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It's also worth considering the fact that, all other things being equal, it is not easy to close the range on a target that's actively trying to avoid you. If the enemy is backing away, you can expect to close at only half your movement speed, barring use of Emergency Thrust. And if his guns are pointed out the rear of his ship (leaving him to back into combat) you'll never catch him.
With many ships that will leave you taking at least two turns of long range fire, and if that damage scores engine hits, you may not be closing at all.
Inverted Range-Based weapons stand an excellent chance of holding an opponent at their favored range, and they need to be paying for that. A 3.0 mod may seem high compared to vanilla weapons, but don't forget that you can effectively save some mass by skimping on firing arcs. You want/need to stay at long range anyway, where narrow arcs hurt you the least.
Rich
All of those ideas sound like worthy additions to me, but some of the specifics are bothersome:
The slow firing mods may be too generous, since a weapon that fires half as often is probably more than half as effective as a once-per-turn gun. There's a fair chance that you won't have a good firing opportunity *every* turn, after all. Slow weapons might miss good shots now and then too, but I don't think they suffer as much from the problem.
Ponderous might be better as an increased turn cost (x2 or x3) rather than a turning radius. That way turning tightly will still (effectively) require you to slow down, but you won't have scale issues popping up. It's kind of hard to imagine a spaceship that can't turn in place anyway (albeit slowly), no matter how big it is.
Interceptable would be a nice (and overdue) weapon mod, but I don't know if actually resolving defensive fire one shot at a time is a great idea. I'd rather see some kind of abstracted "assign guns to interception mode" (maybe during movement plotting) and have Interceptable weapons suffer a to-hit mod based on the volume of assigned defensive fire.
Some of you may recall my rantings about combat microbots from way back in the yahoo group days.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061117/sc_nm/mideast_weapons_dc
Looks like they're on the way...or perhaps the Israelis have had them for a while now and are finally deciding to use them.
I wonder if they've really thought about how useful those hornets would be to a terrorist organization? If the tech is simple enough to be cheap, it'll also be simple enough to recreate. What a pleasant thought.
Rich
tnjrp wrote:No, unless you are using Techno Fantasy genre modifications (pg. 120).
Note the rules about units overlapping each other, though. While you can spread out as much as you want, it may limit your movement later on.
jygro wrote:I have yet to win Barbarian Prince even though I have tried at least 2 dozen times (I've been killed in the first day). Unfortunately the one I really want to see and read through is one that isn't available for download (Dragon Rage). What could be more fun than destroying a city with dragons...
-Bren
FWIW, Barbarian Prince is probably one of the easier ones to print out for yourself. No counters, and the map is pretty basic. Mostly just lots and lots of encounter listings. Wonderfully satisfying game when you actually manage to win, and unlike most solo quest games there are lots and lots of different ways to do so. More likely you'll die of thirst in a desert wasteland, or be hacked to bits by bandits, or the asassins will catch up to you...but those endings are kind of fun too.
Star Smuggler is at least as versatile, albeit a little more predictable. I can dimly remember running a 1st Ed GURPS Space campaign set in that universe.
Dragon Rage is very, very good. Clever, many approaches to victory, and lots of replay value. Maybe Pulsipher can find you a copy? Or twist his arm into getting a reprint done, maybe without such damnably tiny counters/hexes. I know I'd buy the game as a $30 boxed set, and I've still got a copy even. 
Rich
Heh. I've still got my set, but it's nice to see folks who missed them can get them as downloads. Great games, all in all, with the really good ones (which is pretty much everything but the Goblin game in my book) being some of the best microgames ever.
Rich
thedugan wrote:cricket wrote:hundvig wrote:Nudge, nudge...
I consider myself nudged.
I must confess that I am still distracted by the possibility of a more "modern" sci-fi setting using the Iron Stars mechanics... I keep wondering about the SFO universe...
Hmmm......
Is this a hint that you're considering a release of... (wait for it)
Iron Stars: Star Fleet Omega?
Heh...that would be cool....but we really need more 'fictions support' on that.
