Omega Conversion Project

[Nerroth]

I already thinned out the pod range (for now, at least) - and may just stick with the small cargo pod, at that. I had wanted to keep the large cargo pod in there, but the MC is gonna have a lot of padding already, I guess.

However, I do believe that the Bolosco should get revisited pod-wise at some later point. (Kind of like how the Tholians started with web snares in Klingon Border, and got their fun toys in Tholian Attack later on.)

Even so, they should at least use (5T) to carry extra cargo, at least - and have the option of going pod-less should the Bolosco captain prefer.


I agree with keeping the B-variants separate. Although, given the kind of difference in tactics one would be obliged to go with using them, I wouldn't rush to consider it a minor variance. (Yes, it's minor in terms of how you change the Ship Cards, but not so minor in terms of how you fly the resulting ship.)

Do you think the GLB might work in the Omega Fastload idea I mentioned?


Speaking of impulse delays, do you believe the FTB should retain its delay, too? (It would translate to an 8-Impulse delay in FC.)

[DirkSJ]

Do you think the GLB might work in the Omega Fastload idea I mentioned?

Speaking of impulse delays, do you believe the FTB should retain its delay, too? (It would translate to an 8-Impulse delay in FC.)

I missed these two rule proposals, could you point me to them?

[Nerroth]

The Omega Fastload idea is here.


The relevant rule, as currently written in the WIP document, is:

(3O1E1b) Firing Rate: Each focused tractor beam can fire once (and only once) during any given turn, and when used as a direct-fire weapon may not be fired (or used as a tractor beam) within 8 impulses of firing in a previous turn. Mark the Impulse of firing on the Focused Tractor Beam Impulse Used Track accordingly. Note that if used as a standard tractor beam, there is no delay before use in either mode on a subsequent turn.

EDIT:

I noticed something about the Mæsron battleship.

It's got eight TM racks - which might allow a max of 4 missiles launched per turn.

However, so far as I can tell, the BB does not have double seeking weapons control, so can't launch more than three at a go...

(Still, that would mean the BB has a healthier stock of missiles to fire over an extended period, even if they are being launched at a slower pace.)

[DirkSJ]

The Omega Fastload idea is here.

The relevant rule, as currently written in the WIP document, is:

(3O1E1b) Firing Rate: Each focused tractor beam can fire once (and only once) during any given turn, and when used as a direct-fire weapon may not be fired (or used as a tractor beam) within 8 impulses of firing in a previous turn. Mark the Impulse of firing on the Focused Tractor Beam Impulse Used Track accordingly. Note that if used as a standard tractor beam, there is no delay before use in either mode on a subsequent turn.

Fastload idea is neat, sure. If the project gets off the ground it could be a sampler in a communique or other PDF to see if folks like the idea of Omega.

I never played with FTBs in SFB but a full turn hard delay says to me that the system was quite powerful. The options are a) keep the delay as is b) rebalance the weapon around being able to fire when you want (probably by making it do less damage) or c) redesign it completely as a normal two turn arming weapon. I don't have enough experience flying with/against ships with FTBs to advise which is best really.

[Nerroth]

The thing about the 32-impulse delay thing is that, for Omega, it might set a precedent one way or another.


For example, the antimatter cannon the Koligahr use has a 32-impulse delay in SFB, too. (Well, there's a half-exception when using the 'caseless' mode - in FC terms, there'd be no delay firing an AC in caseless mode after a previous firing in either mode, but you can't fire the cannon in normal mode for another full turn's worth afterwards.)

[mjwest]

Eh, there are delays in other rules. Just give it a full 8 impulse delay before it can be fired again.

[Nerroth]

Okay then.


Oh, I was wondering. Of the fleets on the table at the moment, which (if any) might anyone here be looking forward to trying out?


EDIT:

If it helps, this might give an overview.


*The Auroran ships listed are ones they either inherited directly from Star Fleet and the Police, or built on similar design templates after a few spots of reverse-engineering. They are perhaps the most familiar for Alpha Fed Commander players - with the important caveat of light photon usage on the FF and CLA. The PBT is a neat little base, albeit one which might be trickier to find a good mini to use as a stand-in. Plus, the Throne is a fun ship to fly, especially as it gets its later weapon changes.


