Re: [VV] Gate Defense

Let me finally throw my .02 Euro in:

Point One:
You're all talking about multiple FTL methods, right?

Including one that is not limited to wormholes, right?

Under that circumstance, only a friggin moron would bother building
anything but customs inspection stations, perhaps with a handful of
fighter squadrons for backup, at the wormholes.

Because the second you spend even 10% of your budget on wormhole
defenses, some bright boy is going to hyper in an entire battlefleet
on the other side of the system, move in, sweep aside your mobile
forces, and take over your planet.  Your warp point defenses will then
meekly surrender when they realize they aren't getting any resupply of
food, ammo, spare parts, etc.

Analogy:  Wormholes are like rail lines.  Standard FTL is like trucks.
 Rail is much cheaper for bulk cargos, and much faster.  BUT: No one
invests huge amounts of money in defenses for their train stations. 
Just some customs officers to make sure there isn't anything shady
going on.  Just as no one really has armed and armored trains.	You
could do that if your rail lines were under attack, dedicate a handful
of warships to convoy escort duty through the wormhole system.	But
most of your military is going to be in trucks and armored vehicles,
not armored trains.  And your fortresses are going to be around places
where you know the enemy has to go.  Not your bleedin' train stations!

Point Two:
Some people are filling my mailbox arguing (largely ignorantly) about
TACTICS when you havn't even nailed down precisely how the PHYSICS
work.

PHYSICS drives Engineering
Physics also defines the Astrography
Engineering and Astrography drive Economics
Economics and Astrography drive Strategy
Strategy drives Operational Considerations
Strategy also drives Procurement
Engineering drives Ship Construction
Operational considerations, procurement, and ship construction all
drive Tactics.

You're arguing stupid pointless details because you havn't figured out
what considerations make up the background to those details.

By analogy:  I havn't decided whether to paint my house or install
siding.  You are each trying to convince me of the value of a
particular shade of red paint.

I'm not even sure I want to paint the house, much less whether it should
be red!

Point Three:  
Stop thinking in terms of equal point battles.	Those are
(historically speaking) about as common as two-headed calves.  If you
are trying to think in terms of a universe's reality, then ignore the
game convention of equal point battles.

Point Four:  
Enough about Gibralter already.  Space is neither an ocean with tiny
chokepoints where you can build fortresses, nor is it like land
warfare with mountains and passes and whatnot.	A warp point is not
"like" Gibralter or the Cumberland Gap, or the Suez Canal.  A warp
point is a warp point.

Point Five:
If you havn't read at least two of the Starfire novels AND/OR played a
dozen warp point assaults in the Starfire game system, please shut the
hell up because you're rehashing points that are made in those places
with a good deal more coherency.

John
-- 
"Thousands of Sarmatians, Thousands of Franks, we've slain them again
and again.  We're looking for thousands of Persians."
--Vita Aureliani