Re: [GZG] Monster ships

Well, a lot of this comes down to what kind of game you want to play.  I
generally like to play custom games (and have been doing so long enough
that fleet book ships just feel worse and worse to me when I have to go
back), but I also like being able to play on a living room floor.  I
mean, if I really wanted to I could go twist the IJN rules around like a
balloon animal and make sure that my dreadplanet is covering the entire
play board in three meter diameter wavefronts from a class 97
hyperspatial distortion cannon fired from the next house down every
other turn for about 40 turns before it even shows up at my end of the
board... but I'm not convinced that's a game I still want to play. 
There does come a point _somewhere_ where I think the general weapon
types in the game ought to stay at least somewhat close to what's
provided in range and firepower.  The game plays better that way. 
Sprinkle in PSB for why nobody does it as necessary.  (Active scanning
range is only 36 
 MU in most versions, so it could be as simple as, "if you can't scan
it, you can't fire control accurately on it either.")

On the other hand, I don't mind making a bit more use of class 4 beams
or class 3 grasers as the ships get bigger at all.  There's a lot of
different game that can be played rather creatively, and still have a
decent story behind it, if one digs for it.

As for me, I just went and decided that K-guns can have their chances to
do double damage reduced by 1 for each layer of armor there is on the
target ship, rather like how old Kra'Vak armor used to work.  Somewhere
between that and Cross Dimensions' advanced screens, that end of the
design universe is pretty well filled in for my tastes.

E

-----Original Message-----
>From: Tom B <kaladorn@gmail.com>
>Sent: Jan 5, 2010 8:46 PM
>To: gzg-l@mail.csua.berkeley.edu
>Subject: Re: [GZG] Monster ships
>
>When I had suggested longer ranged weapons, I wasn't thinking of the
>ISD (by the way, love the SSD, got a mass and NPV/CPV to go with it?
>And are there any rules for special damage as I see you appear to have
>sectioned up the SSD..?), more the 'dreadplanet' (read: arbitrarily
>large ship).
>
>It seems to me if you are building the 'death orb', big beams are your
>thing. If you are in vector with fast rotation, you can probably get
>away with narrow arc. Get a bunch of beams with range 60"+. Get enough
>thrust to maintain distance with standard enemy units or to at least
>make their closure rate slow. Be prepared to use jump to evade if they
>close with you. If you can limit closure rates and/or use jump
>evasion, then you can pretty much pound the daylights out of the enemy
>before they get to you.
>
>Of course, that ignores a number of factors which can shoot down such
>a design. One is superfast enemy locust swarms with short range beams.
>Another is a non-compliant enemy, who, recognizing you are holding
>open range to pound him, adjusts vector away.... he can 'refuse to
>play' your game and force at least a stalemate. And of course, some
>battles will be over geography, so simply jumping out when the enemy
>closes may not be workable.
>
>However, if your enemy is foolish enough to chase, and if you can
>thrust-rotate-shoot-rotate-thrust in fairly quick order to limit
>closure, then you will pulverize the foe. It's like a poor man's
>Kaufman Retrograde (without any actual retrograde thrust).
>
>The thing about FT is you can almost always envision situations where
>a given design is optimal or useful and scenarios where it gets owned
>by other types of design. And, with certain assumptions, you can make
>a campaign work one way or another - fighters dominant/useless, big
>ships only/small ships required, etc. You can justify most flavours
>with a little thought.
>
>Me, I still miss old Kra'vak armour. :)
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