SWSF: Starting Guidelines v 2.0!

[SWSF Hoppus]

UPDATED AUGUST 24, 2017

IMPORTANT:
- Maintenance on Capital Ships is now 25%, facilities 10%.
- Planets produce 300 MC income monthly.
- All planets get a "free" Garrison base (see below). No maintenance. Regenerates 1-week after hostilities end.
- Planets can only host 2 MFG-type facilities by default. Adding an HQ Garrison/Heavy Imperial Garrison or Golan increases host capcaity to 3 MFG. No planet can hose more than 3 MFG-type facilities.
- Construction times can be ignored - All MFG facilities can instead build to their capacity once every 24 hours (so you can't build 5 ships in 1 day on 1 OSD).


Each Faction:
- 18,000 MC purse to start the game
- Freebies:
  * 1 Golan (no maintenance)
  * 1 HQ Garrison Base (no maintenance)
  * 1 OSD
  * SF Plant
  * GAV Factory
  * Training Ground

***All free units come stocked with cheapest Common Tech unit of that type, and can be swapped/upgraded from your purse.

Free Local Defenses
(01) Garrison Base
--1600 Standard Infantry
--1 Juggernaut
--9 AT-PT
--10 Speederbikes
--12 Z95 Starfighters
--1 Skipray Blastboat
(02) Military Outposts
--600 Militia/Conscripts
--200 Standard Infantry
--5 Speederbikes

* Free Local Defenses can never be modified. They are free, free of maintenance, and will 'rebuild' a week after combat ends. They are maintained by the local government.



* Assumptions: 25% Heavy, 75% Light units

SSD                      -22,202 MC
--3 Prefab Garrisons     -900 MC
--6,000 Stormtroopers    -1,200 MC
--18,000 Infantry        -2,137.5 MC
--18 AT-ST               -207 MC
--57 CAVs                -199.5 MC
--9 T/I Squadrons        -810 MC
--3 T/A Squadrons        -450 MC
--7 XG-1 Gunboats        -126 MC
--21 L/SHU               -525 MC
-----------------------------------
TOTAL                    -28,757 MC



ISD-I                    -2,819 MC
--1 Prefab Garrison.     -300 MC
--2,425 Stormtroopers.   -485 MC
--7,275 Infantry         -864 MC
--12 AT-ST               -138 MC
--38 CAV                 -133 MC
--4 T/I Squads           -360 MC
--2 T/B Squads           -252 MC
--5 XG-1 Gunboats.       -90 MC
--15 L/SHU               -375 MC
------------------------------------
TOTAL                    -5,816 MC



VSD-I                    -1,335 MC
--1,530 Infantry         -182 MC
--510 Stormtroops        -102 MC
--1 T/I Squad            -90 MC
--1 T/A Squad            -150 MC
--4 XG1                  -72 MC
------------------------------------
TOTAL                    -1,931 MC



MC80a                    -1,894 MC
--1,050 Infantry         -151 MC
--350 Spec Forces        -79 MC
--6 T47s                 -27 MC
--2 Freerunner           -25 MC
--3 A-Wing               -396 MC
--1 X-Wing               -198 MC
--18 L/SHU               -450 MC
--6 Skiprays             -150 MC
------------------------------------
TOTAL                    -3,370 MC


RAF                      -938 MC
--100 Infantry           -12 MC
--1 X/W                  -198 MC
------------------------------------
TOTAL                    -1,148 MC


NEB                      -370 MC
--75 Infantry            -9 MC
--1 X/W                  -198 MC
--3 Skiprays             -75 MC
------------------------------------
TOTAL                    -652 MC


CORV                     -125 MC
--150 Spec Forces        -34 MC
--450 Infantry           -101 MC
------------------------------------
TOTAL                    -260 MC



Military Camp            -122 MC
--600 Infantry           -71 MC
--200 Stormtroopers      -40 MC
--5 AT-ST                -57.5 MC
-------------------------------------
TOTAL                    -290.5 MC


Garrison Base            -275 MC
--1200 Inf               -142.5 MC
--400 Storm              -80 MC
--10 AT-ST               -115 MC
--4 T/I                  -360 MC
--2 T/B                  -252 MC
--6 XG-1                 -108 MC
-------------------------------------
TOTAL                    -1,332.50 MC

