151

(35 replies, posted in Starmada)

cricket wrote:

Selective targeting = bad.

It's been proposed many times over the years, and I've never been able to justify it, as it would be prohibitively unbalancing...

I know that, from my experience with CBT. I don't think there's really any multiplier high enough, but some people are going to want to include it in their game all the same.

152

(35 replies, posted in Starmada)

"aglass man wrote:

Well It doesnt have to be included in every universe conversion. If you dont want to use it then dont use it. I want it for the universe I play in
Jovian Chronicals. And dont forget were not using unrestricted Newtonian
motion, its not apart of the game mechanics, its statisticly simulated in
2-D play.

And Im speaking purly about fantasy not reality. tongue

Well, Babylon 5 and Terminus can be pretty fantastical. They just select different areas in which to be so. smile

Anyway, it does come down to cost, really. The multiplier for selective targeting would have to be staggering. However, having had experience with JC and Mekton Zeta (On which JC's mechanics are at least partially based), I would make mecha have a lower base speed than regular fighters.

153

(9 replies, posted in Starmada)

aglass man wrote:

According to SX V.2 Point Defense System says on a 1,3 or 5 shield rolls against a starship auto fail.

This seems a bit vauge, a PDS working against everything? Maybe there needs to be a seperate PDS per type of defensive need? Like a PDS against missile/slug, and a PDS against energy weapons or even a PDS against fighter flights?

Now, it depends but it may not require any change in threat multiplier.
the cost, OR and DR dont change, just catagorize the PDS to your need. Like  PDS1 for missile/railslug, PDS2 for energy weapons and PDS3 For what ever you come up with?

OK what ya got to say? smile

Tommy

VBAM: Starmada actually provides rules for defenses against various weapon types, based somewhat on the shield system. Instead of one shield rating against everything, you have a specific defense level against K/E/M.

I like PDS as it stands, myself. It gives a fluffy alternative for those of us who prefer not to give shields to some species or another, such as my own Terra Ascendant humans.

154

(35 replies, posted in Starmada)

aglass man wrote:

This is what I had in mind in the first place, basicly a ship killer flight. I kinda thought it more approprate to represent this with mecha considering I invision a unit coming into point blank and picking its shot. because it can vector its thrust more easily than a ship. where as a fighter ship would be constantly  moving per sa, and hoping for a lucky shot.

I still don't see how mecha could have an advantage over fighters in this regard. You seem to be under the impression that fighter craft would operate under "Wing Commander Physics", when a fighter built for the practically unrestricted Newtonian motion of space would be able to pull off all kinds of crazy maneuvers not possible in an atmospheric environment, namely shooting in one direction while traveling in another (as seen on Babylon 5).

It can be included, but I expect to have to pay through the nose for it. Standard fighters, as a weapon, already have one of the meanest SU to CR ratios in the game, and special abilities make it even moreso. The selective targeting ability alone would make me want to make the cost of mecha at least double that of standard fighters, all other things being equal.

155

(42 replies, posted in Starmada)

cricket wrote:
aglass man wrote:

So what your saying is that the special equip. "Spinal Mount" is like a Forth weapon on the ship, but just not shown on the record sheet?
Maybe you can change something to make it show up on the record sheet?

Err... again, I'm confused. It does show up on the record sheet. It's shown as "Spinal Mount" under the special equipment section...

:?:

He wants the stats for the spinal mount to show up on the sheet, if I'm reading it right.

156

(42 replies, posted in Starmada)

cricket wrote:
RiflemanIII wrote:

Hmm... There's no mention of Double Hull Damage in my rulebook at all.

Huh.

You're right -- it's not in the published book. But it's in my master document.

Weird.

I guess it got taken out at some point... but I don't remember when or why.

:?:

To me, it seems rather redundant alongside Extra Hull damage: You're already getting the extra hull hit, so why have two abilities that do basically the same thing?

157

(42 replies, posted in Starmada)

Hmm... There's no mention of Double Hull Damage in my rulebook at all.

158

(42 replies, posted in Starmada)

aglass man wrote:

[
Im sorry Dan , but ive noticed one problem with official SXCA. It doesnt change the stats when you make a weapon a spinal mount, as far as the range and damage? Nor can I make these changes myself,at least not without leaving some stats out but im afraid that would not put up a proper TV.

A spinal mount is a separate weapon, with its own range brackets, damage, and other statistics depending on the hull size of the ship. It should be under the special equipment section of the rules.

