Outsideer – Sim



Outsider – Starship Tactical Combat Simulation

Version 0.4 – 06 July 2006

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS 1

A1.0 INTRODUCTION 3

A1.1 Overview 3

A1.2 Acknowledgements 3

A1.3 Nomenclature 3

A2.0 Game Scale (Tactical) 3

A2.1 Scale References 4

A3.0 Unit Representations 4

A3.1 Unit Profile 4

A3.2 Types of Units 5

A3.3 Unit Groupings (Formations, Squadrons and Salvoes) 6

A3.4 Other Ship Attributes 7

B1.0 TURN PROCEDURE 8

B1.1 Initiative 8

B1.2 Combat Segments 1-8 8

B4.0 Damage Control 8

B5.0 Record Keeping 8

B6.0 Maneuver Interrupts 8

C1.0 SEGMENT MANEUVER PHASE 8

C1.1 Unit Maneuver 9

C1.2 Headings 9

C2.0 Vectors 9

C3.0 Thrust 9

Thrust Chart 9

C4.0 Pivot 11

C5.0 Maneuver Phase Procedure 12

C6.0 Thrust Change Interrupt 12

D1.0 SEGMENT WEAPONS PHASE 12

D2.0 Direct-Fire Weapons 12

D2.1 Direct-Fire Weapons Table 13

D3.0 Damage Allocation Procedure 15

Die Roll Direction: A B C D E F 17

D4.0 Launch Phase 17

D4.1 Missile Launch 17

D4.2 Auxiliary Craft Launch 17

Pivot Max Dodge Cargo Bay Hard- 18

Craft Delay Thrust Roll Fuel Crew Space Space Components points Len. Mass Cost 18

D4.3 Fighter Weapons 18

D4.4 Reloading 18

D5.0 Recovery Phase 18

D6.0 Interception Interrupt 19

D6.1 Point Defense Fire 19

D6.2 Missile Attack 19

D7.0 END OF TURN 19

E1.0 STARSHIP SUBSYSTEMS 20

E2.0 Starship Defenses 20

E2.1 Defensive Screens (S) 20

E2.2 Armor (A) 21

E2.3 Hull Soak 21

E3.0 Direct-Fire Weapons Systems 22

E3.1 Beam Weapons 22

E3.2 Short-Range Missiles 25

E4.0 Launch Systems 25

E4.1 Seeking Weapons 25

E4.2 Missile Launchers 26

E4.3 Hangars and Tow Lines 28

E5.0 Engine Systems 29

E5.1 Starship Power Systems 29

E5.2 Starship Drives 29

E7.0 Sensors Systems Error! Bookmark not defined.

E6.0 Core Systems 30

Cargo Type Cargo Space Ordnance Points 31

F1.0 ENVIRONMENTS 31

F1.1 Stars and Planets 32

F1.2 Gas and Dust Clouds 33

F1.3 Asteroids and Space Debris 33

F2.0 Jump Drive 33

G1.0 OPTIONAL RULES 34

G2.0 Crew Grade 34

G3.0 Characters 34

H1.0 NOTES 36

G1.0 SAMPLE OUTSIDER SHIPS 38

G1.1 Loroi ships 38

G1.2 Umiak ships 39

G1.3 Terran Ships 39

A1.0 INTRODUCTION

This simulation is a hybrid of Starfire, Attack Vector: Tactical, and Starfleet Battles for use in simulating fleet battles presented in the Outsider webcomic. It is not intended as a commercial product, but rather as a tool for simulating Outsider battles.

The focus of this simulation is intended to be relatively large fleet battles, but small ship vs. ship battles are possible (if not especially satisfying, as they may be over quickly).

The system is not currently well tested or balanced, and is not finished or official. In particular, the weapons are currently overpowered, defensive screens are inadequate and the damage allocation system needs work. The record-keeping for the movement system is a real pain (even though greatly simplified from Attack Vector).

I have in mind to eventually add a strategic mode, largely based on the old Starfire: New Empires rules. However, you don’t need the strategic rules to play a tactical battle.

A1.1 Overview

Most action (weapons fire and maneuver) will be by segment rather than by turn. The “turn” is really only for the sake of movement housekeeping; the real granularity of action is the “segment”.

Fuel for capital ships is effectively unlimited at the tactical scale except for gunboats, fighters & torpedoes, which have no jump drive and carry limited fuel.

Energy management for individual ships is mostly ignored. Ships are assumed to be able to maneuver at full thrust and fire main batteries at the same time.

Die Rolling – D6

Materials Required for Play – hexmap, several 6-sided dice, ship counters, ship profiles, set of tables (included in rules), paper and pencil for record-keeping.

A1.2 Acknowledgements

Concepts and mechanics have been heavily borrowed from the following games: Star Fleet Battles (Amarillo Design Bureau), Starfire (Task Force Games), Attack Vector: Tactical (Ad Astra Games).

A1.3 Nomenclature

(TODO)

Commander: player

D6: a six-sided die roll

Delays: listed as +n, where n is the delay in segments. Example: a weapon with a Delay of +3 must wait three segments after each firing before it can be fired again; a Delay of +1 means the weapon can fire every segment, and a Delay of +½ means the weapon can fire twice per segment.

Section

Subsystem

Component

Volley

Salvo

Squadron

Formation

A2.0 Game Scale (Tactical)

Distance: Hex size = 10,000 km (1 Light Second at this scale = 30 hexes).

Time: Turn length = 10.7 min (640 sec). Segment length = 80 sec (1.33 min). Each turn is divided into 8 segments; the segment is the main granularity of tactical play.

Velocity: 1 velocity point is one hex/turn, or 16 km/s.

Acceleration: 1 thrust point = 5 G (most warships have thrust of 5 or 6; fighters 7 or 8, torpedoes 8+). 1 thrust point produces an acceleration of 2 velocity points per turn, in addition to 1 hex of linear displacement.

Storage: 1 cargo space = up to about 220 tons of cargo. 1 cargo space can hold 6 ordnance points. 1 ordnance point = one medium-range torpedo, two short-range torpedoes, or up to about 36 tons.

Fuel: 1 fuel point = enough fuel to accelerate a ship by 2 velocity points (two hex/turn or 32 km/s). Fuel is scaled for each ship size class, so a fuel point varies by size class: see Ship Size Class table. 1 fuel point = 3.6 TeraJoules x (1 + ((Ship Size Class – 1) x 3)). For a size-class 3 (cruiser) ship, 1 fuel point produces 36.6 TeraJoules of energy. ( This formula appears to be wrong. Just look at the table [A3.2.4], below.

Damage: 1 damage point = 1 TeraJoule?

Thrust, velocity and fuel are balanced so that 1 thrust point for 1 turn generates 1 hex of linear displacement on the turn of thrust and 2 hex/turn velocity for subsequent turns. Each hex/turn of velocity gained consumes one fuel point. [Guessing this 1 velocity = 1 fuel point bullshit is from AV:T, but it’s stupid… fuel and thrust should be 1:1. Maybe they did this so you can use half thrust points. So the value of fuel points will have to be doubled if I want to change this.]

A2.1 Scale References

At the tactical scale, the Earth (diameter 12,756 kilometers) is just slightly larger than one hex. The Moon is 1/3 hex across, and orbits the Earth at a distance of roughly 40 hexes (moving at a rate of 6.4 hexes per 100 tactical turns). Jupiter is a sphere 14 hexes across.

