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Historical correlators wishing to prepare simulations regarding the conflicts that lead our progress to the current tenth stage may wish to access the following archives that have been prepared on the ship designs of New Magadha.
Note: access to this data is a correctable offense for units not possessing a stability coefficient of at least 0.7398.
New Magadha Standard Missiles & Drones
Lotus AFM: 4/15/4+/0 (27 Capacity)
Seeker; ROF-3Jasmine Hunter-Killer: 4/12/4+/0 (27 Capacity)
Striker; ROF-2Foxglove ASM: 4/8/3+/0 (26 Capacity)
Seeker; IMP-2; DMG-3
The Lotus Anti-Fighter Missile was a clever implementation of a fairly low-tech concept. Its terminal stage releases a huge cloud of semi-ballistic "smart rocks", each with a few seconds of course correction capacity. It proved nearly as effective in an anti-ship role as it did versus the robot heavy strikers. This flexibility, combined with its high speed, led Magadhan ship captains to favor this in their loadouts over the more single purpose and slower Foxglove. Meanwhile the Foxglove proved ineffective against the heavy shielding of the Sun Ras which were their natural target. Its heavy thermonuclear warhead was of little use if it could not make contact with its target.
The Jasmine was a late war innovation in response to the more flexible and unpredictable AI guidance systems used by the machines; it proved effective when deployed in a mix with the Lotus.
The previous three designs defined the core concept of the pre-war Magadhan fleet. The following designs were either partially or wholly completed after the war commenced.
(280) Lord Ram-class New Magadha Battlecruiser
Hull: 10 09 08 07 06 05 04 03 02 01
Engines: 06 06 05 05 04 03 03 02 02 01
Shield: 03 03 03 03 02 02 02 01 01 01
Weapons: 1:XZ 2:X 3:X 4:Y 5:Y 6:ZX: Wave Disruptor: 6/12/18, 1/4+/3/1
Inverted Range Mod; No Hull Damage
[A] [A] [G] [B] [B]Y: Particle Lance (Quad): 4/8/12, 4/5+/1/2
Piercing
[AC] [AB] [BD]Z: Plasma Cluster: 1/2/3 3/4+/1/1
Doubled Range Modifiers
[ACEF] [BDEF]Special: Seekers/Strikers (81), Launch Capacity 3
Class representatives: Lord Ram, Lord Bharata
Laid down prior to first contact with Machine Socialism, the Lord Ram was intended to operate as a dedicated fleet striker in support of the Devi class in fleet engagements. Its upgraded wave disruptor battery sacrificed versatility of arcs for heavier striking power. The innovation of grouping several particle lance projectors around one central driving accelerator allowed an increased volume of fire at the risk of a lucky hit taking out several weapons at once. Finally the design was the first to incorporate the plasma cluster for close defense, a last minute design change which in retrospect consumed hull capacity that might otherwise have been put to better use.
In fact, although the Lord Rams included some uneasy design compromises, they performed reasonably well in the field.
(74) Shiva-B-class New Magadha Fast Patrol Ship
Hull: 02 01
Engines: 09 05
Shield: 00 00
Weapons: 1:XXY 2:XXY 3:XXY 4:XX 5:XX 6:XXX: Particle Lance: 4/8/12, 1/5+/1/2
Piercing
[A] [A] [B] [B]Y: Plasma Cluster: 1/2/3 3/4+/1/1
Doubled Range Modifiers
[CDEF]Special: Armor, Countermeasures, Stealth
Shiva-Bs were designed to stand up to early war robot fighters that had proved difficult to handle with the A models. Unfortunately that turned out not to be the foes they had to face. In the end, the extra manufacturing cost combined with the unfortunately restricted firing arcs (based on obsolete data from early war robot attack patterns), left the Shiva-Bs as poor cousins to the original model.