159

(7 replies, posted in Starmada)

hundvig wrote:

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?

Well, you're not wrong about that. I discovered that myself when I was doing my Homeworld conversions.

160

(0 replies, posted in Starmada X)

From the Rifleverse:

The Union of Colonial States

The Union of Colonial States Was formed as an alliance between  a triumverate of Colonal nations following the battle of Jacob's Rift, where five Earth League battleships and their attending craft were destroyed in spacedock at a minmal loss to a operation planned by the Outlander Association and executed with the assitance of the Amazonian Colonial Space Forces. This action forced the Earth League away from driving a wedge between the territories of the two states, and allowed for expanded cooperation. A number of corporations operation on the fringe of the League itself banded together for their own protection with the loss of those capital warships, and petitioned the Outlander Association for protection.

The benefits of a three-way partnership were obvious to all but the most dull foreign-policy analyst. While the ties may have been sound, the navy of the Colonial Union was not, being a hodgepodge of various corporate security vessels, attack ships, heavy cruisers, and disused Earth League warships. The efforts to organize this set of ships into a proper navy had been quite daunting, but it has acquired enough stability to defeat most attempts at raiding by opportunistic pirates. The Union fleet, however, does not have the sheer weight of battleships that the Earth League posesses,  The League itself is loath to attack this new interstellar alliance, instead focusing its efforts on pirate clans and other rogue human states.
-------------------

Part 1: Ships of the Line.

Belisarius-class Battleship.

Designed as a low-cost alternative to the aging and unreliable Avenger-class battleship, the vessel was found to be lacking due to its smaller hull-size and what some had called its "pre-dreadnought" armament. This was despite its more sophisticated weapons, reliable anti-fighter systems, heavy shields, and innovative battlesat technology. Unfortunately, the company had already produced two-dozen of these craft in anticipation of their acceptance by the Earth League, and so the vessels were sold off to another firm for decomissioning and scrapping. It was only two weeks later, however, that the company that was supposed to scrap the vessels handed turned to join the Union of Colonial states, and donated the capital ships to the Union itself. This company now provides maintenance and repairs of the Belisarius-class.

Belisarius-class PDN (1014)

Hull: 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Engine: 3 2 1
Shields: 5 4 3 2 1

Damage track: Ha Eb H S H Q

Weapons:
A: Particle Impact cannon: AB AB ACE BDF (Range 15, 4+ 1/2/1 Re-rolls Penetration Dice, Extra hull damage)

B: Type 60 pulse cannons: AB AB ACE ACE BDF BDF (Range 9, 3+, 2/1/1, Re-rolls to-hit dice.)

Special Equipment: Hyperdrive [O] Armor Plating, Anti-fighter batteries [O], ECM [O], Security team [OOOOO OOOOO], Battle Sattellite [OOOOO], Mine [OOOOO]

Cunaxa-class battlecruiser

The  Cunaxa was the first capital ship built by a colonial state, constructed by the Amazonian Colonial alliance, a state founded by former female officers of the Earth laguie who had (properly) alleged gross mistreatment by ttheir male counterparts in the ELAF. The ship itself was built to deal out the same level of firepower as an Avenger: while it carried less guns, they did tend to be more accurate than those used by the primary battleships of the Earth league at the time. This ship is still a deadly combatant against vessels of any size, especially considering the advanced weapons technology posessed by the ACSF. The ship is unique among capital warships, as it carries a fighter bay with one squadron of fighters for its own defense. While it may posess less hielding than a battleship. it is supplimented by a point defense system: a series of quickfiring lasers to shoot down projectiles, and small missiles that spread beam-scattering material in the projected path of energy weapons.

Cunaxa-class Battlecruiser (695)

Hull: 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Engine: 4 3 2 1
Shield: 4 3 2 1

Damage track: Ha Eb H S H Q

Weapons:
A: Heavy particle beam AB AB AB ABCD (Range 18, 3+, 1/2/2, Range-based DMG)

B: Tri-barrel pulsar gun AB AB AB ACE BDF (Range 6, 4+, 3/1/1, Re-rolls to-hit dice)

Special Equipment: Hyperdrive [O], Anti-fighter batteries [O], Point-defense system [O], Fighter Bay [O], Security team [OOOOO OOOOO]

161

(2 replies, posted in Discussion)

You wouldn't believe how often that deceased equine gets flogged on the CBT boards.