A minimal tactical velocity of 1 hex/turn at this scale represents 16 kilometers per second, or about Mach 46. That’s more than 12 times the top speed of the SR-71 Blackbird (Mach 3.5+), and almost exactly twice the top speed of the Space Shuttle during takeoff (8 km/s, about Mach 23.5). A starship accelerating at thrust 6 (30 G) can reach 1% lightspeed (192 hex/turn) in just 16 tactical turns (2.83 hours).

A3.0 Unit Representations

A3.1 Unit Profile

Ships, bases and other craft are represented by Unit Profiles, also knows as “Control Sheets” or “SSD’s” (Ship System Diagrams), which list the systems and capabilities of the vessel in a concise manner. For simplicity, the Profile is recorded as a single string of characters (or “elements”) which represent ship components in the following form:

Scimitar-class CA Torrent:

Screens Armor Section 1-Forward Section 2-Left Section 3-Right Section 4-Center

SSSSSSSSS AAAAA 1[AA 88 88 W](-2) 2[BB L E-332211](-1) 3[BB L E-332211](-1) 4[PP LL LL R X](-1)

Section 5-Aft Section 6-Core Pivot|Thrust

5[L D HH J](-1) 6[AAA QQ CC](-2) (+1|6)(+⅓|3)

Structural Integrity: 4. Heat Rating: 8

Small Craft & Ordnance: 2+1 Utility Shuttlecraft; 6+6 Mk.44 MR torpedo

Dimensions: Length 416m; Deadweight mass 350 kt; Crew Complement 400 (Elite)

Construction Cost: 1181 MgC; Maintenance Cost: 30 MgC

Descriptions of above profile components:

Name and Class are for identification purposes. This ship is a Loroi Scimitar-class heavy cruiser, the Torrent.

Defensive Screens: deflects 1 damage point for each ‘S’ element; 9 in this case.

Armor: absorbs damage that penetrates screens by 1 point for each ‘A’ element (5 for this ship). Some sections also have internal armor.

Sections: internal groupings of components that can be destroyed when damage penetrates armor, written as brackets following the section number (1-6). Roll a D6 to determine section number to be damaged, and apply damage left to right. Like most ships, this cruiser has 6 sections: 1-Forward, 2-Left, 3-Right, 4-Aft, 5-Center and 6-Core. Each section has its own Hull Soak value (represented as a negative number in parentheses following the section bracket) which is subtracted from damage bleeding from one internal system to another. Most sections of this ship have a Hull Soak value of (-1), except for the Forward and Core sections, which have values of (-2).

Components: Individual elements that can be operated or destroyed; components represent individual weapon mounts, cargo holds, etc. The components of this ship represent, left to right:

88 88 – two twin medium blaster turrets.

W – a torpedo launcher.

LL – a bank of laser autocannon turrets.

BB – a twin heavy blaster turret.

E-332211 – an engine nacelle with an undamaged thrust of 3.

PP – one twin pulse cannon turret.

D – a point-defense missile launcher.

R – short-range sensor suite.

X – long-range sensor suite.

HH – a shuttlecraft hangar with two bays.

J – jump drive generator

AAA – an internal armored belt protecting the ship’s core.

QQ – crew quarters.

CC – cargo hold.

Movement values: listed in the form “(+PD|MT)”, where +PD is the ship’s pivot delay, and MT is maximum thrust. (+1|6) indicates that this ship can pivot 1 hex per segment, and has a maximum thrust of 6 (or 30 G). The second set of values (+⅓|3) is an alternate pivot/thrust value that can be optionally used instead of the main value; in the case of this ship, it represents the ability to pivot at a faster rate at the expense of total acceleration by reducing the output of one of the two engines.

Small Craft & Ordnance: list of carried craft and missiles, in the form “L+R”, where L is the number ready to use, and R is available reloads in storage. Scimitar has 2 shuttles ready to use, and 1 spare in storage. 6 medium-range torpedoes are loaded and ready to fire, plus 6 more reloads in storage.

Dimensions: length and mass, crew complement. Crew grade can optionally be recorded here.

Cost: purchase and upkeep costs, in Mega-Talents (or, temporarily, in MegaCredits). The first value is the initial construction cost; the monthly cost to maintain the ship at a combat-ready state. These values are not relevant in the tactical game.

Note that the Control Sheet could also be presented as a graphical SSD diagram, similar to those used in Star Fleet Battles, with named systems and boxes to record damage. This works too.

A3.2 Types of Units

A3.2.1 Ships

Ships are the main combat unit. (TODO)

Abilities or attributes inherent to a ship hull (or base hull), independent of components:

Auxiliary Power

Also referred to in these rules as Partial power or Emergency Power, this is energy generation capacity sufficient to power the ship’s basic systems, including all inherent abilities listed here, as well as defensive screens and defensive weaponry. Auxiliary Power is not sufficient to operate the main drives or main weapons; main power must be available for these functions.

Auxiliary Power is generally only interrupted by special effects (critical hits, etc.). It is a requirement for most of the abilities listed below.

Maneuvering Thrusters

These are motors and/or gyros built into the hull, designed to pivot the ship and maneuver it in docking or rendezvous situations. See E5.1.0 Maneuvering Thrusters.

Life Support

We assume that the hull provides life support to any undamaged Quarters components sufficient to keep alive the number of crew or passengers rated for that component, provided that the ship still has auxiliary power.

Computer Systems and Command Spaces

Information technology is ubiquitous at this tech level, so we assume that all habitable areas of the ship are equipped with adequate computer and information gear to allow for proper command and control. We also assume that there are appropriate command facilities (a ship’s bridge) and auxiliary control.

External Communications

All ships have redundant external communication systems that allow them to communicate with any other ship or installation in line of sight within a system. Within the tactical scale this communication can be considered to be effectively instantaneous (although, technically, light travels 30 hexes in on second). On the system scale, even at the speed of light, communications can take as long as 8 hours to cross an entire system.

Inertial Dampers & Artificial Gravity

We assume that any ship larger than a fighter has systems to compensate for acceleration, and to allow the crew to move about in simulated gravity with comfort and efficiency, provided that the ship has at least auxiliary power. If a ship has lost all power, any crew activities will take twice the normal time to complete, because of the difficulty in moving without gravity.

Hull Soak Value

The hull itself (independent of armor) has the ability to absorb damage, based on the ship size and type. This value is listed on the Unit Profile. Hull Soak does not require any form of power.

Docking Ports

All ships have various ports through which supplies and personnel can be moved when docked. These ports do not require any level of power to operate, and can be used even if the ship has lost all power.

A3.2.2 Bases

Bases (also known as battle stations or “Citadels”) are treated the same as ships in most respects. Typical bases do not have main drives, or jump drives, but still have the same sort of maneuvering thrusters as starships and so can pivot like a starship with auxiliary power. Bases still have Engine (E) systems, but they represent reactors and not drive units. Thus a base may still have systems that require main power.

In general, any time we refer to a “ship” in a rule, this rule also applies to bases.

