In the meantime, I find Alan Trevor's idea of spinning (ahem) the web fist function of a web caster off into its own direct-fire weapon to be an interesting one. Although I'm not sure if it should entirely replace the disruptor and/or photon in Tholian service.

So far as the "future history" of the Tholians in Module X2 is concerned, I'd be curious to see the Holdfast Y207 expedition to the Draco-Tholian Enclave covered in more detail. And, for that matter, to see if the Tholians from either camp might be curious to learn more about the silicate Trobrin Empire, once the GSX Sakharov returns to the Alpha Octant in Y219.

Here's a thought: what if one of the "several new ship designs" in the fleet which settled in Draco had initially been equipped with a prototype of the web lance system? Even if the original prototype had to be dismantled in order to keep other systems functional during the fleet's intergalactic exodus, perhaps the plans for it could have been provided to the Holdfast when the Draco-Tholian ship Sojourner arrived in the Alpha Octant in Y195. Fast forward to Y205, and the resulting weapon (or rather, an advanced technology extrapolation of the same concept) might be ready for limited deployment aboard certain Tholian X2-ships.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Wednesday, November 18, 2020 - 06:43 am: Edit

"I take it that no idea has struck your fancy with this one."

SVC: Actually, no workable idea has been presented for option 3.

By Shawn Gordon (Avrolancaster) on Wednesday, November 18, 2020 - 09:50 am: Edit

I've never been so excited about an earthquake.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Wednesday, November 18, 2020 - 11:19 am: Edit

There is a process here. There are three steps, each of which will take a day or so, figure EarthQuake Monday.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Wednesday, November 18, 2020 - 01:43 pm: Edit

Yesterday I did the Fed CX and today I got the reports on it. I may do the Fed XC tomorrow, or the Klingon DX, either way I'll get reports Friday and do the other one, then the XD.

By then I may have a summary list of rules.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Wednesday, November 18, 2020 - 10:44 pm: Edit

It won’t be 50/200.

By Ted Fay (Catwhoeatsphoto) on Thursday, November 19, 2020 - 10:12 am: Edit

I'm glad to hear it won't be 50/200. I'm looking forward to the design approach you've come up with for X2.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Thursday, November 19, 2020 - 11:20 am: Edit

Oh, if this doesn't work I will go back to 20/500 for sure.

By Douglas Saldana (Dsal) on Thursday, November 19, 2020 - 07:01 pm: Edit

54/40 or fight!

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Friday, November 20, 2020 - 04:42 am: Edit

I Know you guys are waiting for this but I have basically been sick for two days. (Not COVID, I am having another attack of non-24. My body cannot tell time. It's 4am and I am wide awake. Thursday I walked into the office, passed out, and Steve P woke me to say he was going home at 6pm. I stayed two hours, part of it working on the X1 Klingon DX so that I can extrapolate it to X2 but I didn't get finished. I am making arrangements to stay at the office all of Friday night if I fall asleep tomorrow at noon.)

By Shawn Gordon (Avrolancaster) on Friday, November 20, 2020 - 09:47 am: Edit

Take your time.

By John L Stiff (Tarkin22180) on Friday, November 20, 2020 - 10:32 am: Edit

Non-24 eh? Is that what you call insomnia? I've had it all my adult life. It is random. Some nights I wake up at 3 or 4 am and just cannot fall back to sleep. I play hearts or minefield on the computer until I feel sleepy.

I always have coffee in the morning to get me going. I sometimes have tea in the afternoon. I think there is a delayed effect by having caffeine in the afternoon, i.e. being wide awake in the early morning hours.

Any way, I have the converse now-a-days. I get sleepy during the day and need to take a nap. Being retired, that is my excuse.

By Garth L. Getgen (Sgt_G) on Friday, November 20, 2020 - 10:51 am: Edit

I feel for you, Steve. After 13 years 9 months of straight night-shift and now on day shift, some nights I just can't sleep. Last night, I was awake until 4-AM, and had to get up as 6:30.


Garth L. Getgen

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Friday, November 20, 2020 - 11:47 am: Edit

Mine is worse, and different, and not as bad, and just strange. I get these attacks a few times a year. It seems my body goes into a 30-hour day with six hours of sleep, so the sleep cycle could happen any time.

By Gary Carney (Nerroth) on Friday, November 20, 2020 - 12:04 pm: Edit

To use a well-worn phrase from elsewhere on the BBS: real life takes precedence over a game.

-----

As another "in the meantime" thought, I was thinking of the "more PPDs" proposal for the X2-era ISC.

