2,101 Reply by mj12games

(5 replies, posted in Starmada)

Marcus Smythe wrote:

1.)  Penetrating - 2 vs. Halves Shields...

Is it just me, or is Pen 2 strictly better than Halves Shields, and at the same cost?  It will have the same effect against shields 4 or 5, and be less effective against shields 3 or less...

All of the point values are worked out on an average basis. For example, the ratio of impact rolls to successful hits is:

No shields = 1:1
Shields 1 = 6:5
Shields 2 = 3:2
Shields 3 = 2:1
Shields 4 = 3:1
Shields 6 = 6:1

The average ratio is 2.45:1.

With Halves Shields, this becomes:

No shields = 1:1
Shields 1 = 6:5
Shields 2 = 6:5
Shields 3 = 3:2
Shields 4 = 3:2
Shields 5 = 2:1

The average ratio is 1.4:1, or 1.75 times more effective.

With Piercing +2, the ratios are:

No shields = 1:1
Shields 1 = 6:5
Shields 2 = 6:5
Shields 3 = 6:5
Shields 4 = 3:2
Shields 5 = 2:1

The average is 1.35:1, or 1.81 times more effective.

So, you are correct -- Piercing +2 is "better" than Halves Shields, but only by about 4%; and they only differ against targets with Shields 3.

2.)  Theres nothing wrong with our bloody ships today...

It seems to me that the presence of major penetrating advantages on most ships big guns will serve to 'wash out' most of the advantage that BBs have over BCs in terms of resilience.  While the BBs are still tougher, they are not very much tougher against the big 15" guns, making BC's a likely better point-for-point investment.

Remember, this is just a quick-n-dirty "what if" for Starmada on the high seas. If you want something more in-depth and realistic, look for the second edition of Grand Fleets. wink

Go to forum: Starmada

2,102 Reply by mj12games

(25 replies, posted in The Sovereign Stars)

Thought I'd share this; it's not done, as I haven't yet figured out the best way to denote the system values:

[attachment=0]newsector.png[/attachment]

Go to forum: The Sovereign Stars

2,103 Reply by mj12games

(7 replies, posted in Starmada)

You're off by a factor of 11.

Hull = Displacement / 1500

The other direct relationships are:

Engines = Knots / 4

Weapon Range = ROUND(Yards / 4500) x 3

Stuff like armor and weapon penetration/damage are a bit more subjective.

Go to forum: Starmada

2,104 Reply by mj12games

(25 replies, posted in Starmada)

And, for good measure:

http://www.mj12games.com/starmada/lord_nelson.png

Go to forum: Starmada

2,105 Reply by mj12games

(25 replies, posted in Starmada)

Revised data cards:

http://www.mj12games.com/starmada/courbet.png

http://www.mj12games.com/starmada/dreadnought.png

Go to forum: Starmada

2,106 Reply by mj12games

(25 replies, posted in Starmada)

underling wrote:

For what it's worth, the Lord Nelson has ten 9.2" secondaries.

Right -- which is why the 9.2" guns have a ROF of 2; one for each barrel.

Go to forum: Starmada

2,107 Reply by mj12games

(25 replies, posted in Starmada)

My best guess at this point is that the Dreadnought data card is actually for the Lord Nelson-class pre-dreadnought.

So, bonus! smile

I'll get a revised Dreadnought (and Courbet) data card up shortly.

Go to forum: Starmada

2,108 Reply by mj12games

(25 replies, posted in Starmada)

jmpehrson wrote:

Is the French BB Courbet record sheet correct?  It lists it's 12"/45 guns as being range 6.

No, that is not correct. They should be range 9.

Go to forum: Starmada

2,109 Reply by mj12games

(25 replies, posted in Starmada)

Soulmage wrote:

Played a game with my wife last night.

And... ?

Who won? smile

Found an error:

Fire arcs for X batteries on the Dreadnought are incorrect.

Dreadnought X battery should be:
[ABCD] [AC] [BD] [CD] [CDEF]

Wow... and where the heck did the 9.2" guns come from?

Whoops... :oops:

Go to forum: Starmada

2,110 Reply by mj12games

(18 replies, posted in Starmada)

OldnGrey wrote:

Dreadnoughts has Piercing +1 having a Mod of x1.5

Hast Thou Changeth thine mind?

Yes.

I think.

In the end, either modifier is fine, since the difference is less than 4% in final Combat Rating. But I will get a definitive answer out there.

Go to forum: Starmada

2,111 Reply by mj12games

(18 replies, posted in Starmada)

OldnGrey wrote:

HELP!
...
Sorry to be a pest. Updating the shipyard and I hate it when I cannot match given figures.

Damn.

The instructions on page 11 are correct -- the examples are TOTALLY wrong.

I will post a corrected page shortly.