[SWSF Hoppus]

Here's the New Republic's opening spend as an example:


OPENING ACCOUNTS

INITIAL BALANCE                 00000
TOTAL DEPOSITS                  12000
TOTAL SPEND                     11983
CURRENT BALANCE                 00017



LINE ITEM REPORT
FIRST REPUBLIC FLEET            COST     UPKEEP
(01) MC80 Home One              2473     0618
(02) Rebel Assault Frigates     2313     0470
(03) Nebulon B Frigates         1110     0279
(03) Corellian Corvettes        0375     0375
(11) Rep. Infantry Companies^   0253
(04) Y-Wing Squadrons           0816
(05) X-Wing Squadrons           0990
(03) A-Wing Squadrons           0396
(03) B-Wing Squadrons           0792
(24) Echo Boarding Transports   0504
TOTAL                          10022     1742

INFRASTRUCTURE SPENDING         COST     UPKEEP
(07) Military Camps             0976     84
(20) Republic Infantry          0460
(15) Republic Commandos         0345
(40) T47 Speeders               0180
TOTAL                           1961     84

[gallpizi]

So now we are going to have very minimum fleets. Or at the very least minimum large ships.

[SWSF Hoppus]

So now we are going to have very minimum fleets. Or at the very least minimum large ships.

I think its most manageable. We can pump things up if it feels too light whenever down the road?

EDIT:

If we use a lot of larger ships - for example, multiple ISDs - this also inflates the requirements across the board. If fleets can show up with 20k+ troops and support, then average ground defenses should probably be greater as well. Which just piles units ontop of more units.

So the logic, at the moment, I am following is: a player could field ~2 ISDs and have light defenses around their Empire, or 1 ISD with a stronger load out and support ships, or multiple VSDs and support ships. An ISD is a beast of course, able to nearly disable a Nebulon B Frigate in a single strike, for example, which in this game you would feel keenly with the fleets we have.

This is a bit of a divergence from my initial goal - give players 1-3 ISDs, 2-3 VSDs, 1-2 other smaller ships and focus on big ships mainly. But I think managing so many units is going to be painful, and without CONSTANT action, its going to lead to cash reserves ballooning and units being easily replaceable and losing their color.

In this version I hope to keep things a little tighter. Your ISD flagship is a beast, a precious ship that will survive multiple engagements and have a story. Not just get blown up every battle and instantly replaced. That has more appeal to me, personally. It also means I don't have to manage 200+ star fighters and aux and 20,000+ troops and GAVs in a battle.

[SWSF Eidolon]

  Works for me.  Lets roll.  Will be working on TGE start up facils/fleet in next few days.



  I like instant production idea, most of us are probably going to be at peak activity around pay day anyways so if access to the purchased units happens immediately, then we can be putting things in motion immediately and keep the game moving.  This would maybe go along well with the smaller start up scale as well.  And if the instant access screws something up we're not above tweaks and rebalances

[SWSF Hale]

12,000 cuts it a little close for everybody.... but if the intent is for everyone to be tightening our collective belts and operating with stretched-too-thin resources, then so be it.

[SWSF Hoppus]

12,000 cuts it a little close for everybody.... but if the intent is for everyone to be tightening our collective belts and operating with stretched-too-thin resources, then so be it.

I'd like to keep it tighter than our last version, which saw the Nr able to field like 6 Mon Cal cruisers.

I'd be willing to increase to what - 15k? 18k?

[SWSF Hale]

It really depends on how much standing defenses you want players to have starting out. Even a meager 300 credit budget per system takes a pretty big chunk out of the overall amount. That's basically enough to field a CORV and a handful of troops, so if that's the intent, cool.

[SWSF Hoppus]

It really depends on how much standing defenses you want players to have starting out. Even a meager 300 credit budget per system takes a pretty big chunk out of the overall amount. That's basically enough to field a CORV and a handful of troops, so if that's the intent, cool.

I don't consider cap ships part of defenses in my mind - they are mobile part of a fleet. Troops, maybe local star fighters on bases, are defenses for me.

