The 2d edition game charts published in issue 16 and the rules handout given with issue 17 provided our readers with a glimpse of the many significant changes to the Air Superiority game system being introduced with the release of "The Speed of Heat!". Unfortunately, being only glimpses, they also generated a number of questions. Questions Submitted by Robert E. Richmond, Elk Grove, CA. 1. Are the current ECCM, Chaff, and Flare values for first edition missiles still valid? Yes. The only difference is that chaff will no longer be effective against IRM type missiles. 2. Are the current altitude-dependent base speeds listed for first edition missiles used with the 2d edition tables and rules? No. Missiles are being reevaluated as to their base speeds which are now independent of altitude. Missiles will only have a single base speed listed. The best rule of thumb for the moment is to use the ML band speed listed for first edition missiles. 3. Are missiles still limited to the number of turns listed for their flight time or do they fly until they stall. Yes and Yes. Whichever occurs first. Time of flight is generally a missile's battery or power system limit which is the main factor. A missile can stall out before that time, though, and would then be removed from play. 4. Is the Flare PPL # the same as the number of Flares expended or does that amount vary with the type of missile the flares are used against? The listed PPL # is always - to the number of decoys of that type expended in a game turn when a DDS program is turned on. The effectiveness of that PPL # varies depending on the type of missile it goes against. The effectiveness is always the lesser of the PPL # or missile's decoy vulnerability number. Example: An IRM with aflare vuln. number of 3 would haveto add 3 to its launch roll and/or attack roll if the target had a program on and the flare PPL # was 3 or more (A PPL of 4 to 6 has no additional effect against this missile). If the flare PPL# were only 1 or 2, then either a 1 or 2 would be added respectively. Note, decoys manually deployed at the time of missile attack would still require a die roll of 3 or less to decoy the missile. 5. There doesn't seem to be any way to decoy a missile in flight, only at launch or when it attacks. Thiswould mean that If the missile could not reach you In a game turn, you would not want to use any program as the decoys would have no effect. Is this a correct assumption? It is true that decoys from a program now only affect missiles either at their launch or their attack, and if you are cocky enough to know a missile wont hit you on a given turn, be my guest, leave the program off. Just remember, you can only turn it on or off in the Aircraft Decisions Phase of the turn and that means if it is off you will lose the opportunity to decoy some at launch, meaning you could have a lot of headaches later. The concept of a PPL and the limiting of effects to either launch or attack points in a missile's life was done as a playability enhancer. Play is no longer slowed down by stopping to determine the affects of decoys dumped on the playing map in the path of missiles. Also, unrealistic tricks like flying missiles around decoy parameters (5 hexes) and the fact that faster aircraft could drop more decoys in a game turn are eliminated. Use of PPL#s is also a very simple way to handle decoy programs and their effects which leads to an increase in both realism and playability in an otherwise complex situation. Questions submitted by Noel Wright, El Dorado, AR: 6. For sighting, do you use the nearest a/c to an enemy that could see It? For the number-of-searchers modifier, is that all the other a/c that could conceivably spot the target? Yes and Yes. Note, modifiers for relative attitudes, paint, weather, and special stuff like RWRs, radar locks and the like are determined from the nearest a/c only. 7. Do you mean to treat Barrel Rolls now like Sustained turning? No. You incur an extra 1 decel for every roll (displacement, lag, or vertical) beyond the first in a turn whether it's part of a barrel roll or not, in addition to normal roll costs. 8. When you use decoys manually, do you declare your PPL before, or during, your move? You have something confused. PPLs refer only to your DDS program which is usually designed before play and cannot be changed. The program and its attendant PPLs are declared on or off only during the Aircraft Decisions Phase of the game turn. Manual decoys now refer to the one or two decoys you are allowed to deploy against a missile when it attacks, and only if you engaged said missile. The manually-deployed decoys allow die rolls as per the first edition rules to decoy missiles. 9. When you use decoys manually, you get to choose the PPL without regard to the program right? Wrong! You are confusing the first edition use of decoys and programs with the 2d edition uses. Please forget the first edition stuff. It is no longer used. In 2d edition, when a DDS program is designed, it is assigned PPLs for each type of decoy in use. The program and its attendant PPLs can affect many things during a game turn. Manual decoys are strictly the one or two decoys you may expend in a last ditch attempt to shake a missile assuming you engaged that missile. Manual decoys are rolled for when the missile declares an attack. If the manual decoys fail to spoof the missile, the presence of a DDS program spewing decoys will still provide adverse attack die roll modifiers and can still cause a miss. 10. How are rapid accel a/c handled now that accel = decel in that 2 points of either = 0.5 change of speed? Rapid accel a/c now gain 0.5 speed per 1.5 accel points. Note that with the advanced supersonic rules, acceleration changes back to 3 accel/0.5 speed for normal a/c and to 2 accel/ 0.5 speed for rapid accel types when at supersonic speeds. Back to Table of Contents -- Air Power # 20 Back to Air Power List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 1992 by J.D. Webster This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com