Subtopic	Posts		Updated
	Archive through March 25, 2009	25		03/26 07:18pm

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Quote:

This thing is supposed to add to list of options (and if you think about it, there SHOULD be a huge variety of drone options out there) you have to consider.

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By Andrew Harding (Warlock) on Thursday, March 26, 2009 - 02:39 am: Edit

A given drone type being twice as good as a type-I doesn't mean the drone necessarily can be balanced simply by doubling the price. If using SUPER(tm) drones makes a Kzin DF 25% more powerful, the cost of equipping one with those drones should be roughly 25% the cost of that DF... but if simply having the possibility makes regular drones more dangerous because the enemy needs to manoeuvre or plan defences against SUPER(tm) just in case does a DF without them need to cost more too?

By Jeff Wile (Jswile) on Thursday, March 26, 2009 - 12:23 pm: Edit

Andrew,

I'm willing to accept that these dash drones are not worth 25% of whatever ship is using them at the time... I was simply pointing out that the dash drones are very powerful in their range envelope (namely 8 hese or less.)

It was intended to illustrate the idea that the dash drones are somewhat better than type IFs drones would be in the same circumstances.

By Michael C. Grafton (Mike_Grafton) on Thursday, March 26, 2009 - 03:53 pm: Edit

I am withdrawing from all topics and submissions on the board for personal reasons.

By Andrew Harding (Warlock) on Thursday, March 26, 2009 - 07:18 pm: Edit

I didn't mean to claim the dash concept was a 25% buff to drone users. I'm agreeing with you that having these available is a good thing for drone users. I already feel the drone races are in general strong. Look at what the Kzin CC loses in tourney compared to the Gorn and look at the BPV gap.

By Jeff Wile (Jswile) on Friday, March 27, 2009 - 09:12 am: Edit

Now, If I were to actively suppoprt this concept, I'd first want to modify the proposal to reflect the 12 hex range/endurance that type VI drones have... so it isnt limited tot he 8 hexes that Michael proposed...after all the paired Type VI engines that he's using are 12 hex range to begin with.

Obviously, if such drones are produced early during the slow speed era, (and given a 1 turn endurance by the type of drone) it would default to 8 hex range drones.

Moderate speed drones cold be speed 12, as could medium and fast upgrades.

Once we agree on the characteristics, only then could we begin to unravel the relative value of such drones in BPV terms.

Atleast, I suggest that would be the best way to approach it.

Comments anyone?

By Carl-Magnus Carlsson (Hardcore) on Saturday, March 28, 2009 - 05:47 am: Edit

Question: Semantically speaking I thought Dash meant a sprint, running at high speed. Does it also imply short this is over a specifik distance only?

By Alan Trevor (Thyrm) on Saturday, March 28, 2009 - 11:52 am: Edit

Carl-Magnus Carlsson,

The term Dash does generally mean a high speed sprint. But that does carry the implication that the high speed can only be maintained for a brief period of time. I suspect it was the latter implication that Mike Grafton had in mind when he opened the topic.

When I first saw the topic heading and hadn't yet read Mike's first post, I assumed the proposal was actually going to be for a later period analog of the Type-II and Type-V drones, i.e. something faster than the standard availability drones of the era, but with less endurance. But instead of trading endurance for speed, this proposal trades endurance for armor. I'm not sure "Dash Drones" is actually the best name for this concept, but that's a secondary matter. The more important matter is determining whether the basic idea is a good one, or not. And I haven't made up my mind on that yet.

By Jim Davies (Mudfoot) on Saturday, March 28, 2009 - 05:29 pm: Edit

More pedantry: why isn't this in the (FD) rules section rather than (E)? If Jean is really bored she might like to move it.