Striker

[ktaylor]

Having just bought the FFE reprint of the Classic Games, I am looking enthusiastically again at Striker, as I have since the 80s but never did anything about.

Are there any specific minis for this game nowadays, besides generic Sci Fi figs and vehicles?

Are there websites out there devoted to discussing it? Would anybody like to discuss Striker right here?

I am looking at putting together a limited number of 15mm figs and vehicles and having a go with my brother. but anybody who can point out their experience with Striker and any resources available, I'd love to hear from them.

 

[Michael Taylor]

The "brother" Eagle 1 refers to is me, Eagle 1 being my older twin brother, created in the Ancient labs on Candory.

 

[Jeffr0]

I'll talk Striker.


There are articles about it in the JTAS reprints and one of the classic adventures has some Striker stats.

I'm not a mini's guy, but if you want to get into the game mechanics and design rules, I'm game.

 

[RandyT0001]

There is the Yahoo group that discusses Striker:

http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/ct-striker/

Unfortunately there isn't much talk for the past few months. And it has in the files section a Excel spreadsheet that helps design Striker vehicles, weapons, etc.

If you dislike the expense of buying mini's (like me) then you could use counters instead. At the Zhodani Base you can find counter generators that can easily be used to create Striker counters.

http://zho.berka.com/goodies/

 

[ktaylor]

Thanks for the web references. I'll take a look.

So would counters be used with a hex layout of a battlefield?

 

[Whipsnade]

I'm cheap, I have no artistic talent, and I love miniature wargaming. All mutually exclusive? Hardly.

Every set of minis rules mentions basing dimensions. Cut out cardboard rectangles to those dimensions, mark with indelible ink, and start to play. Easy, no?

In this year alone, I've pushed units through dozens of rule sets in this manner. Those games have ranged from man-to-man Napoelonic skirmishing to sci-fi ship combat to WW1 brigade level to ACW riverine to just about everything in between.

Minis are cool, minis look good, and I'd love to own about 13,466 metric tons of them. Sadly, I have never won the lottery, storing that much lead would destroy my floors, and I paint really badly. Besides, I'm cheap.

Use cardboard rectangles to find the rule sets you really love first. Then and only then spend money on real figures.

Did I mention I'm cheap?

Anyway check out this site for minis rules; www.freewargamesrules.co.uk The rules there are free, btw.

Did I mention I'm cheap?

If you can't find a set of minis rules you like there for any period or genre then there is no staisfying you. They have a huge links list too.


Have cheap fun,
Bill

P.S. By the way, I'm cheap.

 

[Hyphen]

Dear Folks -

Originally posted by Eagle1:
..but anybody who can point out their experience with Striker and any resources available, I'd love to hear from them.

FWIW, you can cobble together some vehicle units using DGP's 101 Vehicles, as long as you fudge a redistribution of the all-round armor. I used to have a very rough-and-ready spreadsheet to do this; I'll have to see if I can dig it out.

UPDATE: I found that I've already published it on my website! Look under Repair Bays ==> Design Spreadsheets ==> MegaTraveller Vehicle Armour Remodelling. This is a Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet (but Excel ought to be able to open it).

Did I mention I'm cheap?

Warning label on Whipsnade action figure box: "Battered boater not included".

 

[Hal]

Originally posted by Bill Cameron:
I'm cheap, I have no artistic talent, and I love miniature wargaming. All mutually exclusive? Hardly.


lead would destroy my floors, and I paint really badly. Besides, I'm cheap.


Did I mention I'm cheap?

Did I mention I'm cheap?

Have cheap fun,
Bill

P.S. By the way, I'm cheap.

Come on Bill - you are NOT Cheap. I know of a certain Buffalonian who discovered that you are anything BUT cheap

::Waves from Buffalo::

Hi Bill!

 

[Golan2072]

Originally posted by Randy Tyler:
There is the Yahoo group that discusses Striker:

http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/ct-striker/

Unfortunately there isn't much talk for the past few months. And it has in the files section a Excel spreadsheet that helps design Striker vehicles, weapons, etc.

The spreadsheet is a broken link; can't download it.

Also, I'm trying to convert several CT (LBB3) vehicles to Striker format; the problem is that CT is very vouge about the vehicles - i can get their dimentions and general performance from various sources, but not their armor thickness (is 0.25 cm enough for a pressurized vehicle?) and weapon power (how much MW does an ATV's laser consume, anyway?)

 

[The Oz]

Originally posted by Employee 2-4601:

Also, I'm trying to convert several CT (LBB3) vehicles to Striker format; the problem is that CT is very vouge about the vehicles - i can get their dimentions and general performance from various sources, but not their armor thickness (is 0.25 cm enough for a pressurized vehicle?) and weapon power (how much MW does an ATV's laser consume, anyway?)

You might use the MT stats for those vehicles as a starting point. In the Imperial Encyclopedia the ATVs are shown with 6B armor (1.5 cm of hardened steel). The Wheeled ATV has a 0.75MW internal combustion engine, the Tracked ATV a 1.25MW IC engine. Neither has any weapons.

With such small engines, laser-armed versions would (IMHO) use standard laser carbines or laser rifles, running the weapon off the powerpack instead of the IC engine. The IC engine could recharge the laser's powerpack.