In my mind, an average world will have <10k troops. A HQ >10k. Thats what a single ISD in the fleet, or a pair of ISDs as your only fleet ships (plus ground/sf defenses at worlds) would be a solid faction line up to me. It keeps the scale of things a bit under control, esp for ground combat situations.

[SWSF Hoppus]

Free Local Defenses
(01) Garrison Base
--1600 Standard Infantry
--1 Juggernaut
--9 AT-PT
--10 Speederbikes
--12 Z95 Starfighters
--1 Skipray Blastboat
(02) Military Outposts
--600 Militia/Conscripts
--200 Standard Infantry
--5 Speederbikes

* Starting defenses can never be modified. They are free, free of maintenance, and will 'rebuild' a week after combat ends. They are maintained by the local government.

Starting Package
- 15,000 MC
- 1 of each MFG facility
- 1 Free HQ Garrison Base, maintenance free.


Better?

[gallpizi]

I personally think this will be easier to work with, yeah.

[SWSF Eidolon]

 15k is much better imo.


 

 But instead of having a base unit specifically designated as maintenance free, I wouldn't mind to see something basic like maybe, can we get 1 strongshold/capitol world that gets that benefit in some effect?  Declare 1 of our starting 10 as such.  In event of capture, player immediately declares new stronghold world.  Stronghold world gets elevated something like..

  *No maintenance cost for bases/capships at a stronghold world.*  Or put a hard value cap on how much free maintenance a stronghold world gets maybe if no limit is too much.  To qualify, a ship would have to be at the location for the whole pay cycle in order to prevent shuffling ships around and ensure that the benefit is used predominantly for genuinely dedicated pdf ships.  A base is probably not going to move.. probably?

 

  Also just a thought, I'm finding myself pretty much wanting to just throw all production facils in 2 places.  To make it so that we can't just put everything on one or two planets or even in long term limit build up in one individual place,  I'd say give each world max of 6-10 slots for Prod. Facils/Bases/Plats.  This would force us to not concentrate production facilities in one place because the limit in total facils is taking away from potential bases/plats as well.  Slight hypotehtical extension, a stronghold world could get like +A COUPLE slots!  In long term, if even expanded Planet/Economic system to include Economic Enhancing facils, this would easily fit in to that to limit.  All thats required is to up generic slot count if/as/needed Facils were to become more varied and plentiful

 

[RanesDsane]

Quick response here b/c of the personal message.  I haven't been able to read up on the changes and assess.  We've been spinning up for local national election monitoring and I'm completely swamped.  Tomorrow's elections and the couple days after will be insane as well.  Starting this weekend, assuming elections go well, I'll try to catch up.  That said, don't wait on me to do so, y'all have all the tools I used to assess changes, so I'll go with whatever the consensus is.

[SWSF Hoppus]

<snip>

I would be open to limiting planets to 2 MFG facilities, with the presence of a HQ Garrison/Heavy Imperial Garrison or a Golan Platform adding +1 to that total (so 3 MFGs).

There are only 4 core facilities (OSD, SF Plant, Weapons Factory, Troop Training). So that means at least 2 worlds with facilities. If you have a repair dock, extra SF Plants, etc, that means 2+ worlds with facilities.

[SWSF Eidolon]

  That option sounds cool.  It makes logistics and campaign strategy more interesting imo. Is 3 MFG facils the hard cap then regardless of how many bases?




  Every world gets the free local defense army you'd listed above correct?



  Also I feel like 15k is pretty damn tight still.  Am I only one who's buying 1 additional of each prod facil?  I suppose that would free up a little more fleet cash but hell, I only bought 1 Garrison Base and loaded it and the free one.  And am left with less than 9k for a fleet.  Which with ISDs, is 3 of them with no load out, or 2 ISDs and 1 VSDII with a good load out, or 1 ISD and 2 VSDIIs with great load outs.  Pretty tight.  Not opposed entirely, just discussing..

 I can free up a few hundred if tone down GAV/Troop alottment on them but they are already at 6TFs for SF squads.  Still rough (woof).  What are others shaping up feeling?