Space Platforms

Normal bases are assumed to be built on a rigid hull, in the same manner as a starship. More basic space stations can be loosely assembled from modules; these “open” space platforms lack the structure, armor or the other functions (such as maneuvering thrusters) that a hull provides, but they can be cobbled together quickly and added to easily over time. Because they don’t have a rigid supporting structure, platforms are fragile and easily damaged, represented by a positive hull soak value. Platforms can’t withstand much G stress, and so can’t maneuver or be towed (within the tactical time scale) without being ripped apart. Destruction of a module may also break the platform into multiple pieces.

A3.2.3 Small Craft & Missiles

Fighters, Shuttlecraft, and other small in-system vehicles are considered “Small Craft.” In game terms they are treated as ship systems. Torpedoes and other seeking weapons are classed as “Missiles”, which are handled in a way very similar to small craft.

Small Craft and Missiles are grouped into squadrons and salvoes, each of which behaves as a normal unit for the purposes of movement. For weapons fire and damage, each is handled as an individual craft; the first full damage point will destroy a fighter or missile. Hits are resolved against each fighter or missile separately; damage from the destruction of one fighter does not carry over to the next fighter in the squadron.

Small craft do not have jump drives and are usually too small to have inertial dampers, meaning that the crew and passengers have limited protection against G stresses. Consequently, the thrust of small craft may be limited for passenger safety. Some races with good G-tolerance (such as the Loroi) use a liquid breathing medium to allow their pilots to withstand very high G forces.

Small craft have limited endurance and must normally dock with a mothership or base at the end of a battle. This does not directly affect tactical play.

Units may launch and recover fighters and missiles at rates specified in individual component listings, provided that both craft and mother ship are in the same hex and have the same vectors.

Shuttlecraft are handled in the same manner as Fighters, but frequently operate individually, and so are treated as a squadron of one.

See: Small Craft & Missile Table

A3.2.4 Size Class Table

Size Typical Typical Ship Energy of

Class Name Mass Length Classes 1 Fuel Point

-1 Missile 35 t 15 m Torpedo 4.3 TJ

0 Tiny 250 t 35 m Fighter, Shuttlecraft 30.5 TJ

1 Small 30 kt 150 m GB, CT, FF, SC 3,662 TJ

2 Medium 100 kt 200 m DD, CVE, BS-1, FR1 12,207 TJ

3 Large 300 kt 350 m CA, CS, CVL, BS-2, FR2, FR3 36,621 TJ

4 Very Large 1 Mt 600 m BB, SH, BC, CV, BS-3, FR4 122,070 TJ

5 Super Large 3 Mt 800 m SD, GCS, SCS, BS-4, FR5 366,211 TJ

6 Ultra Huge 9 Mt 1.2 km ICS, UH, BS-5, FR6 1,098,632 TJ

7 Mega Huge! 27 Mt 2 km BS-6 3,295,898 TJ

A3.3 Unit Groupings (Formations, Squadrons and Salvoes)

Ships can be moved individually, or can be linked together as formations. For movement purposes a formation is treated as a single unit. The thrust value for the formation is the lowest thrust value of the ships in the formation; the pivot delay of the formation is the highest pivot delay value of the ships in the formation. Ships can join a formation any time they are in the same hex as the formation and have the same vector; ship can leave a formation any time.

Formations can also join other formations, forming compound formations. This is merely a matter of bookkeeping.

Two units (or formations) can also mirror each other’s maneuvers, effectively creating a sort of large formation (subject to performance restrictions listed above).

Small Craft (see above) are grouped into squadrons of any number of craft. A squadron is treated as a single unit for purposes of movement, and can join a formation with other squadrons and/or ships. Squadrons behave as a single unit for purposes of weapons fire, but must be targeted and damaged individually; damage from a single weapon does not carry over from one small craft to another. The same goes for torpedoes and other missiles, though we refer to missile groups as salvoes.

Fighters in the same squadron can tightly integrate weapons fire, and so may fire all weapons of the same type in a single volley (if they so choose), like different turrets on the same ship.

A3.3.1 Flagships

[Optional rule: Tactical command and control is exercised by the commander of a fleet from one ship in the battle designated as the Flagship. If the flagship is destroyed or has communications cut off from the rest of the fleet in some way, command and control is also lost (represented by a -1 to initiative roll). When using optional rules for Crew Grade, the crew grade of the flagship is used to positively or negatively modify initiative rolls for the fleet.

Any starship or group of starships ordered to move as a unit at the strategic level of play must have one designated flagship. This can be any of the ships in the group, and the choice should be recorded on the fleet orders. This choice can be changed freely at any time that the group is not engaged in combat.

If a flagship is lost in combat, the ships under its command will be penalized (as above) until a new officer aboard another ship assumes command. (If the side losing the flagship had initiative for this turn, it is immediately lost for the remaining segments of the turn.)? Immediately select a new flagship and roll one D6; the result is the number of segments that must elapse before the new flagship can assume command and control. If the replacement flagship is destroyed before it can assume command, choose another and roll another D6 for a new delay.]

A3.4 Other Ship Attributes

A3.4.1 Crews

Size of the crew is usually mentioned per class along with length and mass, for fluff value. Currently we assume that ships are properly crewed and don’t worry about this too much.

See: Crew Quarters (Q) and optional rules [G2.0] for Crew Grade and Crew Casualties..

A3.4.2 Special Characters

[Optional rules: specific characters may be said to be on board a specific ship or craft (or even within a specific subsystem), for scenario purposes or for special abilities that a legendary officer may provide. A basic example of this is the Fleet Commander, representing the player. See: [G3.0] Characters in the Optional Rules section.]

B1.0 TURN PROCEDURE

B1.0.1 Turn Sequence:

I. Initiative

II. Combat Segments 1-8

A. Maneuver Phase*

1. Thrust

2. Movement

3. Pivot

B. Weapons Phase

4. Fire

5. Launch

6. Recover

III. Damage Control

IV. Record Keeping

B1.0.2 *Maneuver Segment Interrupts:

Thrust Change Interrupt

Interception Interrupt

B1.1 Initiative

If the commanders are not using simultaneous recorded orders, then they must roll initiative to determine order of action during the turn. Each commander rolls a D6, modified by any Initiative bonuses or penalties appropriate, and the commander with the higher roll gains initiative for that turn. Re-roll any ties.

B1.2 Combat Segments 1-8

Combat Maneuver and Weapons Fire are played out in 8 segments per turn.

B4.0 Damage Control

Implement available damage control procedures at this time. In general, destroyed subsystems cannot be repaired within the scope of tactical combat, with the following exceptions listed below.

Note that Damage Control rates are modified if using the Crew Grade optional rule [F2.0].

B4.1 Screen Reactivation

If a starship or base has not received damage of any kind during the entire turn, it may reactivate two previously destroyed Defensive Screen elements (“S”).

[Optional rule: procedures for special-effect repair (TODO).]

B5.0 Record Keeping

For any units that have completed a full 8 thrust cycles and have not had a Thrust interrupt during the turn, perform the Thrust interrupt record keeping procedure now.

B6.0 Maneuver Interrupts

Special conditions within the maneuver segment cause play to be temporarily suspended while a special procedure is resolved. These are the Thrust Change Interrupt and the Interception Interrupt (for dealing with missile attacks).

C1.0 SEGMENT MANEUVER PHASE

This is a slightly simplified 2-dimensional version of the Attack Vector: Tactical vector movement rules. Movement is tracked on a two-dimensional map, calculating realistic vectors.

