Re: [GZG] FTL Jump in Tunnyverse

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http://lists.csua.berkeley.edu/mailman/listinfo/gzg-lOn 12/30/05, Nyrath
the nearly wise <nyrathwiz@comcast.net> wrote:

>	 The master list of FTL drives in science fiction is at
>	 http://www.projectrho.com/rocket/rocket3v.html#stardrives
>
>	 In wargames, most favor using a "jump-point" system
>	 like the one used in STARFIRE or in the novel
>	 The Mote In God's Eye, for the simple reason
>	 that it makes strategically interesting wargames.

GURPS Space in it's various editions also gives a good overview of "all
the
myriad ways" to go FTL, with the added perspective of their gaming
potential. GURPS was planning on using a revamp of the classic Tri-Tac
as a
space combat system, but those plans were altered for mysterious reasons
known only to the Illuminated. I've never played Tri-Tac or even seen
the
rules, so I wonder how they compare to Full Thrust, which is my current
favorite for Versatile Space Gaming.

For my current project of simulating the new Battlestar Galactica with
Full
Thrust, the insta-jump drives seen on the show gives the Armchair
Admiral in
me a real headache. You can't really force battles because anyone at
a disadvantage simply jumps away to safety. The only way to have a real
battle is to strike strategically valuable targets, like an Asteroid
rich in
Tylium, or inhabited planets. The rest of the battles would be one or
two
turn potshot ambushes that always end with a hasty escape... perfect for
a
refugee fleet, but entirely unsatisfactory for a tactical wargame.

What the Cylons need to do is invent an Interdictor field like what the
Star
Wars Empire has. But that would spell doom for the Rag Tag Fleet, so
it's
dramatically inappropriate. Maybe there could be Teleport Beacons that
would
suck Jumps off course... or some kind of barrier like in the Last
Starfighter.... I dunno.

The Man in Black is : Kenneth Scroggins
Novus Ordo Seclorum : Annuit Coeptus : E Pluribus Unum
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