[TML] Expanding the turret selection.

[Grimmund]

On Sat, Jul 5, 2008 at 12:52 PM, Jerry W Barrington
<jerry.barrington at gmail.com> wrote:

>> Decent rules for fixed mounts with limited arcs of fire and something
>> between a bay and a spinal mount would be nice too.
>
> You guys are really opening up a can of complexity worms here.  :D
>

Nah.  You would think fixed mounts would have been a gimme, especially
for things like fighter craft.

The downside of fixed mounts is that they're not as versatile as a
turret.  If the target's not in your front arc, you've got to choose
between forward acceleration and shooting the target.  Flashback to
Babylon-5 and the starfury...

Even with single turret,  to some extent, you have to maneuver the
ship to get the target into the turret's arc of fire.  With a single
ship, single turret, and single target, rolling the ship on the long
axis so that the surface  with the turret is facing toward the target
so that the turret bears, is automatic, and assumed as part of the
targeting sequence.  Generally, though, you can continue on course at
the same time., both fighting and running.  If you're decelerating,
you can slew the turret to face aft, and keep firing at the target as
you slow down.

With a fixed mount, that's more difficult.  If you're being chased,
you can fight or run, but not both.  If you're chasing, you may still
not be able to bring a forward mount to bear, depending on relative
speeds and how far out your intercept point is.    (You may need to
aim your ship far enough "ahead" of your target that they are out of
your line of fire; likewise, if you're decelerating, your drive is
pointing at the target, and your weapons are pointed out into the big
empty.


 Most TV and movies tend to portray space fighters as though they are
atmospheric craft.   A fixed mount makes sense when flying in an
atmosphere (due to drag, and the need to maintain forward speed to
stay airborne, and the ability to slow down by simply easing off on
thrust and letting drag slow you)  but it makes less sense in space.

A fixed mount might  be cheaper than a turret and better than nothing,
but turrets would likely be strongly preferred to fixed mounts.


Dan