Briefly, a ship moves along a vector in space, and thrusts in different directions to change that vector. Ships do not “turn” or slow to a stop when engines are cut off; there is no atmosphere or other medium to “turn” against or to slow the ship down through friction. If it wishes to slow down, a ship must thrust in the opposite direction of travel.

Each turn, a ship begins with an existing velocity vector that it will follow over the course of the 8 segments of the turn. As the ship applies new thrust, the vector begins to change as the ship builds up new velocity and movement (displacement) in the direction of the new thrust. At the end of the turn, acceleration is tallied and the ship’s new velocity vector is determined.

C1.1 Unit Maneuver

Maneuver is modeled by unit. A unit may consist of any individual ship, craft, missile, or group (formation, squadron or salvo). Because keeping track of maneuver with vectors is complex, the more a commander can group as many individual craft into as few units as possible, the easier and quicker the record-keeping will be.

C1.2 Headings

Map directions are labeled clockwise A, B, C, D, E and F, starting with A pointing toward the “north” of the map and ascending clockwise. A ship with a Heading of A is pointing north.

Units must always occupy a hex and face one of the six hex edges, not the hex corners. So the ship must have a heading of one of the six directions, A-F, and may only change facing by turning at least one full hex side (60 degrees).

Note that for units such as fighters and missiles, facing is irrelevant, since they can thrust or fire in any direction at will.

C2.0 Vectors

A vector represents both a speed and a direction. A ship may have a speed of 6, but it has to be in a particular direction, such as B.

C2.0.1 Persistence of Momentum

In space there is no significant drag or friction. An object with a velocity in a certain direction will continue to move in that direction, indefinitely, until it begins thrusting in a different direction. An object at rest will also remain at rest. An object with a persistent spin will also continue to spin indefinitely until the spin is counteracted.

C2.0.2 Multiple Directions

A ship can have velocities in more than one direction at a time; these velocities will add together. For example, a ship might have a speed of 4 in direction A, but also a speed of 6 in direction B. In each turn, the ship will move 4 hexes in direction A in addition to 6 hexes in direction B. These two directions may only be 60 degrees apart; a ship cannot have velocities in two opposite directions, as these cancel each other out.

C2.0.3 Proportional Movement

In the above example, the ship will end up at the end of the turn in a hex 4 hexes “north” and 6 hexes “northeast” of the hex in which it started; however, it will follow a straight line between these two points (instead of moving north 4 and northeast 6). This proportional movement can be “plotted” in each segment by using the elaborate Horizontal Remainder Grid, below (TODO). This is only relevant if something such as a possible collision with an object on the path of movement makes the exact path of the ship important.

C3.0 Thrust

Thrust produces two effects: acceleration (change in velocity) and displacement (change in position). Displacement is the distance that this turn’s thrust will push the ship during this turn. Acceleration is the additional velocity (in hexes/turn) that the ship will start with next turn. During a full turn, each thrust point will generate one hex of displacement and two points of acceleration. So a ship at rest that thrusts at a rate of 6 in direction A for a full turn will move 6 hexes toward direction A during that turn, and will start with a velocity of 12 hexes/turn in the direction of A at the beginning of the next turn.

To determine the displacement and acceleration produced each segment by thrust, consult the Thrust Chart below:

Thrust Chart

(Acceleration in G’s) 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60

Thrust Points → 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Segment 1 v v v v vv vv vv vv vvv

Segment 2 v v v v vv vv vv d vv d vvv d vvv d vvv

Segment 3 v v v v vv d vv d vv d vv d vvv d vvv

Segment 4 v v v d v d vv d vv d vv d vv d vvv d vvv d vvv d vvv

Segment 5 d v v d v d v d vv d vv d vv d vv d vvv

Segment 6 d v v d v d v d vv d vv d vv d vv d vvv d vvv dd vvv

Segment 7 d v d v d v d v dd vv dd vv dd vv dd vv ddd vvv ddd vvv

Segment 8 d v d v d v d v dd vv dd vv dd vv dd vv dd vvv ddd vv ddd vvv ddd vvv

Each “d” represents one hex of displacement, and each “v” represents one acceleration point (or one hex/turn of added velocity). Displacement occurs immediately; acceleration points are recorded each segment and tallied up and converted to velocity at the end of the turn.

Each ship has a maximum thrust rating; this is the last number to the right on the ship Control Sheet.

C3.0.1 Existing Velocity and Displacement

If the ship from the above example (with a velocity of 12 in direction A) were to turn about 180 degrees and thrust in direction D, it would begin displacing in direction D, but remember that the ship’s existing velocity is still pushing it in direction A at a rate of 12 hex/turn. At the end of the second turn the ships’ velocity would be back to 0, but it would have moved another 6 hexes in direction A (existing velocity of 12 minus new displacement of 6).

C3.0.2 Vector Consolidation

Now, remember that a ship can have a velocity in more than one direction at a time. A ship with a velocity of 4 in direction A that burns at thrust 6 in direction B. At the end of the turn, the ship will now have velocities in two directions, 60 degrees apart. This is acceptable, but if the thrust 6 had been in direction C instead, we would have to consolidate vectors before moving on, because these vectors want to take the ship in conflicting directions.

All vectors must be consolidated down to (at most) two directions, 60 degrees apart.

For two vectors opposite each other (180 degrees apart), subtract the smaller from the larger. This is obvious in the case of the example in the previous section that showed the 12 A and 6 D vectors that were directly opposite to each other.

For two vector solutions 120 degrees apart, copy the smaller component 60 degrees closer to the larger, adding it to any previously existing vectors in that facing. Subtract its value from both of the original vectors; this will leave a value of 0 in the original position of the smaller vector. This needs some additional explanation (TODO).

For more than two vectors, handle each pair of components (starting with opposing 180 degree components) in turn until there are only two 60 degree components left.

C3.0.3 Changing Thrust

If thrust is changed at the beginning of the turn (on the first segment), it can be changed up or down in any amount from 0 to the Maximum Thrust allowed by the ship. There is no “throttle” delay for our purposes.

Although it is easier on the record-keeping to maintain thrust at the same value and in the same direction through the whole turn, thrust can be started, stopped or changed on any segment. If thrust is changed, this is a “thrust change interrupt” condition (see below). Tally up acceleration points as if it were the end of the turn, convert acceleration points to velocity, consolidate vectors, and continue through the remaining segments as if this were the beginning of a new turn (see [C6.0] Thrust Change Interrupt). If new thrust is started on some segment during the turn, each row on the chart represents 1 segment since thrust was begun.

An increase in thrust by one point shifts thrust tracking on the Thrust Chart by one full column to the right (rather than creating a Thrust interrupt condition).

If a ship pivots and thrusts in a new direction, this is no problem… this is the same as stopping acceleration in one direction and starting it in another direction on the next segment. Changing thrust rate is treated the same way: the ship has stopped thrusting at the old rate and has started it at a new rate. Thrust is resolved before the pivot, so thrust on the same segment as a pivot is counted as being in the old heading direction (before the pivot).

[Optional rule: Changing Thrust during a Burn.] To avoid abuse of rounding errors in the Thrust Chart, follow these restrictions:

The minimum delay between changes in thrust is 2 segments.

Thrust can always change to 0, even if it’s been less than 2 segments since the last change. Thrust cannot increase by more than one point every 2 segments.