(130) Ganesh-class New Magadha Multirole Escort
Hull: 06 05 04 03 02 01
Engines: 06 05 04 03 02 01
Shield: 04 04 03 02 02 01
Weapons: 1:XY 2:X 3:X 4:X 5:X 6:XX: Particle Lance: 4/8/12, 1/5+/1/2
Piercing
[A] [B] [AB] [AB] [AC] [BD]Y: Plasma Cluster: 1/2/3 3/4+/1/1
Doubled Range Modifiers
[CDEF]Special: Fire Control, Seekers/Strikers (54), Launch Capacity 2
Class representatives: Ganesh, Vinayaka
A variant design using the Hanuman hull, the Ganesh class was intended to increase total fleet missile capacity by supplementing the Devis or Lord Rams. Installing launch bays required eliminating a third of the particle lance mounts, as well as restricting some firing arcs on the remaining mounts. However the addition of a much improved target prediction package increased the effectiveness of the remaining batteries. While not capable of the same dedicated close range slugging as a Hanuman, the Ganesh proved a capable addition to the Magadhan order of battle.
(320) Arjuna-class New Magadha Missle Escort
Hull: 06 05 04 03 02 01
Engines: 06 05 04 03 02 01
Shield: 04 04 03 02 02 01
Weapons: 1:X 2:X 3:_ 4:_ 5:_ 6:_X: Plasma Cluster: 1/2/3 3/4+/1/1
Doubled Range Modifiers
[ABCDEF] [ABCDEF]Special: Seekers/Strikers (216), Launch Capacity 2
Class representatives: Arjuna
Magadhan ship designers dabbled with a pure missile carrier, but the initial example built did not survive its first engagement. With a construction cost exceeding that of a Lord Ram, it was declared a failed experiment, and the idea was not pursued.
(182) Devi-class New Magadha Cruiser
Hull: 08 07 06 05 04 03 02 01
Engines: 06 06 05 04 03 03 02 01
Shield: 03 03 03 02 02 02 01 01
Weapons: 1:XY 2:XY 3:XY 4:Y 5:Y 6:YX: Wave Disruptor: 6/12/18, 1/4+/3/1
Inverted Range Mod; No Hull Damage
[HG] [AB] [AB] [GI]Y: Particle Lance: 4/8/12, 1/5+/1/2
Piercing
[AB] [AB] [AC] [AC] [BD] [BD] [E] [F]Special: Seekers/Strikers (54), Launch Capacity 2
Class representatives: Sarasvati
Originally envisioned as the core unit of the Magadhan fleet, with excellent multirole capability, only one hull, the Sarasvati, was ever completed, as production capacity was diverted to the heavier Lord Ram class in the face of the robot threat. The Sarasvati, in concert with her Hanuman class escorts managed to give excellent account of herself on numerous occasions throughout the war.
(124) Hanuman-class New Magadha Battle Escort
Hull: 06 05 04 03 02 01
Engines: 06 05 04 03 02 01
Shield: 04 04 03 02 02 01
Weapons: 1:XY 2:YY 3:YY 4:YY 5:Y 6:YX: Wave Disruptor: 6/12/18, 1/4+/3/1
Inverted Range Mod; No Hull Damage
[G]Y: Particle Lance: 4/8/12, 1/5+/1/2
Piercing
[AB] [AB] [AC] [AC] [BD] [BD] [E] [F] [L]Class representatives: Hanuman, Garuda, Varaha
The tough Hanumans probably represent the most successful design fielded by the beleaguered colonists. Hanumans were legendary for their ability to soak up fire while continuing to fight. Their excellent weapon arcs avoided blind spots, while allowing an impressive concentration of fire against any target unlucky enough to cross their centerline.
(63) Shiva-A-class New Magadha Fast Patrol Ship
Hull: 02 01
Engines: 09 05
Shield: 00 00
Weapons: 1:XX 2:XX 3:XX 4:XX 5:XX 6:XXX: Particle Lance: 4/8/12, 1/5+/1/2
Piercing
[AC] [BD] [G] [G]Special: Armor, Countermeasures, Stealth
These light attack craft combine significant speed with a heavy punch for their size, while relying on an impressive electronics package to misdirect enemy fire in place of conventional shielding. While the Shiva featured a heavily armored crew compartment to make it more survivable, Shiva crews had to be among the bravest or most foolhardy in the fleet.
