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The Limits of Techology

Yes we do have very advanced technology, but we make it so we can still have battles that are still fun to RP, you probably just read around what type of technology we had and assumed everything on that. Why don't you have a look at some of the current RP's going on then re evaluate what you are saying, I mean some places are still in the bronze age, look at "Dark Ononi" In the general roleplay thread!
 
Part of my strategy is to keep the more fantastic technologies from spreading (part of the reason the Star Army is looking to wipe out or conquer any race that's advanced as them or more so). As the story goes one, the focus will shift to less advanced areas, leaving some of the "problematic" tech in the background and out of sight, out of mind.

In all seriousness, some of the technologies people have been submitting make me cringe--this RP setting has all the tech it needs, as far as the level of technology goes. I'd much rather see the amount of technologies widen instead of going up (more ships of a more acceptable tech level, etc).

I'm also considering implementing a limited stats system, for damage to starships and structures, since the number-crunching can prove rather diffcult.
 
How about ships with antimatter beam/pulse, or neutron weaponry? And a standard tri-system defenses; gravimetric, electromagnetic and PD systems.

Would these be allowed?

Also, do we have to use one of the pre-designed SA armour alloys, or can we use existing ones, such as carbon nanotubing and such?

I'm considering designing a new race for "MRP" specifically for use on SA, just wanted these questions answered first.
 
I suppose so. I'd have to see it to say for sure, though.
 
Would it be at all useful for a fighter ship to be designed to be used for hit and run tactics to weaken enemy forces for infantry assults and things like that but also be agile enough and capable of defending itself agaist enemy ships and power armour? It is just that I would really like to make something along those lines.
 
I believe the role of softening up a target location would either fall to an orbiting warship or it would come down to the powersuits themselves. All things considered, nothing is more versitile than a human sized vechical that moves several times the speed of sound and can be equiped with the right weapon for any job. Weakening an enemy postion from long range would just require a shoulder mounted cannon or smilar.
 
Maybe, but I still think that if all else fails with this ship, the Lorath still want it and it it would be very fun to RP with!
 
Kotori said:
...though I'd really like it if it'd turn out like how things are in Crest of the Stars/Banner of the Stars or even Descent Freespace 2 (actually, in terms of scope, FS2 has a lot in common with the SARP).
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I love the Crest of the Stars/ Banner of the Stars Battles, there so tense and exciting. FS2 though I've never seen.
 
http://www.freespace2.com/

Descent Freespace 2 is a space combat simulator in which you pilot fightercrafts, but the battle do revolve around massive capital ships too.

...as for Crest of the Stars... it's possibly the most intelligent science-fiction anime series available on the market. A web search could net you some decent info, but I'd really recommend taking the time to watch it (try to survive the show's opening - it's extremely dull, but the rest is very well thought out, though the series pace is a bit sluggish).

Banner of the Stars, it's sequel, has a lot more ship-to-ship combat and fleet maneuvers.
 
I have been keeping track of this discussion since it started, and I have noticed that it has not only had many logical opinions. But, unfortunately as well it has once again been an opportunity for people to get on their "soap boxâ€
 

Wee, so it isn't just me and a few of the oldbies that don't like that loud fussy group.
 
I like the tech level as it is, and think that limiting tech development would be a very bad idea. I think we should limit the construction of some of the more unfeasable tech however, and demand greater descrpitions of some of those already accepted.

I'm also considering implementing a limited stats system, for damage to starships and structures, since the number-crunching can prove rather diffcult.
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I'd really be against this one, it's really limiting on tech development, and the exploration of these ideas.
 
Zakalwe said:
I'd really be against this one, it's really limiting on tech development, and the exploration of these ideas.
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How, exactly?
 
Because a system like: light, medium, heavy critical etc does not sum up the capacity of a weapon.

There are also subtelties to weapons, weapons that will effect one type of shields but not another (for example gravitic weapons have no effect on most SA ships due to their immunity to gravity), weapons that you can know how powerfull they are in order to show how effective they will be against shields. That is unless you are planning on creating a system of shields as well. And this in itself limits the power by a certain number of degrees, since there are only so many slots of power available, wheras if weapons simply use the watts and tonne range, it keeps it roughly simply. Number crunching isn't that hard, I'm incompetant at maths to an extreme, but manage to do it with these weapons. In fact I find it far harder when a weapon does not have a tonne or watt rating, like the Aetheric beams.

Can't think of much more right now.
 
Wee, so it isn't just me and a few of the oldbies that don't like that loud fussy group.
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Its heartwarming to hear those words. Its comforting to know that I dont stand alone when it comes to preserving the good we have here.

I'm also considering implementing a limited stats system, for damage to starships and structures, since the number-crunching can prove rather diffcult.
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I think that is a bad idea as well. I believe that part of the fun of roleplay is being creative with how and where to take the "hits" or "damage". Course I am a bit -biased- on this topic from my service for the YSE in the GE universe and previous experiences in Ayenee.
 

