The abstract aerospace setup described in the core Alpha Strike game adds one new element to the system in the form of the Capital Radar Map. This map represents a much larger space battle area that can either be centered over a ground battle or a stationary space-based objective like a hyperspace jump point or space station.
If a ground battle lies at the heart of this map, the standard Radar Map as defined in Alpha Strike’s abstract aerospace system must also be present, since it reflects the atmospheric battle area that extends “above” the ground battle, but “below” the space battle happening on the Capital Radar Map.
In addition to these maps, players should also keep several extra copies of the standard Radar Map handy, as these will be used for additional space-based Engagement Maps as necessary.
On 5 November 2784, the ships of the Star League Defense Force abandoned the Inner Sphere, heralding hundreds of years of unrelenting war.
A B S TR A CT SPA C E C O M B A T
INTRODUCTION
ALPHA STRIKE TACTICAL ANNEX
ABSTRACT SPACE COMBAT
ALPHA STRIKE FORCE BUILDING
ALPHA STRIKE SCENARIOS
EXPANDED REPAIR AND SALVAGE RULES BATTLETECH CONVERSIONS
ALPHA STRIKE POINT VALUE CALCULATIONS As always, the order of setup for all units—on the Capital
Radar Map, the standard atmospheric Radar Map, and the ground map—is the same as that of a basic ground scenario.
For the sake of simplicity, it is recommended that the players set up all of their terrain and ground forces for one map at a time, as switching between maps repeatedly during game setup can get confusing.
For the aerospace maps, any miniatures used to represent aerospace units should be placed on the Capital Radar Map, while either duplicate miniatures or counters are kept handy for use on the standard atmospheric Radar Map and any Engagement Maps that may be created in play. In addition to the rules governing the standard atmospheric Radar Map found in Alpha Strike, details discussing the Capital Radar Map are covered below, and the rules for the Engagement Maps are found later in this chapter.
THE CAPITAL RADAR MAP
The Capital Radar Map sheet, located at the back of the book, represents the space around a playing area. This map is divided into a series of concentric rings, each of which reflects areas of increasing distance from the ground battle or other point of interest. Each ring is further divided into one or more sectors to regulate movement.
Unlike the standard Radar Map found in the Alpha Strike core rulebook, the Capital Radar Map almost always represents a volume of space outside of any planetary atmosphere. If the battle in question is centered on a ground-level action, only the central sector of the Capital Radar Map (the Central Zone) will intersect with a planetary atmosphere, and this sector in turn will correspond to the standard-scale Radar Map for abstract aerospace actions covered in Alpha Strike. Because of this, only space-capable aerospace units—aerospace fighters, Small Craft, DropShips, JumpShips, WarShips, space stations, and satellite Support Vehicles—are considered legal for play on the Capital Radar Map.
A copy of the Capital Radar Map (either photocopied from this book, or hand-drawn on a sheet of paper or poster board of suitable size), should be kept on or near the table where the central battle is being played, so that players can easily move between the various maps. If a ground battle is the focus of the battle, both the Capital Radar and a standard-scale Radar Map (to cover all air actions over the ground map) will be required.
As with the standard Radar Map, the Capital Radar Map is an abstraction that does not have a fixed scale; aerospace movement on this map will thus not be measured in inches, but between the zones and sectors on the map, as described below.
The following are some additional terms that will be used throughout this chapter.
Capital Radar Map – This is the primary map for tracking combat at the space-exclusive level of play.
It is always centered on either a ground battle or a stationary point in space. Even if centered over a ground battle, the central zone of this map is considered to be situated above a planetary atmosphere.
Atmospheric Radar Map – The atmospheric Radar Map (also called the “standard Radar Map”) is the term used here for the normal Radar Map as presented in Alpha Strike, when used in accordance with the rules for air combat over a ground battle area. Though it uses many of the same mechanics for gameplay, the atmospheric Radar Map always represents the battle region directly over a ground map. This map essentially represents the Central Zone for any Capital Radar Map used in a scenario where a ground-based objective is also present.
Engagement Map – Engagement Maps use the normal Radar Maps from Alpha Strike to resolve aerospace engagements in space as they happen. An Engagement Map represents a single “sector” on the Capital Radar Map, but may not always be in play, as these maps are only required when opposing units in the same sector opt to engage in battle.
Sector – A single, undivided segment of the Capital Radar Map is known as a sector under these rules. On the Capital Radar Map, sectors are used to further sub-divide capital aerospace zones.
Zone – On the Capital Radar Map, each zone is represented by concentric circular regions, radiating outward from the map’s center, and divided into sectors. Capital Radar Map zones are an abstraction of a vaguely spherical area of space surrounding the battle area, roughly analogous to a “ring” of zones on the standard Radar Map.
On standard Radar Maps—including both atmospheric Radar Maps and Engagement Maps—
zones are the smallest undivided segments of the playing area, analogous to the sectors on the Capital Radar Map. To avoid confusion, players will be reminded throughout these rules which map is being referenced whenever the term “zone” is used.
EXPANDED ABSTRACT AEROSPACE TERMINOLOGY
The Inner Zone
The Inner Zone of the Capital Radar Map reflects a roughly spherical region of space closest to the Central Zone, but just beyond the immediate reach of the points around which the greater space battle is taking place. Aerospace units in this area can quickly react to events in the Central Zone.
