Dramatic SFB: Convoy Battles

Sun May 26 17:16:03 PDT 2019

Wow I go away for the weekend and POW, Matt when can we finish up?

On Sat, May 25, 2019 at 11:32 PM Wayne Power via SFBdrama <
sfbdrama at lists.mattnet.org> wrote:

> Well not the build part of the turn yet (the DN and DD will have to wait),
> Federation RTA.
>
>
> On Sunday, 26 May 2019, 13:25, Wayne Power via SFBdrama <
> sfbdrama at lists.mattnet.org> wrote:
>
>
> I will quickly build a DNa+ and a DD+ and be RTA.
>
>
> On Sunday, 26 May 2019, 12:06, Francois Lemay via SFBdrama <
> sfbdrama at lists.mattnet.org> wrote:
>
>
> I'm with Randy, how are we doing for RTAing ?
>
> Cheers
> Frank
>
> On Saturday, May 25, 2019, 02:42:24 p.m. EDT, Randy Blair via SFBdrama <
> sfbdrama at lists.mattnet.org> wrote:
>
>
> All that being said, are we ready to advance the turn?
>
> On Sat, May 25, 2019, 1:41 PM Matt via SFBdrama <
> sfbdrama at lists.mattnet.org> wrote:
>
>
> > Sorry it's 2 issues
> > 1. Speed
> > 2. Power
> >
> > It's not just speed, its any power loss is catastrophic, make sense?
>
>
> Sure, the CS has less static power. But with any batteries, the CS has
> much more power than the FT.
>
>
> Power curves:
>
> The CS has 8 static power and 30 (!) reserve power. After Panels and
> Life Support the CS has 4.5 static pwr left. So it can run at speed 12
> and run LPFC without dipping into it's batts.
>
> The FT has 14 static power and no (!) reserve power. After Shields, Life
> Support, LPFC, and 20 movement, it has 3 power left.
>
>
> Damage Tolerance:
>
> Presuming that the CS doesn't dip into batts for reinforcing it's panels
> (an unlikely situation, but run with it) then the CS being chased will
> suck up 18 damage before internals. If someone manages the 5% chance and
> tags a panel, the power dumps to the fronts and becomes a non-issue in
> the short-term. Otherwise, it's greater than 18 perfect-roll internals
> before all batteries are hit (averages make it more like 28 internals)
> and the CS is then unable to clear the panels or run the ship. This
> makes for 46 damage before the CS becomes a wreck.
>
> The FT has 12 shields on the flanks and roughly 6 more internals
> (depending on how kind the DAC is to one ship or another.) The less
> shielding and greater volume balance out, leaving them both at
> approximately the same durability levels when taking a single volley.
>
> Things change in the favor of PA panels when taking several hits, as the
> panels can be cleared while the shields cannot be. Additionally, the
> Panels can be made to absorb 12 more damage if the CS is willing to
> spend a couple of battery power - the FT can only add 3 in order to do
> the same.
>
> Panel leakage happens when the CS takes 6 disruptor damage or 9 damage
> while reinforced, on the rear panels. This hits hull (3) and then cargo
> (12) before it can hit anything else. The chances of this hitting
> something important over the course of the game is very slight and
> requires that the opponent not use large volleys. Small volleys
> constitute a best case for the Andromedans because of a host of other
> interactions - In short, don't use small volleys if you want to kill CSs.
>
>
> Seeker Defense:
>
> The FT has a pair of Ph-3s (good to kill off 1-2 drones) and a drone
> rack (if running LPFC, you would have to silence a Ph-3 to use anything
> else in the Option mount) that could kill another drone.
>
> The CS has a pair of Ph-2s and a pair of mines. Because a Ph-2 won't
> auto-kill a drone, you'd be better off using them as Ph-3s against
> drones and letting the capacitor give you a second shot for no extra
> power. If the drones aren't bunched up, then the CS could kill the same
> 2-3 drones that the FT can kill. Otherwise it comes out in favor of the
> CS when stopping a Scatterpack.
>
> When speaking of plasma, they are both in a similar pickle as their
> phaser arrays are roughly the same (best case at LPFC is that the FT has
> a Ph-2 and Ph-3, the CS has a pair of Ph-2s. 7.833 average damage vs
> 8.333 average damage, respectively.)
>
>
> Other bits:
>
> Electronic Warfare is an important piece of the puzzle. If willing to
> forgo bricking the shield, the FT can put 3 into ECM. Without batteries,
> this has to be allocated and the opponent can see and overcome this
> level before firing. The CS can go all the way to 6 ECM (for 4-6 turns),
> and in a fashion that leaves the opponent doubt as to how to allocate
> their own counter-EW.
>
> Disengagement rules for the scenario won't let anyone leave by
> accelleration until the end of turn 7. The CS's can't do this at all,
> and the FTs are generally either mostly dead or mostly untouched by this
> point. Disengagement by distance is possible before this point -
> something that the higher FT speeds make into a reasonable hope by
> turn-5-ish. Disengagement by sublight evasion is certainly possible
> except that the scenario victory conditions will turn into an Attacker
> Victory, as crippled freighters don't give the defender any victory
> benefit.
>
>
> Wrapping it up:
>
> The Free Trader can hit a higher speed - speed 20 (maximum allowed by
> the scenario), while the CS is stuck at speed 12. This makes a late-game
> disengagement a possibility for the FTs. In order to do that, it becomes
> incumbant on the defensive Galactic ships to screen the freighters until
> the freighters can get some significant distance from the attacker
> weapons. In the case of the Andromedan defenders, they would have to go
> more aggressive than a galactic defense would need to be. Considering
> the Andromedan need for short-but-not-point-blank ranges, this dovetails
> with their normal strategy fairly nicely.
>
> The Cargo Sleds have more durability in almost every situation. When
> using reinforced panels, they can absorb 9 more damage. When using EW,
> they can often get a shift. When setting up the opponent to hit a
> different bank of panels, they can set up fresh "shields" for the next
> attack. The only case that they can "merely" get parity to the Free
> Trader is if they are dry of battery power and at the same time unable
> to maneuver the opponent on a different bank (presuming the attacker
> isn't simply dry of weapons for the next 10 or so impulses.)
>
>
> Different fleets and different systems employed by those fleets will
> require different tactics. This applies to the defensive fleets and
> their systems as well as the systems employed by the attacking fleets.
>
> Since the Andromedans have slower freighters, then they need to adjust
> their tactics accordingly: screen the vulnerable freighters with "naval"
> ships. Since the Andromedans have close-in weapon systems, they need to
> get aggressive. Since their panels make them class-for-class much harder
> to score internals on, they can push harder to get that short attack range.
>
> The Galactics have their own challenges. Their freighters cannot stand
> long-range sniping for long. Nor can they (on their own) dissuade an
> opponent from chasing them by using (hidden) mines. This lends itself to
> the Galactics needing to screen their freighters (as with the Andros.)
>
> The result (generally speaking) is a wash. Both sets of defenses screen
> the freighters with the naval units to get the freighters outside the
> envelope of the battle. The Free Traders are better at getting away on
> their own and the Cargo Sleds are better at withstanding the barrage
> until their screening units becomes to dangerous for the attackers to
> simply chase the freighters.
>
> --Matt
>
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