Bit late to be on topic for me, but werd. Unless an entire, vast system is created, incorporating different weapon types, their effects and aftereffects, I would just stick with describing the effects and giving the energy or impact values...

Also, I truly, truly agree with the tech level point. READ STUFF BEFORE YOU POST! OBEY!!

[rant]

[/rant]

there! get it now?!
 
I do not know much about the physics and technology involved in the SARP. I can understand basic concepts, the idea behind a function, but go too technical and you just lose me.

Just the other day, Wes tried explaining to me the functioning of the CDD/CFS along with how aether was projected. I. Didn't. Understand. A. Thing. I read and didn't get it. I asked for explanations and still didn't get it.

It's extremely frustrating! Makes me feel dumb and stupid. And the one thing I can do decently well, roleplaying, is stunted because I don't quite grasp the extent of the technology in the SARP.

But I'm sure some of you have learned this before, so I'll move on. Let's just say I wanted to outline motivations before moving in.

I look at the ship description and I see shields. I see ablative armor. I see weapons that are light, moderate, heavy, very heavy and 'total annihiliation' damage.

But just what are those damage values really representing? If a positron cannon, able to turn a planet into lots of Corn Flakes, does Heavy Damage on a ship, what am I supposed to expect out of a weapon when it's used in ship-to-ship combat when I see that the Mindy armor can sustain light and moderate damage, but heavy tends to make it lose pieces.

Just what is light damage? what is it going to do to a ship? Is it going to hurt a scoutship more than a gunship? There's no reference for me, no way of understanding why shields will absorb damage in one case and not in another - for example, an Irim gunship fires it's aether beams on a Nozomi scout and the nozomi's shield are only 'lightly damaged'. Projected aether are total annihilation weapons, far worse than 'very heavy' and the YSS Nozomi just shrugged it off. On the other hand, the Nozomi fires a 'Heavy' damage AS-7 torpedo and the thing blows up the gunship. WHY? HOW?!

Give me a reference, a way of understanding if a weapons makes pockmarks, burns in the paint, scorchmarks, gouges, rents in the hull, gaping hull breaches, explosions, smash a third of a ship into loose debris depedning on the forcefield and armor values, as well as an idea of how resistant one ship is in comparison to another.

And don't give me scientific explanations, I won't understand them, though I do appreciate the flavor they provide. I'm happy enough knowing that Photon torpedoes hit hard, weaken shields lots, really mess up a ship's hull and that a Klingon Bird of Prey without shielding will be crippled/destroyed after 2 or 3 while the Enterprise-A, a bigger ship with better shield, will take half-a-dozen with a whimper but will still move on.
 
I think it is safe to say that arguments about current tech levels are noty going to acheive much as the chances of them being dramatically changed is very low.
 
That wasn't what I mean.

Okay, lemme use an example of how 'scale' could be determined.

Let's say we have shield, armor and structural values. Shield values is the amount of punishment shields can blunt before an attack goes to armor in a single exchange of weapon attacks. Armor does essentially the same thing but is always applied. Structure is the hypothetical amount of punishment a ship can take before it goes *crack*.

I can take up a few references based on size, armor thickness and CDD power to determine those.

Irim-class gunship
Defenses
Shield 10, Armor 12, Structure 110

Sakura-class gunship
Defense
Shield 24, Armor 3, Structure 22

The Irim is a big brute compared to the state-of-the-art Sakura-class... so while it's beefier and better armored, the Sakura does have potent shields that allows it to soak a lot of punishment. Still, the Irim is so much more massive that it'd probably be hard to put down.

From the CDD speed, movement values can be determined too. Some special abilities could be taken into account too, like the Sakura's WARMS.

Irim-class gunship
Mobility
Slow Speed, Hyperspace-capable, Cloak

Sakura-class gunship
Mobility
Fast Speed, Hyperspace-capable, WARMS (avoid main gun attacks), Cloak

And then weapon damage values could come into play, with range and special abilities that could be added to them. If I use values such as 5 for light, 10 for moderate, 15 for heavy and 20 for very heavy damage... I could hatch examples like this :

Anti-Fleet Cannon
Damage 1d6xshield value, main gun-type weapon, long range, target groups, Shield powered (shield protection nil while in use)

Projected aether beams
Damage=shield value, long range, shield piercing (double damage versus shield), Shield powered (shield protection nil while in use)

Positron-Railgun
Damage 20, Moderate range, Armor Piercing (defender's armor value halved)

Variable weapon pods
Damage 10, Short range, choose one special (Damage+5, Point-Defense, Disable, Shield Piercing)

* * *

Before some of you gasp in horror or howl in denial, I only mean this as an example. I could very well see that sort of thing be in a small statblock at the end of a ship entry simplifying the technobabble to a set of simpler stat figures. This is really only trading card game complexity... which isn't all that bad and I know it'd help me visualize things better.

There's no need to turn the SARP into a tabletop ship combat game, but just having the numbers for reference would be a big boon, I think. The other people whom don't want to bother with it could just ignore it... but I feel it'd be a good thing to know.
 
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