Theblackdog wrote:At this point, my biggest personal want for this system are additional rules for movement and front/side/rear firing arcs for weapons.
This was part of the original design but got cut when I was trimming things down for simplicity. I hated to do it. One benefit, though, is that it cuts down on vagaries stemming from different model builds. Though...bases might take care of that problem entirely. I am glad it still looks okay without them. I just hope it plays okay. If not, there's always 2nd Edition, right?
Theblackdog wrote:-Instead of just using the Sensor stat to determine Range, you could have a ship's Range against a given target be equal to its Sensor range plus its target's Core value, so a larger ship could be hit from farther away. Optionally, you can add the amount of Strain a ship currently has to the detection range as well.
In love with this whole idea. The only problem is that Core can become quite large, making detection virtually automatic. An attacker would still need to spend an energy point on Sensors to activate Level 1 but the Core Detection would take care of the rest of the range between them.
Strain already has the drawback of not being able to be used until you pass a turn without taking the average. (Plus, I almost cut strain for its complexity.) So I'm not sure about giving it a second drawback. That said, having a tactical range changer sounds neat as heck.
A bonus to range equal to the number of levels activated could work but I think that could also get quite large and might possibly increase the bookwork more than I'd like. Hm. I'll have to think about this one more.
Theblackdog wrote:-Ion weapons feel vaguely defined.
Yeah, I gave three simple examples of what you *could* do with them if you wanted. Your way is equally as valid. I think if I were playing you, I'd agree to something like: "Instead of doing normal damage to an enemy ship when it hits, an Ion Weapon deals its own activation level in Strain to the enemy ship's Core. This acts in all ways as if the enemy ship had dealt itself Strain."
Theblackdog wrote:-I feel like a few more damage types would be a welcome addition. Some possibilities:
Yes to all of these. I particularly like Particle Beams. I wonder if they would eliminate Crew Stations as well. Or just reduce their die.
Theblackdog wrote:-I think applying Strain to all systems, not just the Core energy pool, would make for more interesting tactics. Here's my suggestion:
That's kind of genius. It allows ships to push the boundaries of what they're made of, getting a boost with a built in cost, so it balances itself. A ship could conceivably double its output for a turn but leave themselves without the ability to even use that system on the next turn. Straining another system only further complicates matters, giving another boost but leaving the first affected system still out of play for the time being while the ship struggles to handle the power output. Making the Strain go away as an all or nothing condition makes you real careful about how you overload your systems.