Vector movement

System Defense Boats. Looked down upon by the Imperial Navy with their huge warsships and noble heritage. Yet the local defense by the SDBs is essential as it locks up forces to guard already taken systems. The SDBs hide on planets with atmospheres, on asteroids in the belts or inside the atmospheres of gasgiants. There they stay, for months, waiting for an opportunity to strike back. Lacking jumpdrives, an SDB always outgun a warship, ton for ton or Megacredit for Megacredit. This lack of jump capaility is also their achilles heel, they rely on fragile Jumpshuttles to ferry them outsystem or to rotate their crews.

3.4.2 changes

Well, I have been busy haven’t I. Lots of large and small changes in the rulebook and designs. Aerobraking, landing, crashing, taking off, ramming or docking have been updated and clarified. A ship’s signatures and scan changes when on a planet, asteroid or hovering in gasgiant atmosphere have been added. Lots of little changes here and there, updated designs and design system to make Visual(Hull) and the effects of being in sunshine or darkness are in, all ready ship designs updated.

Scan procedure

At the sensor phase of each gameturn players take turn calling scans that the opponent then handles. Maximum two scans per side per turn regardless of the number of ships and you cannot use the same sensor twice in a turn. The player with lowest Initiative scan first, describing both scas to the target player before the target responds. This is so you don’t learn something from the first scan when planning the second scan. When both scans have been resolved it is the high Initiative players turn to do two scans and the low Initiative player to respond.

A scan consist of a type (Visual, IR, Radar, Neutrino or Mass), strength (sensor strength modified by scan size and ship damage), size (5 x 5 boxes, 3 x 3, boxes, 1 box, 3 x 3 squares or 1 square scans in inceasing strength but smaller area) and the center (box or square depending on).

Now it is the target’s turn to ask a number of questions, which questions depends on where the scan was placed. Below I’ll describe three consecutive scans on three turns by one side (player A) and the questions and results from player B. These examples are also available in the rulebook, on page 11.

Scan 1
A has his ship located in 1 and decides to do a 1 box Scan in box B4. His Sensor is +2 and the scan modifier for a 1 box scan is -1.
Player A ”I have a visual scan, strength +1, one box large, in box B4.”
Player B ”Does your Scan touch your ships Sunglare column?”
Player A ”Yes, my Scan touches my sunglare, dammit!”
Player B ”Is your scanning ship inside a gravity well?”
Player B ”No it does not scan from within gravity”
There could have been up to three more questions but none of them apply.
The scanner grudgingly admits that the Scan does touch his Sunglare column so the target reduce his Scan strength by -6 to an abysmal -5. If the target had ships or missiles inside the entire Scan he would hav added -5 to their Visual(Hull) and Visual(Thrust) signatures and if the sum came up 0+ he would have told the scanner the sum, given the position of the target(s) to him and the scanner would do a Sensor  task roll to see if ge got a Tracked result. The target player now also knows that the scanner’s ship is somwhere below the box.
I have colored the entire Scan 1 orange because of the Sunglare strength reduction, the Scan is still valid but very weak. Don’t stare into the sun.

Scan 2
Player A has moved his ship into position 2 and decide to do a huge 3×3 box scan centered around E1. The scan modifier for a 3×3 scan is -3 so his Scan strength is -1.
Player A ”I have a Visual Scan strength -1 three by three boxes in box E1.”
Player B ”Does your Scan touch your ships Sunglare column?”
Player A ”No it doesn’t. I have learned my lesson”
Player B ”Is your scanning ship inside a gravity well?”
Player A ”Eh, yes it is”
Player B ”OK, what blocked near and far sector touches your scan?”
Player A ”The northeast near and far sector”
Player B ”Thanks, are you scanning from the shadow column”
Player A ”No”
The northeast near and far sector is colored gray in the pictures. If player B had any ships or missiles inside the parts of the scan inside northeast near and far those targets would have been ignored. The near is simply the gravity sector and far extends from that forever. The Scan touches the Sun column but as player A wasn’t scanning from the Shadow column this had no effect.
I have colored the parts of the scan that should be ignored in red.

Scan 3
Player A has drifted into position 3 with the help of gravity. He decides to do a 3×3 box Scan in E4. He figures the Shadow column will protects him from Sunglare. The Scan strength is -1.
Player A ”Visual Scan strength -1 three by three boxes in E4.”
Player B ”Does your Scan touch your ships Sunglare column?”
Player A ”No”
Player B ”Is your scanning ship inside a gravity well?”
Player A ”No”
Player B ”Are you scanning from the shadow column”
Player A ”Yes”
Player B ”Your scan touches gravity, what blocked near sector does it touch?”
Player A ”Damned! The north near sector is blocked”
The Sun column as well as the near north sector will be ignored but most of the Scan is still valid as you can see. Had his scanning ship been 3 squares to the right none of the Scan would be blocked but he would suffer Sunglare.
I have colored the Sun column and north near sector of the Scan in red.

As you can see, the procedure is quite simple: Scanner decides on a scan, tells type, strength, size and center to the target. The target then asks a bunch of questions and depending on the answers certain parts of the scan will be ignored.

Don’t stare into the sun you hippy you!

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