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mj12games.com/forum → Posts by Harrigan
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Good luck guys, and welcome, Brazouck -- I just discovered Starmada recently myself and am enjoying it tremendously.
Give Madseason the what-for!
Here's the latest: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/887058/Harrigan%27s%20Starmada%20Campaign%20System%20V2.pdf
Not sure I'm happy with the terrain table yet but I think it's headed in the right direction for my tastes.
Good feedback. I'll take the advice and plan on revising the rules today or tomorrow. I think I'll at a minimum limit the dust storms, nebulas and black holes a fair bit. I'll post what I come up with.
Good feedback -- just the kind of stuff I was hoping to see. I'm biased against "empty" starmaps just because those with a little terrain on them are so much more interesting (IMO) to play...
Took a crack at brewing up my own version of the Simplest Campaign System to suit my tastes (I like a little more lasting damage to systems, for one thing). Very much built on the already awesome one -- see what folks think. It's still a draft, so any and all feedback is welcome. Would also love to see what others have done for campaign rules.
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/887058/Harrigan%27s%20Starmada%20Campaign%20System.pdf
You've got my (nearly worthless) vote!
Good discussion -- I'm certainly not trying to infringe on rights or make more work for MJ12, but I do think it'd be a very nice perk to have the Drake stats available for published materials specifically because of Vassal. I've got three friends I'm trying to rope into doing some campaigning, and they don't feel comfortable yet trying to put together their own fleets -- so we've decided to each pick a race from the two books in question. If I end up coming up with Drake notation myself here in the next little while I'll either keep them to myself or share them with Cricket to dispense as he decides. Cool?
I hadn't thought of that -- good point. I'll try to check with the authors before doing anything like that then -- might even just send *them* what I generate and them them dispense at their discretion.
Aight. Well, as time allows I just might tackle that (and then post them).
Say, do the published ships from the Imperial Starmada Sourcebook and Hammer & Claw exist anywhere in Drake Notation (for easy transport into Vassal...)? Apologies if I'm overlooking something obvious -- but I ain't seeing 'em.
Quick one: is the current version of Victory By Any Means for Starmada compatible with the AE version, or just the prior "X" version? I recall seeing something saying that the AE version is in the works, but I can't find that reference anymore...
I've noticed in the MyShipbuilder sheet and in Klingon Armada there there's a Starship option called "shuttle." Seems pretty obvious as to what it is, but I can't find a write-up anywhere describing if its able to ferry marines, etc. Can someone point me to the book and section that has it?
Thanks in advance.
Loved the first Colony Wars game back in the day. Don't remember a lot about its plot, though...
But overall, I realize what I'm striving for here isn't all that new or unique -- just scratches an itch to have Earth ships fighting desperately against a superior enemy using both old and new tech. I'm seeing crews of the old-style destroyers looking on with envy as the new cruisers with improved shields and weapons systems and beam lasers and such rolling into battle, side by side...
Thanks. Am not into min/maxing the system at this stage -- more concerned with the flavor and "reality" of the setting. And setting the Earth ships at mostly TL-1 gives them room to grow to TL0 for the newest stuff coming off the line to fight the coming war.
Alright, here's my first stab (using the shipyard sheet, love it) at building Earth and alien fleets for my home-brew setting, a setting where Earth has jump-started their exploration of the stars with the discovery of an alien spaceship on Mars during terraforming activities there. By the year 2180 a small network of alien-tech inspired jump-gates has allowed Earth to colonize a number of far-flung worlds, and over the next century several of those worlds, populated by religious extremists, greedy corporate types, social recluses and other isolationists fight and win their independence from Earth. The remaining colonies side with Earth and form TAC -- the Terran Allied Colonies. While the independent colonies field ships of their own, the TAC fleet represents by far the largest and most powerful space force known to man... until humans chanced upon the Kloza in the year 2281, and found they were hopelessly outclassed. But more on them later -- first, the TAC fleet, a collection of Tech Level -1 military ships that perform system patrol duties, fight pirates, and generally fight the good fight.
