SOB FLEET RULES ------------------ | FLEET MAKEUP | ------------------ The main fighting units in SoB are fleets. They consist of ships of varying capacity that form a core fighting group. They are held together by a command ship, which determines the total number of ships a fleet can hold. The command ship (also called flagship), has attributes which define how many ships it can support. There are varieties of command ships that range from scout fleet commanders to heavy assault commanders. They can also be manned by mercenaries that the faction who controls the fleet hires, and can also be used as the personal ship for an aspiring independant hero who wants a fleet of his own. Like all ships, the command ship can be customized using modifiers that are available to all ships. ------------------ | SHIP CLASSES | ------------------ There are various classes of ships that you can build. They are grouped as: FRIGATES Good against Battleships BATTLESHIPS Good against Carriers CARRIERS Good against Frigates COMMAND SHIPS Needed for Fleet Formation MOTHER SHIPS Can equip large scale weapons/Can form Fleets As can be seen, specific ship classes are good against others. Strategic fleet makeups will make for good battle strategies in encounters. ------------------------ | SHIP CUSTOMIZATION | ------------------------ The Ship Classes that were shown in the previous section are the basic ship design types that are available to all factions for building. They can be considered to be the chassis of the ships, which can then be utilized to build specific types of ships based on needs by the faction. For example, if a faction were to have access to cloaking technology, then a new ship type could be developed using the battleship chassis and cloaking devices installed, thus allowing for cloaking battleships. Though a good number of modifiers can be added to ship designs, ships will be designed with a single offensive function in mind. That is to say, a ship cannot weild different types of direct weapons. For example, if a ship is to be a missile boat, then it must be designed as a dedicated missile boat, and ion cannons or mag rail cannons cannot be added. The amount of modification to a ship design that can be performed is determined by the statistics of the ship class chassis. A point structure will place limitations on what kind of modifications a ship class can be fitted with, with each modifier taking up certain numbers of points. Of course, the cost of producing a ship will rise with the number of modifications going up. So there will have to be a consensus between building a larger number of cost effective, specialized ships, andr building a smaller number of expensive, multifunctional ships. The player will be responsible for the designing of new ships. Each new ship design must be prototyped first, and then it will be entered into the player's ship designation database. This is the pool from which the player can choose to build a ship. The database will include all relevant information about the ship types that the player has designed (which will be hidden to other players, unless they manage to steal it, of course). Naturally, the modifiers available to a player will depend upon the technology the player has access to. ------------------ | FLEET COMBAT | ------------------ The main form of combat is fleet combat. A battle is engaged when two fleets of warring factions enter the same star system and at least one attacks the other. The initiative will be given to the defender, unless the attacker has methods for a surprise attack (cloaked fleet, etc) The battle will be taken in turns. During a turn, the player will give orders to his ships for an attack type, strategy or maneuver. He can also assign fleet formations so as to maximize damage to the enemy or minimize damage to his own fleet. Once the order is given, the opposing player will be given the oppertunity to defend or counter himself. The battle damage is resolved and the turn ends. A battle will end if one of the player's fleet is destroyed, or if a player withdraws from the battle area. Certain tactics or actions can prevent the withdrawl of a fleet, in which case it must either fight on, or surrender. If a fleet surrenders, the fleet is taken out of the control its original player and it then placed under the control of the opposing player.