View source for Guts of minefields and sweeping

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==Overview==

*Subject: Re: Minefield damage - shields count ?
*Date: Mon, 07 Sep 1998 16:15:50 GMT
*From: {email removed by editor} (Shane Kearns)
*Organization: UUNET UK server (post doesn't reflect views of UUNET UK)
*Newsgroups: rec.games.computer.stars

On Mon, 07 Sep 1998 14:40:22 GMT, {email removed by editor}
(chris) wrote:

 >Hi, do shields matter when you hit explosive mines ?
 >
 >And am I correct in saying that if you had say 2 ships in a fleet (no
 >ramscoops) that hit a mine they would each take 250 points of damage
 >and if there was 1 ship it would take 500 damage because of the
 >min fleet damage of 500 ?
Yes, but all the damage multiplies up by number of engines - so if you
are talking about destroyers you are right, but 1 cruiser takes 1000
damage from hitting a standard mine.

Damage taken is the greater of 5 or the number of ships, multiplied by
the mine damage, multiplied by number of engines per ship.

When shields are present, half of the damage will go to the shields
and half to armor (as for a torpedo hit), but any overflow on the
shields will go to armor.

Example: destroyers with a bear neutrino barrier in the GP slot
5 destroyers take 500 damage = 100 damage each = 50 to armor, 50 to
shields (absorbed)
1 destroyer takes 500 damage = 250 to armor, 250 to shields, but as
it only has 100 shields the extra 150 rolls over for a total of 400
damage to the armor

==Scanning and Detection==

A mine field is 75% cloaked 
if you haven't seen it before. Minefields are always cloaked 75% from non-penetrating scanners.

You can see both the center and radius of another player's minefield under these circumstances:

¨	The center of the minefield is in range of your penetrating scanner, OR

¨	You have hit the minefield at least once, OR

¨	The center is in range of your normal scanners, OR

¨	You are currently IN the mine field.

==Some minesweeper designs==

==="light sweeper"===
Scout or frigate hull with 1 gatling gun
Advantages:-
* Very cheap, can afford to lose 19 rushing into a minefield warp 9 so the 20th can get through and sweep it.
* Put a scanner on it and it doubles as a security role, spotting incoming cloaked ships and preventing mines being laid (waypoint 0 sweeping)
Disadvantages:-
* Easily killed
* Useless against SD detonating minefields

==="sweeper"===
Destroyer hull with organic armor, a shield and 2 gatlings or heavy blasters.
Mechanical slot usually takes a jet or overthruster for an intercept role, otherwise empty
Electrical slot usually empty, but can take a cloak (SS), an antimatter generator(IT).
If you are lucky enough to get it, use the MT armor with inbuilt shielding - that way you can put 2 cloaks on the design (great for SS
with 2 ultras)
Advantages:-
* Survivable against mine hits/detonations - may need to stack
Disadvantages:-
* cost, not very effective as an interceptor/general skirmisher

==="heavy sweeper"===
Cruiser hull with 4 heavy blasters (or megadisrupters at high tech), some combination of armour, shields and jammers depending on tech
levels.  Often an overthruster.
Advantages:-
* A better general purpose skirmisher than the destroyer
* Missile resistant (if jammers used - hard to put more than 1 on a destroyer)
Disadvantages:-
* Cruisers take 2x mine damage than destroyers, so need at least 2x the armour/ shield to make up
* Expensive

==="skirmisher"===
Rogue (SS), Galleon or Nubian (others)
Essentially a ship you cloak as high as you can, but give it both minesweeping and minelaying ability.
Example:-
* Partisan class Nubian [100kT]
* 3 transgalactic mizer scoop [33kt]
* 12 Super-Stealth cloaks (4 stacks) [36kT]
* 3 Big mutha Cannons (1 stack) [9kT]
* Jump Gate (1 stack) [10kT?]
* 6 Heavy-200 dispensers (2 stacks) [120kT]
* 2 overthrusters (1 stack) [10kT]
* 6 complete phase shields (2 stacks) [6kT]
* 3 Jammer-30 (1 stack) [3kT]
Advantages:-
* Versatile - could save a design slot
* Stealthy - operate behind enemy lines
Disadvantages:-
* Very expensive
  
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