For the first post here I'll provide a smattering of different classes, all of which share a common weapons philosophy around the use of railguns, missiles and a general preference for anti-starfighter capabilities since early on those craft proved deadly in a number of critical battles in the wars for colonial independence.
Mako-class TAC Gunboat
A small, quick vessel that doesn't have much endurance in a fight but mounts heavy firepower for its size. Against non-military grade ships like those outfitted for war by some of the colonies, it can be a terror.
Type: MAKO-class TERRAN ALLIED COLONIES GUNBOAT (29)
Hull: 2 1
Engines: [TL-1] 8 4
Shields: [TL-1] 0 0
Weapons: [TL-1] 1:[2V] 2:[2V] 3:[2V] 4:[V] 5:[V] 6:[V]
Battery V: Quickfire Gun, 2/4/6, 1/5+/1/1, Repeating
[ABCD] [ABCD] [CDEF]
Tribal-class TAC Corvette
The smallest TAC ship capable of sustained deep-space operations, The Tribal-class corvette was considered in its day to be a well armed light warship that had the ability -- using its anti-ship missiles -- to deal heavy blows to unwary destroyers and cruisers and destroyers.
Type: TRIBAL-class TERRAN ALLIED COLONIES CORVETTE (57)
Hull: 4 3 2 1
Engines: [TL-1] 6 5 3 2
Shields: [TL-1] 1 1 1 1
Weapons: [TL-1] 1:[VW] 2:[V] 3:[V] 4:[V] 5:[V] 6:[W]
Battery V: Quickfire Gun, 2/4/6, 1/5+/1/1, Repeating
[ABCD] [ABCD] [CDEF]
Battery W: Anti-Ship Missile Battery, 5/10/15, 1/4+/1/1, Extra Hull Damage; Minimum Range
[ABCDEF] Ammo: 5
Sinclair-class TAC Frigate
A ship that proved its worth in the wars of colonial independence, the Sinclair-class frigates were as capable at dealing with fighters and bombers as they were larger warships due to the varied weapons carried by the vessel, from the short-ranged but deadly flak cannon to the ubiquitous quick-fire turreted railguns and powerful anti-ship missiles favored by TAC forces.
Type: SINCLAIR-class TERRAN ALLIED COLONIES FRIGATE (75)
Hull: 5 4 3 2 1
Engines: [TL-1] 6 5 4 3 2
Shields: [TL-1] 1 1 1 1 1
Weapons: [TL-1] 1:[VX] 2:[VX] 3:[W] 4:[W] 5:[X] 6:[X]
Battery V: Flak Gun, 1/2/3, 1/5+/2/1, Anti-Fighter; Range-Based ROF; Doubled Range Mods
[ABCD]
Battery W: Anti-Ship Missile Battery, 5/10/15, 1/4+/1/1, Extra Hull Damage; Minimum Range
[ABCDEF] Ammo: 7
Battery X: Quickfire Gun, 2/4/6, 1/5+/1/1, Repeating
[ABCD] [ABCD] [CDEF}
Nevada-class TAC Destroyer
Substantially larger than TAC corvettes or frigates, old-but-reliable Nevada-class destroyers represent excellent bang-for-buck, and as a result are the most numerous type of vessel in the TAC fleet. It is the lightest TAC warship to carry a light fighter/scout.