Thrust can increase from 0 to any level permitted by the ship. This is an exception to above. [???]

Thrust can decrease by any amount provided the other conditions are met.

C3.0.4 Fuel Usage

One point of fuel is used for each acceleration point gained (which is also two fuel points for each point of thrust). So if a ship thrusts at a rate of 6 for a full turn, the ship will burn 12 fuel.

[I don’t get why you’d want to fuel to match acceleration instead of thrust. I suggest doubling the energy values of the fuel point and match to thrust. Then again, if this is going to be a computer simulation, maybe it’s not a bad idea to be able to use half-point thrust.]

Fuel is only tracked for small craft such as fighters and missiles. Large ships carry enough fuel that the amount burned during tactical combat is usually not significant. In rare cases, a large ship low on fuel might need to track fuel expenditure.

C4.0 Pivot

Starships may change heading by turning in place or “pivoting” by 60 degree increments (one hex face) at a time. Note that pivoting does not change the current vectors or direction of travel. A starship must have at least partial power to pivot.

Each ship has a “Pivot Delay” (recorded on the ship Control Sheet) that determines how quickly it can pivot; the value indicates how many segments the ship must wait between 60 degree heading changes; a pivot delay of 1 means that the ship can pivot one hex-face every segment. A pivot delay of 2 means that the ship may pivot one hex-face every second segment. A pivot rate of ½ means that a ship may pivot two hex-faces per segment, and a pivot rate of 0 means that the ship can change its facing in any way it likes during each segment. Pivot delays of 1/3 or less are functionally the same as a pivot rate of 0.

In general, pivot delay is assigned by class: fighter/gunboat = 0; destroyer = ½, cruiser = 1, battleship = 2. Some ships (with large twin engines) may have quicker pivot delays than their size class might suggest, because of the ability to run one engine while shutting the other one off, resulting in a quicker turn.

Pivots are executed at the end of the movement phase, after thrust and movement resolved. Note that for game purposes, the pivot happens at the very end, and before the pivot, the ship (if under thrust) continues to accelerate in the old direction. If you don’t want this acceleration, cut thrust before executing the pivot.

Special rule: a unit with a Pivot Delay of +0 can also change heading to any desired direction at the very beginning of the movement phase, before thrust is resolved. So a +0 unit can pivot once before thrust, and again after movement. This is to represent the extreme maneuverability of these units.

C4.0.1 Differential Engine Thrust and Vectored Thrust

The basic values for Pivot Delay and Max Thrust assume that the ship is using only its maneuvering thrusters for the pivot, leaving its main engines to thrust full-strength forward.

However, since many ships have multiple main engine nacelles located off the center of rotation of the ship, the ship can pivot faster if it throttles up an engine on one side and throttles down an engine on the opposite side. Especially for Loroi ships with two large engine nacelles spaced far off the center of rotation, using this technique can dramatically increase the rate of rotation, even for very large ships. The drawback is that since the engine(s) on one side throttle down, the ship can’t use its full thrust value during the pivot.

Some ships have engines that can partially reverse thrust. Using reverse thrust on one engine while using forward thrust on the other further increases the potential differential thrust and the rate of rotation.

Some ships also have “thrust attenuation vanes” that allow a single engine to vector its thrust, producing a rotation without throttling an engine down.

Many Loroi ships have all three of these abilities, and thus can turn very rapidly.

A ship with the ability to use a “powered pivot” has a second (or third) set of values for Pivot Delay and Max Thrust. This ship has the option (as long as it can use its main drives) to use this better Pivot Delay if it is willing to reduce thrust to the lower thrust value paired with it. A ship that has lost the use of its main drives may only use the first pivot value (representing the maneuvering thrusters), and if the ship has lost all power it may not pivot at all. As always, Max Thrust is reduced when engines are damaged (see Engine subsystem).

Example: the Loroi Scimitar heavy cruiser has a set of pivot/thrust values that reads: (+1|6)(+ ⅓|3). This means that if the ship runs at it full thrust of 6, it is limited to the +1 pivot delay provided by its maneuvering thrusters. If the ship commander chooses to use a powered pivot, represented by the second set of values, then pivot delay is improved to + ⅓ (or three hex facings per Segment), but if this improved pivot rate is used, then maximum thrust is reduced to 3.

[Note that a ship using engine thrust differential MUST accelerate at the maximum available listed thrust to be able to take advantage of the reduced pivot delay.]

C4.0.2 Persistent Spins

[Optional Rule] As with other movement, spin is conserved and will continue indefinitely unless counteracted. During a normal pivot, we assume that the pivoting ship is deliberately canceling out its spin at the end of the pivot to return to a constant heading. This means that half of the Pivot Delay is spent adding rotation, and the other half is spent slowing down the rate of ration back to zero. If the captain chooses, this spin does not have to be canceled out, and can be maintained indefinitely and added to on subsequent segments. Moreover, since the ship can add rotation for the whole turn, the resulting rate of rotation is twice as fast. This effectively halves Pivot Delay but adds a persistent spin of two headings per segment for every one heading per segment rotated on the original Segment (this is analogous to the principle of 1 thrust point producing 1 displacement but 2 velocity). There is no theoretical maximum limit to the rate of this persistent spin, and it can be added to or subtracted from each segment, but at some point the ship will be torn apart by centripetal forces.

Example: an Umiak cruiser has a normal Pivot Delay of (+1). When making normal pivots, it can rotate by one heading per segment. The Umiak commander may choose to pivot two headings in the first segment, but this will give the ship a persistent spin, and on the next segment will start with a spin of four headings per segment. If the Umiak decided to neutralize this spin, it can be done in one further segment, but the cruiser will still pivot another 2 headings this segment, whether the commander wants it to or not. On the following (third) segment, the Umiak cruiser is now again on a steady course.

Any ship with a persistent spin of 3 headings/segment or more is spinning so fast that it cannot thrust effectively in any one direction; it’s thrusting in all directions. The effects of acceleration are ignored until the persistent spin is neutralized.

Note that reducing your Pivot Delay below (+1/3) or less in this manner is not the same as having a Pivot Delay of (+0); you’re rate of rotation is faster, but you’ll need twice as long to kill the rotation.

A ship that has a persistent spin will continue to pivot at the same rate indefinitely, even if the ship loses all power.

C5.0 Maneuver Phase Procedure

After pivoting and resolving thrust (including displacement), movement from existing vectors is carried out.

1. Plot Current Vector

Using the movement tables (see below), figure out where the unit will be at the end of the current segment due to its current velocity, and place a marker (the Future Position Marker) on this hex. This can be done simultaneously for ships on all sides. (TODO: vector remainder tables here)

2. Resolve Thrust

Make the decision to continue at current thrust, or to change thrust. Based on that decision, apply thrust in the current heading: from the Thrust Chart, mark acceleration points and displace the Future Position Marker in the direction of the current heading.

Use either simultaneous written orders, or use initiative: the loser must go first. Alternate units?

3. Movement

Simultaneously move units to their Future Position Markers. If two units cross paths or end up in the same hex, and one commander wishes to attempt an Interception, interrupt play until an Interception Procedure is resolved.

4. Pivot

Prior to weapons fire, pivot units any legal amount. This can usually be done in any order, but if a conflict arises, the commander without initiative must pivot first.

