Re: Re: [GZG] John's Shipbuilding

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http://lists.csua.berkeley.edu/mailman/listinfo/gzg-lOn 1/18/06, Grant
A. Ladue <ladue@cse.buffalo.edu> wrote:
>
>
>    I agree, whether a *race* would surrender or abandon it's ships is
more
> of
> a campaign or setting issue.	I think that the issue of whether it's
> *possible* to surrender ships in battle is something we can talk about
in
> general game terms.
>    What I'm getting at here is that the major problem for surrendering
> your
> damaged/sinking ship in modern times (WWI -> ) seems to be
communicating
> that
> surrender to the other side.	Combat from WWI onwards was frequently
not
> fought at the kind of ranges where a visual "white flag" was feasible,
and
> the comm equipment on a ship is often knocked out along with it's
fighting
> ability.  It's in these circumstances where abandoning ship may be the
> only
> way to demonstrate that you are no longer a combatant.  Off hand, I
can't
> think of a single surface ship that surrendered during combat from WWI
> on.  A
> few submarines did, but they could demonstrate their surrender by
moving
> from
> their normal fighting position (underwater) to the surface and then
not
> manning the quite visible guns.  Surface ships don't have that luxury.
 I
> would think that spaceships have the same problem.  It seems like the
> convention that has evolved is the "honorable" way to surrender is to
> abandon
> your ship after ensuring that it will be destroyed after most of the
crew
> is
> off.	It gives the crew a shot (perhaps just a long long shot) at
survival
> without handing over valuable property and info to the enemy.  I would
> expect
> that space combat would be similiar, although I can see an argument
for
> having the surrender mechanism be to eject the power core and
subsequently
> destroying any secret weapons or info on board.  This would be so that
the
> life support of the remaining vessel could be used for the crew until
> other
> arrangements can be made.

Could this be a resolution level below FT's granularity setting? Kinda
would
be covered with the 'striking the colours' rule, just PSBing it one way
or
the other, no?

As for no ships surrendering since WWI, maybe that's just an artifact of
how
war at sea has evolved. I have this vague impression (remember: this is
Tuesday, and Tuesday is just a lot of leftover Monday...no, wait, this
is
Wednesday - hoo boy!) there was a whole different mindset with regards
to
naval warfare and end results of damaged/losing side ships pre-WWI than
post-WWI.

Mk