• Registered: 2008-12-22
  • Posts: 654

Topic: Pre-Deployed Mines

Cricket, just wondering how you might point mines placed during the set-up of a game without having a mine-laying vessel present for the game itself. There are tons of examples from Sci-Fi of attacks into defensive minefields (no, I'm not planning any warp point assaults). Just paying for them at the ORAT rate used in ship construction doesn't feel right (too low?). In the past I have set x-Factors in the scenario set-up, but for some generated scenarios I would like to give the defender the option of adding mines to the mix rather than mandating them.  Just wondering if you had an opinion.
Thanks,
Erik

  • Registered: 2006-01-17
  • Posts: 740

Re: Pre-Deployed Mines

In Star Fleet Battles, Star Bases & Battlestations had mine fields surrounding them.  It made them even more difficut to destroy.  It would be something to have in Starmada, especially since we now have S:NE versions of the SFB ships.
This is an excellent idea...

  • Registered: 2005-03-29
  • Posts: 859

Re: Pre-Deployed Mines

A quick and dirty method would be just designing a hull 3 ship with nothing but mines (and maybe a speed of 1 and/or hyperdrive). Know you've probably thought of it already, but it at least allows you to get lots of mines onto the table...

  • Registered: 2008-12-22
  • Posts: 654

Re: Pre-Deployed Mines

murtalianconfederacy wrote:

A quick and dirty method would be just designing a hull 3 ship with nothing but mines (and maybe a speed of 1 and/or hyperdrive). Know you've probably thought of it already, but it at least allows you to get lots of mines onto the table...

Tried that and just personally don't like it (did 3 hull, 0 everything else and then a varying number of mines), but it does work fine I guess. I suppose it's just a matter of taste. I tried to justify the 3 Hull mine can as the "controller" for the mine field  smile
I built some 3 Hull, Stealth 1, 0 everything else "Minefields" with weapons to simulate the effect of mines, but it isn't close to being the same...more like Defense Sats.

Cheers,
E

  • Registered: 2005-03-29
  • Posts: 859

Re: Pre-Deployed Mines

Hmm, fair enough, just the way I'd do it if I wanted mines, as its the least-change version.

  • Registered: 2008-12-22
  • Posts: 654

Re: Pre-Deployed Mines

murtalianconfederacy wrote:

Hmm, fair enough, just the way I'd do it if I wanted mines, as its the least-change version.

Agreed. I think my biggest complaint is that killing the 3 Hull mine dispenser technically gives the attacker VPs. I'd rather the defender have to use some of his set up points to place the mines and therefore not have them for ships rather than tilt easy VPs  to his opponent. The end result may just be the same, but it seems a little screwy is all.
Cheers,
E

  • Registered: 2005-03-29
  • Posts: 859

Re: Pre-Deployed Mines

Two ideas:

Well, working it out, a single mine counter would have a CRat of 2 (ORat 5, DRat 1, square root is just over 2). How about adding a 50% surcharge to that, so it comes out at 3 CRat per mine?

Or if that doesn't work, go the B5Wars route and say that you've got to pay 50 CRat for the pleasure of having mines on the field of battle before you get any mines (the 50 CRat is the cost of having a minelayer visit the battlefield earlier), with mines being 2 CRat per counter. So if you want 20 mines, that would be 90 CRat.

Of course, you could combine both...

I've just noticed that I keep on using CRat instead of VPs...