The Inner Zone is divided into six sectors (numbered I1 through I6), which are used to determine a moving unit’s position relative to the Central Zone. Here, sector I1 represents the area
“due north” of the Central Zone, while sector I4 represents the area “due south” of the Central Zone.
Unlike the standard Radar Map, these sectors are not treated as part of a single game zone; each serves as its own sector for the purposes of capital-scale movement.
The Middle Zone
The Middle Zone represents an intermediate distance from the Central Zone. Aerospace units in this area are a considerable distance from the center of the battlefield, but fast enough elements can still react to events in the heart of the fight.
This zone is divided into 12 sectors, numbered M1 through M12. As with the Inner Zone, each represents a sector position relative to the Center Zone, with sector M1 positioned “due north” of the Center Zone (and also “due north” of sector I1), and sector M7 positioned “due south” of the Center Zone (also “due south” of sector I4).
To reflect the larger volume of space at this scale, units maneuvering within the Middle Zone sectors will require proportionately more Thrust to maneuver in combat here. This is explained further under Capital-Scale Aerospace Movement (see p. 72). Furthermore, units that have limited fuel reserves—such as fighters—will discover their combat endurance even more limited by the cost to maneuver in these areas (see Fuel Endurance, p. 75).
The Outer Zone
The Outer Zone represents the next farthest distance from the Center Zone, and this region is only easily reachable from the Center Zone by units that possess both high Thrust rates and high fuel endurance. Each of the 24 sectors this zone is divided into (numbered O1 through O24) represents an even larger area of space than a corresponding Middle Zone sector. This also means that a proportionately higher Thrust and fuel costs will be required for combat maneuvers here, as defined under Capital-Scale Aerospace Movement and Fuel Endurance rules (see pp. 72 and 75, respectively).
The Central Zone
The Central Zone of the Capital Radar Map corresponds to any fixed point around which the space battle at large is taking place. This can be a ground-level area on the surface of a planet, a gravitationally-stable point used as a solar system’s jump point, or even interplanetary space surrounding a free-floating station.
Even though capital-scale aerospace combat takes place entirely in space, players should designate the direction on both maps that represents “north” for the purposes of the scenario.
This helps to establish common points of reference for all players, and should correspond to where the “north” direction lies on any lower-level Radar Maps and ground table battlefields that may intersect with the Capital Radar Map.
For purposes of capital-scale movement, the Central Zone consists of a single sector.
CAPITAL RADAR MAP
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N
INTRODUCTION
ALPHA STRIKE TACTICAL ANNEX
ABSTRACT SPACE COMBAT
ALPHA STRIKE FORCE BUILDING
ALPHA STRIKE SCENARIOS
EXPANDED REPAIR AND SALVAGE RULES BATTLETECH CONVERSIONS
ALPHA STRIKE POINT VALUE CALCULATIONS The Peripheral Zone
The Peripheral Zone represents the farthest distance from the Central Zone at which capital-scale aerospace units may still be considered part of the battle. If the Central Zone is placed over a ground-based target area, this zone would correspond to anywhere from the opposite side of the planet to the local lunar orbit. If the Central Zone is located in deeper space, this area reflects a sphere approximating the maximum effective radar and communication ranges of any participating units to the central area.
The Peripheral Zone is divided into 6 oversized sectors, numbered P1 to P6. These sectors align with those of the Inner Zone, with the P1 sector located “due north” of the Central Zone, and P4 sector located “due south” of it.
These sectors represent an expanse that is truly vast, even when compared to those of the Outer Zone. Because of this, combat and maneuvering here cannot be adequately represented by the standard-scale Radar Maps that will serve throughout these rules in such a capacity.
Units subject to the fuel endurance rules (see p. 75) will almost certainly run out of any remaining fuel reserves in the Peripheral Zone sectors, and may run out of fuel attempting to maneuver from a Peripheral Zone sector to an Outer Zone sector. Meanwhile, larger aerospace units in these sectors may only resolve actions against each other using the High-Speed Attack rules (see p. 86).
PLACING AEROSPACE FORCES ON THE CAPITAL RADAR MAP
Unless a scenario’s rules dictate otherwise (by calling for aerospace units to be placed in specific zones), aerospace forces should begin play in the Outer or Peripheral Zones, directly opposite each other on the
Capital Radar Map. Alternately, if one player is the attacker of a fixed objective or planetary landing zone represented by the Central Zone, the defending player may set up his forces in the Central and Inner Zone sectors, while the attacker begins play in the Peripheral Zones.
If a ground battle is at the heart of the battle, and both sides already have forces deployed on the ground map, the starting positions of each force on the Capital Radar Map should be placed in Middle and Outer Zone sectors best corresponding to its side’s ground force deployment on the ground playing area. This will make it easier to visualize the battle from the start as the forces from both sides clash on land and in the space above.
As with ground setup, if the aerospace force sizes are unequal, refer to the Unequal Number of Units rule in the Standard Alpha Strike rules to place the aerospace units (see pp. 27-28, Alpha Strike).
his forces in space, while losing the Initiative on the ground level.
(Normal Initiative rules will then apply to the aerospace units on the capital-scale maps, determining which player moves his