Go to forum: Starmada

2,112 Topic by mj12games

(1 replies, posted in Starmada)

jmpehrson wrote:

Using the SAE movement rules, is it possible to turn if you are moving faster than your thrust?  Example, thrust 4 vessel has a speed of 6 and wishes to make a single portside turn and maintain a speed of 4.  If I understand the rules correctly, a ship can't turn if it is moving greater than it's thrust value.  No wide turns are allowed at high speed?

Not with the basic rules, no. But there is option D.2: Delayed Turns.

What is the design intent behind limiting weapon traits to only three?

The same reason there is a "limit" of three batteries on a ship -- because I said so. smile

But like the three-battery limit, this one can be ignored without any real consequence.

Limiting range based traits to only one type?

Because range-based traits don't interact with each other in a predictible fashion -- e.g. Inverted Range Modifiers (x1.4) and Minimum Range (x0.7) don't have a cumulative effectiveness of x0.98 (the product of 1.4 and 0.7). But again, there is an option to "fix" this; C.4.1 Combining Range-Based Traits (in the Imperial Starmada Sourcebook).

Other than running away or disengaging how can a single ship without 360 degree arc coverage (or AFB) defeat fighters that have closed the distance on it?  If I understand the rules, the fighters would be able to move after the ship and choose to attack from the blind spot without any retaliation from that ship.

You understand correctly. Which is why, in your example, the ship is screwed. smile

Seriously -- you'll need other ships to protect your blind spots, or all-around weapons coverage, or AFB, or your own fighters, or something.

If the speed of strikers and seekers is greater than the weapon ranges on a target ship, and the target ship is moving sufficiently slow enough, that ship will most likely never be able to fire defensively at the incoming strikers and seekers, correct?  A concept was to have short range point defense weaponry, such as a range 3, 4+ 1/1/1 anti-fighter trait weapon, but this would most likely not have a chance to be used since the strikers and seekers would attack first, before these could shoot, correct?

You'd still be able to use the weapons -- just not until after the fighters' attacks.

Go to forum: Starmada

2,113 Reply by mj12games

(18 replies, posted in Starmada)

OldnGrey wrote:

I cannot get to the totals you give. i.e. Mode (Fighter) I keep getting =390.4 / Mode (Striker) I get =535.3
Giving a Cap Req of 27. Tried Two calculators and the shipyard with calcs altered to those that you give.

You are correct -- the example is in error. :oops:

(Although the final cap requirement is 28 -- you round 27.03 up to the next integer.)

I know you like squares Dan but it would have been simpler to take the old calculation for both modes and add half of the lesser to the larger Capacity requirement ( this gives 34).

Simpler -- but not as accurate. smile

Go to forum: Starmada

2,114 Reply by mj12games

(18 replies, posted in Starmada)

KDLadage wrote:

I am not sure I understand this one... but I will be getting it none-the-less.

From the introduction, by way of an explanation:

WHY DREADNOUGHTS?

An historical supplement for a product billing itself as The Universal Game of Starship Combat may seem like an odd development, to say the least—but upon closer inspection the two are not so different as it first appears. Lacking any true reference, the genre of space combat has latched onto the traditions and terminology of historical navies. More specifically, the age of the “big gun” dreadnought should be familiar to the Starmada player—while fighters play a role in most science fiction settings, they are (for the most part) nowhere near as dominant as aircraft have become in naval combat since World War II.

The intent of this product is threefold:

* First, it reflects the true flexibility of the Starmada game system. With a minimum of adjustments, the game is just as suitable for the Battle of Dogger Bank as for the Battle of Delta Crucis.

In fact, the level of integration is such that historical designs such as HMS Dreadnought or SMS Bayern can be dropped into a more traditional sci-fi setting without modification. Likewise, players who wish to pit their own designs against history's great battleships can do so easily.

* Second, the options presented in this supplement can be lifted from Dreadnoughts, individually or collectively, and used in other settings, enriching the Starmada game even for those who never put the Royal Navy or Kaiserliche Marine through their paces.

* Finally, this supplement serves as an introduction to historical gaming for players who might not otherwise have given it a try. Those familiar with the era should still find something interesting in these pages—a simple (but not simplistic) take on the Great War at sea.

Players intrigued by naval combat during this period may wish to play something more detailed and historically accurate. If so, they are encouraged to seek out Grand Fleets, also available from Majestic Twelve Games.

Go to forum: Starmada

2,115 Reply by mj12games

(1 replies, posted in The Sovereign Stars)

Donations are always accepted.

Unless, of course, you're looking for actual return on investment... smile

Seriously, I have vague PLANS for SovStars... I think.

