			** bs_v211.xls **			Feb. 99

Welcome!
This is an Excel 97 spreadsheet for Battlespace design. It is currently the best design aid I've seen for this purpose. (Which is rather sad when I compare it to something like The Drawing Board.) Currently it only does the calculations for weight, maintenance, cost, etc. The current version does not allow you to assign firing arcs for weapons or print out record sheets. These features will probably be implemented sooner or later (but it might be later). It also provides a number of calculations which either help you during the design process or help you in comparing different Warships. I've also included most of the level 3 weapons found in Maximum Tech and the weapons listed in the Explorer Corps sourcebook. In general, you do not need to read this file as most of the information contained in it is repeated in the spreadsheet as comments or on the instructions sheet.

			Contents

1. New in this version
2. Comments on use
3. Instructions for use
4. Contact information
5. Disclaimer


			1. New in this version

a) The crew assignments section has been moved and expanded to better allow for mixed IS/Clan crews. Now you can either accept the "recommended" crew or determine yourself how many engineers/2nd engineers you have of each level. (Nice if you're running a merc unit, otherwise useless).

b) I added TAG and Arrow IV to the anti-fighter weapons. (I assume the Arrow IV launchers fire homing missiles in the cost calculation.) 

c) I added Jumpships, stations & Dropships.

d) I added this Readme file.

e) The heat sink section was moved to after the weapons section.

f) Simplified armor assignment section. (Some people had problems with it.)

g) Corrected a mistake in the fuel costs section.


			2. Comments on use

These are a few notes for those who don't want to bother to read the detailed instructions.

a) Assigning crew quarters is important because otherwise the crew takes up no mass. (Whether fighter pilots, marines, etc. get quarters is something that isn't very clear. FASA apparently doesn't do it, but I think it's logical.)

b) AR-10 missile launchers are a bit complicated. If you add ammo like for other weapons, you get an average of all three missile types (i.e. White Shark missiles). For this reason I have added extra missiles which are added like weapons. (Actually, it's possible to add ammo to missiles (which are already ammo), but it doesn't affect cost or weight.)

c) This is set up to print on A4 paper. The gray background looks good on the screen, but on paper... well... (so change it if you want!).

d) I had to estimate the MPV (maintenance point value) of some of the newer weaponry. FASA has dropped the basis for this system meanwhile, so if Battlespace is ever updated it will undoubtedly fall by the wayside. (You might have noticed that the newest FWL warships have huge crews, so maybe they're preparing for this.)

e) You can violate almost any rule in the Battlespace Rulebook if you want. Simply ignore (or delete) the red warning that pops up. The design is "open", meaning that nothing is protected or hidden in any way. Feel free to make any changes you want. A word of warning though, some of the formulas are a bit complicated.



			3. Instructions for use

The spreadsheet is set up more or less along the lines of TR3057. I've set it up to print out on A4 paper (8 1/2" x 11" shouldn't be any problem though). You move down each page then start at the top of the next one. The pages are marked with a dotted line going down the page. The following instructions apply to Warships, for Jumpships, Dropships, and stations you can adjust them accordingly.

Page 1: Fill in the name of the ship, its type (corvette, destroyer, etc.), and the year it was introduced. Next you enter the mass of the ship (how many tons it "weighs"). The word "tons" and the separator for thousands are entered automatically. Next enter the length of the ship and the size of the jumpsail. FASA has never published any formulas for these so you can enter any values or leave them blank. Now you enter the number of tons of fuel, the points are calculated automatically. The next step is the thrust. Maximum thrust is calculated. Now enter the structural integrity - remember that 1/10th of SI is added to each armor facing.

The armor is next. First decide on what type of armor you want to use, then whether it is Clan or Star League tech. Next you need to decide how many tons of armor your ship is to carry. Most people enter the maximum number, but if you're re-creating a FASA design you need to enter a lower number. Now you need to assign the armor to different facings. (I've used the word "arc" in the spreadsheet because I prefer it.) There is also a box "Use max. armor rule?" This is something which does not appear in the rulebook, but only on the record sheets. IS Warships have max. armor of 300/arc, Clan Warships 350/arc. If you wish to ignore the rule, (i.e. have armor of more than 300 or 350/arc) click the box and your armor can go up to any amount without an annoying red warning popping up. The info in the two small sections above the assignment section and the final armor section is just info for comparison and to help you assign your armor. (Hint: If you want to re-create a FASA design, enter the number of points listed in the readout for each arc and adjust the number of tons until you get the number of points required.)