Type: NEVADA-class TERRAN ALLIED COLONIES DESTROYER (102)
Hull: 6 5 4 3 2 1
Engines: [TL-1] 6 5 4 3 2 1
Shields: [TL-1] 1 1 1 1 1 1
Weapons: [TL-1] 1:[VX] 2:[VX] 3:[VX] 4:[WX] 5:[X] 6:[X]
Battery V: Medium Gun, 3/6/9, 1/5+/2/1
[ABCD] [ABCD] [CDEF]
Battery W: Anti-Ship Missile Battery, 5/10/15, 1/4+/1/1, Extra Hull Damage; Minimum Range
[ABCDEF] Ammo: 8
Battery X: Light Gun, 2/4/6, 1/5+/1/1
[AC] [AC] [BD] [BD] [CDEF] [CDEF]
Special: [TL-1] Carrier (14); Marines (2)
Fighters: [TL-1] 1xFirefly Light Fighter (1), 1/12/1, (Fighter/5+/Non-Piercing)
Tao-class TAC Light Cruiser
Poorly armored and shielded given its size, even for the early years of TAC naval expansion, the Tao-class ships exist none-the-less in large numbers, being considerably cheaper than the Denalis they imitate. Despite the fact that the design bristles with guns when compared to destroyers and frigates, the Tao is not a good match when going toe to toe vs. other capital ships. It carries a light fighter and two full squads of marines for ship security.
Type: TAO-class TERRAN ALLIED COLONIES LIGHT CRUISER (139)
Hull: 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Engines: [TL-1] 5 5 4 4 3 2 2 1
Shields: [TL-1] 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Weapons: [TL-1] 1:[VW] 2:[VW] 3:[VW] 4:[WX] 5:[W] 6:[W]
Battery V: Heavy Gun, 3/6/9, 1/5+/2/1, Piercing +1
[ABCD] [ABCD] [CDEF] [CDEF]
Battery W: Medium Gun, 3/6/9, 1/5+/2/1
[AC] [AC] [BD] [BD] [CE] [CE] [DF] [DF]
Battery X: Anti-Ship Missile Battery, 5/10/15, 1/4+/1/1, Extra Hull Damage; Minimum Range
[ABCDEF] Ammo: 7
Special: [TL-1] Carrier (14); Anti-Fighter Batteries; Marines (2)
Fighters: [TL-1]
1xFirefly Light Fighter (1), 1/12/1, (Fighter/5+/Non-Piercing)
Denali-class TAC Cruiser
A revered class within TAC folklore, the Denali is a battle-proven design that sports a pair of anti-ship missile batteries and Type I main railguns that are significantly more powerful that anything carried by smaller ships. Preferring to stand off and engage at long range, Denali captains have over the years enjoyed many kills where the opposition was unable to fire a shot in return. Carried aboard the ship are two light fighters and two marine squads.
Type: DENALI-class TERRAN ALLIED COLONIES CRUISER (169)
Hull: 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Engines: [TL-1] 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1
Shields: [TL-1] 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1
Weapons: [TL-1] 1:[VX] 2:[VY] 3:[WY] 4:[WY] 5:[X] 6:[X]
Battery V: Main Gun Type I, 4/8/12, 1/5+/2/2, Piercing +2; Slow-Firing; Starship Exclusive
[ABCD] [CDEF]
Battery W: Anti-Ship Missile Battery, 5/10/15, 1/4+/1/1, Extra Hull Damage; Minimum Range
[ABCDEF] [ABCDEF] Ammo: 13
Battery X: Medium Gun, 3/6/9, 1/5+/2/1
[AC] [BD] [CE] [DF]
Battery Y: Light Gun, 2/4/6, 1/5+/1/1
[AC] [BD] [CE] [DF]
Special: [TL-1] Carrier (28); Anti-Fighter Batteries (2); Marines (2)
Fighters: [TL-1]
2xFirefly Light Fighter (1), 1/12/1, (Fighter/5+/Non-Piercing)
Moscow-class TAC Heavy Cruiser
An experiment that saw the mounting of a third Type I Main Gun to an expanded and reinforced Denali hull, Moscow ships were troubled by technical gremlins that took years to shake out; as a result the ships, despite enjoying upgraded shields and powerful weapons, were never procured in large numbers by TEC. A single light fighter and a pair of marine squads are typically carried by the vessel.
