Re: Beta Fighter game report

Finally laying aside the adage that it is better to remain silent and
allow
others to think you a fool than to speak and remove all doubt...

***
Except that it's not especially plausible, a ballistic asteroid
doesn't care unless you have really, really big mines, and it's not
generic.
***

Fortunately, as I've mentioned before, ballistic asteroids of a size
that
don't care about minefields, take years to DECADES to aim, i.e., adjust
orbit, with the target probably doing SOMETHING all the time.

***
> It's a problem of vector movement,

In the FT context, it is equally a problem with cinematic movement.

The solutions would appear to be:
a) put a speed limit on everything (eg because of the density of the
luminiferous aether)
b) allow gravel clouds or similar defenses
c) break the turn's fire and movement into increments so that
high-speed ships aren't miraculously immune to fire
***

d) admit that FTII is a tactical game, and HV attacks, being outside the
scope of any reasonably-sized playing surface, is a
campaign/operational/strategic issue.

In cinematic, which I refer to as 'vector in a limited range', extending
to
'ludicrous speed' the same turning points as
it'll-keep-you-on-the-table-speeds gives results that just break down.
I'm
happy with cinematic as an approximation, just not with folks that say
it
should stretch to all circumstances.

Anyway, how do you know the end points of an HV move, "the turn's
fire...",
aren't outside the table?

At speeds more than twice the MU of the playing surface, odds are they
aren't. If different rules for shooting would apply, different rules for
movement SHOULD apply.

c) They aren't immune; they aren't there.

***
Which works very nicely until the attacking player asks you to explain
*how* the defenders managed to intercept the attacking force and force
them

into a running battle. Just saying "they do" is usually not a sufficient
answer for this kind of player; you'll have to describe the initial
deployments and subsequent manoeuvres used by the defenders to create
the
converging interception necessary for a running battle. It is... a
non-trivial problem, shall we say.
***

I thought it was trivial; if you wish to approach, I will stand between.
If
you do not engage, you do not approach.

Dopey moi.

I always thought that you could avoid the fight, just not if you were
committed to a destination.

The_Beast