Hello all. In "The Last Star Destroyer" storyline/dress rehearsal, Hop and I realized that some major revisions were needed in order to get this game in ship shape for combat. Three core ideas became the basis of this revision:
1. We need to focus on capital ships as the "the main event" for our games.
2. We needed an expanded grid to function as a "vignette" rather than the whole system.
3. We needed to reduce the amount of time it takes to prepare a post.
In order to turn these ideas into reality, some major revisions are coming.
As for the grid, we are essentially keeping the 5x5 grid as devised at the onset of the game, but we're introducing two new grid spaces, and rules to accompany it. This new grid well be known as
The Common Grid because it is meant to be the same grid for Space and Ground Combat. The standard 5x5 area is represented by grid spaces A~Y. The two additional grid spaces are called "Transit" and "Z" which have different functions for Space and Ground.
In Space, the Transit Grid is where all hostile starships must exit hyperspace. The Transit grid is considered a contiguous Deep Space/High Orbit (DSHO) Zone that is one giant grid space that connects to A, F, K, P, and U for the purposes of movement and combat. On the Ground, the Transit Grid is where all landing barges, auxiliaries, and capital ships must land to disembark troops and vehicles. It functions the same way as space for purposes of movement and combat.
In Space, the Z-Grid is the Planet Itself. The Z-Grid is considered a contiguous High-Altitude/Low-Orbit (HALO) Zone that is one giant grid space that connects to E, J, O, T, and Y for movement and combat. In order to conduct Landing Barge operations or Orbital Bombardment, Capital Ships must be in the Z-Grid. In order for Starfighters and Auxiliary Craft to conduct Bombing Runs, they must also be in the Z-Grid. On the Ground, the Z-Grid represents the central command area of the planet.
In order to take over a Planet, hostile forces must have a 5:1 Infantry advantage in the Z-Grid AND all local ground facilities must be destroyed.When moving from Space-to-Ground, units move from the Space Z-Grid to the Ground Transit Grid. For visualization purposes, the Space Z-Grid is "directly above" the Ground Transit Grid, as to provide a seemless transition.
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We also wanted to streamline Starfighter and Auxiliary specs so you can spend less time keeping track of all the hit points and # of warheads etc. Another benefit SF and AUX are getting is "unrestricted movement." What this means is that on each round, they can move once to any single grid in the entire battlefield to either Attack or go on Combat Grid Patrol (CGP). SF and AUX that are on CGP must be engaged 1:1 before any Capital Ships in that same grid can be attacked. This is very similar to the classic "Combat Space Patrol" scheme of yesteryear, only we're marrying SF/AUX to grids and not capital ships.
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The last bit of what has changed is how damage output is organized. Instead of a single damage rating, we are introducing a new bracket system that takes into account weapon performance against different targets. It is arranged as follows:
Weapon Damage (A/B/C/D)
A = Capital Ships, Platforms, and Ground Facilities
B = Starfighters and Auxiliary Craft
C = Ground Vehicles
D = Infantry
An easy way to think about it is Big-to-Small. For the most part, your battle posts will be eating and breathing in the A/B categories, so keeping metal track of damage output vs units should be easy. The idea is to spend less time referencing the specs and rules, and more time referencing the grid and plotting your next move!
DAMAGE CATEGORY A B C D
SPACE WEAPONS CAP-FAC SF-AUX GAV INF RANGE
Turbolaser Battery^ 8 0 8 20 1
Heavy Turbolaser^ 7 2 0 17 1
Turbolaser Cannon 6 3 0 15 1
Heavy Laser Cannon 3 3 0 12 1
Laser Cannon 2 1 4* 8* 0
TIE Laser Canon 1 2 4* 8* 0
Ion Cannon 6 2 0 0 1
Heavy Ion Cannon 8 1 0 0 1
Proton Torpedo^ 4 2 8* 8* 1
Proton Bomb 6 0 50* 0 0
Concussion Missile^ 2 4 4* 12* 1
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GROUND WEAPONS A B C D RANGE
Vibro Knife 0 0 0 10 0
Vibro Sword 0 0 0 15 0
Vibro Axe 0 0 0 20 0
Vibro Spear 0 0 0 25 0
Blaster Pistol 0 0 0 3 0
Blaster Carbine 0 0 0 5 1
Blaster Rifle 0.25 0.25' 0.5 6 1
Blaster Cannon 2 4' 2 9 1
Heavy Blaster Cannon 3 6' 4 11 1
Siege Blaster 4 8' 8 13 2~
Concussion Grenade 5 5 3 15 1
Thermal Detonator 6 6 6 17 1
^Weapon is capable of being used during Orbital Bombardment. May only target hostile units on the Ground in the Z-Grid. Resulting damage is defender's choice (to resolve inherent weapon inaccuracy).
*Bombing Runs allow atmospheric bomber-class starfighters to specifically target individual GAVs. During a bombing run, that starfighter performs a low-altitude flight path which exposes it to vehicle and facility-based weapons (in other words, defending units get 1 round of attacks to make against the Bombing Run starfighter as if were a GAV). While not on a Bombing Run, starfighters are considered to be in the Space Z-Grid (aka HALO Zone).
'Damage applies when weapon is fired at a Starfighter or Auxiliary during a Bombing Run. Explosives are only effective against SF/AUX which have landed.
~See chart below.
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STANDARD ATTACK VECTORS
All capital ships >500 meters and all ground assault vehicles must adhere to the following diagram when determining the performance of their weapons. X = viable grids where weapons can be fired. Y = an extend grid where only the Siege Blaster can reach. In this scheme, the unit's Location/Heading is M/N. (By default, all capital ships under <501 meters to include starfighters and auxiliaries, AND all infantry and artillery have full 360-degree coverage.) Units with a weapon range of 0 can only attack other units in the same grid.
_____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | |
| |_____|_____|_____|_____|_____| |
| | | | | | | |
| | | | X | X | | |
| |_____|_____|_____|_____|_____| |
| | | | | | | |
| | | | > | X | Y | |
| |_____|_____|_____|_____|_____| |
| | | | | | | |
| | | | X | X | | |
| |_____|_____|_____|_____|_____| |
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | |
|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|
Summary1. New grid template for Space-to-Ground action!
2. Starfighters and Aux have unrestricted movement during combat.
3. Combat Grid Patrol for SF/AUX.
4. New weapon damages.
5. Standard attack arcs for CAPs >500m and GAVs.
If you have any questions about the five things above, let us know!