C6.0 Thrust Change Interrupt

Perform this interrupt procedure when any of the following occurs: a unit stops or starts thrust in the middle of a turn, thrusts in a new heading, or reaches the end of the thrust chart (usually at the end of the 8th segment).

C6.0.1 Convert Acceleration to Velocity

Since we pivot at the end, and we kind of assume that the ship thrusts in its current direction during the segment, I can’t see any reason to deal with the “acceleration to velocity conversion” concept. Velocity points from the thrust table can be converted directly to velocity on the spot.

C6.0.2 Update and Resolve Vectors

Time for some vector math. (TODO)

C6.0.3 Tally Spent Fuel

I’ve never understood why this isn’t done every segment. Fuel should be marked off immediately, so you know exactly when you’ve run out.

D1.0 SEGMENT WEAPONS PHASE

Combat covers Direct-Fire Weapons, Damage Allocation, and Launch of missiles or small craft.

D2.0 Direct-Fire Weapons

After the end of movement, the commander with initiative chooses one of his or her ships to fire. Each turret can fire at a different target, or turrets of the same type can be grouped together as a volley. The commander must declare before firing which weapons will fire at which targets, and which will be fired together as a volley or as individual volleys.

All beam weapons and other weapons that can reach the target in less than the 80-second segment are considered direct-fire weapons for game purposes. At the tactical scale, light travels 2,398 hexes per segment; we treat this as “instantaneous” for most game purposes.

D2.1 Direct-Fire Weapons Table

Weapon Code Cool Space Cost Type Special Rules

Blaster Mk.1 (Medium) 8 1 2 25 Either Armor-Piercing

Blaster Mk.2 (Heavy) B 1 3 40 Main Armor-Piercing

Blaster Mk.3 (Point-Defense) b ½ ½ 10 Defense Armor-Piercing. Point Defense

Blaster Mk.4 (Superheavy) Bh 2 5 55 Main Armor-Piercing

Plasma Pulse Cannon P 3 4 60 Main Armor Ablating (1), Screen Splash (1)

Laser Autocannon L ½ 1 18 Defense Screen-Piercing, Point Defense

Point-Defense Missiles (AMM) D - 2 25 Defense Point Defense

SR Plasma Focus Type-2 P2 1 2 ? Main

SR Plasma Focus Type-4 Ps 1 4 ? Main Armor-Ablating (1)

MR Plasma Focus Type-5 Pm 1 4 ? Main Armor-Ablating (1)

SR Plasma Focus Type-6 Ph 2 5 ? Main Armor-Ablating (2), Screen Splash (1)

PD Plasma Focus Pp ½ 1 ? Defense Point Defense

D2.2 Weapon Availability

At least one weapon mount in a turret must be available to fire. It must be undestroyed, powered, and any delays from previous firings or special effects must already have expired. Note that some weapons may fire more than once per segment. Target must be detected, in line-of-sight and within legal field of fire. Unless ECM rules are being used (TODO), sensor lock is automatically achieved on any target within the turret’s field of fire.

Point Defense weapons are only available to fire in this phase if they have not already fired in an Intercept phase earlier this segment.

D2.3 Field of Fire

Most turrets in Outsider have a 300 degree forward field of fire. We assume the ability of each ship to roll to a limited extent to bring port and starboard weapons to bear on any target within this forward arc. The shaded hexes in the diagram at right represent hexes that are covered by this arc and are legal for targeting. There is no limit to the range of this arc for targeting purposes.

Note that the hex occupied by the ship itself is not shaded. Whether or not a target in the same hex (distance 0) can be targeted by a specific weapon will be in the individual weapon descriptions (TODO).

Some special weapons such as Point-Defense Missiles have a full 360 degree firing arc and can target any hex. Fighter weapons also have a 360 degree arc. Also, weapons on Bases all have 360 degree arcs.

D2.4 Line of Sight

Normally, line of sight is automatic in a space environment, but occasionally, planets and dust or gas clouds can obscure line of sight.

Draw a straight line (with a ruler) between the center of the firing unit’s hex and the targeted unit’s hex. If the line passes through a hex that contains an obstruction, then line of sight is blocked and the unit may not fire.

D2.5 Range

Range to a target can be determined by counting the number of hexes to the target, including the target hex, but not including the hex of the firing ship. So if the target and firing ship are in the same hex, range is said to be 0.

[Optional Rule]: Since counting hexes can sometimes be inaccurate, instead range can be measured on a direct line using a ruler, from the center of the firing hex to the center of the target hex, and then the distance on that ruler can be measured accurately against a straight line of hexes. Any partial hex counts as a full hex for purposes of range.

D2.6 Weapon Cooldown

Each direct-fire weapon type has a rate of fire expressed as the number of segments required for cooldown. A weapon with a cooldown of 1 may fire every segment; one with a cooldown of 2 may fire only every other segment.

[Laser autocannon probably has a cooldown of 1/2, and Pulse Cannon is probably 3 or 4. However, these values might be substantially increased if weapon fire is just too heavy. In SFB, most weapons could only fire once per turn, and heavy weapons less than once per turn.]

D2.7 Power

Most direct-fire weapons do not require ammo and can fire as long as power requirements are met.

Weapons that require ammo are noted per type. Ammo contained within the weapon is noted per type. Extra ammo can be stored separately and reloaded per the reload rules.

D2.8 Volleys

Each discrete exchange of weapons fire is defined as a volley. A volley consists of fire from one or more weapons of the same type from the same ship. For example, if a heavy cruiser has the following main battery: “1[BB BB PP]” (two blaster turrets and one pulse cannon turrets), the blasters and pulse cannon will each be fired as a separate volley. The advantage of firing turrets together as a volley is that the damage is pooled for the purposes of penetrating screens and armor. The disadvantage of a volley is that if the volley misses the target, all shots in the volley miss. Thus, when shooting at a hard-to-hit target, it is often preferable to fire each turret as a separate volley. Maximizing the effects of ablating or splashing weapons may also make separate volley preferable.

Weapon mounts on a turret must be fired together in a volley against the same target. Exception: Point-Defense weapons (such as Laser Autocannon) are fired as individual weapons (and can each be fired as different targets) even when they are grouped into logical turrets.

Note: only weapons of the same type may be grouped together in a volley.

[? If a weapon mount may fire more than one shot per segment, these shots must be grouped together in a volley against the same target. If the target is destroyed by the first shot, subsequent shots are lost.] Not sure this makes sense in an 80-second segment, but otherwise record keeping will be a serious pain. Actually, multi-shot weapons should be specifically prohibited from firing in the same volley, since by definition they are firing in different time windows, giving the enemy’s screens a chance to regenerate. The laser autocannons might be an exception, the three barrels possibly being able to fire in rapid succession.

[Optional rule: maybe allow each weapon or volley to fire without previously being declared? This will allow the firing commander to see which shots hit or missed and allocate more fire. The segment is pretty long (80 seconds), so this is plausible.]

[Optional rule: datalinked ships may be able to fire their weapons together as a single volley. They will be required to fly in formation, and be within a certain distance of the “master” ship (to allow for timely synchronization). This could make things very hard on enemy screens, however. All ships are always datalinked.

[I don’t think volleys (in terms of a big damage pool that’s allocated against screens in one go) can really be allowed at all, perhaps even with shots from the same turret. The way defenses work mean that either a multi-shot volley is devastating, or a single shot is totally ineffective. However, volleys of the same weapon type could hit and miss together, even if the damage has to be allocated separately.]

