Oh.  So it has been thought of, good.

But I really don't want to buy another book for some design options.  Maybe I'll just stick to flying Klingons as I got lots of miniatures of those, just a few Romulan ships.

Thanks for listening and replying.

Our battles here, between Beowulf and myself mostly, with our longer ranged weapons than those in the book (we go with 18, where as I see a lot of range 12 & 15 in the book), tend to be at medium range a lot more than long.  Usually one turn is at long and several at medium before 1 - 3 turns at short range After that it becomes a mix of short and medium, with cripples heading off to deep space    and at long range for a bit.

I thought max range was 30? (goes to spreadsheet to check).  Yup. 

Any issue having seekers at speed 15?  I haven't played a game yet, so maybe 12 is fast enough. 
I changed a couple weapon line limits from -12 to -15, for the plasma torpedo, to see how it turns out.  Perhaps I'll drop it back to speed 12.   Just to give a hint to Beowulf what the Romulan Condor DN might be armed with:

Plasma-R Torpedo Launcher    MA-15    1×2+/5/5  Cts; Pr1; Slw    [Base SU=53.3]
(1) AB ☐☐
Plasma-F Torpedo Launcher    MA-15    1×2+/4/2  Cts; Pr1; Slw    [Base SU=32.6]
(1) ABC ☐ | ABD ☐

(yeah, could put double Slw on them, but these are quick charge plasma torps.    )

An option I thought about would be to have a degrading IMP per turn, sort of like Sct but only for seekers.  Plasma torpedoes in SFB lost damage potential the further they travelled.  Don't know how to implement that idea.

IMO, the Mdl trait is cheating.  I could understand it for a certain cyBORG faction. But just willy nilly anyone can have it?  *ugh*
Maybe I should call Beowulf "Borgwulf", based on his new ship design.  :mrgreen:

Have you read any of the Man-Kzin Wars books?  Kzinti pretty much treat all other species as prey.  The reason humans have won every war against the Kzinti is because they're lousy strategists and tend to think all other species are inferior.  They do now give humans some respect.

So you took one lousy example, show that it's not all that effective, and say the game is good.

I took your example, which I cost out to 242 but that's not important for this discussion, and I changed the missile to have a 3+ ACC, launching 162 missiles for 242 cost.  108 missiles will hit, 54 will penetrate average shields, 27 do hull damage, and killing just about anything on the field.   With a speed of 6 several seekers could be shot down before reaching their target, but that is too subjective to judge and you avoided that issue as well.   By the way, very few book ships have a chance to shoot down the seekers at striking time since few book point defense weapons have Dfn.  Pnp by itself is nearly worthless as a point defense option. 

Just to show I've looked at it more than once.
Target: Commonwealth Republic-class Dreadnought. With 5 shields only 18 seekers get through doing 9 hull damage which is half of its hull..  Survivable, but it is wounded by a frigate less than half its cost.
With 69 Mdl seekers: 46 hit, 23 hull damage.  Dead dreadnought.

Target: Arcturian Thunderbolt-class Advanced Cruiser.  With 4 shields only 36 seekers get through doing 12 hull (18 but 1/3 negated by Ionized Hull.  It has 13 hull points.  It will not be in good shape, and all other systems will get hit 6 times out of the 7 boxes each has.
With 69 Mdl seekers: 46 hit, 15 hull damage.  Dead cruiser.

Target: Arcturian Cromwell-class: 18 seekers, 6 hull damage (Ionized).  Half of its hits.
With 69 Mdl seekers: 46 hit, 15 hull damage, another dead cruiser.

Target: Kalaedinese Heavy Cruiser, with AFB and Countermeasures this seemed interesting.  Seekers now have 5+ to hit, so 36 hit, 18 penetrate shields, doing 9 hull damage out of the 11 it has.  Each system takes 6 hits, which is all they have, so the ship is mission killed.
With 69 Mdl seekers: 23 hit,  11 hull hits (favoring the defender), no matter, dead cruiser.

Target: Korath Dreadnought.  Oh, a toughie, that one will put up a fight.  Too bad all those point defense don't have Dfn. Fire at its support ships, let the rest of the fleet deal with this one.  But here goes... tell ya what, I want to save this post I've spent a lot of time making this so I'll follow up with another post later. Besides, I want to redesign it with Dfn on its point defense system.

I'm working hard at this, but so far I've only come up with an expensive solution.

That's not how a lot of the real gaming world works.  Min-maxing is part of competitive play and miniatures gaming is very competitive.  This is not some mamby-pamby Euro-trash board game (said with tongue in cheek since my game store sells lots of those).