Type: MOSCOW-class TERRAN ALLIED COLONIES HEAVY CRUISER (210)
Hull: 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Engines: [TL-1] 4 4 4 3 3 3 2 2 2 1 1
Shields: [TL-1] 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1
Weapons: [TL-1] 1:[VX] 2:[VX] 3:[WY] 4:[W] 5:[W] 6:[X]
Battery V: Main Gun Type I, 4/8/12, 1/5+/2/2, Piercing +2; Slow-Firing; Starship Exclusive
[ABCD] [ABCD] [CDEF]
Battery W: Heavy Gun, 3/6/9, 1/5+/2/1, Piercing +1
[ACE] [ACE] [BDF] [BDF]
Battery X: Quickfire Gun, 2/4/6, 1/5+/1/1, Repeating
[ACE] [ACE] [BDF] [BDF]
Battery Y: Anti-Ship Missile Battery, 5/10/15, 1/4+/1/1, Extra Hull Damage; Minimum Range
[ABCDEF] Ammo: 8
Special: [TL-1] Carrier (15); Armor Plating; Anti-Fighter Batteries; Marines (2)
Fighters: [TL-1]
1xFirefly Light Fighter (1), 1/12/1, (Fighter/5+/Non-Piercing)
Maui-class TAC Patrol Carrier
Dozens of Maui-class patrol carriers have been built over the years -- a ship that performs its duties admirably, it is loved by its crews and respected by its foes. Carrying a full flight of five Dragonfly medium fighters and a shuttle, the carrier generally stays out of harms way during a battle, preferring to let its fighters do the talking. It is well-armed in case of fighter or bomber attack, but can't stand up to sustained heavy weapons fire from capital ships. As a result, the ship is more often used in system defense and patrol duties, rather than assault.
Type: MAUI-class TERRAN ALLIED COLONIES PATROL CARRIER (166)
Hull: 6 5 4 3 2 1
Engines: [TL-1] 4 4 3 2 2 1
Shields: [TL-1] 1 1 1 1 1 1
Weapons: [TL-1] 1:[VX] 2:[VY] 3:[WY] 4:[X] 5:[X] 6:[X]
Battery V: Flak Gun, 1/2/3, 1/5+/2/1, Anti-Fighter; Range-Based ROF; Doubled Range Mods
[ABCD] [CDEF]
Battery W: Interceptor Missile Battery, 2/4/6, 3/4+/2/1, Anti-Fighter; Minimum Range
[ABCDEF] Ammo: 8
Battery X: Quickfire Gun, 2/4/6, 1/5+/1/1, Repeating
[ABCD] [ABCD] [CDEF] [CDEF]
Battery Y: Medium Gun, 3/6/9, 1/5+/2/1
[ACE] [BDF]
Special: [TL-1] Carrier (65); Marines
Fighters: [TL-1]
1xLark Shuttle (1), 1/5/1, (Fighter/6+)
1xDragonfly Medium Fighter (5), 5/10/2, (Fighter/5+)
Condor-class TAC Carrier
The big brother of the Maui, the Condor-class carrier is in many ways the backbone of the TAC fleet. A newer design, it mounts much more formidable anti-ship defenses and capabilities including a compliment of four squadrons of fighters and bombers. Two squads of marines are stationed aboard at all times to fend off boarding actions.
