I have bought all SFU Starmada books and I used them as a basis to make my own ships as I was not totally pleased with them. Aside the usual problem as cited above, I feel I don't need to have loads of variant for the same hull. For example, is there really a difference between CA, NCA, CC, CF (well a bit, but having a slightly faster ship with less weapons is not really enticing), etc...
Also, I wanted to have more racial distinctions between fleets. I know those books were adapted from FC ships, but I don't feel a rationale behind how they were designed. So, here is how I designed them:
- First, all ships have hyperdrive. After all, all ships are able to move at warp speed, but AFAIK, they can't fight at that speed. It just allow them to move great distance (and that's already good).
- Second, each fleet has its own ship trait. Federation has fire control (mode advanced technologically), klingon has overthrusters (more nimble ships), hydran has point defense (a side effect of their gatling phaser, although they still have them for offensive oe anti-fighter purpose), Kzinti has AFB (a side effect of numerous ph 3 and anti-drones), romulan has cloaking device (obvious), gorn has armor plating (I decided they should have sturdy ships), tholian has web generators, lyran has ESG (obvious too), neo-tholian has... well, I don't really remember. When andromedans should appear, I feel they should have regeneration (power absorbers... IIRC).
- Third, each race should have no more than 2 or three weapon systems (at least on a ship), just to avoid having some races being much too alike, like kzinti and klingon... Fed has photons, ph 1 and ph 3 (no more drone), Klin has disruptor, ph 2 and some drone, kzinti has disruptor (but not a lot), ph 1, ph 3 and a lot (a LOT) of drones, hydran has either hellbore either fusion and stinger, and ph 2 and ph G, lyran has disruptor and ph 1, Romulan has different weapon suites according to the serie (hawk, eagle and kestrel), gorn has plasma G (even the biggest ships), phaser 1 and 3, etc.
- Fourth, when designing ships, I try to avoid going above the SU (usually, I go past no more than 10 or 20 SU) whilst keeping the same technology level (all races has the same value.
- Fifth, I let down the facet thing and use the regular armor. It makes the ships more resistant even if it doesn't look 'star trek'. Although you could reasonnably imagine that the crew is equalizing the shields during the fight.
- Last thing, I redesigned the weapons and some equipments. I reduced the range of almost all of them, removed the range based rof of phasers, and modified them here and there. For example, ph 2 becomes anti fighter, ph G Has a ROF of 2 and the repeating trait, photon is less powerful but becomes piercing (more damage over a single FC turn over disruptor so should be able to pierce shield more easily. Disruptor and fusion have been reduced in power but are now range based IMP. All plasma has been reduced in power but become range based DMG. Hellbore is also reduced and become piercing to simulate its ability to find the weakest shield.
I slowed the drones and reduced the power (hence the price) of stinger which are now grouped ijn three instead of one fighter per unit.
Web generator... I feel the rules, although closed to the original FC rules, are too complicated. I allow them only to reduce the effectivness of enemy weapons. ESG are treated as very powerful anti fighter batteries with area effect (they affect everything adjacent as in the original FC rules).
Here are the overall lines of how I see the SFU ships.
Marc
