RE: [ft] simple campaign system

Nice.
My comments are marked by [Bri]
-----
Brian Bell
bkb@beol.net
http://members.xoom.com/rlyehable/ft/	
-----

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Robertson, Brendan [SMTP:Brendan.Robertson@dva.gov.au]
> Sent: Monday, December 13, 1999 11:37 PM
> To:	'GZG-L'
> Subject:	[ft] simple campaign system
> 
> The Top Men have supplied....
> 
> This should cater to your requirements, Roger.
> *****
> 
> This is a simple conquest ruleset for those who want to play a "pickup
> campaign".  It can be used for structured campaigns as well.	Each
turn
> (if
> a time is required) is about 1 month.
> 
> *****
> Each player starts with 16 worlds which produce 20,000 MCr total
military
> budget as below:
> World Type		MCr/turn	FT points
> Homeworld (1):		5000		500
> Core world (3):		2000		200
> Colony (6):		      1000		100
> Outpost (6):			500		  50
> Total Production:	20,000 MCr (2000 ft points)
> 
> The worlds must be allocated within a 4*6 hex grid as shown below.
> ******* [use fixedsys font]
>    o o o o
>   o o o o o
>  o o o o o o
> o o o H o o o
>  o o o o o o
>   o o o o o
>    o o o o
> *******
> When setting up, 2 player games simply butt their territory randow
edge
> against random edge & commence the game.  For 3+ players, an
additional
> territory is required, either blank or with multiple neutral worlds to
> conquer.  The players have their territories randomly placed around
the
> neutral territory & then commence play.
> Neutral worlds are claimed by the first fleet to land marines (any
> number).
> 
> Each player has a starting fleet of 5000 points with which to defend
their
> territory.
> Out of these points, they need to purchase the following:
> Construction facilities: Cost is equal to the mass of construction
allowed
> (ie: 50pt = 50 mass/turn construction).  These have hits equal to it's
> mass
> with no defences at all.
> Starbases: Cost is as per shipbuilding, with 5% mass for basic base
> systems.
> WarShips: Costs as per FTFB shipbuilding.  Only FTFB ships can be
> purchased
> initially.
> Freighters: Costs as per FTFB.
> 
[Bri] I would double the starting costs, but make production quarterly
(every 4th turn). This makes a slightly longer game, but turning out a
Battleship each month on each homeworld seems like a lot. As Mr.
Robertson
suggested make prototypes cost 5x normal cost for the first ship. Be
sure to
include the costs of expendables (fighters, missiles, etc.) in the ship
cost.

> *****
> Turn sequence:
> 1.	Pay upkeep/scrap on ships/bases/construction facilities.
> Each ship/base has a maintainance cost of 10% which must be paid.  If
it's
> not paid, then the ship is scrapped to give 25% of it's new cost if in
a
> friendly system.
> Construction bases require upkeep equal to it's mass.
> 
> 2.	Move ships
> Ships move up to 2 hexes.  Fleets are visible up to 2 hexes away
(within
> move range).	This takes into account scout ships/drones etc keeping
an
> eye
> around.
> 
> 3.	Scanning & Resolve combat
> Ships in the same hex are told what contacts are in scan range in
escorts,
> cruisers, capitals.  The fleet is then given 1 of 3 orders: attack,
> retreat
> or lurk.  
> If both fleets have retreat or lurk orders, then no combat takes
place.	
> Attack vs Lurk is a standard space battle.
> Attack vs retreat gives the attacker a 5+ chance of engaging the enemy
> before they escape.  This battle is resolved using FTL combat rules.
> If the system's owner doesn't have attack orders, then combat takes
place
> around the planet, with fixed defences & the Construction base in
orbit.
> 
[Bri] I also liked the idea posted by Roger Books. Make it an opposed
die
roll. Add the lowest thrust ship to the roll (slow ships may be
sacrificed).
Also add 2 to the retreating fleet's roll (as it will probably be closer
to
the FTL limit than to the attacking fleet). If attacker wins the roll,
the
initial set up should be the attacker entering from the PA, A, or SA
angle;
resolve using normal FT/FB rules. If the retreating fleet wins the roll,
 it
moves to the next location on the campaign map.

> 4.	Conquer territory
> If the system has functional fixed defences, then a second battle
needs to
> be resolved (if needed).
> Marines are then landed on the planet.  Compare the total mass of
marines
> to
> the planets production, this is the odds of conquering the planet.
> Attacker/Defender
> 1:3	1:2	1:1	2:1	3:1
> 6+	5+	4+	3+	2+
> 
[Bri] This seems a little in favor of the attacker. It is fairly
accepted
that 3:1 odds are the minimum odds required to take a defended
objective.
3:1 odds for the attacker should yield a 1:1 chance of success. I would
suggest opposed rolls with the following modifier to the attacker's
roll:
Attacker/Defender
6:1	  5:1	    4:1     3:1     2:1     1:1     1:2
 +4	   +2	     +1      -	     -1      -2      -4  
This will make those transports the target of the space battles. And it
increases the need for strategy (do I send them in now, later
unescorted, or
build both an attacking and escorting force).

> If the attacker fails, then all the marines are lost.  Marines cost 5
> pts/mass with no maintainance.
> If the attack succeeds, then the planet is conquered.  No funds are
> generated next turn, but it produces it's full amount after that.  If
the
> shipyards have been destroyed, then they cannot be rebuilt at this
planet.
> 
[Bri] You did not describe the method of destroying the shipyards. Are
they
automatically destroyed when the planet is conquered?

> 5.	Build new ships (construction/repairs/resupply)
> New ships are built from available funds.  Maximum construction in any
> system is equal to that system's budget, less maintainance for the
> construction facilities.  This puts a cap on construction, which makes
> spreading the facilities around important.  
> Ships can also be repaired at any construction facility.  The cost is
10%
> per damage row of the ship's base cost.  Destroyed ships cannot be
> repaired
> (obviously).
> Resupply is purchased at normal cost and transported in freighters to
> where
> required (fleet train) or the warships stop at the system to resupply.
 If
> done properly, you need to keep track of specific supplies (ie: the
system
> might have 23 std fighters, 8 heavy fighters & 3 SML(std) salvoes in
> stock).
> 
[Bri] Is resupply created at the shipyards? How are the shipyards
supplied
with materials from the planets? If materials needed to be transported,
it
would provide more targets and make it more important to decentralize
construction.

> 6.	End phase
> If a single player controls 75% of the territory (12 planets),
including
> the
> Homeworld, then that territory is conquered and the rest of the worlds
> become neutral if not held by another player.
> 
> Neath Southern Skies - http://users.mcmedia.com.au/~denian/
> [mkw] Admiral Peter Rollins; Task Force Zulu