As might be expected, every vessel is buit with different specifications and goals in combat. Some might be built as gunships and battlecruisers, fast and well armed but lightly armored. Others are main ships of the line, armed to the teeth and armored with meters of thick durasteel and hull plating. Still others are corvettes, fast and maneuverable but lacking the guns to stand toe-to-toe with other major warship. Whatever the case, each vessel has three major statistics that will affect it in combat.
Hull
The hull rating is the most important statistic of a warship. One the hull rating drops to zero, the ship explodes/implodes and all life onboard is extinguished in very short order. In terms of the sim, the hull rating is equal to the length of the ship rounded up to the next one-hundreds place.
Shields
Shields often consist of several electrical barriers raised between the hull of the vessel and the outer environment. In combat, these shields serve to stop incoming projectile and laser beams, deflecting some of the damage and allowing the vessel to survive longer. The one major failing is that shields draw a lot of power and under a concentrated barrage will fall quickly. In terms of the sim, shields are equivalent to twenty-five percent of the ship's hull rating.
Power
The third most critical element of a warship's ability to fight is its power output. When a vessel engages in battle, it can only fire as many weapons and activate as many shields as it has the power to support. As combat progresses, power levels drop as the damage is accrued and internal systems begin to short out. In terms of the sim, power is equal to the ship's hull rating.
The Plain of Battle
Combat in the sim take place on a 15 x 15 grid with a planet at the center.
Light Green Squares mark the planetary defense sphere. Ground-based weapons and orbital platforms may fire on any vessel within this sphere. Also, ships may not open Jump Points within the spehere as they are under the influence of the planetary gravity well.
Red Squares mark the sites where troops may land to assault the planetary defenders.
Vessels may move freely through any square on the gird, assuming that there are no enemy vessels in the target square. For the purposes of the sim, all planetary guns and orbital platforms are located in H8 (the central square of the planet)
Detection of Hostile Vessels
As might be expected, there is a limit as to how far sensors can see throughout the system, which in turn can allow an enemy force to lurk outside of sensor range. To put it simply, if an enemy vessel or fighter group is outside the planetary defense sphere, they cannot be detected. Capital Ships and Starfighters have a detection range of four squares around them.
Special Exception: If the ship is equipped with a Minbari Stealth Device, the enemy ship MUST be one space closer than normal.
Order of Actions
In combat, actions take place in a certain order as vessels wheel about to fire on each other and fighter craft move about the battle zone to attack targets of oppurtunity. In combat, the order of actions determines in what order events are resolved and who takes damage first, etc. The following actions take place IN ORDER that they are given.
Movement Phase
Interplanetary Communications take place
Capital Ship and Starfighter Movement
Starfighters move into Fighter vs. Fighter Combat
Starfighters move in to strafe Capital Ships
Shuttles move in to begin boarding actions
Jump Points and Jump Gates open for vessels moving through them
Starfighters launch from Capital Ships and Planets/Orbital Stations
Firing Phase
Starfighters strafe Capital Ships
Capital Ships/Orbital Stations automated defenses return fire against Starfighters
Capital Ships fire on Capital Ships and Starfighters
Planetary Defenses and Orbital Defenses fire on Capital Ships and Starfighters
Assault Phase
Troops deploy from Shuttles to land on the Planet
Troops deploy from Shuttles/Drop Pods to execute boarding actions
Repair/Withdrawl Phase
Fighter vs. Fighter Combat ends
Shields undergo repairs
Hulls undergo repairs
Starfighters dock with Capital Ships and Planets/Orbital Stations
Weapons Ranges
For successful firing to take place, the enemy vessel must first be brought into range of the guns of the attacking ship. To determine whether or not this has happened, count the number of spaces outward from the attacking ship's location.
Example: An Omega-class Destroyer in B3 opens fire on a ship in E2. It can fire with its full compliment of Lasers and Pulse Cannon because the vessel is within 3 squares away. However, the Fusion Missiles are out of range and cannot be fired.
