be accommodated.

[snip]

===================================================================
Mark "Hauptmann" Shurtleff
  email: hauptman@sfcmd.com -or- hauptman@concentric.net
       The Gear Locker:  http://www.sfcmd.com/HeavyGear/
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 Finagle's Law:
   The perversity of the Universe tends towards the maximum.
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