[Optional rule: at extreme range, one might choose to fire a volley as a “spread pattern”, increasing the possibility of achieving a hit, but reducing the number of shots that will do damage. But I guess this isn’t functionally any different than just firing each weapon mount separately.]

[Starfire tactical turns are 30 seconds, SFB turns are (subjectively) about a minute. TODO]

D2.9 Roll to Hit

All beams use the same To Hit table, modified by range and target size/acceleration. Hit rates on capital targets closer than 1 LS will be pretty high. Hit probability is based on target size and distance, and may be modified by ECM, Crew Grade, etc.

Referencing target Size Class with distance, and determine the “to-hit number”. If this number is greater than 2, a roll on 2D6 must be made, equal to or greater than the number specified. A to-hit number of 2 or less is an automatic hit; no roll is required. Only one roll is required for the whole volley; all shots in the volley either hit or miss together.

D2.10 Beam Hit Table

Target Range

Size 0 1-3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10-12 13-15 16-17 18-19 20-22 23-24 25-27 28-30 31-35 36-40

-1 4 3 4 7 8 8 9 10 11 11 12 12 12 12 - - - -

0 6 3 3 4 4 6 7 8 9 10 11 11 11 12 12 12 12 -

1 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 4 6 7 8 9 9 10 10 11

2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 4 7 8 8 9 10 10

3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 5 6 7 8 9

4 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 4 6 7

5 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 4 6

6 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 4

7 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

D2.11 Dodge Rolls

[Fudge Factor: this rule currently exists to attempt to make fighters more survivable. It may eventually be supplemented or replaced by ECM rules.]

[Maybe the Passive Defense could be combined with Dodge as a generic defense roll rather than a separate save? Maybe ECM included in this.]

The Beam Hit table factors both size and average acceleration of target into probability of hit, but some especially small, maneuverable craft (most notably fighters) are so agile that they are harder to hit than would be suggested by just their size and acceleration. This is represented by a “Dodge” roll. This is a number which must be rolled (or higher) on a D6. For example, a typical fighter has a Dodge value of 5+; this means that if “hit” by a beam weapon, the fighter can escape damage by rolling a 5 or 6 on a D6.

See the Small Craft & Missile Table for a list of Dodge values for various unit types.

D2.12 Roll to Damage

If a hit is scored, roll for damage on the weapon-specific damage tables. See each weapon component.

D2.14 Turrets vs. Spinal Mounts

[Optional Rule: the Beam Hit Table assumes that a weapon is mounted on a relatively mobile turret. Beam weapons that are fixed forward on the ship (as on a spinal mount) must be aimed by moving the entire ship. Accordingly, such a weapon will suffer a negative to-hit modifier based on how rapidly and finely the ship can maneuver. Might be based on the Pivot Rate. TODO]

D2.15 Targeting Ship Sections (Optional Rule)

A firing vessel may attempt to deliberately target specific sections of a target vessel of Size 1 or larger. The firing player nominates which section to target, and then rolls to hit on the Beam Hit table, but the targeted ship is treated as two size classes smaller than it is. For example, when trying to target the Forward section of a cruiser (Size 3), the roll would be against a Size of 1. If the roll succeeds, the nominated section is automatically hit and is used for the first round of damage allocation (without a section roll). However, subsequent damage allocation rounds, if any, use the normal procedure and may damage any section randomly.

If using the Directional Damage Allocation rules [D3.5], the section nominated must be available for targeting. (For example, when firing from the front, the firing player may not nominate the Aft section.)

[TODO: If a section-targeted shot missed, but was still a good enough roll that it would have hit as a normal shot, it still may have a chance to hit the ship.]

D3.0 Damage Allocation Procedure

Calculate total damage for the current volley: roll separately for each weapon mount in the volley and total the damage. This total represents the Damage Pool for this volley, which will be applied to a target’s systems.

D3.1 Defenses

Subtract the total of current active, undamaged Defense Screen elements from the damage pool. If the damage pool has not been reduced to zero, mark one Screen element on the target ship as destroyed (see: screen penetration). If the weapon type of the volley has the Screen Splash special rule, also destroy one Screen element for each level (n) of Screen Splash, whether or not there is any damage remaining in the pool, as long as there were at least (n) damage points in the pool to start with.

If there is still damage remaining in the damage pool, subtract the total of current undamaged Armor elements from the damage pool. If the damage pool has still not been reduced to zero, mark one Armor element as destroyed (see: armor penetration). If the weapon type of the volley has the Armor Ablating special rule, also destroy one Armor element for each level (n) of Armor Ablation, whether or not there is any damage remaining in the pool, as long as there were a least (n) damage points in the pool before armor was considered.

If damage penetrates both Screens and Armor, take the remaining damage pool and follow this procedure until it is depleted:

D3.2 Internal Damage

1. Roll a D6 to determine which Section will receive damage: (1=Forward, 2=Left; 3=Right; 4=Center; 5=Aft; 6=Core).

2. If the target ship has no Section of the type rolled, roll again (go to step 1).

3. If this Section has its own armor value, resolve as for regular armor, above. Go to step 6.

4. If there are no undestroyed subsystems in this Section, mark one Structural Integrity box as destroyed. If there are no undestroyed Hull Integrity boxes, roll on the Structural Integrity Failure table. If the ship survives, go to step 6.

5. If there are undestroyed subsystems in this section, choose one (left to right, unless using [D3.2.1]) and apply points from the damage pool, with one point destroying one component, and being subtracted from the damage pool. If there are enough damage points in the pool to completely destroy the subsystem, continue to step 6.

6. Subtract the Hull Soak value from the remaining damage pool.

7. If there are still points remaining in the damage pool, go to step 1 and repeat until the damage pool is depleted.

If there are no more undestroyed elements anywhere on the ship, the ship is considered killed. It may still be boarded or evacuated.

D3.2.1 Random Subsystem Allocation (Optional)

Optional Rule: Although it is simplest to determine which subsystem within a section is hit by going from left to right, it is more realistic to randomize the selection. Roll a D6 and select that subsystem in numerical order (if the number rolled is higher than the number of available subsystems in that section, re-roll).

D3.2.2 Crew Casualties

[Optional Rule: Each destroyed internal component causes (10) crew casualties. If the crew complement falls below a minimum number (either a percentage of the normal crew, or a fixed number specified for each class, TODO), then the crew counts as a skeleton crew (greenhorn crew).]

D3.3 Engine Hits

If the Engine has taken damage, check for reduced thrust. Also, roll on the Critical Hit table for every volley in which there is at least one Engine or Fuel hit. Do not roll more than once per volley, even if there are further Engine or Fuel hits within the same volley.

D3.3.1 Critical Hit table (roll 2D6):

Die Roll Result

2 Catastrophic Overload: Permanent loss of main power. Auxiliary power still available.

3 Major Power Overload: All power lost for 2D6 segments.

4-5 Power Overload: Main power lost for D6 segments.

6-8 No effect.

9 Sensor Overload: May not fire any weapons for D6 segments.

10 Secondary explosion: D6 extra damage added to damage pool.

11 Major Secondary explosion: 2D6 extra damage added to damage pool.

12 Catastrophic Secondary Explosion: ship explodes!

Note: additional damage from a critical hit is applied immediately, starting with the next engine component (if there is one), then hull soak, then next system, etc. If multiple Power Overload results are received on different volleys, the delays are cumulative and run one after the other.

