Sensor Ranges on Capital Ships

[Jefffar]

The Zentreadi Book has all the Zentreadi Ship Features (they are in just one section at the front rather than repeated for every ship).

I'd look for a similar list in the Deck Plans books for Macross.

[Colonel Wolfe]

Robotech book 3, pg 23:
4. The Command Center/Ships Bridge.

"... 80,000 mile Range, and can track over 700 targets, with a 94% accuracy..."

the Weapon ranges beyond the Radair Range most likely uses a Secondary vessel to give the Ship corodinates to fire on.(much like Laser guided Missiles that have a guy on the groud to give the target area/hold a Laser for it to hit.

[Drakenred®™©]

Robotech book 3, pg 23:
4. The Command Center/Ships Bridge.

"... 80,000 mile Range, and can track over 700 targets, with a 94% accuracy..."

the Weapon ranges beyond the Radair Range most likely uses a Secondary vessel to give the Ship corodinates to fire on.(much like Laser guided Missiles that have a guy on the groud to give the target area/hold a Laser for it to hit.

I have always had a problem with Laser based weapon systems that take a second to hit something at max range,

basicaly the targeting radar ping comes back a second later with where the ship was a second ago, and provieds the critical last second(pun intended) update to the targets position heading and speed and then sends a lazer bolt out to where it hopes it will be a second from now.
(even a change in velocity of 5 KPS will send the shot into space and that not even a fraction of the acceleration that a flagship can do)

[Colonel Wolfe]

Robotech book 3, pg 23:
4. The Command Center/Ships Bridge.

"... 80,000 mile Range, and can track over 700 targets, with a 94% accuracy..."

the Weapon ranges beyond the Radair Range most likely uses a Secondary vessel to give the Ship corodinates to fire on.(much like Laser guided Missiles that have a guy on the groud to give the target area/hold a Laser for it to hit.

That's helpfull Colonel, thank you. Now, is the RDF/REF radar up to Zentraedi specs? And what about the Masters?

your welcome.
well, the books are Sketchy at best...
as for the RDF/UEF/REF....
nothing is listed for the SDF-1 nor the ARMD platforms. but the Space Shuttle has a 200mile Radar, which isnt much better then some of the Mecha...
I'd Assume the SDF-1 and ARMD's have Radar Ranges on par with the Zents, as it wasnt much more then a Seeder ship Zor Stole.
the UEF has Radar Ranges for its Shuttles, but they are still around 100 miles.
The Horizon has a 200mile radar.. the Garfish & Ikazuchi have a "Long Range" radar... what ever that means exactly... most likely the same as the Zents 80,000 miles.

The Masters...
the only "Mecha" they have with a Listed Radar? the Terminator, with its 6 mile Radar...
Since the Masters Equiped the Zents, and the Masters Should have Better Tech for them selves.

[Novastar]

Actually, the ARMD have a radar range of only 300 miles (top of pg 68 in RT:Book#1). The Prometheus and Daedalus both have 200 mile range radars, though Col. Wolfe is right, they never stat out the SDF-1's radar range (and I agree with him that it should be close to what the Zent's have). Out of all the 1st Gen vehicles, the Cat's Eye Recon has the most powerful radar, at 400 miles.

However, I like a suggestion Zerebus once made, reduce the range for the Zent's guns down by a factor of 10 (20,000 miles). That way ships have to see one another before they can engage...

[Jefffar]

macross II has Special Rules about radar in space ...
in short, the ranges are raised by alot..

That's pretty much what should be done.

Space battles can (and should) take place at incredibly long ranges.

Though the toe to toe fights are far more fun (best example - Battle of Endor)

[Novastar]

What Book and page # please

Macross II Main Book, pg 42

And if you want to make it even tighter, throw out strong ECM/Minovsky Particles and force everything down to visual range, aka about 100 miles in space!

Well, of course!
The job of any ship in space combat, is to see better than the enemy...
Strangely, the Zent ships do have a means of blocking radar in a ten mile area, but it only works up to 400 miles away (in space combat, spitting distance)...

[Colonel Wolfe]

I was gonna look to the Macross OSM materials made by Kawamiroe.... but when i saw the Factory Satalte was 3000 Kilometers in height... I stopped looking.... Anything he Made up after the fact would prolly be more related to Magic then Science...

[Wildfire]

I was gonna look to the Macross OSM materials made by Kawamiroe.... but when i saw the Factory Satalte was 3000 Kilometers in height... I stopped looking.... Anything he Made up after the fact would prolly be more related to Magic then Science...

What is OSM? and who is Kawamiroe?

[The Artist Formerly]

Just to kick my two cents in, as most of the human tech, and by much I mean all, is derived from Zor's machine, earth's finest are going to be running on par with the Zentraedi. The Masters should be better, maybe a 10% bonus to ranges if you don't have ideas for spesifics already.

But do remember, which ever side has the homefield advantage will likely have a network of satellites and bases and what not to add to their sensor and processing ability. For example, a Masters' ship caught in a grand space melee with the Earth forces (hypotheticly speaking of course) would be limited to a Zent Flag ship's abilities plus what ever modifier you give them, while the Earth Forces should have maxium benifits for sensors. Even if the UEG Peter Griffin capital ship couldn't normaly spot the Masters' ship, the two moon bases, other UEG ships, and all those satellites would tie in to give the Peter Griffin a weapons lock.

[Wildfire]

I will pose this question to you all now: If space combat is suppose to work out over such massive ranges, with weapons at X00,000 miles, then why is it that the 2nd Robotech War seems to be a series of comparatively point blank engagements? Why did the Masters wait for the Southern Cross ships to get so close when they could have cut them all down at range?

(there IS a good answer... actually, several of them)

Well first off is you engaged your enemy at the max range of the big guns and wanted your assult fighter to attack I hope you designed a good waste recycling unit.

[The Artist Formerly]

I will pose this question to you all now: If space combat is suppose to work out over such massive ranges, with weapons at X00,000 miles, then why is it that the 2nd Robotech War seems to be a series of comparatively point blank engagements? Why did the Masters wait for the Southern Cross ships to get so close when they could have cut them all down at range?

(there IS a good answer... actually, several of them)

The Masters were too short on power for long range engagements, and the Earth forces were also somewhat low, plus they didn't really give a rat *** what the masters did away from earth.

[Colonel Wolfe]

The Masters Didnt want to fight the ASC. they wanted the Martix, nothign more.
that dosent mean they wouldnt waste the earth just to do it, but to the Masters, Every assult by the ASC was nothign more then a Fly trying to sting a Elephant... all if did was pee them off more, and Resulted in the Master nearly Destroying the Earth.
The humans Were nothing to the Masters. The Master could have brought the Full power of their Technology to bear on the Earth, but that would have Denied them the sole thing they came to earth for, the Matrix.
The Assult Corvetts in the Series Mount Electromagnetic Fission beams, and can Easily Destroy Cities.... it took the combined might of over 300 Ships to knock the Masters out of Orbit...
The Master let the ASC get in close, only because they didnt think them a True threat.
The UEG forces even at full power were unable to do much more then Halt the master progression toward their Ultimate Goal. in the End it wasnt even the ASC that stoped them, but Zor prime Destroying both the Lead Mothership and the Protoculture Matrix.