162

(35 replies, posted in Starmada)

aglass man wrote:

  Well, this is a generic space rule set after all! There are rules for anima spinal guns, why not Mecha? Maybe if I get time here soon i`ll put some stats together and post them to see what y`all think.
   Im a Lightning Strike fan myself, thats why I posted this idea tongue

Well, here's my concern, put bluntly and simply. In Gundam, and a few other series, the focus is so much on the Mecha that starships are generally reduced to explosive scenery. I'm not really shooting the idea down, but I do have concerns.

I'm also not quite sure how one would balance having something that could attack a ship in the same hex. That would make the vessel effectively unable to retaliate against its aggressors without special equipment. Carronades wouldn't even be able to deal damage to them, because of the mechanics of the weapon.

163

(35 replies, posted in Starmada)

Well, I believe he's referring to more Gundam-like mecha, in which case I would say that Starmada isn't really the system for that.

164

(35 replies, posted in Starmada)

I don't see myself giving them any ads or disads over regular fighters. In fact, I just use fighters to simulate them when converting Gundam ships to Starmada.

165

(5 replies, posted in Starmada)

I think that there are already rules for towing, anyway. I'll have to get back to my rulebook just to be sure.

166

(4 replies, posted in Starmada)

Well, someone's a Battletech player. smile

167

(1 replies, posted in Starmada)

A question: where would one put fan-made scenarios on this forum?

168

(25 replies, posted in Starmada)

In VBAM it would probably count as a WMD.

169

(8 replies, posted in Starmada)

murtalianconfederacy wrote:

*cough*Jankowski*cough*

big_smile

Now, I'm going to look that one up, but Ozzel was actually at the top of my list.

170

(25 replies, posted in Starmada)

go0gleplex wrote:

Other than picking up some of the errata and FAQ stuff...I'm pretty satisfied with the game as is.  I'd hate to see the game become so munchkinized it ends up following trends like CBT, FT, and WH40K/ WHFB. :?

And, to a lesser extent, Mekton Zeta. As much as some CBTers loathe Games Workshop games, I can say, as a long-time player of CBT... You're absolutely right.

Mass Drivers- simply a weapon system name. If something more is desired, then maybe use it as an enhancement option for greater DMG with slower ROF.

It also depends if we're talking about a ship weapon system or the WMD version, like in Babylon 5.

Area of Effect could be treated the same way...as an enhancement if really needed.  Each hex represents a pretty large area of space...so a common misperception may be that the big booms aren't big.  So if a hex represents 1000 miles (figuratively speaking)...it would seem that from a scale standpoint AoE is pretty moot.

And it also largely depends on what kind of AoE you're looking for. Anime Spinal Mounts produce the "classic" effect, after all.

Armor system for use with Traveller- simply rename shields as Armor I would think.

Of course, one would have to reconcile armor plating with that, but I don't think it would be too difficult.

Larger ships are possible following the formula provided. The math isn't that bad. smile  Stations are just big ships without drive systems really and isn't there a 10% SU bonus for lack of hyperdrive?

That's how it's handled in VBAM: Starmada, actually. There's also a way to do >20 ships on the SXCA.

I do think some planetary interface rules would be useful, but aren't necessarily required.  Planetary defense emplacements would be interesting...livening up orbiting around a not-so-friendly planet.

There are actually some neat rules for that in AT2. A Starmada conversion probably wouldn't be too difficult.

my two-cents at any rate.

171

(25 replies, posted in Starmada)

I'd like to see more fighter disads. It's tough making campaign flavor when all you can go from the base fighters is "up", so to say.

I like the stuff in Brigade. Given a number of similarities in fleet costs, it's practically providing ready-made engagements, which are great for introducing folks to the game.

172

(8 replies, posted in Starmada)

Picked up VBAM Starmada recently. Now all I need to do is reverse-engineer them for especially incompetant officers. smile

173

(8 replies, posted in Starmada)

Given that unique and extraordinary officers are part & parcel of sci-fi, what do you do to show this on the board? I've been working on sets of unique characters myself: Each one brings abilities beyond the regular paper strength of the ship, but adds a cost multiplier to the overall CR of the vessel if used. For example, with what I've done so far, the CR of the original Enterprise would probably end up at around 1.5x or more if all of the main characters of Star Trek were included.

Has anyone else developed systems for this?

Question: If the scaling of AFBs is sjupposed to represent the extra coverage required for the whole ship, how come it only takes one hit to completely destroy, no matter what the size of the vessel?

175

(16 replies, posted in Discussion)

Well, I'd post more in the basin, but no one comments on my stuff.