Go to forum: The Sovereign Stars

2,116 Reply by mj12games

(2 replies, posted in Discussion)

No, but then our request to trademark "pillbug" was turned down...

big_smile

Go to forum: Discussion

2,117 Topic by mj12games

(7 replies, posted in News)

Majestic Twelve Games would like to announce the release of Starmada: Dreadnoughts, the third supplement for the Starmada Admiralty Edition.

"The declaration of war by Great Britain on 4 August converted the conflict into one unlike any other that had been waged since Napoleon was sent to St. Helena in 1815; and sea-power was once more revealed to a somewhat purblind world. There had, indeed, been wars in which navies had been engaged, and Japan in 1904 had exhibited the latest model of a naval battle. But Japan only commanded the sea in Far Eastern waters; and the wars in which Great Britain herself was engaged since 1815 had displayed her command in limited spheres and at the expense of enemies who had no pretensions to be her naval rivals. But in 1914 the second navy in the world seemed by the conduct of Germany to challenge the first, and for nearly four and a half years there were hopes and fears of a titanic contest for the command of the sea."

--A.F. Pollard, A Short History of the Great War (1920)

Dreadnoughts is a setting book for Starmada: The Admiralty Edition that brings to life the epic sweep of naval combat during the First World War.

To many people, the Great War conjures images of mud-soaked trenches and land-locked armies joined in a futile embrace across no-man's land. But navies were just as important to victory (if not more so); and it was on the seas that the conflict truly became a World War. From the North Sea to the Mediterranean, from the Black Sea to the South Pacific, battles raged across the globe.

So, go ahead: swap your energy shields for armor plating and the blackness of space for the wine-dark sea, and see if you have what it takes to rule the waves!

In addition to data cards for one hundred ship classes from eight different navies of the early twentieth century, Dreadnoughts adds brand-new options to the Starmada game, including flotillas, wet-navy style movement, and dual-mode fighter flights, which can be used individually or collectively to enrich any setting. Also included are six historical scenarios, allowing players to re-fight various naval actions of the Great War.

Dreadnoughts is not a stand-alone product; ownership of the Starmada Admiralty Edition Core Rulebook is required. Starmada is a miniatures board game of starship combat. At its most basic level, players take command of space fleets in a general attempt to reduce each other to just so much space junk. At its most advanced, the game can be customized to breathe life into any science fiction background that players might imagine.

For more information on Starmada and all our other products, please visit the Majestic Twelve Games web site: www.mj12games.com

Go to forum: News

2,118 Topic by mj12games

(37 replies, posted in Discussion)

As I haven't played an RPG in almost a decade, I'm not surprised I missed the whole transition to a FOURTH edition of Dungeons & Dragons...

Anyone seen it?

Any reactions?

Go to forum: Discussion

2,119 Reply by mj12games

(3 replies, posted in Starmada)

My first inclination is to say that seekers that lose their "lock" (due to cloaking or the destruction of their target) are immediately removed from the board. Nothing says you can't have more complex rules such as KDL's proposal, but I wouldn't make it the standard.

Seekers may be used to attack fighter flights. Technically, a seeker flight could target another seeker flight... smile

Go to forum: Starmada

2,120 Reply by mj12games

(41 replies, posted in Discussion)

thedugan wrote:
jimbeau wrote:

then you're a redneck (or a 14 year old boy)

then you might be a red neck...

Off the top of my head, I can come up with seventeen different reasons why this line of discussion should be ended immediately. big_smile

Go to forum: Discussion

2,121 Reply by mj12games

(13 replies, posted in Starmada)

PSYCO829 wrote:

Did you think before you posted that, or just randomly bang your head on the keyboard until a sentence was formed?

I can't believe I actually have to ask that people remember their manners while on this forum.

Play nice. It is my ball, and I'm not above taking it and going home.

Go to forum: Starmada

2,122 Reply by mj12games

(9 replies, posted in Starmada)

cricket wrote:

The corrected values are provided in the updated Appendix A, which is on the Starmada page of the web site.

Lemme respond to myself before someone else does...

No, they aren't. sad

I should correct that for the next update of Appendix A -- it should contain the modifiers for all weapon traits.

And, KDL -- for the record, I can confirm that the values in the version of the shipbuilder you are using are "correct".

Go to forum: Starmada

2,123 Reply by mj12games

(9 replies, posted in Starmada)

The corrected values are provided in the updated Appendix A, which is on the Starmada page of the web site.

http://mj12games.com/starmada/appendixA.pdf

Go to forum: Starmada

2,124 Reply by mj12games

(6 replies, posted in Starmada)

I would LOVE to do an updated SAE sourcebook for the Brigade models.

(Steve - Tony - you out there? smile)

Go to forum: Starmada

2,125 Topic by mj12games

(0 replies, posted in Cheese)

From Charles Fort, "The Book of the Damned":

"I think we're all bugs and mice, and are only different expressions of an all-inclusive cheese."

Go to forum: Cheese