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Shoeless posted:Also, what is the difference between a Warbird and a War Eagle? Warbirds are 100+ year old designs (although they're still in production until being replaced by built from scratch War Eagles) that have been continually upgraded, but remain sublight in combat because the Romulans never invented the Tactical Warp Drive. War Eagles are Warbirds that have been refitted with Klingon Warp Drives. They also have phasers and advanced systems (tractor beams, transporters( that the Warbirds don't have as standard, although the Warbird+ has everything except the Warp Engines.
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Aug 9, 2015 16:26
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Alright, additional long-term plan then - wipe out enough mobile defenders that we can start grabbing ships should we not be able to wipe them all out. I don't want to have to worry about baby-sitting a ship as it's trying to disengage while under fire.
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Aug 9, 2015 16:47
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Hey, Shoeless - I know I asked for an EAF from you, but I realized that you hadn't filled one of these out before so I whipped up some ones to show you what we're doing this turn:code:I'm spending 4 on Housekeeping (Life Support, Shields, Active Fire Control), 27 points on movement, then refilling the Batteries from their use last turn, and filling up the phasers. Neat thing about Phasers - energy is not assigned to a specific gun, but rather to an abstract 'Phaser capacitor' that has enough space to fire all your phasers once in a turn. Phasers draw their energy from this capacitor - or batteries if needed/wanted. code:code:GNOMAN Movement Orders: Proceed in Direction "F" for 12 Moves, then turn to face "A" for all subsequent Moves in this half of the turn. If this would move Plasma that is within 4 hexes out of our RA Arc, side Slip right until such a turn will result in the plasma staying in our RA arc. System Orders: If an Unidentified Plasma is at Range 2 or less from my ships, use 2 labs on each unidentified seeking weapon each impulse until they are identified. Weapon Orders: If a Plasma is at Range 1 from our ships and we do not move next impulse: for every 5 points of warhead strength above 5 fire 3 pulses from facing Gatlings at that Plasma. The order of ships that will fire are as such: Dragoon, Knights (both), Lancers (Both), Lord Marshal, Ranger, Anarchist. That is, if the warhead strength is 0-5, ignore it. If it is 5-10, three shots. 11-15, six shots. 16-20, 9 shots, etc. berryjon fucked around with this message at 16:29 on Aug 10, 2015 |
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Aug 9, 2015 17:38
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Why use only full bursts from the gatlings? They can fire up to 4 times but it needn't be all at once, right? So for 1-5 torp strength, why not fire a single Phaser-3 shot from a gatling at it, etc. When you got to 16-20, it just seems like 5 extra points of torp strength earning a full extra Phaser-G, effectively 4 Phaser-3 shots seems a little overkill, if that makes sense?
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Aug 10, 2015 06:36
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Plasma takes half damage from Phasers. So you need to double up on the amount of fire-power required to kill them.
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Aug 10, 2015 08:23
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Right, but 4 shots at range 1 is an average of ~14 damage. You could probably get away with only 3 phaser-3 shots per 5 points of the torpedo's strength. Though it doesn't hurt to be cautious, I was just wondering.
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Aug 10, 2015 12:08
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*looks at your math* *looks at his math* Urg. You're right. Let me fix that up...
