Steve Jackson Games - Site Navigation
Home General Info Follow Us Search Illuminator Store Forums What's New Other Games Ogre GURPS Munchkin Our Games: Home

Go Back   Steve Jackson Games Forums > Roleplaying > GURPS

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 06-27-2019, 01:12 PM   #21
Stormcrow
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Ronkonkoma, NY
Default Re: Some questions on Spaceships

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ulzgoroth View Post
Having more than one Spinal Battery is completely illegal by the building rules. A Spinal Battery has to pass through the core system in the center hull. You can only have one core system in the center hull, so you may only have one Spinal Battery.
Yes, you're right, I forgot about the need to go through the core system of the central hull.

Quote:
I suspect that was meant in a different sense, like making a reactionless drive that is also a shield, or a weapon battery that is also a mining assembly, rather than deviating from the foundational 20-systems rule.
I'm not talking about deviating from the 20-systems rule. By the rules you can take, for instance, four habitat systems and consider them as a single habitat space, even while it game-mechanically functions as four systems. So you could take four major battery systems and consider them as a single weapon battery, even though game-mechanically it functions as four systems. With this most minor of modifications in the name of replicating the ship you have in mind, as the book encourages you to do, you end up with the desired effect.
Stormcrow is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-28-2019, 01:16 AM   #22
Rupert
 
Rupert's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Wellington, NZ
Default Re: Some questions on Spaceships

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ulzgoroth View Post
I suspect that was meant in a different sense, like making a reactionless drive that is also a shield, or a weapon battery that is also a mining assembly, rather than deviating from the foundational 20-systems rule.
I think you're right, though using the 'larger systems' rule from SS7, p.5, you could use three systems to mount an oversized fixed medium battery of three guns the size of a normal major battery gun, which would then allow you to fire them all together quite legally. Given that this is the case, there's no reason other than the text in SS to not allow it for any number of guns as long as they are fixed and bear in the same direction.

As I said, I allow guns to be mounted more than one to a turret, and to fire as a single attack, subject to the other limitations (identical, etc.), so I'm a heretic anyway.
__________________
Rupert Boleyn

"A pessimist is an optimist with a sense of history."
Rupert is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-28-2019, 08:18 AM   #23
RyanW
 
RyanW's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Southeast NC
Default Re: Some questions on Spaceships

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rupert View Post
As I said, I allow guns to be mounted more than one to a turret, and to fire as a single attack, subject to the other limitations (identical, etc.), so I'm a heretic anyway.
Well, I allow multiple turrets to be fired as a single attack. This was routine on ships in the 1930s, so I see no reason to assume it would be impossible at TL10.
__________________
RyanW
- Actually one normal sized guy in three tiny trenchcoats.
RyanW is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-28-2019, 10:51 AM   #24
David Johnston2
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Default Re: Some questions on Spaceships

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rupert View Post
I think you're right, though using the 'larger systems' rule from SS7, p.5, you could use three systems to mount an oversized fixed medium battery of three guns the size of a normal major battery gun, which would then allow you to fire them all together quite legally. Given that this is the case, there's no reason other than the text in SS to not allow it for any number of guns as long as they are fixed and bear in the same direction.

As I said, I allow guns to be mounted more than one to a turret, and to fire as a single attack, subject to the other limitations (identical, etc.), so I'm a heretic anyway.
I'm pretty sure that's the intent behind the Starhawk design since it's the only way it could work.

Last edited by David Johnston2; 06-28-2019 at 11:37 AM.
David Johnston2 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-28-2019, 11:00 AM   #25
Rupert
 
Rupert's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Wellington, NZ
Default Re: Some questions on Spaceships

Quote:
Originally Posted by RyanW View Post
Well, I allow multiple turrets to be fired as a single attack. This was routine on ships in the 1930s, so I see no reason to assume it would be impossible at TL10.
Actually, it was routine before WWI for battleships.
__________________
Rupert Boleyn

"A pessimist is an optimist with a sense of history."
Rupert is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-28-2019, 11:32 AM   #26
Ulzgoroth
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Default Re: Some questions on Spaceships

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rupert View Post
I think you're right, though using the 'larger systems' rule from SS7, p.5, you could use three systems to mount an oversized fixed medium battery of three guns the size of a normal major battery gun, which would then allow you to fire them all together quite legally. Given that this is the case, there's no reason other than the text in SS to not allow it for any number of guns as long as they are fixed and bear in the same direction.

As I said, I allow guns to be mounted more than one to a turret, and to fire as a single attack, subject to the other limitations (identical, etc.), so I'm a heretic anyway.
Oh, I agree that there's no good reason for the restriction. As has been noted, a single operator firing multiple turrets, spread out across the hull even, is perfectly realistic at tech levels lower than Spaceships usually goes to.

