Until recently, I was using Don's DAC, which is simply a standard DAC with a "1" row added (for "Crew" hits).
A few months ago I made a 100 card deck with random DAC entries on it, sort of like the Battlecards.
In addition to the standard results, I added non-underlined track and crew hits (a photon hit to your Sensor track is NOT your friend!).
A simple 1-100 chart showing what the cards had can be viewed here.
I made the cards by simply writing them on Magic the Gathering land cards. :P
Then I came up with the idea of a "Random DAC Generator", which makes Random DACs.
You could theoretically roll on these Alternate DACs, but I prefer this:
Use each row only once, for each "hard hit" (all the damage a single weapon did to you).
The next hard hit (weapon result) goes on the next DAC line.
When all damage has been assigned to a ship, skip 1d6 rows the next time damage is done (so we aren't biased by knowing what the next DAC entry is).
OK, first, here's some random DACs (with 100 rows each) so you can get an idea of what the program does.
If you print them, you might want to print in Landscape mode (with minimal margins) so it's easier to read.
Random DAC in html format #1
Random DAC in html format #2
Random DAC in html format #3
Random DAC in html format #4
Random DAC in html format #5
Random DAC in html format #6
Random DAC in html format #7
Random DAC in html format #8
Random DAC in html format #9
Random DAC in html format #10
Random DAC in text format #1
Random DAC in text format #2
Random DAC in text format #3
Random DAC in text format #4
Random DAC in text format #5
Random DAC in text format #6
Random DAC in text format #7
Random DAC in text format #8
Random DAC in text format #9
Random DAC in text format #10
These printed well using Internet Explorer, but Netscape Navigator did a terrible job.
Netscape doesn't seem to allow me to "fit to page", which is quite annoying.
OK, so here's the program.
I wrote it using Visual Basic, so it's a normal Windows install program.
Shove these three files in a temporary directory (right click and Save).
Then click "setup.exe" to install.
Setup.lst
RandomDAC.CAB
setup.exe
You'll see a screen like the one above. Here's what everything does:
Number of Rows: This is how many rows you want. The standard "Don DAC" has 12; the ones above have 100.
Number of Columns: This is how many columns you want (not including ExcDam). The standard DAC has 12.
Format: Choose TXT or HTML.
Allow "Crew" type entries: Check this to allow Crew, BrdPrt, Deck, and Pass hits. If it's unchecked, those results won't appear.
No duplicate hard hits: This means no "hard hits" (non-underlined results) of the same system can be on the same row.
Go!: Creates the DAC, using the next available filename and number. They'll be in your RandomDAC install directory, with names like "DAC_1.html".
You can also change how frequently each system occurs on the DAC. Included in the RandomDAC install directory is "DACfrequencies.txt", which gives a list of all possible systems and how frequently they appear on the DAC. A typical entry in this text file would be "Crew,2,3", which means Crew is a valid hit type, it appears with frequency 2 underlined and 3 non-underlined. You can change these numbers or add new hit types.
Finally, here's the source code, if you know Visual Basic and want to mess with the program:
RandomDAC.PDM
RandomDAC.vbp
RandomDAC.vbw
Form1.frm
You'll also need a copy of "DACfrequencies.txt" whereever you try to compile this program from.
OK, that's it. I have lately found it to be a little dubious to be rolling random amounts of damage, and rolling random dice to look up the results on a randomly-generated table. :P
But, hey, it's a game, and this seems more fun than that boring d12 DAC. :)
Drop me an email if you like.