Type: CONDOR-class TERRAN ALLIED COLONIES CARRIER (393)
Hull: 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Engines: [TL-1] 4 4 4 3 3 2 2 2 1 1
Shields: [TL-1] 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Weapons: [TL-1] 1:[VY] 2:[VY] 3:[WY] 4:[XZ] 5:[XZ] 6:[XZ]
Battery V: Flak Gun, 1/2/3, 1/5+/2/1, Anti-Fighter; Range-Based ROF; Doubled Range Mods
[AC] [BD] [CDEF]
Battery W: Interceptor Missile Battery, 2/4/6, 3/4+/2/1, Anti-Fighter; Minimum Range
[ABCDEF] Ammo: 8
Battery X: Quickfire Gun, 2/4/6, 1/5+/1/1, Repeating
[ABCD] [ABCD] [ABCD] [CDEF] [CDEF]
Battery Y: Medium Gun, 3/6/9, 1/5+/2/1,
[AB] [AC] [BD] [EF]
Battery Z: Light Gun, 2/4/6, 1/5+/1/1,
[AB] [AC] [BD] [EF] [EF]
Special: [TL-1] Carrier (250); Marines (2); Anti-Fighter Batteries (2)
Fighters: [TL-1]
2xLark Shuttle (1), 1/5/1, (Fighter/6+)
2xGrackle Bomber (3), 3/8/2, (Fighter/5+/Bomber/Extra Hull Damage/ROF-2)
2xDragonfly Medium Fighter (5), 5/10/2, (Fighter/5+)
Bastille-Class TAC Battleship
The pride of the fleet, relatively few Bastille-class battleships have left the shipyards due to their cost and complexity -- and the fact that they were not ready in time to shift the balance of power in the wars of colonial independence. Bristling with guns, including the savage Type II main railguns, the confident Bastille crews believe she is more than a match for anything in space. Heavy armor, three compliments of marines and withering anti-fighter defenses only serve to further the ship's reputation as a brute.
Type: BASTILLE-class TERRAN ALLIED COLONIES BATTLESHIP (314)
Hull: 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Engines: [TL-1] 3 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1
Shields: [TL-1] 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Weapons: [TL-1] 1:[VXZ] 2:[VYZ] 3:[WYZ] 4:[XY] 5:[XY] 6:[XZ]
Battery V: Main Gun Type II, 5/10/15, 1/5+/2/3, Piercing +3; Slow-Firing; Starship Exclusive
[ABCD] [ABCD] [ABCD] [CDEF] [CDEF]
Battery W: Flak Gun, 1/2/3, 1/5+/2/1, Anti-Fighter; Range-Based ROF; Doubled Range Mods
[ABCD] [CDEF]
Battery X: Heavy Gun, 3/6/9, 1/5+/2/1, Piercing +1
[C] [C] [C] [C] [C] [D] [D] [D] [D] [D]
Battery Y: Medium Gun, 3/6/9, 1/5+/2/1,
[ACE] [ACE] [ACE] [ACE] [ACE] [BDF] [BDF] [BDF] [BDF] [BDF]
Battery Z: Light Gun, 2/4/6, 1/5+/1/1,
[ACE] [ACE] [ACE] [ACE] [ACE] [BDF] [BDF] [BDF] [BDF] [BDF]
Special: [TL-1] Armor Plating; Marines (3); Anti-Fighter Batteries (4)
Kross-class TAC Dreadnought
A huge, slow-moving, antiquated warship of enormous size and power, the Kross-class dreadnoughts were in their day thought to be the very pinnacle of space-mobile warfare. Only a few of the massive ships were ever finished, though three more of their hulls lay incomplete in space docks around the colonies. The orders were canceled once the wars for colonial independence proved that the big vessels were not as invulnerable to fighters and bombers as strategists once thought. Too cumbersome in combat, too limited with its fixed fields of fire, the ships now act more or less as command vessels, flagships or planetary bombardment platforms -- all duties at which they excel.