You could limit the number of seeker flights launched, equivalent to the maximum of fighter flights launched (sqrt of ship hull, drop fractions).  It still can be a lot of seekers, but at least anti-seeker defenses might be able to handle it some.

I've seen your Arizona designs.  Here's one of my Klingon designs, but now obsolete if you're going with Mdl. (that's expensive).  I put the damage limits in front of the weapons/categories.  IMO, seems more intuitive than at the end.

(700) Klingon D10-class Attack Cruiser
Tech: Engines +2; Shields +1; Weapons +2

Shields: 4 4 3 2 2 1
Screens: 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Hull: 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Engines: 5 5 4 3 2 1
Weapons: 22 19 15 11 8 4

Disruptor 6-12-18 1×3+/2/2 Pr1
(1) GHIJ ☐| GHIK ☐
Phaser-1 6-12-18 1×3+/1/3
(3) GHIJK ☐☐| GHJ ☐☐| GIK ☐☐
Phaser-2 6-12-18 1×3+/1/2
(1) JKL ☐☐
Gatling Phaser 3-6-9 4×3+/1/1 Dfn; Pnp
(1) 360 ° ☐
Defense Array 1-2-* 2×3+/1/1 Crn; Dfn; Pnp
(3) 360 ° ☐☐☐☐☐

(3) EQUIPMENT
Hyperdrive ☐| Tractor Beam ☐☐☐☐☐

MUNITIONS
Marines : 4 3 2 1

Traits: Cargo (1); Science (2)

But the game should be balanced at all TLs.

How about this for a defense against massive seeker barrage:

Wave Burst  (1-2-*)  3x3+/*/1 (Crn; Dfn; Pnp; Prx; Sct)

You fire it 2 hexes away.  You could fire it in the same hex of the seekers so you don't suffer the -1, if you don't mind taking damage as well.  Does Countermeasures work against your own weapons?

Does Scatter increase the IMP if an adjacent hex is one range band closer?  In this case, at range 2 (medium) IMP is 2, does IMP become 3 at the adjacent targets now at close range?

I suppose one cannot fire into your own hex?  So you would need pairs, one to fire in either direction, if seekers are coming in all direction.  If not, that's more to fire in one direction.

edit: hadn't looked at Scatter option until after first post.

Drydock values for ECM scores and Defensive Rating are off from my rulebook (v1.1).

Size 10 hull, no defenses:  DRAT: Drydock: 14.25, my math (spreadsheet and by hand): 16.7.
Seems like the 1.67 constant value would be 1.425 instead, works for any hull size.

ECM score:  my book / Drydock: 1 = 0.82 / 0.8, 2 = 1.65 / 1.62, 3 = 2.5 / 2.42, 4 = 3.37 / 3.31, 5 = 4.25 / 4.17

Have the numbers changed?  I haven't found any errata for them.

(edit):
Hyperdrive defense score: (my book) 0.43 / (Drydock) 0.44; Fire Control defense score: 0.82 / (Drydock) 0.86

I come up with different ORAT for Range 3 weapons.  Example: (Thrust 5) 1 weapon, BAS 1, arc FX: ORAT 8.88, Drydock: 8.63.
All the other ranges are fine.

Armor defense scores do not match the book, either.

Putting in more than 1 fighter trait causes erroneous values.

The first Mauler-equipped ship was Romulan.

Here is something I wrote up a few years ago, keeping it simple, and originally for the Admiralty edition.  It is loosely based on an old computer game: Empire from the PLATO system (both are described in Wikipedia).  Now I might use Space Empires 4X as a basis for a strategic campaign.

[size=150]Wild Empires[/size]

Rules for a space-based strategic campaign

By Glen Bailey

Introduction
This document contains rules for conducting a multi-player strategic-level space war with an emphasis on space fleet strength being the determining factor on many outcomes and eventually determining a winner.  The main purpose of this campaign is to provide spaceship to spaceship battles with an overall goal in mind.
The rules are written as generic as possible, but some rules have to relate to the tactical rules system being used, which with this writing is Starmada.
Some game systems may have other ship systems.  Treat armor boxes like hull boxes for repair.

Historical Background
The campaign takes place where several interstellar empires meet.  Years earlier, a previous war became a costly stalemate that led to a peace treaty creating buffer, or neutral, areas between the empires.  That peace treaty has expired and no one wants to renew, as the planets of the buffer areas have developed into prizes worth fighting for.

Each player is a representative, whether that would be an admiral of the fleet, a provincial governor, or a baron of business, of his respective space empire and winning this war could very possibly lead to his succession of becoming the new leader of that empire.

General Rules

Game concepts

Empire is the term used for each player's interstellar polity although it can be named anything else, such as a Confederation, a Republic, a Federation, a Union, a Domain, or a Hegemony.

