Kinetic kill missiles

[whartung]

The rules do not say which direction you have to move, you can basically move from square to square (or hex to hex) in any direction you like.
It is possibly the worst starship combat movement system to ever see print in Traveller canon.
I do not think the guys at DGP were into ships...

Yea, it's a trivial movement mechanic. We use this mechanic all the time, on the ground -- your character can move anywhere that it can reach within its speed envelope.

What we don't do, is charge a character a cost to turn, nor do we accumulate speed (there's no acceleration, just simply available speed).

As a mechanic, there's nothing wrong per se with it. The problem is the legacy of using a vector system, plus "it's star ships", plus the whole acceleration thing (which blows the whole thing to even more smithereenies.

I was unaware of this mechanic, it's really bad for starships.

But, in the end, the mechanic is moot, since maneuver doesn't offer much in the bull ring of space.

 

[Carlobrand]

Doesn't offer a heck of a lot in the game either, unless you really need to keep someone at short range, and then Gs count for more. Since everyone plays to the same rule, it tends to even out - unless you've got a really unusual scenario going. It's just rather aggravating having to infer rules from the aether.

 

[kilemall]

But, in the end, the mechanic is moot, since maneuver doesn't offer much in the bull ring of space.

Hmmmmm.

HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM.

 

[Carlobrand]

Ya know, those little 5G6ers in the standard game, they're pretty well KKVs too, unless they're fighting uphill. Figure about fifty meters per second squared, they're packing a bigger wollop than they can get out of their warhead (unless it's a nuke) by the time they're a couple thousand klicks out from the launching ship. Play it by the math, and they're a dandy way to discourage someone from trying to run up your tailpipe.

10 kps by the time they've moved a thousand kilometers, 50 megajouoles per kilogram impacting, energy equivalent to about 12 kilograms of TNT behaving like a shaped charge, punch somewhere between that of a 155mm howitzer and a 180mm after only a thousand kilometers. Even running uphill the impact's likely to be better than what the missile warhead can put out, unless the target's fairly close - assuming of course the target can't outrun the missile.

 

[Whipsnade]

Doesn't offer a heck of a lot in the game either...

Which is why you should ignore MT ship combat quite frankly.

I don't think "understanding" it will give you any insights which will help your KK project.

 

[mike wightman]

Remember that it is relative velocity that causes initial damage, not the total velocity of the missile.

Velocity Vector: If a missile contacts its target and the sum of the vectors of the
missile and the target is greater than 300 millimeters , then one extra hit on the hit
location table is allowed for each 300 millimeters of vector length. Ignore fractions
remaining when dividing the vector by 300 millimeters.

This is very badly worded, it is the relative vector that should cause the damage, you should therefore subtract the vectors.

 

[infojunky]

This is very badly worded, it is the relative vector that should cause the damage, you should therefore subtract the vectors.

Yes, it is badly worded.

Yes vector subtraction is used.

Measure the distance between the target and missile's past position marks, then divide that result by 300. (There is a correct Term for this relation, it is scalar in nature, but for the life of me tonight I can't remember what the result is called.)

 

[AnotherDilbert]

Scalar product

Only the closing speed will contribute energy, the sideways movement will mostly spread out the resulting explosion.

 

[Carlobrand]

Well now, there's the dilemma. I actually prefer HG, but if I'm gonna play with things like relative vectors for damage assessment, then I have to move off abstract and onto some type of board. I'm just the sort of crazy bird who would have fun with that kind of thing.

Still, that gets crazy quick when you move away from ship-on-ship duels and into fleet actions, at least outside of a computer. Challenging problem.