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Aug 10, 2015 16:28
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Turn 3 (Hydran) All Hydran ships speed 24 Auxillary Carriers speed: 0 Detected War Eagles speed 11 Turn 3 Impulse 1 War Eagle 3 fires a plasma torpedo PLASMA TORPEDO LAUNCH, STRENGTH 50 - Designate Plasma Torpedo 3! War Eagle 4 fires a plasma torpedo PLASMA TORPEDO LAUNCH, STRENGTH 50 - Designate Plasma Torpedo 4! WAR EAGLE DECLOAKING - Range 3, speed 11 - ID as War Eagle 1 WAR EAGLE DECLOAKING - Range 3, speed 11 - ID as War Eagle 2 Impulse 2 War Eagle 3 fires a plasma torpedo PLASMA TORPEDO LAUNCH, STRENGTH 50 - Designate Plasma Torpedo 5! War Eagle 4 fires a plasma torpedo PLASMA TORPEDO LAUNCH, STRENGTH 50 - Designate Plasma Torpedo 6! Impulse 3 War Eagle 3 cloaks, fade-in 1 War Eagle 4 cloaks, fade-in 1 Impulse 4 War Eagle 3 fade-out 2 War Eagle 4 fade-out 2 Impulse 5 War Eagle 1 fire control ONLINE War Eagle 2 fire control ONLINE War Eagle 3 fade-out 3 War Eagle 4 fade-out 3 Impulse 6 War Eagle 1 fully decloaked War Eagle 2 fully decloaked War Eagle 3 fade-out 4 War Eagle 4 fade-out 4 War Eagle 1 fires a Plasma Torpedo PLASMA TORPEDO LAUNCH, STRENGTH 50 - Designate Plasma Torpedo 7! War Eagle 2 fires a Plasma Torpedo PLASMA TORPEDO LAUNCH, STRENGTH 50 - Designate Plasma Torpedo 8! Impulse 7 War Eagle 1 fires a Plasma Torpedo PLASMA TORPEDO LAUNCH, STRENGTH 50 - Designate Plasma Torpedo 9! War Eagle 2 fires a Plasma Torpedo PLASMA TORPEDO LAUNCH, STRENGTH 50 - Designate Plasma Torpedo 9! War Eagle 3 fade-out 5 War Eagle 4 fade-out 5 Impulse 8 War Eagle 1 cloaks, fade-in 1 War Eagle 2 cloaks, fade-in 1 Contact Lost with War Eagle 3! Lord Marshal retains lock on! Thought Retains Lock on! Inflexible retains lock on! Contact Lost with War Eagle 4! Anarchist retains Lock on! Impulse 8 cloak check War Eagle RR of all Hydran ships, range 8 War Eagle RR of all Hydran ships, range 8 War Eagle RR of all Hydran ships, Range 11 War Eagle RR of all Hydran ships, Range 11 KF5R RR of all Hydran ships, range 17 KR+ RR of all Hydran ships, Range 22 KF5R RR of all Hydran ships, range 26 .png)  ROMULAN TURN BREAK
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Aug 12, 2015 18:13
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Gnoman posted:Turn 3 (Hydran) Try again. We're at speed 27.
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Aug 12, 2015 18:52
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berryjon posted:Try again. It says "speed 24" in the headers of every one of your ship EAFs. That is what I am going by.
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Aug 12, 2015 18:55
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Gnoman posted:It says "speed 24" in the headers of every one of your ship EAFs. Frak. Alright, I allocated for speed 27 but messed up my EAF - but not Shoeless'. May I please have thst spare power put into specific reinforcement on the #4 shield? 3 each gor thr cruisers, 1. 50 for the destroyers? Written from phone.
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Aug 12, 2015 19:43
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So it only really just hit me now that those War Eagles have TWO of those massive fuckoff plasma torps. Goddamn. Also, I want to apologize for dropping the ball this turn and not filling out my own ship orders. For some reason it never hit me that, oh, right, I need to send those in and say to continue charging the suicide shuttles and the like. I'll try to be more diligent about that in the future. So, I'm sorry that I probably had one of my ships waste a bunch of power last turn starting to charge them Berryjon.
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Aug 12, 2015 19:51
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Shoeless posted:So it only really just hit me now that those War Eagles have TWO of those massive fuckoff plasma torps. Goddamn. They only have one, but every plasma torpedo tube has a single Pseudo Plasma Torpedo that behaves exactly like a real one but does no damage. In other words, half the Plasma-Rs coming in at you are decoys, it is absolutely impossible to know which. EDIT: The wasted movement energy has been sent to shield #4.
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Aug 12, 2015 19:59
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Important: I know which torpedos are real and which aren't, so I can't impartially assign fire between two torpedos. I need a priority list from you in the event two Plasmas are eligible to be fired on at the same time.
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Aug 12, 2015 21:41
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Gnoman posted:Important: I know which torpedos are real and which aren't, so I can't impartially assign fire between two torpedos. I need a priority list from you in the event two Plasmas are eligible to be fired on at the same time. IF: Two or More Torpedoes are valid targets for weapons fire during the same impulse, and there are no longer enough available pulses from facing Gatlings to deal damage as specified in the previous orders, then all available fire shall be split evenly between all valid targets. IN ADDITION, If a Plasma that is one of two that has been fired from the same tube of the same ship (indicating that one is a Pseudo) impacts for damage (as the firing orders will allow for minor damage to go through), then the other torpedo that has been fired from the same tube on the same ship shall be ignored. (As one has to be a pseudo, if the real one has impacted, the other therefore must be fake, and there is no sense in wasting fire on them). ALSO: ALL SHIPS will use all available Battery power to act as specific reinforcement against damage. Shoeless posted:So it only really just hit me now that those War Eagles have TWO of those massive fuckoff plasma torps. Goddamn. Nope! The Vulture DN carries two Plasma-R's. What we're seeing here, as Gnoman pointed out, are Pseudo Torpedoes, essentially perfect fakes that deal no damage. The Romulans just wasted them on this volley. There is a truism in SFB: Firing a Seeking weapon at a person who is leaving is just encouraging them to leave faster. We just need to keep track of the other ships that haven't fired yet. And don't worry about the wasted power. These things happen. Plans change. I've armed and disarmed more Wild Weasels than I would ever care to admit to.