Don't look at me, I already did my sector writeup. Well, mostly. Maybe I should go back and fiddle with that some more when I get some time.
IS:SFO would be kind of neat, though. Need some tweaking to give it a more modern feel, while remaining vaguely hokey, in keeping with the original series.
Rich
The fluff had Fisher pushing for FACs as (long-range) scouts in the first place, but they didn't work out because of tech limitations that restricted endurance and communications. The former problem isn't so much of an issue for a spotter craft, but the latter is, and wireless still doesn't seem to work well at this stage. Maybe they'll get reliable radio comms as they examine more Martian tech, or maybe even those eggheads hadn't figured it out.
Don't see how you could really have a "dive bomber' in space as such. No gravity to dive into, you know?
brigadetony wrote:How about the next wave of minis from Brigade?
The Austrians (and the Gamma and Volga) were in our release plans for SELWG last weekend but were held up this time simply because we'd run out of mould blanks. They'll be out for Xmas, honestly they will ... :?
Oh good. Now I just have to convince one of my gamer friends to give me some as presents. Don't think I trust Aunt Wanda to do online shopping for minis...
cricket wrote:hundvig wrote:Just wondering, do we have an ETA for the next IS book? How about the next wave of minis from Brigade?
Can't comment on the minis, but the book is currently on hold...
Not for any particular reason, other than I haven't gotten around to it yet. I suppose I could be nudged a bit.
Nudge, nudge...
Oh, wait, one more thing. Should transforming mecha be able to board friendly ships (to help out in a boarding action, presumably) automatically, without needing to roll to-hit or penetration? If yes, you probably need an upper cap on how many can fit...maybe equal to the ship's hanger capacity plus hull size? That assumes that ships designed to carry mecha are equipped with mecha-scale corridors and the like.
Hostile mecha probably shouldn't have (or need) a maximum boarding cap...they don't care about punching holes in vital equipment and breaching bulkheads, after all.
Rich
BrotherAdso wrote:Good points, all!
Here's a revision -- does this reflect how you'd like to see them repped?
TRANSFORMATION / BOARDER (x1.33): At the beginning of the fighter phase, this flight may declare that it is transforming/boarding.
During the following round, each ship which successfully hits and penetrates the enemy vessel do not roll on the damage table as normal. Instead, the fighter is translated into a single Marine squad on the enemy ship. This squad has boarded the enemy ship and may fight in a boarding action THAT ROUND and all following rounds.
Fighters in the flight which fail to damage remain in play as normal, and may attempt to transform/board again next turn.
At the beginning of any subsequent fighter phase after boarding, a marine squad may declare it is disengaging/rembarking. Each surviving marine squad becomes one fighter in a flight, which may act in that fighter phase.
The end -- I hope this covers it. Oh, and in VBAM, this has fun potential, especially if you're using the 'detailed ground combat' rules.
-Adso
<sound of cackling as he ponders Heavy Bomber Transformable boarding mechs...>
Sounds about right to me, although the point cost multiplier might need some testing to make sure it's accurate.
Rich
go0gleplex wrote:I noted engines of 2 also. Tug o'cruisers.
Yeah, little slow. Then again, a lot of the S:X hulls are kind of slow by my standards. Spoiled by years of playing with advanced tech ships with low-teens movement.
If you haven't seen them already, Tony's put up the Starmada ship stats for the new (post S:X) minis on the Brigade web page.
One question, though...several of the EuroFed ships have "Point Defense Lasers" with the No Hull Damage trait. Assuming they're intended for anti-fighter work, isn't that a problem? I thought fighters were immune to weapons with No Hull Damage.
Am I wrong?
BrotherAdso wrote:One of the options I find useful for representing mecha are the marines rules -- I also use this to represent assault shuttles.
TRANSFORMATION / BOARDER (x1.33): when this fighter flight scores a successful hit against an enemy vessel, it may choose to forego standard damage and board or transform. If it chooses to do so, each ship in the flight counts as one squad of Marines for boarding purposes. Only ships which score a successful hit may transform -- hence, the whole flight will rarely be able to do so a once.
