26

(31 replies, posted in Iron Stars)

themattcurtis wrote:

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.
Kevin

I'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

27

(31 replies, posted in Iron Stars)

underling wrote:

It's there Rich, it's just not being used.
wink
I put together a critical hit chart for IS very similar to the one that's in Grand Fleets.
Kevin

Pfui.  Ought to be in by now, at least as an optional rule.  Every time I try to convince wet navy gamers to try IS, the critical hit rules are one of the first things they ask about.

Rich

28

(16 replies, posted in Miniatures)

brigadetony wrote:

The next batch of IS models (three Austro-Huns, the Volga and the Gamma) are due any day now ... as they have been for a while, I admit ...  :oops:

That would be nice.  You still waiting on the sails?

Unless I've missed an update, yes, they do.  Pretty darned good against them, too, since the fighter ability to halve shields doesn't work on PDS.

Sounds like Missile Racks have the "No Range Modifiers" trait.  In this case, Stealth Generators would prevent you from firing in the last 1/3 of your range (limiting you to 8 hexes if the base range is 12, or 12 if it's 18), but the die roll to hit at shorter ranges wouldn't change.

31

(31 replies, posted in Iron Stars)

themattcurtis wrote:

Gas equipped shells are the best DD killer.  Or black smoke. The DD longevity issue/quirk is the only problem I have with the damage track -- and to me it's a really minor thing.  And I guess I'm really not that disturbed when you look at historical wet navy battles where DEs (even smaller than destroyers) were getting hit by MULTIPLE heavy shells and not sinking .....IE look at what the US destroyers endured during Taffy 3's engagement at Leyte Gulf.  Logic would tell you a single BB main gun hit should have blown those things out of the water -- but overpenetration kept them going far longer than anyone would have expected.  Got a few books that describe that phenomena. AP shells passing clean through the little boats and basically causing only a fraction of the damage that they should have.

Why can't the same be true, to a degree, for ether destroyers?

Well, true.  But by the same token, where are the "one hit kill" critical results ala the Hood?  And what about "flooding" (pressure leaks in IS) and fires, both of which were major slow-death ship killers historically, but really don't show up in IS?  The damage you take in IS is fairly predictable, and none of it lingers around as a gradually worsening effect.

Might be room for some rules expansion there, if the added complexity can be kept down to a minimum.

Rich

32

(31 replies, posted in Iron Stars)

cricket wrote:
hundvig wrote:

I like the d20 thing fine as is, but there are a couple of things I'd like to see tweaked.  Nothing should be "invisible" on the damage track, there should always be at least a 5% chance of scoring (say) engine damage no matter how few MPs and how many secondaries/light guns you've got.  Conversely, I'd like the game a lot better if engine hits knocked out a given porportion (maybe 25 or 50%) of your total MPs (minimum of one) rather than the current one-for-one ratio.  The current ability to soak damage with your destroyer engines bugs me no end.

Yeah... I know that seems counterintuitive. But if we made hull hits more common on smaller ships, then the point cost differential would be even greater. Right now, your typical destroyer is about 1/30 the cost of your typical battleship.

Yeah, I can see the problem...but it still bugs me.  The fact that it makes torps (with their d12-more-likely-to-score-hull damage rolls) a primo anti-destroyer weapon is part of it.  I've seen Medium hulls built as torpedo cruisers acting as one-ship anti-destroyer screens a little too often, I guess.  Wet navy torps were supposed to be for cracking capital ships, not sinking destroyers, although I'll concede that the latter did happen now and then.  Torps also don't take size/speed mods on their attacks, do they?  Or am I crossing game systems again?

33

(39 replies, posted in Starmada)

murtalianconfederacy wrote:

Does he have ionic shielding? If not, just get one or two guns with Ignores Shields/Increased Damage. I know its not a very 'gentlemanly' approach, but having Organic Hull isn't either. I only use Organic Hull for some races, and they tend to be lower-tech than the inorganic ships.

Speaking for the Hive Mind, our collective intelligence refuses to acknowledge the anti-adaptive concept of "gentlemanly behavior" that you fragile monominds embrace.  Fair play is merely a delusion brought on by your race's psychic isolation from one another.  Plus, you're just jealous of our superior genostructure.  smile

Tactics-wise, the key to fighting Organic Hulls is to "thump, not tap" and concentrate your fire.  If you hit them hard enough to score one-turn kills, there won't be any regeneration rolls, and they've spent 10% of their SUs and a boatload of CR for that ability.  Shoot to kill, never to wound, and if you don't have the firepower to wreck the smallest enemy target, it's time to start pumping your hyperdrive before things really start to go bad...

Rich

34

(31 replies, posted in Iron Stars)

I like the d20 thing fine as is, but there are a couple of things I'd like to see tweaked.  Nothing should be "invisible" on the damage track, there should always be at least a 5% chance of scoring (say) engine damage no matter how few MPs and how many secondaries/light guns you've got.  Conversely, I'd like the game a lot better if engine hits knocked out a given porportion (maybe 25 or 50%) of your total MPs (minimum of one) rather than the current one-for-one ratio.  The current ability to soak damage with your destroyer engines bugs me no end.

The latter would require rather a lot of repointing, especially on smaller ships.  Which means it probably won't happen.  But I'd like IS even better if it did.  smile

1) Crew Casualties. These automatically cause a hull hit, which doesn't translate easily (or at all) to this new system.

2) Torpedoes. These roll D12s for damage location, increasing the chances of hull and armour hits, something that can't easily be done in this new system.

3) Hull Victory Points. Right now, you gain VPs for every hull hit inflicted; again, this doesn't translate.

Just to play Devil's Advocate, you could get around all three problems by just declaring your "blank" and "X" damage track boxes to be Hull, couldn't you?  Have Torps automatically score their first-third-fifth points only against Hull, and Crew losses always only against Hull...

Rich