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Type XI vs. Type XII Phasers.
Should Type XII phasers have a better OV than Type XI? Type XII has the same OV as the Type XI but the space cost is 1 more. And if you want to build a ship, cost savings is the way to go.Because after looking at the Soverign, I would have built the ship with the Type XI and save the 6 points.
The major difference is that the Type XII's are available to Size 5 ships, while Size XI's are only available to Size 7 ships (or larger). That's certainly worth an extra space.
Also, with the abstract system that is the ship construction rules, you can't limit yourself to thinking with only the points in mind. Forget what you have learned with the FASA Tactical Simulator, Starfleet Battles and Spacedock, and start thinking with a roleplaying mind, because this system is designed to complement the RPG (and not act as a stand alone combat simulator).
Type XII's represent the latest in Starfleet phaser technology, so it would be natural for the fleet's newest ships (those that can fit them on) to carry the best technology available. That fits the concept of the Sovereign. No, the greater capabilities of the Type XII may not be readily apparent within the limited scope of the abstract design system, but if you think in Starfleet terms, they are clearly the better weapon.
To be honest, if you want to completely munchkinize the Sovereign, why stop at just using Type XI's? Save 14 points and go with 22 Type III phasers. It gives you the exact same OV, and you have points to make the ship as uber as you want. Maybe you could take those 22 points and add three more Mk 95, and still have enough points to add another tractor beam or your super-secret uber 50OV weapon that ignores shields and costs 1 space.
You can see how quickly this can become ridiculous...
22 Type III Phasers Cool I'll do that.
NOT!!!
I'm not looking to make the Soverign into U.S.S. Munchkin but if that is what you read into my post oh well. If I wanted uber technolgy I turn to Voyagers newly aquired toys from the future and not waste my time on phaser space cost. The point of this post was understand why an engineer put the most costlier phaser on explorer class vessel.
If type XII is the better of the two then it should be reflected as such. Maybe a side note to what Starfleet would allow for phasers and under circumstances.
Perhaps, but there's only so much you can stuff into the book. :) Decipher could make the ship construction rules (and, thusly, the starship combat rules) much more complicated, but would probably lose the fans who don't want to pull out their calculus books to figure out how to put a ship together.
I'm an exception to that rule, being a self-described gearhead and fantasy naval architect (yes, I own a copy of Traveller, 4th Ed., Fire Fusion and Steel). I enjoy creating vessels and vehicles for fun, and I would enjoy a Decipher ship construction system that approached FFS or Spacedock in complexity. However (as I noted above), I'm in the most miniscule minority in that desire.
As presented, the ship rules are purposefully abstract to support the cinematic feel of the RPG, which I believe they did quite well. Unfortunately, to achieve that effect, they had to simplify some things, which means that the Type XI and Type XII phasers have the same offensive value. That means that you'll need to go into RP mode to describe why the Type XII is better.
You can't think with a mathematical mind when designing ships (especially Starfleet ships, IMO) with this system. There are too many intangibles that would affect a Starfleet engineer's mind that can't be produced within the rules as they stand.