*While you could say the Mæsrons are somewhat reminiscent of Kzintis, a closer comparison might be with the Carnivons. They have a powerful and accurate two-turn heavy weapon, albeit one which can sometimes be a bit too flexible for its own good in terms of arming and holding it. Its tachyon missiles are bigger than drones, but have a slower firing cycle.


*The Trobrin ships are big for their type, with armour backing up their generous amounts of padding. Plus, their array of implosion torpedoes, powerful direct-fire implosion bolts and never-need-to-roll-for-damage radiation phasers make them trouble if they get up close.


*The Iridani bring something different to the table. Their direct-fire heavy weapon fires once a turn, and they have a system which lets them 'light up' a target ship (in order to help with phaser and FEB rolls for that impulse). Notably, most of their ships are oriented towards the broadside, rather than firing straight ahead - making their use in duels or fleet actions an interesting change of pace.

Maybe crossing the T might be an option for these knights?

(That said, the B-variants - wherever they may show up - might be more useful if you'd rather keep your heavy weapons firing in front of a ship, rather than to either side.)


*The Bolosco can pick and choose from five types of phasers to mount on their hulls - though only two options are offered for now, and you have to put the same options in all of a ship's mounts. (For example, if you go with Trobrin radiation phasers, all OPT-P1 and OPT-P3 mounts become PR-1s and PR-3s respectively.)

They are the king-blobs of tractor beam technology. With their direct-fire FTBs and flexible ITWs, you can cause an enemy ship a lot of trouble if it gets too close.

Plus, you can hire your ship out to the highest bidder, if you like.

[Nerroth]

A couple of tractor-based fixes:

(3O1G2e) Step 5: At this point, at the same step a defending ship may use Shield Reinforcement (3C5), the defending ship may also choose to expend Energy Points, as if using “negative tractor� to repulse the attack. Also, if the target ship had already generated “negative tractor� points earlier in the turn, it may also expend one or more such points in this manner. Bolosco ships equipped with integrated warp tractors retain their “negative tractor� advantage when doing so. (This reduces the viability of Bolosco ‘civil war’, or perhaps ‘clashing contract’, scenarios.) Each unit of “negative tractor� applied reduces the amount of damage caused by the beam by one. Any remaining damage points would then be applied as normal.
Note: A focused tractor beam fired at a tachyon missile automatically triggers the built-in “negative tractor� point within, as noted under (3O2B2g); if the missile remains in play, the point is lost for the rest of the turn.
Example: A Bolosco merchant cruiser fires an overloaded focused tractor beam at a Trobrin heavy cruiser. The Bolosco rolls a ‘1’ to hit at range 5, which (upon matching the range found to the size class ship targeted, and the modifier applied via the use of an overload) would score eight damage points. The Trobrin ship had generated two “negative tractor� points earlier in the turn, and expends both in order to mitigate the strike; thus reducing the impact to six damage points.

(3O2B2g) Negative Tractor: Each type of tachyon missile has a special pod built into the weapon, which provides an automatic point of “negative tractor�; this makes it more costly to lock on to it via a Tractor Beam under (5D5). The first time a tachyon missile is targeted with a tractor beam in a given turn, it requires two Energy Points' worth of power to be caught, rather than just the one required for drones. This point, once used, is lost for the rest of the turn, but is automatically regenerated during Energy Allocation at the start of the subsequent turn.

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EDIT: I don't want to keep posting after myself, too often at least - so the edit will go here.

Now that the Iridani module and Bolosco pod issues are more or less shunted to one side, a revised card list would allow for a suggestion made earlier in the thread which might work - a weapon reference card.

------

Auroran - CLA, CL, FF, CR, PBT
Mæsron - DN, CA, CL, DD, FF
Trobrin - DSN, CC, CA, FFL, FF
Iridani - BG, GL, CP, BQ, CR, YW
Bolosco - MD, MC
Support - weapon reference card

Battleships (if possible) - Mæsron BB, Iridani MW

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Oh, and I figured I'd as well cut the large cargo pod, and go with only one type of pod (the small cargo pod) as an initial option.