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Aug 13, 2015 03:29
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berryjon posted:IF: Two or More Torpedoes are valid targets for weapons fire during the same impulse, and there are no longer enough available pulses from facing Gatlings to deal damage as specified in the previous orders, then all available fire shall be split evenly between all valid targets. Just chiming in to say this plan seems sound to me as well for my ships, Gnoman. So, they can fire the Pseudo torp at any time, even on the same turn as they launch a normal one? Yikes. Why the truism about seeking weapons? I mean plasma torps are fast, if the enemy's only a few hexes away and not moving so fast, is firing a torp after them really such a bad idea if they can't outrun it and won't be able to get far enough away to reduce the damage through distance by much?
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Aug 13, 2015 06:31
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Shoeless posted:Why the truism about seeking weapons? I mean plasma torps are fast, if the enemy's only a few hexes away and not moving so fast, is firing a torp after them really such a bad idea if they can't outrun it and won't be able to get far enough away to reduce the damage through distance by much? A tail chase is the worst possible geometry for a seeking weapon because it maximises flight time, rendering it more vulnerable to defensive fire and greatly increasing the chance of it losing a lot of damage (for a plasma) or running out of fuel (for a drone). If you were going something like Speed 12, it wouldn't matter, but at speed 24 you're probably (haven't checked the chart) going to get a lot of distance before you get hit.
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Aug 13, 2015 06:38
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Shoeless posted:Just chiming in to say this plan seems sound to me as well for my ships, Gnoman. Pseudo torps cannot fire on the same impulse as a real one from the same launcher. Gnoman posted:but at speed 24 you're probably (haven't checked the chart) going to get a lot of distance before you get hit. Not as much as I would hope. For every 4 impulses, we move 3 and the torp moves four. I really don't want to get caught in the 0-10 band. Those extra hexes from speed 27 - and when they come would have helped immeasurably.
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Aug 13, 2015 07:06
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berryjon posted:Pseudo torps cannot fire on the same impulse as a real one from the same launcher. Derp, just checked back, it was two different warbirds firing one each of the impulses that two torps got launched, not one firing two. Still, that you can do it at any time as long as it's not the same impulse you fire a real one, and no way at all to tell? Dayum. Even if it's a trick you can only use once per launcher per game.... We're almost certainly gonna take some damage, and it would be much, much worse if we weren't already speeding away.
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Aug 13, 2015 11:04
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Shoeless posted:Derp, just checked back, it was two different warbirds firing one each of the impulses that two torps got launched, not one firing two. Still, that you can do it at any time as long as it's not the same impulse you fire a real one, and no way at all to tell? Dayum. Even if it's a trick you can only use once per launcher per game.... We're almost certainly gonna take some damage, and it would be much, much worse if we weren't already speeding away. I agree. Which is why I also knew that it was imperative we turn our backs to these guys and move as fast as possible. The farther along we are, the less damage we take, and I wanted to get our 16 Gatlings facing them. On the Tournament scene, my ship of choice is the Romulan King Eagle - the War Eagle's bigger, meaner, nastier brother. I've gotten really good at cloak tactics, and the use of the Torp. I have to say that firing off both the pseudo and the real in this situation was the wrong move for the Romulans - it would have been better served in waiting to fire them when we are on our approach on a later turn. Also, next turn, depending on where those Torps are targeted, I'll have to show you how to do damage control and repairs. Hopefully just for your shields.
