Stuff still on wish list, missing or requesting clarification
- Thread starter Chas
- Start date
Condottiere
Emperor Mongoose
You can cram more in, but Health and Safety might cap acceleration, in case of inertial compensator failure.
NEW QUESTION: ION CANNON EFFECT APPLICATION
I've mentioned this, but I think there needs to be section clearly defining how to take power points away from ship systems. The problem being the majority of the ships power is used in either maneuver drive or basic support and the actual ion weapon effectiveness is very much doubt if you allow basic support power to be cut into. I'm not sure how much the powers that be have looked at this behind the scenes as it's pretty straight forward for low tonnage ships, not at all so once we are into capital ship range and it would be good to get some clarity here. My suggestion is that you do put in a rule that basic support is the last thing power points can be cut from, that when that starts to happen the ship is effectively inoperable.
Then what happens when you lose all power? Very likely with a fighter getting hit with a barbette ion canon. You loose all antigravity protection - if you're screaming along at thrust 20 or something is the pilot squashed?
And what happens if you hit a ship that already been drained of power with another blast? Should these stack round on round? Start damaging the power plant?
IMHO these questions should be detailed, not just left floating about for 'ref' discretion
I've mentioned this, but I think there needs to be section clearly defining how to take power points away from ship systems. The problem being the majority of the ships power is used in either maneuver drive or basic support and the actual ion weapon effectiveness is very much doubt if you allow basic support power to be cut into. I'm not sure how much the powers that be have looked at this behind the scenes as it's pretty straight forward for low tonnage ships, not at all so once we are into capital ship range and it would be good to get some clarity here. My suggestion is that you do put in a rule that basic support is the last thing power points can be cut from, that when that starts to happen the ship is effectively inoperable.
Then what happens when you lose all power? Very likely with a fighter getting hit with a barbette ion canon. You loose all antigravity protection - if you're screaming along at thrust 20 or something is the pilot squashed?
And what happens if you hit a ship that already been drained of power with another blast? Should these stack round on round? Start damaging the power plant?
IMHO these questions should be detailed, not just left floating about for 'ref' discretion
One of the big reasons I recommended "hardening" as a standard TL increase for any ship equipment.
Then when you are hit by an ION, you have a certain amount of immunity based on how much ship systems you've got that are hardened. Example:
You take 100 points of ion damage.
You have 200 power distributed. 50 to hardened m-drive, 50 to screens, 50 to hardened weapons, and 50 to systems. You've got 100 in hardened systems, it's all good.
If it was a 150 points, then you'd have to figure 50 points to pull from somewhere...
Then when you are hit by an ION, you have a certain amount of immunity based on how much ship systems you've got that are hardened. Example:
You take 100 points of ion damage.
You have 200 power distributed. 50 to hardened m-drive, 50 to screens, 50 to hardened weapons, and 50 to systems. You've got 100 in hardened systems, it's all good.
If it was a 150 points, then you'd have to figure 50 points to pull from somewhere...
Right, but when you get to big ships, you've got 1000s of power points allocated to 'basic systems'. What happens when these reach zero? If people can pull from this basic systems point pool with impunity you've got a long way to go before you start seriously affecting maneuver drive power points, the biggest single consumer, and then a long long way to go before you affect anything else.
Also with hardened systems what happens after the entire ship's power plant output for that turn is negated by the ion attack. If we are saying that hardened systems are immune to ion weapons that that should be said as such in the text. As it is phrased you would assume that a full reduction of a ships power will mean the hardened system fails also, they're just merely the last to fail, which is not particularly important game-wise. Fighter gets hit by barbette, everything related to power goes.
Then what happens after multiple hits or high effect. A ship with no power for multiple rounds is effectively a sitting duck - and other attacks against it get a definite bonus.
