With the "Heavy"-sized ships added by Module 3A, there are now three additional hanger configuration sizes (6.5, 4.5 and 3.5 hanger spaces). Putting one of the existing energy modules in one of these hangers creates at least 0.5 spaces of wasted hanger availability. Surely the Andromedans would have noticed this as well, and as they developed the "Heavy"-sized ships could have simultaneously developed new energy modules to fit snuggly into these new hanger configurations.

I am therefore proposing three new energy modules sizes:

EM-S (Heavy): requires 3.5 spaces, has seven PA panels, can hold 70 points of energy, BPV = 35
EM-M (Heavy): requires 4.5 spaces, has nine PA panels, can hold 90 points of energy, BPV = 45
EM-L (Heavy): requires 6.5 spaces, has 13 PA panels, can hold 130 points of energy, BPV=65

These would have been introduced concurrently with seeking energy modules in Y184. The seeking version of these modules would also have a BPV that is 12 points higher than the standard version (so BPV's of 47, 57 and 77, respectively) and would otherwise follow the seeking energy module rules.

By Mike West (Mjwest) on Sunday, April 23, 2023 - 05:00 pm: Edit

Or, maybe, just introduce a Tiny Energy Module that takes up 1/2 a space. It would have a single PA panel.

The advantage is that is just a single new EM, instead of three. Also, it allows for whatever the remnant is and doesn't assume anything. So, whenever you have 1/2 a hangar space left, you can configure that space to hold one of these.

Just spit-ballin' here ...

By Jeff Guthridge (Jeff_Guthridge) on Sunday, April 23, 2023 - 05:44 pm: Edit

Mike isn’t that functionally the same as the T-Bomb modules?

Other than fitting in the hanger rather than the T-bomb rack…..

By John M. Williams (Jay) on Sunday, April 23, 2023 - 06:04 pm: Edit

I see two downsides with the "Tiny EM" proposal.

One is the limit of one EM per mothership. This would mean that if you intended for one of the hangers to hold an EM, you couldn't use the Tiny EM, and the 1/2 space would still be lost. If the Tiny EM were considered small enough to be exempt from the general one EM per mothership limitation, then it would be more workable. In this case, the Tiny EM could even be paired with an SSU-sized EM to provide a meaningful amount of EM protection without having to allocate a hanger to a full-sized EM.

Two, in a campaign, you're probably not going to want to create a 1/2 space hanger. You're more likely to create ship-sized hangers that use all available space, and then fit EMs into those hangers as needed.

By Kenneth Humpherys (Pmthecat) on Monday, April 24, 2023 - 09:45 am: Edit

One possible work around is an EM Pack Refit that can be attached to an existing EM module that adds 1 PA panel but also adds 0.5 to the Hanger space requirement. Limit 1 refit per module.

By John M. Williams (Jay) on Thursday, May 04, 2023 - 11:29 am: Edit

Taking some of the ideas above, here's an alternate to my original proposal: the energy module "Pack." The Pack would cost five points and consist of a single PA panel. It cannot operate independently but can be attached to a larger EM. Attaching it to an EM increases the size of the EM by 1/2 hanger space. It is not a permanent attachment, so during a campaign it could be attached to an EM-S in the first round of combat and then removed and attached to an EM-M for the second. If attached to an EM, the energy costs during launch or recovery of the EM is increased by 1/2 point. Only a single Pack can be attached to an EM at a time.

This would solve the problem I originally noted, but with a single item rather than three.