Firing Arcs
As might be guessed, it is impossible to mount every gun on a ship on a turret and give it a full-around three-hundred-and-sixty degree range of fire. Instead, weapons are fitted to cover arcs of approach to the ship, most often with most of then pointed forward. In combat, a ship may fire 100% of its guns forward, 50% to port and starboard and 25% aft, rounding down. Note that if you fire one weapon system to port, you cannot fire the same system forward as well as it has already discharged.
Example: An Omega-class Destroyer in D5 opens fire on targets to her front, port and aft arcs. She fires 5 Heavy Particle Lasers, 5 Heavy Pulse Cannon, 3 Particle Lasers and 3 Pulse Cannon forward, 6 Particle Lasers and 6 Pulse Cannon to port and 3 Particle Lasers and 3 Pulse Cannon aft.
Entering and Exiting Hyperspace
When a vessel makes the jump from hyperspace to normal space, there are massive power requirements made in order to power the Jump Engines and allow the ship to execute the jump safely. As such, the vessel often lack the power necessary to allow the various weapons system to operate at full efficiency while the vessel is leaving hyperspace. To represent this, the vessel may only fire into her forward arc and may only use 50% of her total weapons.
When entering hyperspace, a vessel may only use the weapons in her rear arc, but these may fire at full power.
Damage to Ships Systems and Hull Integrity
As combat progresses, ships will almost certainly suffer damage, loss of atmosphere when armored plated rupture and system failures as power conduits overload and short out. In terms of the sim, when a vessel's hull rating drops to zero, the vessel detonates and becomes a floating field of debris and garbage. From that point on, it is impossible to repair or salvage the vessel and all character onboard are killed if they had not already escaped onto the life pods.
As power levels drop, systems onboard the ship begin to fail. Not as many guns are available, hangar operations are disrupted and life support begins to fail. If a ship is repeatedly mauled by enemy fire, it can quickly be disabled and left to drift until it can later be salvaged for study.
80%
60%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Fire Control can now only bring 75% of total weaponry online.
Fire Control can now only bring 50% of total weaponry online.
Launch Control cannot execute any docking procedures.
Launch Control is now offline. No vessels may launch on dock.
Fire Control can now only bring 25% of total weaponry online.
Life Pods are now offline.
Engineering is now offline. The vessel may no longer jump to hyperspace, execute turns or move to a different square. Hull repairs are halted.
Fire Control is now offline.
Self Destruct is now offline.
Life Support is now offline.
Starfighter Launches
When Starfighters launch from Capital Ships, they are at their most vulnerable point. During launch, sensor screens are obscured by the Capital Ship and other Starfighters in close proximity. In the event of an attack, Starfighters that have launched during that post may only fight back with half of their Fighter vs. Fighter rating, rounding down.
Fighter vs. Fighter Combat
In Fighter vs. Fighter combat, starfighters from both sides clash in a square to begin a melee and hopefully destroy the other side or at least damage them enough to force a retreat. The Fighter vs. Fighter Combat acts like a miniature order of actions within the larger framework.
Opening Phase
The attacking fighters move into the same square as an enemy group of fighters. Simple enough.
Firing Phase
Each side adds up the FvF Ratings of their fighters and divides by ten, rounding down. This is the total number of enemy destroyed.
Example: 12 Thunderbolt and 12 Starfury Fighters engage an enemy formation. They destroy 9 enemy fighters (4.8 + 3.6).
Losses Phase
Each side incurs the losses suffered during combat. The controlling player chooses how damage is allocated to their force in the event that there are different types of craft involved in the combat.
Example: 12 Frazi Fighters and 3 Transports suffer 7 losses during Fighter vs. Fighter Combat. The Narn player chooses to lose 7 Fighters rather than risk one of the Transports.
Consolidation Phase
During this phase, if the defending force has been destroyed the attacking force moves to occupy the now-vacant square assuming that there are no enemy Capital Ships or Installations there. Otherwise, the attacking Starfighters fall to the square they attacked from.
