The idea here is for a mine like device or even could be part of a drogue package, or strictly an ability of a new race or new monster. (A new probe launcher device??)

Bsasic outline of the ECM Cloud Device:

Assuming a mine like package, the device is rolled out a hatch or shuttle bay with a pre-timed detonator (timed in impulses up to 32 when deployed). Once it exploses it fills the hex with charged particles. It does no damage, but may cause some feed back damage to the ship that drops it if still in the same hex.

Anything firing into or through the hex is affected by natural ecm. The amount of ecm varied depending on the following:
If firing at a target inside the hex the effect is 2 ECM.
If firing through the hex where the line of fire crosses two paralell hex sides or two hex points the effect is 4 ECM.
If firing through the hex where the line of fire passes through to angled hex sides the effect is 2 ECM.
If the line of fire is along a hex line there is no effect.
All weapons firing out of a cloud hex is encumbered by 2 natural ECM.

The effect lasts for three turns (96 impulses). After 64 impulse the ECM effect is halved.

The effect of multicle cloud hexes is cumlative but not in the same hex.

The particle cloud is unaffected by displacement devices.
The cloud effect is disrupted by ESGs at a rate of 1 ECM reduction per impulse that an ESG field intersects with a particle cloud. There is no effect on the ESG (no reduction of strength).
Particle clouds are eliminated by mine and ship explosions of 10 points or more.
Particle clouds are not affected by drone explosions and do no damage to anything passing through them.

By Loren Knight (Loren) on Tuesday, March 15, 2011 - 05:02 pm: Edit

If used as a monster ability I'd increase the effect and let it be fully cumulative (i.e, cumulative in the same hex).

By Mike Kenyon (Mikek) on Tuesday, March 15, 2011 - 05:29 pm: Edit

Ummm... would this be tech mucking with the Alunda PCG?

By Troy Latta (Saaur) on Tuesday, March 15, 2011 - 05:30 pm: Edit

The bit about counting the hexsides seems clunky to me. Be easier to just reference (P3.33) and just make it stronger.

By Jeff Wile (Jswile) on Tuesday, March 15, 2011 - 08:06 pm: Edit

might be too good a deal for ships... it might, however, make a good captor mine thing in a mine package for base defense. Always a good thing to mess up the targeting of ships outside of a mine field shooting into it.

One side effect might be to make hunting mines more difficult...

By Loren Knight (Loren) on Tuesday, March 15, 2011 - 08:32 pm: Edit

I wanted to simulate a sphere of particles that were less dense in the middle and not a hex of asteroids. If you look at a hex it's very simple. If you are firing straight through the hex you are firing through the densest portion of the cloud. It's only clunky on the first read but in practice it's pretty easy and, to me, interesting tactics wise. It will have interesting effects on movement choices, IMO.

I am unfamiliar with the Alunda PCG.

By Mike Kenyon (Mikek) on Tuesday, March 15, 2011 - 08:42 pm: Edit

The alunda creature/ship effectively "toots" out a cloud of particles behind the ship the starts in the hex behind it, then the four hexes behind it then 10 hexes behind it. Firing through that is penalized by the number of hexes you fire through. I don't have the rules in front of me, but my memory says it works like firing through asteroids, possibly nastier.

By Loren Knight (Loren) on Wednesday, March 16, 2011 - 12:54 am: Edit

Like squid ink.

Jeff Wile mentioned squid ink in another thread and that's what made me think of this.

By Mike Kenyon (Mikek) on Wednesday, March 16, 2011 - 03:47 pm: Edit

I made the Alunda PCG comparison in that thread as well, for the same reasons.

That proposal is different because the ship is in it, versus having it behind it, at least initially. That makes it more like a Vudar device, but that travels with the ship. So both ideas fall somewhere between the two.

By Loren Knight (Loren) on Wednesday, March 16, 2011 - 05:39 pm: Edit

I tried to make this proposal more like Chaff Pods for ships, although it certainly lasts longer and isn't for distracting drones in one shot.