Now enter the number of Dropships the ship can carry. Then enter the number of grav decks on the ship. The field for the size of the grav deck is only for your information and is not evaluated (i.e. $%& is also a valid entry!). Check the boxes if the ship carries a hyperpulse generator (normal for Clan and Comstar ships) and Lithium-Fusion battery (standard for Warships). Below this is a section with cost summaries and projections. These figures won't be correct until the entire spreadsheet has been filled out (but they fit well here).

Page 2: This page assigns weapons and ammunition. 
The first section is capital weapons. Enter the number of the weapon on board the ship and then use the dropdown control field to enter the type of weapon. If the weapon requires ammunition, enter the total number of rounds in the ship's magazines. To help you do this the number of rounds per weapon is calculated to the right. (Note: There is nothing to prevent you from having 2 entries for any particular type of weapon, e.g. 2 x NL45 on two different lines.) This is all very straightforward except for the AR-10 missile launcher. If you assign ammunition normally, you get an average of all 3 missile types. If you want more of one kind or another, you must assign the missiles, e.g. "Whale missile" instead of "Whale" - which is the launcher. 

Next you assign the anti-fighter weapons. These must be either Clan or IS versions, so you need to click that box too. This works just like capital weapons except that the ammunition here is for total tons, not total rounds. Again rounds per gun is calculated for you. 

Below this there are various totals of the firing factors, both for capital weapons and for anti-fighter weapons. Note that naval missiles (Whale, Shark, etc.) are capital weapons but are also anti-fighter capable so they appear under both capital weapons and anti-fighter weapons. 

Finally you fill in the number of heat sinks. Use the dropdown box to determine whether to use single or double heat sinks.

Page 3: This page covers crew assignments and cargo bays.
First you enter in other shipboard forces. This includes the number of fighters, small craft, 'Mechs, vehicles, infantry, marines, etc. Please note that there is space to assign crews (pilots, techs, & astechs) for fighters and small craft. FASA doesn't seem to do this, but it makes sense to do so. Note that the marine points section is divided up into 3 parts depending on whether ground forces are aboard or not and whether the ship's crew is involved. (Note: I've used a rather arbitrary figure for the total number of people aboard for vehicle crews, but I need a total for the maintenance section.)

Now choose whether to use the "recommended crew" or assign a specific number of engineers/2nd engineers for each level. If you do this it makes no difference whether you have a Clan or IS crew. However, if you use the recommended crew, you'll see that Clan ships need much smaller crews (because they have more skilled engineers). The field for crew quality (Green, Regular, etc.) only comes into the crew cost calculation.

Below this there is a section detailing how much maintenance the ship requires and how much maintenance the crew can produce. The recommended crew can cover all normal maintenance needs with a 60 hour workweek. 

Now enter the number of escape units. I've provided statistics to help you. 
The next step is important! 
Now assign quarters for your crew. So far you have people, but they and their life support systems take up no mass. Enter the number of people assigned to regular and 1st class quarters respectively. FASA has said nothing about quarters for ground forces, but they don't seem to be included in their designs (I guess they're treated like cattle and don't need life support systems or something.)

If your ship carries a shipyard enter it in the next box. A ship may carry only 1 shipyard. The size limitations pop up as soon as you enter the type of shipyard. If any value is listed under "max. capacity" and "none" is listed in the dropdown field, the shipyard is ignored.

Finally, enter the contents of the cargo bays and the number of doors for each bay. The entries for the contents of the bays are not evaluated and are only for your use. 


			4. Contact information

If you have any comments, have spotted any mistakes (you try typing in all those stupid tables/formulas with no mistakes!), or  have made any changes you would like to see incorporated into the "official" version, please e-mail me: 	

	jscott@paderborn.netsurf.de

Some feedback (is it any good, do you like or dislike it, what feature is missing or useless, etc.) might be nice too.


			5. Disclaimer

The words 'Mech, Battlespace, etc., etc., etc., are all copyright FASA Corp. and are used without permission... bla bla bla