Starfighter Strafing Runs
In order for Starfighters to perform a strafing run on an enemy Capital Ship or Orbital Station, they must first move into the same square as that vessel. Fighter vs. Capital Ship Combat then takes place in two steps.
Strafe Phase
During the Strafe Phase, the Starfighters attacking the Capital Ship/Orbital Station deal the full output of all their weapon systems.
Consolidation Phase
The automated defenses return fire against the attacking fighters. If the enemy Capital Ship has been destroyed and there are no other enemy units in the square, the attacking fighters move into the now-vacant square.
Example: 12 Thunderbolts execute a Strafing Run against a damaged Omega-class Destroyer. The Thunderbolts do enough damage to destroy the enemy ship, but lose 2 of their number to the Destroyer's automated weapons. As the enemy vessel has been destroyed and there are no other units present, the Thunderbolts move into the now vacant square.
Boarding Actions
A tactic considered by many naval commanders to be brutal and cunning, boarding actions involve sending numerous ground troops across space in pods or shuttles in an effort to disable the enemy vessel in a lightning assault on key areas such as the engineering sector, fire control nexus or bridge. If succesful, a boarding action can often end with the enemy ship totally crippled and out of the fight.
There are two forms of delivery for troops during a boarding action: boarding pods and shuttles. The first method of delivery is used solely by the Earth Alliance as something of an all-or-nothing tactic, committing fifty Marines in a full attack which can end only with the capture of the ship or the deaths of the attackers. The second, and far more reasonable method, involves the sending of troops via shuttle to burn through the hull of the enemy ship and pour troops in. While this tactic allows for a route of retreat should the attack fail, the shuttles can be shot down enroute by enemy Starfighters and Capital Ships, leaving the troops somewhat vulnerable.
Boarding Pods
Each Boarding Pod can carry fifty Marines or equivalent troops which are equipped for boarding actions. Note that Boarding Pods are used only by the Earth Alliance at this time.
Boarding Pods cross can cross one square during the phase for Boarding Actions to impact on the hull of the enemy vessel. The enemy craft loses twenty points of hull integrity for every pod that lands on the enemy ship and then combat begins.
Shuttles
Shuttles are able to carry varying numbers of troops, depending on the design specifications. Note that all troops must be capable of executing boarding actions. Shuttles, not being equipped for hull-cutting, must land in the enemy landing bays and airlocks and allow the troops to force a bridgehead. Consequently, Shuttles do no damage to the enemy vessel when they land.
Fighting occurs between the force landing on the enemy vessel and on half of the enemy vessel's troop compliment. Combat is worked out exactly as in Ground Combat and losses are taken. Also, if the attacking force was able to inflict more casualties on the defenders than they received, the enemy vessel suffers a ten percent reduction to power levels as the attack troops wreak havoc with the internal systems.
Repairs
During combat as the firefight rages through the void, within every ship automated systems and crew work to seal ruptures in the hull and bring the ship back to full fighting ability. To represent this in the sim, ships can repair one percent of their total hull integrity and five percent of their power level per post.
Ramming
This is the one instance in which a Capital Ship may enter a square containing an enemy warship.
In order to ram, the attacking vessel MUST be smaller than the intended target. During the collision, the ramming vessel is completely destroyed as the reactors have been rigged to overload and all magazines have been set to auto-detonate their full payloads. The majority of the crew evacuates before hand, the commander and his command staff remaining behind to insure the vessel reaches the intended target. Note that this means that the character executing the ram will end up dead. The vessel suffering the ramming attack takes damage equal to the ramming vessel's remaining hull integrity, received as normal damage.
Self Destruct
While seen as dishonorable by many races, the use of Self Destruct Devices has been seen throughout the galaxy as a means to insure the survival of key tactical advantages by preventing them from falling into enemy hands. When a Self Destruct Device is activated the crew will evacuate the ship if possible. If not, then the entire crew will perish horribly in the resulting explosion and the character commanding the vessel will be dead. Note that once a vessel has self destructed, its component parts MAY NOT be salvaged by another Faction for analysis or study without the approval of the Sim GM.