Type: KROSS-class TERRAN ALLIED COLONIES DREADNOUGHT (258)
Hull: 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Engines: [TL-2] 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Shields: [TL-2] 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Weapons: [TL-2] 1:[VW2YZ] 2:[VX2YZ] 3:[VXY2Z] 4:[WXY2Z] 5:[WXY2Z] 6:[W2YZ]
Battery V: Main Gun Type II, 5/10/15, 1/5+/2/3, Piercing +3; Slow-Firing; Starship Exclusive
[AB] [AB] [AC] [AC] [BD] [BD] [EF]
Battery W: Main Gun Type I, 4/8/12, 1/5+/2/2, Piercing +2; Slow-Firing; Starship Exclusive
[A] [A] [B] [B] [C] [C] [D] [D] [E] [F]
Battery X: Heavy Gun, 3/6/9, 1/5+/2/1, Piercing +1
[A] [A] [B] [B] [C] [C] [D] [D] [E] [F]
Battery Y: Medium Gun, 3/6/9, 1/5+/2/1,
[A] [A] [A] [A] [A] [B] [B] [B] [B] [B] [C] [C] [C] [C] [C] [D] [D] [D] [D] [D] [E] [E] [E] [F] [F] [F]
Battery Z: Light Gun, 2/4/6, 1/5+/1/1,
[A] [A] [A] [A] [B] [B] [B] [B] [C] [C] [C] [C] [C] [D] [D] [D] [D] [D] [E] [E] [E] [E] [F] [F] [F] [F]
Special: [TL-2] Marines (5)
---
Whew. Lot of typing / pasting. More to come tomorrow, including some specialized designs (minelayers, missile cruisers) and some of the newer (Tech Level 0) TAC ships put together to fight the alien menace...</r>
No worries with hijacking the thread for Lego pics -- cool stuff for sure. And speaking of, here are a couple of pics of one of the ships in the aforementioned Starmada encounter between my son and myself. (For the record, once I knocked this ship's missile batteries offline my son retreated off the board.) Planning a much larger encounter this weekend with friends -- really looking forward to it.
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/887058/P1010750.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/887058/P1010752.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/887058/P1010753.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/887058/P1010793.JPG
Very cool! And exactly what I was looking for, so thanks to those who dug these up.
If nothing else it's good inspiration for putting some of the finishing touches on my own setting, which involves a Tech -1 Earth fleet encountering some Tech +1 nasties in space. Plodding Earth ships bristle with armor, railguns and missiles while the quick alien ships pack shield-busting torpedoes and nasty beam weapons. Then there are the "Improved" versions of the new Earth ships off-the-line at Tech 0, which contain a mix of improved railgun weaponry and some beam weapons of their own... essentially an arms race.
Yeah, I dig this game. Thumbs way, way up.
Will post Lego ship picks soon, and hopefully get some designed uploaded as well.
I'm just starting out with Starmada as well, and purchased a half-sized Hotz star map with 2" hexes -- and now wish I had gone with 1.5" as the board looks a little cramped for anything beyond a handful of ships on either side...
Yeah, well aware that it doesn't actually matter regarding weapon names and descriptions and such -- it's just more fun (IMO) knowing what the authors were intending for some of the more exotic-sounding weapons, especially stuff with unusual traits like inverse-range yadda.
Sideline question: do most folks model anti-ship missiles and the like with seekers and strikers only, or also using the traditional weapons? My initial designs have loads of missiles in normal batteries, but I'm now realizing that means that can't be shot down, aren't affected by PDS, etc. Not a big deal, just wondering if there is a convention.
So, got my seven-year-old to play Starmada for the first time tonight (a "rules lite" version), with custom-built Lego ships no less... BIG hit. He wants to play again on the weekend and I'm all for that, as it'll give me a bit more practice before I roll this game out at the "boys" (old men by now, practically) upcoming game night.
But anyway, to my question--
Are there descriptions somewhere of the weapons in the Hammer and Claw book? I *love* some of the ship designs in there and would like to use them, but I have to admit to being puzzled at what some of the weapons are -- Skoonmaak, Denel, Krygkor, Eviscerator, Mauler, Little Death, Ravenous, Raven, etc. Am I missing something? I know it doesn't *really* matter, but are they described somewhere in the book that I'm just missing? If not, on the web somewhere?