D3.4 Structural Hits

Because of Hull Soak, it may take a very long time to completely destroy every system on a heavily damaged ship. To account for this, when a completely destroyed section takes further damage, it begins to weaken the vessel’s structural integrity and may cause a structural failure that could cripple the ship.

Each ship has a Structural Integrity value; if this is not listed on the ship profile, it defaults to the ship’s Size Class (3 for a cruiser, 4 for a battleship, etc.).

Whenever damage is allocated against section that no longer has any undestroyed components, this is considered a Structural Hit. Hull soak is still subtracted from the damage pool, but one of the ship’s Structural Integrity boxes is also marked as destroyed.

Sections that were originally empty in the undamaged configuration (that is, for ships that do not have that particular section) do not count. Marking a Structural Integrity box as destroyed does not subtract any additional points from the damage pool. Note that the section must already be destroyed before damage is applied in this round; a Structural Hit does not occur in the same damage control round as the last component in the section is destroyed.

If all of a ship’s Structural Integrity boxes are marked as destroyed, and the ship suffers another Structural Hit, then a Structural Integrity Failure has occurred. Roll 1D6 on the Structural Integrity Failure table, below.

D3.4.1 Structural Integrity Failure Table (roll 1D6)

Die Roll Result

1-2 Minor structural failure. Ship still has power but may not use main drives for remainder of battle.

3-4 Major structural failure. Ship loses all power and is effectively dead, but may still be captured or evacuated.

5-6 Catastrophic structural failure. Fuel system loses containment, and ship explodes.

Example: a battleship (size class 4) has almost all of its components destroyed, but still has partial power. A volley of 30 damage points is allocated 4 times against empty sections, and after each it loses one point of Structural Integrity. On the fifth subsystem roll, once again an empty section is chosen; the ship has no remaining Structural Integrity points, so a failure has occurred. A ‘6’ is rolled on the Structural Integrity Failure table, and the battleship explodes.

D3.5 Directional Damage Allocation (Optional)

Optional Rule: Damage coming from a particular direction is more likely to first strike ship sections oriented in that direction; a shot coming from the left side of a ship is not going to first strike the Right section. Also, the Core section is never going to be the first section struck by damage, since it is in the interior of the vessel.

To use this rule, for each volley, determine for the target ship which hex face the volley passed through by drawing a direct like from the firing ship to the target (roll 50/50 in case of a hex-edge). Based on this direction determination, the first section roll will be modified as follows.

On the first round (only) of damage allocation for a given volley, roll a D6 to determine which section is hit on the following table:

D3.5.1 Directional Damage Table (roll 1D6)

Die Roll Direction: A B C D E F

1 1-Forward 1-Forward 5-Aft 5-Aft 5-Aft 1-Forward

2 2-Left 3-Right 3-Right 2-Left 2-Left 2-Left

3 3-Right 3-Right 3-Right 3-Right 2-Left 2-Left

4 4-Center 4-Center 4-Center 4-Center 4-Center 4-Center

5 1-Forward 1-Forward 5-Aft 5-Aft 5-Aft 1-Forward

6 1-Forward 4-Center 3-Right 5-Aft 2-Left 4-Center

After the initial hit, internal damage will spread around the ship normally. For all subsequent rounds of damage allocation for this volley, determine section normally (with an unmodified D6 roll) until the remainder of the damage pool for that volley is expended.

[A simpler way of doing this is as follows: determine which direction the shot is coming from (for example, Forward). Roll a D6. If the result is a 6, or if the result is opposite to where the shot came from (in the example, Aft), then allocate damage against the section that is facing the direction of the shot (again, Forward in this case).]

D4.0 Launch Phase

Any available missiles or small craft may be launched in this phase.

D4.1 Missile Launch

D4.1.1 Weapon Availability

At least one launcher mount must be available to fire. It must be undestroyed, powered, loaded, and any delays from previous firings, loadings or special effects must already have expired. Note that some launchers may fire more than one missile per segment.

D4.1.2 Ordnance

Most launchers require loaded ordnance. Ammo contained within the weapon is noted per type. Extra ammo can be stored separately and reloaded per the reload rules. Launchers also require partial power to fire.

D4.1.3 Salvoes

Missiles of the same type launched by the same ship against the same target are grouped together as salvoes. This grouping is for ease of movement; the salvo is treated as a single unit for purposes of movement, but individual missiles must attack the target separately (they are not treated as one volley for purposes of defense penetration), and the enemy must target each missile separately.

All missiles from a single ship do not have to be grouped into salvoes, but it is easier to do this way. A commander can create as many or as few salvoes as he or she likes, with one exception: missiles must be of the same type and launched from the same ship. to be grouped into a salvo.

The force commander can control the salvoes just like any unit. In addition to the seekers built into the missiles, it is assumed that the launching ship can transmit commands to the weapons.

D4.1.4 Target Lock and Missile Burn

For most seeking weapons, target lock is not required; the missiles can be launched at any time, and hope to find a target when they arrive. Missiles also do not have to burn at their full thrust; they can coast to the target to conserve fuel, and wait around when they arrive for the right time to attack. Most missiles are only limited in endurance by the amount of fuel they carry; they can lie in wait for a target for extended periods. In this manner they can be used as a sort of mine.

D4.2 Auxiliary Craft Launch

During this phase, a ship may launch any small craft that are available and ready to launch. They enter the same hex as the launching vessel, with the same vector. On each segment thereafter, the small craft may operate independently, or as part of a squadron, or may continue in formation with the launching vessel.

A launched small craft can not be recovered again in the same segment that it was launched; it must remain on the map until at least the Launch phase of the next segment, at which time it may be recovered by the same or another ship.

D4.2.4 Small Craft & Missile Table

Pivot Max Dodge Cargo Bay Hard-

Craft Delay Thrust Roll Fuel Crew Space Space Components points Len. Mass Cost

Utility Shuttle +⅓ 4* - 100 2 1 1 - 0 30m 150 t

Heavy Transport Shuttle +½ 3* - 200 4 2 2 C 0 60m 300 t

Assault Shuttle +0 4* - 200 4 2 2 S b 0 60m 300 t 3.75**

Arrow Light Interceptor +0 8 5+ 150 1 1 1 b b 2 30m 200 t 2.5**

Tornado Interceptor +0 8 5+ 300 2 1.5 1 b b 4 35m 250 t 25

Banshee Attack Craft +0 7 6 300 4 2 1 b 8 38m 300 t 7.5**

Lancer Heavy Fighter +0 8 5+ 350 4 2 1 A, b b b 5 44m 400 t 35

Fury Super Fighter +0 8 6 400 4 4 2 SS, A, bb bb bb 6 60m 800 t ?

Medium-range Torpedo +0 8 - 200 0 1/6 - - 0 15m 35 t

Short-range Torpedo +0 10 - 100 0 1/12 - - 0 8m 18 t

Long-range Torpedo +0 12 - 300 0 1/3 - - 0 25m 70 t

Armored Blister +0 8 - 32 0 2 - 40xUSR 0 50m 400 t

“Tolot” USR Torpedo +0 12 - 10 0 1/24 - - 0 6m ................
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