On Space Combat

[Janus]

These were put together by Darin and are very good rules for ship acquisition in factions:

For Jedi, Sith, and Republic Forces

Rank One: You are not allowed to pilot anything as far as battles go. If you are in a naval ship, you are delegated to manning the turbolasers.

Rank Two: You may pilot starfighters. The sort that make the best targets for others. It's a step up from staying on the ship, but you're still not allowed to own your own ship.

Rank Three: You are now allowed to pilot anything from a starfighter up to a transport with multiple guns. If you're a member of the Sith Order, you may own your own ship at this point, but otherwise, your ships belong to your superiors.

Rank Four: You may now be put in command of larger ships, such as frigates and cruisers. You'll have more firepower, as well as have a crew to command. Again, unless you are a member of the Sith Order, you may not own your own ship.

Rank Five: You are now allowed the command of a true capital ship, complete with five squads of starfighters and other smaller vessels. You may give orders to the frigates escorting your ship, as well as dictate the targets of your big guns. At this rank, no one may own their own captial ship.

Rank Six (Faction Leader) You now not only command your own capital ship, but also up to ten others, each complete with squadrons of fighters, bombers and transports, as well as their own frigate escort. Members of all but the Jedi Order may now own their own personal flag ship.

Note: The above was conceived with the following in mind: Jedi are taught not to get attatched, and therefore may not own their own ships. Likewise, military men/women may not own their own ships until they are presented with a flagship.

For Bounty Hunters and Mercenaries

Rank One: You may pilot a ship given to you by either the Guild or your employer, and it's not likely to be of very high quality. It will get you where you need to go and not much else.

Rank Two: You may now purchase your own ship if you have the credits to do so. At this stage your selection won't be great, but the ships you could end up with will be able to hold their own in MINOR dogfights.

Rank Three: You may continue to purchase ships, or you can just upgrade the one you have now for cheaper. Upgrades at this level will boost your ship's performance enough to hold its own against five other similarly armed ships.

Rank Four: The upgrades available at this level are now of the caliber that you can start weaving through major space battles and surviving, though don't try and all out engage.

Rank Five: Your own personal ship at this level is probably armed tot he teeth and has durasteel armor half a meter thick. It's known throughout the Galaxy. An example would be Slave I.

Rank Six: Your ship could probably hold its own against a destroyer, and maybe even come out on top. It's a tough ship, and legendary in its caliber.

I'll come up with the Smuggler rules for owning ships and overall rules for space combat soon.

[Darin Saine]

Rank One: As with the other ranks, your first ship isn't going to be anything spectacular. It'll get you where you need to go, and has a cargo hold capable of carrying less than five tons of cargo.

Rank Two: This ship is a little more durable, a little faster, though the biggest upgrade is its cargo space. The Rank Two ships/upgrades enable you to ferry up to fifteen tons of cargo.

This ship would be comparable to a freighter, capable of carrying up to twenty tons of cargo. As well, it's shield generator is exceptional, and it's equipped with boosters for those last-ditch escape efforts.

[i]Rank Four: The most noticable upgrade here is a larger cargo hold, up to twenty-five tons, as well as an additional weapon emplacement to hold off those pesky law enforcement vessels.

Rank Five: A good example of a Rank Five ship would be the Ebon Hawk or the Millenium Falcon, good sturdy ships with plenty of cargo space (thirty tons), and maybe even a secret compartment or three. Excellent speed and maneuverability, in addition to whatever aftermarket parts you may find, make this ship one-of-a-kind, even if it does look like a hunk of flying scrap metal.

Rank Six: This ship is more akin to a cruiser than anything. With cargo space for fifty tons of 'stuff,' multiple weapon emplacements, and all the black-market upgrades you could possibly think of, the authorities are going to have one hell of a time catching and detaining you in this ship.

[Darin Saine]

I've broken this up into three variations of fighting, dogfights, assaults, and simulations. (Note: All forms of Space Combat are moderated simply due to their destructiveness)

Dogfights

Dogfights are the bread and butter of space combat. They may occur when two scout ships from opposing factions just happen to run into each other. Players may elect to choose TWO actions per post. They can allocate these to one each offensive and defensive, though you could also make two offensive actions or two defensive.

Offensive actions are basically anything that involves shooting at the other person, though certain other less-used actions (such as ramming) may also be included at the moderator's descretion.

Defensive actions are just that, defensive. Basically maneuvering your ship to keep it from being shot.

Assault

This is where things get really fun. Assault battles generally involve at least one ship larger than a freighter (frigates and larger), as well as any other ships. The goal of this battle type is to take down the enemy's captial ship(s) before they get yours. As with all moderated battles, you may post an outcome ONLY for ships of your faction. Again players get two actions per post UNLESS they are in command of a capital ship, in which case they get FOUR actions, but three of these must be used offensively (an example defensive action for such a large ship may include diverting energy to the shields or other areas of the ship, or perhaps moving to a different area of the battle).

Simulation

A simulation battle is just that, a sim. Think of it as the equivalent of a practice fight, but in space. These may include any elements agreed upon by the simming player(s).

Finishing It

There are several ways to finish a space battle, disabling, destroying, or escaping.

