I am working on the space station data card and planing some rules for play testing, so before I go and scew up your plans with my home rules I was wondering if you had any plans for the following.

1 initiative of the or any other station I was thinking of making it 0.

2 what would the size of the blast marker be for superships if you planed that far ahead.

3 finally I was planing on making the station block line of sight for friend and foe alike,and or penalties to hit ships if partially obstructed los is determined.(partially los would be seeing any part of the vessle other than its support on its base.)

I ask this because I plan on submitting the model and its house rules for play when done.

Andorax could get into the technical details, but if you want to discuss background stuff, I'm willing to work with you.

We might be able to find a nifty way to introduce the space station into the overall storyline and we might be able to create a really cool scenario in which it's used together.

In my opinion, I think the station should fire on init band 1.

init of 1 is a start and right now that is all I am looking for.
as for the blast marker the 3" dia. when place on the center of the station will never come close to any other ships, the station is 12" x 12".
we were thinking multiple blasts at the ends of the arms maybe even randomly going off as the station gets closer to complete destruction .takeing away attacks and anything else in that arm with it.

You may consider what I've been considering for future space stations and giving each of the arms a separate TOS and the ability to destroy each arm independently. Once three arms are gone, the station is effectively destroyed.

So far both ideas are great.

I like the fact that each arm should produce its own blast template for any ships that might be in the vicinity. I also like the multiple TOS idea.

Also -

If you feel like making a spacedock/large planetary space platform, I have a scenario in one of my upcoming campaigns that could use one.

multiple tos you may have some thing there.one for each arm with its own attacks and special actions it may have.and one for the comand center that sends orders to each arm,and maybe with just short of the command capacity to have every arm do every action.

now as for this spacedock do you mean one that surrounds a vessel,
because you will be able to dock with this station and rearm/repair in combat but at great risk.

If it was me, I would create one large vertically set TOS that has 4 damage sliders stacked one on top of the other representing each arm of the station. Each arm would have a visible number on it which corresponds to that slider. I would try to keep all the potential order switches on a single TOS as well. Sure it would be a big damn TOS but it might actually look cool and have its own unique feel.

True. If a station costs a ton of points, anyway, you'd only have the one giant TOS plus maybe two or three more.

Also, if the station has a repair order, use the carrier's as an example, only modified slightly for larger ships. I'd say that capital ships or larger only get a bonus to their repair roll, while smaller vessels repair one mark when docked with the station (because large ships already have a giant advantage in combat, and I highly doubt a space station would be the ideal repair platform for large ships).

When someone says Space Station, I usually think of them as independent stationary vessels that act as a stopping point out in space, far from any planet. Naturally, their large size could support their own food supply and recycling facilities that give them a larger freedom from having to have supplies shipped to them constantly. They might have a singular purpose other than a way point, and can be modified for that purpose. Since they are powerfully armed, it suggests that they don't count on a planetary fleet to come to their aid immediately when pirates or some other riff-raff come calling.

Space docks that surround larger vessels are for repairing/building large ships. Primarily, they aren't always manned or used on a continual basis unless its wartime. They rely on constant resupply from a planet or nearby base of operations, either for the crew or for parts to fix/build ships. They would not be heavily armed because most of their bulk is dedicated to its main function.

When I say "planetary space platform" I mean a giant scaffolding like structure that hangs above a planet with a giant space elevator that runs from the surface to the platform - it mostly houses a giant science and supply staff that do things in orbit above the planet that can't be done planet-side or done better in space. Like our present space station in orbit above Earth, it's not meant to be self-sufficient beyond a few months. However, small ships can dock and repair or help effect repairs to the platform. Whether or not it is heavily armed largely depends on the economy and importance of the planet it orbits.

Anyway, those are my big ideas when it comes to large, stationary space structures.

I see what you are saying about the repairs, so lets set it up like this.
ships that dock with the station get a +1 for every repair button dedicated to it from the station for up to +4 max bonus. plus any thing that ship could do for its self.

I also planned on resupply (ie hammerhead needs more missiles.)
one per turn only if the station does not fire it missiles that turn.
so that adds up to one turn to dock one to relode, one to depart back into battle.and three turn of prayer as the enemy will have free shots at docked ships. or at least bonuses to hit.

as for the tos Ithink one big one is the way to go.I can custom the buttons on the bridge that feeds each arm its ration of orders, and the arms only have four that they can do fire,repair,dock,launch.on the other hand the bride will need one special,one scramble, and four for each arm noting
the amount of orders given to an arm per turn.maybe I will have some room left over for stats the card is looking like a paperback book now

Okay, that's doable. Stations should have a set number of reloads and missiles itself, though. That can be its special action that can only be used once per round. It should somehow be connected to the Fire Missile switch, so when you flip it for one action, it deactivates the second.