With these changes, the rules portion of the resulting file is that bit thinner. Hopefully this makes the ruleset more palatable?

[Nerroth]

One other question, for now.


I double-checked over on the BBS, and the SFB version of the Mæsron Battleship does not have double seeking weapon control. So, it can only handle three missiles from its eight launchers by itself.

Now, in SFB, that's less of an issue, since you can use spare control channels from other ships in the fleet to make up the difference.

However, in FC, (4F2e) expressly forbids seeking control transfers - and I'm in no hurry to make tachyon missiles an exception to this.


So, in FC, should the BB retain its standard seeking weapon limit, its Point Value (of 300) unchanged - or, perhaps, might some sort of Point Value premium be paid in order to grant it double seeking weapon control in this game system?

Note that even if it had double control, it would still only be able to handle a maximum of six missiles at a time - and of those, no more than four could be launched in a given turn (given the TM restriction of one launch per pair of missile racks per turn).

Even so, its launch options would then somewhat echo that of ships like the DN (which can handle 3 missiles from 4 racks over 2 turns of launching).

Alternatively, the ship could be left at 300 with the standard seeking weapon control rate; and thus be obliged to treat its missile launch doctrine as a marathon, not a sprint...

[Nerroth]

A couple of updates:


*I added the tractor punch in for the IWT.

(4OD2d) Tractor Punch: The integrated warp tractor is capable of concentrating its energy in a short-ranged ‘punch’. Unlike other integrated warp tractor functions, a tractor punch can only be made against a target in a given arc. In contrast to the functions listed above, tractor punch attacks are made in the Offensive Direct-Fire Phase (1E2d) of a given Impulse. The punch may be targeted against any target between zero and two hexes’ distance which lies within the integrated warp tractor’s firing arc. To resolve the attack, pay two Energy Points, then roll a single die and add two. Apply any adjustments (4A) caused by various considerations, including Evasive Maneuvering (2D4) by the target or by (5L2) Orion Stealth coatings. If the result is greater than the effective range to the target, the punch lands five damage points on the facing shield.

I added a note earlier in the rules saying the on-card firing arcs only apply for the punch, to echo how it works in SFB.

The warp shunt and pressure field are still out, but I think they will get by for now.


*I had another look over the Man-O-War SSD, and took out the Hospital module to add a second Weapons module. It would still get the VIP and Command modules, though. That brings the total Point Value to 320.


*I noted that, going forward, a lot of the other empires in Omega fit into nice, three-at-a-time groups.

For example, the Probr, Koligahr and Vari would round out the Mæsrons' neighbourhood nicely.

After those, you could divvy up the others in similar semi-related batches:

-Loriyill, Souldra, Singers
-Drex, Ymatrians, Worb
-Hivers, Alunda, Branthodons
-Chlorophons, Sigvirions, Qixa

Not sure where the Ryn might go. Those crazy quantum-transporting tiger-cats would make for a very interesting challenge, but their rules might take a bit of work. (But then, you could say the same about a few of the other Omega empires out there, too.)

Even so, there might be the makings of a nice set of options going forward...

...if this whole Omega-in-FC thing actually ends up going anywhere, that is.

[Nerroth]

Looking over the thread again, I decided to re-visit the Phaser-R rules, factoring in pauls' recommendation concerning the natural anti-EW function.

(Since the weapon has no roll to hit anyway, it needs a rule covering how (4A4) covers it in any event.)

(3O1BRe) Improved Accuracy: One ‘built-in’ aspect of radiation phaser fire is its relatively high degree of accuracy. When faced with an adjustment under (4A4), such as Evasive Maneuvering (2D4) or Orion Stealth coatings (5L2), each point of modification reduces the damage scored by the radiation phaser by .5 damage points.
In other words, a +1 shift reduces the damage scored by .5, a +2 shift reduces it by 1, and a +3 shift reduces by 1.5 damage points.

I tried my hand at a couple of other rule conversions, too, but neither of those are for ships on the list right now.

[DirkSJ]

Looking over the thread again, I decided to re-visit the Phaser-R rules, factoring in pauls' recommendation concerning the natural anti-EW function.