I didn't imagine this being a cloud of anything dense either, that is, not like a dust cloud. rather, a burst of charged particles whoes energy emissions would disrupt scanners and sensors. The particles burn out over time (lit by the initial explosion). I imagine the disruptive dust is created using replicator technology to generate unnatural compounds that become unstable when broken by the dispersion blast. The material then breaks down into natural elements giving off energy as it does, with a lot of this energy going into subspace static (hence the ECM effect).

I think it would be a very interesting device for a pirate vs. convoy scenario.

By Mike Kenyon (Mikek) on Wednesday, March 16, 2011 - 06:12 pm: Edit

Ummm ... there's an idea. What about instead of generating an ECM effect, it had a direct sensor/scanner effect?

Say if you're caught in the radius of the bomb, you're sensor and scanner loosesthe top X boxes for 1/8 of a turn, where X is:

d6 X
1-3 2
4-5 3
6 4

I would have started at 1, but a LOT of ships have a double 6/double 0 and you should take SOME damage.

The effect is temporary and the boxes are not destroyed just inactive (G18?) during that period.

By Gary Carney (Nerroth) on Wednesday, March 16, 2011 - 06:16 pm: Edit

This makes me think of a trick the Qixa might like to pull when on a trade mission; the ability to plonk a hex or few's worth of the gases from the Qixavalor Cloud onto the board...

By Troy Latta (Saaur) on Thursday, March 17, 2011 - 10:02 am: Edit

So Mike, you're thinking along the lines of a specialized t-bomb or ranged weapon of some kind, instead of a dropped effect like web or PCG?
My brain hadn't gone there, but I like it.

By Mike Kenyon (Mikek) on Thursday, March 17, 2011 - 01:16 pm: Edit

I was going down Loren's thinking of a mine package.

I was thinking the usage as follows: Lyran oblique's a Kzinti who's following his drones in. Turns off and the Zin follows. This device/mine/whatever hits the zin, flashbombs and kills his sensor (and consequentally his drone control) for say 8 impulses. At the same time, his scanner is screwed up so there went the direct-fire option.

By Troy Latta (Saaur) on Thursday, March 17, 2011 - 02:40 pm: Edit

I wouldn't like to see it in the Alpha octant. This feels more like a Magellanic thing to me. Or could make an interesting secondary weapon for the ablative-armor squids...
Alright, time to get off my butt and write up that heavy weapon proposal I had a few years ago.

By Loren Knight (Loren) on Thursday, March 17, 2011 - 02:49 pm: Edit

I wanted to be sure this was not a mine and not subject to mine rule but was deployed similarly to a mine and about the size of a mine.

Or if a monster weapon it would not be a mine at all. (and it wouldn't be poo either... sheesh, get you minds out of the gutter!)

By Mike Kenyon (Mikek) on Thursday, March 17, 2011 - 03:30 pm: Edit

Loren, which mine rules were you trying to have it NOT subject to?

I was seeing it similar to a PA Mine.

By Loren Knight (Loren) on Thursday, March 17, 2011 - 03:36 pm: Edit

Well, I'd have to think on that a bit. I suppose I do want it to be hidden, or at least, not be a target as soon as it is dropped.

It does explode and exploding in a ship would be bad so it would have to be handled similarly.

I wouldn't want it to be part of the limits on mines. That is, any unit, including civilian, should be able to buy one or some.

I had a funny idea that maybe there is a monster that produces these things and they can be harvested from them. The Feds outlaw harvesting them because it kills the creature but other empires don't outlaw it and neither do pirates. They are not used by the military, typically, because of the special care that doesn't fit logistics (and limited shelf life?).

Just musing.

By Loren Knight (Loren) on Thursday, March 17, 2011 - 03:37 pm: Edit

Hey, maybe the things that the space Manta normally feeds on use these things to escape?

Then it becomes a mainly pirate and civilian device.

Maybe you roll it out the hatch and shoot it to activate it. The cost then is largely the firing of a weapon to gain the ecm benifit.