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Aug 13, 2015 15:08
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I know how to do shield repairs by assigning energy to damage control, and you get 1 shield point back per 2 damage control you had powered. And I guess it can be used to restore other systems as well from what you said. Cool. And yeah, now I definitely see why you had us turn around. Jesus, what is this, 4 incoming real strength 50 damage balls? Craaaap. I suppose once we can lab what whips each are going after we'll know if I should put battery power into specific reinforcement. I really do value these insights into the moves you make and courses of action you suggest, by the way. Once I understand why you think we should do something it makes a lot of sense. Also, you're in the tournament scene? Wait, there is a tournament scene for SFB? Wow!
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Aug 13, 2015 16:16
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Shoeless posted:I know how to do shield repairs by assigning energy to damage control, and you get 1 shield point back per 2 damage control you had powered. And I guess it can be used to restore other systems as well from what you said. Cool. However, you can only apply energy up to your current "Damage Control" rating - which is typically 4 for Cruisers and 2 for Destroyers. And I've already give global orders to use batteries as needed - and why I asked that our excess power from the movement mishap go straight to those shields. In terms of targeting, the order of most-likely-to-be-targeted goes something like this: Lancers > Knights > Ranger > D7H > Dragoon > Lord Marshal. Why? Destroyers are the smallest ships, and therefore need the least damage to die. The Ranger is next as it contains the bulk of our Stingers. The D7H has traditional Klingon fragility, and very weak rear shields. The Dragoon and Lord Marshal are last simply because there are better options for them. Oh, and if they had written their contingency orders better, they could have Bolted their Plasma. IYDK: A "Bolt" is firing the Plasma as a Direct Fire weapon like phasers or disruptors. It deals half the warhead damage at the range it travels (so for a Plasma R, it would deal 25 damage out to range 10), with a chance to hit of 1-4 from R0-5 and 1-3 from 6-10. If they had bolted their torps, they would have probably dealt 50 damage to one of our ships. 75 would cripple one of our Destroyers beyond in-scenario repair and I would have ordered them to leave as best they could. As for tournaments? I am probably the second best TKE player out there. The best is Paul Scott, but he's also the current Grand Champion, and is good in everything. And don't be fooled, the TKE is in the bottom three tournament cruisers - along with the LDR Tournament War Cruiser, and the Seltorian Tournament Cruiser. I fly in the quarterly Rated Ace tournaments, and am playing for the first time in the World League - in an LDR ship because I'm on the same team as the Tournament Organizer, and it's accepted that the guy running the whole thing and his team are there to kibitz and fill out the roster.
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Aug 13, 2015 16:55
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berryjon posted:
drat it. I knew I forgot to tell them about something. Also, in case it affects your judgement on this, did you read the bit about a variant damage rule in the OP of the main thread, berry?
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Aug 13, 2015 17:05
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You meant the DAC thing? I could just load everyone's ships into SFBOL, and allocate damage that way. I've done 'directional' damage before, and it's not that fun. It also gives a slight advantage to ships with better positioning as they can get more damage on the rear of the ship - where the power and engines tend to be located. There's a reason why only the Juggernaught uses that rule, and only when applied straight up the rear of the ship. Shoeless - Don't worry about that reference. If Gnoman brings out a Juggie, then I will have a lot to say - and I will join the fleet trying to bring one of those down. berryjon fucked around with this message at 17:43 on Aug 13, 2015 |
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Aug 13, 2015 17:37
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Here's a quick primer for weapons. I'll start writing more later. Gnoman, if you want to put it into the Coalition thread, or the main thread for people to see, go ahead. Know Your Guns! A beginners guide to Star Fleet Battles weapons. Part 1: Phasers Introduction Phasers are the single most common weapon in the game. Used by everyone, ever, they are found across all Empires, on everything from drones to Starbases. They are a "Direct Fire" Weapon, meaning that they have no physical presence on the board at any time. They are used in the "Fire Weapons" step of any impulse, and have their effect immediately. They can be affected by terrain, but very little else. The System Phasers come in four types. Well, 4.5, but I'll get to that .5 later. They can only fire once per turn, and not within 8 impulses of a previous shot. There is one exception that I will come to later. Phasers can 'downfire' as a lesser weapon, depending on the