Subtopic	Posts		Updated
	Archive through March 03, 2005	25		03/03 09:18am

The technology of this idea seems very likely to be developed and explained.

I think though it would be cool to see this idea introduced as a technology by accident. Something along the lines of...

During the battle a SP was launched and during the firing procedure there was a malfunction in the shuttles firing mechanism which caused the drones to be launched 1 at a time. It ended up being very effective in that particular situation and thus became a combat technology alternative. (If it wouldnt have been effective it would have been written off as just an equipment malfunction.) It could be made into a nice scenario and possibly a nice fiction article for CLog. As a matter of fact it should be a story and battle between the Kzinti and Klingons where the loser survived and both sides 'discovered' the techonolgy as a result.

Cool idea by the way...

By William Curtis Soder (Ghyuka) on Thursday, March 03, 2005 - 01:40 pm: Edit

Jeff: I'm not in favor of the merging of the scatterpack release systems. With this, you could have it launch 3 type I drones (which could be assumed to be 3 type IV drones by a regular scatterpack release) and then later launch the rest. This would protect the staggered scatterpack under the illusion of a regular scatterpack, thus taking away one of the most important limitations. That is also why I am in favor of only having one type of staggered release instead of jotting down whatever launch rate you choose.

By Jeff Wile (Jswile) on Thursday, March 03, 2005 - 04:49 pm: Edit

William Curtis Soder:

Yeah, I could see making it a single release schedule and a set criteria of how it would function in the game system.

That was why I asked the question.. to illustrate how it could be a problem...

I think Lawrence is correct, it is a cool idea.

By Lawrence Bergen (Lar) on Thursday, March 03, 2005 - 05:10 pm: Edit

Maybe not a 'single' set criteria but rather a short list of options;

-launch one drone every x impulses
-launch two drones every x impulses
-launch 1/2 total drone load and the rest x impulses later.

I wouldnt mind seeing a timing that speeds up the firing automatically either something like:
Fire Drone, 8 impulses later...
Fire Drone, 4 impulses later...
Fire Drone, 4 impulses later...
Fire Drone, 2 impulses later...
Fire Drone, 2 impulses later...
Fire Drone, SP exhausted.

Types of drone limitations I think should be the same limits as a normal SP.

By William Curtis Soder (Ghyuka) on Thursday, March 03, 2005 - 06:35 pm: Edit

Lawrence: I like the backstory you suggested. It would add a lot of flavor and would be a nice way to integrate it into the SFB history. I also agree with the drone loadout limitations as this should use all rules as a normal scatterpack with the exception of those added for the staggered effect.

I'm still sticking to my guns over the release criteria though. I feel that giving more than one staggered release system moves this from a new launch option for scatterpacks to an entire new rule. That in itself can take it from a one page rule addtion to over 4 page submission as you try to cover each and every possible loadout,launch rate or time of launch interaction that can happen. We have to keep in mind that this will have a ton of flexibility because of the many different drone payloads that can go into a scatterpack. Also keeping things simple will allow it to go through playtesting and adjustment as fast as possible.

By Jeff Wile (Jswile) on Thursday, March 03, 2005 - 07:04 pm: Edit

There is an alternative...

(please note I am NOT demanding that it be used.}

Consider that in Star Fleet Battles there are a number of natural limits. one that keeps recurring over and over again is the 1/4 turn delay (8 impulses).

if you choose the "MIRV" option of sequential fire of a scatter packs drones (over say a 8 impulse quarter turn, for example 1 drone every impulse) you get a distinctly different pattern of drone launches based on drone speeds.

for example, with fast drones (speed 32) you get the pattern of 1 drone per hex in a "stick" of drones on a line leading from the location the scatter pack blossomed to the target hex (assuming the target is not moving and all the drones targeted on the same thing.)

compare with a slow drones (speed 8) where all 8 drones might blossom in the same hex but none of the drones move prior to the next opportunity for speed 8 to actually move. In this case, there is little actual difference between the traditional scatter pack and the "MIRV" option.

The real beauty of this option is nothing needs to be done to differentiate between the two types as the slow speed drones performance closely mirrors the effect of the original scatter pack.

I havent gamed out the effect of speed 12 or speed 20 drones, but I would expect some "bunching up" of drones as some would move during the quarter turn, and others would not.

This is a potential "dove tail" pattern with the existing rules inthat it seems to reinforce the system used in the original scatter packs while creating a benefit as technology improves with increased drone speed enhancements.

By Barton Pyle (Bart) on Thursday, March 03, 2005 - 07:47 pm: Edit

FYI, I am watching over this topic. I am not currently going to comment on anything as of yet because I don't want to discourage or dismiss anyone. I see alot of interesting and good ideas. I look forward to reading more.

By michael john campbell (Michaelcampbell) on Thursday, March 03, 2005 - 08:05 pm: Edit

I see this idea as being so liked, that it's going to go the way of XP. Specifically that SVC comes in, writes up his own rules, looks through what others have posted doesn't find anything that grabs hims and then playtests exactly what he wrote up.
But I could be wrong.

By David Lang (Dlang) on Friday, March 04, 2005 - 02:25 am: Edit

MJC, that's how most rule proposals end up becoming real rules.

any group of players that think they can 'decide' what a new rule will look like is just fooling themselves