Re: FT: tactics vs a slow mover with high arcs

G'day Glen,

There will be many, much better at this than I, who will give you great
design/tactical advice, but until in the meantime here's a few thoughts
to
get you on your way...

>It's a rare battle that I win against him.  The few times was with
pulse
>torps that had a high percentage of hits (I always have 1 out of
>the bunch miss, even at point blank range) 

Point One: This may just be something you have to get used to, but you
be
pleased to note that you are not alone and that there is a support group
for people so accursed. Indy (Mr "I only roll ones for p-torps") and I
("I
only roll ones period") will be more than glad to share our
self-help/'drown-your-sorrows' action plans ;)

>We design our own ships using FB (if we wanted to play with crappy 
>pre-designed ships we'd play SFB... *cough*). 

OK, but I wouldn't immediately give them the toss, there's some gold
there
too - at the very least they will give you ideas of where to start off.
NAC
is a bit of a mixed bag and not to everyone's taste and the FSE is hard
to
play with in traditional shoot-em' ups, but the NSL BB is one of the
best
ships around in my opinion (when she opens up others quiver) and those
ESU
double screens a right royal pain to fire against... "Oh well I actually
rolled 4s, whoopeee... oh $^#@! you've got double screens!"
Beyond that I'd have a kick around the web (if thats possible) and see
what
others have come up with, if it works for them it may just work for you
too ;)

> His designs are based on the miniatures he's using: WW1-WW2 era naval
ships.

Watched a bit of anime hey? ;)

>Move 2 (now he's gone to move 1), 5 arc class-3 beams with some
>class-2s (the secondarys) and class-1s, point defenses and each
>"BB" has a an area defense, weak hulls with lots of armor (he saw

>that he lots of armor left upon the first threshold and he commented
>that he may go with average hulls and less armor).  

OK with him using move 2 maybe you should invest in some missiles
afterall,
it shouldn't be too hard to guess where he's going. The 5 arcs are also
way
more than I'd pay for, but then I play vector. Mind you I don't agree
with
his comment re: armour, if he has got enough on, it postpones not
hastens
the checks.

> Since I have a lot of "Star Trek" and SFB minis my designs
> are based on what I think they should have, with many variations.  
> I hate move 2 ships. Move 4 or better for me.  I don't know why I keep
> trying, though, I can't seem to get a handle on cinematic movement. 

First up, move 4 is a pretty good compromise movement wise (doesn't eat
up
too much hull and gives you some flexibility).
Secondly, have you given vector a go? You may find it more to your
liking
as it less "fighter dogfight, get on his tail".

> Forget me using Nova Cannons or Wave Guns, I end up pointing those
things
> at my allied ships more often than the enemy. 

Something else which may be rectified by trying vector, though it may
also
just come down to practice. How many games have you had?

>Oh, and this guy has this thing about rolling lots of 6s against me.
>He says to his many many dice before rolling "this is a Glen designed
>ship" and it works.  Now we all have a saying when someone rolls well
>with beam dice "that's a Steve roll" (his name is Steve).  double
*sigh*

Lovingly known as the Teske field list-wise - another thing our support
group will help you overcome, well live with ;)

>So I'm tired of being the wimp that bully Steve picks on so any
suggestions
>for tactics?  

Not my strongest point, but I'd try and make a game plan (not set in
stone,
but a general idea you try to stick with so you can test him bit by bit
until you find the chink). First up what speed are you going? I'm not
exactly in favour of breakneck passes, but it may be as good a place as
any
to start.

>This brings up another point.	I think increased arc costs are too
cheap
>compared to maneuver cost.  Or is it that I'm just terrible at
maneuvering?

Don't know, hadn't thought about it cost wise - though I guess it feels
OK
to me (at least in vector).

>Maybe I should "sink" to his level and design multi-arc slow moving
>ships as well?

I wouldn't necessarily go that route, maybe fast high speed passes or
missile boats would be more your style, but if all else fails you could
try
it - everyone needs at least one good slugfest just to get it out of
their
system ;)

Anyway hope that helps until the real wisemen around here arrive.

Cheers

Beth

------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Elizabeth Fulton
c/o CSIRO Division of Marine Research
GPO Box 1538
HOBART 
TASMANIA 7001
AUSTRALIA
Phone (03) 6232 5018 International +61 3 6232 5018
Fax 03 6232 5053 International +61 3 6232 5053

email: beth.fulton@marine.csiro.au