RE: Specialized Drones and Missiles

In a lot of ways, the simplest method of adding things like
scatter-packs,
stand-off laser missiles (ala STAR CRUISER/AD2300), drones, detailed
fighter
variants, etc. is to simply up the MASS of your capital ships and treat
small, MASS 5-20 ships as drones, missiles, and other disposable weapons
delivery systems.

This can be a lot of fun, with B1s and 2 suddenly representing your PDS
and
MASS 15 "Deathblossom" scatter-pack drones carrying 9 SMPs!  Besides,
then
you don't have to feel quite so bad when you lose a half-dozen "escorts"
(no
letters home to next-of-kin if they were just ordnance).

Since FT is a generic, scalable system, it is just as easy to "scale-up"
so
that a 100 MASS vessel represents a police cutter (and you are suddenly
playing SILENT DEATH) as it is to scale-down so that a Star Destroyer is
only a MASS 50 Cruiser.

-----Original Message-----
From: Barclay, Tom [mailto:tomb@bitheads.com]
Sent: Tuesday, August 29, 2000 8:33 PM
To: Gzg Digest (E-mail)
Subject: DERFACS and UIM

<ahem>

Your pardon for my offering my two kwatloos worth, but the Klingon's
were my
chosen race 14 years ago when I played SFB regularly (when I was young,
able
to lawyer with the best, and new how to make Feds and Kzinti (often
pronounced Gesundheit like you were sneezing from a cat allergy)
disengage
by acceleration immediately after contact...). I have since given up
this
Evil Game(TM), in favor of something not based in Gene'sWorld(TM). <And
Full
Thrust Rocks!>

As a former Captain of the Doomslayer (D7C), I'd like to speak about
DERFACS
and UIM for a moment. I was never impressed with UIM because of the
risks of
a burnout. DERFACS on the other hand was utterly reliable, and only died
when your disruptor did, and the edge it gave helped if you had to
engage in
a range 20+ knife fight but didn't wish to close. I think it cost 2 or 3
points (out of 130+ for a decent D7 cruiser variant with a drone
loadout) to
install a Disrupter Extended Range Fire Attenuation Control System. It
let
you get a (possibly key) few extra hits on the opponent during the
closing
phases of an action. Well worth the investment. If I recall, it might
have
also increased the max range though I'm a tad vague on this point. 

I think DERFACS should NOT have its own firecon, but should cost more.
This
would be more true to the spirit of SFB (cringes as he says this). And
if
you are worried about overcharging, you could state that the table looks
like this (thought this may have been what you meant):

				R0-6  R7-12  R13-18  R19-24  R25-30 
R30-36
Disruptor/PT (DERFACS)	2      3	4	   5	      5        
6

This chart would (I think) certainly justify the extra cost you
suggested,
without being overwhelming. It preserves the fact DERFACS only applied
at
range. Thought of another way....

				R0-6  R7-12  R13-18  R19-24  R25-30 
R30-36
Disruptor/PT (DERFACS)	2      3	4	   5	      6*	
7*
* - at ranges 25+, DERFACS adds 1 to the PT roll --> making a 7 a
possible
result. 

On another note....

Drones would be an interesting thing to try and simulate well -
especially
spearfish, swordfish, and armoured drones - I loved mixing them up!
Scatterpacks and rapid fire drone racks would also be interesting to try
and
simulate, as would the varying speeds of drones (modifiers to the roll
if
you used SMs? or do you make them MT missiles with varying speeds and
endurances?).  

I shall re-engage cloak. Ka'plah! 

------------------------------------------
Thomas R. S. Barclay
Voice: (613) 722-3232 ext 349
e-mail: tomb@bitheads.com

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