1 reply to this topic

[Gorthaur]

I have two CA's in formation, then one of them gets a Rudder critical hit. But since their speeds are within 10 Knots, they have to remain in formation.

On another note, if said damaged ship repaired it's rudder within one turn, due to the increased cost (doubled) for turning from then on, I can't see within the rules, how this ship could get into formation, since they use the same movement plot.

This formation movement rule seems to work with only speed as the damage, but not if a ship has rudder damage. I think that rudder damaged ships should be allowed to be removed from a formation as well, not just for speed differences.

Personally, the only way I see this done, is to have the rudder hit ship put into its own formation and when its rudder is repaired, it can make its way towards the rest of the formation to join it. But I still can't see within the rules how it would stay in formation if the formation starts doing turns ( due to its increase turning cost ). Thus it should stay in its own formation and do the best it can to stay with the previous formation it was apart of.


cheers

[Cpt M]

I have two CA's in formation, then one of them gets a Rudder critical hit. But since their speeds are within 10 Knots, they have to remain in formation.

On another note, if said damaged ship repaired it's rudder within one turn, due to the increased cost (doubled) for turning from then on, I can't see within the rules, how this ship could get into formation, since they use the same movement plot.

This formation movement rule seems to work with only speed as the damage, but not if a ship has rudder damage. I think that rudder damaged ships should be allowed to be removed from a formation as well, not just for speed differences.

Personally, the only way I see this done, is to have the rudder hit ship put into its own formation and when its rudder is repaired, it can make its way towards the rest of the formation to join it. But I still can't see within the rules how it would stay in formation if the formation starts doing turns ( due to its increase turning cost ). Thus it should stay in its own formation and do the best it can to stay with the previous formation it was apart of.

Generally speaking, any ship that suffers substantial damage to either its engineering plant (ie, speed) or its steering (ie, rudder) would be released by the divisional commander from maintaining its station within the formation. Other grounds for such a release would be need for a ship to pull out line so as to fight extensive fires or if its firepower has been so reduced (ie, losing all main guns) that the ship is no longer combat worthy. In the case you mentioned, there are two options. First, assuming the rudder has been quickly repaired, the entire formation can adopt the same movement costs as the damaged ship, or second, the ship is immediately released to move independently. The more common option is the second since this maintains the freedom of action of the entire formation.

Formation movement is meant to ease the workload of the divisional commander and his staff in bringing multiple ships into action. As battle damage accumulates, it was common practice for a divisional commander to release ships that would otherwise inhibit his ability to freely move and fight.