Disabling When you finish a battle this way, you've worn down the enemy's shields enough that you've also begun damaging critical components, such as their engine, weapons etc. To achieve a Disabling victory, destroy either the enemy ship's ENGINES or REACTOR. The loser will then have to wait until they are picked up by somebody, and they may not always like the outcome (Example, a Republic fighter is disabled, and gets picked up by a Sith cruiser). This is the easiest victory to attain.

Destroying This victory is quite simple, you've worn down the enemy shields enough to begin damaging critical components, just like in the disabling victory. With this one though, you must completely destroy the enemy ship, which generally means wearing through most of the vital systems (engines and reactor for fighters, engines, reactor, life support and bridge for larger ships), or you can simply destroy the cockpit (this method requires the consent of both the losing party and the mod presiding over the battle, as most people don't survive getting their cockpit blown up).

Escaping Not really a victory of sorts, it's more like a 'keep-you-from-getting-killed' type deal. This 'victory' involves escaping into hyperspace to lick your wounds, which is generally a good idea if the battle hasn't been going your way.

Other Factors

First and foremost, the most obvious factor in your space battles is going to be the capabilities of your ship, which is defined by your faction rank. Each ship rank has its own capabilities and limitations, as well as other functions. Example: Smuggler ships are a good bit faster than say...mercenary ships, but they're not as well armed or as durable.

Second factor, and the most important, is your writing. You could be Grand Moff Badass with a thousand ISD's at your command, but if your posting is terrible, then you could very well get owned by a handful of snub fighters who write quite well.

Starship Capabilities

This section covers the various components of starships, which is vital to space combat.

Shields The energy shields of a ship are all that's keeping destructive missiles and blaster fire away from the vital components of your ship. While they can be worn down, they will constantly recharge as long as the shield generator remains active.

Engine Quite simple, no engine, no moving. The engine on most ships is located at the rear of the vessel, with plenty of armor plating surrounding them.

Reactor This is the powerhouse of your ship. Without it, nothing is getting energy, and therefore nothing is working. No reactor = no weapons, no shields, no engines etc. This is singularly the most important component of any starship, and thus, is the best armored. Starfighter reactors are usually just behind the cockpit, while larger ships may actually have multiple reactors (Example: Imperial Star Destroyer).

Weapons Your weapons system is what gives you the ability to blow things up, quite simple. Weapons can range from a single blaster on the nose of the ship, to complex missile launching devices and auto-turrets. Also included are the countermeasures, if your ship is so equipped.

Capacitor This is what gives your weapons the energy they need to function. Essentially, it's the link between reactor and all of your various weapons systems. On starfighters, it's usually located right next to the reactor, while larger ships generally keep theirs in the center of their ship, protected by layer upon layer of armor.

Bridge/Command Deck/Cockpit This is where the pilot of a starfighter, or the whole command crew of a larger ship is located. While a ship can still function without this area, it usually can not do so on its own, especially fighters; given their small frame, if the cockpit goes, usually everything else goes with it. This is usually the most heavily armored area of a ship.

Life Support While necessary on all ships, Life Support is only an attackable component on larger ships. This system provides the pilot/crew of a ship with the necessary breathable air, as well as a tolerable pressure level. Destruction of this system usually results in the slow suffocation of the crew, and or a fluctuating pressure level.

Shield Generator Not to be confused with the shields themselves, this generator is what gives them the energy to function. As usual, fighters generally have generators so small there aren't very many weapons accurate enough to hit just the generator, where larger ships may have huge and multiple generators. Destruction of the generators is not only complete destruction of the shields, but it also prevents them from recharging.

Weapons Types

The starship weapons, for our purposes, are broken into two large groups: Missiles and blasters.

Blasters Nearly every ship meant for combat duty is outfitted with at least one blaster. Blasters are grouped as either Blaster Cannons, Ion Cannons, or Disruptors.

Blaster Cannons are good all-purpose weaponry, and are standard issue for most all fighters.

Ion Cannons are exceptionally effective against an opponent's shields and electrical systems (Reactor and Capacitor), though against armored systems, it leaves something to be desired.

Disruptors are the opposite of Ion Cannons. They'll rip through armored systems like the Engine and Cockpit like they were nothing, but they have a hard time penetrating shields.

Missiles A ship upgrade not available until Rank Two, missiles are quite destructive, though they have a set supply. Once you use all the missiles loaded on your ship, you'll have to get more. Missiles are divided into two groups, Seismic and Concussion missiles. Proton torpedoes are a Rank Four upgrade.

Seismic missiles send shockwaves through the hull of a ship on impact, causing massive damage to armored systems. However, this effect is virtually unseen against shields.

Concussion missiles on the other hand, detonate just before contacting the surface, thus the force generated by the explosion is enough to punch holes through shields, though without the sheer penetration force of the Seismic missiles, they are rather ineffective against enemy armor.

Proton Torpedoes will blow through damn near anything they come in contact with, though the heavy shields and thick armor of capital ships reduces this effectiveness somewhat.

As you can see, there's plenty of room for customization of your own ship's equpment, to give you all the optimal style of your choice of combat, whether you simply want to take down the shields of a large ship and then board it, or maybe you want to obliterate enemy fighters, this should give all the customization you need.