Re: FMA DSII

Roger Books wrote:

> >I could get around this by giving HEAT Impact D8 against RA, but that
makes
> > RA rather weaker than in the chit system... and, equally important,
it
> >doesn't really solve the *percieved* problem - ie. those players who
look
> >at the IAVR-vs-APFC interaction without crunching *all* the numbers
and say
> >"Special damage 25% of the time?!?" :-7
>
>Actually I'm more worried about those that go "Hmmm, I have to put
>a class one weapon on which will rarely hurt a tank.  Let's pick
>one that rolls a small die because then I have a better chance
>of getting a special."

Same players, same problem. Drawing quick conclusions from first
impressions without looking at *all* the relevant numbers involved can 
often lead you astray :-)

Let's take a closer look at the case you describe above:

At first glance, it seems obvious that a low-Impact weapons will score 
significantly higher number of Specials against heavy targets. Indeed,
that 
was my first reaction when I first started testing these rules.

However... in order to get a noticable better chance of getting a
special, 
you need a Class/1 with Impact D4 firing at an Armour/4 or stronger
target. 
If the lower Impact die scores slightly more special hits but fewer (or
no) 
kills, you tend to notice the fewer kills far more than the extra
specials; 
for DS2 armour levels the Class/1, Impact D4 is the only combination
where 
I've found the number of extra Specials to stand out compared to the 
reduced number of kills.

Impact D4 gives you two options:

* HEL/1, but only if the enemy cooperates by using Ablative armour

* RFAC/1, but only at Long range (ie. 12-16")

The HEL/1 has a very nice feature: it is by far the longest-ranged and
most 
accurate class/1 weapon in the game. IMO its potential ability to
inflict 
Specials comes a distant second after this. The main drawback of the
HEL/1 
is its lack of hitting power up close, and it is also fairly expensive,
but 
all in all I consider this the most versatile of all the class/1 weapons
in 
DS2 - under the chit system as well as under this one.

The RFAC/1 is the cheapest heavy weapon in the game, but that's about
the 
nicest thing you can say about it. If someone picks it instead of an
MDC/1 
*only* because of its higher ability to inflict Specials on heavily 
armoured targets, I'd say that he is fooling himself: Yes, the RFAC/1 
inflicts more Specials on targets with Armour/4 or more (1) at range 
12-16", but the MDC/1 is as good or better (2) - usually better -
against 
all targets outside this rather narrow range band, and against targets
with 
Armour/3 or less even in the 12-16" range band. The MDC/1 also has 50% 
longer range than the RFAC/1 (24" vs 16").

(1) If you look at the same number shots which actually *hit the
target*, 
the RFAC/1 inflicts more damaging hits against Armour/3 as well. Since 
however the 12-16" band is Long range for RFAC/1 but Medium range for
the 
MDC/1, the MDC/1 scores enough extra hits to roll damage for that it 
inflicts more damage for a given number of shots *fired* against
Armour/3 
targets.

(2) "better" as in "inflicts a larger total number of Specials and
Kills, 
OR inflicts the same total number of Specials and Kills but with a
larger 
ratio of Kills to Specials". I tend to consider a Kill to be more useful

than a Special <g>

So, well... in DS2, I don't think that you'll see these high numbers of 
Specials very often - if you see them at all. If DS3 allows more
flexible 
armour layouts and/or higher armour levels on relatively small vehicles 
this quirk may become more of a real problem though.

Please let me know if you use this system, and any post-game reactions
:-)

Later,

Oerjan
oerjan.ohlson@telia.com

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