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mj12games.com/forum → Starmada → What's missing?
How about an honest idea, I didn't figure Space Dragons would be taken seriously....
How about regular damage control? The Crew can fix certain systems during a battle?
How about regular damage control? The Crew can fix certain systems during a battle?
By regular do you mean special equipment?
Engines, Shields and Weapons come under Appendix E.1 Damage Control.
Paul
thedugan wrote:How about regular damage control? The Crew can fix certain systems during a battle?
By regular do you mean special equipment?
Engines, Shields and Weapons come under Appendix E.1 Damage Control.Paul
Crap, i don't remember that - I don't have the manual here, I'm at work. I *DID* have it here....
my takes:
- damage to systems (seems like a must for most SciFi settings in my mind)
- crews
both easy to apply if you want (the first is addressed in a separate thread, and the second can grant abilities like:
- can correct his planned move after others have moved
- increases weapon stats
- increased efficiency of marines
- increased efficiency of fighters
- some repair capabilities
no name just a few)
but if you want to know what I would add, here are my takes...
Perhaps one thing that came up during a game last night (Borg vs. Klingons).
Presently, movement costs for 2 turns or a U-turn are the same. Perhaps it would be possible to reduce the turn cost for 2 turns making them a bit (and only a slight bit) easier.
Something like: The turn cost are the sum of the last turns and half the current turns speed (meanint a engine 6 ship would be able to turn 2 times when flying with speed 4 and is undamaged)
How about a piece of Special Equipment called Damage Control Teams (or System?) that works with Option E1.
You can just use the Directed Damage mechanic and allow the player to re-roll the Damage Control roll if they choose.
I second this entire post, plus Ablative/Directional Shields that are set at construction time and odd ranges (21, 27, >30)
I'd like to see the various optional rules bandied about normalized in cost and published in an 'offical' product. Redundant Sheilds, Odd-Ranged Weapons, 'fixed' screens, Three-Turn Weapons.
Dual-Mode weapons with ammo for one mode.
Some provision for stowage/carriage of craft larger than fighters. FTL Tugs, if you will.
A look at how speed and weapon range interact. Not really an 'add something', but are we sure that Engines 12 and Range 4 is as good as Engines 4 and Range 12?
Some way to shoot down seekers and strikers before they hit your ship, on the turn they hit your ship. CIWS.
(I shudder to say this) Counter-based weapons that do not rely on seekers/strikers/fighters/mines/etc. Some way to build something that works like the Romulan Plasma from "Balance of Terror"
Some way to add more decision points, and encourage use of those decision points. Limited Arc Weapons, Ammunition, and Slow-Firing helps inform fire decisions... but more of this is always good.
So, think big. What's missing from the Universal Game of Starship Combat?
Was this a clue? Space stations?
Romulan plasma type weapon, idea:
Single spinal weapon (Energy) single arc (G). Damage as hull, looses 1 point of damage per three hex/inches and per hit that it takes (only hit on a 6+). Shot travels at speed 6 per turn in a straight line. from the second turn after launch and before movement expands 1 hex.
Damage is taken by all craft that it hits. Roll against shields (IMP) or weakest screen.
Range = 24 (4turns), or when damage points =0.
Paul
An excellent idea Paul. It will be a little like the Nova Cannon in Full Thrust. Before finding Starmada, my friends and I used to play that game. The efect of one of these things moving across the map is very interesting... 8-)
Speaking of Uber-Weapons....How about the 'Singularity Cannon' - shoots Black Holes ?
Something I came up with on my first (and forvever to be unpublished) starship game was something called the "Unified Field Projector":
- First turn, anything the targetted hex recieves 1d6 damage, the Projector must continue to target (and fire at) the target hex for subsequent turns to 'grow' the Field.
- 2nd Turn, Target Hex damage goes up to 2d6, and the field spreads to the adjacent surrounding hexes - anything in those 6 surrounding hexes recieves 1d6. Projector must continue to fire.
- 3rd and following turns - the area affected grows by one hex a turn, and the damage increases by 1d6 in the hexes inside the outer ring of hexes. The outer ring of hexes will cause 1d6 damage to targets in those hexes.
Horribly unplayable, but for something in a Space Opera drama, it might have been an interesting plot device.
Oops forgot to put in the bit about shields (edited above.)
Speaking of Uber-Weapons....How about the 'Singularity Cannon' - shoots Black Holes ?
Something I came up with on my first (and forvever to be unpublished) starship game was something called the "Unified Field Projector":
Bit like the Genesis Device, I'm gonna take them with me! :evil:
Paul
Sorry for the name, but maybe someone can suggest a better one:
Area-Defence Fire Control.
Space Requirement: 5%, DRat: x1.5
This device will allow a ship to, on any turn, designate that an entire battery may be switched into anti-fighter exclusive mode. This mode will allow that battery to fire in the fighter phase, but will only be allowed to fire at fighters and fighter-like units (breachers, boarding pods, strikers, seekers etc).
Sorry for the name, but maybe someone can suggest a better one:
Area-Defence Fire Control.
Saturation Fire Protocol?
I came up with some more ideas after a couple of games over the weekend.
1) A quick reference. Something with the Arcs, movement chart, to hit on 7+, and hit allocation would be nice for introducing new players.
2) Backwards movement. Could this be done by just appending the minus sign in front of numbers and having the speed by the sum of the absolute values of all numbers?
3) Tractor beams
4) Fixed screens. For lack of a better term, screens that are fixed to a certain hex and that can't be configured. Essentially shields with different values per hex.
5) Advanced hiding/sensor rules. I think these would add a lot of fun to certain scenarios. You'd probably need a GM though for them to provide the best feel.
