The point I was trying to make here, is not whether small ships play a constructive part in a game, and that not every race has access to them, no I'm sorry thats not what I'm eluding to at all.
I use small ships all the time, but they play a constructive part in my battle plan, which DOES NOT including laying about behind scenery or hanging at the back of the table JUST so that I can move them minimum distance OR not at all with ALL STOP. NOW THAT IS NOT USING SMALL SHIPS CONSTRUCTIVELY, THAT IS INITIATIVE SINKING, AND I DON'T CARE WHAT ANYONE ELSE SAYS THAT IS DAMN RIGHT BEARDY AND MANIPULATING THE RULES.
Power-gaming, which is what the above is, makes a good game rubbish in my opinion. It becomes fun for the one person who spent and entire night of his sad little life, dreaming up, what is a broken list and then proceeds to wipe the floor with his opponent in a completely unsporting manner.
For those people who like that kind of game, good for you, but I'm glad I don't know anyone like that or play against any. The people that I play ACTA with are fair, decent and sporting people, who play in the spirit of the game and we all enjoy ourselves. Manipulating rules to the extent where you have dozens of small ships to Initiative sink, and bring one or two HEAVY ships in, or bringing about hyperspace bombs while I'm thinking about it, is wrong and rules should be brought in by the Powers that Be at MGP to stop that.
The whole reason I started playing ACTA in the first place was because it was a fun game, that nobody from the lesser plane of powergaming, seemed to have corrupted yet. It was a change from the numerous GW games and other assorted games that were all about powergaming. Sadly the renaissance peroid for ACTA seemed to have vanished, and it has jaded me, I only hope that some of this dross has been attended to in 2e.
Oh and to liken the playing of a wargame with model ships, to REAL naval combat is a little bit silly, because lets be honest it's nothing like current modern era naval combat. The arguement that modern navies don't bomb around with lots of bigs ships, but lots of small ones, is largely due to government defense budgets and the inherant costs of building massive warships, thus limiting what can actually be achieved to small "tactical" warships in larger numbers. I'd just like to point out though, if you are going to make that link, that you don't see navies using an I go - You go system of warfare, and neither do you see Navy frigates and destroyers moving about 25m and stopping to confuse the enemy so the bigger cruisers can get more shots in.
For those people that like to use lots of smaller patrol level ships, with a couple of heavy weights, to make good use of int. sinking, and then claim that you are doing it because its a tactical way of gaming similar to modern warfare . . . and the "oh my poor narn and drazi fleets can't win a game without int. sinking . . sniff sniff" I say this:
You don't fool anyone with half a brain cell with that sob story, you are beardy, and why don't you try playing tactically and try getting the most out of your fleet whilst playing in the spirit of the game. You never know, you might actually enjoy the challenge, suffer the occasional loss, and feel so much better when you start beating people with a fleet that you've actually worked hard to make good.
Alternatively get a centauri fleet!
Apologies, rant over, and though that might have come across as harsh, I didn't set-out to offend anyone. Honest.
