Extended Screen Optimizer Software

[EldritchFire]

I'm working on converting Star Wars to Traveller, and most everything is going well…until I got to starfighters with shields.

HG2e has some crazy energy shields—crazy power requirements, high TL, and takes up a lot of tonnage. In order to avoid having to re-jigger the energy shields, I figured I'd just use deflector screens for small craft. However, that comes with its own problem: deflector screens requires a turret(screen) check to use. Instead of relying on the pilot to have to make the check, I'd like it to be as automated as possible, and that's where the screen optimizer software comes in.

However, said software only allows a 2D6 roll with no modifiers, which means that on an average roll (7), the screen will do no good. In order to rectify that, I propose the following as an extension of screen optimizer software.

Screen Optimizer: It automatically performs the Angle Screens (Gunner) action with a total DM equal to the Screen Optimizer package's score, against any attack and can use any number of screens simultaneously.

Screen Optimizer/0—Bandwidth 10—TL10—MCr7
Screen Optimizer/1—Bandwidth 15—TL11—MCr9
Screen Optimizer/2—Bandwidth 20—TL12—MCr11
Screen Optimizer/3—Bandwidth 25—TL13—MCr13
Screen Optimizer/4—Bandwidth 30—TL14—MCr15
Screen Optimizer/5—Bandwidth 35—TL15—MCr17

The bandwidth, TL, and cost progression is based on the Fire Control software (CRB151).

Thoughts?

 

[AndrewW]

Thoughts?

Easy enough to adjust tons/power requirements to fit better. Actually, how the original shields worked could be a better fit for Star Wars (both Energy Shields and Deflector Screens got modified a good bit during development, and Proton Screens (nuclear dampers for antimatter basically) are completely absent).

Just for fun, use or not at your option.

Force Screens
Each hit to a force screen reduces the damage from that hit by an amount determined by the strength of the force screen. For every hit the force screen takes, the overall reduction is reduced by one. So if you have a force screen that has a strength of 10 it will absorb the first 10 points of that attack, but only absorb nine points of damage from the next attack. When a force screen is reduced to zero it has no further effect until it regenerates. A force screen regenerates each round.

A single force screen has a strength of 2.

Shields
A shield absorbs all incoming damage up to its capacity, at which point it has no further effect during that round. A shield can regenerate up to 25% of its capacity each round. Divided into four equal quadrants covering the front, rear, starboard and port, wrapping around the ship as needed. An individual section of the shield can be directed to another section, so you could double the front shield at the cost of the rear shield for example, but the shield generators can not handle more then this, so you couldn't for example sacrifice both the rear and the port shield to triple the front shield, though you could sacrifice the port shield to double the starboard shield and sacrifice the rear shield to double the front shield. Transferring power from one section of a shield to another takes four rounds. Each round 25% of the shields strength is diverted away from one segment into another. You don't have to divert all power so you could increase the front shield by 25% while decreasing the rear shield by 25% for example.

It is possible to divert more power into the shield then normal, up to 50% more power can be diverted at one time, anymore then this and you will burn out the shield generator. Diverting 50% more power increases the shield strength by 25%. However, doing so comes with the risk of shield burnout. Each round the shield is at over capacity roll 2d6, on a roll of 10+ the shield generators burn out rendering them useless. For each round after the first add a +2 modifier to this roll, or a +1 if the extra power diverted is 25% or less.

Any single attack that does four times the shields capacity has a chance to overload the shield. Roll 2d6, on a roll of 8+ the shield overloads, add +1 to this roll for each additional 100% of the shields capacity, thus an attack that does six times the shields capacity in damage would have a DM +2. An overloaded shield is considered damaged and needs to be repaired before it can be put to use.

A single shield has a capacity of 15.

 

[EldritchFire]

I thought about modifying the shields to better fit Star Wars, but I like how deflector screens work as an armour-add instead of ablative hit points buffer.

And the force screen you quoted could work well, too, but I'm a bit weary of adding yet another thing to keep track of.

I'll have to think on it, thanks!

 

[AnotherDilbert]

I agree Screen Optimizer could use a boost, but not too much.

It replaces any number of gunners, so should not be better than a sophont gunner. A good gunner might have a DM of +3 to +5, the software should not be that good.

It might automatically succeed on the Angle Screen roll with a fixed Effect of 0,5 or 1 or so?

 

[EldritchFire]

I agree Screen Optimizer could use a boost, but not too much.

It replaces any number of gunners, so should not be better than a sophont gunner. A good gunner might have a DM of +3 to +5, the software should not be that good.

It might automatically succeed on the Angle Screen roll with a fixed Effect of 0,5 or 1 or so?

And, like the fire control software, you can split it up between attacks. So a rating of 3 and two screens installed would let you have one activate with an effect of 1 and the second activate with an effect of 2, or both activate with an effect of 3.

I like that solution since it reduces the amount of die rolls!

 

[EldritchFire]

I was thinking that maybe it would be easier to remove deflectors, then shift everything up one row.

Energy Shields—TL10—10 power—5dT—MCr5
Improved Energy Shields—TL16—50 power—20dT—MCr25
Advanced Energy Shields—TL18—75 power—15dT—MCr35

That would fit Star Wars much better, i think.