choice of the firing player. Phaser 4's can downfire into P1s, -2s or -3s. P1s can fire as -2s or -3s. P2s can fire as P3s. Phaser-1's are the primary phaser used by the Federation, Tholians, Romulans, Gorn, ISC, Kzinti, WYN and Orion Pirates. With a maximum range of 100 hexes, they are guaranteed to do damage out to range 5. It costs 1 point of power to fire a P1. Phaser-2's are the weaker version of the P1. Used by the Klingons, Lyrans and Hydrans, they have a maximum range of 75, and are certified to do damage out to range 3. It costs 1 point of power to fire a P2. In the background, the only difference between a P1 and a P2 is the Fire Control Module. The module utilizes a material that is uncommon in the territories of the above Empires, but later technological advances make this weapon obsolete and replaced by the P1 in almost all cases. The Phaser-3 is a point defence weapon. With a maximum range of 15, and damage out to 2, this gun requires only a half-point of power to fire at any given time. Because of their short range, and relative power efficiency (out doing Phaser 1s in terms of energy -> damage), ships will mount these weapons to either deal with seeking weapons, or as a close-range attack against enemy ships. The Phaser-4 is a massive weapon, mounted only on bases or certain Monsters. Requiring *2* points of power to fire at any given time, it can deal up to 20 points of damage at point-blank range, and will deal damage out to R17. It has a maximum range of 150. The Phaser-G is the final phaser 'type'. Utilized by the Hydrans, the LDR, and to a very limited extent the Federation, it is a single weapon that can fire *four* P3 shots in a single turn, at a cost of 0.25 points of power per shot. Gatlings can fire all on the same impulse, or spread out their fire - they ignore the 8 impulse limitation on fire unless it is over a turn break. Phasers are not given power directly. Instead, there is an abstract 'Phaser Capacitor' that all ships with phasers have. The size of this capacitor is determined by the amount of power required to fire every phaser on the ship once. So, a ship with 8 Phaser-1s and 2 P3s would have a capacitor of (8*1)+(2*0.5) = 9. Power is allocated to the Capacitor, and when phasers fire, they draw out of the capacitor. It is quite possible for a phaser to fire multiple times from the capacitor without needing to recharge over several turns. When a Phaser is damaged or destroyed, a proportional amount of space in the Capacitor is removed. Empty space is removed first. Unless otherwise specified, at the start of a scenario, all capacitors are filled to full for all ships. Phasers are affected by EW normally - they add +1 to the die roll, but if the die roll is modified past a roll of 6, then the additional overage is translated into moving the damage up a range-band instead. Thus, with a +2 modifier, a roll of 3 would become 5, and a roll of five would become a 6 - at the next range bracket for the phaser. Alternate Fire Modes Aside from the aforementioned 'Downfire', there is none. Advantages Phasers can target anything. And I mean that. If it is on the board, phasers can damage it. here are some specific cases.
Phasers are also unique in that they are under the "Damage Directional Rule". That is, when damage is applied to a ship, any system can get damaged. However, Phasers can only be damaged if they could fire on what caused the damage! This little rule, in addition to the sheer numbers of phasers on ships, usually means that you will always have some weapons to use until the bitter end. Disadvantages You cannot predict with a lot of accuracy how much damage your phasers will do. A Phaser-1 at point blank range can deal 4-9 damage. At R5, the damage ranges from 1 to 5. This makes phasers something of a gamble in terms of doing specific amounts of damage. This can be a problem when you want to tailor how much harm you do to something. Summary Phasers are awesome, and are the work-horse weapon for everything you will ever use. Don't neglect them because you have more damaging weapons available! But because they can do so many things, you may have trouble deciding what to do with them all.
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Aug 13, 2015 19:27
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berryjon posted:stuff Yup, I remember from the rules that all SSDs have the ship's damage control rating on them. One thing I would point out though, is again the inexperience of our opponents. Which isn't to say we should underestimate them, but that in regards to your thoughts on their targeting priorities they might simply think it better to try and concentrate on one big ship, like the Ranger, rather than going for the most easily destroyed stuff first. Re: tournies- I'm afraid the abbreviations are going over my head. berryjon posted:Shoeless - Don't worry about that reference. If Gnoman brings out a Juggie, then I will have a lot to say - and I will join the fleet trying to bring one of those down. Nah, I know it's one of the big superships along with the Planet Killer and Space Dragon and stuff, right? It has a directional shield rather than one for each facing, and regenerative armor, from what I remember from looking at the Federation Commander SSD of it. And counter to your stance, if Gnoman brings it out, I'll be clamoring to pilot it! 
