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Old 09-04-2016, 07:25 PM   #1
Tallor
 
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Default Help: Space Combat?

Although I usually love the amount of detail that goes into GURPS books, Spaceships has me really stumped. I can't figure out how to do the organize phases of battle (scanning, negotiation/fighting, retreats etc.) and I'm not sure what the many bonuses and penalties would be. They're in the book, but I'm just not sure when to use +2 for a celestial body silhouette vs +24 in deep space, and what the combat effectiveness of guns vs launchers vs lasers vs particle beams.

I'm really excited to make space combat work... but I'm lost on the how. Does anyone have a chart or some advice to clear things up?
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Old 09-04-2016, 07:42 PM   #2
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Default Re: Help: Space Combat?

This blog has some playtest examples.
http://mailanka.blogspot.nl/2016/07/...rs-primer.html
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Old 09-04-2016, 08:29 PM   #3
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Default Re: Help: Space Combat?

I'm extremely pessimistic about the gaming usefulness of Spaceships combat. Just noting that here, I'm going to try to leave that alone and stick to technical answers...


Unfortunately, I'm not sure where to start. You haven't been very specific about what you're looking for, and some of the answers are likely to be extremely circumstantial. For instance, I don't think realistic space engagements very likely to have any of the phases you mention - ships are likely to know where the opponent is and decide whether or not to shoot them long before they close in, and withdrawing is either unlikely to be possible (in a low-relative-velocity engagement) or completely involuntary (in a fast pass). Which should not impede you from playing a game where those things do happen, but you need to lay out more of what you've got in mind...

I can answer the +2 vs. +24 modifier question though! The +24 is for when the background behind the target is the darkness of. The +2 is for when the background is a planet, star, moon, etc. I'm not sure if there's any circumstance where you don't get at least the +2, except maybe if you are also not in plain sight.
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Old 09-04-2016, 09:25 PM   #4
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Default Re: Help: Space Combat?

I have some write-ups of space combats here:
http://noschoolgrognard.blogspot.com...n%20Chronicles

They're long, but detailed and go into calculated the dice rolls and the logic of the various decisions.
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Old 09-04-2016, 10:53 PM   #5
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Default Re: Help: Space Combat?

Quote:
Originally Posted by mlangsdorf View Post
I have some write-ups of space combats here:
http://noschoolgrognard.blogspot.com...n%20Chronicles

They're long, but detailed and go into calculated the dice rolls and the logic of the various decisions.
Just read it! My notes were that larger craft should get better HP, and batteries should be per-gun--such that tertiary battery guns are easy to take out with low damage, but major battery guns are a lot more beefy.
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Old 09-05-2016, 07:53 AM   #6
Fred Brackin
 
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Default Re: Help: Space Combat?

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Originally Posted by Ulzgoroth View Post
withdrawing is either unlikely to be possible (in a low-relative-velocity engagement) or completely involuntary (in a fast pass). .
In a major fleet action during a playtest battle I had the two sides negotiate a truce and disengagement. The battle was obviously going to proceed to mutual annihilation otherwise (which was not worth the time to game out right then).

It was low velocity hard science TL10 with nuclear pulse drives and even though they were on a closing heading it was possible for the ships to make major burns in opposing directions lateral to their current vector and leave each other's weapon range while also not moving towards any other targets from either side.

Surrender with boarding and such like would have been much harder to negotiate. This goes to the difficulty of even vaguely realistic space pirates.
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Old 09-05-2016, 09:53 AM   #7
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Default Re: Help: Space Combat?

I think Spaceships has a similar image problem to the Basic Set -people assume it to be a comprehensive RPG system, when it's more of an RPG engine for depicting a variety of SF genres and subgenres, with a base in realism. You need to edit, snip and activate switches to make your own workable system.

Why don't you start by describing the sort of military paradigms you'd want to see in action (e.g., flavor, pacing, weapons and engagement ranges, time scales, presence/absence of SF tropes like boarding, ramming, dogfighting, etc.), and we'll see how best to depict that.
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Old 09-05-2016, 01:05 PM   #8
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Default Re: Help: Space Combat?

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Originally Posted by Seneschal View Post
You need to edit, snip and activate switches to make your own workable system.

Why don't you start by describing the sort of military paradigms you'd want to see in action (e.g., flavor, pacing, weapons and engagement ranges, time scales, presence/absence of SF tropes like boarding, ramming, dogfighting, etc.), and we'll see how best to depict that.
From experience (I was recently in a similar position to yourself) this is the best advice so far. Once we know what you want out of this somebody here will be able to help you tailor the rules to your needs.

As for procedures etc the best examples I have found so far are probably the mlangsdorf write-ups that have already been recommended they are my current guide for how you actually run a battle.

Other than this just fool around with the system a bit do what mark and mailanka did and throw some sample ships at each other. It is not something I would normally recommend but it does seem to help get a feel for both the rules and the background options.
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Old 09-05-2016, 01:10 PM   #9
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Default Re: Help: Space Combat?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Seneschal View Post
I think Spaceships has a similar image problem to the Basic Set -people assume it to be a comprehensive RPG system, when it's more of an RPG engine for depicting a variety of SF genres and subgenres, with a base in realism. You need to edit, snip and activate switches to make your own workable system.

Why don't you start by describing the sort of military paradigms you'd want to see in action (e.g., flavor, pacing, weapons and engagement ranges, time scales, presence/absence of SF tropes like boarding, ramming, dogfighting, etc.), and we'll see how best to depict that.
Roger and I recently wrote an article in Pyramid 3/94 - Spaceships III entitled So You Want to Build a Spaceship specifically to address this sort of thing for a few genres. Even if what the OP's looking to do isn't covered directly, it will give him an idea of how to twist and bend it into what he needs.
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Old 09-06-2016, 03:27 AM   #10
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Default Re: Help: Space Combat?

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Originally Posted by Fred Brackin View Post
Surrender with boarding and such like would have been much harder to negotiate. This goes to the difficulty of even vaguely realistic space pirates.
I think that this depends upon the pirates MO as much as the underlying physics. Opposed boarding when in flight isn't going to be a thing but I don't see other models being impossible.

Given the difficulties with piracy, capture and ransom seems to be the way to go anyway and if physicaly taking control of ships is too hard pirates might cut out the capture bit all together in favour of extortion effectively 'pay up or get shot up'.

If this is too impersonal for game use the assumptions still allow the same kind of intimidation tactics to force an uncontested boarding. Guns might be a valuable tool for this with (normaly completely ineffective) long range fire being used to 'pollute' potential escape vectors and dictate the targets tactical options.

In many settings both options will probably exist with many gangs switching between the two modes based upon operating conditions. This seems particularly likely if piracy overlaps with political terrorism (not nessecarly an unrealistic assumption).
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