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Realistic Sensor Rules
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CRMcNeill
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PostPosted: Sun Sep 11, 2016 12:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

garhkal wrote:
There's been several unique pieces of tech i have had start out as the rebels hearing about it being tested for proof of concept, then they stole it... Not having access to repair parts when they steal something like that is imo NOT a 'gotcha' type situation.

Then maintaining the system will be dependent on the GM, and how widespread he wants the tech to be. If this system is in use, or the components themselves are relatively commonplace (despite being highly illegal when used in this manner), a GM could use repairs and replacement parts as the hook to a side adventure:
    Outlaw Tech: "Ive got some parts that can replace your damaged projector units, and the holo-tiles will have to be cut to fit, but it's doable. The price? Well, how about a trade? There's a shipment I need picked up. You guys know how to run a Level Four System Blockade, right?

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garhkal
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PostPosted: Sun Sep 11, 2016 3:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

True dat.. Heck for one of those items, they had to find a way to break back INTO the place they stole the initial item of equipment, to get a load of repair parts, and security HAD been increased since the group last broke in..
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CRMcNeill
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Location: Redding System, California Sector, on the I-5 Hyperspace Route.

PostPosted: Thu Sep 29, 2016 9:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

A few things I'm considering adding for this is different classifications of sensor systems to incorporate some of the various bells and whistles I've come up with over the years.

While all existing sensor systems would retain their stats, they would be grouped into four to six different classes based on mission type. Right now, I'm thinking Commercial, Scout, Military and Recon.

The four different types would indicate whether or not the ship has access to various options, including:
    Stealth Active - Using a variety of Low Probability of Intercept techniques, the ship can use its active sensors while still remaining in Stealth mode. This is not fully a stealthy as using just Passive sensors, but can be very useful nonetheless.

    Multi-Mode - When using Search or Focus mode in one arc, a ship with multi-mode sensors may continue to use Passive or Scan in the other arcs.

    Lock-On - Allows the ship to use Focus mode to designate targets for its weapons, or to provide guidance for homing missiles.

    Designate - Normal Lock-On applies only to the ship's own weapons, but a ship with Designate capability can share targeting data with other ships.

So, based on the four sensor package classes I designated above, their capabilities would look something like this:
    Commercial
    -Stealth Active: No
    -Multi-Mode: No
    -Lock-On: No
    -Designate: No

    Scout
    -Stealth Active: Yes
    -Multi-Mode: Passive Only
    -Lock-On: No
    -Designate: No

    Military
    -Stealth Active: No
    -Multi-Mode: Passive or Scan
    -Lock-On: Yes (Front Arc only for Starfighters)
    -Designate: No

    Recon
    -Stealth Active: Yes
    -Multi-Mode: Passive or Scan
    -Lock-On: Yes
    -Designate: Yes


Thoughts? Anything I've missed?
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garhkal
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 30, 2016 1:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I can see mil getting all 4 types bu why would recon ones need lock or designate?
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CRMcNeill
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 30, 2016 7:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

garhkal wrote:
I can see mil getting all 4 types bu why would recon ones need lock or designate?

Because I wanted to preserve the uniqueness of things like the TIE/fc, in that not everything will have the ability to target designate for everything else. I wanted that to be a unique ability built into certain ships. For the purposes of what I'm proposing, Recon basically means Military Scout, in that it combines the features of the two into a single package.
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garhkal
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 30, 2016 1:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

So what's the 'other scout'?? a civilian one?
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CRMcNeill
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 30, 2016 1:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

garhkal wrote:
So what's the 'other scout'?? a civilian one?

Yes. More capable sensors that standard civilian, just without Lock On capability for weapon guidance.
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"No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.

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garhkal
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 30, 2016 11:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Rog.. Would the civvie ones have any aspect of their sensors that would be better than mil scouts/recons?
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CRMcNeill
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PostPosted: Sat Oct 01, 2016 12:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

garhkal wrote:
Rog.. Would the civvie ones have any aspect of their sensors that would be better than mil scouts/recons?

