So it depends a bit how your rule system works I think. Using values in degrees looks not very handy for playing a RPG to me, especially if multiple turrets are involved. Maybe if you explain how the rules will roughly work we can find a fitting way to define firing arcs.
Fair enough.
I agree that a system that requires exact numbers of degrees doesn't really work for an RPG environment. Unfortunately, I have to be able to cater to just that type of system. See, the combat rules are designed to cater to as many
types of role-players as possible, with the systemic rules selected by an adventure's GM (so folks who just want to make a single die roll to see if they survive combat can do that, those who want a
Final Fantasy-style encounter can do that, those who really should be playing
Battlefleet Gothic can do that, and so forth). The only other positive aspect of setting things up that way is that the simpler, more abstract systems are pretty easy to derive from the complex one (and I'm the one who's doing the work there; the GMs should just be able to plug in the rules and go).
The system is going to be 2D - the only thing the third dimension would add would be some kind of range modifier, adding a whole lot of complexity for not much benefit. 3D can be emulated in the really abstract systems well, but there's no good way to do it with any type of physical grid involved. So I'm completely discounting elevations, except in the case where they would give the weapon additional degrees of fire into a certain arc.
The way things stand, I do have a series of defined firing arcs that correlate to a number of degrees bearing, starting at zero degrees from the craft's bow and going around a circle clockwise until 360 degrees is reached (again at the ship's bow). Fairly standard way of doing things, naturally. By giving the name of a defined arc for a weapon, the system sets the number of degrees involved. For example, the guns on most of the fighters are set to fire into the "Foreward Narrow" arc (and yes, I know that's misspelled - something I intend to correct when it comes time to proofread). That arc correlates to bearings of 338°-22, basically a 45-degree arc (cone?) ahead of the craft. The defined arc of fire are in 45, 90, 180 and 300 degree increments (and the system does allow for combinations of other arc increments)
If you need further clarification, lemme know; most of this stuff is explained at
http://wcrpg.wikia.com/wiki/6.2.3:_Vehicular_Systems_and_Equipment#Weapons .
The same general rules for Weapons Stations will apply to capital ships.
The Kamrani class corvette is a interesting one on the Kilrathi side, it has a medium turret that covers a complete hemisphere behind the ship's stern. The other four turrets are mounted on the top and bottom and cover the whole hemisphere above and below the ship.
So for example, I'd say the medium turret would fire into the Aft Hemisphere only, and the others would be 360-degree turrets.
Well, you could look at the turret placement of the ships included in Saga if you just open their entries in the tech room.
Oooh...that'd be helpful. I'll have to fire up Saga when I get home; that should put me a good way towards getting the WC3/4 ships out of the road.
Most of the ships have their turrets on the top or bottom and can turn in every direction. The elevation can't get negative though, and of course the ships' shape determines some blind spots. There are very few models that have turrets placed on the sides or in an angle other than 0, 180 or 90 degrees from the roll axis of their ship.
I was thinking that was the case for most ships. Makes sense to have as big of a field of fire as possible...
For turrets like the ones on the sides of the Frakthi II cruiser you can assume that they can cover approximately the upper hemisphere of the ship minus 20-30 degrees elevation on the side facing the ship.
Azimuth or elevation? Just trying to be be clear here...I'm discounting elevation.
Also keep in mind that turret numbers and placement vary depending on what source you look at. Usually the official WC games use whatever fits ingame, while the turrets described in the manuals are vastly different. IIRC Saga normally used the turrets like they were in WC3 (ingame), changing some things here and there when a ship appeared completely out of balance, for example if there were huge blind spots or when the ships were just too weak to be of any use.
Ships before the WC3 era often seem to be firing in any direction they want, they don't care where their turrets are supposed to be located or whether their shape would block their own turrets from firing.
Yeah...that one's worrying me, actually. I had planned to go off of what was printed in the manuals; largely that's what happened with the fighters (big exception there being when I had to make up sizes).
May have to rectify things on those old ships. Programming limitations, my backside......
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