Re: FB Ship Construction

On 22-Nov-99 at 23:34, Sean Bayan Schoonmaker (schoon@aimnet.com) wrote:

> >2) What's the best way to estimate how many PDS are appropriate for a
> >vessel? mass?
> 
> I would say MASS, but in an indirect way. Fighters will be attracted
to
> larger vessels, thus they need more PDSs... unless you have an escort
doing
> the job with PDSs and an Area FireCon. An escort can protect more than
one
> ship as well, giving more bang for your PDS buck.

I tend to start with about the same number as they have in the fleet
book.
If I expect to be running in a fighter or SM(R|L) environment I add an
ADFC under the theory that it doesn't matter how many PDS's you have,
it's
how many you can put on target.  If experience with the rest of the
group
shows this isn't enough I add more until it feels right.  The last big
battle we had my opponent answered my SMR barrage with almost 30 PDS's.
I still took out his CVL.

> >3) What is the best ratio of armour/hull/screens?
> 
> Depends on whether you thing in terrms of the first threshold or
prolonged
> survivability. Many on the list have gone for the armor path to
postpone
> the first threshold as long as they can. This keeps your systems
> operational for longer until after the first threshold, after which
things
> rapidly deteriorate.

Many of use make the ship with standard hull, design the whole thing
out,
and then convert to a weak hull and use the excess for armour.	This
gives
you the same total number of hits while making all thresholds occur
later.
It breaks a little against penetrating weapons, but not enough to make
much difference.

> >6) Are there any systems to avoid like the plague (as poorly
> >balanced)? (Other than the obvious potentially unbalanced WG, NC, and
> >RF).

Salvo Missiles.  As far as I am concerned they are never the "bang for
the buck" as fighters or beams.  Of course, I still use them.  That
look of fear in your opponents eye when the Missile Cruiser opens up
with it's 10 SMR's and blankets the board is just more than I can
forego.

Roger