Jahkle and I had a brief discussion last night. here's my thoughts so far . . . (nothing written in stone)
Game Turns: (Each turn represents 6 months real time). 2 game turns per year. Server starts 2279
Production model: We will be using system based on the F&E model. Each empire will have the below shipyards:
DN (2 turns to build)
CA
CW
CW
CW
DW
DW
DW
Each Empire will have 60 Economic Points for builds a round See the Ship Data Tables from (
http://www.porterdavid.com/ ) for approx EP cost for ships. I’m in the process of making Spreadsheets for the various empires for this that include all the ships we use and none of the ones we don’t.
I’m thinking of starting each empire with 2 rounds of production before the war starts. The ISC will start with a significantly higher number of ships built and more money than everyone else that needs to be discussed between me and the RMs. There is also the option of not giving al the empire the same amount of EP (the Federation and Klingons had significantly more than the other empires) which is also up in the air.
What can be built in what yards? See below for a general idea, the Spreadsheets will have the Substitution for specific ships:
DN: Dreads, CVAs, BB, BCH
CA: CA. BCH
CW: War Cruisers (F-NCL, K-D5) and variants, New Cruisers (F-NCA, K-D5W) and variants.
DW: War Destroyers. HDWs, Frigates (I will be shocked if anyone actually builds a Frigate).
We will also follow the F&E Guide lines as to what can be build as closely as possible. Hydrans can’t build all CAVs and MKEs, Feds can’t build only NCDs, etc . . . Details need to be worked out between myself and the RMs.
Ship conversion: Too complicated for this project, the only conversions that will be allowed are converting to X/XP tech. If the RMs are willing to do this I’m open but I don’t think it’s really worth it. I expect most ships to die before conversion anyway.
On ship per pilot?: I’m still thinking this is the best way to go but I’m open for suggestions as long as they don’t include a strap-on or a goat.
Fighter Factors: Keeping track of attrition unit loses in a campaign like this is going to be impossible. F&E gets around this by having “Fighter Factors” in which you pay a decent amount up front for the carrier but the replacement fighters are free. EXAMPLE: In F&E a K-C7V cost 12 EP for the ship and another 12 EP for the “fighter factors.” Empires would also get several free fighter factors per year (in the case of the Klingons, 12) so if that C7V was the only fighter the Klingons built that year the fighters would essentially have cost them nothing.
Since we’re going to stay with the 2/3 fighters reduction (unless both RMs say otherwise, I’m open to full-fighter deployment.) each empire will get 8 “Free fighter” factors per year, additional fighter factors will cost 1 EP each. Hybrid ships (Casual carriers, I’ll have a Spreadsheet of those as well) require half a factor per fighter so the Hydran don’t get screwed.
I know what some of you are thinking, fighters are more effective in SFB than SFC so why do they still cost the same? Two reasons: first, Megapacks cost extra in SFB/F&E but we will not be charging for this. Second in F&E the fighters could only be used in one battle per turn. In ISC Invasion fighters can be used in countless battles. In this setup where ships cannot repair in spacedock carriers are worth their weight in gold!
PFs: PFs are a conundrum. In F&E PFs cost ½ EP each and their production was unlimited, you could build as many as you wanted as long as they were assigned to planets, bases, or Ships. We have a couple of options regarding PF Deployment. First we can keep track of all PFs built and then remove them from the tally when they are killed. The price would be 1/3 EP per PF because PFs are not as deadly in the SGO mod as they are in SFB (AI control is the biggest factor).
The second option would is to charge a “lease” per Mechlink. I’m thinking 1 EP per Mechlink per turn. This is more than fighters but at the same time you need to remember that PFs can added to a hell of a lot more ships than fighters can.
Both options have their pros and cons. Option 1 requires more record keeping but is more Flexible. Option 2 is easier to go with but might not be as efficient. Say we go with option you have 10 Ships that you wish to have mechlinks, it will cost you 20 EP a round. It might be cheaper if option 1 is used because that 20 EP could buy 60 PFs and if they aren’t all used, they can be used next round.
Fleeting rules: What should they be? A lot of the Current SGO fleeting rules are “artificial” to try to limit ships that were rare and minimized cheese fleets. Since were using full OOB, is this even needed? You won’t be able to build all specialty ships. They only thing I insist on is No “capital” ships winging together. Nothing else is written in stone.
Repair: To repair a ship it needs to sit out a round. I’m thinking the repair cost should be the ½ the EP cost of a ship rounded down. EXAMPLE: An F-CB costs 9 EP to build. It would cost 4 EP to repair.