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Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1998 02:01:35 -0400
From: Jason Noble <jdnoble@erols.com>
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To: babylon5-wars@CSUA.Berkeley.EDU
Subject: [B5W] AOG-->SOLO PLAYTEST: Jammers, other stuff
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Playtest:
Earth Alliance vs Minbari Federation

EA
1 Nova Dreadnought
1 Hyperion Heavy Cruiser
2 Olympus Corvettes
24 Starfuries
6 Thunderbolts
Total: 5093

Minbari
1 Sharlin Warcruiser
1 Tinashi War Frigate
24 Nials
Total 5075

Map was 26 x 28 hexes (the 2 maps from Battlespace, overlapping 1 hex)
If you want a copy of the rules I used, email me (jdnoble@erols.com) .
It's a 3 page Word 97 .doc. I might have some minor modifications to the
rules, as several things came up during the game. Note that I was also
testing an accuracy-damage system during this playtest. It didn't affect
the game too much, so it can pretty much be ignored. The Jammer stuff (a
White Noise variant) is what I was really concerned about. For times
when the accuracy-damage system had a significant impact, a (*) will
follow the sentence/event. The effect will be listed at the end.
Fleets started in opposite corners, all fighters launched.

Turn 1
All ships at half OEW, half DEW. Minbari ships maintained enough DEW to
prevent a lock. EA figthers break off to the right, attempting to flank
Minbari ships. Minbari fighters move to intercept. Sharlin fires a
Neutron Cannon, taking off Nova's 2 front Interceptors.

Turn 2
Minbari maintain EW levels. Fighters engage. Aprox. 50% Starfury
casualties, including dropouts.(*) Four Thunderbolts lost due to poor
fighter cover. Nials suffer little damage. (*) Sharlin and Tinashi fire
Neutron Cannons, destroy front of Nova. Nova fires half of its lasers,
mostly ineffective. Olympi fire railguns, little damage inflicted.

Turn 3
All EA ships go full OEW against Sharlin. Sharlin lowers DEW enough so
they can get a lock. I wanted to see how much a lock would affect the
EA's fire. Sharlin and Tinashi centerline Nova at ranges 2 and 1,
respectively. Nova turns to port to broadside Sharlin. Olympi fly past
Sharlin, turn to port. Hyperion zooms by, pivots to target Sharlin.
Fighters move next to Sharlin. Nials continue to plaster the Starfuries.
Olympi fire missiles (before they moved behind the Sharlin), minor
damage to front. Also fire 4 Pulse Cannons, destroy Main Thrust, aft
Neutron Cannons, 75% aft structure, damages aft Fusion Cannons. The Nova
fires 4 arrays as Pulse Cannons, 3 as Medium Lasers. Completely destroys
front of Sharlin, about 30% Primary structure. Hyperion fires Plasma
Cannon and a Pulse Cannon. Minor damage to Sharlin's port side. Return
fire from Minbari ships completely destroys side of Nova, about 80%
Primary structure.

I got tired of playing after this(solo games get boring kinda fast). On
the next turn, the Minbari probably would have finished off the Nova and
the few remaining EA fighters, but taken some more crippling damage to
the Sharlin.

Earth Alliance casualties:
1 Nova Dreadnought front and side missing, primary structure almost gone

4 Thunderbolts destroyed
14 Starfuries destroyed, 3 dropped out

Minbari Federation casualties:
1 Sharlin front destroyed, aft 75% destroyed, port 50% destroyed
4 Nials dropped out

(*) Effects of the to-hit-damage system: Most of the Starfuries were
killed outright, typically sustaining more than 18 points of damage from
a single Nial. On the other hand, since the Starfuries had such a poor
chance of hitting the Nials (typically 8 or less), when they did hit the
shots did little damage. When the Sharlin and Tinashi ripped into the
Nova, almost all of their Fusion Cannons inflicted 20 damage (arbitrary
damage cap for FC). This was due to the high to-hit chance (I think it
was around 24). If not for the damage-accuracy system, the Nova probably
would have sustained nowhere's near as much damage. I think that at a
range of 2 with 7 points of OEW against a target as large as a Nova, in
makes since for a Sharlin to rip it to pieces.

Jammers: These worked perfectly. The Nials were as effective as they
seem in the show. The ships were extremely difficult to target, until
the EA forces were able to attain a lock. With this system, enemies with
higher sensor rating would have an easier time targetting
Jammer-equipped vessels, which makes sense. Only problem was that once
the lock is achieved, the effects are incredible. Might need a little
work.

Dogfighting: _IF_ I had provided proper cover for the Thunderbolts (2
flights of Starfuries), then there would still have been six left to
fire their missiles at the Sharlin. Fighter escorts can really mean life
or death for the heavy hitters on attack runs. Still, it is hard to
judge my dogfighting rules, as there was only 1 flight to escort, and
they weren't _THAT_ important. I'll have to do a Midway-like playtest
for further evaluation.


-- End --