Tonnage, Armour and Hit Points, Oh My!

Static <eshum@??????.???.com> spewed forth...
> >> 	Hey, _one_ is more than I got for my helm design meta-system!
> >
> >    Hmm, didn't see that one.  Is it on your site?
>
> 	Nope.  It never went past the alpha stage since feedback from
> the list was so... non-existant. :)

    So, what was the gist of this system?

> 	Wow, I really *wasn't* making sense their... :)  What I meant was
> that I havn't decided -- for myself -- what AC and HP really mean.
By
> lowering the AC of a ship, you're making it tougher because it
becomes
> harder to hit.  By adding HP to a ship, you're making it tougher
because
> it becomes harder to damage.  It seems like generic "toughness" could
> be measured in either better AC or more HP.  Your system took the
"more
> HP" approach, while the boxed set seems to have taken the "better AC"

> approach, as shown by the dragonfly and damselfly.  In the end, I
havn't
> figured out which is better.

    Ahhh, now I see.
    In the old system, HP's were based strictly on tonnage.  AR was
mostly based on material type.  What I tried to do was go in and
add a finer level of design by seperating the Frame and the Hull into
two distinct components.
    Basically, in my system the Frame is the primary factor on HP's,
as indicated by the formula for them, where Frame has a 75% share
of determination.  The Hull is the determining factor in AR, along
with maneuverability (quicker ships are more capable of getting out
of the way.
    IOW, The Hull and MC are used for Passive Defense and Dodge (GURPS
terms, for those others who may be reading), while the Frame determines
Hit Points (mostly).
    I thought of making HP's based only on the Frame, with the Hull
only affecting AR, but this didn't seem quite right.  So, I just gave
it a lesser role (25%)

> 	Does that make sense?

    Yup.  Does my explanation?

> (Trying not to get into a "what are HP anyway?" discussion.  At least
not
> on the list... (: )

    Awww, come on.  The list has slown down anyway. :)


Leroy Van Camp III
malacoda@???????.???????.com
owner-mystara-l@??.com

"You know, not kneeing you in the groin is a constant struggle."
					MST3K