It's just that it is, as you say, the text in Spaceships.
__________________
I don't know any 3e, so there is no chance that I am talking about 3e rules by accident.
Ulzgoroth is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-28-2019, 03:22 PM   #27
RyanW
 
RyanW's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Southeast NC
Default Re: Some questions on Spaceships

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rupert View Post
Actually, it was routine before WWI for battleships.
Knew the firing solutions were calculated and the guns triggered centrally, buy couldn't quickly find any explicit reference to guns being automatically laid from central control that early. I knew for sure the Mk. 33 did this.
__________________
RyanW
- Actually one normal sized guy in three tiny trenchcoats.
RyanW is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-28-2019, 08:42 PM   #28
Rupert
 
Rupert's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Wellington, NZ
Default Re: Some questions on Spaceships

Quote:
Originally Posted by RyanW View Post
Knew the firing solutions were calculated and the guns triggered centrally, buy couldn't quickly find any explicit reference to guns being automatically laid from central control that early. I knew for sure the Mk. 33 did this.
They weren't fully automatic, but I don't see having humans work controls to line up the gun's azimuth marker with the marker controlled by the director is any different from having a machine do it, aside from one of tech level.
__________________
Rupert Boleyn

"A pessimist is an optimist with a sense of history."
Rupert is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-28-2019, 09:13 PM   #29
jason taylor
 
jason taylor's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Portland, Oregon
Default Re: Some questions on Spaceships

Quote:
Originally Posted by FeiLin View Post

Also, why the lack of variety of missiles? Afaik the only choice I have is barrel size and "nuke, super or neither" (disregarding warp, which seems not to behave like missiles). What if I want ion missiles that stun ships, more penetration, or different range? Maybe even different speeds depending on ammo. I could, of course, just go in and add/change it, but then I'd have to open the can of worms of adjusting costs, etc, which I'd rather wait with.
There SHOULD be variety of missiles. For instance countermissiles should cost about a fraction per salvo of a shipkiller (or why didn't they throw them at the other formation in the first place). Missiles for delicate stuff like gunboat diplomacy, policework, and piracy should be more surgical. Conversely shipkillers should have better armor penetration capability than either countermissiles, or missiles made for light units or for skirmishing (the latter two can often be the same model). There should be different warheads like EMPers, Nukes, Laserheads, recon (and possibly conterrecon) drones, different attack plans and so forth. Some of these can be several apps put in the same guidance computer as options. But at the least there are reasons to have different sizes to make an expense worth the target.
__________________
"The navy could probably win a war without coffee but would prefer not to try"-Samuel Eliot Morrison
jason taylor is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-28-2019, 09:35 PM   #30
Ulzgoroth
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Default Re: Some questions on Spaceships

Quote:
Originally Posted by jason taylor View Post
There SHOULD be variety of missiles. For instance countermissiles should cost about a fraction per salvo of a shipkiller (or why didn't they throw them at the other formation in the first place).
It's fairly hard to justify countermissiles rather than point defense beams or cannon. (Except for countermissile nuking.) You could have 16cm countermissiles used to shoot down larger 'shipkiller' missiles, but it's difficult to make larger shipkillers useful.

A 'short ramge' missile that cut off half the mass and probably 2/3s to 3/4s of the delta-V would be a helpful option, if you do want to use missiles for defensive fire.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jason taylor View Post
Missiles for delicate stuff like gunboat diplomacy, policework, and piracy should be more surgical.
How do you do 'surgical' a gigantic hypervelocity impactor?
Quote:
Originally Posted by jason taylor View Post
Conversely shipkillers should have better armor penetration capability than either countermissiles, or missiles made for light units or for skirmishing (the latter two can often be the same model). There should be different warheads like EMPers, Nukes, Laserheads, recon (and possibly conterrecon) drones, different attack plans and so forth. Some of these can be several apps put in the same guidance computer as options. But at the least there are reasons to have different sizes to make an expense worth the target.
No Spaceships kinetic weapons have useful penetration factors, assuming warship armor is hardened.

The text has nukes and laser heads (though it doesn't really give instructions on how to play out the laser heads), and EMP missiles seem like a dubious proposition. Nobody's stopping you having drones, but drones aren't really missiles. SS5 does have sensor drones that are stated as missile replacements, though they're intended for exploratory/scientific use, not tactical recon.
__________________
I don't know any 3e, so there is no chance that I am talking about 3e rules by accident.
Ulzgoroth is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
spaceships

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Fnords are Off
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 06:33 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.