A sector is one section of the map that contains a planet.  Spaceships move strategically from sector to sector.
An area represents starting areas for setting up the map.  An area can contain numerous contiguous sectors.

A planet represents the main location in a sector such that owning that planet allows the owner to have control over the entire sector, including any income and production capabilities of that sector.

The Map
The strategic map consists of areas that are either neutral or controlled by one of the empires at the beginning of the game. 

Generating a map
If creating your own map, equally spread out each empire's controlled areas around a large neutral area and separate the empires with narrow neutral areas starting from the large central neutral area and extending to the edge of the map.

Each empire's area shall have of one A-class planet, the player's home planet and base of operations, and two B-class planets.  The large central neutral area should contain one A-class planet per two players and one B-class planet per player. Each narrow neutral area should contain at least one planet, but may contain more.  These areas should be equal in planet worth for fairness. 

Add or subtract one or more planets to the central area if necessary so that the total number of planets on the map is an odd number.

Section the map such that each planet is in its own sector and that each sector should border at least two other sectors.

Insert empty sectors if desired.  These sectors may never be owned or controlled.

Costs/Income
All costs and income are in terms Starmada's CRAT (Combat Rating).
All ships must have a CRAT greater than zero.
Troops cost 1 per troop.

Starting Forces
All empire-controlled A-class planets start with 5000 troops and all empire-controlled B-class planets start with 2000 troops.  Neutral A-class planets start with 2500 troops and neutral B-class planets start with 1000 troops.  These values are also the maximum number of troops that can be on a planet.

Each player has 10000 points to use to buy their starting space fleet or additional troops.  These forces begin at the player's A-class planet.

Optional: Players get a free base at their home planet for its defense.  This base must have the same cost/combat value for each player.

Sequence of Play
One strategic game turn consists of:

    Movement and Combat Phase 1
    Move Step
    Plot FTL movement of spaceships.
    Move spaceships.
    Combat Step
    Spaceship combat
    Bombardment
    Troop combat
    Transfer Step
    A planet's ownership may be transferred to another player.
    Movement and Combat Phase 2
    Movement and Combat Phase 3
    Movement and Combat Phase 4
    Victory Check Phase
    Economics Phase
    Increase troops on all planets.
    A-class planets get 100 troops.
    B-class planets get 50 troops.
    Income Step
    Receive points from your empire.
    Get points for planets you control.
    Maintenance Step
    A non-troop unit may be scrapped for 25% of its cost.
    Repair damaged ships.
    Production Step
    Pay for new forces.
    Place new forces.

Economics
An A-class planet produces 100 per turn.  A B-class planet produces 50 per turn.

An A-class planet can repair any amount of damage, build 12 new fighters, and raise up to 200 troops.  A B-class planet can repair a total of 50 hull, build up to six new fighters, and raise 100 troops.

An empire's starting A-class planet can build any number of ships, fighters, and troops, as well as repair any number of hull.  If the empire has lost his starting A-class planet then one of the B-class starting planets can be designated as a new temporary base of operations and be treated as an A-class planet for new construction and repair until the original A-class planet is retaken.  If an empire has none of his starting planets then that empire must fight with what forces he has and what can be built from planets he does own.

During each Income Step all planets receive a free increase of troops.

Victory
When a player controls more than half of all the planets on the map during the Victory Check Phase he has won the game.

Repairs
A spaceship's systems are repaired after a combat.  Hull damage must be repaired at a controlled planet during the Economic Phase.  The cost is 1% of the ship's CRAT per hull box repaired (round any fraction up to the next whole number).

FTL movement
A spaceship with an operating FTL drive (Starmada: Hyperdrive) may move from one sector to an adjacent sector.

Simple logistics
One of the two sectors, either the starting sector or the destination sector, must be neutral or owned by the player controlling the spaceship.

If a spaceship retreats from a combat then it must move to a sector that the spaceship's player controls or is neutral at the beginning of this Movement and Combat Phase.  If this is not possible then either the ship fights to the death, is scuttled (destroyed), or is captured by the player controlling the sector it moved to, in which case treat all but one hull box as destroyed.

Spaceship combat
Spaceship combat may be conducted in any manner agreeable to all.  Terrain may be added.  As an option, pick certain planets or sectors at set up to have a particular terrain (i.e., one B-class planet is an asteroid field so all combat at that location must use asteroids in the playing area).  But one rule must be followed: all spaceships that are in the sector where combat will take place in a Movement and Combat Phase must be in play.

Bombardment
Spaceships and fighter squadrons may conduct bombardment on a planet containing enemy troops if no enemy spaceships exist in the sector.