Also with hardened systems what happens after the entire ship's power plant output for that turn is negated by the ion attack. If we are saying that hardened systems are immune to ion weapons that that should be said as such in the text. As it is phrased you would assume that a full reduction of a ships power will mean the hardened system fails also, they're just merely the last to fail, which is not particularly important game-wise. Fighter gets hit by barbette, everything related to power goes.
Then what happens after multiple hits or high effect. A ship with no power for multiple rounds is effectively a sitting duck - and other attacks against it get a definite bonus.
I think as it stands, the more systems you have protected, the more ion you can take before noticing anything.
The more hardened systems you have, the more ion-damage you can take before it actually does anything. I think it's the safest way to play it, and the best way to avoid making any really easy mindless defences to Ion.
Consider:
General TL advantage:
Hardening (cost one advantage level): Makes that system immune to Ion damage. Players may allocate "ion damage" to that system (up to it's power consumed) without having any effect.
So that way, if you spend +1 TL on all your systems (rather than one something else), you can actually be immune to Ion Weaponry. But not only is it expensive, it also takes the space of another advantage you may have taken instead!
If we start doing it as a "hull modification", it goes the way of reflec or radiation, which means eevvvveerrryy body will take it, because no one wants to be Ion gunned and the cost is trivial! (even 100% more of hull value is nothing compared to getting your ship disabled).
The more hardened systems you have, the more ion-damage you can take before it actually does anything. I think it's the safest way to play it, and the best way to avoid making any really easy mindless defences to Ion.
Consider:
General TL advantage:
Hardening (cost one advantage level): Makes that system immune to Ion damage. Players may allocate "ion damage" to that system (up to it's power consumed) without having any effect.
So that way, if you spend +1 TL on all your systems (rather than one something else), you can actually be immune to Ion Weaponry. But not only is it expensive, it also takes the space of another advantage you may have taken instead!
If we start doing it as a "hull modification", it goes the way of reflec or radiation, which means eevvvveerrryy body will take it, because no one wants to be Ion gunned and the cost is trivial! (even 100% more of hull value is nothing compared to getting your ship disabled).
Condottiere
Emperor Mongoose
EMP tends to fry the electrical and electronic systems.
Supposedly fibre optics are immune, and non-active electronics.
Supposedly fibre optics are immune, and non-active electronics.
Hardened systems will be in the next update.
To make sure I understand it correctly based on the new text - the hardened system makes sure the system always has power to it, regardless of any ion hits. I assume it is at the cost of other non-hardened systems, which will be drained. But if this is so, then what is the difference with simply distributing the rest of the power? I am hit for 100 ION, I have 200 in total, it leaves me with 100 which I can distribute according my requirements. Or is it that the latter takes time (1 round), and having a hardened system is auto-distributed to sufficient power?
Or is is simply making it immune to Ion, leaving all other non-hardened systems taking the toll, thus at the end leaving all the hardened systems always operational?
Or is is simply making it immune to Ion, leaving all other non-hardened systems taking the toll, thus at the end leaving all the hardened systems always operational?
AnotherDilbert
Emperor Mongoose
As far as I can see:
I do not see it as unclear, but perhaps not very good. You kind of have to harden quite a lot of systems to remain effective and thats very expensive. Not for the regular Navy, but good for VIP transports?
If you lose a little power it doesn't do much, you can choose freely what systems lose power. When you lose a lot of power the hardened systems always work, but everything else is toast.HG said:
I do not see it as unclear, but perhaps not very good. You kind of have to harden quite a lot of systems to remain effective and thats very expensive. Not for the regular Navy, but good for VIP transports?
Thanks! It is clear now.
I would offer an alternative suggestion for the text:
"The hardened trait makes a system immune to ion attacks, this it may never lose power due ion hits. However, the rest of the systems that are not hardened take the blow of the ion hit."
...or something like that.
I would offer an alternative suggestion for the text:
"The hardened trait makes a system immune to ion attacks, this it may never lose power due ion hits. However, the rest of the systems that are not hardened take the blow of the ion hit."
...or something like that.