3 replies to this topic

[Ken Portner]

I know that detection and/or acquisition attempts are made by a division flagship (or if the division is part of a formation by one of the division flagships) but what is the "target" of the attempt?

Example, let's say that there is an enemy formation marker at 4,000 yards. The formation marker represents two divisions. My division flagship rolls an ADR and acquires it. Are all the ships in the formation put on the table? Only the ships of one of the divisions in that formation?


A different situation. There is an enemy division that has been detected and is represented on the table by blip markers. My flagship rolls and ADR using the table row for the range to the closest blip and succeeds. Do they place only the ship represented by the blip on the table, or do all of the ships in the divsion get put on the table.

Final question. If an enemy ship/division/formation is detected by any of my ships, is it detected by all of my ships? Similarly, is an enemy ship/division/formation that is acquired by any of my ships acquired by all of my ships that are within range?

Thank you.

[Bob Benge]

This post apparently has been missed. Has it been addressed yet in anouther thread? If not can we get this answered please? I am interested in the answer.

Thanks!

[Lonnie Gill]

G’ Day Ken,

My apologies for the delay in this reply. I was unfortunately sidelined for a while and somehow missed your post. Your questions are good to explore as simulating the confusion and limited awareness of a night engagement is somewhat complex and must limit the choices of gamers who have a near omnipresent perspective of the whole tactical area totally denied the real participants. The answers to your questions are contained in rule Sections 1.12.3 (page 1-19) and 1.12.6 (page 1-20).

Rule Section 1.12.3 provides that a division flagship can attempt to detect/acquire one non-visible formation in each 60° arc. If there were multiple formations in an arc, it would be the closest formation – of either side. That is the “target” of the detection/acquisition attempt. When a search is successful, all ships in a detected division (that are in range, see below) are detected/acquired. For radar detection, the number of “blips” placed in the tactical area depends on the discrimination level of the SW radar (R =, R – or R +). When the detected/acquired formation contains more than one division, all divisions that are within the detection/acquisition range indicated by the ADR are also detected/acquired. If the ADR range is 6ooo yds and the contacted formation is a column that extends further away, only those ships that are within 6ooo yds of the scanning ship will be detected/acquired. In your example, the lead ship of the detected formation is 4ooo yds away. But, if the lead division contains four ships, the last ship or two may be more than 6ooo yds away and thus not detected/acquired. When the ADR indicated range is longer, this would also apply to a following division, limiting detection/acquisition to those ships in the second division that are within range. Note detection/acquisition of multiple divisions only applies if they are part of a contiguous formation.

When a division is acquired, all of its component ships within range are acquired by all ships in the searching flagship’s division. However, as detailed in rule Section 1.12.6 for gunnery attacks, all ships in the acquiring division initially “lock on” to the nearest target vessel, or largest if equidistant. This simulates the limited or partial awareness of a night action that precluded proper fire distribution across multiple targets. Each firing ship can make one ADR attempt per Game Turn to shift to a different target in the acquired division. If successful, fire is shifted to the new target. If not, the original target can continue to be engaged. This process will result in multiple ships engaging the nearest or largest target when opening fire and then shifting to other targets over the course of several Game Turns.

I trust this clarifies the situations you outlined. Let me know if you have further questions on how to apply the detection/acquisition rule limits in nocturnal engagements. I will add a clarification for multiple division formations to the GQ 3.3 consolidation text that I am currently working on. This will incorporate Amendments 1 and 2 into the main rules text. When finished, the update will be available as a free download to you and all other registered GQ III owners per ODGW policy.

LONNIE

[Aman]

How about some examples of play to help demonstrate the rules? Also, you might want to incorporate Fratricide as an example within the rule section in an example.

As for us, I had to streamline it a bit for formations, and seperate things a bit when we only have 1-2 ships per player. We didn't find the rule worked in actual play, but perhaps it does if everyone knows the rules really well.