This is my campaign fleet that opposed the Machine Socialists.
The people of New Magadha were chosen by fate to be the last of the human colonies to fall to the rapid encroachments of Machine Socialism. While initial encounters seemed to show that the robots were easily dispatched, the overconfidence this engendered was quickly punished by the machines' rapid rate of innovation.
The Magahdan fleet structure was based around one or more capital ships mounting the long range wave disruptor, firing electroweak standing waves that wreaked havoc with the target's systems, hopefully rendering them easy prey for high speed Shiva fast patrol ships. The capital ships were protected by tough, hard hitting escorts, design to punish any foes who attempted to close with the line.
The primary weapon of the Magadhan fleet was the particle lance, firing microsecond bursts of exotic particles at relativistic speeds, timed to decay into cascades of secondary radiation as they passed through the target. This offered excellent shield penetration characteristics and good damage on a successful strike, but the precise timing required taxed even the best fire control systems and rendered the weapon unreliable.
Post first-contact Magadhan designs also included the plasma cluster, short range sprays of superheated plasma flak intended to deal with the fighter designs fielded by early machine socialist fleets. Unfortunately the robots switched away from these designs almost immediately, rendering this system mostly useless. The design failure was most pronounced in the refitted Shiva-Bs, where the addition of the plasma cluster required severely restricting the fields of fire of the particle lance mounts, while slowing down the production lines as a result of integrating the complex new system. As a result, the original pre-war Shiva-As continued to be favored by front line commanders.
Magadhan designs also made use of a number of missile and drone designs to supplement the direct fire capability of its ships. These designs changed substantially throughout the war; the ones presented here are the final versions used in the last few pivotal battles.
Note: the designs presented here were done with different multipliers for certain traits (primarily Piercing) that have since been revised. I have not recosted the ships to reflect those changes.
We are using the "simplest possible campaign" rules from the Imperial sourcebook. So far they are working quite well.
Those are some cool ideas.
The first game of Starmada that my friend Johnzo and I played we did as a first contact scenario - we each designed our fleet, and then in play, the ship control sheets were hidden (that is to say we graciously did not look at our opponents sheets) and information on systems was simply revealed as it was used:
- you found out about weapons when they shot you
- you found out how fast ships could go as they moved
- you found out about shields when you shot something.
It was great fun - we are now playing a campaign game using evolved fleets from the original first contact.
Aha! SAE Core 0.0 pg 38 lists an attack value of 4+ for boarding pods, and the 1.0 revision summary does not errata this. There's the discrepancy!
So what it sounds like you are saying is that standard board pods are cheaper than custom boarding pods because they are standard 
Okay, now *I'm* really confused. Using a coefficient of 18, and the Boarding Pod stats on Page 38 of SAE Core (v0.0) of Size 6, Speed 10, Attack 4+, Defense 0, I get:
(18 * (7*7) * 10 / 4 /6)**.5 = 19.16 -> capacity 20
v0.0 says the capacity for these boarding pods is 25
v1.0 revision summary says the capacity for these boarding pods is 16
What am I missing?
Yes, but the rules on page 38, while stating that Boarding Pods can be customized per F.1, fail to provide a coefficient for the formula found in F.1.
Using the revised capacity for standard boarding pods of 16, and the boarding pod stats of 6/10/4+/0, when I the formula backwards, I get a coefficient of 12.
Quick errata: it looks like you tried to set up the H&C source book so it was indepedent of the ISS sourcebook, but I see that some of the ships in H&C use Carronade, but the rules for Carronade are not included.
When using rule F.4 (Launch & Recovery), it states that launch occurs in the End Phase, but doesn't have anything to say on how to sequence launches when both players have possible launches.
When dealing with fighters and strikers, this is less important, but becomes very important with seekers, especially when reacting to announced targets.
This came up in our game tonight, and we wound up handling similar to direct fire sequencing. Count up the number of launch capable ships on each side, then the side with more goes first, and launch opportunities are interleaved according to the ratio between the sides (e.g. if one side has 4 launch capable ships, and the other has 2, then the side with four would conduct launches from two ship, then 1 from the other side, etc).