Spaceships and fighter squadrons bombard a planet as if doing one round of combat at a range of 1; all weapons may be fired (no arc limitations).  Planetary defenses are: (Starmada: A-class planets have a shield level of 3 and B-class planets have a shield level of 1; both are treated as having Armor Plating).  Each damage point destroys one troop, but the last 100 troops on a planet cannot be killed by bombardment as they are too well dug in.
Option: taking neutral planets is easier due to their lower technology: every damage point destroys two troops.
Spaceships and fighter squadrons that bombard are attacked by the planet's defensive weapons.  For every 500 troops, or fraction of, on the planet (before combat starts), treat the planet as having one weapon (Starmada: Anti-fighter Battery; Full Thrust: PDS), which gets to fire at every spaceship and fighter squadron that bombards.
Option: taking neutral planets is easier due to their lower technology: reduce the number of defensive weapons by 1.

Game designer note: allowing the defensive weapons to fire on every bombarding unit is a simple approach and avoids having to decide where to target the defensive weapons and who gets to decide.  It also allows players to conduct their own bombardment and planet return fire to help speed play.  If individual targeting for planet defenses is desired, then for every 100 troops the planet gets a defensive weapon.

Troop capacity
One troop space holds one troop.

Troop combat and planet control
A planet can only have one player's troops, or neutral troops.  Whoever has troops on a planet owns the planet.  Use troops to invade a planet to take ownership of the planet and control of the sector. 
Troop combat is simple: losses are 2:1, the invader loses 2 troops while the defender loses 1 troop.  If the invader has troops remaining after the defender has none then the invader has won and taken ownership of the planet.

Option: taking neutral planets is easier due to their lower technology: losses are 1:1, the invader loses 1 troop to every troop the defender loses.

Option: (Starmada) Each Hospital space on a ship in the sector returns 0.1 troop lost to combat after the combat is over if the invaders win, up to 10% of the total losses (drop any fractions).  Defenders get 20% of their losses back if they win (drop any fractions).

Sample map for 4 players

Planet classification, A or B, is noted in parenthesis.
Where sector border lines intersect movement is allowed across the diagonal.  For examples, a spaceship can move from Bau to Harindair, or from Harindair to Felindus, or from Jaras to Dertninbu, or from Crigel to Whylsn.
Two planets, Jaras/Jynnes and Whylsn, are modified for providing terrain for tactical combat.  Treat each as one planet for strategic purposes.
Note that no two planets start with the same letter (excepting Jaras and Jynnes but they are in the same sector).  This can simplify movement orders by using the first letter of the planet/sector the spaceships are moving from or to (e.g., Avenger : G to N).

[img]<URL url="http://s856.photobucket.com/user/GamingGlen/media/empiremap_zps52924fa8.png.html">[IMG]http://i856.photobucket.com/albums/ab129/GamingGlen/empiremap_zps52924fa8.png[/img]</URL>[/img]</r>

I saw that, and was pleased.  Perhaps it's more to do with the the massive hulls and armor that Beowulf puts on his ships, using the Fragile system option to put on more of them.  I've built many ships of varrious sizes with various shield strengths, and none have held up compared to his designs.

Mostly though, it stems from his ships hardly getting thesholds for the automatic 2 box hits for systems.  Ablative armor, which we do not play with here (I think it's too cheap an option after trying it a few times) makes it more so.

But, perhaps I found a chink in his designs.  Our last battle, where I designed massive hull and armor ships with Fragile systems (on the same point value scale, i.e., 400-600 pt ships to his 500ish pt ships), but included Fire Control with the caveat that at short and medium ranges my ships will always use 1 thrust for evasive maneuvers which the FC counteracts.  Once his ships got thresholded then he had very little fire power, -2 (weapon damage) + -1 (evasive) for -3 shift, compared to mine.  This was one of the most balanced games we've played in a long while, but then I stopped fighting the urge to use shields and went Fragile+hull+armor.

IMO, Fragile systems might be a touch too cheap.  Perhaps making the Equipment chance for damage go from 1,2,3 to 1,2,3,4 might balance it more. Seems like the regular system checks is more severe than it is for Equipment damage checks when going from Normal to Fragile systems.

It's turning a game into an abstraction.  Instead of rolling for each weapon with modifiers, let's pool all the weapons and modify that.  This also applies to damage. We no longer damage individual weapons, we damage them all at once.

The next version, Starmada Cosmic Edition, will probably just be a comparison of Offensive Combat Rating vs. Defensive Combat Rating, with a Movement Rating being used for a modifier for Initiative.  As long as the math is correct it should play the same, right?