Whether a game is point based or not probably shouldn't factor in to this.
Eventhough GF is not point based, losing an important ship with one critical hit could still put a serious hurt on that side's chances of winning a scenario. Much as it would in IS.
So I think the effect in both games would be much the same, eventhough one uses points and one doesn't.
KevinI'm going to disagree with that.
I do think a system that's built around the possibility of a balanced pickup game, where points are used to ensure the two sides are on equal terms, could be thrown out of kilter by a mechanic where a single hit takes out a 300 point ship.
It's a pretty basic disagreement, though, so we're not gonna see eye to eye on it.
I think he's absolutely correct, having (or lacking) a point system doesn't really matter here. The scenario breaks down whether it's a nameless 300 pointer going up in smoke or the Hood getting sunk by a fluke shot. That happens, you might as well call it a game and start over. One-hit kill crits are problematic no matter how you implement them.
OTOH, what I'm asking for is more unpredictable and varied damage effects, not simply (or even mostly) a chance at one-hit kills. The wet-navy types I mentioned earlier felt that IS is too predictable in terms of how damage is scored, and they really disliked the lack of "continuing damage" (leaking, fires) effects. Whether they're entirely correct is questionable, but I have to admit I'd like the game better with a bit more variation. Certainly adding some chance of ongoing hull leaks or fires would feel more "naval" without losing the spacegoing aspect of IS.
FWIW, they *do* really like the minefield rules. Never seen a bunch of guys having so much fun figuring out how to drop templates on each other. Go figure...
Rich