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Aug 13, 2015 19:42
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Shoeless posted:One thing I would point out though, is again the inexperience of our opponents. Which isn't to say we should underestimate them, but that in regards to your thoughts on their targeting priorities they might simply think it better to try and concentrate on one big ship, like the Ranger, rather than going for the most easily destroyed stuff first. I agree - which is why the Ranger is the most likely target among our Cruisers. There are legitimate reasons for getting it first - 9 Stingers for example - but there are still better options. quote:Re: tournies- I'm afraid the abbreviations are going over my head. Tournament Ships are not exactly the same ship as shown in SFB. The TKE is the Tournament King Eagle, which has extra armor and a couple more Phasers over the normal King Eagle. The LDR is the Lyran Democratic Republic, a minor power in the larger game. Their claim to fame is that they combine Expanding Sphere Generators and Gatling Phasers onto their ships - which means the majority of their firepower ends at R3. quote:Nah, I know it's one of the big superships along with the Planet Killer and Space Dragon and stuff, right? It has a directional shield rather than one for each facing, and regenerative armor, from what I remember from looking at the Federation Commander SSD of it. Pretty much. It also is the only 'ship' to have Phaser-4s on it.
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Aug 13, 2015 19:50
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Ah, so the LDR ships are all about RAMMING SPEED! ? And right, Phaser 4s, I forgot it had those. What a wonderful ship.  One thing, and sorry if this is a foolish question, but knowing more about the TV series than the game universe, are the Cardassians in SFB?
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Aug 13, 2015 19:59
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Shoeless posted:One thing, and sorry if this is a foolish question, but knowing more about the TV series than the game universe, are the Cardassians in SFB? No.
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Aug 13, 2015 20:01
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berryjon posted:You meant the DAC thing? The variant rule (which I've been using for a very long time) I'm using isn't quite directional - I allocate damage for each weapon with a single die roll (instead of one per point) and treat each individual weapon as a seperate volley for purpose of the bolded items. It erases Mizia from the game completely, produces generally similar overall results and is much, much faster, but with very high damage weapons it's very visible, and I want to make sure you realize how I'm doing it. It's often referred to as a "directed" hit because it can give a greater impression of a direct hit instead of the sandblaster effect that normal DAC gives. EDIT: That weapon writeup is quite good and useful.
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Aug 13, 2015 20:13
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Gnoman posted:The variant rule (which I've been using for a very long time) I'm using isn't quite directional - I allocate damage for each weapon with a single die roll (instead of one per point) and treat each individual weapon as a seperate volley for purpose of the bolded items. It erases Mizia from the game completely, produces generally similar overall results and is much, much faster, but with very high damage weapons it's very visible, and I want to make sure you realize how I'm doing it. It's often referred to as a "directed" hit because it can give a greater impression of a direct hit instead of the sandblaster effect that normal DAC gives. Oh! That one! No, no problems at all. Oh, and you get to explain to Shoeless about Mizia. My throat is parched. 
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Aug 13, 2015 20:17
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berryjon posted:Oh, and you get to explain to Shoeless about Mizia. My throat is parched. Explanation: It's a concept not particularly relevant to the setup we're using, but here's how it works. Certain items on the Damage Allocation Chart (linked in berry's post) are Bolded. This means that they can be hit once per volley. In stock SFB, a "volley" is all the damage scored during a single impulse, rolled one point at a time. A man named Mizia realized that, because the bolded items were generally vital targets such as weapons or power systems, it was better to spread out damage between several impulses so you get more of those hits instead of wasting a lot of your attack on shots that can't hit the bolded ones anymore and go into damage sinks like Hull. The way I do it, each individual weapon counts as a seperate volley, so each weapon hit can damage a bolded box once (this is what I've been fluffing as power overloads and the like). One of the things I like about this is that it gives both light damage and heavy damage weapons a niche - light damage weapons can give the sandpaper Mizia effect in a way that makes sense, while heavier ones can punch deep into the DAC.
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Aug 13, 2015 20:34
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Ooooh, okay. Now that I've got a better understanding of damage allocation and exactly how you're doing this, I agree that this way sounds much better, yes. Both in terms of removing he Mezia thing which seems a bit meta, and in just making it so you don't have to roll quite so many dice. One roll on the DAC for every point of damage really did strike me as a bit tedious. Though, one thing is that it seems like it does make the outlier results even more powerful, since a hit that does 2+ damage on a 2, 3, 4, 10, 11 and 12 means hitting multiple of those more important systems.
