Invading Star Systems/Defending Them

[Hal]

Originally posted by Savage:
You think an attackers losses would be lower? I cannot agree with that. I meant the losses would be higher for the attacker.

I would tend to agree that a well prepared and well thought out defense should be abled to handled an invading fleet. Someone on the TML mentioned a buffered asteroid with buried spinal guns in it as the perfect defensive weapon. While not stated in that email - any meson communicators connected to that defensive point can act as a sensor system (shudder).

Point is? An attacker has the advantage of initiative in that they can chose where they will attack. The Defender responds. Attackers however have to worry about the defenders using "boats" rather than ships (the whole battle rider issue as it were). Volume for Volume, a boat will beat a ship and be cheaper for the cost as well.

Having said that? I didn't mean to imply that I thought the exchange ratio would be *that* good. I was essentially pulling the teeth out of any counter-argument where someone says "But if I had a 2:1 ratio of exchange, I'm doing GOOD!". No, as anyone who has been involved in wargames where you take territory - you ALWAYS lose some of your units as garrison units or patrol units. Always. That is effectively a war of attrition right there.

 

[RainOfSteel]

Originally posted by Sigg Oddra:
Question. Any ideas how to track back a meson shot? It could be a function of the meson screen and main computer but are there other ways?

Wouldn't that be something? I'd say it would require, if it were to be admitted into a game at all, an additional retrofit to the Meson Screen itself, taking up more mass and more energy (say, 5-10%), and then would require a special program to be running in the computer, Meson Trackback, or some such, which a Sensor Ops person would have to use to locate the firing canon.

This would actually work out quite nicely IMTU, as I still stand by my original belief (not too popular an idea, from the other posts) stated way back at the beginning of this thread, that planet-based meson canons could be far larger than starship based systems, and with that size and greater energy, could achieve greater range, and with that greater range, could effectively stop an attack with little or no fear of retribution (not counting fractional-c weaponry, which opens up a can of whup-a . . . uh, worms). By having a track-back method, this would eliminate the otherwise overwhelming advantage such far reaching meson systems would have.

As for knocking out neutrino sensors, they can be buried just like the meson weapons. The main trouble with this, leading off to the fractional-c weaponry discussion again, is that some weapons might not have a fusion power plant.

 

[kafka47]

Would it not be easier to also measure the impact and decay rate of the mason? Surely, as it passes through different mediums it would pick up particles along the way.

A tech with reasonably good Sensor Tech would be able to determine also from the angle the shot was fired the approximate location.

 

[Richard Saunders]

Hello.
Just an idea on detecting and targeting DMG sites, launch 100 meson radio receivers in a pattern between the ship and the planet in two waves, as the meson gun fires each receiver will detect the beam as it passes and you could triangulate back to the launch site.
I am assumming that meson radios do not actualy receive the mesons just sense their passing (you realy dont want to be where the mesons any mesons decay).
If it's so (maybe) dangerous to be infront of the meson gun then look for uninhabited areas or areas with health problems associated with mesons thats where the guns are maybe.
Well my .02c worth.
Bye.

 

[savage]

Well Said, RainofSteel.

****

I am assumming that meson radios do not actualy receive the mesons just sense their passing

Lionel, How do they do they "sense" this? Are they psionic?

Actually, you can do about anything you want after the publishing of Fighting Ships. I believe all of the participants do good work, but the explanation of meson undermines canon without adding detail or really replacing it. Hopefully we'll see a T20 FFS to explain the new canon. Either way my mesons will follow traditional canon until I see a reasoneable explanation.

Savage