(Since the weapon has no roll to hit anyway, it needs a rule covering how (4A4) covers it in any event.)

(3O1BRe) Improved Accuracy: One ‘built-in’ aspect of radiation phaser fire is its relatively high degree of accuracy. When faced with an adjustment under (4A4), such as Evasive Maneuvering (2D4) or Orion Stealth coatings (5L2), each point of modification reduces the damage scored by the radiation phaser by .5 damage points.
In other words, a +1 shift reduces the damage scored by .5, a +2 shift reduces it by 1, and a +3 shift reduces by 1.5 damage points.

I tried my hand at a couple of other rule conversions, too, but neither of those are for ships on the list right now.

Not sure I would get into fractional damage. Why not just say it ignores the first 1 point of shift from 4A4 or something like that.

[mjwest]

Or, since the (4A4) shift is capped at +3, just give a specific result: "If the shift is +2 or +3, one point is removed from the damage rolled." Or something like that.

[Nerroth]

The issue is that Phaser-Rs already have half-points of damage listed on their weapon charts.

(As in SFB, I plan to handle them by dropping the fraction from the total Phaser-R volley. So, for example, a single Phaser-R1 at range 5 does 3.5 points of damage, which rounds down to 3; whereas five Phaser-R1s do 17.5 damage, rounding down to 17.)

It is in that context that the .5 per shift comes in.

For clarity's sake, let me post the weapon rules, as they currently stand:

(3O1BR) RADIATION PHASERS
The primary weapon used on warships of the mighty Trobrin Empire, this phaser type is also used on occasion by the likes of the Bolosco Merchant Guilds on their trading vessels. At first glance, one might wonder why this weapon, which is arguably the most stable type of phaser beam in known space, was not used more commonly in Omega. However, few species could handle the increased radiation levels produced by these weapons aboard ship; levels the silicate Trobrin could handle as a matter of course.

(3O1BR1) GENERAL RULE
(3O1BR1a) Ship Card: Each ‘PR’ box on the Ship Card (often marked PR-1 or PR-3) represents one radiation phaser. It is disabled by a single point of damage, counts as a ‘phaser’ when using the Damage Allocation Table, and is repaired by four repair points.
(3O1BRb) Firing Rate: Each radiation phaser can fire once (and only once) during any given turn. As with an Alpha Octant phaser, one can fire a radiation phaser on the last Impulse of a given turn and again on the first Impulse of the subsequent turn.
(3O1BRc) Ammunition: There is no need to keep track of “radiation phaser ammunition� since these weapons are armed directly from the engine power grid.
(3O1BRd) Range: Phaser-Rs have a range of 25 hexes.
(3O1BRe) Improved Accuracy: One ‘built-in’ aspect of radiation phaser fire is its relatively high degree of accuracy. When faced with an adjustment under (4A4), such as Evasive Maneuvering (2D4) or Orion Stealth coatings (5L2), each point of modification reduces the damage scored by the radiation phaser by .5 damage points.
In other words, a +1 shift reduces the damage scored by .5, a +2 shift reduces it by 1, and a +3 shift reduces by 1.5 damage points.

(3O1BR2) TYPES OF PHASER-Rs
There are two types of radiation phasers seen on Trobrin, Bolosco and other vessels in Federation Commander, as follows:
(3O1BR2a) Phaser-R1: The radiation phaser equivalent to the Phaser-1s and Phaser-2s seen in the Alpha Octant, these cost one Energy Point to fire. It is marked PM-1 on the Ship Cards.
(3O1BR2b) Phaser-R3: Akin to the Alpha Phaser-3, used as a short-range defense and attack weapon. This costs ½ of an Energy Point to fire, and is marked PM-3 on the Ship Cards.
(3O1BR2c) Tables: Each of these radiation phasers has a specific Radiation Phaser Combat Table. A Phaser-R1 mount may be down-fired as a Phaser-R3, which counts as the one allowed firing of that mount for the turn in question.