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Aug 13, 2015 20:48
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Shoeless posted:Ooooh, okay. Now that I've got a better understanding of damage allocation and exactly how you're doing this, I agree that this way sounds much better, yes. Both in terms of removing he Mezia thing which seems a bit meta, and in just making it so you don't have to roll quite so many dice. One roll on the DAC for every point of damage really did strike me as a bit tedious. Though, one thing is that it seems like it does make the outlier results even more powerful, since a hit that does 2+ damage on a 2, 3, 4, 10, 11 and 12 means hitting multiple of those more important systems. That's why I still respect the bolding - a 10 point hit on a 2, for example, would do one Bridge, 1 Flag Bridge, 1 Sensor, 1 Damage Control, 1 Aft Hull (why the gently caress Aft Hull is bolded I have no idea, Hull is a damage sink!) and 5-10 (depending on what was present) Left Warp damage.
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Aug 13, 2015 20:52
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So... clarified fire orders... contingency movement plots to keep those damned Plasma to our rear for as long as possible... We're good until the next break! Gnoman posted:A man named Mizia realized that, because the bolded items were generally vital targets such as weapons or power systems, it was better to spread out damage between several impulses so you get more of those hits instead of wasting a lot of your attack on shots that can't hit the bolded ones anymore and go into damage sinks like Hull. What Gnoman didn't mention was that this was such a fundamental change in the way the game was played that the Mizia was not only named for this person, but it became the fundamental tactic for dealing damage to other ships. The only one who has even come close to such a game-breaking idea was Kaufman and his Retrograde. (Which we will never see because it requires unlimited space to move in.) Gnoman posted:(why the gently caress Aft Hull is bolded I have no idea, Hull is a damage sink!) You just had four rolls of *2* on whatever damage you're taking. It's a pity point of damage at that point, and probably long gone on any real distribution.
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Aug 13, 2015 21:13
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edit: Replaced by Version 2.0 below
berryjon fucked around with this message at 03:17 on Aug 14, 2015 |
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Aug 13, 2015 22:34
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berryjon posted:And number 2! This is highly relevant to our opponents, so they may want to see this sooner, rather than later: Minor quibbles - Plasma-K torpedos can be loaded onto a plasma rack in place of a Plasma-D. As this is done on a 1-1 basis, the utility is limited.0 Plasma-Rs can be held on starbases (but not ships or smaller bases.) Cost is 4. Starting in Y165, the Gorn have a special bolting mode for plasma-F torpedos - the Plasma Carronade. This is specially designed to hunt cloaked ships, and ignores the range-increasing effects of the cloaking device. It is less efficient than a normal plasma bolt, and is very short ranged. shorter ranged. Orions get it in Y170, the Federation and WYN get it in 175. Romulans never get it.
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Aug 13, 2015 23:00
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Gnoman posted:Minor quibbles - typing from phone. have made corrections to the file and will update it when I get home.
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Aug 14, 2015 02:31
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Know Your Guns! A Beginners guide to Star Fleet Battles weapons. Part 2: Plasma Torpedoes Introduction Plasma Torpedoes are the primary Heavy Weapon of the "Eastern" Empires - the Romulans, Gorn and ISC. The Orion Pirates and Federation field torpedoes in limited amounts. As a seeking weapon, the Plasma Torp has the distinction of being one of the fastes units in the game, and while that advantage is diminished as the years advance, it is always a force to be reckoned with. The System Plasma comes in several types, ranging from fighter-mounted to "we built a ship around the weapon". They all function the same way. With two exceptions, Plasma takes three turns to arm, and because of that long wait, are some of the heaviest hitters in the game. code:The Plasma-R is the most iconic weapon, having shown up in the TOS episode "Balance of Terror". Dealing 50 points of damage out to range 10, this weapon is the single most powerful weapon in the game - barring possibly the Mauler. It is so large that the smallest ships to mount it - the Romulan War Bird/War Eagle are literally built around the weapon. Everything else that carries it are the largest ships in service - the Dreadnoughts or Starbases. The S-Torp is the standard heavy weapon mounted by most Cruisers - in fact, it cannot be mounted on Destroyers or smaller. It is an excellent mid-ranged weapon, and often comes in pairs. The G-Torp was the first plasma fielded by the Gorn Hegemony, but was copied by the Romulans to use on their lighter ships. It was supplanted by the Plasma-S in all cases where the upgrade could be made, but remains the heaviest