As Alan Trevor noted for web casters, I'm not sure if it would be wise to make "full" PPDs too broadly available. But, just as he suggests with the web lance, perhaps there could be a cut-down "PPD-lite" which might make things more manageable.

Say, if a "plasmatic pulse beam" - or whatever you want to call it - fired only a single pulse. Such a weapon might require only a single option mount, and be available for Size Class 4 X2-ships (to include any Orion X2-ships operating in or close to ISC space).

And since the quantum wave torpedo (more or less) "borrowed from" the PPD damage chart for its standard load warhead, perhaps this weapon could (more or less) "borrow back from" the QWT's overload chart to implement an overload function of its own? As in, this weapon would fire a single, more powerful (yet shorter-raged) pulse when overloaded, rather than adding pulses as the "full" PPD does when that weapon is overloaded.

By John L Stiff (Tarkin22180) on Friday, November 20, 2020 - 01:07 pm: Edit

As an ISC player, I would favor an extra PPD for 2X. Maybe an early early version of the ISC would have a 1 pulse PPD. Certainly not a 2X ship - my opinion of course...

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Friday, November 20, 2020 - 03:46 pm: Edit

I got the Klingon D7X (first generation X ship) done, approved by SPP, and sent to Mike West. If all goes well I will do the second generation SSDs for the Fed CCXX and Klingon CCXX tomorrow and get Mike's reports Monday.

By Gary Carney (Nerroth) on Friday, November 20, 2020 - 05:24 pm: Edit

I was not intending to replace the standard PPD on Size Class 3 ships and up, but rather to suggest a more scaled-down option that would work more comfortably on a Size Class 4 X2-ship.

How about this: a "Light PPD" that takes up a single option mount. It would have a 2+2 (4 to fast-load) arming cycle to fire two pulses in a standard load, or 2+4 (6 to fast-load) to fire three pulses when overloaded. [Think of it as the "underload" function under (E11.25) spun off into its own weapon.]

Plus, if a Federation Commander-esque "burst mode" were to be brought over for X2-era PPDs (as I suggested in an earlier post), a similar mode could be added to this weapon also.

I should note that over in FC, a missed PPD shot reduces the number of pulses which hit by the amount that the highest "to-hit" number is exceeded, according to (4M3c). Were a "burst" mode to be implemented for the X2-era PPD (and/or for this proposed "light PPD") in SFB, the same dynamic could be set in place here.

By Nick Samaras (Koogie) on Friday, November 20, 2020 - 05:54 pm: Edit

I find this light PPD... intriguing.

By Jim Davies (Mudfoot) on Friday, November 20, 2020 - 06:45 pm: Edit

We've been here before...Plasmatic Pulsar Cannon...there's nothing new under the sun.

By Gary Carney (Nerroth) on Friday, November 20, 2020 - 07:08 pm: Edit

Respectfully, from what I read of your proposal, that weapon would retain the number of pulses from the "standard" PPD while reducing the damage from each pulse. Whereas the weapon I propose above would keep the same damage table as the "standard" PPD, while reducing the number of pulses instead.

If the former approach works better in this instance, well and good. I defer to ADB's wisdom in that regard.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Saturday, November 21, 2020 - 01:37 pm: Edit

This week's concept is to go back to OPTION ONE and just look at the X1 SSDs and see just how much bigger they need to get and if that's too much.

Typical:

Raise warp power from 40 to 48.

Increase the front shield by NN and the 2/6 shields by N and leave the 456 shields alone to encourage maneuvering to hit flank or rear.

Maybe add a point or two of power and a phaser or two but otherwise leave the X1 ship alone and let technology deal with things. For example, instead of adding transporters just let each one be used twice a turn. Increase batteries from 3 to 4 or 5.

Possibly a new phaser-X or phaser-5 which has a point or two more hitting power at ranges 1-4. Otherwise let the pulse phaser concept handle any need for improvements in phasers and various technology rules handle any increase in weapons.

Nothing radical or elegant, just dial selected bits up a little.

By Nick Samaras (Koogie) on Saturday, November 21, 2020 - 02:54 pm: Edit

Yes please to phaser-5. Early years used phaser-2. Middle years and General War used phaser-1. S1 originally had overload phaser but had them removed. I think X2 needs a phaser-1 that's a little better (not withstanding the limited aegis).

Also there was a comment in X1 about the second generation ships being based on the heavy battlecruisers> Is this still a valid consideration?

By Jay Gustason (Jay20) on Saturday, November 21, 2020 - 05:06 pm: Edit

I agreed

By Shawn Gordon (Avrolancaster) on Saturday, November 21, 2020 - 05:08 pm: Edit

Nice, I'm excited.