RE: [FT] Cloaked Rules - rewritten

> -----Original Message-----
> From: stranger [SMTP:stranger@cvn.net]
> Sent: Wednesday, February 14, 2001 8:58 PM
> To:	gzg-l@csua.berkeley.edu
> Subject:	Re: [FT] Cloaked Rules - rewritten
> 
> >  >Cloaking functions as per the More
> >  >Thrust Rules with the following change:
> >  >Ships are no longer required to
> >  >declare a length of time in cloak.
> >
> > So they don't have to preplot movement then?
> 
> I'm debating that.  I like and don't like the idea.
> 
[Bri] If they do not pre-plot movement, then the player with cloaked
ships
should nto be able to view the table with non-cloaked ships. Cloaking
should
not be a one-way mirror.

[snip]
> >  >	-1 per thrust used by the uncloaked
> >  >ship using the most thrust.
> >
> > Hey?
> 
> Example, if a visible ship anywhere on the board uses 5 thrust, then
that
> is
> a -5 to the detection value, if 5 thrust was the most thrust that
anyone
> visible on the board used.  IN other words, whoever is using the most
> thust,
> is broadcasting the most "noise" and thus drowning out the "noise" the
> scanning ships are trying to hear.
> 
[Bri] This should also work both ways. The cloaked ship should be able
to
"hear" the fastest moving ship best, but the other ships be obscured by
the
"noise". Obviously the cloaked ship is using passive sensors to locate
non-cloaked ships in the same manner as cloaked ships are using passive
sensors to locate the cloaked ship (but non-cloaked ships have the
option of
using active sensors).

> >
> >  >If successful roll, immediately move
> >  >the cloaked ship closest to the
> >  >detecting ship
> >
> > So are they plotting their movement on a sheet of paper, how do they
> tell
> > which is closest (OK I'm being picky but I juts know this is going
to
> come
> up).
> 
> Trust.
> 
[Bri] And verification. The cloaked player should have to divulge the
orders
for the cloaked ship and plot it out turn by turn from the last known
location (or starting point) on the table when the cloaked ship is
discovered. If the ship remains cloaked, then place a marker for it at
the
last known location.

> >
> >  >Ships may fire dumb weapons at the
> >  >DETECTED vessel....
> >  >Needle Beams...Basically, if the
> >  >weapon is guided, steered, or in any
> >  >other way is homing, it cannot be used.
> >
> > I just always assumed that because you were designating a target
system
> > that this counted as the equivalent of homing so to speak.
> 
> I'm not sure I follow you on this one.  I was trying to say that
weapons
> that have to be guided to a target wouldn't work against a cloaked
vessel.
> Beams and stuff are bearing-type weapons.  They are fired along a
specific
> bearing, which is about how much information one has about a cloaked
ship.
> 
[Bri] While Needle Beams are not guided after firing, they DO require a
PRECISION lock-on to be effective (i.e. destroy a specified system).
Thus,
they should be included with the "smart" or "guided" weapons for these
purposes. Or deny them the ability to knock out a specific system.

[snip]

> >
> > This seems like its awful easy to find at least a few targets per
turn,
> but
> > the fact the ships can fire cloaked probably makes up for it. I'd be
> > tempted to make it harder for scanning ships to find cloaked ships
and
> make
> > it much harder (say add a couple of range bands to the real distance
to
> > target) for cloaked ships to fire.
> >
> >  >If you do not wish to allow cloaked vessels
> >  >to fire while cloaked, then consider "jamming"
> >  >space for 1d6 turns per ship that actively scanned.
> >  >While space is jammed, no passive detection is possible.
> >
> > For that ship or all ships???
> >
> > I was playing devil's advocate a bit here, but I do think you need
to
> ease
> > back on the bookkeeping aspect and penalise cloakers and scanners a
bit
> > more in the active scanning stuff.
> 
> The active scanning part is only for those who want to have a
difference
> between active and passive scanning.	The idea of an active search is
that
> you will most of the time, find whatever is hidden, but whatever is
hidden
> can now see you very easily as well.	At least, that's how it works,
> oversimplified, in submarine warfare.
> 
> Thanks for the comments!
> 
> George
-----End Original Message-----

My comments above marked by [Bri].

You may also want to take a look at my Alternate Cloaking Rules to
Simulate
Sumbarine Combat at http://www.ftsr.org/ft/techlibrary/cloak_uboat.html

---
Brian Bell
bkb@beol.net
http://www.ftsr.org