Author Topic: (Answered) Conversion rules, Movement conversion clarification  (Read 2358 times)

Thunder

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Ran into some strange interactions and points that may need to be clarified when converting a mechs movement.

A:  MASC and Super Chargers.  When multiplying by 1.25, do you convert to Alpha Strike inches first then multiply, or do you Multiply Its Total Warfare movement and then convert to Alpha Strike.

For example, A Charger with MASC.  5/8(10) movement.  If you convert to inches then multiply you get 12.5 Which rounds to 13, Which gets rounded up again to 14. (Which incidentally was a strange and I'm not sure why you needed bit of errata.  Which we'll come back to.)

If you multiply then convert you get 6.25 which rounds down to 6 then converts to 12.

Multiply and convert seems to be what is happening in the MUL.  But At this point in the movement conversion rules this is not obvious.  The first paragraph of the movement conversion rules converts Total warfare MP into Alpha strike inches.  Several sections later we come to the MASC and super charger section with its 1.25 multiplier rounded normally.  But it never says to use the total warfare stats for this calculation.

B: Permanent movement penalties.
Order of operations is weird. 
"Remember that this MP penalty is applied before the unit’s movement rate is converted, but after other movement-improving modifiers for MASC, engine superchargers, and VTOL jet boosters"
TW side of things,  Movement penalties affect the units base move, while the MASC et al modify the units running MP afterwards.

Hardened armor makes things a bit more complicated since it modifies a units Running MP in TW, which should have no affect in AS.  But what seems to be happening is hardened armor is being treated like a -2" movement modifier,  which creates the strange case of a potential unit that can move in TW, but can't in AS.

C:  Errata was written:
"Regardless of the unit type or any special equipment mounted, as long as the unit uses Movement Points, after all rounding has been applied, the unit rounds its Movement Points up to the nearest 2” increment."
While the example given deals primarily with units that would have odd increments of movement being rounded up,  Would this rule also apply to that Ultra slow Hardened armor design that would otherwise be rendered motionless when converted?

Also... why was this bit of errata needed?  Having an odd movement doesn't change the game much, and the TMM tables already take odd movement numbers into account.
« Last Edit: 24 October 2018, 11:51:35 by nckestrel »

nckestrel

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Re: Conversion rules, Movement conversion clarification
« Reply #1 on: 24 October 2018, 11:51:22 »
Converting to inches is always the last step.
AS shares conversions with BF, which doesn't use inches.
No odd movement rates in inches, because the game is also played on hex maps where we can't have half hex movement. BF also uses hexes and can't handle half hex movement.

Hardened armor is a -2"/-1 hex to move. 

If somebody wants to design a 1/2 movement unit with hardened armor, they will have to live with it not moving in BF/AS. It's not worth making everybody else's live more difficult (add errata/additional steps) to accomodate them :).
Alpha Strike Introduction resources
Left of Center blog - Nashira Campaign for A Game of Armored Combat, TP 3039 Vega Supplemental Record Sheets