Is there a way to have Star Wars space combat make sense?
Posted: Mon Jun 12, 2017 11:57 pm
When you think about ships blasting each other into pieces you naturally think of Star Wars (or at least I do). And that happens because Star Wars space combat is fucking awesome. Something about the X-Wing, TIE fighter, Star Destroyer, and whatnot duking it out totally resonates with people. It works okay on the big screen, but is there a system where it would work after thinking about it for a few minutes?
I'm thinking along the lines of capital ships and tiny fighters. If we're talking Star Wars we want to have both Star Destroyers and X-Wings flying around shooting things. But if the X-Wing can reasonably damage the Star Destroyer then having a Star Destroyer feels a little bit like having a battleship in 1942 (or 2002 for that matter): an ineffectual waste of money. Why have Star Destroyers at all instead of cheap carriers launching a bunch of cheap fighters? But if the X-Wing can't even scratch the Star Destroyer we have the opposite issue: what's the point of bringing the X-Wings along? Why are we having fighter-versus-fighter combat anyway when none of that shit actually matters? Putting these two together feels a bit like unifying general relativity and quantum mechanics. Throw in the ability for the player to make a difference on either one of these scales and now it's double hard.
I figure what you need to think about is a list of objectives that you want your space combat fleet to be able to accomplish. Here's a few I had in mind:
So what do you think -- is there some system of making this sort of combat that is obviously really desirable to have, possible and sensible? Is there a way to do it while having players able to make a meaningful difference on either side of the equation?
I'm thinking along the lines of capital ships and tiny fighters. If we're talking Star Wars we want to have both Star Destroyers and X-Wings flying around shooting things. But if the X-Wing can reasonably damage the Star Destroyer then having a Star Destroyer feels a little bit like having a battleship in 1942 (or 2002 for that matter): an ineffectual waste of money. Why have Star Destroyers at all instead of cheap carriers launching a bunch of cheap fighters? But if the X-Wing can't even scratch the Star Destroyer we have the opposite issue: what's the point of bringing the X-Wings along? Why are we having fighter-versus-fighter combat anyway when none of that shit actually matters? Putting these two together feels a bit like unifying general relativity and quantum mechanics. Throw in the ability for the player to make a difference on either one of these scales and now it's double hard.
I figure what you need to think about is a list of objectives that you want your space combat fleet to be able to accomplish. Here's a few I had in mind:
- Embargo a planet or section of space
Destroy planetary infrastructure
Destroy space infrastructure
Capture an enemy vessel
Carry troops and material
Provide fire support to the ground
So what do you think -- is there some system of making this sort of combat that is obviously really desirable to have, possible and sensible? Is there a way to do it while having players able to make a meaningful difference on either side of the equation?