Paul Dale:
>>If neither side is willing to risk their big ships in combat,
>>you might as well save money and never build them in the first place.
>Your own comments later (which I deleted in this reply) provide the
>answer to this one. You suggest big fighters/small spinal riders when
>meson weapons are present and big fighters/big capital ships when they
>are not. That is you wouldn't build big ships if meson weapons are
>available.
Hmmm... I did not mean to imply that I was asking more than a
rhetorical question there...
>>"I can't risk *that* ship! It's my best one!" --- far too many
>>wargamers for my taste.
>You're too right about the too many wargames bit. But I think in
>traveller there is some justification for this line of reasoning. I did
>the analysis for high guard a long time ago and basically, put two ships
>with large meson spinals (factor >J ??) and they will quite effectively
>fry each other. I believe that the same result will convert over to MT
>once sensor tasks have been performed (given lots of small cannon-fodder
>small ships around assuming that one of them has managed to get a lock
>isn't too much to ask). I think that it will be even easier in MT since
>the new design system has made agility harder to get. The only time
>mutual kill is good is when you can better afford the casualties than
>your enemy.
The value of a warship that is never used in combat is Zero. There is NO
justification for building a ship that will not be used in combat. If that
particular ship is too valuable to risk, it is also too costly to build.
{What is the profit-loss ratio of an item of value 0 and cost high? Pretty
much the same as a value 0 item with cost low - 0}
Yes, two meson-gun-armed ships can fry each other quite effectively. So
what does this have to do with whether they should be risked in combat? If
you don't want to risk it, make it PERFECTLY safe : DON'T BUILD IT!
> Nuclear Dampers, on the other hand, have a constant power
>requirement. Maybe having one generator on each of two different ships
>as far apart in your formation as possible would allow one set of
>dampers to protect any ship between the two vessels. Food for
>thought...
>Black globes also have a constant power requirement. A planet
>sized black globe ought to be enough to delay the invasion a while.
>One idea I've toyed with is building a huge ship in a very thin/long
>needle configuration which will provide a huge volume surrounded by its
>globe/damper/meson screens and might even provide the small ships with
>some defence.
Blak globes are artifacts. You don't have all that much choice about
the size, I would imagine...
As to the "very thin/long needle configuration", unless it were several
thousand Km long, it wouldn't provide any useful coverage for other ships.
Unless your ships are travelling REALLY close together. Far closer than
is reasonable at hundreds of Km/s velocity.
>Steve, assuming you've suffered my babblings this far, could I also receive
>your TCS campaign stuff?
Sure, no problem. Let me know if there is anything specific you want.
"Jane's" will be along REAL SOON NOW (yeah, Steve, suuure it will.)
Excuse me, I have to go prepare for a hurricane. Later, entities...
---Steve