-Adso
I think I'd require a successful shield penetration (probably with the 1/2 shields fighter bonus) in addition to the hit, in keeping with boarding pod mechanics. Also, do you allow retransformation from a BP back into a fighter, and if so, what are the mechanics?
Rich
thedugan wrote:So, Dan, where are we on this?
I know we've had at least one nibble about the next Iron Stars Supplement.
Nibble, hell, I'll bite Dan right on the leg if the darn thing isn't out soon.
cricket wrote:hundvig wrote:Just give it to the first sinister hooded figure riding a demonic black horse that asks for it, that'll fix the problem.
Do I have to wait for the sinister hooded figure to ask? Or can I just hand it over post haste?
It's considered polite to wait for the nazgul to ask first. They really hate it when guys just throw their rings at them as they're riding down the street.
I suppose in a pinch you could always hand it over to that short gentlemen with the fishy smell.
Can't believe this thread's in Discussion and not News...
cricket wrote:go0gleplex wrote:Have you arranged the escape routes and places to claim asylum yet? 
My groomsmen did offer to pool their travel points to get me out of the country, but I evenutally declined...
Thanks for all the good wishes... hopefully the ring stops burning my finger soon. 
Just give it to the first sinister hooded figure riding a demonic black horse that asks for it, that'll fix the problem.
Hope you're having/had a good honeymoon.
Rich
Dan's getting hitched? Dammit, no one tells me anything!
Good reason for a delay, that's for sure.
Just wondering, do we have an ETA for the next IS book? How about the next wave of minis from Brigade?
Rich
go0gleplex wrote:After playing a couple of turns of Starmada...in which my long range weapons did a total number on the opposing ships...I'm inclined to think this should be a x3.1 or better cost IMO.
At least, I would think. Compared to standard range-dependent effects, the inverted version have two big advantages:
1) They have much larger areas of maximum effect, because the firing cone (or hemisphere, etc) gets bigger at long ranges.
2) They're more likely to hit at maximum effect early on in the fight, before weapons are lost to incoming fire. Hitting hard early is much, much better than hitting hard late...part of why Expendable weapons can be so problematic.
My two cents, anyway.
Rich
Enpeze wrote:The german word "Pfaffe" ist also a old fashioned german word for "priest". So one could imagine what ammunition a "Pfaffbeschleuniger" has.
Not as good as the infamous Nun Gun, a technology inspired by a certain old tv show. The wimples make them more accurate, you know.
What does "Mass Drivers" mean, exactly? You can call a weapon anything you want...I assume there's something specific you're looking for?
Enpeze wrote:No, your bubblefish is great. I really love you english native speakers when you try to use some german expressions. (maybe it is similar comical if we germans use english)
Games Workshop does the same thing in their warhammer fantasy books. For example once they named a cruel demon "zahnarzt" (which maybe sounds dangerous in english, but means "dentist" in german)
What, dentists aren't scary? They shove needles and drills in your mouth, for cripe's sake!
Ever since that "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech I figure Germans expect us to mangle their language, just like the Japanese expect our presidents to randomly vomit on them.
Rich
Enpeze wrote:hundvig wrote:Well, get on with it. I need something to replace the cold, dead spot Twilight Imperium 3 left in my heart.
Rich
Didnt you like the new TI3?
I like parts of it better than the earlier editions, but the actual game play leaves me very, very cold. TI *should* be about massive fleet clashes, planetary invasions, and grinding the life out of your enemies. All of which are great ways to lose the game, unfortunately. To actually win, you have to play turtle a lot, carefully make sure that you take the Imperial strategy when it's your turn to do so, and fight only when you have to to earn VPs or deny them to others...which isn't often. About all an agressive warlord can do is take somebody with him to defeat while everyone else surges ahead on VPs.
A clever game in a lot of ways, but unrewarding to play as it stands. Badly in need of the (overdue) expansion to give us some victory conditions that encourage actually using your fleets more than once or twice a game.
Rich
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