Make sure that the station as a whole has only one autofire weapon that covers 360 degrees of the station. If it needs to be pretty potent, just up the potential marks of damage it can do.

Another point I'd throw in. Ships that are docked cannot fire their weapons. Otherwise I'd just dock my ships to the station for the resupply value and the cover of it's primary gun and fighters and add my firepower directly. A few hammerheads docked in this way would make a nearly impregnable fortress.

What about a magazine hit as well? Much more likely on a stationary target. Especially when the enemy knows exactly where the magazine is because they are former members of the same military.

Sorry if these have already been addressed and I just missed the posts.

Also consider. IF a space station is in the midst of general quarters and under attack, are its personnel going to be able to leave their stations to effect repairs on the docked starships? Seems to me they would be limited to ammunition reloads and emergency evacuations. Doesn't seem like they could effect significant repairs while fighting their space station.

I can't see the pictures here at work, so I'm going by the descriptions I read. Are the arms of the station removable? Just thinking from a configurable standpoint that it would be neat if you could have a station with more or less "arms". Thereby affecting the size of your TOS and capabilities. Might be too complex to manage.

I think you should keep it simple. Just making a ship inordinately complex does not necessarily make for a fun game. Its about the fleet scale fight, and not the individual ships.

Essentially, the space station will have guns that are soooo strong, that the enemy has only one strategy, overwhelm in one fatal stroke. So trying to make the ship TOS and card too powerful isn't going to make the game more fun.

Base stations probably guard planets, key Wormholes, and act as fleet supply and support. They'd have fire support weapons to help nearby fleets, and they'd have extensive supply and repair capabilities. They should be able to completely control any nearby wormholes (to make for interesting missions).

Missile Launchers for primary weapon, and since it is a space station, an unlimited supply of missiles, and one launcher per arc.
Decent but not the best Point Defence.
Docked ships gain missile volleys at the rate of one per turn.
Docked ships can be repaired like carriers do fighters.
Docked ships cannot fire weapons.

I suspect that enemy fleets will hide behind a big ship just to get in close. The big ship will be a write off.

You could also have several flavours of station using cards. i.e. Battlestation (armoured: -1 damage per hit), Spacestation (regular stats), and shipyard (no weapons, but has stock of missiles, and repair ability).

"Essentially, the space station will have guns that are soooo strong, that the enemy has only one strategy, overwhelm in one fatal stroke. So trying to make the ship TOS and card too powerful isn't going to make the game more fun."


Or perhaps swarm it with fighters that the big guns can't hit???.......

The difference is that no one really controls the wormholes as in directing where they go or when they are active. Control of a wormhole is more "we are in possession of it because we have more ships there and can destroy anyone trying to enter/exit it." You could technically destroy the generator to close the wormhole, but they are the product of a race that came waaaaaaay before the Sathricans evolved and started traveling around in space, so they are really hard to replace.

I believe that at some point, there is going to be a release that has wormhole statuses, meaning that wormholes can be unstable and create different problems for ships trying to use them.

like UHF said this is intended to be a base station.
control the wormhole so rebel scum can not pop up any time they want to.
one missile attack from the bridge 360 degrees.
each arm will have one laser battery,and right now I am not set as to having the arms have an autofire with an arc each.
or one autofire on the bridge extended range and 360 degrees.

I was under the assumption that he meant more along the lines that certain bases would have the ability to turn wormholes off and on or something.

Area of control using a large base station would make for an interesting fight if one faction or the other decided its time to get their particular evacuees out of the system first ...

The rules already cover damaged/unstable wormholes! Did you man that there will be different rules for unstable wormholes in future releases?

Steve

I did not mean turn them on or off .I ment your fleet not wanting to go thru the wormhole one ship at a time,and getting hit with 4 laserbatteries dmg 5 a missile salvo while suffering -1 toreturn fire because your sensors are scrambeled.and just when you think it can't get any worse the bomers arrive,try dodging all this and a few auto defense platforms.

I understand what you mean, Ralph. I was merely addressing UHF's meaning.

I would not want to travel through a wormhole with a station guarding it if I could help it. Instead, I'd use a wormhole on the other side of the system and then try to clear it from the system side first.


Unstable wormhole question -

I do believe that anyone can make their own rules. As for official rules ... you'd have to ask Andorax. He's the chief release man.