What works? How are ships and vehicles armed?

[Badenov]

There has never been a warships supplement for LBB:2

I have perhaps asked the question the wrong way around. What does LBB2 have, in regards to spaceships, that LBB5 doesn't cover? Not so much with regards to different numbers to hit and different damage tables; LBB5 has those things, they're just different. Is there anything in LBB2 with regards to ships that isn't addressed at all in LBB5, or is significantly different. An example would be small ship crew minimums, as a 100-ton scout doesn't need a 10-person command section.

 

[kilemall]

No grouping or bonuses in LBB2. A triple turret gets three attacks (or six attacks with Double fire), potentially several times per round.



They manoeuvre like ships, and if they get close enough to the target, they attack. If you muck up the vector movement, they miss.

Bit more to missiles then that. There is an ECM roll if the defending ship has the computer program. The anti missile program allows a laser PD shot like LBB5.

The missile supplement allows upgraded missiles to ignore ECM, improved warheads that do more damage, nuke warheads, and a possibility of trying for a direct kinetic impact with the missile body potentially doing a good deal more damage.

The batteries in general are aggregating rolls, otherwise the rolls would be up to 30 times for individual shots.

 

[mike wightman]

A newtonian movement system for combat
single person crew for 100 to 199t ships
different crew requirements 200t to 1000t
one gunner per turret not per battery
computer programs that modify combat rolls rather then the blanket computer difference DM.

 

[AnotherDilbert]

I have perhaps asked the question the wrong way around. What does LBB2 have, in regards to spaceships, that LBB5 doesn't cover? Not so much with regards to different numbers to hit and different damage tables; LBB5 has those things, they're just different. Is there anything in LBB2 with regards to ships that isn't addressed at all in LBB5, or is significantly different. An example would be small ship crew minimums, as a 100-ton scout doesn't need a 10-person command section.

LBB2 has more detailed combat: Vector movement, ammo limitations, reload times, etc, etc.

LBB5 has more abstracted combat to facilitate larger ships: No movement, weapon grouped into batteries for fewer rolls, etc.


LBB5 uses LBB2 rules for small ship crews.

 

[AnotherDilbert]

Bit more to missiles then that. There is an ECM roll if the defending ship has the computer program. The anti missile program allows a laser PD shot like LBB5.

The missile supplement allows upgraded missiles to ignore ECM, improved warheads that do more damage, nuke warheads, and a possibility of trying for a direct kinetic impact with the missile body potentially doing a good deal more damage.

Oh, sure, I was just commenting on hit or miss. There's no to hit roll, you have to manoeuvre the missiles yourself.

The batteries in general are aggregating rolls, otherwise the rolls would be up to 30 times for individual shots.

Yes, in LBB5. In LBB2 you are supposed to roll the 30 individual attack rolls, potentially up to five (?) times per round.

 

[Spinward Flow]

What does LBB2 have, in regards to spaceships, that LBB5 doesn't cover?
Is there anything in LBB2 with regards to ships that isn't addressed at all in LBB5, or is significantly different.

A newtonian movement system for combat
single person crew for 100 to 199t ships
different crew requirements 200t to 1000t
one gunner per turret not per battery
computer programs that modify combat rolls rather then the blanket computer difference DM.

Spidey Business Opportunity Senses™ are tingling.

LBB2 style vector combat would work a LOT better on a Virtual TableTop (VTT) style of application. Would require a bit of specialized programming to automate various factors (gravity wells, aerobraking, rendezvous for docking maneuvers, etc.) but since the movement is inherently newtonian (acceleration using thrust) a lot of stuff would be relatively straightforward in terms of computations.

The REAL advantage of a VTT style app for LBB2 combat context would be the power to Zoom In/Zoom Out and the fact that your map areas could be "parking lot" sized, rather than just 1m² of carpeted floor space.

With the right background programming support, you'd even be able to do "proper" 3D representations of positioning, which for convenience could be reoriented into a 2D plane when dealing with 2 objects (craft and/or planetary bodies/natural satellites).

For the "true overachievers" you could even go so far as to include (proper/correct) orbital mechanics into the vector simulation, such that craft in space "don't fly like airplanes" when thrust is applied to them in order to get them to accelerate (why hello, Kerbal Space Program, what are you doing here?).

 

[Dragoner]

I added my variant rules here in this thread: https://www.travellerrpg.com/threads/kosmic-chapter-7-space-combat.44727/