plasma that can be mounted on Size Class 4 vessels. The F-Torp is the lightest 'standard' Plasma, and is often deployed as a back-up weapon behind heavier guns for a follow-up attack, or as the primary weapon on Assault Fighters. It is extremely short range, and starts losing power after 5 hexes of movement. The D-Torp is the smallest that can be mounted on a ship. D-Torps have limited ammunition, and are prepared in a firing 'rack' when on a ship. On a fighter, they are the equivalent of a Type-I drone. However, while on a ship, they can fire in either Bolt or Seeker Mode, once per impulse, against any seeking weapon or shuttle/fighter within five hexes. It can be fired once per turn against anything larger, and it takes 8 impulses to switch between the two firing modes. It also only takes 1 turn to arm. Lastly, the K-Torp is deployed only on fighters as the equivalent of the Type-VI drone. Used against ships, it is little more than an irritation, but when fired at drones or shuttles/fighters, its damage is doubled! They can also be loaded in place of a Plasma-D, but there is no real benefit to doing so. Plasma Torpedos can be held, that is, you may choose not to fire them on the last turn of arming and instead pay an energy cost to keep them warmed up in the tubes. However, only a Starbase can hold a Plasma-R torpedo, the equipment necessary is simply too large. This will allow you to keep them ready for when you really need them. Only Standard Torpeoes can be held. If you wish to use an alternate fire mode, you will need to pay the difference during Energy Allocation (and cannot hold the weapon any further), or out of reserve power when fired. Alternately, Plasma also have what is called "Rolling Delay". That is, because the first two turns of arming are the same cost, you can 'fake' a third turn by only paying the same cost as the first or second turn. If you do that, and the turn ends, then the first turn's arming energy goes away, and the previous two turns become the first and second turn. If you want to fire a torpedo while on rolling delay, you have to use your batteries. Simply pay the difference between the energy needed for the second turn and for the third turn and fire it! However, a torpedo fired out of reserve power like this can only be fired as a standard torpedo, and must be fired immediately. Plasma that are loaded onto a fighter do not need to pay a holding cost. All Plasma Torpedoes lose strength as they travel. The farther along it is, the less strength it will have. Running away from Plasma is a viable tactic, especially in longer games. Alternate Fire Modes Plasma Torpedoes actually have several alternate fire modes. With the exception of Sabot, these cannot be applied to D or K torps. D-Torps can Bolt, however.
Advantages Plasmas are huge. They can deal lots of damage when they hit. It's getting the hit that's hard. They also take reduced damage from phasers, unlike drones. And except for D and K torps, there are no ammunition concerns. A Plasma Torp on a ship is unique in that it can fire after the launching tube has been destroyed. It can fire as it is currently loaded (no using reserve power to change it) for up to 8 impulses after the system has been destroyed. Plasma Torpedoes have a built-in 3ECCM, making it much harder to defend against them through jamming. They can also be released to self-guidance at any time, something that cloaking Romulans and Orions can appreciate as they don't have to stay 'surfaced' to guide the torpedo home. In addition, if the firing ship is not running Active Fire Control, they may fire Plasma Torpedoes under their own guidance at legal targets that are over five hexes away. In many ways, all the above alternate firing modes are advantages for the Plasma as well! Plasmas can also be used to 'guide' other units through asteroids. If fired in such a manner, they act as ablative armor against asteroid impacts. However, they damage damage from asteroids like they do from Plasma! They also do not interact with ESGs. Disadvantages Slow to arm - three turns except for D's and Fastload F's. And they can be quite the powerhog, especially when dealing with things like a Sabot-Enveloper of an R-torp. Sure, you get a truly frightening weapon, but you're also not doing much else. Unlike drones though, Plasma don't even last a full turn. Even the mighty R-torp evaporates to 0 damage on its 31st move. Summary Plasma Torpedoes are more technical and finesse weapons than their sheer numbers would suggest. Thier use should be planned turns in advance to optimize what you want to do, and how you're going to go about doing it. Trying to do too much with them may leave you in a position to do nothing at all. Fire them near the end of a turn to minimize down-time, and to give you a chance to see how the enemy responds to them at the start of the next turn to decide how to go about the next couple turns. berryjon fucked around with this message at 20:04 on Aug 14, 2015 |
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Aug 14, 2015 03:17
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| # ? Apr 23, 2024 23:54 |
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Plasma Torpedo post has been cross-posted to the Romulan thread.
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Aug 14, 2015 13:11
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