Solo 1/600 Jet Game Pt. 3: Energy Management

Wow, work has been busy recently, leaving me no time for leisure.  Well, a little but that time goes to the wife, dog, and sculpting.  Subsequently these posts about my solitaire jet game have been lagging.

OK, so after the Initiative order has been determined (see last post), it's time to make decisions that will affect how each fighter uses its potential and kinetic energy.

Starting with the lowest Initiative fighter jet, decide how many Hard Maneuvers it will perform during the later Movement Phase.  The maximum number of Hard Maneuvers is 3, and the minimum is 0.  Three different Hard Maneuvers exist: Hard Turn, Jink, and Aim.  Looking at the unit cards in the first post, notice that there are boxes to check off.  I use this method to remember which Hard Maneuvers were selected.  Also note that there are three boxes labeled "Turn" for the Hard Turn maneuver.  A fighter can only choose to either Jink or not Jink, to Aim or not Aim, but Hard Turn can be selected up to three times with cumulative effects.  Hard Turn reflects the aggressiveness of turning for all banks this game-turn and provides a bonus during the Movement Phase; the number of Hard Turn maneuvers chosen indicates the size of the bonus and not the number of turns that will be performed later.  The Hard Maneuvers limit however is still three total.  Therefore, a jet pilot can choose for example to perform Hard Turn x2 plus Aim, for a total of three maneuvers.  Most of the time however less than three or even no Hard Maneuvers are selected.  Why?  Hard Maneuvers bleed speed, and speed is life.  The Energy Roll takes this into account as well as providing a random factor for solo play.

Once the lowest Initiative fighter decides on its Hard Maneuvers (if any), the solo player then makes an Energy Roll for that aircraft.  The roll consists of anywhere from 3 to 5 six-sided dice.  The "normal" Energy Roll is 5d6, but one die is lost for every Hard Maneuver chosen.  Thus if an aircraft decided to Jink and Hard Turn (x1), it is performing two Hard Maneuvers and gets only 3d6 for its Energy Roll.  After the dice are rolled, two dice are always discarded due to altitude effects.  The two dice discarded due to altitude effects depends on the aircraft's starting Altitude.  If the fighter is at Altitude 1 through 3, the two dice with the lowest scores are discarded.  A fighter at Altitude 4 through 6 discards the highest die and the lowest die.  Finally, a fighter at Altitude 6 through 9 discards the highest two dice.

After discarding dice due to altitude effects, the remaining dice are considered.  For each die with a score above the fighter's Energy Factor (1 through 5), the aircraft Speed is increased by 1.  Speed increases earned via this dice roll reflect a positive change in both kinetic and potential energy; therefore  any Speed increase due to this roll may (temporarily) take the aircraft speed above the aircraft's maximum.

Afterburners: An aircraft using afterburner adds 1 to the value of each die score, increasing the chance for acceleration.  Additionally, the aircraft gains a bonus 1 Speed increase.  For example, an SU-9 at Altitude 4 ignites its afterburner whilst simultaneously using a Hard Turn.  The single Hard Turn results in only 4d6 rolled.  The values are 1, 3, 4, 4.  One "4" and the "1" are discarded due to altitude effects, leaving values of 3 and 4.  Neither of these scores exceed the SU-9's Energy Factor of 4, so normally the Speed increase due to the Energy Roll would be 0.  The afterburner however results in adjusted dice scores of 4 and 5, one of which exceeds the fighter's energy factor.  This, plus the bonus +1 Speed, means the SU-9 is allowed to increase Speed by 2.  Of course this is at the tremendous fuel cost inherent with afterburning engines (more on that later).

After noting any increases in Speed due to the Energy Roll, subtract 1 Speed for drag effects.  No aircraft can ever avoid drag effects.

Next, decide if the fighter is climbing or diving and adjust speed accordingly.  Altitude changes of 1 level result in Speeds decreasing or increasing by 1 for climbs and descents respectively.  Descents of 2 Altitude levels increase Speed by 3, whilst climbs of 2 Altitude levels decrease Speed by 3.  Finally, if and aircraft dives or climbs 3 Altitude levels it gains or loses 6 Speed respectively.

Finally, after setting the fighter's new Altitude level, adjust the Speed downward to the aircraft's maximum if it is currently exceeding the limit.

Any aircraft ending the Energy Management phase with a Speed of 0 has Stalled (later post).

Speed Brakes: Any aircraft may "pop speed brakes".  This allows the solo player to choose NOT to take some or all of the Speed increase due to the energy roll or diving.

Once the new Speed and Altitude of the lowest Initiative fighter are recorded, repeat the entire process for each aircraft, working from low Initiative to High.