Game design (FASA rules)

[Aeneas137]

Please share ideas for the game's design goals here. Obviously the game needs to follow the basic FASA rules but to what extent will they be represented in this game? I recommend a 100% adoption of the rules and turn-based gameplay. Please discuss your thoughts.

[Aeneas137]

You know one of my biggest pet peeves with this game? Basing total power units on the engines, ignoring the matter/anti-matter reactor on every ship since TOS. I think the official Star Trek writers (maybe even Gene) are partially to blame for this by calling the M/A-M reactor the "warp core". That was a misnomer. The reactor has nothing to do with the warp nacelles aside from giving them power to function (there are no "warp engines"). But Gene was basing this off of Navy ships, which have a reactor and propellers, no "engines". So, "engine" is the reactor. In WWII ships, it was coal/diesel and "state of the art" was steam turbine. (which evolved into nuclear). Thus, the two warp nacelles are the propellers driven by the "engine". Even in most cars, the driveshaft is equal to the propeller on a ship, turned by the engine.

FASA's writers misunderstood these basics of engineering. The warp nacelles generate the warp field using energy from the reactor. Gene visualized them as the propellers of a ship. (Ugh, FASA...).

The FASA ship specs have a property called Total Power Units Available. This is calculated based on the points given to the warp engine(s) and impulse engine. As if the impulse engine generates electricity too? If an engine is damaged in combat, then total power units drops. The Excelsior for example:

Warp Engine Power Units: 38 (x2)
Impulse Engine Power: 40
Total Power Units Available: 116

Giving the engines a power number is handled correctly, taking into account the movement ratio. Excelsior's is 6/1, meaning 6 points = 1 move. (including rotating in place). So, with 116 pts, Excelsior can move 19 hexes in one round (and have almost no power for anything else). That's fine. Engine power units determine how fast the ship is and if they drop to 0, the ship can't move. However, it's stupid that engine points are just added up to represent reactor output.

FASA lumps warp and impulse engines together into a virtual reactor. Oh well. I wish we could call the total points something like "reactor output" and ignore the "engine power units". If the impulse engine is fully damaged, the ship could still fully power shields without being able to move, but not via FASA rules. (erg!).

For purists, this game should follow the FASA rules, but I think it will be welcome to have a toggle for some rules that are idiotic.