Re: FT: Star Trek designing

On Tue, 29 Jun 1999 09:16:23 -0400 Glen Bailey <Glen.Bailey@sabre.com> 
wrote:

> I can't help it. I tried to avoid designing ships based on that show, 
but it keeps sucking me in. Besides, I have lots of miniatures used for 
SFB, SFBM, and STTCS (Fasa's)... <

Don't we all... I have well over a hundred myself.

> ...and many people like the show as well. <

It's also a good way to get potential players interested. ST got me 
into FT, and I plan to use it for some ST participation games at a 
forthcoming SF con here in Bristol.
 
> Here are my concepts for ST style ships, I didn't use my shielded 
armor idea.  Pulse torpedo = photon torpedo (that was easy).
	     Class-3 beam weapon = disruptor (wait until I'm done).
	     Heavy phaser = class-2 beam
	     Light phaser = class-1. <

Don't like the long-range disruptors. Maybe I'm overly influenced by 
previous games, but I always had the feeling that disruptors were 
shorter-range weapons.

> So, I'll provide my list of ship designs.
 
> Fed CA, 84 mass, 282 points.	Thrust-4, average strength hull, 
level-2 screens, 7 armor, 3 FC, 2 PDS (or should be 2 class-1s?), 2 
pulse torpedoes, 3 class-2s with 180 degree arcs each.

Why the PDS/class-1's? We know what and where the CA's weapons are, and 
they're not there. Unless the "defensive systems" represent the ability 
to use the phasers in a defensive, rapid-fire mode, which would be more 
in keeping with what we saw on screen.

> Klingon D7, 80 mass, 262 points.  Thrust-6, average strength hull, 
level-1 screens, 4 armor, 2 FC, 2 class-3s with 60 degree arcs	
(disruptors), 2 class-2s with 180 degree arcs, 2 class-1s. (PDS?  bah, 
defenses are for losers)
 
> Why?	The Fed CA is tougher than the Klingon D7 which it seems to be 
shown in the show (TOS).  But the Klingons make up for it with the 
smaller ships I designed (and why you see more of them, besides the sfx 
costs).

There's not that much difference between the 2 -- 4 mass, 20 points. 
Not a lot from which to say that the CA is a better ship. I'd do 
something different to represent the disruptors and downgrade the 
design as a whole to something like 250 points or less.

> No missiles for the Klingons, you ask?  Get that SFB influence out of 
your mind. <

YES! _Thank_ you! The thing that always pissed me off the most 
regarding SFB was the was in which Steve Cole took a small design 
detail from a set of blueprints and blew it up into a system which more 
or less took over the entire game (and ruined it, IMO). Those drones 
supposedly located in the D-7's shuttle bay were meant to be practice 
targets, not semi-active missiles!

Phil
------------------------------------------------------------------
"We gotta get out into Space / If it's the last thing we ever do!"  
   -- Return to the Forbidden Planet
A sentiment echoed by Phil Atcliffe (Phillip.Atcliffe@uwe.ac.uk)