(And I'd share pics of the Lego ships, but don't want to blast the board with big attachments since I'm a newcomer and don't know the rules of the road with that sort of thing yet.)
Hi folks. Since stumbling across Starmada this month and building my own fleets for my home-brew setting, I've also been on the hunt for adaptations of other "official" settings to see how some things stack up. I've got Klingon Armada, but are there resources out there on the web for later ST universe ships, for Star Wars, etc.? I see the Bab 5 conversion in the "Files" section on this site -- that's the sort of thing I'm talking about. If there isn't an existing one for Jovian Chronicles / Lightning Strike, is anyone interested in seeing that? (I'm considering doing one if I can't find one...)
Thanks for the info -- I'll explore what's out there and be on the lookout for updates to Shipbuilder and whatnot. A web-based version sounds keen. I have indeed built some ships (lots of them, actually), so I'll look into posting them to the Basin. Haven't looked, but suspect that Drake notation must be the way to go.
So onto my fledgling experiences with the game so far -- I've found Vassal to be an excellent tool in running the game solo so I can learn the ropes and see how everything works in practice rather than just in my head (probably won't get to try it with friends live for a month or two, during our next "game night"). I now grok the movement system with all the spiffy optional rules (side-slipping, pivoting, etc.), I've played with damage control, shields vs. screens, I've seen the power of power Countermeasures and Fire Control, I've witnessed the utter coolness that happens when a ship traveling at speed gets an engine hit or two and suddenly can't turn -- absolutely awesome stuff. Vector movement without tracking vectors. Bravo!
House rule-wise, the only things that have occurred to me are regarding shields and Pivots. (I own the Core Rulebook, the Rules Annex, ISS, H&C and KA, btw. Didn't see anything in those directly related to...)
-True Star Trek style shields -- where the hull at least doesn't seem to take any damage until the shield is completely down. My thought here was to make it so that any impact roll that exceeded a shield facing's value lowered that value by 1 rather than going through to the ship's systems/hull. So a D-7 hit by a Phaser in a shield facet with a rating of 3 would have that rating lowered to 2 if the impact roll was 4-6. (Possibly reducing it my more based on IMP or DAM.) I've also thought about having these kinds of shields automatically regenerate, but the more I think about this whole angle it probably makes shields too tough. Anyhoo. Thoughts?
-Pivots bug me just slightly in that after paying thurst for the rotation, you immediately rotated back to your "heading" solely for the ease of bookkeeping. Has anyone given thought to how we could keep the pivot heading -- indeed, even making players pay thrust to get the pivoted ship *back* on it's heading? I have a feeling In That Way Lies Madness, as even that little increase in complexity / bookkeeping will detract from the simplicity and elegance of the game, but am wondering if anyone else has given it thought.
Last question: is there a source of pre-painted minis around? Ideally pre-painted from the manufacturer? I'm *horrible* at painting minis, and for as much as I like these kinds of games, have never gotten enjoyment out of sitting down with the paintbrush...
Hi folks. Not sure why it's taken me so long to find Starmada, but I have -- and I have to say it looks like exactly what I've been looking for in a space combat game for years. So I've grabbed and devoured every PDF on the mj12 site over the holiday break and am now looking at getting some friends involved and also getting set up with Vassal. So, questions:
-It looks like there are several shipbuilder spreadsheets drifting around. I like the one on the main mj12 site (simple, produces both a datacard and Drake notation), but it seems to be lacking some of the later options -- catastrophic weapon damage, for example. Is there an update coming for that, or a different sheet that most people prefer?
-Is the community active playing this game on Vassal? I'd actually like to play the game a couple of times there with someone who can help show me the ropes, make sure I'm interpreting rules correctly and such.
-Are there many houserules kicking around for the latest version of the game, or is there a particular place to post them for game-balance type discussion?
Thanks for reading. Really looking forward to playing.
-Harrigan
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