And yes, 0.25cm is enough for a pressurized vehicle. The Apollo program's Moon lander had a skin so thin you could push a pencil through it, but it held pressure just fine.

 

[Golan2072]

Ofcourse, later TL (TL9+) ATVs will have fusion plants and larger lasers. But a TL8- ATV will have what you specified...

 

[Golan2072]

Originally posted by The Oz:
The Wheeled ATV has a 0.75MW internal combustion engine, the Tracked ATV a 1.25MW IC engine.

So, how does the ATV function in non-standard (i.e. no available oxygen) atmospheres? IC needs oxygen, and could function on very thin atmospheres with intake compressors; but what about other worlds?

Other options include including the oxygen for the engine in the life support system, using solar cells (but they don't work in the night/away from the near/habitatable zone) or using batteries (but striker lists batteries as TL8+ only, and ATVs are supposed to be TL6).

 

[Golan2072]

By the way, is there any place on the net where I could find dimentions (and other specifications, if possible) of RL/historic (i.e. TLs 5-8) vehicles?

 

[The Oz]

Originally posted by Employee 2-4601:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by The Oz:
The Wheeled ATV has a 0.75MW internal combustion engine, the Tracked ATV a 1.25MW IC engine.

So, how does the ATV function in non-standard (i.e. no available oxygen) atmospheres? IC needs oxygen, and could function on very thin atmospheres with intake compressors; but what about other worlds?</font>[/QUOTE]It has to carry the oxygen along with it, of course. This would require modifying the ATV, at additional expense and costing some of the internal volume.

Or you use a different powerplant: just because one planet's ATV is an IC powerplant doesn't mean you can't have another planet's ATV with a fusion plant, or fuel cells, or batteries.

 

[Golan2072]

Originally posted by The Oz:

Or you use a different powerplant: just because one planet's ATV is an IC powerplant doesn't mean you can't have another planet's ATV with a fusion plant, or fuel cells, or batteries.

Aren't ATVs means mostly for interstellar exploration? Or do colonies have each their own model, with Scouts using their TL9+ fusion variant (their ship's are TL9+ anyway?

 

[mike wightman]

The best description of an ATV in CT is in DA2 Mission on Mithril.
It is a tracked ATV built on Trin, so it could be up to TL15.
It has either a fuel cell of a fusion power plant, can't remember which.

 

[The Oz]

ATVs are used for planetary exploration/exploitation.

(I've never yet seen an ATV with jump drive)

Some ATVs are carried by starships; such ATVs would (IMHO) be powered by something the ship can refuel/recharge (fusion plant, batteries/fuel cells).

So yes, I think most worlds of sufficient population and TL (POP and TL of 6+ or so) to build ATVs customized to their local conditions do so, and there are also ATVs built for the "interstellar" market designed for ease of use with a starship as the base for the ATV.

I would also think that profit-minded corporations would produce "customizable" ATVs that can be (more or less) easily modified to fit most planetary conditions, for those worlds that can't/don't build their own ATVs. Such vehicles wouldn't be quite as good a "fit" for local conditions as ATVs built for that world, but would be cheaper than the "go anywhere" ATVs of the interstellar market.

 

[Piper]

Originally posted by Employee 2-4601:
By the way, is there any place on the net where I could find dimentions (and other specifications, if possible) of RL/historic (i.e. TLs 5-8) vehicles?

I don't know of any single source, but you could start at the Bovington Tank Museum. Vehicles that interest you can be searched by name on google. Most vehicles have websites dedicated to them and they are usually thorough.

A word of caution: there is often some degree of controversy over vehicle specs, even for actual historical samples. Don't be surprised if you get 2 or 3 different weights or armour thicknesses for a given vehicle. Many were produced in different variants and/or modified to some degree.

 

[Golan2072]

The stats I am looking for are general ones - dimensions, armor thickness, general kind of armament - which I'll use as inspiration for my own vehicle designs.

One good site I've found so far:
http://www.israeli-weapons.com/israeli_weapons.html

By the way, what's the difference between a LBB2 AFV and a light Tank?

How do you convert Horsepower (hp) into Megawatt?

And when designing a (vehicle-mounted) weapon, should I add fire control to it or should I add it to the vehicle once I design it? I just intend to post the designs of various CPRs, MRLs and Lasers for vehicle use. This is important since it determines the TL of the system.

 

[Piper]

1 horsepower = 750 watts

Tank vs AFV: Definitions can be imprecise and subject to variation. Generally, a tank is an AFV (armoured fighting vehicle) that has a tracked suspension and mounts it's main weapon in a rotating turret. (There are exceptions: Swedish S Tank )
AFV covers all manner of vehicles from recon cars, tank destroyers, assault guns ... the list goes on.

Main Battle Tanks (MBT's) are usually heavily armoured and designed to engage the enemy directly. Light tanks are usually lightly armoured, mount lower caliber weapons and are often used for scouting/patrolling work.

The LBB AFV comes in 2 versions, tracked and wheeled. The wheeled version would probably be considered an armoured car and the tracked version could be called a light tank.

Fire control: I find it easier to add it to the weapon during design.