Another thought...How about a way to differentiate between, Normal and Weak hulled ships? I was thinking of something that would be along the lines of a modifier to construction that wouldn't affect gameplay in any way. A weak hulled merchant designed with 10 hulls of SUs to accomodate cargo space would apply the "Weak" modifier so that the final Hull that shows on the Ship Display would be, say 8 (to pick a simple number...I KNOW Dan would have to use the square root of something). I'm thinking of campaign games here mostly, and it makes something like a Q-ship converted freighter something other than a warship in sheeps clothing. By the same respect, a battleship with 10 Hull spaces worth of equipement stay 10 Hull hits, representing additional internal bracing, bulkheads, compartmentalization, redundant systems, etc...to make it ton for ton, more durable than the merchant.
I know you could do Strong Hulls too, but it adds a greater degree of complexity, and doesn't seem necessary to the flavor of the game if you just consider warships as the "norm".
Just thinking again.
Cheers,
Erik
As there are weapons that only may fire at starhips how about some who may only fire at fighters? (modifier of x 0.4 or something)
Another thought...How about a way to differentiate between, Normal and Weak hulled ships? I was thinking of something that would be along the lines of a modifier to construction that wouldn't affect gameplay in any way. A weak hulled merchant designed with 10 hulls of SUs to accomodate cargo space would apply the "Weak" modifier so that the final Hull that shows on the Ship Display would be, say 8 (to pick a simple number...I KNOW Dan would have to use the square root of something). I'm thinking of campaign games here mostly, and it makes something like a Q-ship converted freighter something other than a warship in sheeps clothing. By the same respect, a battleship with 10 Hull spaces worth of equipement stay 10 Hull hits, representing additional internal bracing, bulkheads, compartmentalization, redundant systems, etc...to make it ton for ton, more durable than the merchant.
I know you could do Strong Hulls too, but it adds a greater degree of complexity, and doesn't seem necessary to the flavor of the game if you just consider warships as the "norm".
Just thinking again.
Cheers,
Erik
It's not really worth it. A 'merchant' ship that's made up of 90% cargo space and a token weapon is cheap enough. And, if you don't put any weapons/offensive systems at all on it then it's free (CRAT = 0). Don't put any defenses on those ships and they go *boom* pretty darn fast. :idea: Another idea is to let the damage rolls of 2,4,6 also do a hull hit.
I figured out the statistics for some of my Traveller ship miniatures, giving them each a weapon (or two for the Millenium... er, "Free Trader" 
), and the total cost of the five of them is less than any capital ship (even those dinky ones that the rest of you use 
).
Counter-Fire Battery: essentially intercepts incoming attacks by small craft and expendable weapons. Does not shoot down small craft.
Electronic Warfare Suite: Operates in either ECM mode (-1 to hit by enemy) or in Scan Boost Mode (+1 to hit against enemy). Only affects equipped ship...
exception-
(Scout) Data Link: allows ship within X hexes of another friendly to share target data, including that by EWS-scan boost mode, even if other ship does not have data link.
some ideas...while half asleep. :mrgreen:
Energy Allocation
/end sarcasm
As far as Energy Allocation goes, I can see having 'Option points' or some such just to fire BIG weapons or activate MAJOR systems in starship games - but NOT in Starmada..
Yeah, I know it was sarcasm, but I figured I'd throw that out there...
Energy Allocation
/end sarcasm
and an Impulse movement system where you can fire weapons after each hex of movement.
/end moresarcasm
...and an Impulse movement system where you can fire weapons after each hex of movement.
/end moresarcasm
Not in Starmada, perhaps in a 'fighter game'....
Electronic Warfare Suite: Operates in either ECM mode (-1 to hit by enemy) or in Scan Boost Mode (+1 to hit against enemy). Only affects equipped ship...
exception-
(Scout) Data Link: allows ship within X hexes of another friendly to share target data, including that by EWS-scan boost mode, even if other ship does not have data link.
My experience with this (we had something like it for Squadron Strike during testing): If you put this on ships, such that it works automatically, unless you make it so expensive that nobody bothers to put it on the hull, you can expect that everyone will put two on their hull, one to jam, one to counter. At which point, most of the decision making goes out of it.
What we ended up doing instead (not trying to pitch my own game here, just showing what we had for 'least bad' alternatives) was that ECM always worked, ECCM was rated in dice; roll your ECCM dice per ship, compare each roll to Crew Rate. Each ECCM die that equalled or exceeded the Crew Rate target by countered one point of ECM for all targets that ship engaged this turn. It could be ranged (out to range 3), such that nearby ships could get the benefit of it (but would get the better of their own roll or the lending ships, not the cumulative sum).
Each set of double 10s (would be double 6s in 'Mada) allowed the ECCM-using player to declare one level of ECM null and void on one class of enemy ships for the rest of the battle. The second nullification took a triple 10, the third a quadruple, and so on. Tech differences added (or subtracted) from the number of 10s needed to burn through ECM, but you still needed at least two.
What happens on the table is that everyone rolls ECCM per ship, and puts a die next to the base to show how many levels of burnthrough they have.
I would prefer expensive to fiddly for the ECM. 
I would prefer expensive to fiddly for the ECM.
Heh. That's less fiddly than what's already in Starmada.
"I have 4d of ECM, succeeding on a 5+." Roll. "OK, 2 successes." Put die next to base with a "2" up.
We tried a LOT of options. This one sucked least. It didn't turn ECM/ECCM into its own tedious mini game (a'la SFB), it allowed Crew Rate to matter, and allows tech level differences to impact the ECM/ECCM game over time.
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