(3O1BR3) FIRING PROCEDURE
Radiation phasers may be fired during the Defensive Fire Phase (1E2C) (only against seeking weapons which have impacted on the ship) or during the Offensive Fire Phase (1E2d) (against any target) of the Sequence of Play. In either case, use the following procedure:
(3O1BR3a) Step 1: Determine the Range (3A5) to the Target. (In the case of Defensive Fire, this is always one.)
(3O1BR3b) Step 2: Select a radiation phaser you wish to fire. The weapon must be able to fire in the direction of the target, that is, the target must be within its firing arc (3B) and within range.
(3O1BR3c) Step 3: Pay the cost of firing the radiation phaser (one, or one-half Energy Points depending on what phaser type you are firing).
(3O1BR3d) Step 4: Consult the range as listed on Cross-Index on the Table for the type of radiation phaser you fired and apply the number of Damage Points noted. There is no need for a die roll. Round down any fractions caused through radiation phaser fire in a single volley. Note (3O1BRe) when evaluating any adjustments under (4A).
Note: Phaser-Rs can, under some circumstances, do a half-point of damage. This is resolved by adding all of the fire in a given volley and rounding down to the next whole number. Any remaining half-points are lost immediately.
Example: A Trobrin deep space dreadnought wants to fire five radiation phaser-1s at an Auroran armored cruiser, which is currently under evasive maneuvers. It determines that the chosen phaser-R1s are within arc and are not damaged. Five energy points are paid, one for each weapon, and the phaser-R1s are fired. Count the range (let us say five hexes for this example). Comparing the range to the relevant entry on the weapon chart results in 3.5 damage points scored per radiation phaser. The two levels of adjustment caused by the target’s evasive maneuvering equals a reduction of each radiation phaser’s result by one damage point, to 2.5 damage points apiece. This times five totals 12.5 damage points. However, as the remaining half-point is lost, only twelve damage points are scored against the target unit.

[mjwest]

OK, I realize this is totally tangential, but it is completely breaking my mind when trying to read these rules.

The rule numbers are just all over the place. It is really hard to follow the attempted organization. Please do the following:
- All movement rules must start with "2".
- All combat rules must start with "3".
- All weapons rules must start with "4".
- All systems rules must start with "5".

Following the initial number is a two letter sequence. The first letter for Omega is always "O". This could be confused with "0", but screw it. Just use the "O". (If published, maybe the "O" can be replaced with the "Omega" symbol. That'd be cool.) The next number works in whatever order you want. I recommend that 4OA in particular to be reserved if there are any Omega-specific special rules that apply to broad ranges of weapons. If not, the first weapon can be 4OA.

After that is the normal number sequence. So, for example, lets revisit those Radiation Phasers above. Let's also assume that we are using the "letter" "D" for Radiation Phasers. ("A", "B", and "C" are used for the other phaser types.) This gives us the following (without the actual rules):
(4OD) RADIATION PHASERS
(4OD1) GENERAL RULE
(4OD1a) Ship Card
(4OD1b) Firing Rate
(4OD1c) Ammunition
(4OD1d) Range
(4OD1e) Improved Accuracy
(4OD2) FIRING PROCEDURE
(4OD2a) Step 1
(4OD2b) Step 2
(4OD2c) Step 3
(4OD2d) Step 4

Now, let's assume that for whatever reason you decide to put all of the Omega phasers under a single "main" rule, instead of one "main" rule for each phaser. Each "letter" is one of 24, so it is fairly precious. If there are *that* many Omega weapons, it could be necessary. In that case, we would have something like this:
(4OB) OMEGA PHASERS
(4OB1) WIDE ANGLE PHASERS
(4OB1a) General Rule
(4OB1b) Types of Wide Angle Phasers
(4OB1c) Firing Procedure
(4OB2) MICROPHASERS
(4OB2a) General Rule
(4OB2b) Types of Wide Angle Phasers
(4OB2c) Firing Procedure
(4OB3) QUANTUM PHASERS
(4OB3a) General Rule
(4OB3b) Types of Wide Angle Phasers
(4OB3c) Firing Procedure
(4OB4) RADIATION PHASERS
(4OB4a) General Rule
(4OB4b) Types of Wide Angle Phasers
(4OB4c) Firing Procedure

So, please try to follow the Federation Commander rule numbering conventions.