They're cheaper.
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"No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.

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CRMcNeill
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Location: Redding System, California Sector, on the I-5 Hyperspace Route.

PostPosted: Tue Sep 11, 2018 5:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I had a thought on Sensors, based on something I read in another game system.

The current ruleset for sensors is very binary, either something is Detected, or it isn't, with Identify being slightly more difficult. With real sensors, however, there is more of a grey area, where sensor contacts fade in and fade out based on conditions. As such, I'd like to suggest the following modification:
    Detect (Very Easy) - The sensor has a vague contact, with general bearing and a rough distance. In game terms, the Detecting ship knows which fire arc the contact is in, as well as whether the contact is close (less than 50% of maximum range), distant (over maximum range by 200% or less) or mid-range.

    Locate (Moderate) - The contact has firmed up sufficiently to allow for Fire Control and Sensor Focus, as well as the contact's Scale.

    Identify (Difficult) - Can identify the specific class of ship and get a read off their IFF Transponder, as well as a general description of any modifications.

Also, here is an updated list of Sensor Modifiers to the Base Difficulty:

    -5 if the range to contact is less than 50% of the Sensor Range.
    +10 if the range to contact is greater than Sensor Range by 200% or less.

    +10 if the Contact is Character or Swoop-Scale* (includes most missiles)
    +5 if the Contact is Speeder-Scale*
    +2 if the Contact is a Starfighter
    +0 if the Contact is Starship-Scale*
    -2 if the Contact is Walker-Scale*
    -6 if the Contact is Frigate-Scale* (includes small asteroids and other similarly sized objects)
    -10 if the Contact is Destroyer-Scale*
    -15 if the Contact is Dreadnought-Scale*
    -20 if the Contact is Death Star-Scale* (includes planets or moon-size natural bodies)
    -30 if the Contact is a Stellar Object of some kind (Star, Nebula, Black Hole, etc)

    +20 if Contact is hiding behind a planet or other massive body.**
    +10 if Contact has multiple other objects to hide among.**

    +10 if the Contact is not Moving
    +5 if the Contact is Moving at Cautious Speed
    -5 if the Contact is Moving at Full Speed
    -10 if the Contact is Moving at All-Out Speed

    +5 if the Contact is using Passive Sensors
    +1D if the Contact is equipped with and using Stealth-Active Sensors (Advanced sensors that utilize Low Probability of Intercept Technology)
    -5 if the Contact has Shields up and/or Weapons Armed (Weapons on Stand-By require 1 round to charge up)

    -5 to Detect / +10 to Identify if the Contact is Jamming Sensors (this rule covers localized jamming that affects only the jamming ship itself. Rules for offensive and area-effect jamming will be covered elsewhere).

    +5 or more to Identify if Contact launches a Sensor Decoy (some Decoys are more realistic than others). Sensor identifies both ship and decoy as real unless it beats the Difficulty. This can be combined with Running Silent by launching the Decoy and switching to Silent in the same round. On success, the Sensor can no longer Detect the Contact, and will Identify the Decoy as the original Contact.

    If the contact is equipped with Sensor Stealth Systems (sensor mask, hull baffling, etc) that provide a +D bonus to stealth, that roll is added to the Sensor Difficulty. Alternately, to minimize dice rolling, the value can be subtracted from the Sensor Operator's skill dice.

    *See my Scale System for details.

    **This penalty applies to the sensors on the concealed ship, as well.

_________________
"No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.

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Last edited by CRMcNeill on Tue Jul 07, 2020 7:22 pm; edited 4 times in total
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CRMcNeill
Director of Engineering
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Location: Redding System, California Sector, on the I-5 Hyperspace Route.

