Topic: Severely limiting range

We're contemplating severely limiting range in our next campaign (to 12 or even 9), but not for the reasons described here. We think shorter weapon ranges may effectively make the map bigger and make maneuver more important, which is a Good Thing.

Re: Severely limiting range

Sounds like it could be allot more fun that way. The only problem I may foresee is that once in range your ship will have more firepower coming at them than at longer ranges.

You also may see your opponant start using more fighters and strikers/Drones

...................Doug

Re: Severely limiting range

Due to the increase of fighters and drones back in Starmada X days, we ended up lifting our range cap -- instead, we limited weapons over range 12 to rate of fire of 1, and a combined PEN and DMG no greater than 3 (2 PEN, 1 DMG... or 1 PEN, 2 DMG)

It worked for us in maintaining an average range of 9 - 12 while still allowing the occasional sniping attacks to be used

Nahuris

Re: Severely limiting range

It's been my experience that two factors increase maneuver in games - Starmada and otherwise:

1) A high rate of movement relative to weapons ranges.
2) Narrow/constrained firing arcs.

Re: Severely limiting range

So maybe single fire arc's might be another rule you could incorprate.

Re: Severely limiting range

Yeah, we're currently contemplating limiting arcs to forward (G), port broadside (HJ), starboard broadside(IK), and aft (L).

Re: Severely limiting range

A range of 12 means that fighters that move 12 or 15 will wreck you. Why not try range 18 or so, it still makes manuvering important.

Re: Severely limiting range

Many players find the long ranges of the heavy weapons on my starships to be .. alarming (!)
I hope to get a chance to play with other gamers outside of Florida.  If these visiting gamers don't use r=30, I can change the maximum range to r=18.   :shock:
I have my ships saved and I can easily change the range and then print the shorter-ranged ships out.  This would give the heavy Plasma Guns r=18, and secondaries r=12.  This would make them more like the ships others play.  8)
And then I could demonstrate that I can manuever ships...

Re: Severely limiting range

speaking for myself; I'd say cheesy, not alarming. tongue

Re: Severely limiting range

The ability to shoot further than your opponents is cheesy.
Did you think before you posted that, or just randomly bang your head on the keyboard until a sentence was formed?

I can outshoot you, meaning I can hit you before you can hit me, and I can stay at long range and kill you while you sit out of range or hitting worse wondering why you use such a silly design for a gun.

Seriously, range anything less than 21 on your main battery is just silly.

Re: Severely limiting range

No doubt when British Admiral Fisher and others pushed the construction of HMS Dreadnought in 1905, the designers of the existing predreadnoughts were "...speaking..."(!) in a similiar fasion.
I do not see my designs as cheesy. 
In fact, they have even been described as ... inovative.  tongue
And nessary to deal with the ships my Florida gaming friends play.
Last Thursday, my ships were defeated soundly two games in a row by ships designed by Gaming Glenn.  :shock:

Re: Severely limiting range

PSYCO829 wrote:

The ability to shoot further than your opponents is cheesy.

In the tone you wrote that -- pure sarcasm? -- I agree. It is not a cheezy thing to design guns that outrange your opponent.

PSYCO829 wrote:

Seriously, range anything less than 21 on your main battery is just silly.

This statement however... it just silly.

The range for the main battery of guns on a ship is "good or bad" depending entirely on the context -- what are the ranges of the guns I am fighting? What is the accuracy of those weapons? How much IMP and DMG do they have? Any traits I should be aware of? How maneuverable are the ships carryinig those guns? How fragile are they? Any ship options that change the equasion? And so on.

Context.

Without it, no blanket statement like "range anything less than 21 on your main battery is just silly" can be taken seriously.

(IMHO, YMMV, yada yada yada)

Re: Severely limiting range

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.

Daniel Kast
Majestic Twelve Games
cricket@mj12games.com

Re: Severely limiting range

Sorry Dan.  I've tried to keep quiet for some weeks now...I'm simply at my limit about it...with all due respect sir.  I do believe that this discussion should be locked on all fronts and further discussion be taken up amongst the admiralty to run the full diagnostic.  Things are going in circles here.

In further response:

I've heard about enough of 'my guns shoot 30 and have acc 2+ and every other maxed out piece of hardware that can possibly be fit in my size gazillion ship!' tripe.   Beo...I'm glad you and your pals have fun playing at what conservative old fogies like myself consider the twaddle end of the game spectrum.  More power to you.  However...simply because you all play the same style please, refrain from using it as an example of how things are not at risk of being broken.  Your very campaign speaks volumes on the subject and is essentially what indicated that there was something off kilter.

No...it isn't wrong to design a weapon that out ranges everything else.  it is however somewhat less than balanced to be able to do so with EVERY weapon on the ship with accuracy that essentially makes rolling the dice almost meaningless.  THAT'S THE CHEESE FACTOR!!!  And yeah Psy...I did think about my comment at great length. Obviously in greater depth than you did your response. 

*out* :?