Re: FB2:Advanced Drives

Graeme Bradbury wrote:

>One question i have so far, from FB2, is since advanced drives arn't
>limited to main drive thrust out the rear only. What about the rule
that >you can't fire out of the rear arc when you use the engines.

The rule is "You can't fire out of the rear arc when you use the
engines." :-)

>Did the playtesters use the rule 

Yes

>or just go with the idea that since the advanced drives don't use
>thrusters/rockets then there is nothing to obscure the targeting
>computers/cortexs.

No. Call it "gravitic eddies" or whatever you like <shrug>
 
>The reason why i ask, is that Sa'Vasku can bring their full beam
>firepower in whatever direction they have a stinger node pointing. So
>high speed passes aren't as risky as with human tech since >overshoots
don't cut much firepower (only pod launchers can't fire) but >greatly
reduce the amount of firepower facing you.

IME unintended overshoots are rather rare in Vector. OK, an SV ship may
cause the enemy to overshoot by suddenly using extreme thrust levels...
but it won't have much energy to fire its stingers if it does :-/

>ps. I gather from the example that stinger nodes are 2 mass and pod
>launchers are 3 mass and costs is massx3 for the both.

Correct. Another bit to go into the FB2 errata file <g>

Thomas.Barclay wrote:

>If I understand correctly the new [OFFICIAL] {but only suggested}
rules >for vector movment:
> 
>1) The push is relegated to an appropriate place (ie you can no longer
>MD6 RP3 PS3). It can only give you *one* point of sideways >movement. 

Correct. Or backwards, for that matter.
 
>2) Because you can rotate all you want, you could MD1 RS1 MD1 RP1 >MD1
if you wanted to?

Correct. Assuming you have thrust 5 or more, that is.

>Are multiple rotations covered under the "1 manoevre point =
>rotate all you want" or is each billed separately?

Buy the book, dammit... Quoting FB2 page 3:

"ALL thrust, whether for Main Drive burns, ship rotations or "thruster
pushes2, should come out of the total thrust factor of the main drive.
...
Multiple rotations in a single turn are permitted, but 1 thrust factor
is used for each rotation (no matter how many or few course points the
ship rotates through each time)"

>3) Since all points come from a Main Drive manoeuvre pool, we've
>reigned in manouvre on Thrust 6 ships quite a piece (cutting down from
>a potential thrust six, rotate, push 3 for a total of 9 units moved, 

Looks like a house rule of yours, since that ship just used 7 thrust
points :-/

>to a much more conservative 6) and we've REALLY made Thrust 2 the
>almighty brick of space. 
 
As if it ever was anything else...

>Under this scheme, Oerjan's infamous Thrust 8 ship becomes quite a
>prize though - able to RP3, MD2, RS3, MD3, RS3, MD2 

RP3, MD2, RS3, MD3, RS3, MD2 = 10 thrust points, not 8. 

OK, I do have some thrust-10 designs as well, but I rarely use them in
Vector :-/ You're far more likely to see Sa'Vasku pull this kind of
stunts than any other race.

>and this "box" would let you do things like fly around small asteroids
>and such. Wow. 

The path where you check for asteroids (and nova cannon rounds, mines
and other nasties) is still the straight-line path from the ship's
starting location to its final end position (just like it was in FB1 -
that part hasn't changed), so the above maneuver is identical to a
simple "MD3, RS3" for all purposes including asteroid dodging. 

>So, how do the KV move in this new ruleset? Same way, only higher
>thrust? Or are there extra rules there? 

In Vector, their Main Drive works in any of the 12 directions rather
than just straight ahead. Doesn't make that much of a difference for
high-thrust ships (which can rotate to any facing, do a serious main
drive burn, and rotate again), but quite useful for low- and mid-thrust
ships.

Regards,

Oerjan Ohlson
oerjan.ohlson@telia.com

"Life is like a sewer.
  What you get out of it, depends on what you put into it."
- Hen3ry