PostPosted: Tue Sep 11, 2018 6:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Also, the RAW for Passive Sensors is geared around detecting other passive objects. However, there is a facet of passive sensors that the RAW fails to account for, and that is that active sensor emissions can be detected at a much greater range than they can detect. In order to represent that, I offer the following:
    If the Contact is utilizing Active Sensors, add the Sensor's Passive Range to the Contact's Active Range, then treat the result as the maximum range for the Passive Sensor. In addition, the Sensor receives a +2D bonus to Sensors, as sensor emissions make it much easier to pinpoint the location, and emissions are often unique to different types of ship (which makes the Contact easier to identify). On a successful Detect roll, the Sensor will know what Active Sensor Mode the contact is using: Search/Focus (and in what Fire Arc) or Scan.

      EXAMPLE: An X-Wing is approaching a planet with Passive Sensors only (25 SUs). There is an Imperial Star Destroyer in orbit, utilizing its Sensors in Scan Mode (100 SUs). So long as the Star Destroyer keeps using its Active Sensors, the X-Wing's Passive Sensors can detect the Star Destroyer at a range of 125 SUs. This range also serves as the basis for calculating Difficulty Modifiers by range (-5 to Difficulty at 62 SUs or less - 50% or less max. range - and +10 to Difficulty from 125 SUs out to 250 - greater than max. range up to 200%). In addition, while the X-Wing normally has 0D for Passive Sensors, the pilot rolls his Sensors/Mechanical at +2D due to being able to analyze the Star Destroyer's active emissions.

    Continue to use the Scan-based modified Range unless:
      A) the Contact shifts to Search or Focus in the same arc as the Sensor, in which case, the range will be recalculated based on Search.

      B) the Contact shifts to Passive, in which case the contact is lost and the Sensor reverts to the Passive Range listed on the stat.

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"No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.

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Whill
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PostPosted: Tue Sep 11, 2018 9:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

CRMcNeill wrote:
I had a thought on Sensors... Alternately, to minimize dice rolling, the value can be subtracted from the Sensor Operator's skill dice.

Cool. I would suggest linking your scale system because people reading this might feel lost when they read swoop-scale, frigate scale, etc.
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CRMcNeill
Director of Engineering
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Joined: 05 Apr 2010
Posts: 16163
Location: Redding System, California Sector, on the I-5 Hyperspace Route.

PostPosted: Tue Sep 11, 2018 10:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Whill wrote:
I would suggest linking your scale system because people reading this might feel lost when they read swoop-scale, frigate scale, etc.

Good catch. Done.
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"No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.

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CRMcNeill
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Location: Redding System, California Sector, on the I-5 Hyperspace Route.

PostPosted: Wed Sep 12, 2018 3:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Also, in relation to the above:
    Homing Devices

    Subspace Beacon
    If successfully placed aboard a target ship, that ship is now Located out to a range of 10 hyper-minutes (10 minutes' travel in hyperspace with a x1) drive, and Detected out to a range of 30 hyper-minutes. Must be in realspace to function.

    S-Thread Tracker
    The target ship's general location (i.e. which star system) is known, and the Difficulty of plotting an Astrogation course to that system is reduced by -10 (due to the course data supplied by the trail of the S-Thread Tracker).

    Note: Both types remain in effect until the homing device is physically disabled or removed from the ship.

_________________
"No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.

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CRMcNeill
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Location: Redding System, California Sector, on the I-5 Hyperspace Route.

PostPosted: Tue Sep 18, 2018 11:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It never sat well with me that "Running Silent" literally meant powering everything down, including life-support, and slowly freezing to death all to gain a stealth advantage for a few rounds. There's no mention of it in any of the films; the closest anyone gets is in ESB where Han shuts down everything but the emergency power on the Falcon while hiding in the "asteroid." Even then, the ship still has gravity and life support.

Strictly speaking, Silent Running should be moving at Cautious Speed, using Passive Sensors only, possibly with a +5 modifier for being under tight emissions control.

"Lying Doggo" is the generally accepted term for a ship simply floating in the water, but even then, its engines were on standby.

I'm thinking of completely throwing out the WEG definition of Running Silent and replacing it with some combination of the above.
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