Scott Kellogg notes:
[] The High Guard system unfortunately does not allow for character
[] interactions. Ship Tactics is used, Fleet tactics rarely, and
[] you only get a paltry bonus for Pilot-3 and Pilot-5.
[] Gunnery skill is never used at all. (Stupid? you bet!)
[]
[] In combat, the Pilot never has to make a roll of the dice. (Dumb)
[] In defending, a sandcaster or laser gunner doesn't roll the dice. (Dumb)
I would like to avoid too many dire rolls. The biggest pain in combat is
the friggin dice.
How about these apples:
1) The pilot (or helmsman and navigator for large ships) and each gunner
roll 2d+skill and consult <insert magic chart name> to determine a
general efficiency rating for the start of combat.
2) In combat, 2d6+(gunner rating)+(weapon accuracy rating)-(pilot rating)-
(agility rating)-(defensive rating) is cross-checked on a firing table
corresponding to the number of weapons fired (may use HG numbers for
space saving) to determine the number of weapon hits. The amount of
computer resources devoted to the weapon system improves the basic
accuracy bonus. Likewise, the amount of resources devoted to evasive
actions will determine the computer add to the ship's defensive rating.
3) Every <insert number> of combat rounds of action, pilot and gunner
numbers will move towards their "average rating". Thus while the
initial rounds of combat could find everyone at various degrees of
readiness, longer combats will find them working at their averag level.
example: Say on <magic chart> pilot A gets a roll of 10, giving him
an efficiency of +2. After X combat rounds, his extreme readiness will
sink to +1, and eventually to +0. Likewise, pilots who end up being
off-guard (-2, -3, etc) will get "into the groove" and remove those
nasty modifiers. The size of the control-space (cramped, roomy) will
alter the time to change levels (roomier = slower tiring and faster
acclimation, more cramped = faster tiring and slower catch-up).
4) Weapon accuracy's are based on ease of tracking and hitting (i.e.
beam lasers are +1, while pulse lasers are +0).
5) Computer Power is "allocated" for different tasks. Using the Maximum
CP input as a "power rating", "allocate" these CP's for combat tasks.
example: The ship's computer has <what ever fits, I don't have my book
with me> a limit of 15CP. If the ship has two gunnery positions, the
pilot may allocate 5CP to each gunnery position and reserve 5CP for
evasive action control.
This simulates the computer power dedicated toward target location
prediction (i.e. Predict programs from book 2) as well as "Jinking"
and "facing" changes for defeating such programs (i.e. Maneuver/Evade).
The number of CP required for each bonus is some some power function,
not linear. The power function for evasion ramps up faster and starts
at a higher number. [Note: Somebody good at "does it look reasonable"
math please come up with some functions...I was thinking of
2+CP^2 for gunnery and 3+CP^3 for evasion.
6) The Hit tables correspond to the HG ratings:
------------ Roll ---------------
Beams: 0- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 ....
1 -- -- -- -- -- -- 1 1 1 1 1 1 ....
2 -- -- -- -- -- 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 ....
3 -- -- -- -- 1 1 2 3 3 3 3 3 ....
6 -- -- -- 1 2 3 4 6 6 6 6 6 ....
10 -- -- 1 2 3 6 8 10 10 10 10 10 ....
etc... This chart is in no way accurate, just a
guide to what I was talking about.
[]
[]Small idea:
[]
[]Defender and attacker roll simultaneously. Higher roll wins.
[]There would have to be modifiers due to skills, computer models, agility,
[]weapons used and power thereof. (Yeah, you'd need tables of modifiers,
[]but it would be more exciting anyway {Which is the whole purpose behind
[]combat simulation anyway}) Also, If we could establish a rule for making
[]sence out of the modifiers it would be a lot quicker)
Ack! too much rolling!
[]Another problem with combat is the Damage charts. We could use some more
[]colorful results than (-1 fuel, or -1 power{which doesn't mean anything
[]any more}). I'd like to see a fleshed out damage table. Say one with
[]hull breach on it (explosive decompression for the foolish enough not to
[]depressurize the hull before going into combat) What about Fuel breach
[]inboard? (liquid hydrogen gets dumped INside the ship) Cargo hold hit?
[]Living quarters hit? Small craft bay hit? No they aren't deadly, but
[]they add flavor to the combat.
[]
[]'Hey Mark Venture, your stateroom was wiped out by that last salvo, so much
[]for your Queen Starsha blow up doll.'
If we don't mind escaping the dice mindset, perhaps a deck of cards could
be used. GDW is using them for NPC personalities, why not come up with an
index using cards. If you draw a card for a peice of equipment you don't have,
simply draw again.
Like in SFB, when allocating damage, draw no more than 13 cards before
reshuffling the deck, to prevent the same damage for each ship.
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Burton Choinski Phoenix Technologies, LTD
"All opinions are mine, not Phoenix's" Cambridge, MA
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