Decided to add another page specifically for Reference Material.
Will likely be dedicated to stuff that is not game rule specific, but rather to things that are just nice to know, or useful to have on hand to help the game (or the creation process) along.
first up is my most used reference material.
Silhouette and Speed Reference.
and because i just did a post about it...
Range Band Reference.
Sunday, December 29, 2013
Range Bands
I thought "a lot of people must have a hard time estimating distances,
i know it happens at my table a lot." I should get a better feel for
the reality of the Range categories in this game. If for no other reason than
just to have as a helpful reference.
I cracked open my book and a spreadsheet. I figured i would start by outlining the most clearly defined real measurements. I didn't get far before i realized i was going to have to make a couple of assumptions to get more than just a few 'clearly defined' measurements.
My relevant assumptions were as follows.
A few = 3 (a pretty standard assumption i think)
Several = 6 (smack dab in the middle of a few and a dozen)
I went back to my task of seeing what i could gleam from the book.
numbers with an "a" in front like "a6000" means i used one of my assumptions. Where no clear number was indicated and no assumption was really possible i left a question mark.
as you can see... the book was not very helpful in regards to real numbers
(it's ok.. it's supposed to be narrative!)
so, this didn't seem like it would be much help in giving people a better way to estimate range bands.
I did some looking into real life distances for; line of sight, voice travel, 'modern' dogfights, artillery weapons and some other things. I used some of this information to help estimate some more distances. After i had filled in some more numbers i did some comparing of ranges across the different scales. I tried to leave all the 'hard' numbers from the book as they were. Then i filled them out in a way that made as much sense as i could manage.
So for those who have a hard time Estimating distances or really don't understand the range bands.
I present to you, my best effort at giving you some hard numbers to use as a guide when determining range.
I cracked open my book and a spreadsheet. I figured i would start by outlining the most clearly defined real measurements. I didn't get far before i realized i was going to have to make a couple of assumptions to get more than just a few 'clearly defined' measurements.
My relevant assumptions were as follows.
A few = 3 (a pretty standard assumption i think)
Several = 6 (smack dab in the middle of a few and a dozen)
I went back to my task of seeing what i could gleam from the book.
numbers with an "a" in front like "a6000" means i used one of my assumptions. Where no clear number was indicated and no assumption was really possible i left a question mark.
|
LITERAL (sort of) INTERPRETATION
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|
|
range band
|
Description
|
~ distance
|
|
|
|
Personal Scale
|
Engaged
|
Close enough to interact person to person. Close enough to reach
out and touch it.
|
0
|
?
|
m
|
|
Personal Scale
|
Short Range
|
up to several meters between targets. Can talk comfortably
without raising voices.
|
?
|
a6
|
m
|
|
Personal Scale
|
Medium Range
|
up to several dozen meters away. Need to talk loudly to hear
each other.
|
?
|
a72
|
m
|
|
Personal Scale
|
Long Range
|
further than a few dozen meters. Must yell loudly to hear each
other.
|
>36
|
?
|
m
|
|
Personal Scale
|
Extreme range
|
cant hear each other even shouting.
|
?
|
?
|
m
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Planetary scale
|
Close range
|
slightly further than extreme range in personal. Up to several
km.
|
?
|
a6
|
km
|
|
Planetary scale
|
Short Range
|
up to roughly several dozen km
|
6
|
a72
|
km
|
|
Planetary scale
|
Medium Range
|
something is within medium range if it is within roughly fifty
km. long enough that only the most powerful artillery can reach it
|
?
|
<51
|
km
|
|
Planetary scale
|
Long Range
|
anywhere from a hundred to two hundred km away. Engagements
never happen at this distance.
|
51
|
<201
|
km
|
|
Planetary scale
|
Extreme range
|
athe far edge of a vehicles scanners. Weapons can not hope to
reach.
|
?
|
?
|
km
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Space Scale
|
Close range
|
uncomfortably close for capital ships. Dogfight range.
|
?
|
?
|
km
|
|
Space Scale
|
Short Range
|
just out of dogfighting range. Uncomfortably close for capital
ships.
|
?
|
?
|
km
|
|
Space Scale
|
Medium Range
|
Up to a few hundred Km.
|
?
|
300
|
km
|
|
Space Scale
|
Long Range
|
up to several thousand km
|
301
|
a6000
|
km
|
|
Space Scale
|
Extreme range
|
beyond most weapon ranges.
|
a60001
|
?
|
km
|
so, this didn't seem like it would be much help in giving people a better way to estimate range bands.
I did some looking into real life distances for; line of sight, voice travel, 'modern' dogfights, artillery weapons and some other things. I used some of this information to help estimate some more distances. After i had filled in some more numbers i did some comparing of ranges across the different scales. I tried to leave all the 'hard' numbers from the book as they were. Then i filled them out in a way that made as much sense as i could manage.
So for those who have a hard time Estimating distances or really don't understand the range bands.
I present to you, my best effort at giving you some hard numbers to use as a guide when determining range.
|
approximate Range band distances
|
|||||
|
|
range band
|
Description
|
from
|
to
|
|
|
Personal Scale
|
Engaged
|
Close enough to interact person to person. Close enough to reach
out and touch it.
|
0
|
1
|
m
|
|
Personal Scale
|
Short Range
|
up to several meters between targets. Can talk comfortably
without raising voices.
|
2
|
6
|
m
|
|
Personal Scale
|
Medium Range
|
up to several dozen meters away. Need to talk loudly to hear
each other.
|
7
|
60
|
m
|
|
Personal Scale
|
Long Range
|
further than a few dozen meters. Must yell loudly to hear each
other.
|
61
|
300
|
m
|
|
Personal Scale
|
Extreme range
|
cant hear each other even shouting.
|
301
|
780
|
m
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Planetary scale
|
Close range
|
slightly further than extreme range in personal. Up to several
km.
|
0
|
5
|
km
|
|
Planetary scale
|
Short Range
|
up to roughly several dozen km
|
6
|
24
|
km
|
|
Planetary scale
|
Medium Range
|
something is within medium range if it is within roughly fifty
km. long enough that only the most powerful artillery can reach it
|
25
|
50
|
km
|
|
Planetary scale
|
Long Range
|
anywhere from a hundred to two hundred km away. Engagements
never happen at this distance.
|
51
|
200
|
km
|
|
Planetary scale
|
Extreme range
|
athe far edge of a vehicles scanners. Weapons can not hope to
reach.
|
201
|
350
|
km
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Space Scale
|
Close range
|
uncomfortably close for capital ships. Dogfight range.
|
0
|
30
|
km
|
|
Space Scale
|
Short Range
|
just out of dogfighting range. Uncomfortably close for capital
ships.
|
31
|
100
|
km
|
|
Space Scale
|
Medium Range
|
Up to a few hundred Km.
|
101
|
300
|
km
|
|
Space Scale
|
Long Range
|
up to several thousand km
|
301
|
6000
|
km
|
|
Space Scale
|
Extreme range
|
beyond most weapon ranges.
|
6001
|
12000
|
km
|
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