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	Archive through July 23, 2011	25		07/26 07:02pm

Steve: I didn't take anything you said badly I just think the idea will not work.

The only way these things are worth anything is if they are hard to detect. Not making a warp bubble and then making them stealthy was my idea to do so. They could be used early in the history because the technology was there.

With a speed 8 drone if I tractor you or otherwise set up an overrun you have a decent amount of time to deal with the drones I launched. With these drones you might know they launched and how many exist but you might not be able to target them, or perhaps they would take less damage or they could not be tractored, etc.

The idea is basically to give up speed for making them harder to defend against. Designing a drone that is hard to stop with no drawback would be bad for the game. I thought I had a technobabble idea that would explain how you could have a hard to detect drone that had no chance of breaking the game.

I don't know enough to make an effective rule. I just thought the idea might work on some level.

I thought a drone where,

1. might have to use a lab to detect the drone and/or maybe a scout channel, would be cool.

2. have the equivalent of 6 ECM might be cool.

3. Have to role against half the scanner or sensor number to detect?

Not sure how to do it but that was what inspired me.

If this is not possible, no hard feelings, was just in idea I had.

By Michael C. Grafton (Mike_Grafton) on Sunday, July 24, 2011 - 02:32 pm: Edit

So maybe my ECM idea wasn't completely off base?

There is probably a sweet spot in there between the existing speed 8, ECM 0, Endurance 3 standard drone and your Speed 1, ECM (like a cloaking device), Endurance ???.

Maybe Speed 1, "Natural" ECM 3, endurance 4? So it's a +1 shift unless you REALLY work at it...

This would make the drone actually kind useful against targets that rely on P3s for defense, planetary defense reduction. ADDs ignore ECM so no help there??? (I seem to remember something like this, but am unsure if it applies to "Natural" ecm)

And it would explain why, as ship tactics began to be more "speed is life" over "Bricked Turtling" these drones disappeared into the dumpster of tech history.

ALSO, they might be the inspiration for the later Catfish drone seen in the simulators. But the ACTUAL Catfish tech never panned out...

Note that I am NOT wedded to any of the above, but I do think the idea has some neat features IF the issues can be settled without breaking game balance.

ALSO worth thinking about IF this idea gains traction: Were there 2 space versions? How about a variant version of the "death bolt" drones things the Carnivons had?

By Steven E. Ehrbar (See) on Sunday, July 24, 2011 - 09:54 pm: Edit

Mike Grafton:

I note that if a commander wants a drone that is more survivable against non-ADD direct fire and is willing to give up lots of speed, he can already stick a whole space worth of external armor on a slow drone and reduce it to speed 2. (Availability of armor is Y67 by YFD12.0.)

By Darin Smith (Dsmith) on Tuesday, July 26, 2011 - 06:07 pm: Edit

I hate to try to drag Mr. Petrick into this, but is this a workable idea or should I leave you in peace?

By John Trauger (Vorlonagent) on Tuesday, July 26, 2011 - 07:02 pm: Edit

I don't think SPP considers the idea workable.

By Steve Petrick (Petrick) on Tuesday, July 26, 2011 - 08:36 pm: Edit

Darin Smith:

All I am doing is citing the rules that you need to get around and asking for a solid explanation of why someone would equip a ship with these. The overun mission is not a valid reason to give up the range and movement influence possibilities of Speed 8 drones to carry Speed 1 drones, and I do not see how they can launch and not be detected as such. Otherwise, would not sublight ships have savaged each other even more with such drones since their even weaker sensor and scanner suites would never have picked them up for defensive fire if the advanced sensors could not.

By Darin Smith (Dsmith) on Friday, August 05, 2011 - 11:18 pm: Edit

I appreciate everyone's input. I hope it was at least an interesting idea.