Re: [FT] Fighters

Sorry this has taken so long to put back into discussion, but better 
late than never:

Since I posted the idea about FTL packs on fighters, with no real 
explanation or rules attached, I need to make some clarifications, 
just so we're on the same page here.

-----

The FTL packs grew out of a lengthy discussion on the list, probably 
around October or November of 98 (don't know off the top of my head). 
While the need for FTL fighters in genre-specific games (e.g. Star 
Wars) is recognized, the FTL packs proposed are intended for the 
GZG-verse - with qualifications.

FTL in the GZG-Verse is described as a series of instantaneous jumps 
interspersed with long periods of drive recovery time.	Any 
interstellar transit is going to require several jumps to complete. 
These jumps are initially long-distance, with relatively poor 
accuracy, and as you approach your destination, you start to make 
shorter jumps with increased accuracy.	We are talking _days_ here. 
Pilots are not going to stay in a fighter for the duration of this 
trip.  Not feasible.  The proposed packs also do not allow for the 
multitude of jumps required for an inter-system transit.  Instead 
they are good for 1 or maybe 2 jumps - at most.

This allows a strike group to approach within the final jump of a 
system, then deploy fighters for the last jump.  All the fighters can 
begin on the board, or jump in just like any other FTL capable ships, 
at which point they jettison their packs and behave normally.  In 
fact, the carrier could hang back for a short period, then follow the 
strike group to perform fighter recover duties in hopes of reducing 
it's exposure to enemy fire.  (before the game, designate on what 
turn and at what location the Carrier will enter the board - this 
cannot be cancelled, as there is no way to send an 'abort' message to 
the carrier)

<BTW, this came about before the SEMI-OFFICIAL pronouncement that a 
carrier could launch all it's fighters in a single turn.>

If they fighters are capable of 2 jumps, they could jump in, scout 
around for a while (recharge time) and then jump out again - but that 
seems like a poor job for a fighter - better a scout with enhanced 
sensors or something similar.

Also - Fighters carrying ANY of the proposed packs incur serious 
performance penalties.	Speed cut to 1/2 or 2/3.  No secondary move. 
Dog-fighting ability reduced to that of an attack fighter at best. 
+1 bonuses to PDS attacking them.  You don't really _want_ the packs 
attached to your fighter when you enter combat as they make you 
wallow like a pig.

They could be useful for an in-system defense group to make tactical 
jump to respond to enemy incursions, making your 'rapid response' 
force a little more rapid.

In summary, if you do not have the hangarage for your fighter groups, 
adding FTL packs won't allow you to bring them to a fight.  What they 
are intended for is to add a little more flexibility for use in 
special circumstances.

Jared
http://www.alaska.net/~jnoble/FT

>In a message dated 2/18/00 9:25:00 AM Central Standard Time,
>books@mail.state.fl.us writes:
>
><< I guess if you force bases it wouldn't be that bad, but I'm just
thinking
> my current campaign.
>
> I'm bringing in 6 fighter squadrons on 2 CVL's and a BDN, I also have
> a missile cruiser (10 SMR).  I don't know what my opponent has but
> I know he outpoints me by about 30%.	If I had FTL fighters I would be
> adding 12 squadrons to the mix from the two jump-point connected
worlds.
> It makes carriers rather superfluous.
>
> That would be a major difference and I would probably trounce him as
> he has very little in the way of fixed defenses that connect to the
> contested world for fighters of his own.
>  >>
>Anybody who stints defenses in a campaign game deserves to have the
mistake
>rammed straight down their throat. I used to play Starfire campaigns,
and the
>first thing you learn to do is to build up your system defenses.
>Unfortunately, i learned that from very painful experience, as the
first
>campaign i was in my defenses were arranged on my frontiers, and very
little
>in my core systems. A very powerful player task force, consisting of
several
>other players fleets ( never brag to the other players :-) ) broke thru
my
>defenses and rolled up my core systems, one by one. A very hard
lesson...
>As far as balancing the points out, make them more expensive than they
would
>be for a ship of the same size, and make them expendable, example: for
a mass
>one ship (i know they're not really possible, but for the example...)
the
>cost for FTL would be 2 points, and it would be good for the life of
the
>ship. With FTL packs for fighters, charge 4 points, and they only work
twice,
>after that they burn out. In a campaign, if you used thes you would
have to
>replace them after every time they left base and came back, kind of
>expensive, but worth it for the occasional raid or all-out battle...
>
>John
>JohnDHamill@aol.com