Another Level for Heavy Combat

Not doing much for the storyline here, but I'm starting to work out ship-to-ship maneuvering around a planetary body. It complicates matters a bit, because players (or overworked moderators) will need to note things like course and bearing, and concern themselves with their position and range relative to each other, as well as the local planetary body. Course (with 'up' being 000 degrees, 'down' being 180 degrees, and so on), bearing (the position of the planet relative to your ship), and range to the planet. Dividing the planet into eight separate 45 degree segments (000-45, 45-90, 90-135, 135-180, 180-225, 225-270, 270-315, 315-000) creates a pretty effective positioning system, and by keeping this in mind as you note range, course and bearing lets you plot your position pretty accurately. We aren't talking GPS obviously, but for a starship in orbit, it's effective enough. And how do we define ranges 1, 2, 3 anf 4? Range 1 is the range at which you have LOS (line of sight) at 45 degrees separation. Range 2 is the range at which you have LOS at 90 degrees. Range 3 is the range at which you have LOS at 135 degrees. Range 4 is the range at which you have LOS at 180 degrees. So the range calculation is actually abritrary and dependant upon your position relative to your opponent and the planet. All of that covers range to the planet and is just used to calculate LOS. Ship-to-ship range is calculated normally. The actually length of the ship is one unit of range.

The point to all this is the opportunity to have orbital combat, using the planet as an obstacle, or tool, depending on your point of view. Weapons and transporters all require line of sight. This will also require a slightly modified combat phase template to include the course, range and bearing. Anticipate fine-tuned rules on transporting boarding parties as well as lowering shields for transport, as well as hit and run parties using existing rules for ground combat. This is all with the aim of providing yet another level of gameplay available to heavy combat players. And as always, players are encouraged to write logs, in prose, for others to read.

I'm aware that Fantasy Trek gets a fair number of visitors, and while I'd certainly appreciate a bit of feedback, and maybe even someone gutsy enough to be a beta tester, I'm just glad that people are looking in. I write fiction and poetry because it gives me, in effect, a free book that has everything in it I'd like, and Fantasy Trek serves the purpose of giving me a free Star Trek game that has every element I could ask for. The point is, Fantasy Trek is a free Trek game for anyone who wants to play it. It may not have flash graphics or a smart AI, but it still requires thought and imagination. What's more, anyone can write scripts for it. No C++ required. And that reminds me of something else. "Enterprise" fans, I'm planning to write a series of scenarios to make a playable "Xindi" game. All of the story arc episodes of season three will be the first big Fantasy Trek Mod. The PC game that should have been. "Star Trek Enterprise: Xindi" for Fantasy Trek. Who doesn't wish they could have that game, and for free?


You're welcome to be a part of it.

Kapact

What is Fantasy Trek?
The Only 'Star Trek: The Experience' You Can Still Experience
http://fantasytrek.blogspot.com