Any official ruling on how this should be handled?
My friend and I both bought copies from RPG now within the last few weeks and they were version 0.0. It would be nice to be able to get v 1.0.
Kzinti represent, yo!
Doubled Range mods are not a bad idea, but I still think the base accuracy should be 4+. If you went with DR, then it'd be 2+ at close (as good as you can do in Starmada), 4+ at medium, and 6+ hail mary at long.
Long range photons were always a gamble, thus the much loved narrow salvo proxy fused volley
I actually thing ranged based ROF is better than ranged based damage for phasers, because a phaser shot nearly always guaranteed you SOME damage over a curve, rather than single all or nothing big hit.
Interesting. Both ships will take an average of 30 hits to kill:
10 / .333 = 30
15 / .5 = 30
It'll take an average of 3/.166 = 18 hits to slow the Armadillo to engines 3, while the Horned Toad will slow in an average of 4/.33 = 12.
However, as you point out, the shields on the Horned Toad are slightly hardier, and the weapons are slightly more survivable.
I think it's actually a pretty close call.
Thoughts as a one time SFB grognard, here are my reactions
I'd consider decreasing photons accuracy to 4+ They were always a bit of a crap shoot, especially at long range, big bang or zip.
Phaser I should not only have range, but a bit more punch than the Phaser III. I'd suggest 2 impact dice, which would preserve the smooth range of damage of the phaser.
As of right now, I could cloak 3 ships, fly them up to adjacent hexes with an enemy ship, hit him with a few AoE weapons from the rest of my fleet, relying on my cloak to avoid the damage, and then decloak and fire on the damaged target from close range....
Well, since you uncloak during Orders phase, regardless of the ruling on AoE vs cloak, you could always do this exact same tactic by flying near, AoE weapons fire (end of turn), uncloak, move up, short range fire. If you can pull this off, good tactic!
and if he uses stealth, or ECM, I can target my own ships (I know where they are, so they are detected as far as I am concerned) to avoid those penalties, but my cloaked ships would not take damage......
This is just silly. First of all, even if you were considering your own ships as "cloaked, dectected" you wouldn't avoid damage, those ships would attacked with a -1 to hit penalty, and enemy ships in the area will be attacked with whatever penalty is appropriate to the tech they are using. See:
http://mj12games.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1300
You target an AoE weapon on a hex, not a ship. Each ship in the area is then attacked with whatever penalties would ensue if that ship had been specifically targeted. If that ship is NOT a legal target (undetected cloak, stealth at long range) then the target is not hit.
So to play devils advocate, it is not necessarily the case that an AoE weapon represents a giant wave of energy. For example, I could propose a weapon that deploys a big cloud of smart submunitions that then home in on available targets in the area. In which case it makes perfect sense, reasoning from "special effect" that cloaked ships would not be effected.
I'm actually pretty much on the side of sticking with strict interpretation of rules effects, and avoiding exceptions where possible. It's one of the things that attracted me to SAE in the first place 
Cloaked ships are immune to damage. Period.
Well, let's be careful here. Mines and Asteroids include specific language that indicate that cloaked ships DO take damage from those sources
It would appear however that cloaked ships may not be attacked by weapons however.
If a friendly element is within the Area of Effect of an AoE weapon, must it undergo an attack from that weapon? My assumption is yes.
Comment: as far as I can tell, no where do the rules actually say that you cannot fire at an undetected cloaked ship It's just assumed (I assume).
Question: how do Area Effect weapons interact with cloak? Based on the discussion at:
http://mj12games.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1300
...my guess would be that an undetected cloaked ship is not vulnerable to them, even if it happens to be one of the seven affected hexes, and a detected cloaked ship would be attacked at -1 if caught in the AoE. Is this correct?
I dunno, 10% is 10%. You can pack some good firepower (or defense) in that space. I originally started thinking about this because I've got some small (hull 2) attack craft that I'm very happy with, but they are not HD equipped. adding one would cut their firepower by %25, so I started thinking about building a tender for them. Plus there's just a certain element of "well how would I model this?" going on
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